TGIFF - So. Much. Purple.

Hey there! I'm Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge and I'm happy to be hosting this week's edition of TGIFF. If you're new to my blog, have a little tour around and check out some of my past posts.

I kind of felt like I should have photographed this one in the rain, but that was beyond my photographic skills!

This Kona strip quilt was made purely from my stash. Normally, I work in a pop of colour here and there, but this little lovely is destined for a new baby of a co-worker. I know her room is primarily purple, but I have no idea on accent colours!

As I said, these purples were from my stash, so most of them were already labeled. I do like to keep a running log of Konas used so I can keep my Kona Love list semi up to date! If you've never made an endless strip quilt or a jelly roll race as some people call them, you really should! They're a great stash buster and are super easy! Here's a quick tutorial by Wisecraft. Full disclosure: I didn't use this tutorial, but I thought you might like some instructions!

 These quilts can get a little messy, but the end result is satisfying!

I like to sew my strips into groups of four rows and cut them to width. I then lay them out on the design wall to ensure a pleasing distribution of lights and darks. It's scappy, but planned!

As for quilting, I like to break up the linear-ness (is that even a word?!) of the piecing with some wavy organic quilting. It's also easy as all get out. And it looks better and better each time it gets washed. Baby quilts get washed.... a lot!

Binding? Scrappy. Lawn? Not green enough yet for nice pictures.

Spring is coming in Eastern Canada, but not fast enough for my liking. Thank goodness for these happy crocuses that we (Double Trouble and I) planted last fall.

I even hit the stash for my backing. Kona Snow with a pop of purple. I'm also planning on adding the wee little girlie's name to the back, but I didn't want it in the pics! Here's hoping that the new mama (and her kiddo) like it.

The Deets  
Title: Purple Rain for Miss E
Size: 35 by 45 inches (my preferred baby quilt dimensions!)

Fabric Used: Kona from my stash
Konas Used: Bright Periwinkle, Dahlia, Hibiscus, Lavender, Mulberry, Orchid, Pansy, Petunia, Regal, Tulip, Violet
Quilting: Wavy organic
Backing: Kona Snow

Binding: Scrappy purple Konas!

Now it's your turn. Link up those fabulous finishes here and don't forget to tour the other blogs and spread the comment love! Please include a link and/or button for Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday! so your visitors know what this TGIFF thing is all about!

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Hellllooooo?????

Shockingly, I'm still here. Part of me wonders if you are too!

Sewing is still a massive part of my life. It's my escape. For 2019, I've made a goal to sew every day. Even if it's only 15 minutes of handsewing. One way to keep myself on track is this calendar.

I cross off every day that I sew. I don't beat myself for the days that miss. I accept and move on!
Here a few wee things sewn up during those sessions in recent months!

I'm kind of obsessed with these wee phone stands. So far, I've made three, but I'm definitely going to make more! Factotum of Arts has this awesome tutorial!

GT got her first big girl doll from Santa. I might add that she's still miffed that Santa didn't bring the pink and purple dog that she requested in her letter. Anyway, Abigail had some lovely indoor clothes, but there was a risk of her getting cold when out visiting.

It was determined that she needed a coat. And of course, momma went a little overboard. I've gone down a rabbit hole of new sewing opportunities (as though I needed more). The ensemble pictured above is Sofie's Winter Sports Outfit by Sofie Clareese. I've resisted buying more patterns, but just barely!

In 2019, I'm doing Random Acts of Craftiness. One of my first acts came in the form of this mini mini quilt. I'll tell you more about it in a future post!

For Christmas, I sewed up a number of these portable cutlery rolls. I've been thinking so much about garbage lately. Plastic, in particular. These rolls started out as a way to transport my metal straw. I hated the idea of it floating about in my purse.

While I haven't been blogging much, I'm pretty active on Instagram. And it keeps feeding me more ideas for things to make. More sewalongs. So. Many. Things. To. Make. I was totally sucked in to the #tinydresdenparty in January. It's a fun little pattern from Quilty Obsession!

And hand stitching! I finally finished my Hawaiian appliqué pillow.  Well, at least the appliqué portion. I'm seriously considering hand quilting it, even though I've never hand quilting anything! It seems like the right thing. The kit and workshop were Himself's birthday gift to me last year. I spent a couple very pleasant hours at the Maui Quilt Shop last March.

I also got down to work on my Violet Craft EPP Peacock. He's certainly going to be a bright fellow! The pattern's been looking at me from the design wall for some time. If I'm going to get down to business on The Night Quilter's Pollinate quilt, this one needs to be finished first!

That's just a sampling of some of the projects I've been plugging away on when I haven't been working on the blog. I'm going to be back again soon... sharing more details about the projects above and bringing you up to date on some others!

Hope you're still out there, dear reader. I've missed you!

J

Looking back and looking forward...

Six years ago, something new and amazing came into my life. This blog. There was definitely a learning curve... inserting links, joining link-ups, staging pics for posts. After not too long, blogging was a integral part of my craft. I'd think my way through projects in a post. I'd be writing posts while I sewed.

And then there are the friends. Ladies all over the world whom I've never met that have shared so much with me. Not just praise for my creations and fixes for my quilting troubles, but their lives from afar.

It's been a good while since I wrote a post... almost a year in fact. I've flipped over to the quick and easy platform of Instagram, though I did put up a valiant fight. I don't have to ponder my posts quite so much, but I've missed my friends. You know who you are!

So I'm back.... at least for the moment. I've been creating. Mind you, I'm not so prolific as I once was.  So if you're an Insta-follower, you're likely to have some deja vu going on. I'll do my best to mix in some fresh stuff for you too!

 

This past March, Himself, DT, and the extended fam jam traveled to Hawaii. Himself gifted me a Hawaiian quilting workshop. It doesn't get much more traditional than this, but I'm liking it!

I've been really into hand-stitching lately. I know. Try not to fall over. But DT have gotten to the stage where they play fairly independently. Not so independently that I can go inside and sew happily for hours at a time. It's more likely that I can cram in some EPP or a little sashiko before the next "Mammaaaaaa!!!!!"

And it's portable! I sit and stitch as the helicopter parents swoop.

Speaking of DT, they've moved to big kid beds. WTF. And those lovely wee crib quilts I made served them well in toddler beds, but they look pretty shrimpy on their new beds.

So I've been picking away at some new ones for them. I figure that I might have them done by the time we extend those beds to the length of twin beds! For GT, it's the Release the Kraken quilt that I posted about way, way back. It's come a long way!

And for BT, it's a hybrid of Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Forest and Delightful Desert. Here's my most recent block finish, wee Freya Fawn. Isn't she a sweetheart?

See you soon!

J

TGIFF - Strong

Welcome to TGIFF @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge! If you're new to the blog, I hope you'll take a few minutes to tour around and leave a comment or two. I read every one! If you're not so new to the blog, you might have noticed a wee blip last week where I was hosting TGIFF. Nope. I'll chalk it up to computer error! I just wanted to reassure you that you're not reading double!

Shockingly, I pulled off another finish for this week.... and not just a pile of pincushions. Something a little larger this go round!

Regular readers will know how strongly I feel about extra love being sewn in to handmade items. It's why, when the shit hits the fan, I tend to get sewing. I can't change the situation, but I can give someone a warm, soft place to curl up under or lay their head on. This week's finish? Well, it's to remind a friend of their strength. Pure, unadulterated strength. Strength that has gotten them through 100% of their crappiest days to date.

I had so little in the way of a plan for this pillow. I just started sewing low volume scraplings together. I mean, low volume works in everyone's decor, right? Once the scrap blobs got big enough, I cut them into 5 inch squares and slapped 'em on the design wall.

Once I was happy with the distribution, I sewed them up. The recipient had told me her favourite colour was red, so I did my best to get those wee red polka dot scraps well distributed.

Then on to the quilting. I know, I know. What is that hideous lavender doing there? I use cast off FQs as pillow innards. Don't judge me. And I know I've been FMQ spiraling a lot lately.... like on this pillow. But I like it. So there.

I know what you've been wondering since the beginning of this post. HOW DID SHE DO THOSE LETTERS? Heat and Bond Ultra, of course.

And my new little friend, a Cricut Explore Air 2 (which I purchased a mere two weeks before the hype for the Cricut Maker started. Let's not speak of it.)

I haven't made much so far. I'm sort of overwhelmed by the possibilities. But this seemed like a great place to start. I used the design software to write the work and spent three days choosing the right font. Okay, maybe it wasn't three days. But it was a long time!

 I got a little worried when I saw this... the frayed edge and the cutting blade didn't get along so well.

But my trusty dental pick got that letter off smoothly and I was able to trim and re-cut the small area that had gone cattywampus.

The letters came off the sticky mat with ease. Sometimes the Heat and Bond paper was left behind, but that was no big deal. I was taking it off anyway!

 And presto. Ironed in place.

 Those swirls look fab on that low volume scrappiness... if I do say so myself.

I wanted to get just a little more red into the pillow top, so I outlined the red Cotton+Steel XOXO letters with a heavy red stitch. Given enough time, I think I might have liked to hand stitch around it with perle cotton. Try to contain your shock. I also did three horizontal and three vertical lines of stitching... representing the recipients three kiddos.

Oddly, my stash is short on reds. Dena @ No Frickin Blog yet is horrified. Gasping for air even. But it's true. But red was needed here, so I used a chunk of a cute Lewis & Irene fox print that's been curled up in my stash for some time and a piece of Kona Cardinal for the other side of the envelope closure. With such a scrappy front, two fabrics on the back won't hurt anyone!

  And there it is. Strong. Hopefully it gives a little comfort and strength to it's new owner.

Now it's your turn. Link up those fabulous finishes here and don't forget to tour the other blogs and spread the comment love! Please include a link and/or button for Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday! so your visitors know what this TGIFF thing is all about!

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Hope you'll come back soon! I've got more pincushions to show off and some back to school clothes in the works!

J

Friday Finish - Pinnie Parade FOMO!

Today could be Finish up Friday or it could be FOMO Friday! If you're into the Instagram (I'm well and truly hooked), you might have seen the hashtag #pinnieparade and the accompanying pics popping up this month. I know I have. I could resist no longer. Behold the pincushion trio!

A couple weeks ago, I snagged a copy of Amanda Jean Nyberg (of Crazy Mom Quilts fame)'s new book, No Scrap Left Behind. This lady is serious about scraps! And she may or may not have a pincushion addiction. She made one a day in July. You decide. Anyway, she had some patterns for pincushions at the end of the book and I thought they'd be a great way to use some of those wee scraplings that I just can part with!

I meant to pull teal scraps, but the greens were on top. And it just kind of happened! The pincushion is based on Amanda Jean's Bright Birch Trees block that I've always loved. To get started, I pieced together some strings of little green scraps. (Pen for scale!)

 They looked even nicer when pressed and trimmed!

 The setting strips of low volume Blueberry Park started out straight...

 And ended up wonky! Just the way I like 'em.

 Then on to the quilting. I might have gone a little overboard, but it works.

 And here's Green #1 all finished and ready for pins!

You know the best part about pincushion making? The smallest scrap can be used and a moderate sized one is gigantic! Talk about using one's resources. Though if you're looking to clear out your stash, you might need a pincushion a day challenge!

My teal scraps are pretty thin owing to the charity string blocks I've been making for my guild. But there are wee bits!  Perfect for some tiny improv on a skinny pinny.

 I improv pieced some triangles and strips from the pile.

 Again, when it's a small space, you can take the time to go a little nutty with the quilting density!

The only problem with skinny pincushions? They're tricky to turn right side out!

And here's Skinny Pinnie Teal #2

The last of the trio is brought to you by this gem, picked up by Dena @ No Frickin' Blog Yet at our guild yard sale. I know, I know... it's dated. I can't even show you the inside. There's just too much forest green....

But the four inch paper pieced blocks make perfect pincushions. Just goes to show that anything can be made modern!

 My pincushions are stuffed with crushed walnut shells, courtesy of the local pet store. They give the cushions a nice heft (they can double as pattern weights!)
I love this little fussy cut owl. Honestly, fussy cutting and paper piecing are my go to's lately! And here's Orange #3! Now I'm kind of thinking that I'd like a rainbow of pincushions. Hmmm... next week's finish perhaps?

It's nice to think I finished three projects in 24 hours! Yay me!

I'll be linking up with TGIFF @ Quilting is more Fun than Housework (Isn't that the truth!). I'll be hosting next week, so get your finishes photographed! I'm also linking up with Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts. and Can I get A Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Pop on over and check out some other finishes!

J

J