Design Wall Monday 12/31/12

This is my last Design Wall post of 2012!  This year has gone by so incredibly fast.  December was a little overwhelming and not a lot of sewing got done.  With the holidays, overtime at work, and a passing in our family, time got away from me.

But I'm hoping to get my sewing mojo back now!  I designed a Valentine's Day table runner for my class that is starting -- next week!  You can see the beginnings of it above.  I'm off work today, so my goal is to get the whole top finished.  However, it's already noon, so I'm not sure if I'll achieve that particular goal!

There are a lot of exciting projects starting on some of the blogs I read.  Hmm.  Can I fit any of these into my schedule??  We'll see.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!

Design Wall Monday 12/10/12

On my Design Wall today is the Mystery Mondays project from Little Bits of This and That that is finally finished.  Well, just the top.  I added the final borders this weekend.  I took the picture late last night, so unfortunately the lighting is a little dim.  I'm happy that I finished this up before the holidays.  It is only a top, but I will still have it out on display.  I'm hoping to finish a couple of other projects before the end of the year so I can start fresh in January.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Wall today!

Dear Jane - M4

I'm not sure why I do this, but this is another block that was almost finished and left undone.  I pieced most of it over a month ago and left the corner triangles off.  Tonight I trimmed it to size and added those triangles.  All done!  The center area got a little wonky.  I paper pieced the center sections, so I'm not sure why they are crooked, but once it is in the quilt I don't think anyone will notice.  Except me, of course.  Lots of very tiny pieces in this one!

Dear Jane - H3

I felt like doing a little sewing tonight so I worked on this Dear Jane block.  I really didn't think I was going to complete it.  My goal was just to start it.  Then all of a sudden it was done!  This one went together pretty smoothly.  A strange little block, though.  I kept wanting to turn those top and bottom sections around to make a star.  Glad I figured it out before I sewed them on!

Design Wall Monday 12/03/12

Above is what is on my Design "Floor" today.  It's been raining endlessly for days here in Northern California, so the lighting is not great.  I'm pleased with how this is turning out.  Now I just need to add borders and the top will be complete.

This is the project that my Mom put together for my birthday.  She chose the pattern and fabrics for both me and my sister (we have different fabrics).  She couldn't decide on the color of the half square triangles which make the chevron shapes.  She gave me two different fabrics in my kit and let me choose.  So of course I decided to use them both!  I think it looks great!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what every is working on today!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Design Wall Monday 11/12/12

I had a stressful week at work last week, but I got in some good relaxing sewing time this weekend.  I'm plugging away on the project my Mom put together for my birthday.  The nice big blocks make for a great, easy graphic quilt.  All blocks are now made, so I can start putting them together.  Hmm.  Maybe I'll make myself a deadline...  Okay, I'm going to commit to getting this top together before Thanksgiving.  That should be plenty of time if I do a little each night.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today!

Handmade Holidays 2012

It's November already, and with that means another year of Handmade Holidays over at Sew, Mama, Sew!  Every day in November they post links to fabulous tutorials for items that can be used has holiday gifts.  They have daily themes and lots of links to great ideas and products.  I get a lot of inspiration from this blog every year.  Be sure to click back to the first of month so you don't miss anything and check in daily for new ideas.

BTW, no affiliation here, just an enthusiastic fan!

Design Wall 11/05/12

 I have a couple of projects on my Design Wall today.  The little purple block is a Dear Jane block that is almost finished.  I need to trim it down and add triangle corners.  It sure makes my other project look gigantic!

Speaking of the other project, this is one that my Mom put together for me.  Every year she plans a project for me and my sister's birthdays.  We plan a date and all get together to sew.  We work on the same project in different fabrics.  I should have put the rest of the fabrics out - she pulled all the colors from the large-scale print.  I love it!  I still have a ways to go on it, but I'll be working on this tonight.

Also my sister made me the tissue box above - it is so totally me!!  Several months ago I had pinned this project on Pinterest, and she downloaded the pattern and made it for me for my birthday.  In case you are not a nerd like me, it is the TARDIS from BBC show, Doctor Who.  (Bad Wolf refers to a particular storyline.)  I totally love it!!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 10/29/12

On my Design Wall today is my Mystery Mondays project.  I was behind, but as of Sunday I am all caught up.  However, another clue will be posted today.  I think there are a couple of pieced borders coming up next.  Can't wait to see what it will look like in the end!  I ran out of the very pale green fabric I was using for my "light", so I'll have another print in the border.

Other than that, not a lot of sewing going on lately.  During the day I get all motivated to sew after work, but by the time I fight traffic and get settled, I'm too tired to sew.  So most of my sewing is in class on Monday nights and on the weekend.  But I keep plugging away!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 10/22/12

This weekend I finally started working on my This & That Mystery Mondays project.  I was having trouble deciding on colors.  I had chosen some from my stash, but in the end I decided they would be better suited for another project.  So when I was at the PIQF quilt show last weekend (more on that later), I found a great print that I knew would work for this project.  I pulled a couple of complimentary fabrics from my stash and I was off and running.  However, I am several weeks behind now.  I hope to get the rest of the way caught up tonight in class.

Check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Dear Jane - L13

I just finished L13 in my Dear Jane quilt!  It seems like a fairly easy block, but it took me several hours to complete.  Oh well, I guess hand applique takes time.  I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.  I've got 39 blocks done now.  Maybe I'll try to knock another one out this weekend so I'll have an even 40!

Dear Jane - J12



I just felt like sewing yesterday, so I pulled out my Dear Jane box and chose a block to work on.  I decided I wanted to do one with a little applique, and this one fit the bill.  I have to start working on the applique blocks or else they will all be left for the end.  I think it came out pretty good.  Now to decide on the next block...

Design Wall Monday 10/08/12

On my Design Board today is a Dear Jane block - J12.  I'm easing my way into doing some applique blocks.  I hand appliqued the basket handle and the rest was foundation pieced.  I use the starch method of applique so this tiny bit took a while to prep.  I should probably prep a few at a time to make it worth the trouble of pulling out all of those supplies!  Oh well, live and learn.  This block will probably be completed in minutes, so I'll post shortly with the finished product!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Boards

I've been slacking off on the sewing front lately.  But class has started again, so I'm gearing up to work on some new projects.  I recently made some design boards as gifts using Lori Holt's tutorial and I think they came out great!  The only thing I did differently was to make them a little bigger.  Lori's were 10" x 10", and I made mine 15" x 15".  It was very challenging because I haven't used my glue gun for about 15 years!  I was amazed that I was able to even find it!  I made 6 last weekend and 2 today.  I meant to take a picture of the stack I had last week, but I forgot and gave them all away first.  I had one more foam board and I really wanted one for myself, so I made two more (I can get two out of one foam board).  I think they're great!  Thanks to Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet for another great tutorial!

Mystery Mondays is back!

Mystery Mondays has started again on Sherri Falls' Little Bits of This and That blog!  This will be the fourth mystery quilt along she's done, and I've participated in two of them.  You can see them here and here.  My friend Lori and I do them together and it's great fun to see how different they turn out with different fabrics.  The steps are posted on her website every Monday.  They are short and easily accomplished in the week.  In fact, I usually get them done during my Monday night quilt class.  Let's see if I can keep up with these and the others that I am thinking of doing!  I love all of the quilt alongs these days, but the problem is that I want to do them all!  Oh well, I guess that makes me a typical quilter!

Design Wall Monday 09/10/12

Here's my completed Great Granny Quilt.  It's tough to post a quilt with a white background onto a white blog!  It was slightly dark when I took the picture, so I used the color auto-correct to brighten it up a little.  Oh well, you get the picture (literally).  I really need to work on photographing my quilts straight!  I should probably re-take the photo below.

Here is my Swoon wall hanging.  I tried out all kinds of pieced borders in EQ, but they all took away from the center.  I decided to go simple.  I ran out of the purple in the star, so the narrow border is actually a different fabric.  I like how it turned out!  Now I need to decide how to quilt it.  But that probably won't happen for a while.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 09/03/12

 

I'm almost finished with the Great Granny quilt top.  Above is where I am at the moment.  I have two side borders on and I need to add the top and bottom.  I really didn't want to piece the white border strips, and the center was just slightly wider than the width of my background fabric, so I decided to add corner blocks.  I made a square in a square block that I think fits well with the center design.

Here I'm attaching the borders.  I'll have it done by the end of the day!  I already want to make another one in different colors.  I'd love to make one with bright batiks and a black background.  But I'll have to leave that for another day.  Too many other projects on the worktable!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on!

Design Wall Monday 08/20/12

I accomplished my goal for this weekend and got the last of the Great Granny blocks done!  All nine are finished now.  You can see them all on my Flickr page here.  Most of the blocks are made of scraps from a couple of similar Jelly Rolls that I had.  I pulled the fabrics for two of the blocks out of my stash, and those two definitely look different from the rest, but I think they will be fine when they are mixed in.  But on the bonus side - everything for this quilt came from my stash!!

I'm excited to put them all together in a quilt.  I have no idea how I will quilt it.  I may just have it quilted for me at my lqs so I can have it actually finished and not in a pile while I try to decide what to do.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 08/13/12

Two more Great Granny blocks completed!  I actually did what I said I should do and made a few kits so I could sew them whenever I had a few spare moments.  I usually don't listen to myself when I have ideas like that, so score one for me!  This brings my block tally to seven.  Just two more and I can start putting them together.  I only have one more kit made.  I wanted to look at the first eight together to determine what colors the last block should have.  Several look very similar, so I want to make sure none of them stand out too much.

I lost the daylight yesterday, so I don't have a picture of the Design Wall with all of the blocks.  Hopefully soon!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Walls today!

Design Wall Monday 08/06/12

I guess I really like these Great Granny Square blocks!  I now have five blocks finished.  My goal now is to make nine and finish it as a small square quilt.  I would really like to make it bigger, but time is short, and I'd like to finish it this summer!  Maybe I'll try making little "kits" for each block.  Then there won't be so much time wasted with my terrible indecision when it comes to choosing colors.  I like that idea!  Then maybe I'll sew a bit each night after work and make some significant progress.  If you are looking for the block tutorial, you can find it on Lori Holt's blog here.  This picture of my "Design Wall" is not the greatest, but you can see better pictures of each block on my Flickr page here. 

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Walls today!

Deign Wall Monday 07/30/12

I have the Great Granny Along blocks on my Design Wall again this week.  I was only able to make one more block (on the left).  I tend to agonize over color placement when I make blocks like this.  There is a huge pile of assorted Jelly Roll strips on my table, but I can't seem to decide on what I like.  It's all essentially scraps - leftover fabric from other projects - so I should just start putting them together, and if I don't like how they turn out, they go into the orphan block pile.  I need to be a lot more free when I do my piecing.  I'd certainly get a lot more finished!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog and see what is on everyone's Design Walls today!

Design Wall Monday 07/23/12

I'm kind of all over the place with my projects this summer.  I see so many things online that I want to try and usually never do.  Now I seem to be trying everything and not finishing much!  Above is what is on my Design Wall today.  I've been seeing the granny square blocks on lots of blogs and made a mental note that I wanted to try it out.  Then I saw Lori @ Bee in my Bonnet and Jodi @ Pleasant Home (sorry - links not working today) were hosting a Great Granny Quilt Along with a tutorial and lots of inspiration.  I had a free afternoon, so I decided to make one.  I used leftover fabric from a Jelly Roll (except for the brown).  It went together perfectly. The edges are on the bias, so I'll have to be careful not to handle it too much.  I did starch it before I squared it up - I think I'll be fine.  This will be a great scrap buster if I keep up with them!

Be sure to check out Judy L's newly remodeled blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Walls today!

Dear Jane - F7

As I was looking in my Dear Jane box (to steal some fabric for another project), I found this block that I had sewn back in June, but never squared up.  A few minutes later I had a finished block! :)  It is made from a really interesting scrap of green fabric that my mom had given me.  I love the print - I wish I had a bigger piece!  The scrap was so small that I thought I might not have enough to make a DJ block, but as it turns out, I have about half of the piece left.  These blocks really do take the smallest bits of fabric!  And after all that, I didn't end up taking fabric from the DJ box.  I found another piece that worked for what I wanted to make.

Design Wall Monday 07/09/12

I finally did some sewing this weekend!  My friend Lori hosted a two-day sewing "retreat" at her beautiful home on Friday and Saturday.  She was a wonderful hostess all around and served us a fabulous lunch each day. I decided to make the Swoon block that I've seen all over the blogs.  I needed to make a mini quilt to protect the top of a short speaker we bought recently, so it wouldn't get scratched.  I scaled down the block and made it 12" finished (shown below).  I finished that one on Friday and liked it so much that I decided to make a larger version finishing at 20" on Saturday (shown above).  The bigger one is still on my Design Wall, as I am not sure if I want to add something to it - maybe a pieced border.  I only had fat quarters of the two prints, so I may not be able to do that as I don't have much fabric left over.  On Sunday, I quilted and bound the 12" block.  It is shown below in its place of honor on top of a speaker.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's Design Walls today!

Happy 4th 2012!

Dear Jane - K2

It looks a little crooked in this picture, but I finished K2 for my Dear Jane project.  I decided to paper piece this one, although I probably could have pieced it the regular way as well.  Next I think I'll prep some applique blocks so I don't get too far behind on those.

Not much sewing going on these days.  This block was done in class on Monday night.  I've been on a little sewing hiatus lately.  I have some time off coming up next month, and I hope to get myself set up to finish some projects then.

Dear Jane - H5

This is another Dear Jane block that I finished up today.  Most of the piecing was arleady done earlier this week, but I needed to do some easing to get the side pieces to fit.  Even though foundation paper piecing is very precise, it can still be tricky - especially when you have to put pieced sections together.  After some fussing, I'm happy with how it turned out.  Those little triangles in the corners are very tiny!!  I now have 35 blocks made.  Only 190 to go...

Dear Jane - I9

I finished this Dear Jane block this past week, but I just squared it up today.  It's funny because it looks out of shape in the photo.  I think it's an illusion because the larger triangles are not 90 degree angles, but the sides are.  The other funny thing about this block is that there are little white triangles on two of the outer corners.  These could have easily been eliminated by extending the white fabric from the sides of the triangles out to the corners.  The ladies in class and I were surmising that in the original quilt, Jane Stickle was probably a little short of fabric on those two corners and added a bit to make it the proper size.  And now we are all adding tiny bit of fabric to make the blocks just like hers.  I was stumped as to whether to do it her way or my way.  At the risk of never finishing the block, I made the decision to add the fabric like she did.

This was all foundation pieced, which is my favorite technique.  It has a lot of tiny pieces, but as long as you keep plugging along, it gets finished and looks great.

Design Wall Monday 05/14/12

Tiny gifts!  This weekend I was sewing with my Mom and sister on these little gift blocks.  We each made different sized blocks.  At this stage, mine are a little under 4" unfinished.  They will have a border around them to make them 4" finished.  My sister made 5" blocks, and my Mom made 6" blocks.  We had fun going through piles of fabrics that we all brought and mixing and matching to make cute packages.  The finished pattern is one my sister and I are developing, and will have another block mixed in.  I'll wait to reveal the entire project once we are farther along.  But trust me - it will be very cute!  That's about all of the sewing I did all week.  We had a great time at our Mother's Day Sewing Day!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's Design Walls today!

Design Wall Monday 05/07/12

I seem to have fewer and fewer things on my Design Wall these days!  I really tried to get another Dear Jane block made, but the weekend ended up busier than I planned.  I have the center portion and part of the top portion made of one block.  I should be able to finish that up in class tonight.  The last block I had made is still sitting there.  I need to "file" that away with the rest of the completed blocks.  I did some work on my master color chart for this quilt.  I scanned it and put big black stars over the completed blocks.  I have over 30 made now and it's a great motivator to keep going.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Dear Jane - L7

Here's another quickie Dear Jane block that I finished last night. The scanner washed out a bit of the color, but it's fairly accurate. I think I'll pick another block to work on next. Hmm. Which will it be... Perhaps I should work on an intricate one so I don't make all of the easy ones first and leave the difficult ones to the end!

Dear Jane - B4

I love how this Dear Jane block turned out!  It was pretty fast to put together once I had made the kit for it.  I got this orange fabric at the PIQF quilt show last year and I think it's just lovely.  Yes, my sewing mojo is starting to come back!  I got another block done last night as well.  I'll post that one next.

Design Wall Monday 04/30/12

I've got Dear Jane blocks on my Design Wall (Design Ironing Board) today.  I finished one that I had started a while back that I posted here.  Not sure if it will make it to the quilt.  You can see the top edge is too short in the middle section.  This will make that area have a 1/8" seam if I'm lucky.  But for now it stays.  It's been a while since I've worked on this project.  I made a "kit" for the orange block.  It's all prepped and ready to sew together tonight.

I'm ready to get out of my funk and start sewing again.  I think these DJ blocks are just the ticket.  I printed out a couple of easy ones to get me back in the swing of things.  I'm conflicted about my Just Takes 2 project and so it's temporarily on hold.  I need to lay out what I have and see how the different blues look together.  Now that I'm so far behind, I can make some informed decisions about what shade of blue to use for each block.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on!!

Dear Jane - L11

Look - a finished Dear Jane block!  I wish I could say I made this today, but I really only finished it today.  It had been sitting in my DJ box for months, about 90% complete.  I had trimmed one section a little bit too narrow and I wasn't sure if I should finish it or start over.  Today I decided to finish it because I've been so unmotivated to sew at all lately.  I may or may not re-do the block, but for now I'm happy looking at it as is.  Maybe I'll work on an easy block next to get me back in the swing of things.

Design Wall Monday 04/16/12

Another lonely solo block on my Design Wall today.  It's actually for the block lottery that we have in my quilting class each session.  This time around, I figured I couldn't go wrong with the tried and true Churn Dash block.  I made one for the Just Takes 2 project as a 6" block and it was just adorable.  I was going to make exactly the same block for the block lottery, but in the end I decided that 6" is a little too small.  Not enough blocks get entered to make anything of any size with a 6" block, so I decided to enlarge it to a 7 1/2" block.  Still a cute block!

Now that class is starting tonight, I'll be able to get back to some of my own projects.  I won't need to have any more projects ready until September, so I can play all summer on whatever project I please!  I'll probably try to get caught up on the Just Takes 2 project.  Those blocks come out at such a fast pace, I've fallen quite a bit behind while working on class projects.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's Design Walls today!

Finally Finished

I finally finished the quilt top pictured above on Easter morning.  I put the last border on and then rushed out the door!  I brought it over to Easter dinner and when I opened it up to show everyone, my youngest nephew laid down on it and pretended to be asleep.  Very cute. I guess it passes the "good enough to use" test!  I'm calling it Chain Link.  There are black borders that you can't see in the picture.  I took a full picture of it on Monday night, but it was hanging kind of wonky.  I'll try to get another one soon.

It took about 5 yards (mostly) all out of my stash.  I ended up buying the narrow gold border, but the rest I already had!

I wasn't liking it very much as I was making it, but this kind of design really doesn't shine until it is all put together.  Now I'm pretty happy with it!

Design Wall Monday 04/09/12

This is the latest Just Takes 2 block that I made.  I'm still working on the feathered star block, but wanted to do a quick one to keep me motivated!  This one was foundation pieced and took no time at all.  Next, back to the feathered star.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Walls today!

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter to everyone! We're off to be with the family this afternoon.  I'll post my stash report later (probably tomorrow).

Design Wall Monday 04/02/12

I've been working on a class project that is not ready for the reveal quite yet - still needs borders.  In the meantime, I'll show the other project on my Design Wall - bits and pieces from the Just Takes 2 project.  Still working on my feathered star.  I'm using a foundation piecing pattern that I already had.  It is very slightly different from what we were given.  This one has more "feathers", which I didn't realize until I had already started.  I'm falling behind.  I still have the compass and as of yesterday, another whole set of blocks to make.  After that I'll be able to assemble a quarter of the quilt.  Once my class starts I'll be able to focus on this quilt again.  If I fall too far behind I'll never be able to catch up!

Check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Walls!

Mystery Monday #3 Finished

We finished up the third installment of Mystery Mondays from the This & That blog.  Another fun one!  Each Monday a new step is released.  The steps are very short, which is perfect because I have so many things in progress right now.  Above is the one I completed - all from stash!  I'll have something to count out this Sunday!  I chose a large autumn leaf print as my focus fabric and chose the other colors from there.

I've been doing these mystery projects with my friend Lori.  She's in my Monday night quilting class, so it works out perfectly!  I print the clues and bring them to class that very day.  We were putting our final stiches in the border at the same time.  Below is Lori's version.  She chose a wonderful Spring daisy print for her focus fabric.  Now all we need is a Summer and Winter version and we'll have the year covered!

Design Wall Monday 03/26/12

No Just Takes 2 blocks on today's Design Wall.  Instead I have blocks for a new project that I'm working on.  I drafted it out in EQ7 and it will be for my upcoming quilting class starting in a few weeks.  Unfortunately, I fell behind on the many projects that I'm trying to keep up with because I was down with the stomach flu this week.  It just wiped me out for a few days.  I still didn't feel much like sewing this weekend, but I did do a little on Saturday and then quite a bit on Sunday.  If I work on it steadliy this week after work, I should be in pretty good shape.

Check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's Design Walls today!

Design Wall Monday 03/19/12

I'm plugging away at the Just Takes 2 project.  Two more blocks done this week.  Now I'm knee deep in the feathered star block.  I was concerned about all of the pieces in the feathered star, so I found a foundation pattern for the same block.  It's still a lot of pieces, but I feel much more comfortable with this piecing method.  This one will take a while.  The next block that was just released is a compass block that is supposed to be hand pieced.  I'm on the fence about hand piecing, so I may change out that block entirely.  I've been struggling to keep up, and I'm not sure that I have time to learn a new technique and still keep up.

Not shown on my Design Wall/Table is my almost-complete Mystery Mondays project.  Today is another clue, and I believe it is the last, since we only have borders left to add.  Maybe one more after today.  It's super cute and my friend Lori is working on the same project.  The two quilts look so different in the completely different colors!  I'll try to grab a picture of both tonight in class and post soon.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's Design Walls!