Look both ways...

Happy New Year! It's that time of year again... time to look back on 2014 and look forward to 2015. This is one of those sorts of posts that I write more for myself than for you, dear reader. Please permit me a few a year! ☺


2014 Achievements (If you'd like to compare them to my goals for 2014, check out last year's post!)

• Purchased no quilt magazines and I don't think I bought any books. I did purchase a few digital downloads (Good Old Hockey Game, Big Butt Baby Pants, Preppy the Whale), but have made each and every one of them!

• Finished these items from The List - Starburst QAL, Christmas pillow cases & pillow covers, Good Old Hockey Game.
• De-stashed when I moved my studio - still working on sending some things to new homes!
• Made two twin-sized quilts to be donated to the Choices program at the IWK (one needs layering and quilting).  I donated a number of baby quilts as well.

• Completed 5 projects as part of The Library Project! Check 'em out here!
• Made lots of items to welcome Double Trouble into our home

• Completed all blocks of the Pile o' Fabric SkillBuilder BOM up to October

• Made blocks for my virtual bees (ModQImprov finished in May and Global Scrap Bee finished in August)
  
  

And moving on to this year's quilting goals. Though I'm not going as hard core as Adrienne over at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts, I am simplifying this year. I'm keeping it to three guiding ideas: #1 - The List, #2 - Use my resources wisely, and #3 - Make time



#1 - The List
Every year at this time, I update my UFO/WiP list. It involves much poking into closets, shelves, and bins in search of WiPs. This year, when moving my studio, I lost the paper list. Oops! Here's a portion of the 2015 version. It's already printed and up on the bulletin board - ready to cross things off as I go!

Improv Herringbone (ModQImprov blocks) - make more blocks & piece top
Toes in the Sand - Layer, quilt, & bind
Underwater - Appliqué, layer, quilt, & bind
Warm/Cool HST - continue making blocks
Selvages - continue making blocks
Sochi Diamonds - Bind & add hanging sleeve
Batik Strip - Layer, quilt, bind, & donate
Skill Builder BOM 2014 - Finish blocks (October, November, December) piece & bind
Honey - Add hanging sleeve
Charm Pack Cherry - Layer, quilt, bind, & donate

#2 - Use my resources wisely
I have a considerable stash of fabric and I enjoy the odd FART or trip to my LQS (please refer to the Alphabet Soup tab if you are mystified by this sentence). I'm not saying I won't buy fabric... I'm just going to work from my stash when I can. It gives me an odd sense of satisfaction! And as for my magazine/book/pattern resources, I've likely got enough inspiration on my shelves to last me well into another decade! That said, my new copy of Patchwork City arrived today! Nothing wrong with the occasional treat! Time is a resource too... so I'm not going to be making big quilt-y commitments this year. The QALs will just have to go AL without me for a while!

#3 - Make time
This is could be tough to achieve this year. Life has changed a lot in the past seven weeks and there doesn't always seem to be time for quilting and blogging. That said, this isn't just a hobby for me - it's a creative outlet and a stress reducer. I'm going to make a conscious effort to get to as many MMQG meetings and Sew Ins as possible and to get into the studio each day and make something that brings me joy, even if it's just for half an hour. Stress reduction is no less important than laundry or vacuuming... there it is...

Quilting is joy for me. I'm going to keep on blogging about it! Happy New Year everyone... here's to a joyful 2015!

J

P.S. I'm linking up with Yvonne @ Quilting JetGirl who is hosting 15 Quilting Resolutions for 2015 link-up. I've far from 15... but I bet she'll let me link up anyway! :)

Finish up Friday - Inaugural edition!

So yeah... I might be over Work In Progress Wednesday. Sometimes a weekly accounting of the stuff still to be done is disheartening.You know what's doesn't cause my heart to sink? Finishing stuff! Which I have been doing like crazy the past two weeks! There is no longer anything on Gotta Do portion of The List (January 2013 edition). I've finished Miss K's Dare.... just a little peak of that since I'm saving the full photo essay ☺ for Miss K's birthday!

And, I've finished the quilting and binding on Mme S S's retirement quilt. Now all I need to do is schedule a night for her to come for dinner.

Since I finished those two projects, I felt free to just make some stuff. I sewed up another baby quilt top using orphans from my Jewel Square quilt. I positively hate to throw out blocks that I worked so hard on (but on this one, I couldn't face any more paper piecing)! I opted to use them with my signature solid (not plain, Q-D, solid!) Kona Ash. I like to think I was working on the modern quilt aesthetic principle of asymmetry here. How quilt pretentious is that?

Speaking of orphans, I made this nine patch from bits left over from Miss K's Dare and my Transformer quilt (and few others thrown in). I really just wanted to use up some sections of 2½ inch strips that were already sewn together. I liked the colours, but the top was just a little... meh. Then I quilted it! I wish I'd taken a before and after shot because the chevron/zigzag quilting really makes it!

Also in the baby quilt department, I quilted the roman stripe quilt that I've been calling Whoo likes pink? So cute... wish someone would have a baby girl.


You know that point on a project where the enjoyment of working on it is overtaken by the overwhelming urge to finish it? I completely felt that one on Mme S S's quilt. It happened about 2/3 of the way through quilting! There's just this moment where you want to be done so you can either send the quilt-gift on to it's new home or start enjoying it for yourself.

Do you get that feeling? Tell me all about it, quilt-y people!

J

WIP - The summer begins...

How is it that summer has finally arrived just as I get to the sweatiest (sorry, people) part of the quilting process in the majority of my projects? For those of you who have never quilted a queen size quilt in 25+ degrees with 80% humidity, you haven't lived. I'd like to think it has weight loss effects... 

Mme S-S's retirement quilt - Tonnes of progress has been made! I finished the blocks for the top over the week-end and even pieced a back with the remaining fabric. I've even got it layered and ready to quilt. I'm a little stumped - suggestions welcome!






 


K's Dare - Went on a FART (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip) last Friday, but was unsuccessful in the
search for backing fabric. I ended up buying a whack of Kona (Peacock). It's not exactly what I had in mind, but options for fabric shopping in person are pretty limited in my city! I had to get a move on since the birthday looms large on the horizon!
 
And yes, I do measure and label all the fabric in my stash! Early on in my quilting, I got tired of measuring pieces of fabric to see if I had enough. I won't go into all the details, but there is colour-coding (those who know me would not be shocked by this!).

 Transformer - No progress
Ocean Strata - No progress
 
2013 M1 quilt  - Top is completed, layered, and ready to quilt. Part of me wants to get this little job out of the way even though it doesn't really have to be done until September!

Warm/Cool HST - No progress.

And two new projects for the list...

Lunch Box Challenge (mine) - Batting and backing are purchased, just needs to be layered. I think I'll wait until I have K's Dare and Mme S-S's quilts well in hand before I layer and quilt!

Lunch Box Challenge (not mine)  - Why do I have two Lunch Box Challenge quilts, you ask? Well, a member of our guild became ill this year and passed away just after the Lunch Box Challenge reveal. Her quilt was homeless... her intent had been to donate it to someone with mental illness. When the call went out for someone to quilt it, I put my name forward. I didn't know this sweet little lady well, but I'd like to think that someone would do the same for me! I'd show you the full quilt, but it's already folded/rolled and ready to quilt. If you look carefully, you'll see what happens when you don't plan carefully when buying backing!

WiP! A quickie!

It`s been a while since a WiP... sorry to disappoint my loyal followers! Here`s what I`ve been up to...

Jewel Squares - DONE!


Mme S-S's retirement quilt - I am fully stymied at this point. Must spend some time flipping through quilt books or trawling my Pinterest boards to get inspired and back on track!

K's Dare - no progress

Transformer - added the third set of blocks to the quilt top. Am starting to feel like it`s finally big enough!

Ocean Strata - no progress 
2012 M1 quilt - almost done, just need to add the class name and date
2013 M1 quilt  - no progress

I am pleased to say that all the partial quilts that started the year on my UFO list are now complete. And in honour of that, I decided to whip up a baby quilt and practice a new quilting style. It's like my wavy lines... only these ones overlap each other.


It doesn't have a destination... perhaps I'll just add it to the pile of quilts to donate to my local children's hospital. I took in a stack last June and plan to do so again this year.

I also started cutting blocks for another new project... found in on (surprise, surprise!) Pinterest and thought it would be a good scrap buster. It's from a quilt along over at In Color Order. Little did I realize how hard it would actually be to cut 100 (50 warm, 50 cool) 5 inch squares. I may have to call in the Squares to supplement my offerings!

WiP!

I spent a lot of time quilting this past week-end and really made some headway on The List. There's just something I love about crossing an item off... it makes me keep stitching well past when my back and shoulders say I should! And since Himself is away, the cat will play!

Child's Play - DONE! I'm thinking of selling this one... Himself thinks it's a great plan! Once it stops raining here on the beautiful East Coast, there will be pics!

Jewel Squares - fully quilted and ready to bind! Though it's hard to see in this pic, I quilted it  in an asymmetrical pattern of radiating circles.

Mr & Mrs Cousin's wedding quilt - DONE! I really hope they like it. When I make a project that's a little outside of my comfort zone, I worry the recipient won't be gaga over it. This fabric is amazing... not what I'd usually choose, but I'm lovin' it now. I've got more pics, but think I'll wait until it's safely delivered to show them off!

The troublesome fabric...

Mme S-S's retirement quilt - main print arrived, but now I'm stumped. A visit to my local fabric shop produced absolutely nothing in the way of co-ordinating fabric. I`m feeling like I need to go back to the drawing board, but time is of the essence on this one!

K's Dare - no progress
Transformer - no progress
Ocean Strata - no progress 
2012 M1 quilt - top almost complete
2013 M1 quilt  - blocks complete

A few new items made it onto the list this week! Normally, I only revise the list in January, but I'm getting to close to finishing off everything. Besides, if I don't add to it, what on earth would I have to write about each Wednesday?


My school's Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope team is planning a Mother-Daughter Tea for the beginning of May. They're looking for silent auction items, so I whipped up a set of placemats to donate.

I've made these before. They're really good for fat quarters. If you cut carefully, you get enough fabric to do the patchwork along the sides and then use the remaining fabric for the back of the mats.

I've had these fat quarters hanging around for ages. It was an 8 print collection and it gave me enough for the patchwork sides, backs, and binding.

I wanted these to feel spring-like, so I picked up the yellow in the prints for the middle sections. That's Kona Sunflower!

I did some more of random straight line quilting. I'm really looking forward to doing this on something larger than placemats or a baby quilt.








Let's keep our fingers crossed for some more sunshine soon... though grey and foggy suits just as well for quilting anyhow!

J

WiP! And on a Wednesday too!

It's starting to feel a little more like springtime here on the East Coast. Today, I escaped the classroom and took a little road trip (still work related) to the Annapolis Valley. It was sunshine and blue skies all the way there and back!

My latest quilt finish went with me...

We had a little photo shoot. It was windy and I kept worrying that she'd blow away! I could just imagine myself chasing her all the way to the four lane highway that you can't see in this pic. That's beautiful Blomidon in the distance.

I wanted to play in the studio a little last week-end and my current projects weren't calling me. So I started digging in my 2 1/2 inch square collection and sewing little sections of colour together. As it grew, I laid it out on the floor (I know, I know, I need a design wall) and made transition sections to go from colour to colour.  Et voilà! I'm really pleased with the quilting... totally different than what I would normally do, but that was kind of the point. Reminds me of ripples in a pond...

Also on the spring theme, here are the placemats I whipped up for the 'Rents for Easter. I couldn't resist staging them a little for pics. No, I didn't eat off them before wrapping them up.

 

 
Not quite as spring-y... but it makes me think of summer and boogie boarding.... I finished up my flip and sew project from the Elaine Quehl workshop. I blogged about it already here.

Pretty happy with the quilting again... used variegated thread. I'm not usually brave enough to use it, but I had enough different colours in my collection to do three of four sections!

Now, on to the List!

Child's Play - no progress. Just not sure how to quilt it. Need a Q-Square consult.
Jewel Squares -  backing and batting purchased today!

Mr & Mrs Cousin's wedding quilt - backing pieced, waiting to be layered and pinned. Check out my pattern matching... never done that before!
Mme S-S's retirement quilt - STILL waiting for main fabric to arrive
K's Dare - no progress
Transformer - no progress






Hope you had a wonderful Wednesday! With a Q-Squared quilt therapy session booked for Saturday, I see more quilting in my immediate future!


J

WiP!

Damn. I so meant to post this last night! Let's call it Work In Progress Thursday. I know at least one reader is out there waiting with bated breath for this week's update. So here we go!

On the Gotta Do department:

Jewel Squares!

Child's Play - layered and pinned, ready to quilt
Jewel Squares - top completed
Mr & Mrs Cousin's wedding quilt - backing arrived today, already washed!
Mme S-S's retirement quilt - waiting for main fabric to arrive
K's Dare - blocks complete (though I do need to check if she's got a double or queen bed these days!)

More Jewel Squares!

And after five hours of picking and tearing, the foundation paper is officially gone! Thanks to my Do-Bee pals for the assistance!

K's Dare thus far!

I also whipped up some placemats over the Easter week-end as a little Easter gift-y for the 'Rents. These were probably is more of a Mom gift than a Dad gift, but at least he might get to eat off them. I purposely made only two so that they would be used for every day and not saved for guests! Sadly, no pics today.... perhaps nect time!

Now, stop reading this and get sewing. You know there's something you're excited to work on sitting there waiting for you!

J

 

WIP!

The first three blocks

Late, but still on a Wednesday!

Progress has been made since my last WIP Wednesday in the category of Gotta do's...

 
Child's Play -  backing purchased, need batting

Jewel Squares (Kaffe Fassett) – blocks completed, need to sew together top

Mr & Mrs. Cousin's wedding quilt - blocks finished, ready to start sashing. It feels a little busy to me, but I'm going to tone it down with wide-ish sashing in Kona Olive.

Yes, those are my feet. I was precariously perched on the footboard!

Mme S-S's retirement quilt -having found no suitable fabric on last week's trip, I will be turning to on-line sources (likely Hawthorne Threads) and ordering this week

Miss K's birthday quilt - Fabric purchased and washed, cutting to begin this week. For those who are keeping track, those are, from bottom to top, Ash, Regal, British peri, Lilac, and Peacock. Here's the pattern: Dare-To-Be-Different

Transformer - Second full set of blocks made, but I'm not happy with the size. I like this quilt too much to leave it at an impractical size. Half the fabric is cut for the next round of blocks.

One of my bee pals sent out a great e-mail a couple week's ago. Some of ther technical quilting terms she shared are too good not to include in a W.i.P Wednesday.

HSY - Haven't Started Yet
PHD - Project Half Done
WIM - Work in Mind
WIVSP - Work in Very Slow Progress
TOAD - Trashed Object Abandoned in Disgust

And a couple related to our fabric "issues." Don't pretend like you don't have them...

SABLE - Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy
FART - Fabric Acquisition Road Trip 

Made any progress on your list?  Remember, it's a tool to keep things going smoothly, not to cripple you into things you're no excited about. If you don't love it, don't work on it!


Happy sewing!

J 

Better late than...

Okay, so my first target date for a WIP Wednesday came and went. But it doesn't mean I wasn't pluggin' away on those lists!

Sashiko fish!

Here's the update:

Gotta do's!
Child's Play - No progress
Jewel Squares - Blocks finished
Sashiko fish - Finished!
Qui-vet for spare room - Finished! (Sorry, no pics yet!)
Cousin & Mrs. Cousin's Wedding quilt - No progress
Mariner's Lunch Box Challenge - Finished! (Top secret!)
Mme P's retirement quilt - No progress (though I did pin some potential fabrics!)
Miss K's birthday quilt - No Progress

Wanna do's that have become Gotta do's!
Project using Konas - Transformer quilt is 100% Kona-tastic!


Happy Valentine's Day all!

A large week!

I prescribed myself a little quilt therapy this week... it's been productive! This is the kind of self-medicating I should practice more often!

I'm meant to wear a name tag at my guild meetings, but I've always baulked at the prospect. Then I came across this little gem on Pinterest, a tiny paper pieced sewing machine. It was fiddly, but worth it! Then took a couple tips from a lanyard tutorial (also a Pinterest find).  I cannibalized a lanyard I already had and... voilà!

Lovin' the orange and grey lately! I'm a little behind on the Pantone of the Year (2012) but maybe I'll be more with it this year!










 There's also a new addition on the way for the family of my pal, SuperKate. So I decided that the best looking of the orphan baby quilts had her name on it (even though the new addition doesn't have a name yet!) Though still done on the diagonal, I quilted this one differently from the two large quilts made for Miss E and Miss O. The diagonals touched the small rectangles in the white blocks on each corner. It ended up forming diamonds with the stitching.

And then, one of my co-workers made a comment whilst knitting that she was missing her knitting bag (which was too large to bring for travel projects). So I whipped up a little basket/bucket from this tutorial... though I added an over the top handle instead of side handles.



I also got some time in on an item from the Gotta do list. I finished the appliqué sections of my Maui purchased sashiko fish. I'm not an appliqué person, much less hand appliqué, but Himself really liked this one when we saw it at the Maui Quilt Shop. I've started on the sashiko stitching and it's really coming along nicely. I'm enjoying it so much that I'm thinking of finding more of these projects. Not an easy task in our local quilt shops. Oh well, I might have to go back to Maui!


And to top the week off.... my first Kona fat quarter bundle arrived!!! Yes, three exclamation points are warranted here. It's exciting to get fabric in the mail. If you've never experienced it, but it on your bucket list for this year. Anyway... here they are!
From darkest to lightest: Pacific, Water, Alegria, Lake.

I can't hardly wait for next months batch!

Thanks for reading!

J