WIP Wednesday

If you follow me over on Instagram then you already know I spent some time last week getting started on my Snow Blossoms quilt.  If you want to sew along use the #snowblossomsalong over on Instagram.  I'd love to see your quilts as well.  I tried something a little different for me with this one and chose a solid other than snow.  I know shocking!  I'll admit when the art gallery tender green first arrived I worried it was a little too mint to match the Nordika fabrics.  But once I had my first block together I was sold.

I love that it is just a little different from what you might expect.  Every block I make quickly becomes my new favorite.  These blocks are fairly easy to make-they do involve that stitch and flip method that I LOVE so much.  It's still not my favorite thing in the world but at this size it's not too bad.  I have a few points that aren't perfect but overall I'm happy with the way it is coming along.

I have my first 5 blocks done but that might be it for me for a little while.  I had to take a pause from this quilt to make up some backings so I could get a few more finishes checked off the list.  I'm sending off 3 different quilts to be quilted by a long arm.  So backing making was in full force at my house the last few days.  All 3 of these quilts are related to Bonnie & Camille somehow-either through the use of one of their patterns, fabrics, or both.  It looked like a regular old Bonnie & Camille party at my house the other night.

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

Complications (Finish It Up Friday)

I am so excited to have another finish to share with you this week.  I guess that is the only good part about getting two quilts back at the same time.  It makes for a few quick finishes.

This is Complications!  It is made all from Bonnie & Camille fabrics and uses fabrics from Ruby, Marmalade, and Vintage Modern.  I had a lot of fun making this quilt despite the many times I was frustrated about it.  You can read more about the journey here, here,here, and here.  Overall I LOVE the way this one turned out.

My only complaint would be that it is too small.  When I first finished the quilt top it was 63 by 72 and I thought that was big enough for a good throw.  Since this one also doesn't have my typical warm and white batting and the quilting is pretty dense it shrunk a lot more than I expected it would.  When I laid it out to take the pictures it almost seems like a baby quilt to me.  Of course it isn't that small but I like BIG quilts.  I want to cover my toes and shoulders at the same time.

I used a single print for the back and the binding.  I found it on sale and had intended to use it for the back of my Marmalade Squares & Stripes quilt but I miscalculated and it was a smidge too small for that one.  So instead I used it here.  I was planning on putting a bright pink print on the back of this one but I think the grey grounds the edges well and it all worked out this way.

This one was also quilted by a local long arm in a pumpkin seed pattern.  I talked about doing a possible series of post on this quilt with some tutorials and instructions on how mine was made along with the inspiration behind it.  I'm still thinking all of that through but look for an update soon.  Head on over to Amanda Jean's and see what everyone else is finishing up this Friday.

WIP Wednesday

I haven't had a chance to do much sewing this week.  I have spent most of my available time hand sewing binding on my Complications Quilt.  I CAN NOT wait to have this one done.  It is one of my favorite quilts I have ever made.  I'm a little disappointed that this one has the "other" batting in it but I am still a huge fan.  I did a few things a little differently with this one.  I tried trimming up 1/4 inch away from the edge of my quilt.  It does make the binding more full though in a few places it has been a little hard to navigate.  I'm guessing that is probably because those areas weren't a perfect 1/4 inch.

This quilt has gotten a lot of love over on Instagram.  It is based mostly on a block of the month pattern that was in German.  But I left some of the blogs out and duplicated others.  I am considering writing a series of post here on the blog about how mine was made with some measurements and thoughts.  I just haven't figured out the best way to do that because I don't want to step on any toes or imply that it is an original design.  Do any of you more experienced bloggers have any suggestions on how I can share what I did without offending anyone?

Next up I ordered this fabric for the back and binding of my APQ Quilt Along Quilt.  I really need to come up with a good name for that quilt because APQ Quilt Along Quilt isn't really working for me.  Most of my quilt names end up based off a combination of the pattern and fabric used in it.

Finally I did settle on my next project.  I have some fat quarters of Nordika and the Snow Blossoms pattern. I chose art gallery's tender green which was one of the suggested coordinates for the line.  I'm thinking this will be very different from anything I have made recently.  I believe we are going to do a little impromptu #snowblossomsalong over on Instagram if you have this pattern and would like to sew along.

Be sure to head over to Lee's to see what everyone else is up to this week.

Swoon (Finish It Up Friday)

My favorite block

My Swoon quilt is finally finished.  I haven't even had a chance to take good pictures of it yet but I just couldn't wait to share it with you guys.  My parents bought me the quilt kit such a long time ago and I waiting a long time to get started.  I finally finished piecing the top last year and took it to the long arm to be quilted around October of last year.

Should have known it wasn't big enough.

My long arm quilter started having problems with her machine and needed to have it serviced so she wasn't able to quilt this beauty.  So I picked it back up and later dropped it off with a new long arm quilter to work some magic.  I had envisioned using this quilt in the summer on my bed.  I don't like having a big comforter on the bed in the summer because I get too hot.  Unfortunately this one isn't big enough now to use on it's own.

Swoon Cuddles

I typically use warm and white batting but this one has heirloom in it-it's a long story about some lost batting and confusion.  Turns out the two quilts I had quilted by the new long arm both ended up with this batting.  It a lot more plush than warm and white and it also shrunk a lot more.  I'm still in love with this quilt and I'm so glad to add it to my collection but the quest for the perfect summer quilt continues.

The fabric on this one is all Ruby by Bonnie & Camille.  The pattern is Swoon by Camille.  It is quilted in large baptist fans.

I promise better pictures once it isn't so wet and yucky outside.

WIP Wednesday

VA Quilt Museum 

I feel like every week when it gets to Wednesday I am surprised by just how quickly it got here and how little sewing I have done.  Last week my parents and I took off for a visit to the Virginia Quilt Museum.  Along the way we stopped at a bunch of quilt shops and I'll be sure to tell you guys all about that in the near future.  The museum was good and worth the trip-I'm looking forward to going back after they change out the exhibit.

So with all of those hours logged in the car last Thursday and Friday I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done.  I did manage to chain piece part of a section for my turning twenty again quilt.  These will get turned into 4 patches in the next step and then I'll be able to start putting these very large blocks together.

Saturday I did manage to meet up with the long arm who had my two quilts.  I typically use someone in Elizabeth City, NC where I grew up but she has been having trouble with her machine lately so I ventured out and tried someone new.  It was an adventure to say the least.  I love the quilting that she did on these but the fact that she is a smoker has turned me off a lot.  So I'm not sure that I'll be using her again in the future.  If anyone knows of any good long arm quilters would you please do me a favor a leave a comment with their info?  I have a few names I have been seeing popping up over on Instagram lately but shipping cost back and forth is also a concern for me.  I know the easiest solution would be to just bit the bullet and learn to quilt them myself on my domestic machine.  So if you have good tips on making that less scary I'd love to hear those too.

I guess that's it for me.  I did just finish sewing the binding on my Swoon quilt last night so look for finished photos of that one soon.  Still debating binding options for Complications so that one may be just a little longer.  Head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.

WIP Wednesday

These weeks seem to be flying by faster than I can keep up.  I can't believe it is already Wednesday again. Since my big push to finish up those two quilt tops last weekend I haven't done much sewing.  I did start a new project.  It is a turning twenty again quilt that my parents picked up for me as a kit on a visit to Texas. What's funny is that I had taken a photo of the same quilt in the same shop almost a year before on my last visit.

These blocks are going to be huge.  Other than that I haven't done much sewing.  I did get good news from the long arm quilter that I should have my two quilts back by next week so that is exciting.  Can't wait to have some finishes to share with you all soon.

These are just the pieces made in the first two steps.  These will get joined together with several other pieces and make up the individual blocks.

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

WIP Wednesday

I'm not sure I have much to share today.  After finishing up those two quilt tops over the weekend I haven't touched my machine.  I am thinking a lot about what I want to work on next and feeling overwhelmingly like I need to finish some of my started projects.  That got me thinking about what projects I have outstanding and if in reality I want to finish them.  I think some of them are destine to stay in the unfinished pile forever.

 

I really need to pick back up my mystery quilt.  My mom finished the top of hers already so it's no longer a true mystery but all the same I stalled on this one as soon as we opened the instructions for step 2 and I saw all those HST's.  I don't usually mind them but in this case-there are a TON!

I also have this project that I started for an Old Red Barn Challenge forever ago.  I don't really see myself finishing this but I have four of these really large blocks done and I'm thinking they would sew up into a good size baby quilt pretty easily.  I don't really need to make any more baby quilts right now but I do want to work on my FMQ and that's the best way to get practice, right?

Photo Thanks to Michael Rosenmertz

Okay and here is one picture from my trip to Bolivia-I promise more coming soon.  This is right after this mom found out her son would receive surgery for his cleft palate.  I just need to get my thoughts together and figure out which stories to share.  Head on over to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on.  And if you have ideas about what I should work on next let me know.  I could use a little inspiration.

Whimsy

I know, two post in one week and it's only Tuesday.  Like I said when I got home it was dark and rainy and I needed to decompress so I spent some time with Bertha.  Before you go thinking I went all wonder woman or something in all fairness I had all but 2 blocks made for my APQ Quilt and these blocks were made, they just needed the neutral sashing and to be sewn together.  And since I was able to chain piece on the neutral fabric it went together all easy like.

Blocks before neutral sashing

This pattern is another Piece of Cake pattern by Camille.  The pattern is available in her shop but I actually made this one as part of her second Craftsy Class-Playful Piecing Techniques.  I love that it goes together rather quickly but still has good impact.  I had picked up the Whimsy layer cake during the great fabric destash over on Instagram (which is still going strong by the way).  I thought the fabrics were nice and soothing and they have such a nice hand to them.

Testing the layout

I was testing out my layout here.  I have a hard time with quilts sometimes where you make all the blocks and then arrange them.  You only need 30 blocks for this quilt so I had removed the duplicates in the layer cake to narrow down to the right number.  I still ended up with my aqua than any other color but I think it looks okay.  My finished quilt isn't the same as this layout but having it in black and white sure did make it easier to see areas that we lacking variety.

Finished quilt top

Overall if you are looking for a quick project that can be sewn up in one very productive weekend or maybe over a few weeks I would recommend any of the Piece of Cake patterns.  This is the second one I have made and honestly I have a Little Black Dress Layer Cake that I am considering making up into one of these patterns as well.

Sorry for the bad iphone photos-did I mention it was dark and rainy all weekend.