Blogger's Quilt Festival #2 -- Turn by Turn

Hi again!   This is my second entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival which started today and runs through May 29. 

Many thanks to Amy's Creative Side for hosting the festival and giving us all the opportunity to see the lovely projects everyone has been working on this past year.  The quilts are amazing.

My entry is a quilt from a pattern found in Quilt Sampler (Spring/Summer 2011), called Turn by Turn.  I started it in February 2013, sent it off to be quilted in March, and didn't finish it until November 2014.  What can I say--I hate to do bindings and I'm not good at finishing.  This is during the binding process, but shows the richness of the Kaffe fabrics better than the other photographs.

 

   

 

It was quilted by Yvette of Yvette's Custom Quilting.  The quilting is hard to see, but really lovely. It runs along each strip of color, with a small separate design on the brown and white dot.  I likely wouldn't have chosen the brown and white dot for the lattice if it hadn't been used in the magazine, but it worked really well to set off the colors of the Kaffes.   

 

 

The backing is also a Kaffe, a print called Bekah.  It is one of my favorites for backing.  Really a gorgeous fabric.  I was a little sad to use up my last piece of the print.

 

The binding is a fabric by Philip Jacobs called Chard, in blue, which has enough teal and pink to pull it all together.

And just because this photo was in with the others, and because Bryna was so sweet at this age (and at that moment), here's the finished French General.  I'm guessing I didn't post a photo because it was to be a gift.

Both Turn by Turn and the French General were Christmas presents this past Christmas.  I was sorry to see them go!

 

Turn by Turn is entered in the Large Quilt Category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  It measures roughly 110 x 120 plus the outside border, so maybe 120 x 130?  (I didn't measure it before it was given away)  I pieced it, and it was quilted wonderfully by Yvette of Yvette's Custom Quilting.

 

Be sure to check out all the other quilts in the Large Category at the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  And thanks for stopping by!

Taking care of a little business

I've been pretty good this year, working on our taxes, Quicken, and putting our financial papers in order.  I've been making good progress, but finally gave in and had to do a little quilt related Kaffe "business" this weekend.

Saturday, I did a little laundry, washing the Flower Garden applique blocks I've finished in the last few months.  They are lined up on my never changing design wall.  (I really need to work on these pink/green triangles for the Pyramid quilt or take them down.)

  

I haven't counted them all up yet, but I think I'm done with all the Flower Garden center blocks.  ( I'd put an exclamation point after that sentence, but I don't want to end up disappointed if I find there are still a few more to go.)

Just another close up.  I sure hope this is all of them.

Sunday I spent working on a binding for Turn by Turn.  (The quilting was finished almost a year ago.)  Sigh.   It always seems to take so long to get it ready and sewn on.

Ended up being VERY lucky in the amount of binding--only an inch or two extra.  (not bad for not just guessing on the size and amount to make.) 

Love using the clover clips for binding.    What color of thread do you use with a print like this?  Seems like any color will show in one area or another. 

Now just a few days (weeks?) of hand stitching to go.  But oh, the Kaffe's are absolutely glorious to work on!    I guess stitching binding is a good way to stay warm.  Will save the big quilt reveal for when (IF) I ever get the binding sewn on.

I sure hope these fabrics that just happened to hop into a bin together don't interfere with my progress.  Seems that temptress Heather (who blogs at Happy Appliquer) started another BOM which just happened to catch my eye at a weak moment.  The BOM is hosted by Cindy at Quilt Doodle Doodles, and you can join the fun here.  Several speedy people have already posted their blocks on Pinterest--go here to see them.

Happy Quilting!

Few Words Wednesday

Not too much getting accomplished here lately.....

 

One King George circle completed.

 

 

One more King George circle in process.

 

 

Some fabric picked out for a binding--and it didn't even get to the ironed stage, but PLEASE notice that you can actually see the carpet! ( I haven't done much sewing since I cleaned up the sewing room for Christmas, but this is the cleanest the room will be for awhile, so I have to document this cleanliness while it lasts!) 

 

The fabric is for the binding for Turn by Turn that I was working on a year ago.

 

 

And have I been sewing?  Nope, not much. 

 

My New Year's resolution was to put our financial records in order and get our taxes ready early.  That project has been a much bigger project than I planned on (so many years to go through and struggling with a new version of Quicken on the computer), but I am making some progress, and am feeling virtuous about the whole endeavor.

 

Not sure how long my commitment to paperwork will last.  I can hear my stash getting restless.

 

A week ago, our front yard looked like this.

 

 

Today it was beautifully sunny outside, most of the snow is gone, and it feels like Spring is on the way.  I know that's just wishful thinking, but I did take a little walk to enjoy the nice weather.  And great news:  My dd is coming home for 3 days later this month--it's almost like an extra Christmas! I can hardly wait!

Happy Stitching!

Good News/Bad News

It's been a busy time, and I've only a few minutes for an update, so here goes........

Good News:  The borders are on and this quilt's off to be quilted. 

Bad News: The two quilts (Bordered Diamonds and French General) are back and now need binding!

And add them to the the other one waiting, and it means a month of sewing on bindings ahead!

Bindings = ICK ICK ICK

  

Good News:  The hexies are sewn together. 

Bad News: I am super sick of pink, and there's still a BIG stack of leftover hexies still to use.

I've put the spare hexies and the top away for a "rest" period before any sewing more pink. I'm still trying to decide about the border treatment, and that will take time--maybe years.
 

Good News:  Found these cute little bins at Hobby Lobby.  They aren't durable (made of paper), but at only $1.99 each, they've been a good aid in keeping the cutting table organized.  I use them to coral and sort the scraps.  And when they aren't in use, they stack nicely.     

Bad News: They are full of more pink scraps to use up!

BIG, BIG GOOD NEWS: I've had the same sewing machine for FORTY years. When it started having problems, a very nice friend loaned me her older (1130) Bernina, which was a definite help (thanks Patty!) But now I have a new one of these (woohoo!) and a new cabinet will come tomorrow! The spot is all vacuumed and ready!

 

Bad News:  I am such a slow learner--it's a big jump to computerized from my old Viking.  I am more than a little bit intimidated.  Even worse, I have been too busy with family stuff to be able to spend much time getting acquainted--maybe tomorrow........

If you don't see many posts from me for awhile, please ask someone to check to see if I've accidentally sewn myself into something and am stuck under the presser foot. 

Happy Stitching!

I Blame My Chair

It's not my fault that I started another quilt.  Really.  It just happened.  I was being good, working on the backing for my French General UFO, and began straightening up the sewing room.  (no good deed goes unpunished)

When I put the Kaffe fabrics away in their bin drawer, the drawer was very tight--I really had to jamb them in.  Later when flipping through an older issue of Quilt Sampler (Spring/Summer 2011), I happened on this photo:

The quilt in this photo is made with Kaffe fabrics. Making this quilt would make more room in my Kaffe bin, wouldn't it?

 It was meant to be.  I immediately started cutting squares and arranging the squares on the design board.  (Right over the French General hexagons.)

There were a few technical difficulties (not having enough of a couple of the fabrics, and having to track down more and work a little creative cutting magic).  Don't look too closely below, or you might see where I had to "create" one more piece of the red.  (that blue arrow points to the extra seam) 

 

I am down to only scraps of a couple of these fabrics now. (And yet that Kaffe bin is still too tightly stuffed.  Weird.)  The top is together--it went really quickly.  I just need to do the borders--and you know how I hate to do borders. 

  

 

Sunday, I started clearing my cutting area to have room to cut the borders, and sitting on my cutting board was this lonely pile of fabrics, just waiting for me to finish.  They looked so Valentine's-ish.  I've been collecting fabrics in red/pink/black for awhile, and had promised them I would do something with them this Valentine's Day.  (The group really came together when I found some by Robin Zingone named Stockholm in lipstick. They just sing red and pink.)

 

 

Sigh.  You know what happened.  Pretty soon the fabrics were being cut into hexagons.  And now, the design wall looks like this.

 

 

I blame it on my chair.  Pink chairs are a dangerous influence! (It was a bargain from Staples last September--and though I know it won't hold up to hard use, I couldn't resist!)

 

 

And I will cut the borders today--I will. I will. I will!  Right after I clear a spot on the cutting table--again!

 

Happy stitching!

Building "Block" Fun

When you realize your sewing room is jam packed with close to a million unfinished projects, you catch the flu, feel thoroughly depressed, and have lost your quilting mojo, what do you do?

 

You start something new, of course!  Something low stress and colorful and just for fun! 

romanianquiltstudio.com

  In January, I decided as a personal pick-me-up I'd make a “quick” little project, and sew a baby quilt for a neighbor's first grandbaby.  

 

I had previously purchased the pattern, Building Fun, from Geta who blogs at Geta's Quilt Studio.  Bright and cheerful, it was the perfect project!   (I borrowed this photo from Pinterest--my pattern copy is a bit mutilated)

 
The instructions were clear, the blocks went together easily, and it was fun picking the fabrics for each block.  I decided to use only fabric from stash, and finally used a few pieces by Keiko Goko that I have been hoarding.  I chose black/white polka dots for the border, but I think it would have been fun to use a bit smaller polka dot for the backgrounds (didn't think of that until it was done).

 

 

The pattern calls for machine appliqué of the circles/centers, but I didn’t want to worry about colors showing through the white, so I sewed them using reverse appliqué, which worked really well.   I’d definitely recommend the pattern. (and I'm not connected in any way)

 

Even though the pattern went together well, the backing proved to be a challenge for my stash.  The top was too large for one width of the fabric to cover it.  Every piece of baby suitable fabric that I had was either too small, the wrong colors, or directional so it couldn’t be turned sideways.  Very irritating!  If I’d been thinking, I would have bought some Minkie and been done. 

But instead, since I had leftover strips from the blocks and leftover triangles from piecing the buildings, I decided I would piece of few of the fabrics together for a back.  Simple, right?  Ummm, NO.

The back was going fine until I measured and cut everything the wrong length--way, WAY short.  I had been going to run the piecing up and down, but that wasn't going to work with the short pieces.  So a new design and more piecing was necessary.  And more unpicking. 

 

I didn’t think to take photos during the process, but it’s a good thing you couldn’t hear what I said when I realized that I had cut everything too short.  Here’s what I finally ended up with:

 

 

The little bear fabric in the center is about 20+ years old, so it's nice to finally use some of it.  I like the way it eventually turned out, but when I look at it, it says “girl” to me--just too much pink.  And, the neighbor’s baby is going to be a boy.   After I thought about it awhile, I decided that my neighbor's grandbaby is going to absolutely love to read—books make good baby gifts, right? 

 

And feeling guilty for starting something new, (and on a roll piecing backs), I pulled out one of my many UFO tops (French General Reine des Abeilles), and started piecing a back for it with a few of the leftover hexagons.  (I needed something to join the two widths of fabric for the back.) 

 

 

(And here's where I have to admit that while these hexagons were up on the design wall, I started ANOTHER quilt right over them.  More on this one in the next post!)

I did manage to finally finish the French General hexagon back last night, and it's all bundled up with the quilt, ready to go to the quilter.  (And, yes, I forgot to photograph it, so you'll just have to wait for the big finish--which could be awhile, but at least progress has been made!)

And last post, I showed photos of the great snow we got two weeks ago, when our world looked like this:

 

Now this is all that is left of the snowman family.

 

 

So if you're on the east coast of the USA, don't despair--a bit warmer weather is heading your way!
 
Happy Stitching!