Getting things done

As mentioned last week, I finished the top made of my great niece’s receiving blankets and had to order fabric for the backing…it arrived on Thursday. When I saw this fabric online I wasn’t sure if the lines were part of the weave or part of the print and I was a bit worried…

Thankfully it’s part of the print and it gives the fabric a bit of a vintage look. Since this is 108″ wide I only need to make one cut and it will be ready for basting.

Next up, I continued to work on my Sept Scrap Attack project and made excellent progress…the top is done!!!

I took it outside to get a shot in sunlight

And I gave the IG swirl a try

And one more shot up on my design wall.

I’m so tickled with how this turned out with all those happy, bright colors. It measures 63×72. This will now need to go into the ‘waiting’ pile as I prioritize finishing the receiving blanket quilt and working on the memory quilt commission project.

Speaking of that, I pulled all those shirts out last week and deconstructed them…now I need to get down on my bedroom floor and work on a layout – my knees and back are already dreading it!

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An update on the house in Myrtle Beach: we’re supposed to go there next week to close on the house and I’d be so happy about that if it weren’t for a little storm called Florence! I just can’t believe our luck!!! 😦  So we’ll wait and watch to see what happens and hope the storm takes a hard right out to sea!!

That’s all for now…enjoy the rest of your weekend 🙂

 

 

Back in the groove

I failed to mention last week that while visiting my great niece her Momma gave me her old receiving blankets and asked me to make a toddler bed size quilt because she would be transitioning into one pretty soon.

I began thinking of a cute pattern and landed on a simple 4-patch/square design and without even hesitating I cut all the blankets into 10.5 squares and 5.5 squares…too bad I didn’t take a picture of those lovely stacks 😦

Here are the blocks on the design wall…and on the table because I couldn’t get them all to fit on the wall – this is going to be 70×90

I spent all day yesterday piecing it together…while watching US Open tennis matches. Here’s the completed top on my bedroom floor.

The lighting is horrible and the angle is pretty bad too but it was just too humid to take this outside for pictures – seriously, the deck was still damp from the overnight dew even at 6pm! ugh…I can’t wait for FALL!

I didn’t have anything big enough for the back – I didn’t want it to be pieced…so I hopped online to search for 108″ backing and found the perfect fabric! So this project will be put on hold until it arrives.

Speaking of fall, I pulled my September Scrap Attack project…and look at this beautiful picture! Unfortunately it’s just a picture link on Pinterest so there’s no pattern or even a name I can give credit 😦

Oh my…at first it looks like a lot of work but once I dissect it, it’s really just 9-patch blocks with heart applique blocks. I’m not going to make a bed size quilt so I won’t have near as many blocks to make.

I’ve already printed a heart shape from Google

…and I’ve already cut 3.5″ strips from my scraps to sew into groups of three…using a bit larger size will (hopefully) give this a bit of a modern touch – and the fabrics will help with that too 😉 Once the strips are sewn, I’ll cross cut them into 3.5″ strips and assemble them into 9-patch blocks. I’ve also got a stack of smaller pieces of fabric I can cut into 3.5″ squares if I need more.

As if that’s not enough to work on…I have another memory quilt commission – here are three bags of shirts I need to deconstruct and apply stabilizer before determining the layout…she wants it to be random placement :-p

And lastly, just because…here’s Miss Campbell at almost 10 months ❤ ❤ ❤

 

This week

Lots going on in the sewing room this week. After playing with the layout for the Framed Out top for far too long, I ended up going with the first random layout! And now I have a finished top! Unfortunately I didn’t take a good pic after piecing so here it is on the design wall before it’s all pieced.

I also decided on the backing fabric and got it all pieced! I have this gray tone-on-tone text fabric that worked really well with all the busy-ness of the top but there wasn’t enough for the whole back so I pulled out my solids bin again and went to work…I love it ❤ Now I need to get it basted so it can wait in line to be quilted :-p

I follow KatyQuilts blog and she frequently posts about quilts she makes with tumbler blocks and how easy they are when cut with the Accuquilt Tumbler die. I’ve almost bought that die about a hundred times and when I saw it was on deep discount last week I went for it!! It arrived on Friday and you know I couldn’t wait to try it out…

It was back to my solids bin (I still can’t seem to get to the bottom of that thing!) I started cutting tumblers from all the scrap pieces and put them up on the wall…

Before I knew it I had enough for a baby size quilt…Yay!! All these beautiful solids look so awesome in this size. I again started playing with layout…and got myself all confused so, as I did with the Framed Out top, I went back to my first layout! Lesson learned – I hope!

Chain piecing the tumbler blocks was a breeze – the die cuts the corners off so it’s super easy to know how to line them up. I can see me using this die A LOT!

Next was trying to figure out what to use for backing. I have two pieces of flannel that are the perfect size but I was stumped which one worked better. The Hello Kitty fabric would be perfect for a little baby…but the gray/green starburst fabric had a bit more sophisticated feel. So I posted on Instagram asking for folks to vote…and the winner is

The gray/green starburst flannel! I was leaning that way myself but it’s nice to hear other opinions! I’ll put this in the ‘basting’ pile and hopefully get it done soon 🙂

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No walking this week…ugh! And I’ve not been keeping up with the blogger who challenged folks to join in with her weight loss efforts…I suck! I haven’t been able to find a program/plan/process that keeps me engaged – BUT – I’m gonna keep looking for one!! 😉

Have a great rest of the weekend…ttfn!

 

Lots of sewing going on

I’ve been working on my new Scrap Attack project for August and it’s really coming together beautifully.

Here’s the project I pulled – this beautiful quilt was made by Cynthia Brunz and I found the instructions for the blocks on her blog

She didn’t have a name for this design so I’m going to call it “Framed Out”. I started by cutting 2.5″ strips from my scraps and then sewed them into 4 strips sets. I then cross-cut them into 2.5″ sets of 4 aquares.

I quickly realized I would also need sets of 2 and 3 squares so I made a few more. I then had to figure out what I would use as the accent fabric for the frames. I have a whole tub of fat quarter solids that doesn’t seem to have a bottom, so I decided to use those. I can get 1 of each block A & B from a single FQ so the frames will be ‘scrappy’ too!

Here’s my first Block A

And here’s what I’ve finished through last night… OH! I am so loving this!!!

I have four more blocks to make – 2 with green frames and 2 with orange – then I’ll have to figure out color placement.

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I had another finish earlier last week…this pattern is called Limelight and it’s free from Benartex. I made my top from Lily and Loom Daisy Delights. I’ve had a half yard bundle of this fabric sitting on the shelf for months and I’ve also had this pattern on my ‘to make’ list for a couple of years. It came together pretty quickly since the pieces are pretty big…and the fabric just sings!!

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Not a lot of walking this week – it’s rained almost every day – but I did get out at least twice. Fingers crossed next week will be better. I follow a blogger who laid down a challenge for others to follow along with her as she posts every day how she’s doing following her eating plan. I jumped on and I’ve been checking in on her blog every day. Hopefully this will be the kick in the ass I need!!

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Have a great rest of the weekend!! ttfn

 

More finishes!!

I took off a few more days this week…since the 4th of July fell on Wed, I added Thur and Fri. The weather here has been so uncomfortably hot & humid, I spent a good part of those days in my sewing room getting things done!

First up, I quilted and bound my Velocity quilt. This was my scrap attack project for July that I started early and now it’s completely done!

These first two pictures are before washing, it was cloudy almost all day yesterday so as soon as I saw the sun peek out I ran outside for pictures, lol

And here it is after washing…LOVE that crinkly goodness!

You may recall I had basted three quilts last week so the next logical thing to work on was that third one – it’s called Piece Out and the pattern is from Missouri Star Quilt Co Block magazine, Fall Vol 3 Issue 5.

I started quilting on it last night with intentions of finishing today…but I got in a groove and the quilting was done before I realized it!

I saved the trimming and binding for today and finished that off this morning. I didn’t have any of the original fabrics left for binding so I searched my FQ stash and found four prints that match pretty nicely to make a scrappy binding!

And that backing fabric is just so pretty, in fact it says that word along with dream, love, bloom, cherish and a few others.

I was about ready to post it for sale on FB when I showed a picture of it to a friend and she bought it!! Wow, that was fast! 🙂

That’s about all for now…have a great rest of your Sunday!

 

Moda Love and more

I finished piecing my Scrap Attack June project and it’s only the 10th of the month – woot woot!! It’s good that I finished early because I’ll be traveling most of next week so there won’t be any sewing time 😦

After I finished making the 36 HSTs for the Moda Love pattern, it was time to square them up…ugh, my least favorite part!! They only needed a little trimmed off but if it’s not done the whole top will be wonky, so I can’t just skip it. There are tools that help make this part a little easier like Bloc Loc rulers and cutting mats that spin – my HSTs were odd sized, 7.5″, so Bloc Loc couldn’t help me. But I do have a spinning cutting mat…however I failed to remember that until after I was done and complained on IG about how much I hate trimming, LOL!!! Next time 😉

Here’s the finished top…now I need to figure out what to use for backing and how I want to quilt it.

I also made a couple of sofa pillows from fabric I thought had beach colors or beach theme. It’s been a while since I’ve made pillow covers but they turned out OK. I used the ‘overlap’ method on the back so I can use different inserts, for these I’ve stuffed in cheap standard sized bed pillows from Walmart – works for now!

I did some quilting on the one on the right, outlining the print to add some texture. I opted not to do any quilting for the one on the left. I have just enough fabric left to make one more of each but will need to use coordinating fabric for the backs.

Here they are in natural light and below you can see the back of one of the pillows. I had to add a button closure because the pillow insert was making the back bulge open. I actually used the button hole foot attachment on my machine to make the hole and to sew on the button! Wow, first time and it worked really well 😀

I also made this cute little pillow below to match a few others I made last year – DH wanted a pillow he could put behind his head so I used a ‘quilt-as-you-go’ method to sew strips to rectangle batting pieces and then sewed them together. I also used the overlap method for the back.

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I completed all my planned runs for Couch to 5k – another woot woot! I finished up Week 3 but decided to do it again because I haven’t been able to finish the last 3 min run interval without stopping 😦

I came really close to finishing that last 3 min run interval on Friday so I’m hoping I can complete it when I run Day 3 later today. Our weather has been pretty hot & humid which I think has been my problem but not gonna let that hold me back!!

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Have a Happy Day! ttfn…

 

Scrap attack and C25K

Now that the focus on the Hands 2 Help challenge has passed, I got back to my May Scrap attack project…and I have a finished top!

The picture on the left is the pattern I chose for the May Scrap attack challenge and my finished top is on the right using my solid fabric scraps. I already know how I want to quilt it but it’ll have to wait it’s turn in line because I have 4 others that need to go first!

I pulled my challenge for June and once again, it’s a FREE pattern! This should go pretty quickly because the pieces are larger.

I still have so many solid scraps/fat quarters I’m going to use solids again for this one; in fact I already have all the pieces cut and the HST marked for sewing!! I altered the size of the blocks just a little because I didn’t have enough background fabric, instead of 10″ blocks mine are 8″. It will still make a nice size throw and I can always add borders to make it bigger 😉

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I’ve been keeping up with the C25K program and I’m really happy about that. I usually listen to upbeat music when I run but I’ve switched it up for the last few weeks by listening to podcasts. And to my surprise, the workout feels like it goes by faster and it doesn’t feel as taxing! I know, I know, it’s all in my head but I’m really loving it right now!

The podcast that I’ve liked the most is called Half Size Me by Heather Robertson and it’s all about sustainable weight loss. Heather lost 150 lbs and has kept it off for 6 years – she’s not a doctor and she’s not selling any products; I really enjoy her style and her message.

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I’m headed back to my sewing room – have a happy day!!! 😀

Stops and starts

No running this week – ugh! It’s rained almost every day and I just couldn’t muster the motivation to get out in it…so I no sooner started up the C25K program and I’ve stopped. The weather forecast shows a chance of heavy rain every day for the next 10 days…wow 😦

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I FINALLY finished up the commissioned tshirt quilt – can I get a Whoop Whoop! I used the left overs from the backing fabric for binding and got DH to hold it up outside for a good natural light photo. The client was extremely happy and didn’t seem phased at all that it took almost 5 months to complete

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I started on my May Scrap Attack project using the design on the left side below. I decided to dip into my bin of solids and I’m using a marbled tan for the center pieces and sashing. This will be a very bright and vibrant baby blanket when finished.

I pulled out my Accuquilt cutter and used the die that came with it which cuts 4.5″ squares…however I ignored the instructions to only cut 6 layers at a time and started folding larger pieces into the squares…ugh! double ugh!! It wasn’t until I started piecing these 9-patches that I noticed something was off. Some of the squares weren’t completely square because all those extra layers of fabric had shifted as I cranked them through the cutter – when will I ever learn not to take short cuts? smh! Needless to say I had to ‘square up’ all my squares, talk about doubling my work 😦

That’s about all for today…ttfn!

Scrap Attack May

I finally got around to pulling my Scrap Attack project for May…not quite sure I’ll actually get around to making it but at least I have the project identified

I found this photo on Pinterest and just now realized it doesn’t link to a valid page so I’ll just need to figure this one out based on the picture…but it’s pretty simple.

It’s a 9-patch quilt, I believe this photo is from Red Pepper Quilts but I can’t find any other Pinterest posts with an active link 😦

Oh wait, after more clicking around I found a link to what appears to be the finished Red Pepper quilt, although it looks different than the picture I saved on Pinterest. I like the setting in the picture above so I’ll go with that.

 

ttfn…

 

UFO finally finished

I’ve had this baby size quilt basted and folded up in a corner for a few months now…yesterday I finally pulled it out, ironed the wrinkles out and finished it off! Woohoo, finishing feels really good…even if it’s not the project I SHOULD be finishing…but hey, that’s another story!

I started this back in December using a Jolly Bar pack from one of the Sew Sampler boxes, it’s nice to have it off my list!

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I made some progress on my commissioned projects: both tops from the wedding dress are done & the backing has been cut to size. I also pieced the backing for the tshirt quilt top…now I just need to basted and quilt them all – ugh!

Here are the baby size tops made from the wedding dress; let me just say, working with this material was a bear…I don’t think I’ll ever take another commission like this again!!

Sorry for the horrible lighting in these pictures, I’ll take better ones when I get them basted. Also, these are not squared up or steamed to remove wrinkles – I’ll do that after they’ve been quilted.

Here’s the fabric for the back – it’s a fleece blanket I found at Home Goods several weeks back – I love how it shimmers in the light!

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I made absolutely no progress on my March ScrapAttack2018 project, in fact I never even started it!! The month really got away from me 😦 I decided to toss that one back in the box and make a new selection for April’s project, it’s called Squares and Strips and it’s another free tutorial – I swear I didn’t make my choices based on that, I’m just getting lucky!!

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There’s been minimal progress on our house in Myrtle Beach – all the cabinets and granite counter tops are in, all the plumbing and light fixtures are in. The next big hurdle will be having the appliances installed and that’s currently scheduled for April 11 – we’ll see if he sticks with that date or has me push it back yet again :-s

We’re supposed to go to a car show in Charleston April 19-22 and I’ll need to go to Myrtle Beach on the way to drop off my fur baby at a friends house. I guess I’ll see with my own eyes how far along we are at that point – and I’ll take more pics then too.

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That’s all for now – I hope you’re having a Happy Easter filled with love & laughter ❤