On the first day of the new year, I decided it was time for me to finish the blocks for the 70273 project. I felt like a slug for taking so long to finish them-I started in March thinking I would do 31 for each day of the month. Between March and the New Year, I’ve done 35… I mailed them out today to Jeanne. Go check out her Facebook page 70273 campfire to find out more about this incredible project she has taken on to commemorate all the mentally and physically disabled people that were executed/gassed by Hitler and his army.
This year, I actually gifted a quilt in time for Christmas. I started it in late August with hopes of getting it done quickly for a friend that was having multiple foot surgeries. I chose to do a big plus quilt using some Denise Schmidt (the JoAnne’s line) fabrics in his favorite colors of orange and blue. I did manage to finish it by Christmas and before he has to go back to work.
This is my most modern finish to date. I fortunately finished it back in January (right before I volunteered to make slipcovers for styrofoam blocks that my daughter’s winter guard team was using in their show; I’ve barely sewn anything since then.) I had planned to make a Harry Potter quilt for her because she was quite the HP fanatic when she was in 3rd grade but she had her heart set on the green Echino bicycles and triangles.
I had to squeeze some typewriters on the back because my daughter loves to write; they were too big to fit into the triangles on the front.
My friend, Loanne Wheeler, did a really nice big loopy orange peel design when she quilted it. I tried so hard to quilt this one on my own but my machine was having none of it. I love the bright linen fabrics I was able to use in this quilt. Linen wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be.
So I finished this last summer but was never too happy with the pictures of it but have decided that I’m never going to get better photos of it with my camera. I think this is my favorite quilt that I have made to date. This quilt is kind of a letter to my daughter on growing up-I stuck raw appliquéd words in reminding her to play, twirl, dance, dream, imagine, create, smile, giggle and laugh–important pursuits for every little girl. I used up quite a bit of my low volume stash that I had accumulated from Westwood Acres. The panels and some of the fabrics are from a Cori Dantini line that I absolutely fell in love with and couldn’t leave the store without. Of course, I rounded it all out with some favorites from Art Gallery. Even though it uses panels and has many traditional elements and muted colors, I feel like it has a lot of modern elements –the scrappy dresden, the mod flowers on the improv pieced background (see bottom pic to the right), the improv log cabin hexagon.
The back of Bee’s quilt has the leftover flying geese, her initials, a bee that I wasn’t able to fit into the front and extra girlies (I kind of went overboard when I bought them–I even gave 3 to my longarmer).
If my daughter ever decides that she doesn’t want this quilt, I am definitely taking it back.
I’ve been contemplating 2015 for the past few days and in looking back over 2014, I felt like I was constantly running here and there and always feeling a little disappointed. I’ve decided this year i am going to Savor-savor the time I have with my kids, savor the time that I get to sew, savor the time I have with my family, savor time with friends no matter how fleeting that time is.
2014 was the year my oldest graduated from her children’s theatre. I sobbed big ugly tears during that last cast party. She graduated 8th grade. She started high school band and color guard; I had been warned that it was a huge time suck but truly did not realize just how much a commitment it was (not only on her part but also my part). It’s been a difficult year-I left the warm embrace of parents that I had gotten to know over the past 5 years in the children’s theatre group to enter this huge band parent community where I have just felt lost. There were competitions every weekend during the fall and when we weren’t doing that, we were going to my son’s football and baseball games there rest of the weekend. Needless to say. my sewing time was limited.
I would love to say that I took full advantage of that sewing time and made beautiful projects or at the least, had fun. I set myself up for disappointment this year by joining 2 online quilting bees though; this took up all my free time. I finally gave up on doing the Sew Kitschy Sew Along around the same time I probably stopped posting here. It was all I could do to keep up with the bees. One probably shouldn’t join 2 bees the first time they finally decide to give quilting bees a try. The Stash Bee was wonderful-everyone was so good about completing their blocks and just being nice.
As a complete contrast, the Instagram bee has not been so delightful. 3 girls dropped out which was disappointing but they had life problems that got in the way and they dropped out before anyone ever had to make them a block so I really have no complaints about that. Of course, the women that dropped out had September, November and this month (January)–my month was December so I offered to take November so that we could finish the bee up and leave everyone stress-free for the holidays. I received a block from 1 person in November. Another girl just had a baby and I told her not to worry about getting me a block. I received a block from one other bee mate in December. I’ve made blocks for the 3 people that dropped out. I have yet to receive a block or even an email or Instagram tag from the other 5 women. One of those women sold her book on Instagram back in October-at first, I thought I might be getting a block really early but now I think I am wrong. I have been on an emotional roller coaster about this stupid bee ever since October. So here’s the thing how long I should wait until I call it and accept the fact that these women will not be sending me a block? I know no one made me make blocks for these women, no one made me send an OOP B&C fat quarter to one because she really needed it, no one made me cut up my AMH fat quarter for another’s block, no one made me go through my scraps and send cute little novelty fabric to the woman that was expecting her first grandchild…but I’m kind of disappointed that I haven’t even received an e-mail saying “Hey Laura, sorry but I’m just not going to get that block done for you.” I really expected more common courtesy from these women but then maybe I expect too much. Sigh…(deep breaths).
Anyways, enough whining! This year (and maybe forever) no bees with people I don’t know. My sewing time this year is going to be ALL ABOUT ME!!!! (after I finish baby girl’s and oldest daughter’s quilts, that is :). To that end, I have purchased some lovely fabrics from Hawthorne Threads and my LQS:
That top right AMH is voile–absolutely Luscious. I had no idea that voile was that heavenly.
and I plan to complete some lovely quilts to hang on the quilt ladder that my daddy finished for me for Christmas:
The quilt on my ladder is a birthday gift from my mother–I love it!
So here’s to more posting this year. I should have Lil Bee’s quilt done soon–I am anxious to share it. Happy New Year!
My hubs kept reminding me that I told him in February that I should have his quilt done in a week. It seems that signing up for 2 online quilting bees (and doing the Sew Kitschy BOM) is a little more demanding than I anticipated. I have been trying to get my bee blocks out of the way early in the month but allergies/sinus headaches, etc. have been getting in the way. Last time he asked about his quilt, I told him that I might be able to finish it if I had a second machine because then I would have one all set up for quilting and the other could be used for piecing…..he laughed.
So anywho, here is what I have done in the meantime:
Trellis Crossroads block for @debzlou in the Modern InstaBee
Trellis Crossroads block for my Sampler version of the Modern InstaBee blocks
A dotty Dresden for Michele for the April StashBee. I love this one-it was hard to send this one off:)
And now, are you ready? I FINISHED HUBS’ QUILT!! I’ll be honest, I hemmed and hawed for quite some time once I had it basted. I was really worried that trying to quilt such a heavy quilt was going to ruin my poor little Singer sewing machine and/or the t-shirts in his quilt. Finally, I decided to ask the lovely ladies in my traditional guild if I was just being ridiculous or if I should send the quilt out to a longarmer. Of course, one gave me a pep talk that I could do it and one agreed that t-shirt quilts were heavy and I probably should send it out. So, just as I was about to go ahead and at least make an attempt to quilt it, a third lady, LoAnne, invited me over to her house to quilt it with her on her long arm. Of course, I was over the moon. What better outcome–I still got to quilt most of the quilt myself and I quilted on a long arm machine for the very first time in my life. It was fantastic and nerve-wracking at the same time. I told Loanne that this was the most excited that I had been about the “Albatross” in forever. I loved every minute of it! Ever since I’ve been daydreaming about where I could set one up in my house (as if).
So do you want to see hubby with his quilt? Naturally, we went to take pictures of it on the park trails where he usually runs and it was a beautiful day to do so.
Hubs with his quilt!
Each block/shirt has a special story:
The first marathon that he ran and he swore that he would never run another one.
The race a friend convinced him to run 2 weeks later and he finished third.
His Boston race is the centerpiece of the quilt. It didn’t really have a design other than the logo on the sleeve so I tried to scatter bits of the shirt all over the top.
Getting this finished is such a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m hoping that I will start cranking quilts out now that this one is done. My girls have reminded me that they are next in line. Of course, I have also decided to make an entry for the Michael Miller challenge–my first thought was a spinoff of pinwheels and then I saw that they already had a free quilt pattern with pinwheels. What about you? What have you been working on lately?
So much has been going on this month with the kids and trying to keep up with my self-imposed quilty deadlines that my blog has suffered a little. So let’s catch up. First, the Albatross is not quilted (yet) but it is basted.
It’s a good thing this quilt isn’t any bigger or I would have had to baste it in the basement (shudder).
I actually ran out of safety pins and had to re-distribute them–I may baste a little too close together but I’ve never FMQ’d anything this big. This quilt really brings home the phrase “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. My goal was to have this done by Valentine’s day but I still had to do my 2 bee blocks for the month. Since I only have one machine, I switched over my foot and needle to work on those. So, as soon as my sew kitschy block for February is done, I am on this.
BEE BLOCKS
On to the bee blocks. First is my block for the Modern InstaBee. Our queen bee Sarah chose the Stacked Windmills block in The Modern Bee book and asked for scrappy with a low volume background. I was really nervous about this block since it asked for a scant 1/4 inch seam–usually that means my block ends up an inch bigger than it is supposed to be. This block went together perfectly though. I really love how it turned out and Sarah seems to like it too. I love it so much that I decided to make a duplicate of all the blocks I do in this fabric combo. The print fabrics are from Josephine Kimberling’s Field Day for Blend Fabrics; the gray/white dot was the last I had so I’m not sure what line it is. The low volume backgrounds includes some white mirror ball dots by Michael Miller, the French text fabric that came in a blogger bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics, and a very light gray/white design by Dear Stella.
Next up is the February block for the Stash Bee. Queen Bee Cheryl asked for a Dutch Rose block (which you will recognize as a smaller version of the Swoon block) using this tutorial. Cheryl asked for shades of purple and gray on a snow background. I was excited about this block because I have a Swoon pattern waiting in the wings for me to do out of a bunch of hoarded Bonnie and Camille fabric and I have just been waiting to feel confident enough in my skills to tackle it (yeah, I know I’m ready to do it but Lil Bee keeps reminding me that she is next in line and then of course the teenager starts moaning about being the last one in the family to get a quilt–major mom guilt). Back to Cheryl’s block, I was worried that my selection of purples are slim but I managed to find some fabric in my stash that worked.
FABRIC INDULGENCES, ETC.
Okay, I hinted at some fabric indulgences. First, I won some assorted True Colors fat quarters back in January from Scott Hansen at The Blue Nickel Studios
Speaking of Blue Nickel Studios, Scott asked for birthday blocks bearing the colors of the woods. My first attempt was a 6 inch bear paw which looked a little sad after I mis-pieced blocks twice (you may have seen it on Instagram) so I opted for just a quarter of that block at 6 inches:
Birthday block for Scott Hansen at Blue Nickel Studio
Since I am participating in 2 bees, I decided I needed to beef up my stash a little so I bought a few blogger bundles at Pink Castle Fabrics. I always think I should buy the rainbow bundles but every time, I chicken out. These fabrics are really gorgeous though and there are a few text/low volume fabrics which I need:
I also got some golden tickets with this purchase.
And finally, since I don’t have a lot of low volume fabrics I picked up a few botanics and Echino fabrics from my local quilt store, Crimson Tate:
The hexie bees and bicycles were just too cute to pass up!
Have you seen the new tone on tone pearl bracelets by Lizzy House? I think that may have to be my next purchase. Am I right?
So I joined another bee. I couldn’t resist. Have you seen all the buzz about the Modern InstaBee on Instagram? All the hives are going to do all the quilts in the Modern Bee book by Lindsay Connor. Lindsay used to be in the IMQG-she moved away shortly after I joined so I never really got to know her. But you know, you’ve got to support a fellow (former) guild member and her success. I’m in Hive 9 and our motto is “hive 9 and feeling fine”. Anyway, look at the adorable little button that Michelle made for our Hive–isn’t it the cutest!
I wish I was remotely tech savvy enough to write html code; perhaps one day one of my children will be able to help me with it but so far, none of them claim to have any knowledge about such things.
So the first quilt we are doing is the Stacked Windmills quilt which you may have recently seen on this blog. Sarah has asked for a scrappy version on low volume or text fabric. This should be fun! If you would like to follow all the hives along this year on Instagram, you can find their blocks using #moderninstabee.
In other quilty things, I have decided that I have to finish “The Albatross” so that I can get on with everything that I want to create and accomplish this year for Endeavor 2014. For those of you that don’t know, “The Albatross” is the name I have given my husband’s t-shirt quilt. I’m making good progress (I guess) but I can only work on it in small doses before I start to go crazy thinking about all the other things that I want to sew. Have you ever had that problem? I want to love this quilt because I know it means so much to him but I don’t. So check back later, I should have an Ugly Quilt Finish to show you soon, lol.
So this year the local guild that belong to decided to do a monthly blind swap of 12 -3.5 inch squares. Every month, we get a random bag of 12 squares from someone else and by the end of the year, we will have a finished quilt. These are the charms I received in December:
Did I mention that this exchange was with my traditional guild? No pearl bracelets here:). (Of course, I didn’t give out any mirror ball dots or AMH squares either. I chose a traditional looking charm pack from my stash and cut 12 blocks down to 3.5 inches). I’m hoping this exercise helps me grow. Some of the quilts that I find most beautiful have some odd fabric pairings. I decided to pair the red and blue squares with a scrappy selection of tan/cream and white fabrics and make HSTs for now:
That lower right fabric is Osnaburg (a linen looking cotton). I have seen some beautiful quilts made by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen using Osnaburg so I have been stalking JoAnn’s for months and finally found some. Have you ever tried it in your quilts?
My loops aren’t even on every side but since this is really the first time I’ve done anything other than a stipple since June, I’m okay with that.
In addition to working on my bee block, I have been trying to get my SkillBuilder quilt completed. I was hoping to get it done by the Jan. 19 deadline but I still have 16 blocks left to quilt and borders and sashing to piece. Although it is very tempting to just stipple everything so I can finish, this quit is more about the journey and actually learning skills so I am not going to rush it. With that in mind, I went a little eclectic in my fmq of the em-dash block:
Pebble practice
Loopy pebbles
Some loops which I obviously need to practice because they aren’t symmetrical at all and I haven’t tucked in my loose ends yet.
I thought I had taken a picture of the feather I did–half of it looks pretty good; I realized after doing one side of the feather that I needed to put the presser foot down (ooops) so there will be ripping. I think I will try a flower in the peach. The quilting is going so much better than it was in June–apparently working with the right tools (bobbin washers, thread holder, pink teflon thing, gloves, extension table) makes a big difference! You should really check out the group on Flickr–there are some people that have amazing talent.
Last weekend, I also made my first block of the Sew Kitschy BOM (designed by Kristy @ Quiet Play). I used the orange and blue DS Quilts fabric that I have been collecting. I think I need to buy some varied shades of solid orange and blue fabrics to break up some of the prints as this turned out a little busier that I wanted it to be.
Potholder and oven mitt in DS Quilts fabric
I was going to make it in aqua and red but realized that I have barely any red. I have maybe 5 reds and none of them coordinate. This is beyond incomprehensible — my favorite color is red. How is it that I have not been buying red? Obviously, I NEED to make buying red fabric a high priority. Any suggestions on some awesome red fabrics that I should purchase?
I had to squeeze some typewriters on the back because my daughter loves to write; they were too big to fit into the triangles on the front.
Sew Frou Frou Quilter 
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