stitch stitch stitch

I'm linking up my end of the month project for my August's Lovely Year of Finishes over at Fiber of All Sorts.  My original post can be found here and my goal was to quilt my Kaleidoscope quilt this month.  I'd happy to report that I got all the quilting done and have even started on the binding!

I FMQ back and forth lines in all the grey pieces and left the orange & raspberry triangles as is so they would stand out from the background.  I'm so happy with the way it looks all quilted!

Another quilt to add to the finish pile instead of the in-progress list.  Interested in joining the fun of finishing up some lingering projects?  Stop on by Fiber of All Sorts or Sew Bitter Sweet for Septembers link-up!

Also, this is my finish #2 for Quarter 3 of the Finish A Long at She Can Quilt.  My original list post can be found here.  So happy to have this one finished and ready to use.  :)

how I spent my summer - vacation part II

This summer was busy busy on the work front with Quilt Camp and Kids activities.  It was also fairly cool and rainy for a good portion of the summer and there wasn't as much pool time as I would have liked.  However, I did have some vacation time and with a fabulous partner in adventuring had a blast!  Hope you've had a fun summer dear readers and enjoy the holiday weekend!

kryptonite

super friends!

lots of rivers!

Studio B piano

Enjoy the adventure!

who's that girl?

Last week I was ready to get my pinwheel quilt basted so I can start figuring out how to quilt it until I realized that all, and I mean ALL, of my safety pins were currently in the Kaleidoscope quilt.  Clearly I needed to sit down and start quilting!

detail shot

I opted to quilt only in the grey triangles so that the orange & raspberry colors would pop and stand out more.  I FMQ back and forth lines across the grey spaces and really love how it looks.  While quilting I like to watch movies or TV shows to keep me occupied and I watched about 2/3 of New Girl.  It reminded me of why I liked the show when it first aired and was a great accompaniment to working on the quilt.  

This one will need a fun name so any suggestions are welcome!  I'll be working on names while finishing the last bits of FMQing and prepping the binding for this one.

That means all of those safety pins have been removed so now I'm ready to baste that Pinwheel beauty!  ;)

Sunday Snapshot #16

It's been awhile since my last Sunday Snapshot post - so here's one to tide you over until I update on my vacation adventures part II.

I mentioned back in this post - vacation part I - about the challenge quilts Momm & I had pulled out to finish.  After coming home I worked to to get the filler blocks put together - each of them use the same neutral background fabric.  

I kept with my outdoor theme and added in some Flying Geese, Bear's Paw tracks and Stars to complete the look of the quilt.  I love how all the strips came together to make a landscape; it's going to be fun to quilt this one - so many possibilities!

August link up

Wow - how can it already be August?!  Schools start this week here and that continues to throw off my end of summer/school year thoughts.  It's like I'm missing out on the rest of summer as I know it - not good.  I did have some vacation time off over the last week though so all is not lost.

I've been making some progress on the quilt front too and while still a bit undecided on how to quilt my kaleidoscope, this will be my August project for the Lovely Year of Finishes over at Fiber of All Sorts. I want to get it quilted - as it cannot be snuggled with all those basting pins in it!  Here's hoping I'll have it in the machine soon.

:: How I Started Quilting Blog Hop ::

Welcome to my stop on the How I Started Quilting Blog Hop, hosted by Cheryl at muppin.com.  I'm excited to be a part of this Hop and share some of my Quilt story with you.

As a child I did many sewing craft projects through Girl Scouts and for fun - both on the machine and by hand.  My mom & aunt did cross-stitch and I learned this skill and enjoyed making lots of different projects.  As a Scout I sewed all my badges on my uniform, made costumes for various events and had fun as a kid making friendship bracelets and hair wraps!

first quilted project

One summer in high school I spent a couple weeks with my aunt & uncle and was introduced to quilting - I've never looked back!  My aunt was a quilter and she thought it would be something I'd like to do while visiting.  We went to JoAnn's and looked at their block of the month packets for a fun pattern.  I came out with one of the monthly kits that included all the fabric pieces I'd need to make a 12" block.  We worked together to learn about sewing with a 1/4" seam, how to assemble the pieces into squares and rows and create the quilt sandwich.  I traced cookie cutters into the squares of the block and hand quilted it - my very first bit of quilting.

detail

I turned the block into a pillow that I proudly showed off to my mom after arriving home again!  I talked about how fun it was and how much I wanted to make another block/pillow to my mom over the following weeks that we bought some quilt books, fabric and I got Momm hooked on quilting too!   :)

When I went off to college I didn't have much time for quilting, but Momm joined the local guild, a mini group, took some classes and kept me updated on all the new things she was learning.  My first quilt resulted from being a part of the mini group when I was home on breaks.  We started a group challenge: we chose the Sister's Choice block and the colors had to come from a print that was given to everyone.  So we each made 9 blocks in our chosen layout and traded them around.  I pieced them into a top, machine quilted it and used store-bought binding (gasp!) to finish it.  

my first quilt!

This was finished in 2006 and since then I have been learning lots about quilts, making many tops and discovered the online quilting community.  I've made baby quilts, quilts to donate, gifted quilts for friends and am working to finish up some of the many quilt tops I've made in the mean time.  All told, I've been quilting for 15 years and Momm & I enjoy our quilt time together - constantly sharing ideas and projects and fabric.

fearless FMQ

My love of quilting has also taken me some great places - including my job!  I'm the Education Director at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY!  I'm in charge of children's quilt programs, teaching quilting and bringing in quilt teachers for adult workshops.  

I love sharing my love of quilting with others, being inspired by the exhibits and award-winning quilts in our collection and being able to advance my own skills as I continue to create quilts!

recent finish!

Thanks for reading along and hope you enjoyed my quilt journey beginnings.  Here's the lineup for the blog hop - be sure to visit all the stops on the Hop!

Aug 1. Cyndi Zacheis Souder -http://moonlightingquilts.wordpress.com/

Aug 2. Becky Glasby - http://bumblebzs.blogspot.com/     <- you are here!

Aug 3. Cheryl Sleboda - http://muppin.com/wordpress/index.php/blog/

Aug 4. Barb Forrister -http://www.barbforrister.com/category/blog

Aug 5. Jackie White - http://jabotquilt.blogspot.com/

Aug 6. Tracy Mooney - http://www.3littlebrds.com/

Aug 7. Lisa Chin -http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com

Aug 8. Laura Krasinski -http://laurakrasinskisartontherun.blogspot.com/

Aug 9. Catherine Redford - http://catherineredford.com/blog/

Aug 10. Sylvia Lewis - http://bunchberrystudio.blogspot.com/