welcome to Quilt Week

side 1

Hi readers!  It's Quilt Week here in Paducah - the AQS show starts tomorrow and we've had quilters from all over visiting the Museum already this week.  The weekend was full of errands and cleaning around the house, the Symphony and helping to set-up the Antique quilt show put on by the Rotary club.  Awesome quilts there this year - all Signature quilts covering about 50 years.  Tonight I got to attend the Awards Show & Sneak Peek and see all of the amazing quilts in the show!  We'll have busy days ahead at work and it's a fun time of year across town.  

side 2

Amidst all of the prep and long days I managed to finish up my April :: Year of Finishes project: an Open Wide zippy bag using Noodleheads tutorial here.  I made the medium size bag this time around and used some fun scraps for the outside paired  with Michael Miller Ta-Dot in black and the inside is a grey Dear Stella print.  It's good sized and I'm not entirely sure what will go in it yet, but that's okay.  :)  It's pretty just sitting on my cutting table too.  





Adding the finish to the link up over at Fiber of All Sorts - making 3 months of project finishes.

interior view

Hello, Gilbert!

Just a quick peek at my April project in progress::  I'm making the medium size open wide zipper pouch using Noodlehead's tutorial. I have the pieces all ready and hope to tackle the rest of it later this week.  

Also, I love my new machine!  :D It sews like a dream and I decided I needed to name it because I know we'll be pals for a  long, long time.

 Momm & I have twin machines now, so they had to have twin-type names to match.  ;)   

So my mine has been dubbed Gilbert (as in Anne of Green Gables) and it makes me smile every time I sit down to sew.  Momm's has been dubbed Gidget (as in Gidget Goes Hawaiian).  Can you tell we enjoy watching movies while we sew?  That's what makes it so much fun!

Finish A Long Q2 list

April seems to be zooming by already - for me it marks the end of the unscheduled weekend.  I'll be busy with Scout programs and workshops and such for the next few weeks.  Most notably, we're only 6 days away from the start of Quilt Week!  I'm so excited to see the show and see all the quilts at the AQS Paducah show!  

With that in mind, it's been hard to decide on a list for Quarter 2 of the Finish a Long.  I won't have time to sew during Quilt Week, and the end of the quarter hits right at Quilt Camp- my biggest program of the year.  Of course, I don't have anything small started at the moment so I'm going for the big quilt finish again this quarter and know it will help me make progress on my 2013 goal of finishing up the stack of quilt tops.

So without further ado, my Quarter 2 list::

1. Kaleidoscope Quilt:  I have the top complete already as it's a more recent project.  I still need to find backing for it and decide on how to quilt it, but can't wait for it to be finished!

finished top

2. Roman Stripe quilt:  Also a pieced top that needs backing, and finishing.  I have an idea on how to quilt this one already so hopefully it can be ready for some picnics this summer.

in progress blocks

3. Athena Puzzle Retreat quilt:  This top was made from the strips I won at the first Winter retreat.  I'm a bit embarassed to say I made the top and set it aside.  Oops.  I want to finish it up and be able to show it off at retreat next year - which will be the 5 year anniversary!!

finished top

Linking up at SheCanQuilt for Quarter 2 - come cheer us on over the next few months!

April goal setting

Whew - coming in under the wire for the Lovely Year of finishes Goal setting link up as well.  

It's been helpful the last couple of months to have the link-ups for extra motivation and inspiration!  This month I need a quick/easy project because I won't have much time for anything larger.  AQS Quilt Show here in Paducah is at the end of the month so it's crazy busy at work until after that's over!

I want to make a wide mouth zipper bag using Noodlehead's tutorial this month.  I made one for a Christmas gift and decided I want one for myself too!  :)  Here's an image of the one I made previously - can't have a post without pictures!  So that's my goal - be sure to cheer on all of us linking up.

last minute wrap-up finish

Just under the wire for my last Quarter 1 finish along project!  I wasn't sure this one would get finished in time, but my new machine meant the quilting went super fast.  There was just enough fabric left for binding and I caught up on Psych episodes and some Netflix to get that all wrapped up as well.

the start of the quilting

Several years ago when the top was finished, I purchased the green fabric for the backing.  When I pulled out this project to baste it a few weeks ago, I realized there wasn't enough of the green - apparently my quilt math wasn't so good in the past.  Ack.  So I raided the stash for enough fabric to make it work and decided to echo the design of the front.  This is the first time I pieced my label into the backing for my quilt as well and I really like how it looks.

detail-back

I quilted swirls into the top, straight lines in the yellow border and did circles (that look more like jelly beans) in the orange border with Aurifil thread.  It's bound in the same black fabric I used on my Summer Sampler and Cross Eyed binding and measures: 56"x82".I've called this the 'Psalm quilt' while working on it due to the white pieces that have verses from the Psalms written on them, and have no other idea for a name at the moment.  Perhaps it will remain the Psalm quilt.

backing

 I'm so excited to see this one finished after several years.  I'm proud to say I finished all 3 of the projects from my initial list.  Wahoo!   Linking up at She Can Quilt for the Quarter 1 finish party.   Then onto figuring out a list for Quarter 2!