Churn Dash | a bright and cheery quilt

Every year my girlfriends from school (affectionately nicknamed: The Cupcake Club) get together and have our annual Friendsgiving gathering.  We eat lots of food, paint our nails, apply face masks, adventure about, drink lots of wine, and do a Yankee Swap or Secret Santa.

This year I brought this fun quilt for our Yankee Swap.  When I started it I had dreams of making it massively large and keeping it for myself.  But I found it sitting in a WIP pile after several years and that changed.  Rather than making another 20 blocks or so, I decided to finish it as is and gift it to a friend.

It is a basic churn dash quilt using various blues, yellows, and grays from my stash.  It was one of the first projects I started working on when I came back to quilting.  I can tell because all of my seams are between 3/8" and 1/2" wide!  This was before the light bulb moment of perfect 1/4 seams.  The quilt finishes at about 45" square and is backed in a fun blue and white plaid.  I quilted it using my walking foot and what I'll call "organic straight line quilting."  It is bound using a soft blue polka dot, also from my stash.

The Quilt in it's new home.

My friend A. got to keep the quilt and I'm so glad.  It suits her personality perfectly!  She is a kindergarten teacher and a generally cheerful, happy person!  She says things like "aww sugar muffins", loves dancing to Pat Benatar, and is rarely found without a smile on her face.  The quilt fits in perfectly in her living room.  Though, I'm not sure which came first, the quilt or the yellow pillows!

I hope you enjoy cuddling with this quilt pretty lady!

Happy Girl, Happy Quilt.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and Crazy Mom Quilts!

Peach, Rose, and Plum Bee Blocks - A Finished Baby Quilt

Hello!  I'm still alive.  Just busy with work at the moment so I haven't had much time for sewing.  I did finish something though.  The best part?  It's one of the projects I shared with you back in my 100th post.


Remember these blocks?  They were supposed to be for our wedding but we changed the color scheme and never used them.  I had intended to piece the baby's name and include that in the top but I said "forget it!" and sewed it up using what I had.

This approach was really perfect for baby and her parents.  They are great about making due with what they have and living simply.  Everything for baby is hand-me-downs.  So I tried to embrace that spirit and finish this up for baby.

I found some coral and purple yardage in my stash that I thought coordinated nicely and went to work piecing up the top.  I decided to keep it simple and just set the blocks slightly off center.

The backing is more yardage I picked up for the wedding originally but never used.  Lucky for me it was an extra-wide yardage so I didn't have to piece the back.  **Win!**  I quilted the background simply in long loopy lines that should keep it nice and soft for baby and stitched in the ditch around the star blocks.

On a whim I decided to round the corners of the quilt.  I'm glad I did.  I love the soft look it gives the whole thing.  I bound it using more fabric from my stash that doesn't exactly match but... hey, baby won't care and neither do I.  I'll be gifting it to baby and Mom and Dad in the next few days.  I hope they love it!

I'm happy to also check this off and one of my 30+ WIPs and UFOs as well!  Making progress one quilt at a time.

Linking up with Show Off Saturday.

WIPs Update {part 3}

As part of my goal to finish all of my WIPs and UFOs in the next 12 months, I'm blogging about all of them here in their various states of completion to help keep myself accountable to actually doing what I have set out to do.

The past two weeks I've posted about my overwhelming pile of WIPs and UFOs.  I've blogged about 11 of them now.  I am happy to report that I finished one of them for a yankee swap at my annual Friendsgiving celebration with friends from college.  I did forget to take a picture of the finished quilt before gifting it but hopefully I can get one from my friend who got the quilt so I can share it with you here.

WIPs

2014 Aurifil Block of the Month

These blocks are from the 2014 Aurifil Block of the Month.  I started them in January and have completed blocks through August.  I don't know what I'll do with these blocks.  I debated throwing them in with my 2014 Sugar Block Club quilt, since I used the same colors, but I'm not sure that the blocks play nicely with each other.  I might finish one more then just use the nine to make a baby quilt.

You can find all of the related posts here.

2014 Sugar Block Club

At the beginning of 2014 I started three different year long bee's.  The Sugar Block Club was one of them.  It is hosted by Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock.  These are "traditionally rooted blocks, full of lovely vintage charm" that still feel fun and lively today.

I've finished blocks through August and just need to piece the remaining four months.  I think I might make doubles of some of my favorites in order to fill out the blocks a bit more and make the finished quilt a bit larger as well.  I plan on keeping this quilt for myself.

You can find all of the related posts here.

Jeweled Forest Quilt

I picked up this Jeweled Forest Kit for a great price about two years ago.  It is all beautiful batiks.  I had planned on finishing it for my Mom at the time, since she loves batiks.

It's all paper piecing and should go pretty quickly once I start but I'm not sure when I will.  This may be one of the projects I decide to unload instead of finish.

Low Volume Scrappy Trip Around the World Bee Quilt

These blocks started as part of the Scrappy Trip Along block swap on Flickr, hosted by Julie of 627 Hand Works.  I first joined this bee in July 2013 and ended up participating in four rounds.  It was so much fun and I love having special blocks made by quilters all over the world to include in this top.

I currently have 26 blocks finished and another 31 sewn into strips and waiting to be cut and resewn into the finished scrappy trip block.  I planned on finishing this quilt as a large bed size for my bed at home.  I may change my mind and split the blocks into two smaller quilts instead.

2014 Orange Peel QAL Top

This quilt was made as part of the Orange Peel Quilt along hosted by Quilty Habit.  I finished the top and backing in early September but at that point it was still too hot to consider quilting it at home.  Now that it's cooler I think I'm ready to start.  I just need to purchase additional batting and baste this one so that I can begin quilting it.

You can find all of the related posts about this top here.

Wedding Guest Book Signiture Quilt

This is a very special quilt to me.  It's the guest book from my wedding last October.  In lieu of a traditional guest book I decided to make quilt blocks for our guests to sign using our wedding colors for the stars and black and white for the background.  I love everything about this quilt and plan to finish it to use on a guest bed or as a large wall hanging that we can enjoy all the time.

I have a few blocks I need to piece still to fill in some holes and then I need to piece and quilt the top.  I think I will probably send this one out to be quilted since it is so special to me.

These projects and all the others, seventeen in total so far, can be found on my 2014-2015 WIP/UFO Challenge page at the top of the site.


I'm linking up with this weeks WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

2014 WIPs Goal {part 2}

As part of my goal to finish all of my WIPs and UFOs in the next 12 months, I'm blogging about all of them here in their various states of completion to help keep myself accountable to actually doing what I have set out to do.

Last week I shared 6 WIPs/UFOs.  This week I want to share a few more.

WIPs

Blue and Yellow Churn Dash Quilt

I started this quilt over two years ago.  It's very bad.  I didn't know what a 1/4" seam was.  I didn't know that you were supposed to trim half-square triangles before sewing them to other things.  I didn't know what squaring up blocks was.

But I love the colors.  Originally I had plans to make this into a large quilt for my bed but I've since decided to abandon that ambition and call it what it is.  The goal now is to finish it into a small lap quilt.  Since I first announced my goal, I have sewn together the blocks, pin basted the top and started quilting it.  I hope to finish it for this weekend.

Antique Red and Blue Quilt Top

I picked up this roughly twin-size antique quilt top at MQX a few years ago.  I though it would be a fun project to practice quilting on. I really love the scrappy colors and wonky-ness of the top.  I planned to finish it as a couch quilt.

It needs to be basted, quilted, and bound.

"Rapture" 2014 Globetrotting Sampler Blocks

This year I fully embraced the Sampler Quilt Along trend and started three different projects.  I quickly fell behind on all of them.  This one is the 2014 Globetrotting Quilt Along with Pat Sloan.  As you can see I only got through the block for April before abandoning it.

I need to make the remaining blocks, then finish the top.  I did have a recipient in mind for this one and had though it could be a Christmas 2014 gift, but it won't be done for then.

Red and White Hourglass Quilt

This is the second hourglass block quilt I have laying around.  This one is made from scraps from a larger quilt I worked on.  It is a large lap size quilt and is destined to belong to a very special little girl, the daughter of one of my best friends.  She's seen a picture of the quilt so there's added pressure to finish this one up.

It needs to be basted, quilted, and bound.

Rockey Mountain Puzzle Blocks

These are bee blocks from my first attempt at a 6 month rotating quilting bee on Flickr.  I asked for Rocky Mountain Puzzle blocks in a bright and cheery color palette.  The plan was to make some additional blocks to finish it at a 5x6 lay out.  I only have 13 blocks at the moment, so I'd need to finish another 17 blocks to reach the size I had originally pictured.  

Are you counting?  I'm up to 11 projects shared so far.  Yikes.  

I'm linking up with this weeks WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Oh the Places We'll Go (and the projects we'll start) {100th Post}

Exciting news:  This is my one hundredth blog post!  Yay!  Thanks so much for joining me on this journey.  I'm glad that you're here and I'm grateful that you are actually interested in what and why I make.  I'd like to do something to celebrate this milestone but I'm not sure what yet.  Stay tuned for that...

This milestone also got me thinking about all of the projects I've blogged about but never finished.  I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with it all: keeping track of it and while being influenced by other ideas and my own creativity.

This inspired me to actually inventory all of my WIPs to see just how bad it really was.  I knew I had a lot but I was truly shocked by the number when I was finished.  Want to know how many?  Ten? Twenty?  The correct answer is 35.  Yes you read that correctly, thirty five WIPs -- anywhere from sketches and fabric bundles to just needing binding and a hem -- currently live in my sewing room.

That's bad.  Really bad.  But what makes it worse is that most of these are things I've started for other people, to celebrate milestones and accomplishments, which haven't yet made it to the intended recipients yet.  For me, that defeats the purpose of making.  I make because I love to but I also because I love to gift the things I make to people I love and care about.  By not finishing these projects I'm really doing a disservice to those people.  That's not okay with me and it needs to change.

I have set a goal of finishing up all of these WIPs in the next year.  To keep myself accountable I'm going to share each of my WIPs here over the new few weeks and create a page for tracking the progress of each one.  I'll blog about my progress and keep track of my finishes so that I know just where I stand.  If I get really creative, maybe I'll create a button and a link-up if anyone else wants to play along.

WIPs

Antique Black and White Mini Quilt

I picked up this fun antique mini quilt at MQX a few years ago (maybe two) and thought it would cute finished as a mini quilt to display on the wall.  

It just needs binding and a good press.

Blue Moda Hourglass Wall Hanging

I found a charm pack of this Moda collection called Hearty Good Wishes at some point this year.  It quickly became simple hourglass blocks but then dissappeared into one of my sewing boxes in what I'm sure was a mad attempt to clean up one day.  I've been looking for it all summer.  This was supposed to become a lap quilt for a friend who had a death in the family.

It just needs to be sewn together and have borders added.

Peach, Rose, and Plum Bee Blocks

I requested these colors in one of the first bee's I participated in back in early 2013.  At the time they were supposed to become table decorations for my pending wedding, then a quilt to remember the day but the color scheme was scrapped and I never did anything with them.  Earlier this year I pulled them out with the intent of making them into a baby quilt for a friend.

I need to piece the name of the baby, piece the top then quilt and bind.

Pink, Grey, and Yellow Bee Blocks

I started this sampler quilt back in February 2014 as part of several Bee Swaps.  There are 26 blocks in total.  I purchased border, binding, and backing fabric this past spring.

It needs to be pieced, have borders added, and then quilted and bound.

Starburst Blocks

I started these as a quilt for my cousin who was graduating high school.  I liked the blocks and the colors but didn't like them for him so I abandoned the idea in favor of a different approach (see the next line).  I may make more blocks to finish this off into a baby quilt or small lap quilt.  The fabrics are already cut.  I just need to find them and sew them up.

Modern Double Cross Quilt

I can't share a picture of this quilt yet because it's a gift.  I just need to finish piecing the improv top and then have it quilted and bound.

So there you have it.  The first six WIPs.  Only 29 to go.  

Happy Quilting!


I'm linking up with this weeks WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.