I'm feeling my age

I've been very diligent about striking tasks off my list of projects. Keeping on track with the 2013 Finish-A-Long and such. However, why did I have to include so many things that simply need to be basted then quilted??

It's not as easy as it once was to squat on the floor for upwards of 45 minutes prepping and basting a quilt sandwich! My joints just aren't happy with me right now. But, this happened:

I can't express how glad I am to have this one ready to quilt. Not sure why that is, but I've been looking forward to finishing this puppy for quite a while (just didn't have it on a list of priorities). Here's to updating priorities!

WIP Wed - 1/16/13

I've actually had quite a productive week in the sewing studio. Yay. The renewed energy of the online bees certainly doesn't hurt, and even though it's not generally my way, list-making IS quite effective.

That said, here's a rundown of this past week's follies:

New

a sneak peek... featuring fabrics from Kaffe Fasset, Jay McCarroll, Anna Maria Horner and newcomer Alison Glass.

Can't show much more of this just yet, but I've got a new wall-hanging under way. And it's been a long time since I've worked specifically on a wall-hanging. But I've definitely been having fun working from an original pattern again. Will share more in a few weeks!

Scrappy Trip blocks

I guess you could say that I got pulled onto the Scrappy Trip Around the World bandwagon, if briefly! And I do have to say that the Quiltville tutorial really is great! Easy to follow, straight-forward, and tremendously efficient! I don't expect to be making a whole project from this, but I can certainly see why so many people have been enamored!

Bliss do. Good Stitches January block #1

And I spoke a bit about these in my previous post. Chris put up a little "tutorial" on our group page on Flickr for the Bliss Circle of do. Good Stitches.

In Progress

basting my warm/cool QAL piece

quilting underway

And after having it *literally* hanging around for who knows how long, I finally basted and started quilting this gem. It was just a matter of taking that first step... getting over the basting hesitation! Whew.

Quilting not-yet-happening (or on hold)... i.e. No Progress

Grey/blue Nubees quilt

Green/brown spiderweb quilt

Pink Elephants

Yellow/magenta Encapsulated

Both of the 60/30 diamond quilts

Completed

Design Camp 2 [Think Outside the Block] Jan. 2013 for Shelley

Design Camp 2 [Think Outside the Block] Jan. 2013 for Shelley

We're closing in on the last couple of months for Camp 2 in the Design Camp [Think Outside the Block] Improv Bee. This is a technique I'm certainly not afraid of, and one that is GREAT for using up the itty-bitty scraps that I invariably keep around. Thank you, Shelley, for finding this gem and letting us play willy-nilly!!

more pot holders

Last week I mentioned the stack of many pot holders on the docket... I've shaved a few more off of the "in progress" list, and then continued progress on a few others... Leaving (I think) 5 pairs yet to be quilted, 4 more pairs quilted but yet to be bound, and 2 or 3 more pairs completed. And the cycle continues.

So, this appears to be a pretty healthy list, no? I feel like I've forgotten something, but if I can't think of it, then you all certainly won't miss it! And the final tally is:

New: 3

In Progress: 9 out of 15 pot holder sets, plus 1

Completed: 3

Quilts awaiting quilting: 6

Linking up to WIP Wed. at Freshly Pieced and gonna check in with some of the other talliers out there!

The bee blocks are back!

Thursday was a good day in the sewing room. Got a lot done. Too bad it started out with a 2.5 liter jug of water spilling out in the back of my car on my way to the studio. But, at least that gave me a reason to use the towel from my gym bag!

My main objective was bee blocks. This year I am participating in 4 online bees (though one finishes in a couple of months): Friends + Fabric round 2, do. Good Stitches Bliss Circle, Design Camp 2 [Think outside the block} and the new Simply Solids. Wowzers!

Yesterday I was able to get 2 1/2 of those checked off.

F+F2 - Cross / Plus Blocks

There was a little confusion at first as to what scale we were supposed to make our 12.5" blocks. I went with my gut, which as it turns out was not what our queen bee this month had in mind. However, apparently due to the discussion this brought up, she showed immense adaptability and openmindedness and said she'd be happy with either scale.

Being that what she initially had had in mind were single 12.5" blocks with a single plus / cross, I decided to go ahead and make 2 of those guys as well - easy peasy!

Now, her color choices were interesting to me - she requested "low volume" prints with just a splash of color. This was the first of two times this week I've read the term "low volume" in the context of quilting, and honestly it's the first I've ever heard at all in that context. Am I out of a trend loop or something?? (it certainly wouldn't be the first time!)

do. Good Stitches - Bliss - US Flag blocks

Chris posted these AWESOME hand-drawn instructions on our group page, and though I'm not too into the representational blocks, I have to give her props for this one! I did kind of take the easy road and use star fabric in the corner instead of making a star block at that scale (4"), and as you can see, I decided to go a little more modern and whimsical on one while going not-quite-traditional on the other. Hope these work for her!

Design Camp 2 - Scrappy Stripes

Shelley selected and sent out the background fabrics and asked us to use scraps for the pieced parts without taking into account the background colors. And let me tell you, she chose some GORGEOUS and RICH colors for this quilt! Looks like I'll be redoing that blue one soon, but wanted to check in with Shelley first, since it sounded like she was hoping to keep the size of the background pieces pretty consistent, so I might be in a pickle. But other than that little blip, these guys were definitely a fun excercise and a great way to make a dimple in the basket of my teeny scraps.

I am still waiting for the fabric bundle for the Simply Solids bee, but technically that doesn't start until February, so the fact that so many of the groups are posting projects already just shows how excited we all are for this new bee!!

I guess that pretty much sums things up for now. Next step is to pack up and send off the ones that are complete and then I'll REALLY feel like I've accomplished something! So here's a question for you all - with all of the great tutorials out there on the internet, and the fact that so many of the quilters who do the online bees tend to take part in multiple ones, do you ever get tired of any of the requested blocks? This is something I'm struggling with right now as I think about what quilts I want to request when my turn is up as "queen bee" in my respective groups. Food for thought.

Finish A-Long 2013, Q1

As I briefly mentioned in my previous WIP Wed. post (and as I am sure many many of you other quilty bloggers out there are also doing), I've decided to join in the online FAL 2013 for this first quarter. We'll see how my follow-through is before I commit any further ;-)

This Finish A-Long tradition was begun last year by Rhonda of Quilter in the Gap and is being hosted this year by Leanne of She Can Quilt. Essentially it's a forum for keeping up on one's own and others' crafting goals for the next 3 months. What are you going to put out there to the world and say, "THIS IS going to be complete next time we meet again!"? And by complete, they really mean completed!

So, here is my list for the next few months. And perhaps there will even be other projects sneaking in before the end of the quarter... but I certainly don't want to get ahead of myself (as it is, I am already wondering if I am up to all of the basting and quilting I've set myself up for).

1.) Power through the stack of pot holders I have going. I currently have 12 pairs in progress.

2.) Mystery wall-hanging project... stay tuned!

3.) My icy-cool diamond throw quilt

4.) And maybe the warmer russet one as well??

5.) My smaller Warm/Cool quilt along quilt from Jeni's QAL last year (or was it more than a year ago??)

6.) This cute little preppy elephant lattice baby quilt

7.) This one is a bit more amorphous... among my goals is to successfully "print up" a pattern or two from my own designs. Skill-building at its core!

Okay, if I'm to have any hope at all of getting through this list I suppose I ought to wrap up this post and get to the sewing machine! Good luck to all of my fellow quilters in your endeavors this year! I look forward to seeing all of the beauties y'all produce that offer me so much inspiration every day!

WIP Wednesday

I gave this the ol' college try last year, and kept with it for a while. But I think I approached it unrealistically. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

So let's try a new start in this new year and see if we can keep each other on track. I promise to check in with other folks linking up at Freshly Pieced, and if there was a project that I mentioned at some point that piqued your interest and then you never heard about again, ASK me about it. Let's stay involved, okay?

Without further ado:

New

Bee Block #1 for the first month of the second round of Friends + Fabric {A Modern Stash Bee}, for Jessica {Euphoria...}.

I also started working on the January bee blocks for Shelley {Brookquilt} in the Design Camp 2 improv bee, but neglected to take any process photos just yet. However, if you follow the link to the group page you can get a hint at what we're doing for her - I LOVE her background colors, by the way!

In Progress

Pot holders to be... I've quilted about a third of these guys, and am currently working on bindings on them. I have about 5 more of the pairs sandwiched and ready to be quilted, while I need to get more Insul-Bright in order to finish them all.

Quilt tops awaiting quilting:

This is one of those things I'm going to try and keep reasonable. I'm considering also taking part in the Finish Along hosted this year by Leanne at She Can Quilt, in which case I'll be ticking away at these at a *hopefully* steady pace. For my nearly full semi-active list, visit this post I wrote last month, but for these purposes I'm approaching only what I have begun quilting and those that I truly intend to take a stab at in the near future. Gotta leave some UFOs in the background, right??

Russet 60/30

Icy cool 60/30 - still have to piece the backing, too!

Encapsulated

One more of the simple, lattice crib quilts.

And then of course there're the bee quilts from last year...

My one foray into the Nubees block swap through flickr.

Backing for my Seams Perfect spider web quilt.

And Completed (I saved the best category for last):

My first official finish of the year!!

My boyfriend thought this one was a bad omen for any house flies, so I call it The Demise of the Flies... soon to be making an appearance in my Etsy shop.

A terrible photo! This is one of 3 pairs of pot holders I've managed to bring to completion this week. Will share more photos in a separate post soon.

Phew! Did I say I was going to keep this list reasonable??? This is the trouble I get myself into. Anyone else feeling the rush of motivation brought on by a new calendar year?? How are you using that creative energy?

Tally for this week: (I'm going to need to figure out a new way of formatting this so I don't have these paragraph breaks with every new line... sorry for the odd look)

New: 2

In Progress: 12 out of 15 sets of pot holders

Completed: 5

Quilts awaiting quilting: 6

Now, linking up to Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday (it is still Wednesday, isn't it??)

A Little Teaser

As the new year is getting underway, new projects and challenges are in the works as well. One such endeavor is connected with Cool Cottons. I can't say much at this stage, but if you follow their blog or stop in from time to time, keep your eyes open for nuggets of new stuff at the shop.

pot holders made by Anne Whiting.

And a little teaser for next up...

This will also be a good kick-in-the-pants for my design chops! I'll be sure to keep you all posted as this develops into something more...

Stocking up for the new year

This last week of 2012 I spent a fair amount of time in my studio getting prepared for the fresh start of a new year. Part of that is finishing lingering projects (like that flannel quilt mentioned in a previous post), but I also dedicated a couple of solid days to prepping NEW projects. I am hoping to begin the year with a refreshed Etsy shop filled with new inventory, and I decided to start with pot holders.

Over a dozen pairs of pot holders ready to be pieced!

I brought them home with me to work on over the holiday and seem to have gotten a good start, so I will hopefully punch these guys out soon!

Another of my goals for making this transition to a new year is getting some of last year's (or older) quilt tops quilted and bound.

Looks like this little gal might be my first finish of 2013! What projects do you all have out on your sewing tables (or laps, as the case may be) this week? Let's all try to keep each other motivated and excited for the next thing up! I have a good feeling about 2013!

Seams Perfect... one step closer

My first venture into the online quilting bee world began around this time 2 years ago. I saw a discussion thread on one of the quilting related Flickr groups initiated by a member of the LAMQG saying that she was starting a new stash busting modern bee in the new year. At that point I had taken part in one of the Pillow Talk Swaps and maybe one other virtual swap, but was eager to get my feet wet in the bee world.

And I couldn't have chosen better! If you've been reading my  blog at all over the last couple of years you've heard me refer innumerable times to one of the wonderful bees I've been a part of organized by Jennifer {SunnyinCal}.

So, back in 2011 began the Seams Perfect - A Modern Scrap Bee.

Logo designed by Maria Villar, at mpress studio, one of our talented bee-mates and graphic designer to boot!

My choice for my quilt was a paper-pieced Spider Web quilt, primarily in greens and browns (I do love me some earth tones). I got a wealth of blocks in return! AND I got more than I was due, as some of us (myself included) had some issues with getting them to be the right size. But I am not complaining! I ended up with 30 blocks total, I think, most of which came to about 12" finished. 25 of these guys got arranged for the quilt top, which I did finish piecing quite a while back.

But in addition to the odd-sized blocks, we also exchanged signature blocks for this bee. These are small, simply pieced blocks using a white or muslin primarily where the participant can write his or her name and any other info (s)he would like to share (usually just location and date or a brief message). Given those two factors, I had a lot of piecing to consider for my backing.

So I put it off.

And put it off some more.

Until I decided to get started. Improv-style, higgly-wiggly it began to come together.

And then I left it sitting on my studio floor for a few months. Yes, seriously, right on the floor like this since, I dunno, maybe September or October at the latest.

Then this week I got the bee in my bonnet (no pun intended) to get things cleaned up in order to start fresh in the new year. That meant getting this UFO/WIP off the floor! And in order to do that without losing all "design" integrity I actually had to finish sewing it together! So, after finding a few more scraps and pieces of solid greens I finally met my goal:

A detail showing one of the odd-sized blocks and a few of the signature blocks.

Next up will be the challenge of actually quilting this! I think I should try something really pretty to offset the absolute madness that the backing became! Fellow Seams Perfect folks - look forward to seeing a finished product in 2014 (at least that's my guess)!