Quilty WIP Wednesday/ALYoF 2013

I finally finished another quilt last week, but it's a secret one that I can't show off just yet.  After I finished though, I determined not to start anything else until I tackle my growing WIP pile!

This WIP quilt is for my Dad.  I've titled it, "Manly Meadows" because it uses mostly Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow prints, plus a few others.  Here's my original post about it from over a year ago - eep!  I was inspired by some machine quilting books I received at Christmas to just branch out of my typical stipple.  I've been making loopy squares and sin waves!  For the back of this quilt, I just bought a sheet from Target.  The quilting really shows up well on the back.  Hopefully I'll have this finished and in the mail to my Dad for Father's Day this month.  It's about time if I started more than a year ago, right?

Carlton snuggled up on the pile o quilts my BF and I photographed last weekend :)

WIP List:

Finished!

  - None this week

Being quilted

  - Urban Cabin in Modern Meadow

Finished quilt tops

  - Aqua/Yellow Patchwork Chevron

  - Over and Under in Sew Cherry

  - Happy Go Lucky in Vintage Modern

  - Round Robin Medallion

In pieces

  - Hexa Go Go Stars & Stripes

  - On a Whim in Birds & Bees

Carlton's rug mug

I've been working on hexies in my free time at work, not really knowing what I would do with them when I was finished.  I'm using scraps from Little Apples and have already made a wallhanging that's in my kitchen, so I decided my cat, Carlton, needed a matching placemat for his food dishes.  It's basically just a mug rug about 8" x 14".  I sewed the hexies onto a muslin background in red with a thick blanket stitch on my sewing machine and echo quilted a little bit.  Very zakka style, no?

A Sewing Machine Cover for Frannie

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you may be familiar with Carlton, my kitty cat.  He used to be cute like this

but now he's big, like this

Well, he doesn't look that much bigger, but trust me, he is!

He really likes to chew on things - balls of aluminum foil, my sewing machine, me...  I was tired of seeing bite marks on Frannie, my Bernina sewing machine, so I whipped up a cover for her to keep Carlton at bay.  I used the Moda Bake Shop sewing machine cover tutorial.  I used some fabric I had from Walmart (eeps, don't tell any of the serious quilters!) because I really didn't care what it looked like and used leftover fabric from making my ottoman cover as the backing.  It's sort of reversible and I'm quite pleased!  I stitched in the ditch because I was lazy and wanted to finish it asap.  It's very cottage-y, especially sitting on the sea foam green desk :D

Work In Progress

Lately I've been doing a lot of sewing and I'm excited to share one of my current works in progress.  I joined the quilting group at church, and they sew small quilts and pillowcases to donate for the children in the local hospital who have cancer.  This is close to my heart, since I am a childhood cancer survivor, and I thought this would be the perfect project!  At the first meeting, I found some scrap fabric that had been given to the group that would make a wonderful child's blanket.  Now, I've always thought, what's the point in making a quilt if it doesn't fit a bed?  I've since decided that idea is no good and any size goes!  I used a simple rail fence strip piecing method for the blocks and added a skinny border followed by a more substantial border. 

sideways shot

The prints are all beach/sea-related - hula girls, palm trees, sea turtles, flip flops, and dolphins of course!  I have a great ocean scene print for the backing too.  The quilt top is finished and now I'm just waiting for a much more experienced machine quilter in the group to sandwich it all together!  

close up of all the prints

This has really inspired me to get moving on more quilting projects.  I had a jelly roll of browns/pinks/greens that I bought at Wal-Mart last year that I'm going to do in a rail fence pattern too.  I know the fabric isn't "serious quilt material," but I'd rather make mistakes on cheap fabric than the Moda fabric I drool over!  Pics of this to be posted later...

don't forget Carlton!  no, I didn't pose him like that either - it's natural :P

Sneak Peek!

My grandma gave me a fat quarter bundle of 1930s reproduction fabrics for my birthday.  We picked it out when we went to the quilt store together, but she made me wait til my birthday to give it to me ;)  I finally decided on a good pattern and here's a sneak peek at the blocks I've been building!  The pattern is found at Oh, Fransson! by Elizabeth Hartman - the Mod Sampler Quilt Along.  Ironic I'm making the mod quilt with vintage repro fabrics?

Carlton lounging on the prints

All the different blocks in the quilt

Can I get some more houndstooth please?

It's been a busy weekend for me working on a bunch of different projects.  Ideas just flew into my head as I was planning the things I needed to do!  

So I'd been having trouble keeping my necklaces orderly and out of an untangled monster blob in my jewelry box and I'd been keeping my eye out for tutorials on making something to keep them in line.  I contemplated a picture frame with window screen mesh, but that stuff is wicked expensive for how little I wanted.  I thought about ribbons and snaps and that just sounded way too complicated.  

Before

Ultimately I went with what I know...fabric!  I bought a picture frame with a decent design at the thrift store for $1.62.  BTW, I chose a paint color for the desk project and thought, hmm, I should paint this picture frame to match.  So I did.  I removed the glass and was left with a few pieces of cardboard.  I didn't have batting, but I do have some polar fleece that I saved from the trash (don't ask) that I stapled to the cardboard.  Then I stapled another piece of beautiful preppy green houndstooth over it.  Popped it all back in the frame and thought, now what?  Well I wanted it to be an effective but simple solution, so I used those pearly glass topped pins stuck into the fabric to hold the necklaces.  Heavy pieces like the one in the middle needed a couple pins.  I alternated white and green pins, because I have a type A personality.  So far it seems to be a good project, and it didn't come crashing down in the middle of the night like other things I've hung.  Now if I could only get Carlton to stop jumping up at it to play with the pretty chains...

After!  Sorry you can't tell the size of this, but I think it's about 10x14...

Nobody puts Carlton in the corner!

I heart houndstooth!

I feel like I had a pretty productive weekend, all things considered.  Here's a quick recap.


I'm sitting at my new (to me) Pottery Barn Kids (that's right!) desk, thanks to craigslist.  A lady had 2 of them for her kids that she was getting rid of and I was one of the lucky buyers!  It's the Keaton desk from 2006 in a honey oak color.  The desk is basically a table on casters and there's a hutch with a big corkboard and shelf on top.  She sold it with a rolling filing cabinet style table and the matching chair.  I'm sure this was around $1000 or more new, and I rolled it away for the sweet price of $150.  Ka-ching!  Awesome deal :D  

I decided to recover the seat of one of my mismatched dining room chairs yesterday.  I told you that the green houndstooth would return!  It would be more cohesive as a look if I painted the wood cream to match the fire place screen, but we'll see if I get around to that.  Here's hoping Carlton doesn't use it as a new scratching post!  Looks much better, no?  Whoever put the plaid on before didn't seem to notice how crooked it was.


Before:

After:

Carlton!

Carlton update

Hi friends!  Since the cable was shut off (no, I didn't forget to pay the bill!) that someone else had apparently paid for, and my internet is spotty at best, I decided to stitch up some squares tonight.  I'm working on a vintage sheet queen size quilt using 6" blocks, alternating a cute little cream/green/purple polka dotted new fabric with the vintage sheet squares.  Who decides he has to be literally in the center of all the action?  Carlton...

It was cute until I realized he'd been chewing on the foot pedal cord and then I was rather upset.  I didn't get a $$$$ sewing machine to be a cat chew toy!!  Yes, that lovely is my graduation present - a Bernina 440 Quilter's Edition complete with BSR.  Wooot woot :D  Look for more hopefully amazing projects in the future!

Vintage Sheet Swap Project #1 Completed!

Hello!  I know I'm sort of sporadic about my posts.  I've moved for my new job and had training and all, so I've been busy decorating and learning etc. etc.  I have managed to finish my first project from my lovely stash of vintage sheet fat quarters.  


I stumbled upon the lovely Pink Penguin blog awhile ago after I had purchased the Spring 2010 issue of Stitch magazine.  The author, Ayumi Takahashi, had a plastic bag dispenser featured in the magazine.  She has great tutorials on her blog too.  I decided the Quilted Placemats Tutorial would be a perfect way to showcase some of my vintage sheets in my new apartment.  I say perfect because, frankly, I was scared to cut big pieces out of my fat quarters!

I finished 2 placemats and am pretty happy with how they turned out.  I did make a few mistakes that should make the next versions come out improved.  I skipped the spray on basting step and after I was finished quilting the white center, the placemats were a little more like a rhombus than a rectangle!  I think next time I'll quilt the white before sewing the patchwork strips on the edges to make sure it's straight.  I guess I had a mental block when I was sewing the bias tape on.  I used purchased double fold bias tape and machine stitched it to the back of the placement.  Duh - now the front has hand stitching showing instead of a nice straight line!  Oops...  

The patchwork edge is an assortment of vintage sheets.  The white fabric in the center is Kona linen that was 50% off at Joann.  I bought a ton to make a cathedral window quilt - to be continued later.  The bias tape is Wright double fold bias tape.  I used leftover light loft batting and the back of the placemats is a purple cotton I found in the remnant bin super cheap.  

There's more in the pipelines for my vintage sheet stash.  I actually have received my box from a second swap I participated in.  I think my new kitten, Carlton, likes them!  I should probably make something for him soon!  He's fascinated with trying to help me type :/