Kelly's Kwilts

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.

Alex’s Quilt – Done!

I FINALLY finished Alex’s bed quilt! I started cutting out and putting the blocks together January 1st last year, had the whole top finished February 28, 2015. It took me just over 10 months to get it basted and quilted. I had all the quilting finished and ready for the binding to be hand sewn while I was recuperating from surgery. Last stitch was sewn on the 10th and it got washed and now is on his bed. It’s VERY gratifying when he came up to me after it was on the bed and gave me a BIG hug and said “Thank you mommy, I love you”. Unfortunately for him I’m taking it off his bed tomorrow so I can take it to guild tomorrow!

I also have had a quilt sitting here for a couple of years that just needed the binding put on. I had found some black binding that was just a few inches too short and just folded the whole thing up and put it in a corner for awhile. I wasn’t happy with the way the quilting turned out, it was the last thing I quilted on my mini-pinni frame before we took it down to make it Cassie’s room. So I figured I’d get it ready for when I finished Alex’s quilt. I found some already made solid black binding and just added it in for the last few inches. You really can’t tell there’s a different fabric in there. At least now it’d completed and it’ll go in daddy’s truck as a blanket for the kids. Now they’ll both have a blanket in my truck and daddy’s truck, and can’t complain about being cold!

A few weeks ago I posted that I just had 1 border left to finish on my 2010 Quilt Show BOM. I needed just 1 more strip to finish off the last side and had ordered 2 greens to try and match it. Yeah, that didn’t work so well. Neither of the greens I ordered matched, so I decided to just take off the 3 sides I had already completed and use one of the new greens to do all 4 sides. I finished taking off the border this morning and hope to get the last border on by the weekend to have another finished top!

Another finished top!

In June 2012 I finished my first hexagon quilt and started the next one – Hexie Diamonds. It was supposed to be finished in 2013 and used as a quilt for the bed in our trailer – but I worked on it slow and didn’t finish it when I thought I would. In July 2014 I finished the center – all 2,473 hexagons! It’s taken me another 17 months to put the borders on! I’m happy to say it’s now a finished top, not the best picture but the best place to take a picture is the living room floor and the kids have toys all over the place still! With all my top finishes I’m up to 16 that need quilting – so I guess 2016 will be a year of quilting!

My brother-in-law got my name this year and got me The Big Bang Theory Lego set (we love that show!) and the Hunter’s Star Go die. I made one block last night after we got home and I THINK I have enough of the same fabric to make another. I’ll turn it into a table runner if I can find some fabric that matches it. It’ll be cute for Valentine’s Day!

My fabric is on it’s way for Star Crazy, I’m not seeing a tracking number but it’s coming USPS Priority Mail and it’s only a few hours south, so I’m hoping it will be here Saturday. We have no plans for the weekend and I hope to spend as much time as I can in my office sewing!

I hope to be back later and do a year in review post, might not get to it today though we are heading back down to my mother-in-laws to spend time with family before they leave tomorrow.

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday.

So close….

So doggone close! I started this quilt back in 2010 with a bunch of other ladies. I managed to keep up in 2010 and get all my blocks together with some small delays after Alex was born. In 2012 I managed to get the center done, and just had 4 borders to complete the top. I’m in the mood to finish tops this week and decided over the weekend to pull this one out. I do have an ulterior motive, if this is finished I can use the rest of the Moda Marbles in the tub on hexie insanity! So I’ve been slowly working on the borders, those half square triangle borders are hard to get going the same way. I found a piece of very light green fabric that looked like it was enough yardage that I could get both thin borders out of it. It was too much to ask for! I need 1 strip so I can finish that last side. I THINK I found the right color at Miller’s Dry Goods, I’ve ordered it and I’m hoping it gets here by the weekend so I can finish the top. I think 5 years is more than enough time for a quilt top to be completed!

Christmas was so fun with the kids! Santa brought them gifts they didn’t ask for, but still love! The holidays continue this week as my brother-in-law and family will be here tomorrow and we get to spend at least 3 days with them.

Linking up to Freemotion by the River.

Scrappy Finish

I started working on this on November 21, 2013. Here it is 2 years later and I’ve finally completed the top! I don’t know why I have this aversion to finishing tops – I have a bunch that just need the borders and they’d be considered complete. This was based on a quilt I saw on either Facebook or Pinterest – who remembers now? – and I changed the applique part to hexies instead of whatever they had – I don’t even remember what it was now. I already know how I want to quilt this, I just have a few quilts that are getting quilted first. Everything was cut either on my Go or my Studio and I’m thrilled that I used up all these scraps! 517 2.5″ squares were used in this quilt and I will use a few more because I’m planning on putting some hexies on the border at some point. I might even wait until after it’s quilted since they will be appliquéd on anyway.

I pulled out a VERY old quilt from 2009 that I want to keep working on to get the top finished – again it just needs the borders finished. Hopefully I’ll have an update on it soon, I know it won’t be tonight because it needs 4 borders and the one I’m working on now is 1.5″ HST! I also might have some news to announce soon!

Another Finish!!

Red and White challenge front 121815 — Red/White Challenge – Front

We had a red/white quilt challenge at guild and I managed to design, create, quilt, and finish it with a few days to spare!I loved creating this in EQ7 and couldn’t wait to start piecing it. That was the easy part! I knew when I was piecing it that I wanted to do “cross-hatching” through the checkerboard border and 1/4″ inside the seam lines on the center, but I had NO idea what I wanted to do with the quilting on the inner border with the hexies. It sat on my sewing table for a couple of weeks before I realized that my deadline was fast approaching. So I very slowly and carefully stitched in the background around each hexie diamond and flower, and in the center of each one. I added a quilted hexie in between the flowers too. It turned out so much better than I imagined! I haven’t finished very many quilts this year, but this one is definitely one that I am proud of, not only did I design the whole thing, but it the top was made entirely out of fabrics I had in the cupboard. I had to buy the backing which I also used on the binding and I think it sets it off. As I was sitting at my desk today I realized I have the perfect place to hang it – right above my desk! Will have to get something to use for hanging and get it up on the wall soon! The challenge is on-going and I might do another one for our next deadline in July, I have some more ideas floating around my head. Maybe a red work one that I can do on the embroidery machine. We will have all of these challenge quilts hanging in our quilt show next October and I will be entering it into the county fair as well.

Linked to Freemotion by the River.

Red and White challenge detail 121815 — Red/White Challenge – Detail

Red and White challenge back 121815 — Red/White Challenge – Back

A New Finish!

Last weekend was my birthday and the hubby got me tickets for the Cavs game on Sunday. Since we needed a sitter anyway, my sister and mom offered to each take one of the kids for an overnight so we could sleep all night and/or do what we wanted without worrying about the kids. So we dropped them off Saturday morning, had a nice lunch out just the 2 of us and then came home where I spent ALL afternoon and most of the evening sewing. Sunday morning I got a little more sewing in and then we headed to the game. They did win and we had a great weekend!

I’ve always wanted to do a cathedral windows quilt, but all the folding and handwork for it seemed daunting. I know I do hexies, but this is a different kind of handwork! I saw a video on Missouri Star Quilting Co’s YouTube page for the Cathedral Window and decided it’d be a nice project for the weekend. In the example they used charm squares and I really should have too, but I just wanted to try out the process and didn’t want to break into any of my charm packs, so I used 2.5″ squares. It’s not a hard process, there’s just a lot of bulk with all the seams. I had the perfect spot in the hallway for this quilt that’s been empty for the last few weeks since I took the birthday banner down after Alex’s birthday. I am happy about the way it came out, and that I had the time to spend working on something for myself.

Now to work on my Red/White challenge quilt for next months guild meeting!

On the Needles – October 23, 2015

I really didn’t need a new knitting project, I finally started working on the ribbing of my sock (no picture of that today!). Last weekend after my son’s birthday parties (one with his school friends and a family party all in the same day) I needed some majorly mindless hand work. So I dug out my ball winder and the 3 skeins of yarn I had decided to use for a shawl. Cast on and just started knitting away. It’s a really easy pattern, just stockinette stitch for the whole thing. I’m loving the colors in the yarn, and the stripes it’s making. I hope to finish the socks soon, but I’ve been up during the night with a certain little girl and haven’t been getting a lot of sleep, so mindless is what I need!

Linking up with Patchwork Times, check to see what everyone else is knitting!

Major Update!

OMG have I been busy lately! I entered some items into our County Fair and of the 3 items I entered I received 2 ribbons! Both were cross stitch pieces that I did a few years ago and was really proud of how well they turned out so decided they need to be entered along with a memory quilt that was made for my grandmother’s 80th birthday. Next year I hope to enter another of the seasonal quilts cross stitch and hopefully one of my hexagon quilts – if I ever finish one!

I enter a lot of giveaways and never win, well I can’t say that anymore! I had entered this one at My Quilt Infatuation and figured I wouldn’t win anything, lo and behold I received an email asking for my address! I love the colors and can’t wait to figure out what to make with the 10 fat quarters. Perhaps a Xmas gift?

I don’t have any pictures because it’s a guild challenge due in December, but I’ve been spending time working on a red/white quilt. The center and first border are done, the blocks for the second border are done and I am working on the applique pieces that go on the first border. Hope to have the top completed soon!

I also finally finished my second commission quilt, from what I hear the family loved it, I took a few pictures of it before I mailed it to my friend but I can’t find them right now. I might need to take them off the DSLR. When I find them I’ll make sure to post again!

Talk soon!

On the Needles – September 25, 2015

I finally finished the first sock! I am also a good chunk of the way through the foot on the second sock. Just making slow but constant progress! I do really like how it looks with the striping, but it is definiitely too big in the foot. I also somehow managed to mess up the cast off and need to find some better instructions on how to do that on the next one. I already have the yarn for my next pair – it’s an awesome color way called Once Bitten that I found on etsy, making a pair of socks for my sister! Doesn’t look like they have it in the shop anymore but it’s red, grey and black – yep, OSU colors! She’s a big fan of the Buckeyes and I can’t wait to make these for her!

Lots more to update, hopefully I can get it done this weekend! Head over to Patchwork Times to see what’s on everyone’s needles!