Hello 2015!

I can hardly believe we have already said goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015!  When I look back on 2014 I'm of course consumed with images of our sweet Nora and how crazy fast she is growing, but when I focus on what went on in my sewing room, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that I did complete a few quilts!

1. Christmas Tree Skirt 2. Blueberry Pluses 3. Large and In Charge Man Quilt 4. Baby Leon's Strip Quilt 5. Snazzed Up Cheater Quilt 6. Woodland Triangles 7. Sidekick Tote 8. 2014 Once Upon a Time Sampler 9. Sew Together Bag

Of course I wasn't nearly as productive as I have been in previous years, but you know what, I'm ok with it.  I'm figuring out how to fit a hobby that I enjoy into my life now, and yes that means that days go by that my sewing machine doesn't see any action, but it brings all the more joy and satisfaction when I get to sit behind and work on projects I truly enjoy.

I actually have my first quilt of 2015 complete, that was made of these yummy stack of fabric, that I paired with a few prints from my Far Far Away bundle that I have been hoarding saving for the perfect quilt:



I'll be sharing more about this quilt soon, I want mommy and baby to be surprised when it shows up on their doorstep!

As far as what 2015 has in store, my main goal is to keep things flexible.  I always want my time spent sewing to be relaxing and enjoyable.  The first way to make that not happen is to set goals and deadlines that end up being unreachable.

So my plan for 2015 is to not have a plan!  We'll see where that takes me, I'm sure there will be plenty of baby quilts, and I'd love to dig back into my WIP closet and finish a few of those off, I mean I loved those projects enough to start them, why not finish them up?

I'm also making it a point to sew from my stash (and scrap bins!)  Of course I'm sure there will be new fabric that makes its way to me, but my fabric shelves have runneth over, so the best way to remedy that problem is to sew it into something lovely.

Thanks again for checking in with this blog every now and again, it really does bring joy to be able to share my quilting and sewing projects with a group of people who are just as passionate as I am!

Happy 2015!

Quilty Flashback Friday

When I saw that Elizabeth was doing a little flashback Friday- quilt edition, I couldn't help but join in the fun!  When I sorted back through my pictures on Flickr, all the way back to the spring of 2010, it was certainly a walk down memory lane!  Those first few projects made me chuckle, and remember how I knew absolutely nothing and was completely flying by the seat of my pants!



This was my very first quilt I ever finished, and from the looks of it, it actually doesn't look all that bad, but boy did it have its issues!  I remember sewing the blocks together with a "1/4" seam allowance, or more like a 1/4ish seam allowance, because I can distinctly remember going to piece the rows together and nothing matched up!  My blocks were off by a good half of an inch. I'm pretty sure I just hacked away and had a total Tim Gunn make it work moment.



This must have been post block hacking because things seem to align pretty well!  I also remember having absolutely no idea about fabric quality.  I can remember purchasing what I now know are Jelly Rolls of fabric off of Ebay in these 3 colors along with some calico prints I picked up at Joann's.

I wish I would have taken a picture of this, but I learned a quick lesson about fabric quality, when after finishing the quilt and then washing it, after I took it out of the dryer, there was a GIANT hole in one of the fabrics!  My husband can confirm that I definitely cried.  It was the strangest thing, it was almost like I dropped bleach on it and the fabric just shredded!  Still to this day I have never had anything like that happen, and cannot figure out what went wrong, but from then on my eyes were then opened to the world of quilt shop quality fabric.



Needless to say, this quilt never saw its intended recipient, and I'm not even sure what happened to it, but it was sure fun visiting my first quilt ever in photos!

quilting guy style

I'm in the midst of tackling something that in my 4 years of quilting I've never attempted...no its not some super complicated technique or pattern...its quilting for a man.  In looking back, I feel like a bad wife or something, I've made a quilt for just about every female family member (and many friends) I can think of, yet never thought to make the hubby is own personal man quilt!  Rest assured I'm not breaking trend now, the "man quilt" I'm working on now is for my brother, hopefully the hubs won't be jealous.  

So in conversation one day, my brother happened to mention getting a new duvet cover for his bed.  After getting over the shock that my brother A. knew what a duvet even was and B. had not one, but now a second cover for it, I tuned back into the conversation of him commenting that it was very warm, and while nice in the winter, he was thinking he'd need something more lightweight for the summer months.

I am still slightly astounded that these thoughts even run through his head, because somewhere in my mind he will always be my little brother doing little brother things  like being annoying and immature, yet I am brought back to the present and reminded that he is now a 29 year old grown man with a good job, living on his own, and thinking about things like duvet covers.

Anyways, when he mentioned needing a lighter weight comforter option for summer, I immediately offered my quilting services and said I'd happily make a quilt for him.  Which I am more than happy to do, of course.  Usually after a day or two of racking my brain for quilt ideas, I quickly settle on a design and fabric selections...only this time I couldn't.  I knew my brother would likely spare my feelings and say he liked whatever I made, but I wanted something that he would be happy to display on his bed day after day, and not just feel obligated to use it because I made it for him.



I knew I wanted a simple, clean design and "manly" fabrics. That weren't hunter green and deep red that belonged in a hunting lodge.  Easier said than done.  I scoured all my favorite blogs and of course Pinterest too and just couldn't decide.  I happened upon Kati's Modern Meadow quilt she made for her bed way back when, and my mind started churning.  I checked out the tutorial she used by Oh Fransson!  And liked where it was headed.  I wanted something with more symmetry than the original, and started to play with the design in EQ7 until I was happy with what I saw.  



I really like the nice clean feel it has with lots of negative space and a very "non complicated" piecing style.  I had been racking my brain for fabric selections, and kept coming up with nothing.  I happened to stop in a new LQS on my way home from work one day, and stumbled upon Simply Style and Simply Color by V and Co. which had lots of navy, grey and deep lime prints, and thought "hey, this could work!" I started digging further and found the entire line of Pearl Bracelets and picked out the Navy, Verbena and Mustard-y yellow colors, and finished off my fabric pull with a random green comma print, and this quilt top was born!  I knew I wanted the grey Timeless Treasures sketch print as the main background fabric, which they didn't carry, so I ordered a whole bunch and got to cutting and piecing!  I have to say this was probably the easiest quilt top I've ever pieced, and the largest also, measuring 90" x 102"!



I tried out a new (to me) basting method, which I'm crossing all my crossables that it works out and I don't regret it when it comes time for quilting!  I'm hoping to get this big guy quilted soon, as the weather is finally getting nicer, and I want my brother to be able to use it!  I'll report back on how the basting method works out when the quilt is completed!

Sucked In

I'm a sucker for a quilt along.  Plain and simple.  I was really doing well trying to tame the massive amount of unfinished projects that are lurking in the depths of my sewing room, and resisting brand new projects, but I couldn't resist the Tula Pink City Sampler QAL any longer.  Seeing all that rainbow goodness popping up in blog land for the past three weeks was breaking me down bit by bit, until I found myself perusing the 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book last week on Amazon and then magically it was in my cart and I was hitting the purchase button.

My book arrived on Saturday, and I immediately got to stitching.  Honestly, I have no idea why I resisted Tula for so long, has she ever led me astray??  Every project I've ever made either using a Tula Pink pattern or fabric line (like here, and here) ends up being a favorite, and I can already tell this quilt will be no exception.  Over the past two days I've whipped up the first 12 blocks and they are like quilty crack incredibly addictive.  

These are blocks 1-3.  I'm following along with the color palate featured in the book, to hopefully end up with a rainbow Gridlock layout as featured on the cover.  I'm not exclusively using Tula fabrics, but working from my stash and incorporating assorted Tula prints when I can.



As I dug into this project, the little rational voice in the back of my head was saying "this project sounds awfully like another sampler quilt featuring 6.5" blocks that's stashed away in the darkness of abandoned projects...ahem...Farmers Wife QAL" and while yes, that voice is absolutely correct, those Farmers Wife blocks will likely never see the light of day again, this QAL has a completely different vibe...and no templates!  So I say to you nay-sayer voice of reason, I will finish this sampler quilt!



These blocks really do have such a fresh modern vibe, and are so easy to put together.  I seem to spend more time planning the fabrics for each block than I do cutting and sewing.  It's going to be hard to stick to only making 3 a week!



As I'm not using the exact fabrics featured in the book, I was getting a little nervous that my quilt would look like rainbow throw-up instead organized color transitions, so I planned the quilt out in the Touch Draw app for iPad, and plan on dropping in each block as I finish them to get an idea of how the final layout will look, sort of a virtual design wall if you will.



Right now it just looks like a lot of empty white squares, but not only will it let me monitor my color selections, but also will be a motivator to keep making blocks, as I can instantly see how my quilt is going to look when its finished!

Looking forward to my next date with Tula to whip up more blocks!

   

easing back into things

My motivation for spending time in my sewing room seems to have evaporated as of late.  Its certainly not for a lack of projects to work on, because those are plenty, but for some reason, the sew-jo seems to have hit the road.  I will say, sometimes when I have so many things in various stages of completion, my brain just can't decide what to work on first, so naturally I just don't work on anything at all.

I've seen some elaborate forms of project tracking here and there, and always thought it was a little bit much, but it may be just what I need to keep things organized and prioritized.  I will admit I get some sort of mini high from checking things off a list!  I'm embarrassed to admit that I still have blocks for a do. Good Stitches quilt tucked away in my cabinet from last March.  Eeek.  Anyways, if anyone has any magic tracking/organization tips for keeping UFOs managed, I'd love to hear them!



Anyways, enough boo-hooing about what I haven't been working on, and onto a little something that does have me excited to huddle down in my sewing room and stitch away!  After seeing Natalie's hand quilted Single Girl quilt, inspiration struck, and I needed to stitch with curves.  Like that instant.  I have never made Denyse Schmidt's famous Single Girl quilt, I definitely missed the boat on that quilt along 2 years ago, and thought no time like the present.

I was thisclose to hitting the purchase button for the pattern, but the more I looked into it, the more I wasn't quite feeling it.  Reason A:  Templates.  Ugh.  When I put together my Double Wedding Ring Quilt a few years back, I specifically found a pattern that paper pieced the arcs.  I knew I definitely did not have the patience for cutting templates, tracing, and cutting fabric by hand with scissors.  Reason B:  I wanted more of a circle circle shape, not a rounded square-circle shape.  Reason C: I wanted more space between my circles, and less blank space in the circle center.

So...whats a gal to do??  Of course the only answer is to bust out her compass and random assorted scrapbooking paper (my personal fav for drafting paper piecing templates, as its nice and big at 12" square) and get to drafting a template that was just what I wanted!



Luckily this was not the headache I had envisioned in my head, and definitely did a happy dance when everything came together perfectly on the first go.  My arc templates are made, and are ready to be paper pieced, and I am just waiting on my order of Essex Linen in Natural for the background, and hopefully this will become a quilt top rather quickly! 

Exciting news

If you keep up with Lindsay at all, this isn't new news, but I wanted to share in the excitement as well!  You see, my friend Lindsay has a new book coming out this fall, and I get to be part of it!

My quilt even made the cover (second one from the top) {squeal!}

I'm honored and thrilled to be part of Lindsay's book writing journey, along with a whole host of super talented quilty ladies for the past year or so.  Lindsay has a great website set up with more info about the book contents and the quilt designers, AND you can already pre-order on Amazon!  You can read more about Modern Bee at Lindsay Sews, and she even has a celebratory giveaway going on that I believe closes at some point today!

WIP Wednesday and a few winners!

Before we dig into what I've been stitching, I think I owe you some winners!  I'd like to first say thanks for all the love and positive comments about my pattern, it means alot, I was so so nervous to finally release this, and all the positive feedback was super comforting :-)

The winners of my Lucky Square PDF pattern are Sharon (#94), Lisa R. (#90) and Toni Anne (#54).  Congrats ladies!  I have emailed you with your winnings, enjoy!

Don't forget, if you didn't win a copy of Lucky Square, you can still purchase a PDF copy of the pattern for a discounted price of $6.50 from my pattern shop until Monday, January 21st.  After the 21st, the pattern will then be $8.00.

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In Progress

Scrappy Trip Along

Now onto what I've been stitching this week!  My main project that has been taking up most all my time, is my Scrappy Trip Along quilt.  I finished sewing up all the blocks last night, and had entirely too much fun arranging and rearranging the blocks on my kitchen floor.

I ran the picture through a black and white filter to check for color value placement, and am pretty happy with the result.  I wish I had included a few more darker prints when I was constructing my blocks, a few of them appear pretty light, but I think I've found a decent balance to spread the darker prints throughout the quilt.  This quilt is priority numero uno for no other reason than I am selfish, and want it finished to snuggle with!

Salt Water Starburst Cross

Before I got sucked in joined in the fun of #scrappytripalong, this was the project that had started as a birthday gift for a special someone.  I have been wanting to revamp my Starburst Cross block tutorial and turn it into a full (free!) pattern, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I am using my Tula Pink Salt Water fat quarter bundle, and have 8 of the 20 blocks needed complete.  The rest of the blocks are cut and ready to sew, so as soon as I finish up my Scrappy Trip Along quilt, this should be a quick finish as well.

New Projects

Diagonal Lace Socks

I have tried my hand at sock knitting once before, and just couldn't get into it.  I had taken a class at Joann's and actually got as far as turning the heel, but completely lost interest.  I'm pretty sure the mess of yarn and sock is still attached to those double pointed needles in a dark closet somewhere in my house.

In doing my usual blog reading,  I came across Amanda's post about all the socks she has knitted over the past year, and decided I needed to give it another go.  I purchased Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up, some pretty yarn from my local yarn shop, Addi turbo size 2 circular needles  and have been knitting away...from the toe up!  It really is great, I've been able to try them on as I've been working on them.  The lace pattern may have been a little ambitious for my first pair, but I'm embracing all their imperfections as uniqueness :-)  Hopefully more to come on these soon, I'm hoping the novelty doesn't wear off, as I have tons of other yarns and patterns picked out already for future pairs!

That about sums things up for this week, be sure to head over to Freshly Pieced and check out all the WIPing going on!

Takin' a trip

So...have you caught the bug?  You know, #scrappytripalong, the one that's all over instagram and flickr?  I know I just made a "resolution" of sorts to finish what I already have going, before starting anything new...but I simply couldn't resist.  Before I knew it, I was tearing down the beginnings of a new Starburst Cross quilt using my Tula Pink Salt Water FQ bundle to make room for my very own Scrappy Trip Along.

To say that I am completely smittin' is an understatement.  I am loving this to pieces.  I have already claimed this quilt as my own, and it feels great to do some purely selfish sewing to start out the new year.  I am planning on doing 30 blocks, to have a nice sized 60" x 72" couch snuggling quilt, and am even toying with the idea of using a fleece blanket as the backing, like Brooke did.



I now have 16 of the 30 blocks pieced, and just last night finished cutting strips for the last 14 blocks.  This quilt is like a walk down memory lane of sorts.  Its been fun to dig through my scrap bins and stash, and slice and dice until my hearts content.  I had originally thought I might want to do something to give it some semblance of "order", but I've really enjoyed just pulling 6 strips that I like together for each block, and seeing how they come together.

What about you?  Have you succumbed to the pull that is #scrappytripalong??  In case you need a little push, you can follow my regular updates @sewcraftyjess on Instagram, or pop over to the flickr group for more inspiration than your eyes can handle.    

2012: year in review

I decided to take a few extra days before posting my "year in review" post to really take a look back, and decide what I want to set as goals for 2013.  That and the fact that yesterday was spent entirely on the couch.  Doing nothing.  Taking multiple naps.  Because I refuse to admit I'm too old to drink lots o' wine, and still function the next day.  So blogging was out of the question :-)

1. Citrus Berry Punch baby quilt, 2. swoon, 3. FLiQS doll quilt, 4. baby blocks quilt, 5. retro flowers baby quilt, 6. Granny Squares baby quilt, 7. DSCN0504, 8. DSC04623, 9. DSCN0526, 10. Moda Bake Shop Jungle Path baby quilt, 11. X Marks the Spot baby quilt, 12. do. Good Stitches Imagine Circle, 13. DSC_0400, 14. modern i-spy  baby quilt, 15. Simply Woven quilt tutorial, 16. Snow Globes Quilt

It's funny how I get in these mopey funks sometimes feeling like I'm not doing enough or getting enough accomplished.  And then I look back and realize that I made 16 quilts this year!  That's more than 1 quilt a month, on top of the bazillion other projects, including bee blocks, bags, pillows and a random assortment of projects, so I'll mark this year as a success.

I'm laughing a little at myself and those "quilty goals" of 2012, that I talked about way back in January of last year, and apparently my over-ambitiousness of the year to come.  Lets take a look:

I was hoping to tackle a few of those WIPs I had laying around.  I was talking directly to my postage stamp quilt top, solid spiderweb quilt blocks and 3x6 bee blocks that were laying around unfinished last year.  Shockingly the quilt fairies did not sneak into my sewing room while I wasn't there and finish those up for me, so they still remain WIPs.  Among those, I've also added 4x5 bee blocks, do. good stitches blocks and stash bee string blocks that have all been added to the WIP pile this year.  Maybe 2013 will be the year of finishing WIPs...maybe.

As for my other lofty goals, I wanted to tackle more full size quilts...My queen size Swoon I think fits the bill, so we'll check that one off the list, and tackling more quilts with curves gets a double check, with my Retro Flowers baby quilt and Summer Scoops Scallop quilt.



1. Starburst Cross block, 2. strip pieced dresden pillow, 3. Moda Bake Shop Jungle Path baby quilt, 4. DSC04739-2, 5. e-reader sleeve, 6. Technicolor Twist block, 7. Travel Jewelry Clutch, 8. Simply Woven quilt tutorial, 9. Holiday Herringbone Floor Mat

I also wanted to write more patterns and tutorials, and I more than accomplished that goal.  Looking back, I put together 9 different patterns and tutorials, including two Moda Bakeshop tutorials (here and here), 3 quilt block tutorials and various other miscellaneous sewing tutorials.

As for 2013, I am really looking to continue writing patterns.  I will be releasing my first for sale pattern in the next few weeks, and have a bunch of ideas swirling in my head for patterns and tutorials to come!

I think my second goal for 2013 is to say no more often.  I'm really going to try and do a little less "commitment sewing" and a little more "just because" sewing.  I use sewing and quilting as my creative outlet and stress relief, so when sewing starts to feel like a job, it can become not so fun anymore.  While I have enjoyed participating in quite a few quilting bees through the past few years, the first step towards saying no more is to step back from those commitments to free up some additional sewing time.  Baby steps I tell you, baby steps.

I'm really looking forward to what 2013 has in store, and ready to get stitching things that make me happy :-)  What are your stitchy goals for 2013??

WIP Wednesday {11.28.2012}

I hope everyone had a great turkey day last week, aside from some minor turkey issues, ours was fantastic.  I didn't brave any of the black friday craziness in the stores, but did manage to score quite a few online deals on fabric, that I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of!  In addition to buying fabric, I've also been making good on my pre-new years resolution to finish up as many old WIPs as I humanly can before the end of the year.  

Completed Projects

DaisyChain ABC Sampler

4x5 Bee Blocks

You can see all 6 of these little guys here.

In Progress

Kawaii Winter Sampler

Since finishing my Daisy Chain sampler, I was looking for a new handwork project to get started on, to keep my hands busy while vegging on the the couch in the evenings watching TV.  After seeing all the awesome Kawaii Winter Sampler projects all over Instragram, I couldn't resist joining in the fun.  I am using Cosmo floss, that I picked up from the workroom and its heaven to stitch with!  I'm not sure that I'll actually finish this before Christmas, but its very fun to sit and work on and see each little square come to life.  You can find the Sampler from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, and Cosmo floss kits here.

Chicoppe quilt

Pardon the terrible horrible cell phone pic here, but my Chicopee quilt has invaded my design wall!  I'm quite happy with how this quilt (and pattern!) is coming together, and hopefully will have a quilt top to show soon. I am planning on giving this quilt away as a Christmas gift, so I really need to get hopping, this is at the top of my list to finish!



On an aside, incase you are looking for a little Holday stitching, my Festive Tree skirt tutorial is being featured over at SewCanShe today!

WIP Wednesday {11.14.2012

Who can believe Thanksgiving is next week already?  I'm beginning to feel the crunch, I've inherited the hosting duties, and should really get cracking on the whole menu planning thing, and oh yeah, I guess getting a turkey sometime soon would be a good idea...

Any who, while I have not been planning my turkey day dinner, I have been stitching away!  Here's whats new:

Completed Projects

Scrappy Weekender bag

I'm still quite smitten with Mr. Scrappy, you can read more about him here.

In Progress

Chicopee Quilt

Instagram is my new favorite way to post updates on ongoing projects!  Its super addicting, you can follow me here on IG.  I've finally taken the plunge and cut in my my fat quarter bundle of Chicopee.  I'm loving all the deep pretty jewel tones, and am using it to stitch up my very first pattern I'm planning on making available for purchase!  I may be in the market for some pattern testers in the next few weeks, if anyone would like to volunteer, keep an eye out!

Daisychain Sampler

In an effort to finish up some long standing WIPs, I've pulled out my Daisychain sampler that has been sitting around gathering far too much dust.  I'm in the home stretch now, and can't wait to finish this up, I have the perfect spot in my sewing room just waiting for it!

Chevron project

I started stitching up this little chevron piece last night, not exactly sure what it will become just yet, but I'm loving it!

That about sums up this weeks stitchy progress, be sure to head over to Freshly Pieced and add your WIP!

WIP Wednesday {10.10.12}

Ahhh it feels so good to be back.  I really want to commit to posting WIP Wednesday updates every week again, even when there's not much sewing going on, its like the one constant that keeps all the crazy out of control WIPs in check.  Kind of like stitchy inventory of sorts!

This week I've had a few quilty set backs, Bertha (my large and in charge sewing machine) and I almost came to blows on Saturday afternoon.   You see I was quilting away, happy as a clam, and all of a sudden, she decided that she wanted to break my needles!  I tried everything.  Threading my machine.  Rethreading my machine.  Changing the bobbin.  Rethreading the bobbin.  Changing needle size.  Changing machine settings.  Changing free motion feet. I even busted out my mini vaccuum attachment setting and cleaned out the bobbin case (helloooo lint.)  Alas, this was all to no avail.  That bitch my trusted stitchy side kick continued to break a needle about every 5 minutes.  Not only that, but she decided she didn't like the automatic needle threader, and that pulled stitches would be fun.  This was where I just. had. to. walk. away.  Bertha is now at the sewing machine doctor, so hopefully they can get her all straightened out and back to her quilty awesome-ness, and soon.  I'm missing her.  Terribly.

I've resorted to pulling out my back up machine to try and finish the quilting, but I realize I've been spoiled.  I sat behind my now seemingly mini machine, and it has absolutely no "get up and go."  How did I sew on this thing for so long??  Anyways, I'm not sure how much quilting I'll be able to finish on this quilt, as its pretty large (a generous twin size).  It feels a little bit like David and Goliath.  We'll see how it goes, I'm pulling for you David!!

In other news, the newest round of the 4x5 bee has officially kicked off.  I'm super excited, this bee always draws such awesome quilty peeps, amazing blocks are guaranteed!  In the midst of all the sewing machine drama  this weekend, I decided I'd work up a test block for my hive, that my little mini machine can handle.



I used Six White Horses Sharp Chevrons tutorial and I'm in love.  This block is paper pieced, I love the tiny detail and precision that paper piecing lends to quilt blocks.  So sharp crisp and clean.  I'll be pulling fabrics for the rest of my hive mates in case the quilting on mr. {mini} machine doesn't work out, I think he can at least handle a little paper piecing :-)

What have you been up to this week??  I'm hoping to keep myself nice and busy for the next few days to distract myself from the fact that I'm missing out on Sewing Summit this year.  Rest assured I'll be stalking/vicariously living through those attending via twitter and instragram!  Be sure to head over to Freshly Pieced and add your WIPs!

WIP Wednesday {8.22.2012}

Its been a few weeks since I've taken part in WIP Wednesday, and mostly its been because I just either haven't been working on much, or have been working on things that aren't quite ready to share yet.  I decided no time like the present to get back in the saddle, I find myself sort of feeling a little lost/overwhelmed with the scattered projects in various states of completion strewn about my sewing room, and WIP Wednesday is a nice anchor of sorts to take inventory of what exactly I have going in.  Without further ado, here is what's going on:

New Projects

2d Zoo Dream Garden

I posted about this yesterday, but this stack of fabrics is quickly turning itself into a baby quilt.  I'm using a pattern out of the Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop book, and am super happy with how its coming together.  I should have a quilt to share in the next few days!

In Progress

Birds and the Bees Snowglobes

After I finished petting and drooling over this beautiful fabric, I decided no time like the present to dig in and make something with it.  I have a tendency to buy fabric collections, and then am almost afraid to use them.  Its like I'm searching for this elusive "perfect project," and I need to stop this madness and use the fabric that I buy, that's what its for, right??  I think I did find the perfect project, and therefore didn't have the usual amount of apprehension when cutting in to the fabric like usual.

Before leaving for vacation, I dug out my Tula Pink Snowglobes pattern, and got to work cutting and sewing.  I had a hard time settling on the background fabric, and ultimately went with Crosshatch Sketch in Cream.

 

I am loving how this pattern shows off the larger scale prints of Birds and the Bees so well.  I'll be working my way back to this one soon, but for now its keeping my design wall fun and bright, and I'm enjoying looking at it every day.

Not Your Grandma's Charm Quilt

Well, in this case it is my grandma's charm quilt.  My grandma recently had to be placed in an assisted living center, and I thought she might like a handmade quilt to put on her bed.  She is 96, and has been living with family members for too many years to count, and has never lived on her own, so this transition hasn't been the easiest for her or my family.  She really is such a special lady, and you would never guess her age by looking at her, we all hope we inherited her genes for aging!  

I'm in the middle of quilting this simple charm quilt using various prints from Denyse Schmidt's fabrics that are found at Joann's that I have accumulated in my stash.  I really love the way the patchwork has come together, and I'm quilting it with my walking foot in a large zig zag pattern.  I'm thinking of adding some hand quilting as well, but we'll see.  

Ripple Afghan

This is an oldie but a goodie.  I have a tendency to start hand projects, and just never finish them.  They sit around my sewing room sort of taunting me to work on them, and I usually just turn a blind eye.  I thought our 8 hour drive to the beach last week would be a great opportunity to pull out my ripple afghan that I started back in January and get to work.  

I'm aiming to really work on this to get it finished for the upcoming winter, as it will make a great snuggle blanket!

Whew!  It feels nice to get that out there, I really must get back into the WIP Wednesday swing of things.  Now that summer is just about over, life should be settling down and I can find my routine again.  Be sure to head over to Freshly Pieced and say hi to Rebecca who is guest hosting WIP Wednesday this week!