Monday, December 31, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Block 16

This little block deserves a post on its own. Here is the tutorial. Just for perspective, the block is 6.5 x 6.5 unfinished, and the little itty bitty christmas tree trunks are 0.25 x 0.33 or so... And the little tries are paper-pieced, and I did about every other seam incorrectly. So to say that this block caused me a lot of frustration is a huge understatement! But it is finally done, and trimmed.


One more block left! And on that note I am going to go take a break from sewing to ring in the New Year with my husband.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Time to think about 2013 goals

Seeing how badly I failed at full-filling my 2012 goals, I want to take another stab at this.

1. Learn free-motion quilting & quilt at least 1 complete quilt that way

2. Do 52 blocks for the Farmer's Wife Quilt. This makes 1 per week.

3. Start my own Etsy story for patterns & baby quilts.

4. Write up 2 patterns (hopefully more)

5. Learn curves (retro flowers quilt)

6. Make A&A's Bed quilts

7. Blog more. Goal: 3 posts per week / 12 per month.

This is totally doable! I guess we will see in about 365 days!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 14 & 18

Blocks 14 and 18 are now done! Only 2 more blocks are left, which is very exciting! Block 14 is very similar to another equilateral triangle block I made for the Summer Sampler, but the technique used was different. I think this way may be a bit easier. The unfinished size is 8.5 x 8.5. Here is a link to the tutorial. I used all prints instead of solids, and I am quite happy with the result.


Block 18 was quick, and very easy. It took me only about 20 minutes (which is how long it took my husband to tell me a story and set up a TV show on the computer for us to watch). I incorporated some blue into it, because I think there is currently not enough blue. The unfinished size is 6.5 x 6.5. Here is a link to the tutorial.


Friday, December 28, 2012

Revisiting the 2012 goals


Well... this is not looking good

1. Keep up with the quilting bee (I was good about this in 2011, but got a bit behind right before having a baby)
I managed this! I got behind only once, but then I caught up in a month, and I am all caught up now! Check!

2. Complete 12 quilt tops including: quilts for A&A  (2), Max's Quilt, Living Room Quilt, and Summer Sampler.
Yeah no. I completed 6 tops I think. I may be able to finish one more but that's it.

2a. Quilt 8 quilts (some of the ones above need to be long-arm quilted, no way my sewing machine can handle them!)
Well, I came close! I quilted 7. All the completed tops plus one more from last year.

3. Make some headway in making our bed quilt: put all the blocks together
Not even a slightest bit. I now have 3 options for fabric to make this though!

4. Learn how to make blocks using templates and using paper piecing
I did learn paper piecing. Templates, not so much (although honestly I don't think it would be that difficult, I have done equilateral triangle blocks, tumbler blocks and kite blocks.)

5. Take one quilting class
I did do that! Exactly 1!

6. Learn free-motion quilting.
I have attempted this, but I am finally taking a class in January!

So 2.5/6... I think I need to make more attainable goals next year!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 12, 13 & 15

Here is a new batch of blocks. I think most of the ones I have left are smaller. Block 12 was nice quick and easy. It is 6.5 x 6.5 unfinished. here is the link to the tutorial.



Block 13 was interesting to make. It felt more like 3 little blocks put together. It is 5.5 x 18.5 unfinished. Here is the link to the tutorial.



I decided to do Block 15 one day when I was really tired after work. It was another very quick to make block. It is 6.5 x 6.5 unfinished. Here is a link to the tutorial.


After these blocks, I have 15 out of 19 done. I have yet to make 14, 16, 17, and 18! So very close!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Joy Christmas Quilt Finished!

I can finally post about this quilt, because I finally gifted it. It ended up being very big!


I love the red border!


For quilting I just did straight line quilting in a grid pattern that follows the white.



I think the binding looks good.


Here is backing detail:



It ended up being about 70" x 55". I had mid-loft binding in it, so I rolled it up and tied it with one of the leftover jelly roll strips.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 10 & 11

These two blocks were quite fun to make, both very quick to put together. Here is the tutorial to both. Block 11 was nice and large. I didn't make it quite how the instructions dictated. I cut out a large rectangle 12.5 x 3.5 and 2 white squares 3.5 x 3.5, and attached the white squares using the flying geese method. I like how mine turned out, since it has fewer seams. The unfinished size is 12.5 x 18.5.


Block 10 was another tiny 6.5 x 6.5 block. It was very easy to put together. I chose to use a white print instead of solid white, and I quite like the result.


And here is a picture of all the blocks before 10 and 11. Most of the bigger blocks are done so it is nice to see how they would all look next to each other!


Sadly though I don't think I will be done in time for Christmas, seeing how tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I am still in the thick of making the blocks. I hope to finish it by the Russian Orthodox Christmas now, provided I can decide how to quilt it. I have 12 out of 19 blocks made, 7 more to go.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 6 & 19

I made blocks 6 and 19! I made 6, because I had a gaping hole in my list of blocks yet to make, so I made block 6. It was a cute little block. It uses foundation piecing, which was my first time doing strip piecing with that method. It was challenging for me, in particular because I could not press my seams open. The resulting block turned out quite cite. The unfinished size was 6 x 6, which is a strange size... We will see how it turns out. Here is the link to the tutorial.


I chose to make block 19, because I wanted to make the last huge block. The finished size is 14.5 x 18.5. Here is a link to the tutorial.


I need to get a picture of all the blocks together. I really like how they are turning out! I am done with 10/19. So probably no way I can finish by Christmas, but maybe for Russian Orthodox christmas?

Friday, December 14, 2012

Sophie Lemonade Lollipop Quilt Finished!

Here is another finished quilt for you! I finished a bunch of my works in progress recently on a long car trip we took. I had bindings left to attach, so that was a perfect car project.

This quilt uses the lemonade lollipop pattern. The fabric used is Sophie by Chez Moi.


Enjoy the pictures (also natural lighting!)








This is the backing. I think this fabric is just SO pretty!

For quilting, I essentially followed the block lines. I did a seam on either side of the original seam, about 1/3" away. I was quite happy with the result.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Bungle Jungle Tumbler

Let's take a break from the regularly scheduled Christmas sewing, because as promised, I have a few finished projects to show!

I finished a while back a baby quilt for a good friend, using by AccuQuilt Go! It was quite amazing, because all of cutting out took me about an hour! The tumbler I used was 6.5", and I made a mistake of getting 2 layer cakes. As a result I had a lot of scraps. I think if I use that die again, I will get fat eights, because then I will be able to cut 3 per FE, and save some $$!

This quilt was made using the Bungle Jungle collection for Moda by Tim and Beck. Isn't it just perfect for a baby boy?


Here it is:


Here are a few more shots we got outside! (Enjoy all the natural lighting ;)






For quilting, I essentially followed the tumbler shape, about 1" from the seam. The quilting lines go only top to bottom, so it was a breeze to quilt as well. Pretty sure I will make some more of these, especially since I have the dye! My mom told me she prefers the back actually... Thanks, mom! :)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Block 8

I made block 8 yesterday! The tutorial can be found here. Although, just a word of warning, the tutorial is not complete. I was extremely confused for a while. Essentially the tutorial skips the last few steps, where you add on the red part to the two halves to get a symmetrical square block. The unfinished size is supposed to be 11.5 x 11.5.


My colors are a bit different from the original as you can see. The reason being is I didn't want my background color to be off-white, so I picked a light green. I think it goes with the other 2 quite nicely. I also like my fussy cut birds if I may say so myself.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012; Block 9

I decided to take a plunge and make the remaining big block. I decided that once the big blocks are out of the way, I will have a better idea of what fabrics I need to have left over for the remainder of the blocks. Here is the tutorial. The unfinished size of this block is 18.5 x 18.5. originally I wanted to put light blue in there instead of light blue, but when I started putting it together, it just didn't work! So I remade a quarter of "kite" blocks (which is no small feat), but I will say that I am very glad I did. I am quite happy with the result.


So I am done with 7 out of 18 blocks. 11 more to go, but the rest are smaller.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 5 & 7

Here are my next couple of blocks. I am skipping block 6 for now, because I want to use some scraps, so my plan is to make more blocks, then go back to 6. Block 5 was 14.5 x 8.5. It love how it really looks like 2 Christmas trees! Here is the link to the tutorial.


Block 7 was also really fun to make. It is very simple and turned out pretty fun. The tutorial is here. The unfinished size is 7.5 x 14.5.


I am working on another big block now, and I still have some finished projects to show you coming up!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 3 & 4

Blocks 3 & 4 both featured presents! I love presents, so these were fun to make. Block 3's tutorial can be found here. Mine looks quite different, because I was nervous I would not have enough fabric cut, so I didn't make the angles as dramatic. I ended up cutting off one whole color off of the edge... Oops! But I qiote like how it turned out! The unfinished size is 7.5 x 14.5.


Block 4 was also presents. The tutorial can be found here. The unfinished size is 6.5 x 6.5. I made mine differently than the tutorial. I used one whole piece of white for the background of each column, and then used the method for making geese units from block 5. I lie having fewer seams in the background fabric.


Stay tuned for blocks 5 & 7!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Christmas Quilt 2012: Blocks 1 & 2

With just a month left before Christmas, I decided that I need to make us a new Christmas quilt. There was a quilt-along that I have really wanted to do in July, but the fabric I wanted to use wasn't out until sometime in August, so lo and behold I missed the quilt-along. But now all the blocks have been posed and I can just make all of them at my own pace. Here is a link to the block-thon. All the block tutorials can be found on the Free Spirit Fabrics blog.

The fabric I am using is Deb Strain's Share the Joy Chrismas line.


I like that fabric line, because there are a lot of smaller prints. I prefer that for the smaller blocks. Some blocks in this block-thon are only 6x6 finished!

So without further ado I present to you blocks 1 & 2: Block 1's tutorial can be found here. The unfinished size is 18.5 x 10.5:


The second block's tutorial can be found here. This one was quite big, unfinished size being 18.5 x 18.5. I used up the panel on this block. I love how it turned out!


I am quite enjoying this quilt-along! So far all of them have been pretty easy. I also love how they are all different sizes! Thy are also all very Christmas-y, either presents, or tinsel, or Christmas trees! I will be posting more blocks tomorrow.

Also be on the lookout for a bunch of my finished quilts! I finished them a while ago, I just need to take pictures. It is quite hard to take pictures of quilts inside an apartment, because the lighting is never quite right and there isn't enough space!


Friday, November 16, 2012

Sew Red For Women: Block 9

Here is the 9th block. Here is the link to the tutorial.






This block was quite fun to make. It had some HST's, some geese, etc. I somehow ended up with 2 kits for this block, so I may end up making another one!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Another Quilting Bee Block

I just finished making these 2 chevron blocks for Joyce.


I love that Berenstein bears fabric!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

A Joy Christmas Quilt

I have a new quilt in progress: it is made from Kate Spain's Joy collection:


I am using the following quilt as inspiration:


The original features Jingle Collection by Ann Kelle.

The quilt is coming together really fast, and is really fun to make. I started yesterday by doing all the math, and at this point I am about to do the final ironing and sash!