Skillbuilder Progress

Pile O' Fabric's Skillbuilder 2013 BOM is down to two more blocks and believe it or not so am I.  Alyssa gave us a little extra time to catch up and it worked out great for me!  For a while I was five blocks down but had been making progress in October.  Unfortunately the last couple of blocks featured applique and I FEAR applique almost as much as the plague. For a great while, I just avoided even attempting them.  But because I am committed to learning new techniques and Alyssa has certainly rocked at teaching more than a few new things this year and boosting my skills, I gave it a go.  I unknowingly did the harder of the two first.  The Liberty Floral block has some major curves at the ends and Alyssa had us glue the fabric to a foundation and use a wooden stiletto to smooth the fabric down around the corners.  She also had us prewash the cut out pieces fabric but not the background because she says when we wash it for the first time the background will shrink and cause the applique to turn under slightly giving it the appearance of turned edge applique.  Since I love the look of turned edge but would never attempt to do it, it sounds like a great alternative for me.  I must say the wooden stilletto ( I think mine is plastic) works wonders.  I bought it at a quilt show a few months back not even sure why I might need it but thinking it could come in handy.  It was amazing and I think this technique would have suffered without it's help.  Each foundation piece was then glued to the block and then zig zagged into place with a very small stitch using sulky monofilament thread. Boy, have I become a huge fan of glue this year.  For the next two blocks, she even suggests using glue to get our paper pieced blocks to come back together perfectly aligned ... better then if we pinned the pieces in place.  She may be on to something here and I will certainly be giving it a try.  I consider myself a pretty savvy paper piecer so if she can teach this ol' dog another neat trick I will be wagging my tail in gratitude.

My Liberty Floral Block

and 

My Modern Beauty Block

This one was much easier as the curves were much gentler.  In fact, the edges could be glued down with no assistance needed from the stiletto.  The end points however, did need the stiletto to turn over the ends and tack down with a bit of liquid stitch.

Here are a few of the other blocks that I think I have neglected to post on the blog before now.

My Geo Swirl Block

My Pixelate Block

My Phoenix Block

and

My Shattered Chevrons

Overall, I am sure that all of these BOMs have kept me from accomplishing some other goals I have set for myself that I should be focusing on.  I wish I had more time for designing my own patterns.  I bought EQ 7 a couple of months ago and need to focus on learning to use it.  It seems to have a steep learning curve but I will find time soon ( I hope ) to set about learning to get the most from the program.  I also wish I had more time for swaps.  I am starting to make time again for them and will have to focus more of my time in that direction in the new year.  I love making new friends with the same love of quilting and swaps enable you to do just that. Then there is the matter of making Becky's quilt.  I have yet to really find my mojo and get a firm grip on what I want it to turn out like.  I have a vision and just have to keep striving to create it. I just know that what I have done so far is not what I had envisioned for this project.  However, I recently saw Tim Holtz's fabric line Ecletic Elements and it was love at first site.  I am sure it is what I am needing for Becky's quilt, so when I won a $25.00 gift certficate from the Fat Quarter Shop for my entry into the linky party held by Kristy at Quiet Play for her And Sew On BOM I knew just what I needed to buy with it.  A huge thanks to both Kristi for hosting the event and giving us such fab patterns to work with each month and another HUGE thanks to the Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring such a great prize!!!  I am over the top anxious to get my hands on all the fabric I have coming my way. Once ai got to shopping it was hard to stop.  Fat Quarter SHop had such fabulous choices and I am thrilled with what I have coming my way soon.  I was super stoked to see they had the Ecletic Elements line and can't wait to start creating with them.  You can follow the link to see why these fabrics are the bees knees ( at least I think so ).  I think by creating a paper pieced block and combining some applique techniques learned from Alyssa's Skillbuilder BOM,  I will be able to acheive what I am needing to do to be happy with Becky's quilt.  Now to just find the time with the holidays quickly approaching... I will post progress when I can just get that far with the process.  Wish me luck!!!

And Sew On Finishes

I took off a couple days from work to get things caught up.  I made sure my family didn't know so I could have uninterrupted time spent sewing.   I had three priorities on my to do list.

1.     2 Mug Rugs for my swap partner, Nanette

2.     Complete my And Sew On projects

3.     Cut all my 5"inch charms so I can get them shipped out

I didn't get to all my other things on my list but I did get these three things checked off and completed.

 Yeah  Me!!!

Most importantly was a couple of  items I was making out of my And Sew On blocks from the BOM that Kristy from Quiet Play has been doing the last 9 months.  She is having a linky party at the end of the month to share our completed projects and although I am a born procrastinator, I don't like to push my luck too far.   But more importantly, once again they were going into projects for ME and I wanted them done so I could start using them.  After all, this year is ALL ABOUT ME!!!  I have spent sew many years giving away the fruits of my labor and I am trying to make me a few things for me this year.  I originally had planned on making a mini wall hanging out of them to hang in my sewing studio.  I couldn't think of anything more appropriate for them to end up in but plans change.  I used eight of the nine blocks in a giant tote bag!  Not just any tote bag but one that will accompany me on many, many road trips!!!  I always pack a huge amount of stuff for a road trip because I am a very nervous passenger.  I like to have a ton of reading materials ( Quilt magazines being my favorite) and of course, I like to take my EPP hexagons because lets face it---I will need many, many road trips to get very far on this project. So far I have 11 hexagon flowers completed.  My lifetime project will have to be a small one.  Wink ;) Wink ;)

Front and back of my bag!

It measures a whooping 

17x18 inches

I cannibalized the tote handles from another bag I had for years. I am uber excited with the amount of stuff I can take along with me now and love that the bag will definitely be carrying all my sewing related stuff on my trips!

Do I hear you asking what about the one lonely block that didn't make the cut in the tote bag???

Well, it too had a happy ending.  It never really fit the color scheme of these blocks but as it was the block with the thread spools all over it I knew just what it was meant to end up as.  I made it into a thread catcher bag.  

I have needed one of these for a long time and found the pattern from All People Quilt HERE.  The original pattern was for a smaller version so I just adjusted the dimensions to use my 10 1/2 inch block.  Lets face it I will need the larger thread catcher because when I am paper piecing I will throw all the scrap from trimming the blocks in the sewing machine area into it and then will empty as needed.

I can't show you the  mug rugs I created for Nanette because I don't want my partner to see them before they arrive to her Down Under.  I will say I am thrilled with how they turned out and look forward to sharing them with you in the future.  For now I will just say they are themed around things I learned early on about my partner.  She has worked for years in the Fire Brigade fighting fires, although now she stays at the station and she loves fall colors and of course quilting.  I wrapped those three things into her mug rugs and hopefully she will love the resulting mug rugs.

A few weeks ago,  I joined the Kate Spain Charm Swap hosted by Michele over at Quilts from my Crayon Box and will need to mail them soon.  A couple of my fabrics took the scenic route to me ... shipping from Indiana then going to Honolulu before coming back to me in Washington.  I don't know why they thought I would be in Hawaii...I wish it were true but alas I had to wait for them to boomerang back to the states.

Michele was having trouble filling spots so I jumped at the chance to participate twice and had to wait for my second round of fabric to get it's tail on back here.  I must say I am looking forward to getting so many Kate Spain fabrics in return.  I can honestly say it will be the most fabric of any one designer I have ever owned.  I have a large stash but have never bought fabric by collections or designer.  As a paper piecer by preference, I am usually choosing fabrics by color or textures more than aesthetic value.  I must say, I do love Kate's fabrics though.  I think they lend themselves to paper piecing well.  Here are my contributions to the swap...ready to ship.

Now to add more things to my priority list and hoping to make more progress...

My Sewing Room

Well that might not be the right title for this post because my sewing room has never been clean enough to post a picture of ... and still isn't...but here is the block I made for the And Sew On final BOM block this month.  It has been great participating in this one and can't wait to have theses hanging in my sewing room in a completed project.

If you have missed this wonderful block of the month you can see all the blocks we have been making each month over at Quiet Play ...Kristy has us link them up for a chance at some fabulous prizes from her sponsors.  Next month we are suppose to put them all together in a finished project.  Kristy has hers all done to inspire us on.  I always need inspiration and drive to complete the project.  Lots of WIPs over here.  Next year I think I will have to commit to finishing some of these lovely BOMs that I am doing this year and are starting to pile up everywhere!  I will need to come up with an action plan for these quickly. Until then...
Keep Stitchin'

And Sew On...

And sew on...seems to be the story of my life right now as I continue to try and catch up.  I did get my July rotary cutter And Sew On block done.  My rotary cutter certainly gets a good workout so it is only right to feature it in one of the blocks.  I am glad that Kristy found just the way to do that in one of the patterns.

With little time to spare, I got back to work on my word quilt for Brayden and completed the top.  I got it all pin basted and hope to be able to FMQ it this week so it will be done for Brayden's arrival on Saturday.  He just has to keep cooking in the oven a little while longer so nana can 'Get er Done'. 

For the most part, I think I will just be following the grid when quilting it so it should be rather easy to quilt.
That's the plan anyway.

In doing a little blog reading this weekend , I saw that Sharon over at Lilabelle Lane is asking for help to make an eye spy meets polaroid quilt for a special little boy who is going through some tough medical issues right now.  I told her I would make a couple of these blocks and get them off to her but they are so additive I made four.  Oh, well I am sending them all and if she gets too many she can decide what else to do with them. I just need to pick up a postcard to send with it so Blake and his family can see where they came from and pop them in the mail so they can travel half way around the world to reach Sharon and become part her little love gift to this little guy to warm his heart and bring a smile to him with all of our good wishes.

I made the Gorilla, which turned out super cute, an Elephant, monkeys---just too fun to resist, and then I saw the deer and thought it was perfect since these blocks are being sent to Blake with love from the Pacific Northwest.
Keep Stitchin'

Progress Update

I have fallen into arrears with my BOM schedule and am trying to quickly do some catch up as time allows.  Family commitments still kept me busy this weekend but I have made some progress over the last week.

The Quilt Doodle Doodle BOMs are usually quite fast to put together so I decided to start there.     However , the July block was a little more challenging than usual but the results made me very happy, despite the extra time involved in reaching that goal.  The August block was a simple log cabin so I whipped them both out over a couple days this last week.

July's Jumping Jack Blossom

August's Log Cabin

This weekend I found time for the And Sew On BOM August block that  Kristy over at Quiet Play has posted for free each month on her site and you can buy her past patterns for a small fee on Craftsy.  I decided to start with the August block so I can link it up for this month's linky party but hope to get the July block done soon, too.  I have to admit to being totally charmed by the beauty of this block and was itching to see it come to life.  I am very happy with the resulting block.  Thank you so much Kristy for the beautiful block...be sure to jump over there and get the pattern for free this month and be sure to check out all her many new patterns. She has been very busy creating something for everyone's taste and I will be needing to buy some of them as soon as I have the time to move on to new projects.  I am currently eying her strawberry pattern and also the upcoming fairy tale line she is working on.  So here is my completed Stash Cupboard block.

August's Stash Cupboard

And lastly I completed the Craftsy August 2013 block.  It is one that Laura is having us do in two parts and I am thankful for that because it meant all I needed to do was make the basket this month and next month we will learn to hand applique the flowers into the basket.  She is allowing us to opt to machine applique if that is what we choose to do.  I am trying to do each of these BOMs as a learning curve assignment so I would love to give her lesson and any method she suggests a good try but I would definitely need to catch up on my other BOMs to do that.  Yes, my handle is a little wonky on the right but I am sure my September flowers will cover it up :)

August Craftsy Basket Block

Here is what I still need to do to reach my August goals

1. Pile O Fabric Skillbuilder blocks

• Phoenix
• Pixelate
• Saturn
• Candyland
• Broken Arrow

    2.  July Castle Blocks

• Gnome Castle
• Surprise Castle

    3.   August Castle Blocks

• Gnome Castle
• Surprise Castle
• Fairy Castle

That would get me caught up with my BOMs and I have 13 days left in the month to achieve it.  However, I do have some other goals as well. 

     4.   I need to finish my Forest QAL quilt binding and post it here prior
           to August 31st. 

     5.   Finish my Deer baby quilt by Sept 5th  baby due Sept 7th...cutting
           it close I know

     6.   Finish Brayden's name quilt that I started way before he had a name
           and have yet to complete.  I would like to have it done by Sept 5th also.
           Wow did they add more hours to a day so I can get this all done or
           should I eat my Wheaties everyday??? 

I feel like Dory in Finding Nemo would probably be saying to me ' Just Keep Stitchin' so that is what I will do!

A Stitch in Time

I don't know where June went.  I actually got most of my June blocks done weeks ago but have been so busy with lots of other things that now it is dawning on me I haven't shared all the progress on here. 

First up was my Quilt Doodle Doodle 2013 BOM block.  I love how quickly I can whip these out and love how dramatic they look in my chosen colors. I did share this one and if you missed it you can find it here .
You can also see the Lemoyne Star that I made for the Craftsy 2013 BOM quilt  at the above link. 

What I forgot to share was my Quiet Play And Sew On block --- A Stitch In Time.  It turned out fabulous.  I love what the colors I worked with did to the way they all look together so far.  I really had trouble picking fabrics for this one.  I actually decided instead of creating this block as a stand alone block like I usually do ... that I would instead throw all the previous blocks together on the floor and pick colors based on what was needed to complement the collection.  Here is what I decided on.

I have yet to take pictures of my Castle blocks.  I got the three for June done and promise to share them soon.  I can't wait for the July block for the Castles.  You can find the past patterns for the Castle BOM at Ula Lenz's website.  I love her sharing this project with us as it is going to be gorgeous when done.  I would love to make ten more of these because each one is so different based on my fabric choices that it would be fun to make many more. I am crazy but probably not that crazy. Three different ones is ambitious enough for me right now.  I love making each one a different theme and I could go on and on with more themes...Wouldn't it be great to have a Christmassy winter one???   Hmmm....Maybe next year.

Giveaway Update

This weekend you all have put a very big smile on my lips and warmed my heart with your comments on the giveaway.  Spring already feels so much closer with all your help.  A big welcome to all my new followers and a huge thanks for pushing me over my goal of 100.  I have found three more fq's to add to the giveaway as promised for all your help with reaching my milestone!!!  Here are the three fq's that will be joining the three fq's below on a journey to one Winter Blues Blog Hopper soon along with a surprise...you'll have to wait to see what the surprise is a while longer.

The pink one on the end has two 2 1/2 inch square bites taken out of it so I am adding in a seventh fq that you can see in the next pic...lighting is not the best ...the seventh is a brown with pink polka dots!

The giveaway continues to March 14th.  I will let Mr Random choose a random winner on the 15th.  To enter please leave a comment on the original post you can get to it by clicking here

This weekend I got a couple more of my March Bom's completed. 

I made the March block for the And Sew On...BOM @ Quiet Play.  You can check it out more  by clicking on the And Sew On button on my sidebar.  Each month Kristy is posting a free sewing themed paper pieced block on her blog and after the end of that month you can find the pattern for sale at her etsy shop.  So if you missed January and February you can still join in.

Isn't this block sew much fun!!!

Next I finished the March block for the Castle BOM offered this year by Ula Lenz for free.  You can find out more about it here   Remember I do this one three times each month so I still have two more to go.  This one for right now is my favorite.  Each is done in a different theme.  This castle I am making for a bunch of gnomes.  They didn't commission me to do it but it has been a pleasure to make it for them anyway.  I seem to have a gnome crush after making the Quilt U Be Mine wall hanging featuring Gnome-o and Juliet.   You will see one has already moved in a set up residence in this month's block!

I now have the three parts made in January-February-March put together to form this part of the castle. 

Now I will go back and make it in a fairy princess theme and the third remains a secret that you will have to wait till I reveal it in October to see.  

Hope you are starting to see Spring revealed to you a little more this week.