Design Wall Monday 12/28/15

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday weekend!  I fully intended to have a Christmas blog post, but the day came and went in a flurry of activity and it didn't happen.  Part of the flurry was finishing this little quilt that I gave to my Mom for Christmas.  On Thursday I still had to put the outer border on and then layer and quilt.  The only thing I had left to do was put the binding on when this picture was taken.  The binding was the same dark brown fabric as the border, so it looks pretty much the same here as when it was finished.  The final size was roughly 12" square.  I have to admit that once it was finished I had a hard time giving it up!

This was made from a sew along on the Temecula Quilt Company blog.  I added four extra blocks to make it square.

Now I need to get moving on a couple of projects for my quilt class.  I have some pieces sewn, but I haven't gotten very far.  Fortunately I have another four day weekend coming up, so I can really dedicate some time to those.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today. I'll also link up with Let's Be Social on Wednesday and Quilt Story on Tuesday.

Design Wall Monday 12/21/15

Call me crazy, but I can't stop making tiny patchwork!  I recently came across a short sew along on the Temecula Quilt Company blog, for the 12 days of Christmas.  The blocks are TINY.  They finish at 2 1/4".  Above I put them next to one of my Farm Girl Vintage blocks, which is a 6" finished block.  I thought I could use up some random charm squares that I had lying around, but now I have scraps from those 5" squares!  That's how little fabric is needed for these blocks.  Of course I have 100 other things that I should be working on, but it was a fun little diversion.

I'm having a heck of a time taking pictures lately.  It's been so dark out that all of the pictures are turning out terrible.  I grabbed another picture of one of the wreath ornaments I made that I showed last week.  There are a lot of shadows, but now you can see it all finished.  I really enjoyed making these and I think they look really neat.  The back looks exactly the same as the front, but without the bow.  The pattern is by Betz White and is sold on Etsy as a downloadable pattern.  I wanted to use the same silvery ribbon that she used, but I bought 1/8" wide ribbon instead of 1/4".  It came out way too small, so I had to use what I had on hand, which was white.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's design walls today.  I'll also link up with Let's Bee Social on Wednesday and Quilt Story on Tuesday.

Design Wall Monday 12/14/15

Ever so slowly I'm finishing my Farm Girl Vintage quilt.  One more block completed this week (above).  I switched gears and started working on some Christmas projects.  My husband asked me if I could make something small, like an ornament, for his supervisor at work.  Well I had just seen some patterns for really neat felt ornaments by Betz White on Etsy.  A couple of clicks later I had purchased and downloaded a pattern (gotta love PDF patterns!).  A quick stop at Beverly's and I had everything I needed.  It went together beautifully!!  It finishes at approximately 4 inches across.  I still need to add a bow and a hanging cord.  I love it!  She's got some great patterns - I want one of each!

I was actually pretty busy sewing this weekend but I can't show most of it yet. :)

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's design walls today.  Also linking up with Quilt Story on Tuesday and Sew Fresh Quilts on Wednesday.

Design Wall Monday 12/07/15

Another block down!  I did this one late yesterday -- I had the pieces already cut out.  I'm not crazy about how the points lined up - or rather didn't line up - but you can't see it's off from afar.  I'm leaving it as is.

I thought I'd show another shot of my Farm Girl Vintage quilt as it is right now on my design wall. Just a few more blocks to go.  I really should focus on the strawberry block so there isn't a hole in the middle of the quilt!  I have these up on the wall in the order in which they appear in the book.  I'll move them around for the final placement.  At this rate I'm not sure if I'll get them all done by the end of the year, but that is still my goal.  There is a lot of piecing in the border, so I'm sure that part won't be finished.  I'll be happy if the blocks are done, sashing sewn and the quilt top without borders is complete.  We'll see.  I have some other things that take priority, but I'll give it a shot.  I'm considering purchasing some of Lori's additional patterns to fill out the set instead of putting the same star in each corner.  She's got some cute ones that are hard to resist!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's design walls today!  Also linking up with Quilt Story on Tuesday and Sew Fresh Quilts on Wednesday.

Design Wall Monday 11/30/15

Well I did finish in time!  I got this quilt machine quilted in the ditch and the binding on before we traveled for Thanksgiving on Thursday.  I wasn't 100% happy with the binding.  I did the entire binding by machine, and it wasn't the prettiest binding I've made.  I've only done that  type of binding on small projects and they turned out fine, but this was a little tougher to wrangle through the machine.  But it's done now and I never would have had time to stitch it on by hand.  The last stitches were stitched on Wednesday night while the Thanksgiving deserts were baking.  So late that I didn't have time to take a picture. However, I do have one of the top after I had put the last borders on earlier this year. This was a free pattern on Craftsy when I found it a while back, but it appears that it is now for sale. You can find it here.  This quilt is being donated to a convalescent home and will make someone very happy this Christmas. 

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's design walls today.  Also linking up with Let's Bee Social on Wednesday and Quilt Story on Tuesday.

Design Wall Monday 11/23/15

I'm determined to get my Farm Girl Vintage quilt top finished by the end of the year!  It is really nice having the blocks cut out - I was able to sit down and sew these three blocks in no time at all on Saturday.  I had even marked the backs of the triangle squares already.  I still haven't made the Strawberry block, but I have most of it cut out.  I decided to make it in reds rather than pinks.

I did make a change the the block below on the fly.  I had cut out the yellow out of a gold print, but it was too much the same value as the pink in the center. So I opted for a lighter yellow.

Sunday was all about finishing a quilt before Thanksgiving.  I  just did some ditch quilting and then put a binding on fully by machine.  I am not great at these two things and I'm a little disappointed with how it turned out.  But I know I am being too hard on myself - I don't think anyone will notice the flaws that I see.  It's just frustrating to spend so many hours on something and not be happy with the result.  This is a quilt I was making for my husband's grandmother, but she passed away while I was still making it.  I decided to finish the quilt and donate it to the home where she was staying.  I felt that the machine binding would hold up better to washing, but it is not as pretty.  I'm sure it will be loved just the same.

If I am not able to post again before Thanksgiving, I hope everyone has a happy and safe day!

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

Also linking up later this week with Let's Be Social and Quilt Story!

Design Wall Monday 11/16/15

Just one more Farm Girl Friday block finished this week.  Life's been busy, but I'm trying to get at least one block done a week.  I do have another one all cut out and ready to sew.  I think I only have 8 blocks left to make and then I can start assembling the top.  I have other projects in line waiting for this one to be finished, but I think I'll be sad when it's done.  It's been really fun making this one.  Never a dull moment because all of the blocks are different, and I've really tried to push the envelope with the colors.  Not that they are necessarily unusual, but they are out of the norm for me.  And I love it!!

I spent Saturday having a sewing day with my Mom and sister.  We do this every year to celebrate our birthdays.  It's always a good time.  We all worked on the same project in different colors, and they are all going to be so different! Can't wait to see how they all turn out.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's design walls today.

Also check out Let's Be Social over on Sew Fresh Quilts blog.  She has a link up on Wednesdays.  I found this blog recently and I'm hooked.  

Linking up with Quilt Story as well!

Veterans Day 2015

Thank you to all who have served!

Design Wall Monday 11/09/15

I didn't get any Farm Girl Vintage blocks finished this week, but I did put together a quick Christmas table runner using some charm pack squares. Nothing fancy.  I'm not sure if I'll have time to get it quilted before the holiday, but I'll give it a shot.  After working on the 6" FGV blocks, these blocks seemed monstrous in size.  The three blocks each measured 14" unfinished.  You can see some of the small blocks above it on my Design Wall.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's Design Walls today.  I'll also link up to Let's Bee Social later this week.

Handmade Holidays 2015

Handmade Holidays is back!  I can't believe it has been 9 years since the website Sew Mama Sew has been doing Handmade Holidays.  Every day in November, they post links to tutorials for projects that can be made for holiday gifts.  Also on the posts are links to recipes and printables.  If you comment, you are also eligible for prizes.  Over the years I have gotten lots of ideas for gifts - and even have made a few!  I like that it is held in November, when there is still time to make things.  It's fun to pop in every day to see what is new. Here's the link:  Sew Mama Sew Handmade Holidays

Design Wall Monday 11/02/15

I got a lot of work done on my Farm Girl Vintage blocks this weekend.  I've been cutting out blocks during the week, and then they are all ready to sew on the weekend.  This has been working out well for me right now.

I had this postage stamp block cut out for a few weeks, and it was nice to have time to sew it together.  The squares finish at 1", and for me the key is to sew them together very slowly.  It gives me a lot of control as they go through the sewing machine, and there is no shifting.  It works like a dream and I didn't have to take anything out.

 Below is the view of my design wall with all the blocks I have made so far.  I'm bummed out that I couldn't keep up with the sew along, but I don't have too far to go.  My goal is to finish the top by the end of the year.

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

Design Wall Monday 10/26/15

Not much to show today.  I was experimenting with a new block.  I saw a similar block and simplified it a little.  I like the idea of  using two shades of  one color for each block.  It would be great for scraps.  I'm going to use it for the Block Lottery in my class.  I'll make up a few in different colors and see how it looks.

I also drafted out a quilt that my sister had in mind so we could figure out some measurements.  Other than that, nothing quilty going on.  I am cutting out blocks for my Farm Girl Vintage quilt, so I have some "kits" ready to sew.  I really want to finish that quilt before the end of the year.  That is my goal because I have another quilt I want to start in January.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what other people are working on today!

Design Wall Monday 10/19/15

I went to the annual Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) on Saturday. Another amazing show.  I've been to this show every year except once years ago when they were changing venues and they held it in Palm Springs.  I usually go on Sunday when it is not as crowded. However, this is the first year that the 49ers have played at their new stadium, which is right next door!  They had a home game on Sunday and I wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near the show.  As it was, on Saturday the show was so packed that the parking garage for the convention center where it is held was completely full, and I was turned around to the main parking garage for the stadium.  It was a little bit of a hike to get back to the show, but it was worth it in the end.  I snapped a picture of the fabric at one of the vendor booths (above).  It reminds me of buckets of flowers at a farmer's market.  If there was a fabric you needed, you were going to find it at this show.  This was just one booth.  I spent a little more than I intended, but not excessively so.  I was already going to restock on the Superior thread that I like for piecing, so I save some shipping costs and bought it at the show.  A few fat quarters, a few patterns...

On Sunday I did a little sewing.  I finished another Farm Girl Vintage block (above).  I'm getting there slowly but surely.  I also got the postage stamp block all cut and arranged.  That one has 36 squares to make the 6" block.  I am so undecided when it comes to colors that it took longer than it should have to get that one cut out.  Now all I need to do is piece it together.  I also made some prizes for the ladies in my class who completed a summer challenge. They weren't difficult to make, but time consuming.  A lot of ladies finished the challenge this year!  I'll try to grab a picture of those and post next time.

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

Design Wall Monday 10/12/15

I'm back in the sewing saddle!  I was able to clear off my design wall and put the Farm Girl Vintage blocks back up there.  Looking good!  I guess my little sewing break was longer than I thought - the sew along is over now and I'm still 12 blocks short.  There are 45 in the sampler, and it looks like I have 33 finished.  This weekend I decided to go out of order to ease back into sewing. I made the Simple Star block below.  Now I have some design decisions to make.  For example, I need to decide if I am going to make the Strawberry block pink like it is in the book, or red.  Pink would balance out the colors in the quilt more, but I am not sure if I have enough different pinks to make a whole strawberry block.  I have lots of red fabrics, but there is a lot of red in the quilt already. We'll see how it turns out...

I did also make a sunflower block for my husband.  He has a variety of little quilts I've made him in his cubicle at work, but wanted something to represent summer.  He chose this block from the book a while ago and I've finally put it together. Now to trim the edges, do some light quilting and then bind.  This is a 6" block.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else has on their design walls today!

Design Wall Monday 10/05/15

What happened to September?  I seem to have lost an entire month on the blog!  Things have gotten very busy, and I really haven't been sewing.  My husband and I were on vacation at the beginning of September and then I haven't been able to get into the swing of things.  I have a new project on my design wall, but I have to say - I absolutely hate it!  It is covering the entire wall and it's killed my motivation to sew.  I need to mark the pieces so I will have some semblance of order when I get back to it, but then I'm going to put it away for a bit.  Then I'll put up some happy things and I'll be more inspired to sew.  Before we went on vacation, I did put together this pumpkin pillow using a block I made around Halloween last year.

My sister and I popped over to the annual Quilting in the Garden quilt show in Livermore, CA.  This is always a fun little show where they hang the quilts from the old oak trees on the grounds of Alden Lane Nursery.  Below are a few pictures.  I apologize for not having the names of the makers of the quilts. They were in a program, but I don't seem to have it anymore.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone has one their design walls today!

Design Wall Monday 08/31/15

I managed to make three more blocks for the Farm Girl Vintage sew along.  I've been working on some other projects that I can't show, and fell behind in the sew along.  The block above is called Peas and Carrots.  Lori's original version has the green and orange swapped (hence the name).  However, my quilt was getting a little orange-heavy.  I decided to swap the colors so that the orange was downplayed in my block.  I think it came out pretty good!

Below is the Pinwheels block.  Pretty straightforward.  I am pleased that my points are pretty much right on.

Below is Pie Cherries block that didn't turn out so great.  I was really looking forward to this one ever since I got the book.  I even set aside the red prints early on so that I wouldn't use them somewhere else.  This is the block that I mentioned in the last post, that I had been working on late at night.  I turned around the center stem section and then took it out only to find that I had it right the first time.  I put it back together the right way, but the top of the stem still doesn't seem to fit.  I may re-make this later, or I might just leave it in.  It is one of those things that probably only I will ever see.

I'll be on a long awaited vacation next week.  I'll end up falling farther behind, but that's okay.  We're almost at the end of the sew along now, and I'll have more free time to catch up in a couple of weeks.

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

Design Wall Monday 08/24/15

I've started to falter on my Farm Girl Vintage sew along blocks. I've been frantically sewing up class projects before my upcoming vacation, so I dropped off the FGV project a little. I tried to sew together the Pie Cherries block last night, but it just as i was finishing, I realized that I turned a section around the wrong way.  What makes it worse is that I already took that section out and turned it around.  Apparently I took apart something that was already correct and made it incorrect. *sigh*  I decided I had had a long day and it was too late to be sewing together a block.  I'll fix it up after work today.  On a brighter note, I'm getting closer to having my class projects finished.  Just one more to go.  

So nothing has really changed on my wall.  I may have to pull the blocks down so I can finish my other project.  You can see I've been working on my current project at the very bottom of the wall (beneath the FGV blocks), which is kind of silly.  Hopefully there will be more progress to show next week!

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

Design Wall Monday 08/17/15

I'm back with my weekly Farm Girl Vintage sew along update.  I feel like this is all that I post about these days.  Of course this is just about all that I've been working on lately.  I've gotten a very slow start on my class projects, and I need to get going on them right away.  I usually don't post about them until class has started, so it will be a little while until you see them.

The block above is called Out To Pasture and went together pretty quickly.  I'm trying to get back to using my focus fabrics, so the four outer fabrics are all from the Fancy charm packs.

Above is the Patchwork Pumpkin block.  I actually had this one all cut out and ready to sew for a couple of weeks.  Since I had the oranges out already, I went ahead and cut extra squares for my sister, and I wanted to get them done when I saw her a little while back. I also swapped a few oranges with my mom, who also recently had oranges out.  Score!

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

Design Wall Monday 08/10/15

I finished two more blocks this week.  I sewed late last night to get the second one done.  I really don't want to fall behind on these.  I struggled with choosing the fabrics for the flag block.  I had no problem with the reds - I have a lot of those, but the alternate strips, where traditionally they would be white, caused me some problems.  In the Farm Girl Vintage book, Lori used a red and white gingham.  I searched high and low in my stash - yardage, scraps, even in other projects - I just don't have any red and white gingham!  I tried to pull a white and red print, but I don't seem to have those either - they were too red.  I looked at off-white, and I looked at pale yellow.  Nothing worked.  Then I looked at the Instragram photos of other people's version of this block.  A lot of people used the gingham! But what I noticed is that in the thumbnail photos, the gingham looked pink.  I decided to run with it because this is typical of a roadblock that will bring a project to a halt for me.  I think it worked out fine. And I was even able to fussy cut a heart into the center of the star, which makes me smile.

Next was the Old Red Barn block.  Here's another one where I started to get tripped up by choosing the fabrics.  It reads darker than the rest of the blocks, but I think it will be fine.  I'm not crazy about my piecing on the barn door, but I think that's because I was working on it late at night.  I won't even notice it once the quilt is all together!

And here's my progress so far!  I love keeping these up on my design wall so I can look at them every day and get inspired to sew!  The blocks that are cut off on the right are standard 12" blocks, so you can kind of see the scale of these blocks.

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

Design Wall Monday 08/03/15

Two more blocks finished in the Farm Girl Vintage sew along.  I love my blue chicken!  I was trying to even out the colors in the quilt top, and decided I didn't want to make it yellow or orange.  So I chose blue.  A couple of years ago my husband and I took a trip to England, and there was a sculpture of a blue rooster in Trafalgar Square.  Now I know my hen doesn't look much like the sculpture, but I kept thinking of it when I was making the block.  I'll embroider the eye when I finish the blocks.

Next up was Milking Day.  I got to use up some more of the scraps from the other blocks.

I did some other sewing this weekend as well.  My quilting class is starting up in September and I need to get those class projects going.  I finished up a pillow and wrote out some cutting directions for a couple of projects.  I'm trying to stay ahead of it this year so I'm not sewing at the last minute!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone else's design walls this week!

Design Wall Monday 07/27/15

I had a busy week last week, and only got one block finished for the Farm Girl Vintage sew along.  That keeps me up to date, but I have two blocks to make before next Friday.  Below is the block I made, Kitchen Window.

To get a sense of the scale of the blocks, I took a picture next to my rotary cutter.  They are all 6 1/2" at this point (6" finished).  I think we're about half way done now.  I did also cut out some pieces for another quilt that I'm starting for class.  Gotta get busy!!

Be sure to check out what Judy L's blog to see what is on everyone's design walls today.

Design Wall Monday 07/20/15

Two more blocks added to the Design Wall today!  These are from the Farm Girl Vintage sew along.  I'm having a great time with these little 6" blocks, and they have reinvigorated my desire to sew.  I am determined to keep up with this sew along. A lot of times in the past I would get hung up on choosing colors or finishing a difficult block, and I would stall on sew alongs - never finishing the projects.  But my desire to keep up with this one has pushed me to make decisions more quickly and I'm loving it!  I haven't been disappointed with any color or construction decisions I've made for this quilt.  Hopefully this will carry over to future projects.

Below is the Haystack block.  I was able to fussy cut the center to match two other blocks.  They are all the same motif, but different color ways.

Next was the Kettle's On! block.  The print for the teapot did not come from the charm packs I've been using because the piece is slightly larger than what I could cut from a 5" square.  I do love the print, though, and have used it in the Baking Day block also.

One more block to make to be caught up until the next blocks are presented on Friday.  It's a pretty simple block, so I should have no problem getting that one finished in time.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone has on their design walls today!

Design Wall Monday 07/13/15

I have a few new additions to the Farm Girl Vintage sew along quilt.  So far, so good on keeping up with the sew along!  The three I've added are the Furrows Block (below), which consisted of 8 flying geese units.  I'm trying to sneak in some of the larger scale prints from my charm packs.  With all of the tiny pieces, it is a challenge to use the charms with large prints.

Next up is the Gingham Block.  I searched around in my fabric stash for two shades of the same color that would bring out the gingham look.  I think I did okay.  I've been using a lot of orange in the blocks, so I think I'll try to stay away from that color for a while.  I don't want the quilt to be too dominantly orange.

And finally I made the Grandma's Quilt Block.  I have been keeping all of the smallest scraps from cutting the previous blocks, and I was able to use some in this block.

I have the next block cut out and just need to sew it together.  It is a quick one, so I should have that one done in no time.  What a fun summer sewing project!!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone has on their design walls today!