ALYOF - June Finish!

Ah... isn't it lovely to finish things? Especially when it means keeping my 6 month finishing streak going AND crossing off the third oldest WIP on The List.

The particular step that was tripping me up on this one was the binding. I wanted it to blend with the quilt top and a matched pieced binding seemed like the best option. And the one that was the fiddly-est and most challenging.

But it turned out to be much easier than I thought... though time consuming. Is it perfect? Likely not. Is it done? You bet! #imperfectionism Many thanks to Scrapmaster Linda who gave me a helpful hint and some moral support!

 Some money shots of the quilting... because it makes me just so danged happy!

The back really shows the different colours of thread and the (many) binding bits. I opted to add hanging triangles to all the corners so I change the orientation when/if I like.

The Deets

Title:  Underwater

Size: 17½ by 24 inches

Konas Used: Baby Blue, Robin Egg, Peacock, Turquoise, Teal Blue (from lightest to darkest)
Quilting: Wavy lines in various shades of teal (Gutterman 202, 600, 616, 621, 640) 
Binding: Pieced binding matched to colour sections on quilt top. Hand stitched with Gutterman 618)
Backing: Kona Cloud

Favourite Part(s): Playing with wavy quilting and creating just the feel I wanted, Taking on the challenge of a matched binding

Read more about this project here, here, and here.

I was #51 on the Goal Setting Party and I'm linking up with this month's Finishes Party (yup... down to the wire again!)

 

Now what on earth will I choose for my July goal? Decisions, decisions!

J

Sunday Stash - Candy Coated Collections

So my MMQG pal, Aimee from Candy Coated Quilts, has done it again. As if her pixel quilts weren't awesome enough (really... pop over and check them out), she's created some wicked good Kona FQ packs.
Somehow I managed to miss showing off the June bundle. Some lovely greens to build my stash (as though it really NEEDED building)

From the top, there's Ash, Snow, Sprout, Chartreuse, and Grass. Gets me thinking about springtime leaves. For the past couple weeks, it seems like the world is just a little bit greener each time I look out the window. So welcome after this winter's Snowmageddon.

And yesterday, Aimee popped in to our MMQG Sew In to drop off the July bundle. Yummo!

I love that she's taken to labeling them as well. One less step for me to do when I add them to the stash. Mind you, the labels will have to come off for my required pre-wash and ironing!

I can hardly wait to see what she and her team (okay... her husband) come up with next month. We (her fairly small circle of loyal subscribers) keep telling her she should go global. You know, in her spare time.

I'm linking up today with the fabulous Molli Sparkles for

Now it's time to get away from the computer and get back to sewing!

J

WIP Wednesday - In a better place...

 If Tuesday is any indication, it's gonna be a good week! Things are looking up around here!

Last week, I was so disgusted with my (lack of) progress on the Piano Key blocks that I couldn't even blog about it. Naps were rocky, Himself was away, I was in a not-so-great place. In particular, these blues were really getting under my skin. I just couldn't seem to get the colour balance right.

Thankfully, the fabric pulls for the orange, lime, and plum blocks came together a little more easily. This Technicolor Galaxy business takes a buttload of organization. I'm constantly reaching for my trusty masking tape and Sharpie! And we won't even talk about the number of labeled Ziplock bags in action.

Though the Piano Keys are foundation pieced, the low volume-colour pairs are chain pieced before they're sewn to the foundation. I love me some chain piecing!

I really wanted all the seams on the pairs to line up perfectly with the markings on the foundation. But after (MANY!!!) rounds of tearing out stitching, I decided that finished was better than perfect. I applied the same mantra to the blues... they're done. Not necessarily perfect. #imperfectionism

Yesterday, the stars aligned and DT napped for 4 hours in one day! I got to work on the Scattered Geese blocks. I was so excited to be sewing that I snapped only one pic. Can you believe it?

 Here we are so far! I have no idea how I'd manage this project without a design wall!

 The plum-purple zone...

  Yellow-lime zone...

Just one more Scattered Geese block to whip up, then I'm on to Arrow Heads! If I manage to get those done, I'll be caught up... at least with piecing the blocks. Then on to quilting... but I might be getting a little ahead of myself!

Since it's Wednesday, I'm linking up with the lovely and talented Lorna for Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts, as well as WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced. Pop on over and check out what others are up to this week!

J

Sunday Stash - The end of an era...

Well, it's the end of an era if 6 months can be considered an era! This is the last of my lovely bundles from Le Club, a production of Fridays Off Fabric.

From top to bottom: Tweed in Iron, Triangles in Orchid, Timeless Treasures Crosshatch Sketch in Grey, Diamonds in Mustard, a grey print from Lotta Jansdotter's Glimma line, and Tweed in Stone. They're mostly from Camelot Cottons, except the Crosshatch Sketch.

I did say that once my Christmas gift ran out, I might continue the subscription. Reality is that I'm just not sewing enough (witness no blog posts at all this week...) to justify monthly squishy envelope deliveries. No matter how lovely the contents. Many thanks to Alanna at Fridays Off for her thoughtful inclusion of selvages (I do love a good selvage!) as well as her hand written notes each month! And of course, to the Zs for the Christmas present that just kept on giving!


I'd be linking up with the fabulous Molli Sparkles, only it appears that Sunday Stash has gone missing! I hope our Molli hasn't fallen into a vat of glitter! Or joined Fabricaholics Anonymous. What have I done!?!

Edit: Molli made a triumphant return on Monday, so I linked up with...

J

Sunday Stash - Well, sort of...

Yup... that's it.

No glorious Cotton & Steel yardage this week. No pet-able chunks of lovely Kona. This week, I went to my LQS solely to buy thread. Yes... I have thread.

But I started quilting in a particular colour and ran out... so off I went. Then I remembered that I had a  present to return. Yes, I had the gifter's permission. ☺ So not only did I pick up some thread, but I also snagged a pack of rotary blades. AND I got almost 4$ back. Yup, they gave me money. Score!

I'm not trying to start a self-admiration club here people. But remember back when you made those Quilty Resolutions? How many of you said something about curtailing your spending or sewing from your stash?

Go ahead. Re-read your post. It's under the January tab. I'll wait...

Full disclosure: here's mine. It's not too late to re-visit that pledge. There's joy in making something from what you have. My evidence? Look what I made this week. I thought about creating a button or linky or something... but it turns out, someone already did! If you need more motivation and reminders, why not check out Sew My Stash 2015?



In the interest of adding a different voice to the conversation, I'm linking up with the oh-so-sparkly...

Delete me if you will, Molli! It's your bar and your boat!

J

Friday Finish - A Challenge!

You know how I love a challenge... especially one with free fabric! When the Mothership throws down the gauntlet, I take it up (well... sometimes!) This quilt, 668 Triangles: A Redux, was made as part of the MQG's 2015 Fabric Challenge with Riley Blake Designs.

The challenge was controversial in the MQG world. The available free fabric was gone VERY quickly and it was tough to find more of the prints since The Cottage Garden line is not a new one. I was one of the lucky ones who signed up quickly.

  The rules?

- Make something fantastic that is quilted. CHECK!

- Make something you have never done before. CHECK! Well, sort of.

- Challenge yourself to learn something new. Hmmm... maybe.

- Use only Riley Blake The Cottage Garden fabrics and Riley Blake coordinating basics & solids. NOPE. (We'll come back to that)

We received fat eights of Cottage Main Grey, Cottage Aster White, Cottage Birds Grey, Cottage Newsprint Teal, Cottage Wallpaper Teal, and Cottage Wallpaper Grey. 

 I opted to vote the little birds off the island... their fuschia legs & eyes just didn't work in my palette!

I subbed in Kona White, Aqua, and Lemon. I would have preferred to play by the rules and use Riley Blake solids. But they're just not readily available. I wasn't able to find any Canadian on-line shops that carried a full range and with rate of exchange, duty, and shipping, I wasn't ordering from the US. So I'm officially a rule breaker!

I cut as many triangles as I could from the challenge fabric using my trusty Hex n' More ruler. This is the second time that I've opted to use it on a pattern that isn't by Jaybird Quilts (the ruler's creator). Boy, if I had one of these back in the day, my (many) Thousand Pyramid quilts would have gone much more quickly!

I even used the blunt ends of the ruler to trim the tips from my triangles... it made accurate piecing so much easier. I won't say there aren't any blunt triangles, but there are far fewer than in past projects!

 Careful matching of those blunt corners gave me the seam allowance needed to sew the rows together!

I didn't sketch this one out ahead of time... it grew on the design wall. I knew I wanted an asymmetrical design and that the finished product should be a functional baby quilt.

It's a little strange for me to have so much of the process in a Finish post, but I started this piece on Friday and finished it on Tuesday. That just doesn't happen often around here!

For the quilting, I used a medium teal (Gutterman 670). I quilted a ¼ inch on either side of the triangle seams and carried the lines of stitching into the negative space, creating ghost triangles. I used a similar technique when I quilted Honey. This was my second time using a Hera marker to mark lines instead of my trusty Frixion pen. I could get used to this!

I opted for a scrappy binding in the triangle section and a white binding in the negative space. I wanted the binding to blend and not stand out on either section and this seemed the only way to go about it. This side even played along and matched up well! We won't dwell on the other side...

I used as much of those fat eights as I could... even including a few leftover triangles and my offcuts in the pieced back. I also used a big chunk of Kona Ash and Riley Blake In the Ocean print (Ocean Bubbles Teal) coordinating basic that I managed to rustle up at my LQS.

Whilst strollin' the neighbourhood with DT (and snapping quilt pics), we passed by some of our urban art. Our city commissioned artists to paint all sorts of utility boxes that were prone to vandalism. Love em!

The colours of those fishies would make a great quilt. Oh wait... I think I've already made a few quilts in those colours!

Since it's springtime in Nova Scotia, there are lots of lovely things to see (and smell). Apple blossoms.... mmmm.

And because I am shameless, I encourage you to pop over to the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild's blog and vote for your favourite in our Viewer's Choice Awards. It doesn't HAVE to me mine! Unless you're related to me... ☺

The Deets

Title:  468 Triangles: A Redux

Size: 28 by 35½ inches

Konas Used: Aqua, Ash, Lemon, White
Prints Used: Cottage Main Grey, Cottage Aster White, Cottage Newsprint Teal, Cottage Wallpaper Teal, and Cottage Wallpaper Grey from Riley Blake's The Cottage Garden
Quilting: Straight line in medium of teal (Gutterman 670) 
Binding: Kona White and scrappy section, Hand stitched with matching threads 
Backing: Kona Ash and Riley Blake's Ocean Bubbles Teal

Favourite Part(s): Creating something from my imagination and making it up as I went along, using only material from my stash, knowing that this quilt will travel halfway around the world to keep a special little girl warm

Since it's Friday, I'm linking up with Finish Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, as well as TGIFF, hosted this week by Quokka Quilts.

J

ALYOF - June Goal!

Ack! Why am I always scrambling to link-up with the monthly goal setting party?! Honestly, it's not like I don't know it's going to happen during the first 7 days of the month! Next month, I'll... oh, never mind. I'll probably scramble again. Such is life these days!

For my June goal, I'd like to cross another item off The List. This one's been floating around the studio since the spring of 2013!

I blogged about Underwater back in January and got lots of great feedback on how to achieve the look I want for the binding. Now I just need to read, internalize, and get to binding it! Having this as a goal for the month will get me moving! And cross another WIP off The List!

I'm linking up with...

Pop on over and see what goals others have set for the coming month!
J