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 & Catching Up

Whew where did the last month go?  It wasn't my intention to be gone for so long but things just got away from me.  The hubs ended up in the hospital-yes everything is okay now.  However, it just threw off my whole schedule.

I did finish up and mail out my two swaps packages.  The first is my Sew Sew Modern 3 package.  My partner asked for a market tote.  And I hope I didn't take one of the photos in her inspiration mosaic too much at face value but it was a fabric pull of yellow, gray, and teal.  I happen to think those colors look great together so I went for it in the market tote.  I also included several goodies for her.  I sent EOS lip balm in both of my most recent swaps.  Have you guys tried that stuff?  It looks a little funny because it is shaped like an egg and a lot of people will ask what you are doing.  But it gives you the softest lips.  They also make a really great shave cream just in case you wanted to know.

I totally forgot to snap a picture of my Sewing Room Swap package before I sent it out but I included a fabric hoop and wall hanging for my partner as well as lots of goodies.  That one had a long way to travel so I tried to keep it light weight but I hope my partner will still enjoy it.

Funny story-when I went to Target to get extra's for my packages they had these little magnetic boards in the dollar spot that were super cute.  So I picked one up for my partner when I got to the register they clerk scanned it and this big red box popped up on the screen and it wouldn't let her do anything else.  It said "DO NOT SELL PRODUCT!"  Talk about throwing you off.  I was like what does that mean-of course she had to wait for a manager who explained the item was to be pulled from the floor and so they weren't allowed to sell it.  Total bummer because they were super cute.  Impressive though because not only did she not let me buy mine she asked where I found it and immediately went and pulled them all from the shelf.

I also dropped three quilts off to the long arm.  One of them is a Christmas present so hopefully I will have it back in time.  The other two she told me I wouldn't get back until next year which is a little sad since one of them is my Swoon quilt.  But at least I know I will have some finished at the start of next year.

I found some Hello Betty in a shop on sale so I order enough to make up a backing for this little baby quilt. It's hard to believe I finished this quilt top in April of 2011.  I still don't have anyone in mind to receive it but I thought finding backing fabric from the same line after all this time was a good indication that I should rescue this one from the flimsy pile.

Now I can relax and start working on my next project.  Which my dad has told me has to be my mystery quilt.  My mom was finished with round 2 so we did open the envelopes for round 3 even though I wasn't to that point yet.  Overall I think it is going to be a pretty quilt when it's done.  I've seen lots of quilts in Chicopee around lately and I'm thinking I might need to make one too.  But I have so many quilts already planned and waiting or ones that need to be finished so I think maybe I should pull one of those out to work on.  Be sure to head over to Lee's to see what everyone else has going on.

Reality Check-A Really Big List Update

Back in February I made a really BIG list of all of my outstanding WIP's because I thought it would help me with my goal of finishing up some of my projects before starting new ones.  I guess a really big list really doesn't do any good if you never revisit it.  So I thought I would pull out the list again and see if I have managed to make any progress.

• Anna Marie Horner Chevrons-I made a few of these as part of this great quilt along.  However I decided I wasn't loving the project and stopped with just a few made.  I am thinking I might revisit these blocks and turn them into some throw pillows.  Sometimes my projects just change and then change again.  I joined the AMH Charm Square Swap because I have been wanting to make a very simple patchwork quilt with her fabrics for a long time.  I'm planning now on making the chevrons I made for this quilt into part of the back of my simple patchwork quilt.  I have a plan and everything!  
• Swell Quilt-After Mary sent me a jelly roll of Swell that she somehow managed to track down I swapped some amazing fabrics with a Canadian friend to get the last of the pieces I needed for this quilt.  I haven't settled on a pattern yet even though I based all of my fabric sizes off a quilt in Camille's book. I am still planning to make this quilt I just need to find the perfect pattern for this great fabric.
  
• Anchors Away-this is a really hard one for me because in theory I love this quilt.  I'm scared to death of it but I love it.  The fabrics are Neptune, which is out of print and extremely hard to find.  I have enough to make the quilt but I am so chicken to cut into it much less cut circles out of it.  And then of course there is the applique of the circles which is beyond scary to me as well.  Then again it will be a great learning experience. Yup, still scared to death to cut into this fabric.  I know it is going to be amazing so I really should take the plunge.
• Swoon-I got this kit from my parents a little over a year ago.  If you follow along regularly you know I have broken this one out of the closest and am working on putting the blocks together.  2 down and 7 to go.  I am thisclose to being able to cross this one off the list.  The piecing is finished I just need to drop it off at the long arm for a little quilting magic.
• Sunny Trails-I have all of the sub-blocks made for this one and just need to go about sewing 18 more blocks and then putting the top together.  I'm not very good at making blocks that require you to sew a square to something and then cut off a triangle and flip back the square.  If anyone has any good tips for making those blocks better I would love to hear them.  Honestly I put this one in the box again and all but forgot about it.  I need to dig this one out so I can finish it up.    
• Spools of Love-This quilt top was made for me by a lovely group of women.  It is the top that I received back as part of a year of traveling quilts.  The group is a spin off of the Old Red Barn QAL Group and though I sat out the second round I am considering jumping back in for round three because it was just so much fun.  This one just needs a backing and I have it started and it is about half pieced.  Hopefully it won't take me too long to finish it up.  I have two more sections that need to be sewn up for the back on this one.  It is just waiting for its turn for a little TLC.
  
• Summer Love-I started this quilt with the intention of entering it into a challenge that was being hosted by the Old Red Barn Group.  I only managed to get a few of the blocks done before life got in the way.  Of course because it is a dreamy combination of solids and Freshcuts I plan on finishing this one up.  I'm just not sure when.  Still just waiting for a little love.
• Dance Party-This is an original quilt for me.  Inspired by a simple quilt block on a repeat and the bright colors of the 80's.  I planned to make this a lap size quilt when I started but I am amending my plan there.  I'm hoping to finish it up into a baby quilt.  After all you never really know when you might need a fun and funky baby shower gift.  I'm in no hurry to move this one along and because of that it is still just 3 finished blocks.  I don't really want to give up on her because she is one of the first quilts I ever started without a pattern and just with an idea in my head.  
• Posh Enigma-This is one of the first quilt tops I made when I started quilting.  It isn't my taste at all but it only needs a backing made up for it and then it will be ready to be quilted so I might just do that.  I bought fabric for the back way back in 2009 when I first made up the top but it isn't wide enough.  I'm sure I can figure out something.  This one is finished so I guess I can cross it off the list as complete.
• Paintbox QAL-I gave up on this one after making just a few blocks.  Recently I gave my mom the jelly roll strip and the coordinating pieces we had picked out together.  She has adopted this WIP but I don't know that she knows what she is in for.   I turned this quilt over to my mom so I am taking it off my list of projects.
• Spider Webs-I have a set of pink and orange spider web blocks from a bee I participated in.  They just need to be sewn up into a quilt top.  Perhaps I will get around to that one of these days.  Still just waiting.  Maybe I will add this to the quilts to be finished for this years 100 Quilts for Kids.
• Scrappy Stars-This is also a a result of a bee.  I was actually the bee mama for Bee Stitched and these blocks were all the rage back in 2010 when that bee was started.  They are fun and I have one row sewn together for this quilt.  It needs some TLC but it's going to be awesome when it's done.  This is one of those quilts I still love but just haven't paid any attention to.  It really would be pretty easy to just finish up.  Maybe I should move this to the front of the class.
• Flower Power-These are log cabin blocks with fussy cut flowers in the middle that I received back as part of the fussy cut bee.  I guess I should make up and finish at least one of my 5 bee quilts.  I'm not really in love with these blocks any more.  It would be a pretty easy finish so I should just make it work.
• Pinwheel Sampler-This was made as part of a QAL hosted by Rachel.  It's a super cute quilt and it is just in need of a backing.  Of course since I have no idea what I am going to do with it when I am done with it I have let it sit in the closet unfinished for a while.  Still needs a back and some quilting love-Anyone want to adopt this UFO?  The top is completely done it just needs a back.  Leave me a comment if you are interested.
• Hexagons-This is my five year project but I am sure it will take longer than that to finish.  Hand stitching all of those little buggers is more than I bargained for.  Still making slow and steady progress.
• Mod Bento Box-I collected these blocks as part of two rounds of the mod bento box swap.  I sewed half of them into a baby quilt but it still needs to have the quilting finished (its about 1/2 done) and binding.  My mom adopted the other half to make into a baby quilt as well.  Taking this off the list as I have given away the blocks I had left.  It is my mom's WIP now.
• Modern Meadow Bricks-I have the pieces cut for this quilt so I really just need to break them out and start sewing.  This was originally going to be a quilt for the hubs but since I made him a UNC Quilt with the help of a few friends I'm not sure he will get to keep this one.  I will of course share :)  I actually took these with me when I went on vacation but since I didn't sew a stitch these are still untouched.  Maybe someday...
• Spring Weekends-I didn't participate in the QAL for this one but stumbled on it after it was over as a result of WIP Wednesday and had to make one.  This is actually all basted and ready to go.  It just needs to be quilted.  I have a new idea in mind for it so I just need to pick up some more yellow thread and get with it.  Just needs quilting.  Why oh why can't there be 36 hours in every day.
  
• Well Hello Betty-this adorable little quilt top is done and is just in need of backing.  Does anyone know what color teal matches the solid in the Hello Betty line?  Maybe a solid back would be the way to go on this one.  This pretty little quilt needs a back and some quilting but I haven't been in a hurry to finish her up.  I still love it a lot so maybe someday this one will be done.
• Mod Times QAL-I didn't keep up with this quilt along either.  I thought I was going to get creative and piece rainbow string blocks for the middles on this one.  I have about 1/2 of those done.  But I'm not giving up on this one.  It sits in the back of my brain because I know it will make an awesome gender neutral baby quilt.  Sometimes you just have to let things go.  I decided to take this one off the list because the truth of it is with all the new ideas and inspiration poring in I will probably never come back to this one.  And since I didn't buy any materials for this quilt I don't have to feel guilty about giving it a gentle push off the list.
• Farmer's Wife QAL-I am actually actively working on this one.  I have about 68 blocks done and now I am just trying to make some decisions about sashing and corner stones.  But if I don't have this one finished by the end of 2013 I will be surprised.  Just debating now if I am really done with this one.  I've seen more and more people picking these back up and making a push to finish the rest of the blocks and I just don't know if I want to join in.
• Summer Sampler-I don't know how to paper piece.  The rest of the blocks for this quilt required paper piecing.  So I think I have decided to make these into a small quilt to be donated.  A good friend gifted me the fabric to make this quilt at a time when I was really down an out so I think donating the quilt would be a great way to continue to share the love on this one.  Still just waiting for some more inspiration to hit me on this one.  I know it will be lovely when it's done I just don't know what I want to do with it yet.
• 100 Quilts for Kids-I made a MoMo Wonderland quilt top a little over 2 years ago for the 100 Quilts for Kids drive but didn't finish it in time.  I would really like to get a head start on that one so that I can donate it this year as part of the drive.  Better late than never.  This has moved to the top of my to do list because I really want to have at least one quilt finished this year for 100 Quilts for Kids and since the top is done on this one it would be a quick finish-in theory anyway.

New Since the Original BIG List

• Complications-I am really close to finishing this project.  I just have one more section to go and then adding the boarders to the top.  I am very much in love with this quilt so I know it won't be getting stuck at the bottom of the list any time soon.
• Color Therapy-this quilt was great in theory but after making one row of this it was obvious that it wasn't working out.  I'm okay with just letting this one go so it has long since been forgotten and crossed off the list.
• Mystery Quilt-This one is driving me CRAZY.  I'm currently on step 2 which is made up of a ton of HST's and those other blocks I can't stand to make.  I'm really trying to focus and get myself to just sit down and get this part over with so we can move on to the next step but it's so hard when you aren't feeling inspired.

I really thought that between making my really BIG list and now I would have a ton of new projects.  I guess even without doing a check in I have actually made some progress.  I am closer to my goals of finishing some things than I thought and having a list really makes it easy to see where you are and where you are going.  I promise not to post any more about this really BIG list until the end of the year but getting feedback from all of you really does help keep me motivated.

And because if you are still reading its pretty impressive that you are still here so how about a give away.  Leave a comment and let me know what you are working on, if there is a project I haven't crossed off that you think I should just give up on, or even what you think I should move to the top of the list.  I'll leave the contest open until Friday August 2nd and then I'll pull a winner from the comments who will get a little something special from me.  I'm not sure what the prize will be yet but I'm think a little something homemade and a few goodies.

Swooning

That about sums up how I feel about this quilt.  It's been a long time coming but I am so happy that I finally have the top of my Swoon quilt finished up.  Now I just need to sew one long seam on my backing and it will be ready to take to the long arm.  I am putting this quilt on my list of WIP's for the summer wip challenge the Virginia Beach Modern Quilt Guild is hosting.  We each submitted 4 projects we want to have finished and pay $5 then we will showcase the finished projects at our September meeting.  Those who participate and complete their 4 items are entered into a drawing to win the pot of money and another great prize.

I managed to finish up my last two blocks for this quilt on Saturday night.  I had planned to sew a lot more on Saturday after our guild meeting but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it.  So I finished the blocks and then moved on to other chores.  There is always more to be done then there are hours in the day anyway.

I figure by September I should be able to get this one back from the quilter and have the binding on.  Since imitation is the highest form of flattery I'm hoping Camille won't be offended that I plan to have this one quilted in the same baptist fans as her original swoon quilt.  I mean after all why mess with perfection.

I really loved the layout of Camille's original quilt and so I wasn't really thinking when I sewed the top together.  I was just sort of following along with the picture.  I almost wish now I would have switched up a few of the blocks.  See at the last minute I did switch the order of the bottom row so that my three blocks with the red centers made a diagonal line through the middle.  If I had planned ahead I think I would have switched it so the two red and gray blocks were on opposite corners from one another.

And of course because sewing is never easy at my house, I managed to run out of thread while I was sewing on the final borders.  And I don't mean just ran out of the thread I was using I mean I am out, empty can't sew any more until I go to the store.  I was in panic mode at that point because I was so close to being done I could taste it and well lets face it there isn't anywhere in my area to get thread at 5pm on a Sunday.  So I scrounged through all of my stuff and managed to find a almost dead spool of thread that was acceptable.  It too is now empty and so there will be no more sewing until I go to the store.  Unless of course I want to sew with black thread but since I sew so much with light colors I don't see that happening right now.

The Black Swoon (WIP Wednesday)

I don't know if it was because I was so excited that I only had 3 swoon blocks left to make, or the fact that I had been up sick all night on Saturday, or the extra stress at work, but this swoon block is now lovingly the BLACK SWOON.  You get my movie reference, right?  The Black Swan.

The Black Swoon

Typically when I finish sewing up a swoon block I have a new favorite.  This time though I was extremely disappointed.  I didn't know what it was at first.  My seams didn't match as well as they had been-disappointing but not unusual.  It just didn't look right.  I couldn't figure out why so I just stuck it up next to the others and went to bed.  I woke up in the middle of the night and that stupid block was taunting me from the other room.  Of course knowing I wouldn't sleep until I figure it out I got up to go look at the block again.  This time it was like a giant head slap.  You know the kind in the V8 commercial.  Duh, could have sewed the block right.  Turns out I had sewed one of the pieces in my corner units the wrong way.

The culprit!

Normally this would have just been annoying if I had caught it when I laid out the block as it would have required two seams in each of the four units to be unsewn.  Transfer that to the fact that I had to take the whole block apart and it meant unsewing 14 seams.  Of course I wouldn't notice the mistake until the whole block was together.

Current favorite

So Monday night instead of sewing I was seam ripping.  Well I guess that is technically part of sewing, right? I did manage to get the block taken apart and put back together the right way.  But I have to say it still doesn't replace my most recent favorite.  I think the fabric in that block is holding strong as my favorite in the whole quilt.  Hopefully this time next week I will have a finished quilt top, of course only if I do more sewing and less unsewing.

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

Swoon Lovin'

Slow and steady, okay not really cut as fast as you can so you can get some stitches sewn in between the madness.  That about sums it up for me.  But I still love my Swoon Quilt and it has been a huge help having all of the white background pieces cut.  Saturday after my quilt guild meeting I was able to make one block.  I think this is my favorite one yet.

I mean how can you not love that sweet little flower.  Lucky for me since I got this quilt as a kit from my parents that is also the fabric that was included for the backing.  I know you can't see it through the computer but big happy smile on my face there.  Then on Sunday I really really really needed to do some cleaning so in my haste to cut out a second block I cut some pieces twice and not enough of another.  It was a hot mess but in the end it works and I wonder how many of you even noticed not all of the squares are cut running the same way on the fabric.

So that brings my grand total to 6 down and 3 to go.  I love the way they are looking all together.  Funny story though.  My dad did help me cut out one of the blocks and the first thing I said was I want to make the middle red so it will be the opposite of the other one.  Of course we cut and then I pieced and went duh we cut this backwards but it's okay because it is still a pretty block.

The two red and gray are made with different fabrics they just look the same here.

So I'm still in LOVE with my Swoon quilt.  Have you got the bug yet?  Did you make one?  Did you see this scrappy version?  I missed it to start with but someone in my guild told me about it.  I have to say if I didn't have a backing kit for this quilt I would be making this for the other side.  But now I am thinking it would make a perfect reverse to my Complications quilt.  So many ideas so little time.

WIP Wednesday

How is it that we are back to Wednesday again already.  I guess I should have expected it since it comes around faster and faster every week.  I had the chance to visit my parents this past weekend and my dad helped me cut some more pieces for my Swoon Quilt.  So I managed to sew up one more block.  That's 4 down and 5 to go if you are keeping up.

In other news, I have gone to the last two meetings of the VA Beach Modern Quilt Guild.  They meet on the last Saturday of the month and it can be pretty hard to get up in time to make the almost hour drive to where they meet.  After the first meeting I wasn't too sure I would go back but after some encouragement I gave it a go and I am so glad I did.  The highlight for me at the last meeting was getting to meet fabric designer Alison Glass of Lucky Penny fame.  She is so kind and patient in person.  And she brought with her one of her quilts that had been quilted by none other than Angela Walters.  It was so cool to see Angela's quilting in person and I know if it wasn't for the guild I probably wouldn't ever have the chance.

But I said all of that to say we are having a pillow swap at our meeting on Saturday.  Since I am pretty new to the group I don't know a whole lot about my partner only that she requested a pillow made in the colors of Quiltcon.  I decided to go with a Carpenter's Star because I thought it was just modern enough.  I'm going with this cool Comma fabric on the back for a little something extra.  I've been thinking about quilting the front panel before adding the back.  What do you think?  How would you quilt it?  Or is it okay with out any quilting?  And what color thread?  I thought about maybe just some straight lines radiating from the middle to enhance the star quality but I'm not sure.  And I thought about just using plan old white thread but do you think that will stand out too much on the bright colors?  Oh choices, they are always so much harder when it's for a swap.  Especially when you don't know the person you are giving it to.

My last little update for the week was playing around with the blog some more.  Now that so many people have switched over to Bloglovin I really want the blog to look great.  One thing I really like about Bloglovin is that when you read the blog post it actually pulls up the blog.  That is something I missed in google reader because you never got to see the actual blog unless you clicked through further.  Anyway I've added a finished quilts page to the top of the blog so you can see my finished quilts all in one place.  It's still a WIP and I'd like to make the photos tile instead of all line up down the middle like that but I'm not yet sure how to do that.  I'm also planning to add an about page at some point, I just haven't decided what kind of format I want to go with there.

So that's it for me.  Be sure to head over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to.

WIP Wednesday

So remember how I was telling you guys I got distracted from my Complications Quilt by my Swoon Quilt.  I mean really what's not to love about both of these quilts.  I mean I don't think Bonnie and Camille could make better fabrics if they tried and they all play so nicely together.

Well here is my progress on the Complications Quilt.  You might notice a little bit of Ruby from my Swoon quilt already managed to slip itself in there.  One of the biggest challenges for me with this quilt is making sure I am getting color and fabrics dispersed evenly throughout the quilt.  Of course now that I realized I also want to mix Ruby into the fray it gets even more complicated (no pun intended).  I just can't help but LOVE this quilt.  This is the first part of the puzzle and it is now as wide as the quilt will be without the boarders.  It's pretty impressive to me because it's currently 5 feet wide.  I really am flying by the seat of my pants with this one so I had no idea how big it would end up being  Of course with another 12 inches in outside boarders it's going to end up being a pretty wide quilt.  I would say this section which measures about 2 feet makes up about 1/4 of the total quilt.

In other news I did make an additional Swoon block just so I could add the scraps into my selections for the Complications Quilt.  Somehow I feel like these two quilts are going to continue to evolve together.  So I have 3 blocks down and 6 more to go on this one.

My mom also picked up my Posh Enigma Quilt from the long arm so hopefully I will have a finish to show you soon.  I'm not meeting up with my mom until Saturday so it will be at least next week but I do have my binding fabrics all ready to go.  It's hard to believe that I pieced that top way back in November of 2009.  It's not at all my aesthetic anymore so I'm really not even sure what I am going to do with the finished quilt but it is nice to have my "first" quilt out of the closet and thisclo

se to the finished list.

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

Progress or Distraction

So this weekend I had grand plans to sew because I needed to make a pillow for a swap for my Modern Quilt Guild and a bag I plan to make for the Sew Sew Modern Swap.  Of course I went to the local quilt store on Friday during my lunch hour only to find out they had nothing that I needed.  My partner in the pillow swap wants something Quiltconish (I know not a real word) and in a store that carries every Kona solid you can name and has a very small modern quilt presence can you believe they were out of every color I needed except School Bus.  Not even Medium Gray or Coal on the shelves.

At any rate I decided to just order what I needed online but of course that means I didn't have the fabrics in time to sew for this weekend.  The bag, well I could have worked on the bag but sometimes swaps make me crazy.  I pegged my partner for a purple person based on her flickr favorites and blog but then her comments on some of the items that have already been made make me think maybe I have that wrong so I procrastinate with the best of them.  I will make the bag this week!

In the mean time I decided to work on my Complications quilt a little more.  I think I said before one of my favorite things and one of the worse things about that quilt is that it is really pushing me out of my comfort zone.  This quilt started as a quilt along but I didn't find it until long after that was over so I was able to see the finished quilt before starting.  I think I mentioned before that there is a lot of empty space in the quilt design which is open for interpretation.  I've been filling in those gaps in several ways from making extra blocks, to using postage stamp squares, to using larger squares of some of the larger prints in the fabrics.

All that to say as I was piecing some of those gaps this weekend I looked up and noticed my two completed swoon blocks.  Oh I love that quilt.  The great big blocks the Ruby fabrics.  Wait what... oh yeah my swoon quilt is made out of another Bonnie and Camille line.  So if I finish cutting the pieces for those blocks I can use the leftover pieces in my Complications quilt.  And so Complications went to the back burner and another Swoon block was made instead.  That's 3 down and 6 more blocks to go.  And a little bit of Ruby made it in the Complications quilt already.

A Really BIG List

It should come as no surprise to any of you that I have what I like to refer to as Quilter's ADD.  For every finished project I have shared here I probably have three more unfinished ones.  I find this a little odd because I don't keep a large stash of fabric, I usually only buy what I need for a specific project at a specific time unless it is one of my favorite designers and happens to be a great deal, and well I know I don't have hours each week to devote to sewing so I try not to take on more than I can handle.  But then sometimes I find because I am on facebook, flickr, and I read so many lovely blogs I get overwhelmed by inspiration.  I want to join in on quilt alongs, swaps, and bees because that's how you get the chance to learn new things and meet the amazing people in this community.  Well I have been sitting out of all of these things lately and I miss them terribly but then I realized I don't really need more projects.  When we moved recently I moved so many quilting boxes.  WAY more than I need thought I had.  So I figured now was as good a time as any to look back through the blog and see just how many projects I have talked about here that I've never posted finished photos of and maybe do an update.  Now it is a really BIG list but not all of them are destine to be completed, especially not by me but I am hoping that by putting this out there I will be able to focus on what is outstanding and maybe wrap up a few projects.  

• Anna Marie Horner Chevrons-I made a few of these as part of this great quilt along.  However I decided I wasn't loving the project and stopped with just a few made.  I am thinking I might revisit these blocks and turn them into some throw pillows.  
• Swell Quilt-After Mary sent me a jelly roll of Swell that she somehow managed to track down I swapped some amazing fabrics with a Canadian friend to get the last of the pieces I needed for this quilt.  I haven't settled on a pattern yet even though I based all of my fabric sizes off a quilt in Camille's book.
• Anchors Away-this is a really hard one for me because in theory I love this quilt.  I'm scared to death of it but I love it.  The fabrics are Neptune, which is out of print and extremely hard to find.  I have enough to make the quilt but I am so chicken to cut into it much less cut circles out of it.  And then of course there is the applique of the circles which is beyond scary to me as well.  Then again it will be a great learning experience.
• Swoon-I got this kit from my parents a little over a year ago.  If you follow along regularly you know I have broken this one out of the closest and am working on putting the blocks together.  2 down and 7 to go.
• Sunny Trails-I have all of the sub-blocks made for this one and just need to go about sewing 18 more blocks and then putting the top together.  I'm not very good at making blocks that require you to sew a square to something and then cut off a triangle and flip back the square.  If anyone has any good tips for making those blocks better I would love to hear them.    
• Spools of Love-This quilt top was made for me by a lovely group of women.  It is the top that I received back as part of a year of traveling quilts.  The group is a spin off of the Old Red Barn QAL Group and though I sat out the second round I am considering jumping back in for round three because it was just so much fun.  This one just needs a backing and I have it started and it is about half pieced.  Hopefully it won't take me too long to finish it up.
• Summer Love-I started this quilt with the intention of entering it into a challenge that was being hosted by the Old Red Barn Group.  I only managed to get a few of the blocks done before life got in the way.  Of course because it is a dreamy combination of solids and Freshcuts I plan on finishing this one up.  I'm just not sure when.

• Dance Party-This is an original quilt for me.  Inspired by a simple quilt block on a repeat and the bright colors of the 80's.  I planned to make this a lap size quilt when I started but I am amending my plan there.  I'm hoping to finish it up into a baby quilt.  After all you never really know when you might need a fun and funky baby shower gift.
• Posh Enigma-This is one of the first quilt tops I made when I started quilting.  It isn't my taste at all but it only needs a backing made up for it and then it will be ready to be quilted so I might just do that.  I bought fabric for the back way back in 2009 when I first made up the top but it isn't wide enough.  I'm sure I can figure out something.
• Paintbox QAL-I gave up on this one after making just a few blocks.  Recently I gave my mom the jelly roll strip and the coordinating pieces we had picked out together.  She has adopted this WIP but I don't know that she knows what she is in for.  
• Spider Webs-I have a set of pink and orange spider web blocks from a bee I participated in.  They just need to be sewn up into a quilt top.  Perhaps I will get around to that one of these days.
• Scrappy Stars-This is also a a result of a bee.  I was actually the bee mama for Bee Stitched and these blocks were all the rage back in 2010 when that bee was started.  They are fun and I have one row sewn together for this quilt.  It needs some TLC but it's going to be awesome when it's done.
• Flower Power-These are log cabin blocks with fussy cut flowers in the middle that I received back as part of the fussy cut bee.  I guess I should make up and finish at least one of my 5 bee quilts.
• Pinwheel Sampler-This was made as part of a QAL hosted by Rachel.  It's a super cute quilt and it is just in need of a backing.  Of course since I have no idea what I am going to do with it when I am done with it I have let it sit in the closet unfinished for a while.
• Hexagons-This is my five year project but I am sure it will take longer than that to finish.  Hand stitching all of those little buggers is more than I bargained for.

• Mod Bento Box-I collected these blocks as part of two rounds of the mod bento box swap.  I sewed half of them into a baby quilt but it still needs to have the quilting finished (its about 1/2 done) and binding.  My mom adopted the other half to make into a baby quilt as well.
• Modern Meadow Bricks-I have the pieces cut for this quilt so I really just need to break them out and start sewing.  This was originally going to be a quilt for the hubs but since I made him a UNC Quilt with the help of a few friends I'm not sure he will get to keep this one.  I will of course share :)
• Spring Weekends-I didn't participate in the QAL for this one but stumbled on it after it was over as a result of WIP Wednesday and had to make one.  This is actually all basted and ready to go.  It just needs to be quilted.  I have a new idea in mind for it so I just need to pick up some more yellow thread and get with it.
• Well Hello Betty-this adorable little quilt top is done and is just in need of backing.  Does anyone know what color teal matches the solid in the Hello Betty line?  Maybe a solid back would be the way to go on this one.

• Mod Times QAL-I didn't keep up with this quilt along either.  I thought I was going to get creative and piece rainbow string blocks for the middles on this one.  I have about 1/2 of those done.  But I'm not giving up on this one.  It sits in the back of my brain because I know it will make an awesome gender neutral baby quilt.
• Farmer's Wife QAL-I am actually actively working on this one.  I have about 68 blocks done and now I am just trying to make some decisions about sashing and corner stones.  But if I don't have this one finished by the end of 2013 I will be surprised.
• Summer Sampler-I don't know how to paper piece.  The rest of the blocks for this quilt required paper piecing.  So I think I have decided to make these into a small quilt to be donated.  A good friend gifted me the fabric to make this quilt at a time when I was really down an out so I think donating the quilt would be a great way to continue to share the love on this one.
• 100 Quilts for Kids-I made a MoMo Wonderland quilt top a little over 2 years ago for the 100 Quilts for Kids drive but didn't finish it in time.  I would really like to get a head start on that one so that I can donate it this year as part of the drive.  Better late than never.

If you are still with me then you know I have a ton of projects.  I am planning to take a break from new projects for a while to try and get some of these done.  Of course that is always easier said than done because as a result of this weeks WIP Wednesday I stumbled across this BOM quilt that is awesome.  I have some fat quarters already picked out to use so I might just have to sneak that in there.  And of course there are other projects that I haven't talked about here before so I didn't include on the list, like my 4th of July quilt.  Hope to see you all around soon because that will mean I'm not buried under a pile of half finished projects.

WIP Wednesday

I haven't been doing a whole lot of sewing this week, what with having to move all those boxes again and everything but I have made a couple of Swoon blocks.  I fell in love with this quilt way back when it first came out and I was lucky enough to get a quilt kit for it from my parents for Christmas 2011.  So this one has been sitting around in my sewing room for a while.  I love that it only takes 9 of these huge blocks to make a queen size quilt.  The fabric is all from the Ruby line by Bonnie and Camille.

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

The Back of the Closet

So I will be the first to admit I have quilting ADD.  I started trying to work my way through the projects in my sewing room a little at a time.  I was working on my Sunny Trails quilt but I was getting frustrated because the blocks weren't playing nice.  Then like something shinny in the corner of my room I saw my Swoon quilt kit that my parents had given me over a year ago.  Of course this meant I had to start working on that instead.  So I picked up the pieces of my Sunny Trails quilt and moved on to Swoon.  I think I told you guys that we recently moved.  In all of my wisdom I stacked most of my sewing things in the closet of the spare bedroom.  At the time this made total sense because I was going to use a corner of the spare room as my sewing space.  What I didn't anticipate is that I would stack a ton of stuff in front of that closet door.  So I needed to sharpen my fabric pencils to mark the lines on the back of the HST blocks.  I knew I had two pencil sharpeners in a box but they were in that back corner of the closet.  What to do?  Well I had to go to Petsmart to get some supplies for the pup so no problem I popped into Target and picked up a .69 cent pencil sharpener.  No harm, no foul.  But then when I was ready to trim up those HST blocks I realized that my Tucker Trimmer was also in said box.  No fair!  Now this closet has two doors so I tried every maneuver possible to avoid unstacking the boxes blocking the second door.  Of course nothing worked so I ended up spending a little over an hour of my sewing time moving around the room to get to the two boxes still in the closet with sewing items in them.  Of course this was what seemed like the 107th time I had moved these boxes so I made sure nothing sewing related went back in the closet.  I need to figure out where to put everything but clearly the closet is not the correct option.  At least not for now.

The List

I know I'm not the only one making list and thinking about crafty goals for 2012.  I'm interested to hear what you guys have in mind for the upcoming year.  My personal goal is to make 12 quilts in 2012.  It just seems like the thing to do, right?  Well I was sharing this with my mom and I think she thought I was a little bit crazy.  But she must have at least half believed me because she did sign up for 12 slots with the long arm quilter (we share) but that really got me thinking could I really do it?  could I afford to do it?  what about the fact I can't commit to a project?  what about all the new quilt alongs in 2012?  what about all the new inspiration?  what would I do with 12 more quilts?  So I made a list to help get me started on the right track.  Of course this list will be subject to change but you know what the heck I can put a rough draft of the list out here just to give you and idea, right.

1. Twisted Fandango- Remember these post.  Well I have everything I need to finish this quilt.  Reality is I'm just working on getting the boarders sewn on and then I'll have a finished quilt top.  I have my backing and binding already so this should be a pretty easy finish if I can just pick it up and then stay on task.
2. Sunny Trails-When Corey first introduced this quilt on Moda Bake Shop I knew I had to make it and I had been waiting for the perfect project to make with Sunkissed.  I ordered all the materials then and it has been sitting waiting for it's chance at the machine.
3. Swell-I was telling Mary (my online buddy) once about how much I liked swell and how I had gotten on board too late to find any.  Well she tracked down a Jelly Roll and sent it to me and then with the help of another online friend and a swap I now have everything I need to make this quilt.  Right now I am leaning towards a quilt from Camille's Book.
4. Farmer's Wife Quilt Along-This quilt along is on holiday right now but when we pick back up the end of January we will be at the half way point.  If I can stay on track or make up a few extra blocks between now and then I should finish in plenty of time to call this one a finish in 2012.  I am still really excited about this quilt and how it will turn out.
5. Anchors Away-Yes the Neptune Quilt.  It scares me a little because the fabric is out of print, it's hard to find, and I have just enough to make this quilt.  It also involves circles and applique neither of which I am happy about but I find that after spending a year on the hunt for everything I need to make this quilt that it has to happen!  Lucky for me my dad has volunteered to help with the cutting.  He might say he was volunteered but either way I'm happy to have him on board for this project.
6. Loulouthi Tiles-Rachel hosted this quilt on her blog and I loved it.  My parents got me the kit for my birthday back in October (thanks again Mom and Dad) and my dad helped me cut it all out.  I will admit it is a little tricky to get those large tiles cut out, luckily there is enough room in the fabric provided in the kits.  I still need to cut my sashing for this one before I can get started on it but I think it will be another fun quilt to put together.
7. Swoon-Santa (or rather my amazing parents) brought me the swoon quilt kit for Christmas this year.  I love the Ruby fabric and the pattern for this one and I am excited to put it together.  I've seen tons of these quilts in blog land made from all sorts of different fabrics and I am excited about having the chance to make one of my own.
8. Multicolored Stars-One of the bees I participated in (and hosted) back in 2010 made these amazing blocks for me and I have yet to put together the quilt top.  The truth is I'm not really sure how I want it to go together and I am at a total loss for quilting it so it has been sitting in my sewing room for a long time.  I am committed to seeing it finished in 2012 it deserves a chance to sparkle.
9. Summer Sampler Quilt Along-This is one of those projects I was late getting started on.  I really wanted to participate but I didn't have what I needed.  Then one of my amazing blog friends hooked me up with this amazing kit to get started.  I jumped in right away and finished the first 3 blocks, then we got to paper piecing.  I've mentioned before I am no good at this.  I really wish I had it in me but I get it all wrong all the time.  So I stalled but I would really like to see this one finished up.
10. Max and Whiskers-This one may be a little bit of a cheater since this quilt is finished and back from being quilted but it still needs binding so technically speaking it isn't finished just yet.  Hopefully those stitches will wait another week or so.  This one may also be a little bit of a cheat because it is one that my mom and I made together.  So I only 1/2 made it.  Do you think that counts?
11. Postcards-When Ashley first made this quilt I loved it and I wanted to make one for myself.  I thought that Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line (that's how long I've been planning) teamed up with gray for the "grout" would look great.  I've had the bricks cut out for a long time but have yet to get sashing and make this quilt top.
12. Dueling Flurry-My husband and I have matching Christmas Quilts that my mom and I made.  I thought she and I were going to have quilts made to match but in the end she gifted hers to me and now the hubs has mine.  This year we decided to make matching quilts for my brother and SIL.  I'm going to call this dueling flurry for now because I will be making one and so will my mom.  Hopefully they will like them both.
13. Just in case you guys rule out the Max and Whiskers quilt I'll give you a bakers dozen.  Spring Weekends-This quilt top is all put together and about 1/2 quilted.  I just need to order more yellow thread to see this one completed.  Funny how it would be so easy and yet I still procrastinate.

So there you have it a tentative list of hopeful quilts for 2012.  But reality is I have a ton of things in my sewing room I still didn't mention.  Like my chasing chevrons quilt and a few other quilts tops that are hanging in my closet waiting to be quilted.  Then of course there are things like quilt alongs.  Have you seen the one coming up in January.  I'm thinking of making that in child size to either donate in 2012 or have on standby for one of the babies I know that are coming soon :)

Stay tuned because I have plenty of Christmas projects to show you in the next week or so and then hopefully we will be spending more time together in 2012 learning new things and accomplishing new goals together.  So go ahead throw it out there.  What are your quilting plans for 2012?  I'd love to hear all about them.  Who knows you might just throw my list completely off track :)