I’m Back, Neighbor.

Several unplanned life events disrupted my sewing schedule so it’s been a couple of months, but finally, I’m back. After crapping out of The Splendid Sampler sew-along (too many hand-embroidered blocks) I found something a little more to my liking… the Moda Be My Neighbor 2016 event. This one is super-cute and it’s mostly machine piecing, so I jumped in with glee.

Here’s my first block.

Most of my fabric is still packed up in the shed because I had to clean out my sewing room when my oldest daughter moved back home. One of those life events I mentioned. It’s ok though. Really. I love my daughter. (sniff, sniff) Anyhow, I had to run to the store and buy some. Darn it! Since I’m quite a ways from the local quilting store, I just grabbed a few things from Walmart. Don’t judge me. It was an emergency situation. I actually love the colors, and the red brick is especially adorable.

Sometimes you need a new challenge to rediscover your joy in quilting, and this project has done that for me. I can’t wait to do next week’s block. In the meantime, I’m going to get back to my Brother Dream Fabric Frame and finish quilting the orphan block quilt I started.

Mahalo y’all for stopping by.

 

Don’t You Want to Pinch Their Cheeks?

I love the entire quilting process. Well, maybe not the cutting-out part. But the rest of it, I adore. My absolute favorite part, however, is the design stage. This evening, I’ve been playing around with a new concept that will employ some piecing, some appliqué, and a little freehand machine embroidery.

These chubby critters would be fun for a scrap quilt, but I’m planning to use a cute mustache print I picked up at Joann about a year ago. At least for the first iteration. It should be easy to find some coordinating prints.

I realize the mustache craze has come and gone, but that’s ok. I’m always a little behind the times, and I really want to use this fabric. I’m trying to be a good girl and pull mostly from my stash this year. Hahahahaha…

So far, I’ve come up with birds, a whale, a cat, a bunny and a frog. I’m thinking these would make fabulous journal covers too. Hmmm…

I’ll post more as the project evolves. Mahalo, y’all, for stopping by.

The Scrappy Camper Strikes Again

My youngest daughter is heading off to summer camp next week, so I took a break from quilting to make her this pillow case and yoga mat bag. (It’s yoga camp. How cool is that!)

These are both quick and easy projects. I could have finished them both in one day if I’d applied myself a little harder. The yoga bag is a free pattern from Amy Butler. She has a ton of cute projects, all free on her website. If you haven’t checked it out, you definitely should.

The pillowcase is a great first project for beginning sewers. Trust me, anyone can do it, and everyone could use more pillowcases, right?

Instructions can be found here.

I Need a Bigger Bed…

Current Work in Progress – Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory is coming along nicely, except for one thing. It’s too big to lay out on my queen-sized bed. In fact, there’s not a space in my house big enough to lay out the entire quilt. When finished, it will measure a whopping 96″ square. I don’t know what I’m going to do. For now, I’ll just keep sewing.

I have completed seven of the 16 sections. Only 1,296 small squares left to sew – sooooo – I better leave you and get back to work.

Earth Song

A Finished Quilt Top (Or Flimsy, If You Prefer)

My other New Year’s Resolution, besides the one involving my scrap tub, was to finish something old and something new every month. It’s a contract I made with myself after realizing my UFOs had gotten out of control and that I was going to die one day with a zillion unfinished projects if I didn’t do something about it soon.

My first instinct was to say I couldn’t start any new projects until I finished all the old ones, but a wise friend suggested I alternate one UFO with one new project to stave off boredom. It’s a system that’s worked marvelously. Thanks, Kelly.

Earth Song is my Something New for March. It was inspired by a quilt I saw on Pinterest by Adrianne Ove of Little Bluebell. It’s a bossy little quilt. It insisted on that hippy name. (Not that I’m denigrating hippies. Far from it. I have quite a few hippy tendencies. My two daughters are named after trees and I’ll tie-dye anything that gets in my way.) However, I’m not that great at naming my quilts, so I let this one have it’s way.

There’s a small scrap element to this project. The yellow center squares came from my famous tub. The yellow used in the sashing was a fresh purchase. 😦 🙂 Everything else came from my stash, which is great because I need to use that up too. Yay, me.

Now, when I say “finish,” I mean I finished the quilt top. It’s not quilted yet. I’ve been saving for a long-arm quilting machine, so for the moment, I’m stacking my quilt tops on a shelf and waiting patiently. Hopefully next year will be my year to really finish all my projects. Having said that, I welcome any and all advice on which long-arm machine I should purchase.

Skill Level: Beginner

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to beginner quilters. It’s not only easy, but it comes together quickly. More advanced quilters can take it up a notch by using a pinwheel as the center block (A) or incorporating a more complex sashing.

Illustration 1, Block + Sashing

12-inch block w/2-inch sashing (finished)

• A = 4½” x 4½”
• B = 4½” x 4½”
• C = 4½” x 8½”
• D = 4½” x 8½”
• E = 4½” x 12½”

Sashing

• Yellow strips = 2½” x 12½”
• Brown squares = 2½” x 2½”

Layout

• 24 blocks
• 6 rows of 4 squares
• Finished quilt size: 58″ x 86″

Accuquilt Friendly: Somewhat 

I used mine to cut the 4½” squares, the 2½” sashing strips, and the 2½” sashing squares. I used a rotary cutter for the 4½” by 8½” strips and the 4½” by 12½” strips.

Precut Friendly: Somewhat

You can use a jelly roll for the sashing. A charm pack will work for the two 4 1/2″ squares in each block. If I were going that route, I’d probably adjust the size slightly and not trim the charm pack squares. And you could use fat quarters for the other three pieces. If you go that route, you’ll need:

• 1 jelly roll
• 1 charm pack
• 12 assorted fat quarters

This will make twenty-four 13½” blocks. Finished quilt size will be 70″ by 105″.

• A = 5″ x 5″
• B = 5″ x 5″
• C = 5″ x 9½”
• D = 5″ x 9½”
• E = 5″ x 14½”

I hope you like Earth Song. Mahalo, y’all.