Round Robin Progress

The end of another month is upon us. I can't believe it's already April, I mean, seriously, folks, where is the time going? I have been able to finish all of my bee commitments for the month which is a huge relief for me, especially since I will have very limited sewing time this weekend because I'm flying to New Jersey tomorrow for work. I'll be shooting all weekend and then flying back home on Sunday. I am planning to take a couple projects that require some hand sewing with me so I can sew on the plane.

Over the weekend I finished up my round on Julie's center in the round robin. I added in some fabrics from my own stash that I think accent her color scheme.

I don't want to spoil the big reveal for Julie so I'm just offering a sneak peek of a corner I worked on...

The quilt is now off to Jorie now and in one short month it will be back home with Julie! I hope she likes it!

Village Quilt Progress

Thanks for the input on the do. Good Stitches Hope Circle's Village Quilt. I decided to go double sided and I think it's going to be cute.

I used Kona Silver to sash the "Big City" side. I'm also adding some yellow handstitching to the sashing to make it look like a real road.

And the "Enchanted Forest" side is sashed in Kona Grass...

And while I was piecing this I had to stop and admire the free motion detailing that Natalie of Threaded Mess added to her block. Seriously I was totally inspired by it. I am so scared of free motion quilting so I stared at the beauty of the back of her block for a while when it was on my design wall. The funny thing is, after I had admired the stitching and took pictures of it to show all of you, I started to clean up I noticed a note in the package that she sent to me apologizing because she got "lazy" this month. Can you imagine? I want my lazy to look like that! I think sometimes it's the beauty in the simple things that can be the most breathtaking.

Sorry for the short post. I worked late into the night yesterday and was up working again at 4 am this morning. Yikes! Stay tuned for the finished product very soon.

Cathedral Imperfections

I've been making progress on my handmade item for my secret partner in the MMM Swap. I have been wanting to try my hand at cathedral windows for a long time. In fact, I did attempt them once before, over a year ago, but I quickly scrapped them as I realized that their imperfection wouldn't mesh well with the friend I had in mind for the project.

These puppies are complicated. And they look scary. The hardest part is getting the corners to match up when folding the origami squares. They're completely imperfect and I've had to rip out and re-sew several corners. I wonder if they're too imperfect to send to my swap partner.

Am I being overly critical?

While the Hubs is Away...

The hubs is off to Spring Training with his dad and he took this little number with him...

So for the next four days I have the house all to myself. In fact, right after I dropped him off at the airport I pulled out my design wall and some projects that I want to attack this weekend so I could get a head start. The dining room is already a disaster!

Unfortunately I will be working all weekend too, so my sewing time will be somewhat limited but I'm planning to use any spare moment I can find to create. In fact, this morning I started putting the village quilt that the amazing ladies in the Hope Circle of the do. Good Stitches Bee helped me create. Initially I was planning to use all the blocks on the front but as I started laying it out I began to think that instead I would create a smaller, double sided quilt. One side would be the "big city" complete with town square in the middle and sashed in gray...

The other side would be the "enchanted forest" sashed in green...

What do you think?

Am I heading in the right direction or should I put them all on the front of the quilt and add some more blocks?

Ivy's Quilt

Friday night my sweet and adorable husband mentions that he's going to be in Arizona on Thursday and wouldn't it be nice if he could bring a gift to his law school roommate, Joel, and his wife, Sarah, who just had their second baby. And wouldn't it be really, really nice if that gift was, perhaps, a quilt that I made. I can just whip one up over the weekend, right? My response, "Of course I can!"

So I pulled out the leftover fabrics that I chose for my MMM swap partner's project because I had quite simply fallen in love with them and I set out to make a simple quilt for baby Ivy.

The quilt came together quickly and as I worked I fell deeper and deeper in love with it. Seriously, how am I going to give it up?

I ended up busting through the majority of the leftover fabrics and even made the binding with scraps from my scrap bin.

Aside from being Marc's best friend, Ivy's parents are sophisticated and charming so these prints really called out "Sarah" to me. And this simple rectangular strip quilt seems so simple, yet cosmopolitan to me. I love the clean lines and how the strips showcase the fabrics.

Oh, and did I show you the back?

Sigh. I am so in love with everything about this quilt. This isn't the last time you're going to be seeing it I can assure you of that. I just ordered more yardage of each of the prints because I'm planning to make a larger version of it for our living room. All that's left for Ivy's Quilt is to be washed and then it's going to make it's way to Arizona tomorrow.

WIPs

You wanna' see what I've been working on lately?

I think I'm in love BIG TIME...

Get ready for the big reveal very, very soon!

Bee Block Fiasco

I caught up on most of my bee blocks, like this plaid one for Rick in the Sewn Together Bee...

And then I ran into a major road block. This month in the Red and Aqua 2 Bee Kelly asked for a "Bliss"ful Dresden Plate block. Although the Dresden Plate is a very traditional block I have always wanted to try making one. In fact I considered having one of my bees make a dresden plate for me when it was my month but I decided against it in the end. So I dove into this block with vigor. And it came together easily until I set the finished ring on the table...

...Yeah, it's not laying flat. Something, obviously went very wrong. How did this happen? I checked the seams. They're all 1/4". I swear! I used my 1/4" foot and then I measured each seam after I discovered this snafu. All the pieces were pre-cut so it's not a cutting error. And I have triple checked that there are only the desired 20 spires. Help! What did I do wrong? And what do I do to rectify this? Because the only solution I see right now is to start taking in the seams individually until I can get the darn thing to lay flat.

Stash Additions

I've been adding to my stash lately. Ugh. It's an addiction. I can't stop! A few weekends ago I had to work on a Saturday and I just happened to be driving by a Momen +, a fabric store in Torrance known for their amazing selection of Japanese fabrics, on my way home. Let me tell you, there is no better cure for the Saturday work blues than some fabric therapy. I disguised the trip as a necessary stop for some fabric for my Spicing Up The Kitchen Swap partner, but that was just an excuse to indulge in bolstering my own stash with some Echino loveliness. I mean, come on! How could I resist?

Then, this past weekend I made a trip over to Sew Modern with my friend Caroline and her daughter, Mayah. Care and her husband are expecting their third child this Summer so we did a little shopping for some yummy fabrics for the baby. I'm planning to make some clothing for her and some burp cloths. And once they get the crib we're going to make another trip back to pick out some fabric for the crib skirt.

I also picked out some fabrics for the projects I have in mind for my Make Mine Modern partner. I am going for a romantic theme for her and I think these work together nicely.

Lastly, I couldn't resist picking up some fabrics for my International Kitchen Swap partner's project. I decided to go with some Kona Ash solid and red and aqua accent fabrics. I've got some big ideas for both swaps.

Of course, I bought a little extra of each of the fabrics to augment my own stash. I'm a bad, bad girl.

Red & Aqua Part 2 February Blocks

In my effort to play catch up this weekend I banged out some wonky star blocks for Briana Arlene in the Red & Aqua 2 Bee. She asked for blocks of any size, the only rules were to use the neutral fabrics as the background. These blocks were so fun! I could have made her a million of them and I would have made many more, but I ran out of fabrics. Bummer.

The first one I made for her I wanted to make on the small side. I really love the way small piecing looks when it comes together. I played around with the neutrals I used in the background of the block and I pieced the middle of the star with the same fabrics I used in the arms of the star.

The second block I made for her was larger than the first. I decided to utilize a bunch of the blue fabrics that she gave me to use. She had some awesome fabric choices including several from Jay McCarroll. I heart Jay's fabrics! I also played around with the center of this block and did some creative piecing.

Finally I ended up making her another small block. I didn't intend to make it the same size as the first block but I was running out of large pieces of her fabrics at this point. Again, I played around with the neutrals in the background of the block and I added in some of the gorgeous blue linen that she included in the pack.

I really love these blocks. Seriously, I think making them helped me fall in love with wonky stars. Honestly before this they weren't really my thing, but now I am totally digging them. I hope Brianna feels the same.

I Made A Dent

I didn't get as much accomplished this weekend as I wanted to but I was able to make a dent in several projects. Unfortunately on Sunday, I just wasn't feeling as motivated so I didn't get as much done as I could have. I had a terrible headache so I spent a majority of the day lounging around the house rather than working.

Weekend To Do List

1) Sewn Together Bee Blocks - DONE

2) do.Good Stitches Bee Blocks

3) Red & Aqua 2 Bee Blocks - HALF DONE

4) A Dozen Quilters Bee Blocks - DONE

5) International Kitchen Swappers Project - STARTED

6) Make Mine Modern Projects - STARTED

7) Round Robin Quilt

I was behind on my blocks for Jenny that she asked for last month in A Dozen Quilters Bee. She asked for cross blocks with red backgrounds for and AIDS quilt that she is making. Since I was late I made her five blocks instead of the customary two.

This is a charity that is near and dear to my heart so I am glad to be a part of this project. I hope Jenny forgives me for my tardiness.

Weekend Sew-tacular

My sweet and adorable husband happens to be out of town this weekend and to top it all off... I don't have to work! Woo Hoo! You know what that means, don't you? A weekend of pure, unadulterated sewing. I actually get to get caught up on bee blocks and hopefully get ahead on some swap projects. Then if there is a little extra time left over I might even get to work on some personal items.

Weekend To Do List

1) Sewn Together Bee Blocks

2) do.Good Stitches Bee Blocks

3) Red & Aqua 2 Bee Blocks

4) A Dozen Quilters Bee Blocks

5) International Kitchen Swappers Projects

6) Make Mine Modern Projects

7) Round Robin Quilt

I may seem overly ambitious, and I am, but it's good to have goals, right? And after meeting the incredibly prolific Jacqui, the other night, I'm inspired. It's not very often that I actual have the whole house to myself for an entire weekend. Wish me luck!

LAMQG March Meeting

Last night I made it back to a LAMQG meeting and I'm liking it. I got quite a response from my post about my first meeting last month. I didn't mean to make a fuss, but several members from the guild contacted me about the comment I made about not knowing anyone. There was much reassurance that there would be greeters at the door to make the new people feel welcomed. Seriously, it was very sweet. And lo and behold there were people there to greet me when I walked into Sew Modern last night. Craig, one of the kind guild members who reached out to me via email, noticed my pink hair and introduced himself to me. I love the welcoming committee! I can't wait until I'm ingrained in the guild enough to return the favor.

This meeting was great. First, all the members who participated in the Robert Kaufman solids challenge showed off their amazing creations and we all voted on them in a multitude of categories. Seriously, there were some incredible quilts. It was really difficult to vote. I loved seeing all the creativity in the room.

Guest Speaker, Jacqui of Tallgrass Prairie Studio

Afterwards we all had the honor of hearing Jacqui from Tallgrass Prairie Studio speak about her process and share some of her amazing quilts with us. I have been following her blog since the day I learned about the online quilting community.

She brought so many of her quilts to show us and shared the stories behind each, and even got a little teared up at times. One of the highlights for me was getting to see one of my all time favorite quilts live and in person.

One of my all time favorite quilts... ever!

She has been a constant source of inspiration for me so it was amazing to have her here in person.

So I am officially now a dues paying member of the LAMQG! I can't wait for my next meeting.

UHG In The Mail

Cross another swap off the list. Earlier this week I sent out a package to my secret partner in the Urban Home Goods Swap on Flickr. I wasn't quite sure where to go with her at first but eventually an idea came to me and I ran with it.

I chose to work with some of Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms line. It's a little out of my comfort zone but I think it is right up my partner's alley. Fingers crossed. My partner seemed open to anything and didn't have many specific requests but I decided to make her a sewing couch caddy from Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial found here. I must admit, I have always wanted one of these for myself but have never taken the time to try the pattern... until now. I am actually pretty happy with the way it turned out. And it was an easy peasy tutorial to follow. The whole project came together rather quickly.

We were limited this time around in the amount of goodies we were allowed to send our secret partners. I am the type that usually tries to spoil my partner so it was difficult for me not to send along any little "extras". We were allowed to send a second, smaller item. I chose to make three small, reversible fabric nesting bags that my partner can use for scraps and such. In retrospect I should have included buttons on each so she could have switched them out on her sewing caddy since the fabric all matched. Oh well. You know what they say about hindsight.

The bags I whipped together without a tutorial. I am pretty happy with the largest bag but there are a couple modifications overall that I would like to make next time I attempt nesting bags. I don't think there's anything wrong with them I just think some improvements could be made to make them even better.

I sincerely hope my partner is happy with everything. I was flying a little blind trying to figure out exactly what she would want. And I did cheat a little and throw in some extra Amy Butler scraps for her. Hope she's happy!