Back on the Chain, Gang

Back to Blogland: I have no idea what I’m doing.  Getting an architectural license, having a baby, and obviously not blogging for over a year can make one completely forget how to publish to a blog.  I think the above picture of me is skewed, and I have no idea how to fix it. 

But I’m back to sewing, I hope.

Goal number one is to start using fabric I already own, and then, maybe finish some unfinished projects. 

To start, I’m chain sewing a bunch of 2 1/2” fabric strips I cut from fabric that I purchased too much of online.   Minimum yardage is no fun!  The plan is to turn these leftover greens and blues into a zigzag quilt. 

Fancy Four-Patch Table Runner

I can hear your applause!  Yay!  My table runner is now a finished project!

What I thought was a simple project that finishable in an evening, took me over a week.  I suppose that’s not terrible; I technically could have never finished it.   (Lately I’ve only been finishing embroidered onesies, so I’m exceptional proud of myself for sewing something different.)  This finished project was immediately put to use, now running on the coffee table in my living room.  Perfect to complement April’s showers, the bright blues and green warm up my room with a springtime touch.

I picked up this table runner kit, complete with pattern and fabric for the top and binding, from a vendor booth’s at a local quilt show.  I recognized the proprietor of the booth as also being local, one of the “generations” at Generation’s Quilt Shop in Pottstown, PA.  I’m sure that if you stopped by the shop, you could probably pick up this kit, but if you just can’t make it to town, the fabrics were from Robert Kaufman’s Dill Blossoms fabric line and the simple pattern was nicely laminated on a two-sided card from Pieced Tree Patterns.

Here’s my Fancy Four-Patch Table Runner in its current resting place.  It was a beautifully sunny, 75 degree day here, so I’ll have to apologize for the sun beams across it.

Rotary Cutter: Found!

Would you believe it?  I went to a local quilt show this past Saturday, came home, and found my rotary cutter!  It was right beside my quarter inch foot.  Of all the places for it to be, right?

Luckily for the three of us (Jill, RC and the 1/4”), I picked up a table runner kit, complete with pattern and fabric, at one of the vendor booths that very morning.  It seemed the perfect, quick project for me and my newly relocated cutter and foot.  Still early afternoon, I figured I could knock this thing out before dinner.

 

Three “tonights” later, it’s still not done.  (I was so looking forward to amazing the blog world with a finished project.)  Alas, I started working on the quilting tonight, and it’s surprisingly very fun and addictive.  It shouldn’t be long before I share my table runner!

Quilting in the New Year

Today, being the last day of my Christmas vacation/winter break, I sewed as much as possible to make up for all the sewing I didn’t do last month.  I should have been making blocks for this quilt, but instead, I started a new one. 

Inspired by a Jelly Roll of Sugar Pop, I used my quilt software and designed the slightly abstract quilt shown above.  I didn’t really want to make an abstract quilt, or completely design my quilt before I cut any fabric, so I pushed the computer aside, found my rotary cutter and got to sewing.  This is what I’ve got after a day of sewing.  I hope I can be motivated to finish it!

Happy 2011!

A Year-at-a-Glance in a Year and a Half

 

It’s time for a celebration!  I finally finished my Year-at-a-Glance quilt tonight!  That’s right, finished!

 

The fabric and pattern were a gift for my birthday back in the summer of 2009.  (Remember this post?  or this post?)  Tonight, I finally tacked down the last two feet of binding. I rarely ever finish anything this big, and  I had to pinch myself to relinquish my disbelief.  Now, I just wish I had somewhere better than the bedroom curtains to prominently display it.

 

With every beautiful quilt, there’s a beast.  Not to be nit picky, but the appliqué patterns were all backwards.  And as adorable as this quilt is, this takes the cake and makes this pattern a solid D.  The sashing measurements were all off!  I had to calculate them and re-cut all the pieces.  That includes the outer square border, folks.  Pain in the …

I was forced to conquer a new technique on this quilt: hand embroidery.  I treated myself to a crash course in embroidering techniques via the internet, and with great success, I do think my lazy daises turned out perfectly.  That’s why the May block is my favorite!

Three Down, Ten to Go!

1 Block Down, 13 to Go

   

Everything is on hiatus until I finish this quilt top!

Boarder Crossing

My sewing machine whirled and hummed away tonight; so, I’m back to blogland with the results, just as I had promised myself!

I can’t believe I finally finished this quilt top!  (All I had left was to cut out and sew on the outer boarder…I’m 99% positive the center of it has been done for a year.)  I think I’m going to call it my Wonderland Quilt because of the bright colors and varied floral patterns.  It seems very curious to me. 

One thing I discovered tonight is that it’s very difficult to photograph a large quilt.  It’s tough to get the whole quilt in one frame, with the right lighting, not on a skewed angle and keeping the cat off it all at the same time.

New Uses for Old Notions

It's snowing outside again!  And I've come up with a great use for one of my old sewing supplies.  Over the weekend, this old quilting ruler rested perfectly against the snow plowed path cut along my sidewalk.  I'll be out there again tomorrow with this handy, recycled device, measuring the day's progress, blizzard conditions pending, of course!

Quilt+Pillow=Quillow

 "Marley was dead, to begin with."

Grab your quillow and snuggle up; it's story time!  Well, in blog world, that means it's a short story, so don't worry about having to read all of Dickens's The Christmas Carol in this blog post.  (FYI, Every year I never fail to watch my favorite version of the story as reenacted by the Muppets!  The Great Gonzo portrays Mr. Dickens telling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, while Rizzo the Rat,  playing his humorous self with a bag a jelly beans, journeys through the story with him.)  This quintessential example of Christmas spirit introduces us to the three spirits of Christmas: the ghost of Christmas Past, the ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future.  Or is it the ghost of Christmas presents?

What if they were the ghosts of Christmas presents?  Well, since I don't have a crystal ball, I have no clue about Christmas future presents...it's hard enough getting them together for this year, forget about next! And if I say anything about Christmas present presents, then that wouldn't that just ruin some of the fun of Christmas Day?  But, Christmas presents past, now that's something I can share.

Last year I was almost as busy as this year, devoting most of my pre-Christmas time to making a quillow.  I'd always wanted to make a quillow!  You know, a cute little quilt that folds up into a pillow.  I made this adorable one sporting colorful puppies as a Christmas gift for my one-year-old nephew.  (I'll update with the pattern name and creator.)  He adored it Christmas morning and snuggled right into it the moment he got it!

Now that he's gotten a little sibling on the way, he's excited about decorating his "big boy" to match.  How sweet!  Way to go Aunt Jill!

This year I've been really busy, but I haven't been making any quillows.  I'll have to share Christmas present presents when they're Christmas past's presents!

Super Quick + Easy Baby Quilt

From Joelle Hoverson's Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, I made this "quick + easy" quilt as a baby gift. It only used 1 yard each of two different fabrics, and as I recall, the hardest part was squaring them both up. I tied it up with an adorable farm animal ribbon then slipped a card into the folded pocket. Too cute!

The Hippo Quilt

Yay! I just finished this quilt I designed for a fall challenge at a local quilt shop! It's now on display for the month of October at Country Quiltworks in Montgomeryville, PA.


As usual, it's a little bumpy, and the binding is a little wonky...but that's alright. I thought my piecing was stellar! (Goes to show how much piecing I do and little quilting and binding, aka finishing.)
I bought these hippos online because I thought they were too cute. So maybe the don't quite go, but I love them. They're hiding on the back, and that's why this one's called "the Hippo Quilt."

Here's the gist of the rules:

1. Choose a Fall Challenge theme. I decided on Black and White.

2. Take a packet of (25) 2 1/2"x10" fabric strips. Use a significant amount of each print from one packet. We were allowed a second packet, but there weren't any when I needed one!

3. For the top and binding, you can use up to four more fabrics of your own. I chose those four blue/aqua prints.

4. The sum of the sides of the project should be no more than 140". Mine's right on target!

5. Pieced, appliqued, embellished as you wish. Must be quilted.

It will be up soon in the shop, so I can't wait to check it out!

Year At-a-Glance: Progress

I picked up this quilt pattern, Year At-a-Glance by the Quilted Fish, on my birthday when my mother-in-law and I went for a Quilt Store Road Trip to Pennington Quiltworks. (This is great store! Very warm and inviting, and lots of modern fabrics.)

I loved the simple tree design and easy hand emboidery and applique. The browns and blues remind me of being up at Lake Galena surrounded by the trees - so I had to stick with the same color scheme!

Here's what I've done so far (sorry for the blurry picture):

I am piecing together the four-patch border blocks, and this quilt is just growing in size! (Okay, so I did note the 74"x74" quilt size on the front of the pattern, but for some reason I convinced myself that it was smaller and that I was going to be able to fit it on the wall in my living room. Turns out, it's way bigger than any wall in my house, and I'm not sure how I'll display it when I'm done.) I'll post better pictures of the completed top, before I start quilting it. (Gulp!)