Monday, February 25, 2013

A Finished Quilt and a donation quilt block and some WINS

Yippee!!
Last week's mail included an Accuquilt GO! Baby Die Cutting machine.  I have the GO! full size, so this will be fun.  I won it on the Friday Facebook Fan contest.  I also got an order from Fabrics N Quilts, which was so pretty, and the box included one of the prizes from SuperSewing Twitter party that Shannon sponsored on Superbowl Sunday.  FUN!  And I was notified that I won a ruler and pattern from World Quilting Day's contest.  There are about 3 more weeks for that, so I do suggest you locate the page on Facebook, and follow their daily blog.

On to the Block.  Victoria from Bumble Beans asked for an Anvil block with a blue background for a quilt.  A man who works in her daughter's school will be undergoing cancer treatments.  I made this block, and hope it's added to the quilt.  I used the sailboat fabric in the center, because I wanted him to think better days were coming, and that he's not alone in this fight.  I hope the knots and ropes are a reminder that he needs to hang on, and that we are all pulling for him.  I hope it's a little thing that keeps him fighting.  Victoria said he's great with the kids.  Since I'm a teacher at heart, anyone who works hard for kids deserves a little support when fighting a battle like cancer. 


Now to the quilt finish.  Last year, I found a great sale on Fat Quarters.  Those are half yard cuts of fabric, cut in half along the fold, so they measure 18" by 22", instead of a normal 1/4 of a yard, which measures 9" by 44".   Sometimes a bundle comes that has unusual fabrics in it.  I wanted to do a black, white and red quilt, in a lap size, but I didn't plan on it being an I Spy theme.  Many of the pieces I got were more novelty prints, rather than my traditional florals.  I decided to play!  I finished the top a few months ago, and it sat waiting for quilting inspiration to strike. 

So, can you find the horseshoes?  Coffee cups and coffee pot?  Little birds?  Butterflies?  Lighthouses?  There are some really fun prints in here, in shades of red, cream, white, grey and black.  I pieced it with Aurifil 50wt, and quilted it with 28wt black, grey and white variegated, also from Aurifil.  I used 50wt in the bobbin for quilting.  The design is my interpretation of a design I saw for long-armers.  Sort of a feather, sort of a wing,  Just funky enough to play with the fun fabrics.  I used an S shape for the borders, which kind of reminds me of those Stella Doro cookies, and did a complimentary design in the corners.  This was FUN!  I played.  I enjoyed it.  It's DONE!! 

 
The backing is a white tone on tone.  Binding is a grey/black floral.  It's listed for sale in my Etsy shop. 
This week's projects will include some alterations on dance school dresses, and the Aurifil block of the month, and quilting the blue and yellow quilt from last week!  Thanks for visiting!
 

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

This Week's Project

Want a look at my design wall?? 

I am using the Vivienne Collection from Timeless Treasures, in blues and yellows to make the new Hole In The Wall Quilt from Quilt In A Day. 

The photo was taken to show the placement to some friends, so I can get different opinions on placement. I love technology!  I mentor Sit and Sew at Enright's (http://enrightsfabric.com/) on Thursdays, and love asking Bernie and Sue for their opinion.  Sometimes the extra eyes notice something, or suggest better color placement.  They are both wonderful with colors!  Paul loves to give opinions, too. 

But this time, I wanted to get the top together before Thursday, so I can pin baste the layers and quilt it over the weekend 


 
The top will be finished tonight, and I will decide tomorrow if I want to add a border.  The quilt will be a really nice lap size, and it's much prettier in person.  It's a very smart idea to take photos of quilts as you go, though.  You can check the placement, check for errors (they show up better in photos than in real life! ) and sharing by text or email is a great way to get the opinions you need on days you can't sew with friends. 
 
That wall space is in my laundry room, which is next to my sewing area.  That plug on the wall is for the iron.  The washer and dryer are directly to the left, with just walking space between the and the wall.  It's tight, but a great place to tack a really cheap flannel backed vinyl tablecloth, and place the blocks.  It works!  It's not perfect, because you really can't step back and see the whole wall, but it's better than laying it on the floor. Taking a picture helps, but again, it's tricky to get a whole quilt this size into a camera frame.  The design wall at Sit and Sew is much better!  Sometimes I actually plan what to make when, just so I can play on that wall! 
 
I'm linking this post up with the Quiltsy Blog Work in Progress.  There is a link on the right for that, and for my store.  This will be listed soon!  Thanks for visiting.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Golden Quilter Awards

Golden Quilter Awards 2013

The Polls are open!  Go vote for your favorite Quilter, Teacher, Author, product, etc.  It's fun, and you can win prizes.  Give yourself a few moments, and choose your favorites. 

Help SewCal Gal recognize the leaders in the Quilting industry, and make it better for everyone! 

Voting is open through February 28, 2013.  SewCal Gal put tons of work into this, and has some great prizes.  Please support her efforts, and your favorite quilters!  Have fun!

Click on the gold machine picture to the right of this post for an easy link to the fun!

Or click here:
http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2013/02/2013-golden-quilter-awards-voting.html

Thanks for your time!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

What a Day!

First, here's the finish! 
Zig A Zag by Eleanor Burns is a great pattern. If you like using strip packs (or 2 1/2" strips of your own fabric) and want something modern and trendy, this makes the perfect lap throw, and can be adapted for different sizes.  Her instructions are perfect! 

Here's my version.  I used a Viola strip pack (YUMMY) by Island Batiks, as well as cream strips from Meringue by Timeless Treasures, plus some really pretty batik yardage I had. 

The finished quilt measures 66 by 73 inches.  It's so soft and the colors are so pretty.  I loved making it. 

I used Aurifil 50wt Mako in a beautiful silvery grey, 2600, that absolutely melted into the seams.  The color was perfect to use in this quilt.  With all the colors in the top, you can't see the thread in the seams.  I really do love piecing with Aurifil.  The top was quilted with Superior's King Tut thread, in a blue variagated, but I did use Aurifil 2315, a perfect match to the back, in the bobbin.  5 bobbins used in the quilting alone.  The zig zags are accented with a leaf and vine design, and I quilted feathers in the borders. 
 
 
Close up of the colors.  Sweet!
 
 
 
Other news today:  It snowed again.  Oh, wait, that's not news in the Pocono Mountains! It's a daily happening sometimes.  This week, we've had a new dusting every day, so we're about up to 4 inches, and will be getting more before the weekend.  The light stuff is fine with me.  I just need to sweep the deck, but not shovel the drive.  The first warm day will melt most of it. 
 
I got an email that I won another Fat Quarter bundle from Windham, so I'll post pictures when I get it.  I also got an email that I won a quilting E-book using Fat Quarters.  Perfect, right??  Then I found out two of my bids on the Operation Homefront auction by SewCal Gal won, too.  So, I better get more quilts done with all these great fabrics coming in!  Better stop at Pocono Sew and Vac, too, to get more Aurifil.