A Stitch in Time {English Paper Piecing Book}

I actually made a place mat!

Just kidding...

I started making a place mat and changed my mind and made a throw pillow.

The pattern is called the Tea Time Placemat from Sharon's from Lillabelle Lane Creations's new book, A Stitch in Time.

She asked a few of us bloggers if we would join her for a tour of her book and I had to do another project with one of her patterns from her amazing English Paper Piecing book!!

It really is a lovely publication.  There are a ton of small projects that you can finish rather quickly. They would make great gifts as the holidays approach.  This throw pillow that I adapted from the place mat pattern is quick to make and allows a lot creative ways you can add your own touch.

I had originally planned to take the vintage feel that the reproduction prints gave a little further with some embroidery as she suggested in her book, but I couldn't resist giving it a modern twist with matchstick quilting adding pops of color to tone the dark brown crosshatch fabric I used for the background.

The only difference than her placemat finish is that I added a hidden zipper backing.

And instead of the headache of piping?  I just bind my pillows as if they were quilts!

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And honestly.....were you really surprised I made another pillow???

Argyle Socks {Quilt}

I was determined to get my oldest son's quilt done by his 18th  birthday....which is tomorrow! 

I made sure it was all quilted before I left this past weekend, and had even started the binding.  So it wasn't a hard feat to finish it this week even with my QuiltCon Hangover.

This is the third quilt I have finished from the Hexagogo Book and is called the Argyle Quilt.  I named it Argyle Socks because he wears the craziest socks and now I feel like I need to buy him some crazy argyle ones!!  The original quilt has more feminine colors and I wanted his to match his existing comforter set.

The hexies are all from my stash or scraps which made it fun.

The background is Denyse Schmidt from my favorite line of hers...Florence. 

I could go on forever about the things that mad me frustrated about the construction of this quilt, but I've decided to just focus on the good things so that I don't have ill feelings about it ;)

The backing is minky again....per his request. He has been spying his little brothers minky-backed quilts (Quirky But Solid and Slime) for awhile now and was hoping he would get the same warm and cuddly quilt.

The quilting was a challenge for me in many respects.   There are so many different things going on that free motion seemed the best option.

Paisley and straight line quilting on the borders.

Curved accents on the gray hexies.

Swirls on the colored hexie diamonds. 

Half moon circle quiltling on the background.

It has a LOT of texture.

NOTE: I often get asked about minkey backings.   To answer the questions ahead of time. Yes...I use batting.  Yes.  It is heavy (8lbs).  But the boys love the weight of them and they are probably the warmest quilts we have in the house. Yes.  We live in Houston.  Yes.  We do get cold here occasionally.  And not everyone loves air conditioning!

I have one more quilt in mind from the book and that is a long term one. I'm dying to do the British flag one...any Brits out there that want me to make it for them?  I really don't need one!

LInking up with A Year of Lovely Finishes!  I made my GOAL!!!!!

 

LYOF: February

I actually have quite a few goals this month because the cat is out if the bag and now all my friends know....we are moving this summer. 

To Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Why does that effect my goals?  The reality is that I will probably have to pack up my longarm machine by the end of March. Which means I have to get some obligations finished.  Quick. 

Yes,  I know. The same quilt as January. This time I vow not to take it off the rails to do another one like my Think Pink instead or be distracted by items that are easy to do on my domestic like my latest swap items for the Schnitzle and Boo swap.

I even started quilting it.  Things have been crazy and I sure hope I can post this as a finish at the end of the month with links to the other ones that are all in various stages!  Wish me luck?  I'm going to need it.

January 2015: A Year of Lovely Finishes

Ever KNOW that your coming new year is going to be filled with change and adventure?  

I certainly do!

2015 is a big year for our family. I made up #my2015quiltlist the other day and realize I have a lot of quilt obligations, a few quilt goals, and a lot of quilt hopes. 

In order to keep on track, I am going to do my darnedest to keep up with the gals, Melissa of Sew Bitter Designs & Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts that organized A Year of Lovey Finishes at #AYOLF. 

 They have a lot of great incentives to win from their sponsors if you need that kind of encouragement.  I'm also hoping it just gets me to blog some more again. I miss it. 

Come join us!

A Lovely Year of Finishes: January 2015

My January Project this year is my oldest son's quilt, the Argyle quilt.

I actually finished the hexes quite awhile ago (I'm pretending to misremember the date)

 I finally took some time and faced the fact that it needed to be finishes BEFORE he leaves the house for college in the fall...and actually maybe use it and enjoy it?  I spent a day making the pieced borders and then took two days appliquéing the hexes onto the background.  Adding the skinny grey border was a breeze after that.

I pinned the backing onto the leaders over the holidays while chatting with my family...however, when I went to velcro it on my rails, I realized that I put it on crooked. 

 So my task this month is to reload it and then quilt it.

The binding is also all prepped and ready to go as soon as I'm done.  A full quilt by the end of January?  I really hope this makes the linkup for a lovely finish at the end of the month.

  I'm already skating at the end of the day to post this.  

Wish me luck!  I'm wishing all others luck too!

Nosegays {Quilt}

By some might be said of me that here I have but gathered a nosegay of strange flowers, and have put nothing of mine unto it but the thread to bind them.

I eyed and eyed this lovely stack of reproduction 30s prints in my catalog for over a year.

I finally pulled the trigger and was so excited when they arrived on my doorstep.

But it was short lived.  I was stuck on what I would actually do with them. I knew the quilt would be just for me, but what kind of pattern?  I spent an extensive time looking at vintage 30s quilts.  The same ones popped up that intrigued me.  But the nosegay won the competition. 

Then I had to really think about what the process was. How vintage did I want to actually go?

I decided to go more than vintage.   English paper piecing.   I knew we had a trip coming up and my Hex on the Beach quilt is getting too big to take along.  It seemed like a marriage made in heaven.

Fast forward to our return.  I couldn't help myself and decided to piece a few of the basted shapes to make sure I made good choices for my fabric selections.

I could not be more pleased at the moment.

I can't decide which one I like more.

I wouldn't say I love every single print and combo, but I wanted to make sure I spread out and represented each color.

I need to slow down on the piecing of blocks because I just recently was able to cut background for basting those shapes, so there is still quite a ways to go.

But certainly a project that I am really enjoying!

Sew on the Go

I finally did it!  This bag has been the product of my imagination for at least a year.  On paper for months. But now it is real!

    

I've wanted a bag that zipped closed and could store my Engish Paper piecing Projects or any smaller hand project I might have. 

I've used picked which work nicely but tend to be small. I've used baskets which tend to get knocked over in my car and just aren't convenient in a plane.   I've used plastic storage and they just aren't flexible enough when you are stuffing one carry on bag to go through security. 

It actually ended up a bit deeper than I planned. About 4" to the zipper.  

However, it is perfect for my next EPP project that has larger templates. 

I also managed to make a pocket. 

Upside down.  Whoops

But, hey. I'm always a work in progress. I definitely plan on making another that is less deep for my normal 1" side hexies. 

But for now, I'm just happy to be able to take this along during the summer months. Quite a bit if traveling. 

What's your favorite EPP to-go solution?  

Secret Swaps and more {WIP Wednesday}

I love secret swaps, but I hate that I can't share very much until the big reveal.  

It seems like it is a great big tease for those around me!

I have been having fun designing this idea for my swap partner.  My only worry is that it just won't work out!  It has been fun seeing what the other gals are doing in our Imagine Circle @ Do. Good Stitches!  I would be happy with ANY of the items I have seen so far.  I'm also glad I stayed strong through most of the year and waited for the perfect swap event, since I only allotted one swap to myself this year!

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My Christmas countdown list hasn't been getting any smaller than the day I announced my long list.  I have been going back and striking them out and everytime I view it, I don't feel any better!

I blame my kids.  Seriously?  How dare they need me to take them to basketball tryouts, practices, and games!

Lucky for them, they had nothing Tuesday, so I was able to make some progress on one of my Christmas gifts. I still feel like I am just biding my time so I can panic and rush it all in December!

I just realized that I have a lot of handsewing in my near future....

What is everyone else doing?  

Are you a busy bee or are you just hanging out...waiting for the holiday rush?