One Thing, One Week Challenge

This past week I joined up with Amy's Creative Side to participate in her One Thing, One Week Challenge.  It's great motivation to pick just one thing to work on for the week! 

I decided that I wanted to get a healthy start on my Forms of a Dress mini art quilt as I've been stuck in the get ideas, sketch, and play with fabric stage for too long.  I am so excited to report that I made leaps and bounds this past week! 

I'll let the pictures do the talking! 

I'm really looking forward to the finishing touches this week, quilting it lightly and binding... too cool for school man!!  In fact, I will probably be finishing this up during the Friday Night Sew In!

Won't you join us in signing up to sew the night away?  There are prizes involved!!

Wednesday WIP {With a little football on the side}

Another good sewing week!!

 

--FINISH--

Love Upon A Star -- you can see the posts here and here!

(Star quilt-a-longs by Melissa at Happy Quilting and Sparkle Punch quilt-a-long by Oh, Frannson!)

 

 

 

--IN PROGRESS--

Private Swap with Megan from Silver Threads of Happiness -- Almost done :)

Name Game Swap -- due by 15 March

I have assembled the background and have a full sketch of what I'm thinking.  Loving it so far!

 

 

--NO PROGRESS--

Forms of a Dress -- due 21 February

Yes, I need to get moving on this one!

Spinning Starlets {English Paper Piecing} -- a.k.a. I've reached a new level of crazy!

Following along with the Block Party at Selfsewn; creating Rose Stars.  I've cut out a third starlet and you can read about my overall experience with English Paper Piecing!

--ON PAUSE-- 

Laughing Leaves with Frieda Anderson

More of the project can be seen here.  Can't wait to roll up my sleeves and dig back in!  You can also check out what I learned about using fusible in an art quilt!

{Your're My Sunshine}: Bottled Rainbows {ticker tape quilt-along}

Still no deadline for this one.  The way things are going, maybe I pick this up once my show pieces are done?

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 7
New Projects: 0 (so glad I'm working on my current stuff)

Finished Projects: 1 (Wish Upon a Star!)
Total WiP's: 6 (down one!)

 

And here's a little hint of where I was yesterday.  It's a loud video.. prepare for horns honking, yelling, and a rowdy crowd!  Such an amazing time!!  I will probably do a full NY Giants Victory parade post toward the end of the week.

 

 

 

Love Upon a Star {Emotional Finish!}

So, as you might already know... I did it!!  I managed to finish Love Upon a Star and doll it up to be gifted!  It was hands down, one of my most emotional quilts ever (the Mister would agree). 

The good, the bad, the ugly:

I fought through a sewing machine issue, my thread was doing weird stuff, the quilt wasn't squaring,

I had to make my binding twice, and the second binding was still a smaller width than I wanted.  What was I thinking cutting 1 and 3/4 instead of 2 inches?  And all the while I was up against a time constraint that seemed to be laughing in my face.   

...and then the final straw came when I pulled the quilt fresh from the dryer (two hours later than I was hoping to finish) and the brown flannel that I used as my background had pilled -- you know those oh so not attractive little white fuzz balls?  tears.

Tears, like Niagara Falls, baby.  Oh sweet quilting faeries save me.  Quilting moments don't get any more raw than that.  It felt like a serious dose of, "I'masuckyquilter."

At this point, my poor husband is not sure what the heck is going on.  All he can see is my balling my eyes out and a beautiful quilt made with beautiful healing intention, for a beautiful person.  

He asks what's wrong.  I tell him that the flannel pilled and a seam busted open.  He doesn't even know what pilling is.  He reassures me that it looks incredible and tells me that he thought I bought fancy fabric that was supposed to antique with a wash. 

Isn't he amazing? 

I dried my tears, dabbed a cold wash cloth on my face, and nuzzled the puppy.   Best medicine ever!  As I was pulling myself together I decided I was just too close to this project which is why I could only see it's every flaw.  I needed to just trust myself, fold the dang thing up... tie on pretty ribbon and believe it would all be ok.

And honestly nothing could have prepared me for what came next.  You see, this quilt was made to go live with my Mom (in love) who is recovering from a surgery, hence the healing intentions.  I hand her the folded bundle all nervous and worried that it won't measure up to how incredible she is, but you know... she simply bursts with joy.  She kisses and embraces me.  She may have even been holding tears back.  I know I was. 

It felt great. 

The Mister was right.  It wasn't about perfect quilting.  It was about caring, connecting, and emotion through stitches. 

It was about a warm quilt that would stand in for us and give her constant hugs and warmth when we can't be there.  It's about reminding her that she is our rock and how very much we love her. 

And that's where the name came from.  Love Upon a Star... and if you love upon all the stars... well, that's a lot of love, isn't it?

This quilt has been an emotional journey.  But now that I am on the other side... I am so glad I stuck with it. 

I know it will be treasured.

And I know I found a way to say I love you more than I ever could through words, and I believe even more now in the power of quilting and seriously how therapeutic it can be for the maker and the receiver. 

The end.

p.s.  I will be sharing this with some of the linky parties on my side bar and especially at Fabric Tuesday with Quilt Story.  I hope my story urges someone else to share love through stitches too -- it's rewarding beyond the ends of the universe and back!

I Can Hardly Believe It...

...the stars quilt is done!  Quilted, binding on, in the wash, as I type!!  Whohohoooohohooo!!  Here's a teaser and I'll show you all once it's delivered to it's new home!

Oh, and yes, I changed the name of this quilt one last time.  It was "Wish Upon a Star".... but late last night it hit me.... and it will now be called "Love Upon a Star!"   Final answer!! 

Hope you are having a beautiful day!

Happy Moment #47: Getting Flowers

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too.

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

Grounddog Day {Zoomies in the Snow}

In honor of Groundhog day and Punksatony Phil's prediction of six more weeks of winter... I thought another video of the pups in the snow was in order -- let's call it GroundDOG day!!

Useless trivia... did you know that Phil (the groundhog) full name is actually "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinaire?"   Ya, say that five times fast!

Anyway, nothing quite like watching the dogs do zoomies in the snow.  Sammy is the lead runner and Katie loves to chase.  (and I do talk a bit in this one... in case you want to turn your volume down)

And if you are following my sewing adventures.. then can I get a whhhohohooooo! that I finished piecing the Wish Upon a Star quilt top last night!!  Y seams, and math, and lots and lots of sewing.... but it looks fantastic!  Tonight, I baste and begin quilting.  Yes.  I'm still trying to have this one finished for Saturday.  It's going to be close!!

Wednesday WIP {A Lot of Secrecy}

I feel like I have a lot of secrets going on right now... can't wait to show it all to you!

--IN PROGRESS--

Forms of a Dress -- due 14 February

This is my first guild challenge!  I am finding myself sketching and re-sketching, and I have my final design ready.  Next step is to begin layering fabric!  Starting this one on Sunday!

Spinning Starlets {English Paper Piecing} -- a.k.a. I've reached a new level of crazy!

Following along with the Block Party at Selfsewn; creating Rose Stars.  I finished my second one and you can also see my post about my overall experience with English Paper Piecing!

Private Swap with Megan from Silver Threads of Happiness

I am starting the second part of the surprise.  Closer to shipping my box!   

Name Game Swap -- due by 15 March

We are swapping a mini quilt that uses the name of our swap partner in the quilt.  Cool, no?  I have gotten my partner's information, snooped around for ideas and inspirations, pulled a bunch of fabrics, adjusted my stack, finished my sketch and I am ready to begin putting fabric to batting.  My only hint will be that it's going to start with some ticker tape quilting!

Wish Upon A Star -- star quilt-a-long by Melissa at Happy Quilting and Sparkle Punch quilt-a-long by Oh, Frannson!

Great progress on this over the the last week... and you may notice that I added a new type of star.  I kept seeing the Sparkle Punch quilt-a-long by Elizabeth at Oh, Frannson and couldn't resist.  Besides mixing star types got my mojo going and helped me figure out what I want to do. 

I am working at a frantic pace to finish by Saturday and will reserve further photos (to keep this a surprise) until it's done!  And did you know that this is the first time I've done anything (purposely) wonky... what fun!! 

--ON PAUSE-- 

Laughing Leaves with Frieda Anderson

More of the project can be seen here.  Can't wait to roll up my sleeves and dig back in!  You can also check out what I learned about using fusible in an art quilt!

{Your're My Sunshine}: Bottled Rainbows {ticker tape quilt-along}

Still no deadline for this one.  The way things are going, maybe I pick this up once my show pieces are done?

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 7
New Projects: 0 (might add one next week)

Finished Projects: 0
Total WiP's: 7

And a dose of Katie and Sammy antics --a typical scene straight from my sewing room....

If I were to narrate it would go something like this...

Sammy, "Trying to catch my tail... gotta get that tail"

Katie, "Hahaha, wouldn't it be funny if I stuck my nose in the shot.  I'm so funny"

Sammy, "Hey... get your nose outta my shot.  This is a video about meeeee!"

My Experience with English Paper Piecing

I'm ready to dish on my my English Paper Piecing experience to date and will either push you over the edge into trying it or send you running for the hills. 

Please note, this isn't a tutorial.  There are lots of good tuts already written.  My favorites are by Selfsewn and Sunshine's Creations; they're great to get you going!  Or feel free to leave your own favorite tutorial in the comments.  What I'd really like to do is de-mystify this technique and let you in that it's not as terrifying as it sounds. 

Paper piecing breaks down into about five steps:

1.  Cutting out your paper template

I originally thought, oh ya right, like I'm going to take the time to cut out paper and then fabric.  I mean that's twice the work, right?  But seriously... cutting out the paper is so darn fast and really reminded me how much I enjoy other crafty stuff. 

My Tips: remember to use paper scissors on the paper... not your good fabric scissors and I used a zipper top plastic baggy to catch my cutout pieces as I'm cutting to keep them safe.

2.  Auditioning and cutting out fabrics for each template piece.

You cut your fabric with an extra 1/4 seam beyond the paper template.  Did I mention you can use scraps?  It so cool to think that you can make something so pretty from so little fabric with this particular pattern.  Really makes me feel like I am giving those little scraps an amazing home!!

*Confession... I iron as little as possible with any of my quilting projects, so for my first starlet I skipped ironing the fabric scraps and went straight to cutting, but... don't do that.

My Tips: it's so much easier to cut and baste the pieces if the fabric is ironed first!  Lesson learned... the hard way!

3. Basting your fabric to the templates

My original thought was that this step was felt like sewing the fabric twice, but after some practice this goes so fast!  And I understand now that this is really just to help the pieces keep their shape before you start to join them.

So fun to see a rowdy stack of fabric bits transform into a groomed stack of shapes waiting for assembly!  This is when I can really begin to visualize how great it's going to be.

4. Sewing your pieces together

I know.. hand sewing?  Feels so 1900's.  But, I had an unexpected connection to the history behind all this and it's thrilling to know that this is how quilting was done back then.  

Very deep!  And it made me think about all the time that went into this craft.

5.  Admiring the precision of your joints and your completed work!  And repeat.

Reasons Paper Piecing is So Cool!

• It's a great way to use scraps!
• It's portable -- and here is a look at the kit I carry with me.  That is a leather-like envelope type pouch, with little scissors, a needle and piece of batting to hold it, and I use bobbins to carry a bit of my basting and sewing thread.  Easy to throw it in whatever bag I am carrying.

• It gets a lot more natural and quick with a little practice.  By the time I was through my first starlet I had stopped poking myself with the needle and my speed is way more than triple
• The accuracy of the seams and joint is really stunning to behold
• Finger pressing the folds (using the heat of your fingers as an iron) while basting is one of my favorite parts

And there you have it.  So, by now you've guessed that I like it enough to do two of them and I have my eyes set out on a third.  How many am I going to make?  No clue yet.  Might go for a table runner... may go for a wall hanging.  I'll let the pieces tell me when they are done.

Now, go to the Rose Star Block Party Flickr group and get yourself started!!

I'm going to share this with Quilt Story at Fabric Tuesday, From the Blue Chair for Slash the Stash, and other weekly parties on my sidebar too!

A Weekend Ramble

Oh Monday... I sat down to share a few words with you and have ended up writing tomrrow and Wednesday's stories.  Sigh.  But what to do about today's blank canvas?  Perhaps a little ramble about the weekend?

Our weekend followed a slow, quiet, easy pace that seemed to be so needed. 

There was lots of sunlight pouring through the windows and I admit that I have a hard time resisting my sewing area while there are streams of light to soak in!

The ground froze again, leaving lots of doggy evidence captured in frozen mud to be checked out.  Both Sammy and Katie took turns sniffing their own prints as I snapped a few pictures. 

That's Sammy's nose, ear, and paw sneaking in this snap.

Here's the print without a nosey dog in the shot.  Have I told you I'm a sucker for tracks?  They are a great reminder of how we are all connected through the same shared spaces. 

This particular track is from Katie.  Shown here with her serious face. 

I laughed a million and one times due to the antics of one nine month old white puppy.  She's fearless, always learning, and getting so big these days! 

And thankfully, she is still thinking of herself as a lap dog.  I'm not sure if I will find that cute as she grows beyond 60lbs, but I do relish the fact that she wants to snuggle in my arms!!

And this sums up the rest.  When we weren't outside in the sun, hiking or sewing, we were resting. 

Hope you feel refreshed and sparky as we head into a new week!!