Design Wall Monday

Design Wall Monday 08/07/17

I’ve been slowly working on blocks for the #EPPParty and finished block 7 over the weekend. Block 8 is released today and I’ll have to start working on that this week. I have 2 quilts all basted and ready to quilt and I’m finishing up the binding on a Quilts of Valor quilt I brought home from the last meeting. School will be starting soon and I hope be to able to spend a little more time working on projects!

I’ve also had to put handwork to the side recently because I needed to get a wedding gift completed. It was delivered to the groom last week, so I can post about it now. We didn’tgo to the wedding because it was out of the country and there was just no way we could go, but we did still want to give them a gift. So I stitched up my usual wedding gift, a small cross stitch piece in a frame with space for a wedding picture. The groom loved it, so I’m happy!

Linking up to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Design Wall Monday – 03-06-17

Commission Progress 030617.jpg I started working on the last 2 commission quilts for my friend. I got all of the blocks cut out and put together for both quilts, I just need to get them put together. These quilts go together so quickly that I don’t mind that I’ve made so many of them. My friend is coming to visit this weekend, so I’d like to have the tops done before she gets here.

Good Night Irene 030617 While I work on the commission quilts, I’m working on the border blocks for Good Night Irene, which has been in progress since 2014. I slowly worked on the top during 2014, but it was hard with a newborn in the house. The border blocks are just simple 9 patches, and use 162 white squares and 162 colored squares. My 2.5″ square bin doesn’t even look any emptier! I finished half the blocks needed, I hope to finish the other half today.

Cassie 030617 Cassie is LOVING playing with fabrics. She asks at least once a day if she can play with them. Sometimes she wants the 2.5″ square bin, sometimes she wants “her fabrics”. I have a container full of fabrics I’ve collected for her, including 3-4 Minnie Mouse fabrics. At some point I’ll make something with them, haven’t decided yet what it will be. I might wait until she gets her big girl bed and make a large quilt like I did for Alex. Her birthday is in 2 weeks and she’ll be 3, I still can’t believe how fast the last 3 years has gone by! I bought her some Minnie Mouse sewing cards for her birthday, I’ll start her sewing with something easy for her little hands.

Linking up with Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday – February 13, 2017

So last night I finished the last block in Row A, A12. I was quite happy with how it turned out and it went really fast. So I started right in and worked on adding the sashing and cornerstones and attaching it to the rest of the row. I’m happy to say that Row A is completely done! I need to start taking the papers out and I want to label each piece as I take them out in case I decide to make another one of these in the future! Since I figured I’d finish the row last night I spent a little bit of time yesterday afternoon working on prepping the next 2 blocks of Row B. They both look to be easy blocks, in fact the first one is applique and should go pretty fast. I’ll have to see if I can prep the sashing and cornerstones today so that it’s all ready for the blocks. I like putting them all on as I go, so I don’t have to do it all at the end. Looking at the rest of Row B, I hope I can get them done quickly and get started on Row C so I can catch up before the next row gets here. I think the hardest part is picking out the fabrics for the blocks! I have so many Moda Marbles to use that it’s hard to decide what I want to use for each block. I just started signups for the Fat Quarter Exchange at guild and I have requested Moda Marbles, so maybe I can get some more colors to use! I now have 2 quilts that I’m using these fabrics for, the Dear Jane EPP and my hexagon insanity quilt. I’ve been so busy with Dear Jane that I haven’t worked on hexie insanity in awhile. If I can get caught up then I’ll have time to work on that again.

Row A

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday – July 25, 2016

I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything! It’s been a busy couple of months around here! The school year ended and the camping season began. Alex was sick during our Memorial Day camping trip – including a trip to the ER. Turned out he had an ear infection and the start of pneumonia! Our next trip was just the hubby and I on a little long weekend trip for our 17th anniversary. We ended up totally changing the plans due to the transmission going on our truck while on the highway in West Virginia. Took pretty much an entire month to get it fixed and back too! We spent a whole week (including 2 weekends) in Virginia at the MIL’s new house – pretty much spent the whole time in the pool. The kids had a ball playing with their cousins the whole week. July 4th weekend was fun in PA and this past weekend was spent at a KOA with one of my high school friends and her family camping. It’s been non-stop fun!

In between all these camping trips, I managed to finish putting the Mario Quilt blocks together, layer each one and quilt them. I put them together in rows of three and I’m currently working on hand sewing the sashing on the back since I’m doing quilt as you go on these. I have all the pieces cut out for the borders and I’ve started putting them together, but it’s going to take a long time since there’s a lot of pieces! I won’t be able to enter this in any judged shows, it’s the first time I’ve ever done quilt as you go, and there’s not enough batting in between the blocks. I debated adding some additional batting in, but I’m actually very ok with the lack of batting in between blocks. I’ll have to measure a little better for the sashing in between the rows to minimize the issue. IF I can finish it soon I can enter it in our guild quilt show in October though!

Hope to be back soon with a finish! Linking up with Patchwork Times, check out what everyone is up to!

Design Wall Monday – April 4, 2016

I’m moving pretty fast on the Super Mario quilt, I have 2 blocks completed and a third almost there. Now that I’m on my third block I’ve got it down to a pretty good rhythm and I’m getting a lot of shows watched while I work. Finished watching CSI, caught up on all my shows that have been recording and now I’m working on catching up on The Quilt Show episodes that I haven’t seen. The blocks measure about 27″ when finished and I don’t know if I will have to trim them with the background to make them fit together or not. I’ll wait until they are all completed before I think about that. I’m loving the way these are coming together and can’t wait to see them all finished. Haven’t decided if this will be for our bed or for the trailer, either way it’s for the hubby and I. He’s really excited about this quilt, and while he appreciates what I make he’s never really excited by them. I’ve put off watching shows with him so I can work on these blocks and we are getting pretty far behind!

I joined a block swap in one of my Facebook groups, but until I finish the Mario quilt I don’t think I’ll work on them yet. If I remember correctly I have until July 1st to get them completed. At least by waiting I’ll know how many people are in the swap and how many I need to make!

Linking up to Patchwork Times, check out what everyone else is up to!

Off the Design Wall – January 18, 2016

It’s finally finished! I started this quilt in January 2010 and was able to keep up every month with the blocks even though I was pregnant. July 2012 I started working on borders and managed to get 4 of them completed. Last month I decided it was time to get this off the WIP queue and into the to be quilted queue. I had ordered fabric thinking I could try and match it to the 3 borders I had already sewn on, but it just didn’t work. Instead of spending a lot of money trying to match it, I decided to just take them off and use one of the new fabrics I ordered. Last border is now on the quilt and it’s ready to go to the “Quilt Me” pile! The fabrics are all Moda Marbles and one constant white through the whole thing. Now I have a bunch of Moda Marbles left over that can go to Hexie Insanity or to another project – I haven’t decided yet!

I saw a link the other day in one of my Facebook groups and decided that I’d try a mystery sampler quilt from – The Splendid Sampler. You get 2 block a week for a total of 100 blocks. I haven’t decided fabrics yet, I could use the extra Moda Marbles, or my Equinox fabrics that I’ve been hoarding…or just go totally scrappy for each block. Sounds like there’s going to be a mix of piecing, applique, EPP, embroidery and paper piecing. Pat Sloan and a bunch of her quilty friends have created the blocks and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Linking to Patchwork Times – Design Wall Monday.

Design Wall Monday – May 4, 2015

I finally have some work to show! I decided to start putting the border together on Hexie Insanity, I like how it looks, but I’m realizing how long this is going to take! That’s ok though I knew it would be a slow project when I started it! I have 9 more flowers that go in this border, and a bunch of white that needs to be filled in. The Cavs are in the playoffs this year, so I have plenty of time to work on it!

Recently, a good friend asked me if I’d make 2 signature quilts for her, one is a wedding gift and the other is a baby gift. The wedding quilt is due the beginning of June, and since I have a lot going on this month I needed to get to work on it right away. Yesterday during nap time I got all the pieces cut out for the blocks of both quilts, and this morning I got all the blocks stitched together and trimmed for the wedding quilt. This afternoon I managed to get the center all put together, I just need to cut and put the borders on to have the top completed. I’m just going to do simple quilting, since it’s a signature quilt I have to leave the white sections free. I’m hoping to get that done tomorrow during naptime, I might be able to do it in the morning while Alex is at school and Cassie naps.

I teach this week so I need to get lessons done this week and get the trailer ready for our weekend trip AND make 2 trips to school for Mother’s Day Tea – 2 since he’s in preschool and day care. Linking up to Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday – January 19, 2015

Well I’m FINALLY working on Alex’s quilt again! I got all the blocks put together last week and ironed on Friday. After my sister cleaned on Saturday I laid everything out on the floor in the living room – this thing is a lot bigger than I thought! I like the way it looks with all the different colored strips on the blocks, hopefully he likes it too! I have the top half of the quilt webbed together so I don’t lose any blocks or turn them the wrong way. I’m using my Good Night Irene quilt blocks as leader/enders so that I can get some work done on that one too. I’m glad to finally be sewing again, I need it these days for stress relief! Hope to have these blocks put together by the end of the day – depends on if the kids nap this afternoon. I think I’ll be doing a thin black border and then I was thinking of doing a piano key border with the 4 solid colors from the blocks, but I might need to get some more!

Linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Design Wall Monday – January 19, 2015

Linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Well I finally did it. 2 years and 1 month ago I started my hexagon diamonds quilt. Today I put the last hand stitches into it. All 2,473 hexagons are sewn together and I just need to add a border to it and then sandwich and quilt it. I think I have a plan for quilting it, it’s not going to be anything fancy since this is a queen sized quilt! I’m trying to decide how thick the border needs to be, I’m thinking only about 3 inches just to have a stopping spot. I’m cutting all the sides even, but I still think it needs that little bit on all sides. I have a few hexies that were extras (counted wrong on a few diamonds) that I was thinking of appliqueing on the borders, I’ll have to see if they really need it when I get them added on.

Since I had the quilt on our bed, even though it is going to be used on the bed in the trailer, I decided my new quilt model needed a pic on it. She’s now 4 months old and such a joy in our lives! Such a happy baby!! Hope to start posting more often now that I’m getting a little more free time – not much, but I am getting to work on the sewing machine a little more lately!

Linking to Patchwork Times.