APQ Quilt Along (Finish It Up Friday)

Someone asked me recently if I ever took pictures of my finished APQ Quilt Along Quilt and I looked back and realized I never had.  I shared lots of photos of the quilt over on Instagram and I really thought I had shared it here as well.  But a quick look back and I realized I never had shared it after I received it back from Abby.

 

 

This quilt is still my favorite quilt to date.  I love everything about it.  I did take a departure from the original and I left out the sashing between the blocks but I think that gives it even more of a secondary pattern and I love that about this quilt.

Here are just a few photos of the quilt.  I hope you are all having a great December and are looking forward to having a very Merry Christmas!

Star Plus Quilt Along

I recently participated in the star plus quilt along over on Instagram.  I haven't finished this quilt yet as it still needs quilting but I have my back and binding ready to go so it's just a matter of time.  You can find the pattern for the quilt on Craftsy. 

My favorite thing about this one is the different sizes of the blocks.  With 3 different sizes mixed together it gives a great look-am I the only one enjoying the patterns featuring this lately?

Mine is made with Scrumptious by Bonnie and Camille and I am sure that comes as no surprise.  But I love their fabrics and this is one of my favorite lines by far. 

I'm On Instagram

Hi friends!  I just wanted to remind you all that you can find me over on Instagram.  I haven't been giving this space much love lately and if I am being honest I probably won't be back here until after the holidays.  But here is a peak at what I've been working on-come see over there.  I'm gretters_h over there. 

WIP Wednesday

Okay I'll admit this one came around much faster than I had expected but for good reason.  I was busy getting newborn snuggles from this little gal.  My new niece-aunties rule!

Over the weekend I thought I would be able to finish up the quilt for my mom that I'm lovingly call Candy Corn Awesomeness because of a comment on one of the early photos of the quilt over on Instagram.  I thought we had everything we needed for this quilt when I went shopping in my mom's stash because we had the perfect amounts of everything except an outside border.  When I was making it I noticed this really pretty purple in a couple of the fabrics and thought we could trade out the fabric she had for binding to use for borders and then use a eggplant purple for the binding.  However we were about 4 inches short.  So this one is sitting waiting it's last border until some fabric comes.

Since I couldn't finish those borders I figured I might as well still finish some borders.  So I pulled out my Dream Big quilt (pattern is in Camille's first book) and added the borders onto it.

After that I had just a little bit of time and I wanted to make the most of it in my sewing room.  But my sewing mojo seems to have left again.  I thought it was going to stick around for a while this time. At any rate I pulled out all of these projects hoping inspiration would strike.  Only one has a deadline so it was pretty much open season.

In the end I turned back to my Flower Girl Quilt and managed to sew up two blocks.  That brings me to 5 blocks out of the 25 needed for the quilt.  So I'm making progress.

That's it for me this week.  Head over to Lee's and see what everyone else is sewing up this week.

WIP Wednesday

I don't know if I've ever been more happy that a Wednesday has come up on me so fast-but with a new niece scheduled to be born tomorrow I am already counting down the hours to Thursday.  I can't wait to meet her.

I haven't done a whole lot of sewing even though I had a sewing date last Thursday and then spent lots of time sewing on Friday after work.  But since then the sewing room has been pretty quite.  I blame it on the return of cable television this week.  I did however manage to make some progress on the Jelly Bean Quilt.  I'm a little over half way done piecing the top.  The further I get on this one the more I like it.  It's outside of my normal color zone but it's been enjoyable to have a little something different to work on.

I also made my first round of blocks for the #iheartbandcsamplequiltbee over on Instagram.  This quilt was inspired by Camille's orphan block quilt.  We were all assigned to hives and each month we are making blocks for two other bee members.  My plan for now is to make at least three blocks each month so that I will have one for my own quilt as well.  I'm hoping to make this one nice and big.  Hopefully even queen sized for the guest bed.  Which is conveniently located in my sewing space.

That's it for me this week.  Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.

WIP Wednesday

Hello!  I hope you are all having a great week.  Mine got off to a slow start but we are on the down side of the hill now rolling into the weekend.  It's been a busy week and my finger is pretty much numb from sewing down binding but I'm hoping to give it a little time to rest over the next couple of weeks before starting on the next project.

That does mean that I finished up the binding on both a baby quilt and my apqquiltalong quilt.  You can see the APQ Quilt there getting ready for some crinkle magic so hopefully I'll have a chance to grab some photos and show you something pretty for finish it up Friday.

I also managed to finish up my tinyswoon for the thimbleblossomsminiquiltswap.  This thing measures only 24 inches square.  I have plans of adding a really thin boarder so nothing is lost in the binding.  Abstract baptist fan quilting and piped binding in pink and aqua.

The quarter is for size reference

I did start a new project as well.  I went shopping in my moms stash because she is nice enough to let me do that sometimes.  And as luck would have it she had the perfect amounts of fabric for this quilt.  The only thing missing is a boarder fabric but since she had a charm pack from this line as well I'm thinking about doing a patchwork border that I think will look great with this quilt.

I think that is all I have going on this week.  Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.  Fair warning though-most weeks I end up with inspiration overload doing that.

Mama & Baby Pips

It's finish it up Friday and I have 2 quilts to show you today.  These quilts started when Abby suggested a quilt along over on Instagram following Camille's Jelly Filled Quilt Pattern.  Since this was at the start of my Sewing with Camille challenge I was excited to have some friends to sew along with on one of the patterns.  The blocks for this quilt come together super quick and I found that it was fairly easy to chain piece 3-4 at a time.  For some reason I have a hard time doing much more than that although I'm sure there are many of you who could probably chain piece all of the blocks in one sitting.

 

As I was making this quilt I started to fall in love with it and I really wanted to keep it for myself but I decided that with all the pink and the cute little puppies my SIL would probably enjoy it for the new baby.  That idea morphed into matching quilt when I went to visit my mom and she gave me her jelly roll of sherbet pips.  I had enough at that point to make the first quilt larger but knew I would have some left over unless I made a huge quilt.  My SIL is expecting her second child in just a few weeks so the idea to make a matching quilt for little sister (my brother is having a very hard time agreeing to a name for the baby-so we call her little sister) came about.

Abby also happened to over a sale on long arm services for any holiday pattern in July.  I posted my quilt top and a few selections on Instagram asking for help picking a quilt pattern.  In my mind I wanted something that looked like wind because the quilt scream girly fall to me.  However, some of the snowflake patterns had caught my eye and I was tempted to go in that direction.  After posting my picks Abby sent me a private message with a pattern she hadn't had the chance to add to her boards yet but knew would be the perfect fit for these quilts.

Both of the quilts are backed in the cream scoot fabric (the same as the boarders on the baby quilt) and bound with a white and pink square polka dot.  I just washed and dried these last night so they are ready for gifting as soon as I have a chance to see my SIL.  I hope she will love them as much as I do.

WIP Wednesday

I haven't done much sewing on my machine this week.  Remember all those quilts I was telling you about last week?  Well I got one box on Friday before heading out for a last minute trip to the races and then I had the other one waiting for me when I got home on Saturday evening.  So most of my time this week has been spent binding and I can't wait to show you guys the finished quilts.

Here's a little sneak peek of what I'm binding.  I've managed to finish both the baby and mama pips so more photos of those coming soon.  It's been a rainy week here so I haven't had a chance to take photos.

I also manage to finish a few more steps on my tiny swoon for the #thimbleblossomsminiquiltswap over on Instagram.  I'm excited about the way this one is coming together but with each step I feel like it is going to be harder to give away.

Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.  

WIP Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday again.  I know I say that A LOT but it's amazing how quickly the weeks are flying by this year.

My sewing time this week has been spent getting a head start on my mini quilt for the #thimbleblossomsminiquiltswap over on Instagram.  I knew as soon as I signed up that I wanted to make a scrappy swoon mini.  I've been wanting to make a scrappy swoon for a long time but one of the problems of not having a "stash" to speak of is that it's really hard to make scrappy quilts.  I'm following the tutorial from the scrappy swoon quiltalong but I scaled my pieces down to finish at one inch.  I didn't do any math so I'm still not sure how big this will be when it's done.

I have managed to make it through step 5 so far and hope to have the top pieced by Friday because come Friday I have a whole lot of binding to sew.  I have five quilts coming back from 2 different long arm quilters and they are all suppose to arrive on Friday.

I borrowed this photo from Abby who was kind enough to show me a sneak peak on Instagram.  This is now my favorite quilt to date and I can't wait to have it back and finish it up.  Unfortunately for me it will be the last one to get done because the others are all gifts.  Two of which are for babies and we all know they aren't going to wait on their quilts to be done to make their entrance.

I'm using my leftover pieces from this quilt for the tiny swoon.  Waste not want not, right?  It's hard to believe these tiny scraps are all that's left of my Scrumptious Fat Quarter Bundle but at the same time it is satisfying to know that I've used it instead of hoarding it.

Head over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to this week.

WIP Wednesday

It seems like another week has flown by.  I finished up the custom baby quilt on Sunday and boy was I glad to have that off my plate.  Working on a project you don't like and then knowing the person isn't really going to appreciate it sure makes it no fun.  I'm glad to have that one done and off to Sarah to work a little crinkle magic on.  Once that was done I started thinking about what to work on next.  I landed on my Flower Girl Quilt Kit.

I made up the first block on Sunday after once again replacing my iron.  My old one spit rust or something on my fabric and stained it.  Luckily I had just enough to cut around those spots but I knew that was the final straw.  In an attempt to make this one last a little longer I also bought a jug of distilled water.  Has anyone had any luck with that?

I managed to squeeze in two blocks yesterday.  The first one I made up and posted to Instagram.  When I looked at the photo again I was a little disheartened to see that the print in my leaves were running in two different directions.  It was driving me a little crazy so I made some new leaves and took the block apart to fix it.

I was also lucky enough to snag a spot in the I heart B&C Sample Bee.  I'm in hive 3 with some other wonderful ladies.  I can't wait to see what blocks everyone makes.  One of my favorite things about Camille's original sampler is that she used some little blocks mixed in to fill the space between some of the larger blocks.  So to get started I made 2 sets of baby pinwheels.  These will finish at 4 inches each.  Not super tiny but I think it will be a good filler.

That's it for me this week.  Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.

WIP Wednesday

Wednesday continues to sneak up on me every week.  I haven't been doing much sewing this week.  The need to make this baby quilt that I'm not excited about has robbed me of my quilting joy.

It's looking much better and it's half way sewn together now.  I know just a couple of hours could have it finished and I just need to buckle down and do it.

Today was also the shipping deadline for the strawberry swap.  I was very lucky to have a partner in this swap that wasn't specific about what they wanted.  It can me the freedom to just create something.  She said she was a fan of Bonnie & Camille and Tula Pink.  I love both of those designers but they are pretty opposite ends of the spectrum for me.  In the end I went with Bonnie & Camille because it felt more strawberry-ish.  Is that a word?

I had a lot of fun putting this little pillow together.  The strawberry block is from the Strawberry Social pattern.  It's a super cute pattern but I wasn't prepared for how small the pieces were.  That's what happens when you just start something and don't read all the directions first.  Is it rude to tell your partner if they don't like what you made to send it back?  Cause I really like this pillow.

I also had a need to do some baking this weekend.  I use to love to bake but being married to a diabetic I don't do very much of it because neither of us should be eating goodies like this.  For some reason this weekend though I needed to make cookies.  I tried a recipe for salted caramel chocolate chip but they didn't turn out as I had hoped and most of them ended up in the trash bin.  I couldn't find the caramel bits so used the alternative of buying the cubes and cutting them in fourths.  They were too heavy and sunk to the bottom of the cookies which caused the caramel to burn before the cookies were really done.  Anyone have a good recipe or tips to keep this from happening?

I guess that's it for me this week.  Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to this week.

PS-I just noticed this is my 300 post

WIP Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday and that the summer break for WIP Wednesday is already over.  I had been on a big roll with my sewing projects but I think I might have run out of steam.  My MIL asked me to make an owl themed baby quilt for her & you know when you aren't really keen on something it makes it hard to want to do it.  I don't know why I'm not feeling the love for this baby quilt but well if we are keeping it real around here I'm just not.

I started out with this after being inspired by a quilt on Instagram.  Right away I was second thinking those stripe blocks.  I thought I could use the cheater print from the line to get the same effect but it wasn't working for me.  After a quick poll on Instagram I removed the cheater print and instantly it looked a lot better to me.  I'm still not loving it but I think it will work and I won't be embarrassed to say I made it.

While I was waiting for the fabric to arrive for that baby quilt I worked on the Dream Big pattern in Swell.  The pattern is from Camille's first book so it counts towards my challenge.  The swell fabric was tracked down for me a few years ago by an online friend and I finally got around to using it.  I just need to add my boarders to this one.

The pattern calls for 3 boarders made up of two different fabrics.  These are the 3 fabrics I have to choose from.  I'm not sure but I'm thinking dots, flowers, dots.  I really like the gingham but I'm afraid it will feel a little to picnic table cloth.

That's it for me today.  Head over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.

Nordika Star Blossoms (Finish It Up Friday)

I have actually had this quilt finished for 2 weeks now and had hoped to get some better photos before writing this post.  But it has been raining here every day by the time I get off work and on weekends so these photos will have to do.

I'm super excited to have this one done.  I had planned to move fairly slow with this one but the big blocks went together very quickly and then I found the backing fabric on sale for 43% off on a trip with my parents.  Normally it still would have sat but after entering it in a drawing for free quilting with Sara of Crinklelove and not winning she offered 20% off on any quilt that was entered and that was motivation enough for me to go ahead and send it.

For the binding I used the orange printed solid from the Scrumptious line by Bonnie and Camille.  I hadn't planned to do that but when I was laying out my goodies from a mini shop hop my mom and I went on I saw how well they played together and orange is my favorite color after all.

Quilt Stats:
83 by 83
Pattern: Snow Blossoms
Fabric: Nordika
Pieced by: Me
Quilted by: Sara @ Crinklelove

Check out what everyone else is finishing up this Friday over at AmandaJean's.

WIP Wednesday

I had a relaxing weekend at the lake but I didn't get to do much sewing this past week.  When I got home I had this lovely package waiting for me.  I was so excited to dive into it but forced myself to start laundry and unpack the suitcase first.  It was great motivation to get that done.

Inside was my Snow Blossoms Quilt.  This is the first quilt I had sent to Sarah (Crinklelove) and she did a great job with it. (More on that in a later post).  Last night I made lots and lots of binding.  I never thought binding was that hard but ever since I switched to using a diagnal seam to join the pieces I have had a lot more trouble.  It seems I have to use my seam ripper every third piece or so.  I don't know why I can't seem to get it right but it causes me a lot of frustration.  I did however manage to get it done and get it sewn to the front of the quilt so now I imagine I will be spending a lot of quality time hand stitching it down in the back. It's a big quilt coming in at 83 by 83 inches.

Other than that I spent some time getting the backs of my Jelly Filled Quilts ready to go to the quilter.  I'm trying out several new people right now in hopes that I will find one or two I really like.  I plan to do a full review of each of them as I get my quilts back so I'll keep you posted.  The baby quilt finished at about 40 inches wide so I just sewed a piece of muslin down one side of my back fabric to give them the extra room necessary to stretch it on the frame.

That's it for me this week-be sure to head over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  It's been a little difficult to get back in the swing of things this week after having a nice long weekend.  As we were expecting hurricane Aurthur here on Friday the picnic I had planned to attend and lots of local fireworks were canceled.  But that just meant I had more time to sew.  First up I tackled the Pips Quilts.  I added a few more rows to the large one and then a made a matching baby quilt with some of the more subtle colors from the line.

This one is getting a 4 inch boarder all the way around to bring it up to 42 by 37 1/2.  The larger version ended up at 69 1/2 by 71.  Nice and roomy should mom and baby just want to share.

After that because I can't seem to focus on just one project and because the 12 I currently have in progress just didn't seem like enough I started something new.  This is the Swell pattern from Camille's second book.  Still plugging away on that challenge to make all of her patterns.  I had two Moda Candy Bars of City Weekends plus 1/2 a charm pack and some scraps that I commandeered from my mom-leftovers from a baby tumbler quilt she made.  I only have enough fabric for a 3 by 3 layout which will end up somewhere around 36 by 36 and I have a yard I picked up in the great destash over on instagram for a boarder.  I'm thinking it will be just enough for a baby quilt or table topper and I'm good with that.

I am using the white and yellow polka dot from the line in place of a solid.  I have to admit since venturing out from my typical solid snow first with the pale green, then bright orange, and now with a print of all things it feels good.  I'm not planning on breaking up with snow anytime soon but it is good to have some variety.

That's it for me this week.  Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.  And if you are on Instagram be sure to check out the Auction @quiltingfairy is hosting on Friday.  There are lots of hard to find fabrics & homemade items to be had and the proceeds are going to help a member of our quilting community after the loss of her mother in law.