The past few months I've struggled with working consistently on any one project.   Bouncing from embroidering to piecing, to quilting, to knitting.  None of my works in progress are getting the attention they deserve.  It's kind of driving me crazy.  I have a couple of new projects in mind, but I dread having one join the stack. This is where I'm at with my Arabic Lattice quilt.  It's a hand piecing project that is going to be a large quilt.  Hand piecing is a one block at time process that I love, so I'm cool with how long it will take to get this from block to quilt top.  It's just that there are a lot of blocks left so I'm setting this one aside for a while.  I have another hand piecing project with paper pieced hexies.  It's so low on the list it's packed up for now.  I also tested an applique block that I'm dying to make some more of, but again, packed up for now.

These are my spider web blocks.  A spider web quilt has been on my to stitch list for a mighty long time.  I'm machine stitching the blocks and plan on hand quilting this one.  These blocks are foundation pieced on to muslin.  The stack in the back is the triangles I still need to make.  I was thinking of focusing on this quilt top but then realized I couldn't hand quilt anything until I finish my paris embroidery.

My Paris map haptic lab is on my quilting rack right now.  To be honest, it's been there for quite a while.  It's a massive embroidery project that I plan to use as a wall hanging.  I've finished up the left bank and am working my way through the right.  In order for anything else to be quilted, this has to be done.  The paper pattern on the top is fragile and starting to wear in spots so I'm officially moving it to the top of the list.

So once I have Paris done, it should be smooth sailing through the rest of my projects, right?

Last year I set myself up with a long project list.  By mid-year I had started several quilts but hadn't finished most of them so by December I was determined to cross some off the list.   

The idea for sky blue geese came from a doodle in my notebook.  It has blue and ivory cross-hatch print flying geese blocks surrounded by text prints.  I sent it as a surprise to a friend I haven't seen in years.

The back is mix of prints.  The blue and white plumes were a favorite of mine.  They've been in my stash for years so it's great to see them in a project.

I made a couple of Christmas quilts in December.  I used a scaled down version of Jeni's Giant Vintage Star Tutorial. They were also given to friends.

One was a large silver star, the other gold.

Florette turned out to be one of my favorite quilts to date.  The pattern is by Jeni Baker.

Anna, Jeni, and I took a screen printing class ages ago and while they were here they helped me pull fabrics for future projects.  It was a blast to spend hours happily geeking out over fabric with friends.  I used one of the stacks we put together for this quilt.   Then I finished the top while we were on a sewing retreat together.

The back is one part, grey and white paisley and one part, floral.  Truth be told...the floral was our old shower curtain.  I made the curtain a few years ago and saved the fabric when I made a new one.  I had intended to sell this quilt, but in the end, I surprised lulu by putting it on her bed while she was in school.  She nearly fell down the steps to thank me because she was so happy.  (that would have been an awkward ER visit!)

Golden geese was another quilt I intended to sell.  It was also a stack that Anna and Jeni helped pull together.  The pattern is of my own design. I love the fabrics, so much print on print on print.  I just couldn't part with it.  I have greedily kept it for myself.  (that's how i roll)

It's backed with some fabric from my stash.  It felt great to check all of these of my project list.

I'm looking forward to sharing more about this year's list.

I finished a bunch of quilts last month.  It was an effort to work through a good chunk of my 2014 project list before I started my 2015 list.

This quilt went together extra quick.  It's made with a pre-cut layer cake and then some yardage for the back.  The prints on the front are all for Aneela Hoey's little apples line.  I love the trees and little hedgehogs.  The wardrobe print is one of my all-time favorite fabrics.   I machine quilted it with a pale grey thread with organic matchstick lines along the diagonals.

I added some coordinating cardinals to the back.  They just looked so cute with the rest of the prints.

I've listed in my etsy shop and I'm hoping it finds a nice new home with someone who loves it as much as I do.

In January, Dana started a scrappy bear paw quilt-along on Instagram.  I love making bear paws blocks and had a stack of fabric that I had set aside for myself ages ago.  It was a mix of old fabrics that I had been saving just for me, along with new prints that caught my eye.  Once I saw Dana's quilt a-long, I knew I had to get started right away.

I gave one paw in each block an accent paw.  In the end, it turned out to be a sampler quilt hidden in a bear paw quilt and I absolutely love it.  As soon as it was finished I had it on the bed.

The border is the Paris map print by three sisters for Moda.  It's from years ago but I squirreled away yards of it because it is one of my most favorite prints.  It was my jumping off point for the prints for the rest of the quilt.  Basically, all my favorite colors, which are mostly sort of non-colors.

One of my favorite bits is the binding.  In with one of my favorite text prints, I added sections of a black print from the first fat quarter bundle I ever purchased back in 1997.  It is a Moda print and I still love it today as much as I did back then.

The back of the quilt is a lovely black print on double wide fabric with some grey around the edges.

A friend quilted it for me on her long arm.  The quilting pattern was called bayside.  I'm sure they were going for waves, but to me it looked like thick curly bear fur so I had to try it.

She did an amazing job and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

I cannot wait to tell you about this quilt, but first I have to do that thing that we all do at the start of a new year.  I used to do resolutions and lists and words an all that but then I got lazy.  Powerful lazy.  Not moving all day kind of lazy.  Long story short, I started stacks of projects in 2012 that are still hanging around today.  My sloth went to  such extremes I finally talked to my doctor about it and this Spring we found out two things...I need to avoid eating things with lots of fructose and it turned out I wasn't lazy, but my thyroid is. I've spent the past year trying different doses and I've learned a lot.  I'm thrilled to not feel miserable.  I've been tackling many of those works in progress and started a few exciting new projects along the way.  So, as for the new year, my goal is to build on what I started gaining last fall...MOMENTUM.  No more excuses. I'm hoping to keep things moving, more finished quilts, more homemade cookies, more laughs, more fun!

Now for the quilt, making a quilt as a gift is always a bit stressful for me.  Finding the right fabrics, the right design, does the recipient even know she wants a quilt.  This one was for my niece who loves camouflage and I'm so happy to share that she loves it!  I used Realtree and Mossy Oak prints from JoAnn along with all sorts of hushed tone prints from my stash.

These tiny maple leaves are just 1 1/2".  A few more tiny leaves are scattered around the front of the quilt.

The brown along the edge of the star in the shot below was dyed naturally with walnut hulls from my dad's vat of walnut dye.

I used my highly scientific method of laying pieces of fabric out on the floor and then shuffling them around for ages to decide on placement.

I also did my best to use up even the tiniest bits of fabric that were left after making all those flying geese.  I used the larger pieces of camo to make the backing.  Along with a star that was going to go on the front, but once I started placing, I just couldn't find the right home for it.

One of my favorite things about this quilt is where the Realtree and Mossy Oak logos pop up.

My other favorite part was the smile on her face when she opened it.

Happy New Year everyone, I'm looking forward to sharing lots of good things with you this year.

I made this quilt for my cousin who was married this past Saturday. It's the New York Beauty from Peggy Martin's Craftsy class, Quick Strip Paper Piecing.  It's a fun class.  I whole heartedly recommend it.  I made the pinwheel quilt from this class too. I love using Craftsy because you always have the videos to refer to if you get mixed up on a technique.

The fabrics are from Pat Bravo's Summerlove line. These colors remind me of the bride so I'm hoping she loves them too.

The back is a jumble of leftover summerlove yardage.

With all the sharp points in the piecing, I wanted to try to use the quilting to soften the look a bit.  I went with a scallopy (yes autocorrect that is the word I want to use) stitching line and randomly spaced them an inch to three inches apart in a pale blue thread.

Don't worry, I don't have another cousin getting married next weekend so I won't be showing up next Monday with another wedding gift.  But the kids will be starting school mid week so I am hoping I'm back soon with lots of finished projects.

My sewing machine (Pearl) sits behind our front door.  I realize this sounds crazy, but generally, the only people who come to our front door are the types who want to talk politics, or sell me cookies so it isn't as much of a pain as it sounds. So I have my little corner of the cottage to set up my ironing board next to my machine and stitch.  Sometimes when Cj is bored, because he's used up all of his computer time, he comes and sits across from me and asks things like...

"Hey Mom, how's Pearl doing?"

"What are you making today?"

"Who is it for?"

"What's for supper?"

"When are you going to make my quilt?"

Almost two years ago now, he sat down with me at the computer to pick out fabric for bed quilt.  He loves helicopters and cameras so this echino line was the perfect place to start.  He asked for school busses too and I had to add the frames because he has a sneaky habit of watching his reflection in people's glasses.

A year ago, I pieced the top. It's made up of 30 wonky improve court house step blocks and framed with grey sashing.  But then I was distracted by life and even with the occasional reminder of "when are you going to make my quilt?", it sat in a pile.

Finally this October I got my act together and here it is.

I love it and even more important, he loves it!

It is quilted with grey lines 1 inch apart through the print blocks on the vertical and with accents of orange quilting on the horizontals.

The back is pieces with a mix of solids and some bits of left over echino.

He is thrilled to finally have his very own handmade by Mom quilt on his bed.  I'm left with feelings of satisfaction until the question "what's for supper?" pops up again.

I finished this quilt a few weeks ago.  It's a mix of three jelly rolls - sherbet pips, putting on the ritz, and bella solid (off white).  I quilted it in a plaid pattern of groups of five lines on the vertical and groups of three lines on the horizontal.

The back is mostly a mix of Putting on the Ritz yardage along with a floral block from Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Block Patterns.

This quilt was part of a silent auction at a benefit for the mother of a girl in cj's class who is battling cancer for a second time.  The bids went down to the wire with one of cj's para getting the final bid and the quilt.

I just finished this quilt for a very dear friend of our family.

It's made with Freebird by MoMo for Moda.

The piecing is my design that evolved from playing with scraps and half square triangles.

It's quilted with straight lines every 5/8" in a chocolate brown thread.

I really love the denseness of the quilting.  It gives the quilt such great texture.

It's summer break here now, which means I have even less time to work on projects.  I will be spending the next week or two trying to find a "new" routine around here.  Which will most likely involve a lot of groaning and complaining when I pull out the workbooks and flashcards.

box block pattern from the book, The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt.

it's done

The moment I saw this fabric at my local shop I loved it.  I knew nothing about making a quilt except this was the fabric I wanted to use to make mine.  The majority of it is made using the Rouenneries line from French General for Moda.  The pattern is the Yellow Brick Road pattern from Atkinson.

It is machine pieced and hand quilted.

It is also extremely cozy.  I cannot believe I actually finished it before the snow started falling.

Here's the back.

happy November

Pearl and I are having lots of fun. I made a stop at my local quilt shop.  I guess I was a bit drunk with power, because I managed to convince myself that now was the time to make a quilt.  I have been shoving this notion to the back of my brain for a couple of years now.  After bringing home all my supplies, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to start with something a little smaller.  I found a pattern for a table runner on Moda's website and pieced this together with scraps that were hanging out with nowhere else to go.

My biggest struggle was with evenness.  The fabric pulled as I was machine quilting.  I took the plunge and purchased a walking foot.  (a trip, that despite telling myself it would only be for the foot, ended with me buying fabric for a lap quilt as well)

I found this great tutorial on binding that helped out a lot too.