Get it Finished {February}

It's time to set my goal for February for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  This is a year long activity and is hosted by Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts and Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs. 

Participating in A Lovely Year of Finishes means that each month I will pick one project (can be new or something already started) and vow to finish the task within that month.  I'm looking forward using this as a motivator to better plan out what I want to work on.  I find myself sometimes sitting in my craft/sewing room and willy nilly picking up pieces and making progress, but not finishing things.  I will still allow myself to flit between projects, but this also gives me a sense of focus and urgency for at least one piece a month.

This month I would like to finish sewing, quilting and mail a completed quilt for Hurricane Sandy people in need.  I now have all the pieces trimmed and am ready to get this one off the to do list and off to a new loving family!

This is what the other Hurricane Sandy quilt looked like.  Only this time I have the coolest backing with little macaroons on it.  It's going to be super!

January Finish!

So, at the beginning of the month, I talked about a Lovely Year of Finishes... and I'm so excited to report that I met my goal for January.  I came in nearly right to the wire finished two nights ago, but I'm so happy to see this one to the finish line.

I started January with this design up on the wall. 

Each piece was lop-sided and needed to be trimmed to 4 inches square to tidy things up.  What a lot of trimming... but it seriously made all the difference in the world when I pieced everything together!

And.... Ta Da!  It's pieced.   Setting this goal helped me realize that if I trimmed and pieced just a few rows a week I would be done in no time.  And to my delight, that approach worked very nicely!

Here's the top folded after ironing.  It's so nice to see it all come together.  

A closer look at it sewn up on the design wall again.

And an up close of the razzle dazzle center.  

My plans for this top are to turn it into a hawk quilt.  I know, you're looking at this thinking what does this have to do with a hawk.  But stick along, and you'll see!

Quilt #1 for Hurricane Sandy Peeps

It's finished!!  Quilt #1 for a family affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I also talked about this quilt here and here.  I merely pieced the blocks and finished off the quilting/binding.  And then gave it it's first fluff up wash and send it off to be distributed.  Delightful isn't it?

The wonky log cabin blocks were made by Max in Kansas, Susan in New Jersey, and Marry Kay in Arizona.  Thank you ladies for showing your quilty-spirit and demonstrating how even a small effort can go a long way in comforting someone!!

I volunteered to assemble one more quilt and have received the last blocks I was waiting for.  Looking forward to the meditative process of piecing the blocks into rows and creating another giant hug to share!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Get it Finished {January}

I ran across a goal setting idea that I really liked.  It's called A Lovely Year of Finishes.  This will be a year long activity and is hosted by Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts and Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs. 

Participating in A Lovely Year of Finishes means that each month I will pick one project (can be new or something already started) and vow to finish the task within that month.  So, for the year you will see me declare what I will be trying to accomplish each month.  I'm looking forward using this as a motivator to better plan out what I want to work on.  I find myself sometimes sitting in my craft/sewing room and willy nilly picking up pieces and making progress, but not finishing things.  I will still allow myself to flit between projects, but this also gives me a sense of focus and urgency for at least one piece a month. 

To kick things off, I would like finish trimming and piecing these half square triangles.  They are units that came from making this quilt.  I've had them sitting around my space for nearly a year now and am ready to turn these it to something awesome.  The good news is that I have arranged them several times and finally settled on this design.  The bad news?  They are all a bit mis-shaped and wonky.  Not sure why.  But, in order for them to be assembled with some precision I have decided to trim them down to 4 inches square.  With a total of 140 squares... that's a lot of trimming! 

I admit I have already managed to trim and piece the first two rows --- whohohooo!  I'd like to see this become the hawk quilt that's been floating around in my head and sketch pads for months.  Don't see a hawk in there?  Don't worry... we'll take it one step at a time and see it through.  My hope is that I will be able to submit this to both my art show at work as well as my quilt guilds annual quilt show.  Time to roll up my sleeves and get 'er done!

What are you focusing on this month?

Small Works

I'm excited to finally be showing you the two small works I created recently.  I created them for a call for entry from my quilt guild and the Katonah Museum of Art.  Yes, after being juried, these have the chance to not only be displayed in a museum of art, but to also be sold.  I'm pinching myself!!  And I admit they were really fun to create. 

Both quilts were mounted on 6x6 canvases.  I also finished the edges of the canvas with fabric and ribbon.

And, yes, those are small pieced crosses.  The pieces finished to 1/2 inch -- wow!  And then it's hand quilted.  I seriously must be nuts.  And it's possible that I'm getting the make small quilts bug.

I'll keep you posted on whether or not they are accepted.  My fingers are crossed. 

Sandy Blocks are Coming Together

I was excited to find Sandy blocks in the mailbox!  So far I've received blocks from Beverly, Max, and Susan... I've trimmed the blocks and am beginning to layout and assemble quilt #1.

This is going to be a really cool quilt!

Quilts for Sandy with Quilting Gallery

Welcome back to Me!  November has been a full month to say the least:

::  We had a storm or two roll through
::  I am still working through medical things for the Mister (sending healing would be awesome)
::  I have kept busy fingers on many little projects -- can't wait to show you over the next few weeks
::  Thanksgiving was lovely and I enjoyed lots of family time!

I've also been puzzling out how to lend a hand to help heal the NY/NJ/CT area from all the chaos that Sandy created.  I had one of those moments where I know I have gifts to share and I want to.  I am openly acknowledging (to the universe) that I am here to help somehow and I will.  So, after looking around a bit I decided to join in the efforts at Quilting Gallery.

Here's a snip from Michele's call for help on her Sandy Block Drive:

"I know many of us are devastated by what we’ve seen in the news as a result of super storm Sandy. My heart goes out to all of those affected. I also know that many quilters are wondering what they can do to help. With that in mind, I’m organizing my first-ever Quilt Block Drive and I hope you’ll join in and help out too."

Michele is organizing quilt volunteers into block makers and team leaders.  I've raised my hand to be a team leader and assemble, quilt, and bind two quilts.  Exciting and nerve-wrecking... I'll just remember to transfer all this energy in to healing-loving thoughts for the quilt recipients. 

If you're interested feel free to jump over to Quilting Gallery and read about the effort.  We quilters know that many hands makes light work... and we also know what it feels like to wrap yourself in a quilt and know everything will work out. 

I look forward to seeing the blocks trickle in, so I can begin assembling them.  I will be sure to share bits of the journey along the way!

Also, thank you for the notes to say hi and see how I am -- means a lot to be missed!  We're fine here; the break from blogging was welcome and at the same time it feels good to be back!!  We'll catch up more over the next two weeks!

Dogs on Quilts & Dog Art Quilt

I've finally got my act together and am ready to enter the Pet's on Quilts Show hosted by the lovely Lily Pad Quilting! 

Girls are you ready?  Perk up and look lively!! 

Here we go!  If we are meeting for the first time I'd like to say welcome and I'm so glad you've come!  So are the girls!! 

Katie and Sammy are two high energy, quilt loving, golden retrievers.  Katie is on the left, she's a little over 5 years old.  And Sammy is just a pup coming in at a little over 1 year old.  They are posing for you today on my most recent finish, the Rainbow quilt, which I admit is getting a ton of use even in the summer. 

For the Dog Themed 'Art' Quilt category, I am also debuting my whole cloth painted quilt.  I think I am going to call this one "Puppy  Dreams," but don't say I didn't warn you that the name might change a million more times. 

Yes, you guessed it, that's Sammy in fabric and paint!!  I have to say that I am totally in love with this new process and the freedom of multimedia!  

It all started with the introduction to painting on fabric through an event that was hosted by my Art Quilt special interest group.  It was honestly one of those moments in a lifetime that you feel a spark ignite and all you want to live for is for painting on fabrics. 

Ok, so maybe it wasn't that strong, but I did pretty much order my own set of fabric paints within a week and then got to work.  I decided to start with a picture I took of Sammy for a challenge called "Darling" issued through the Creative Tuesday Co-op.  If you want to be inspired or to feed a need to continuously create, then I highly recommend the group!!  

Once I was satisfied with how Sammy looked, I heat set the paint and got to work on adding fur texture through quilting.  I admit the quilting was a bit nerve-wrecking, but I am so pleased with the results!

Even with the quilting progressing nicely, I still had to do something with the plain white background.  You see Sammy embodies puppy hood... never stopping, runs everywhere, she's loud, she adores toys, and I might even venture to say that hiking and swimming are her favorite things to do.  So, I needed a background to match her personality.

Here's a close up of raw edge appliqued green fabric to create a mossy ground.  The texture is finished off with more free motion quilting and a few dabs of paint for drama.

I also added bits of raw wool roving in blues and greens to create the effect of the wind swirling around her.  The last touch was to cut those flowers out of white lace, tack them on, put a pearl bead in the middle, and then a touch of orange to help them pop.

Yes, I really enjoyed bringing this quilt to life!  And I'm happy to be sharing it with you today too!

And because I couldn't resist just one more picture of our little ham.  Here is one more of Sammy from my instagram feed.  I'm @cwiltex if you want to follow along there.

It was a pleasure to have you over!  Wishing you sunshine and endless creativity!

Rainbow Quilt {All Finished}

I'm so bad.  I can't believe I left you hanging like that.  And teasing you with the likes of quilting the Rainbow quilt, and talking about how it's done, but then skipping right to the using it part and not taking photos.  If anything it's just a testament to how much I'm enjoying this finish. 

Here is a quick photo of the quilt before I threw it in the wash for the first time.  Always a nerve wrecking moment!

An up close look at the flower quilting. ~love!~

And the moment we've all be waiting for.... here is what the ticker tape quilting looks like after one run through the wash.  I'm totally digging the soft frilled edges of the scraps!



I did have a bit of thread cutting once it came out of the dryer, but it's totally worth the effort.  Did I mention it's soft?

So many colors and so many memories all wrapped into one.  Nearly each scrap holds dear memories for me and reminds me of past projects.

I can already see it's going to be the perfect throw around quilt for the summer.  It would be easy to take it to the beach or throw an impromptu picnic.

The back of the quilt features a sheet from when I was a kid.  The sheet is so tender and soft and really adds to the memories contained in the fibers.

A better look at the reverse flower quilting.  Yes, I quilted this one upside down and traced the flowers for my quilting pattern.  It's a technique I definitely see myself using again on a future quilt.

See what I mean about the picnic potential?  I'll bring the sun tea... all we need is chips and salsa.  And yes, I'm one of those that really use a quilt to bits.  This particular beauty had coffee on it (courtesy of one small blonde puppy) within hours of it leaving the dryer. 

And more proof that it's already well employed and being loved. 

Hope you're off to a great start to the week.  Now, go hug a quilt you love and think about all the stitchy love that went into creating it!

WIP {Basting & Quilting the Rainbow Quilt}

Well, I got around to picking the backing for the scrappy rainbow quilt and ended up using a colorful flower sheet from my childhood.  My Mom had saved it for me and we talked about how it would make a nice quilt back.  And I think she was totally right.  The white in the sheet also helps balance out the intense amount of color on the front.  As a bonus it's so very soft from all the washing and use!

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

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 9
New Projects: 0

Finished Projects: 0 (almost done with bottled rainbows)

Total WiP's: 9

I decided to finish this quilt a little different than normal.  A little easier even.  I put the right sides of the quilt and the backing together and then stitched around the edge leaving a portion unsewn. 

The unsewn part is then used as a hole to turn the quilt right sides out.  I sttiched a 1/4 seam all the way around and closed up that hole.  For the life of me I can't think of the name for this!  But, it means that the quilt edge is finished now and I will not be adding binding which is perfect because my lack of ability to settle on a binding color/fabric was keeping me from finishing this one.

Then, I was off to add a bit of quilting.  Since the front is so busy I was also experiencing paralysis in deciding how to quilt this one.  Then it struck me.  Turn the quilt over and trace the flowers in the quilting.  The organic shape of the flowers and wide spacing should help soften the harsh square lines of the front.  Sometimes I really surprise myself!

I settled on an off white thread for the front and put that in the bobbin since the quilt is upside down and I am using a bright turquoise on the back.

I'm a little more than half way now and head over heels for the result.  Here is a closer look at the blue outlining I am doing on the daisies; cool, right?  And yes, I have snuck a few looks at the front and it's pretty cool too.  My last touch may be to add a quote or happy saying around the edge of the quilt, but I'm still deciding on that one.  Any ideas on a quote you would capture on a bright quilt like this?

...and I still can't wait to throw this one in the wash and see how the edges of the scraps on the front soften up. 

Don't you just love it when a quilt can excite you this much?  Sew on!

Happy Moment #53: Prepping For the Quilt Show

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single (or a few) 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

Wednesday Work in Progress {Bottled Rainbows}

I'm finally getting back to my sewing machine.  And I thought it would be nice to ease in with a project that has been a waiting for me  for a long long time.  I would like to reintroduce you to the Bottled Rainbows quilt along sponsored by Stitched in Color.

Am I the only one who hasn't finished this one yet?  Come on... I know there must be others, right?

Well, either way.  It's back and I'm madly in love with the project again.  Here is the deep tangerine block.  I love spending time with the scraps, figuring out where I want everything, pinning them, and then sewing them down.

There was a lovely day this past weekend that I spent outside in the sunshine working with my scraps.  Darn near heaven!!

The girls thought it was divine too!  Here is Katie snoozing.

Sammy slept a wink here and there, but spent most of her time chasing ants and bugs and in general trying to devise a way to get her paws on my scraps.

Isn't that fox just adorable?

Once in awhile something interesting stirred the pups to move around. 

But I melted when I saw where Katie decided to rest her head.  Awww!!!

These two can be the best quilting buddies ever sometimes.  What more could a girl want besides sunshine, pups, and fabric?

Here is the lavender block.  I didn't have as many scraps that perfectly matched this color, but I decided that wasn't going to hold me back.  I think that was what stopped me the last time. 

So, in the hopes of finishing this quilt up over the next month or so, I pushed through and decided that as long as it complimented ... it would be used.  And I love it!

I also never really appreciated the portability of being able to pick, cut, and place fabrics away from my sewing machine.  And then later sew everything down.

Here are the four I have completed and sewn.  Although, somebody (no naming names.... rhymes with Whammy) thought it would be funny to run and slide through my squares.  Puppies!!

Here is a more proper picture of the four. 

I have the lavender one nearly sewn down and I am starting in on fuchsia after that.  I am still trying to come up with the name of this quilt, but am just enjoying this project again ... and that's what quilting is all about, right?

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

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 5
New Projects: 0

Finished Projects: 2 (The Lake and Sunrise -- finished pictures coming soon!)

Total WiP's: 3