2016 Finish-A-Long - Q3 Goals!

It's that time again... goal setting! After jumping on the 2016  Finish-A-Long just in time for Quarter 2, I found it very motivating. Here's hoping Quarter 3 is no different!

Goal 1 - Technicolor Galaxy

Last quarter, my goal was to get up to date on my Skill Builder BOM Technicolor Galaxy. Check! This time, I want/need to get this puppy assembled and bound. For reals. It's been long enough and I want my design wall back!

Goal 2 - Cotton + Steel Christmas Quilt

This one might seem a little familiar.  Yup, it was a goal last quarter too. But this time I'm really going to get it done. Part of my hang-up is how to quilt it. Suggestions are more than welcome!

Goal 3 - Selvage Challenge

I'm going to turn my pile of rainbow selvage blocks into something fabulous for Stash Builder Box's Selvage Challenge. The challenge runs from July 5th to September 25th (perfect for Q3) and all you have to do to enter is post your project on Instagram (yup... I've succumbed to the temptation) using #selvagechallenge.


Goal 4 - Paper pieced hexies

I made one of these awesome wee hexies during my May is for Makers mania. Must. Make. More. And turn them into something! I should set a goal to use a few of those lovely patterns I bought!

Goal 5 - Advent Calendar

 

Speaking of which! I started buying wool felt for this mega project just last week. Can I get it done for the end of September? It's a big goal, but I'm gonna give it a try!

I'm linking up with the goal setting post for Quarter 3 of the 2016 Finish-A-Long.

J

True Confessions of a Selvage Junkie

Here's the thing: I tend to work on selvage projects when I don't have anything else on the go. Not so much the case lately! I didn't manage any new projects... even though I had lovely, luxurious weeks to get on the bandwagon.  So I thought I'd share some of my past selvage shenanigans... including the one that started it all.

Someone showed up at a guild meeting with a bag like this and I was all in! I had to make one of my own. I scrimped and pinched and begged selvages from friends (they all save for themselves now). I still love to pull this out as a summertime purse!

 

Once I finished that purse, I was truly hooked. I went on to make some simple zipper pouches. Sometimes it's those every day items that can bring one the most enjoyment. You get to admire those little selvages every time you pull it out of your purse!

Then I stumbled onto selvages as spools of thread... couldn't resist that idea either! Thankfully, Tallgrass Prairie Studios has a lovely tutorial for them! This was one of my first forays into an improv style of piecing and definitely an early use of Kona Ash. Sadly, it's never made it to a studio wall (except for this pic!)

This one did make it to the wall though... and sometimes doubles as an extra bulletin board when the other one gets too full!

Once upon a time, a bee mate requested an improv star block with selvages. This one, using Dominique @ The Running Thimble's tutorial, ticked all the boxes!

And then there's the selvage block from last year's Skill Builder BOM.  It was such fun to match the selvages to the quilt colours... and to choose ones that might actually be book titles!

Here's the most recent of my selvage projects, a pillow for the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild's swap with the Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild.

You can read more about it's creation here.
 

I'm linking up with Final Link-Up for the Selvage Along over at Quilty Habit & Quilts of a Feather!

 

Thanks so much to both of these lovely bloggers for organizing a laid-back link-up. I loved the pops of selvage-y inspiration every week or so. So nice not to feel like I was on hamster wheel style-along where one can't possibly catch up or participate!

J

Oh how I love a Selv-EDGE!

It's check in day at the Selvage Along @ Quilt Habit and Quilts of a Feather. I can't say that I've set my mind on a particular project, but that's okay since the Selvage Along doesn't finish up until September 21. That's loads of time... says the procrastinator!

Whenever I just feel like sewing and don't know what, I make selvage blocks. I don't worry much about what they're going to become. I'm just making them and I'll see what they turn into down the road!

 

Now you can see why my selvage bin is organized the way it is. These blocks are foundation pieced on muslin. I mark a 45° line on the corner and use it as a guide for topstitching the selvages. I keep a bunch of foundations prepped for whenever I feel like stitching up a block.

I also have a lot of teal fabric in my stash which means a lot of teal selvages. ☺

Lately, I've been thinking about cutting these 8 inch squares down to 4 inch and putting them together into something... but what?!

 

I'm linking up today with Quilty Habit & Quilts of a Feather. I love the pace of this quilt along. The way the tutorials are spaced out, you have a chance to make something. Unless you haven't been saving selvages... then you're in trouble!

 

J 

Livin on the Selv-EDGE!

I've been studiously ignoring all the fabulous Alongs popping up all over the blogosphere, but I just couldn't resist this one!

 

I mean, it's selvages (or selvedges... depending on where you live!). You can pop on over to Quilty Habit and see what's coming up. For today, I'm showing off my selvage stash.

I keep a little bowl handy on my sewing space to hold selvages as they come along. As much as I love a good selvage, I don't let myself cut them off fabric until I actually use the fabric for a project.

There's something about the blue glaze on this little bowl that makes me smile!

When the little bowl gets too full to hold more treasures, I open up this nondescript container. In our house, we call them fish boxes!

All these lovelies live inside... organized roughly by colour. Keeping them sorted makes it easier to use them in my projects.

I also have separate bags for black/white/grey selvages as well as tan/brown.

And then there are the Christmas selvages. Maybe one of these days I'll have enough for a Christmas... something. Who knows?

 There's even a bag for my precious Amy Butler selvages!

I'm linking up with Quilty Habit... and I'll be popping over to see what the other selvage hoarders have got on the go! I'm hopping to link up again at the end of the Selvage Along with a few of my selvage projects!

J

Sunday Stash - But they were free...

Since my Fabricaholics Anonymous post, I've been evaluating my fabric purchasing. I know, I know, how many posts have you read about working from your stash, blah, blah, blah. But seriously people... I have enough fabric. I could probably quilt an addition on my house.

That said, here's a little fabric eye candy that made it's way into my stash last week. Some lovely Cotton & Steel - Dottie's Cousin Lime, Dottie's Cousin Mint, Hot Cross Buns Natural (all from Rashida Coleman-Hale's Mochi Line), and Study Hall from the Black & White Collection.  

I just love the messages on these pencils... "As ye rip so shall ye sew" ☺

And the selvages!
I know what you're thinking... how is this not adding to your stash? Well, I won it! Thanks to my January Finish in ALYOF, I won a 15$ gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop. And I showed remarkable restraint and only went a little over!

On-line fabric purchases since beginning Fabricaholics = 0$ (I ordered this well before I began FA)
Visits to LQS since last Sunday Stash Post = 0
Projects made entirely from materials on hand this week = 1 (Don't worry... you'll see it soon!)

Can you do it? Can you stop whenever you want to? I dare you...

J 

TGIFF is here!

It's Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday! If you're popping over to link-up and have never been here before, welcome to A Quarter Inch from the Edge! To learn a little more about me (and enter a giveaway ☺), you can visit my post on the recent Meet Maritime Modern Blog Hop.

But enough about that, let's get to this week's finish! 

This 16 by 16 inch pillow is a design of my own creation. It combines my love of selvages and Kona solids. Since I struggle with quilt math, sketching things out really works for me!

It's based on a little wall hanging in my studio that doubles as a bulletin board when my other one is too full!

I do love a good selvage! It was tough to part with these, but I'm sure they'll go to a good home when it gets swapped with the Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild in a couple months. And it's not like my selvage stash is hurting!

So many memories of fun fabrics I've worked with and friends that have passed their selvages on to me! And some lovely Kona Silver to let those bright colours pop!

For the quilting, I continued the visual lines created in the selvage chevron. I varied the distance between the lines, ranging from less than ¼ inch to almost 1 inch. (I used different parts of my presser foot as guidelines!)
I carried the grey onto the back... and the chevron feeling too... by using a Dear Stella chevron print.

I took a page from Scrapmaster's book and opted to use the selvage edge instead of finishing the edge of the pillow backing. It seems only fitting given the selvages on the front!

A few more money shots of the quilting... 

 

I can't say it won't be hard to say good-bye to this one...

This week, I'm really saying thank goodness it's finished, since it was touch and go whether I'd get anything completed in time for today! Thank goodness for visiting grandparents too! Have you finished a project this week? We'd love to hear about it. If this is your first time at TGIFF, the rules are simple:

•    Post your finish using the linky tool.
•    Point your readers back to TGIFF with a text link or button.
•    Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

And don't worry if you've never linked up before, just click the "add your link" button and follow the directions. Easy peasy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Again, thanks for stopping by!

J

WIP Wednesday - Return of the selvages & Christmas jammies!

It seems like I'm up to my eyeballs in partially finished tasks lately... and not just in the studio. I swear if there aren't some finishes soon, I'm gonna lose my mind! ☺

During some Quilt Therapy time with the Squares this past week-end, I quilted the selvage pillow-turned-wall hanging from last week. I opted to emphasize the chevron-y-ness (yup, totally made up that word) of the piece.

 
I didn't want to distract from the selvages... it's really quite busy... so I opted for white thread. In pictures, it only shows well on the back. But I was amazed at the texture that the quilting added to the front. I think it's best viewed in person though!

And I finally got off the fence and made a decision on how to quilt the Plus Two quilts.

Still only showing you a sneaky-peek... patience, grasshoppers, patience! They're all ready to be trimmed and bound!

I did manage to finish these little cuties...

Christmas jammies! They're from a pattern by Made by Rae called Big Butt Baby Pants. The pattern was really easy to understand (the only mistake I made was purely a result of my own carelessness) and includes 6 sizes ranging from 0-3 months to 2T. What a steal at 10$ for the digital download! Himself was a little sad that I didn't have enough fabric to make matching ones for him! I couldn't resist making another pair. Funny, he didn't want ones like these...

Big Butt Clown Pants! In keeping with the long standing tradition of dressing your children in clothes you wouldn't be caught dead in....

With the leftover scraps of the Christmas jammies (and a number of much searched for matching flannels), I'm going to make the babies a Christmas play blanket.

Babies a couple months old don't really need Christmas presents.... but this one will be quick and make for a good backdrop for the inevitable first Christmas photo madness!

Hope you found some time to sew this week! I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced as well as Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts.

J