Finish A Long : Quarter 1

My main quilty goal for this year is to work on finishing up some of my UFOs/WIPs.  There are a number of them waiting patiently to become a real quilt.  ;)   To help keep me motivated, I'm joining in on the 2013 Finish A Long over at SheCanQuilt, so here's my First Quarter list. 

1. Summer Sampler Quilt
I participated in this a couple summers ago and loved working on the blocks.  I have the backing and binding all-ready to go, so I need to bring it to work with me to baste on the table space.

2. Psalm quilt
This is a quilt I made for me using some lovely batiks and the Yellow Brick Road pattern.  It's sat for several years as just the top and backing fabric, so now it's time to finish this one up too.  I find it amusing that it was the first of three quilts I pieced with this pattern, but the last to be finished!

3. I have these great X and + blocks from a Flickr swap last year that are calling to be made into a completed quilt.  Not sure if I want to make 2 smaller pieces out of these, so we'll see how it turns out!



Short list, but they will involve some massive wrangling on the machine.  Wish me luck!

a look back on 2012

Happy New Year!

Here's a look at what I finished in 2012.  As I went through my photos I was impressed with all I've gotten done in the last year.  

I'm making some plans/goals for 2013 and really want to finish up some of my WIPs.  I have a handful of quilt tops that are ready to baste & quilt and really want to see them ready for snuggles.  Hoping to stay motivated on the WIP finishes by joining the Finish A Long over at She Can Quilt this year.  It's hard to pick a favorite from the year - so just enjoy.  :)

the quilts

I tackled a new skill this year - sewing with zippers!  I loved every one I've put in so far and have even taught it to my Junior Quilters.  I know there will be more of these in the upcoming year too.  I also tried out curves on a test block and want to spend more time with those as well.

Pictured here: my first zipper ever, an iPad case and mug rugs.  So much fun.  

front

Finally, as it was a Christmas gift, the quilt for J - Pixelated Blues!
  
It was well received and destined for lots of snuggles.  The binding uses the darkest & lightest fabrics and frames it up nicely. 

back

The back has a stripe of the gradated colors with two shades of grey. It really shows off the quilting- a large X through the center and echoed lines all the way out to the edges using dark, medium & light grey threads.

back detail

I'm linking up over at Lily's Quilts for the Fresh Sewing Day and the Small Blog Meet Up today! come check out all the great updates and inspirations!

elf projects

Here's a look at the zip bags I made for gifts this year.  I didn't want to post them earlier and give away the surprise since the recipients sometimes check out new posts.  ;]

**fair warning, this post is picture heavy

It was exciting to figure out fabrics for each person and try out some new tutorials.  I also made turtle bark and put some in each envelope before mailing these zipps out to friends.

all of them together!

Just ignore the fact that I'm addicted to the oval box bag tutorial - I just couldn't stop making them!

I made zip pulls for each with a charm and beads. This one's for C so, of course, the charm is a crown! This print is so fun in everything I've used it in.

Next up was this coffee themed one for L! Her charm was a sea shell to remind her of the beach and I really love the colors.

 

It was a bit trickier to find fabric for S but I really hope she likes it! I loved this one too and used a heart charm for the zip pull.

front

Next up, my first triangle bag for Snaps - in the coolest fabric ever! I love these llamas and used the matching Peruvian blanket fabric from Laurie Wisbrun for the inside. Her charm is a turtle.   :D

 


Then I made one for L after pulling her school colors!  Hers also got a sea shell charm and I dropped it by her desk this week to lots of smiles.

Lastly, I had extra time on my hands since my flight home was cancelled due to high winds & storm.  My apartment is super clean now with all that extra time and while catching up on Psych episodes I tried my hand at the wide mouthed bag tutorial.  

It was lots of fun to make! I used scraps to piece the outside panels and used a fun Snoopy fall-themed print for the lining.  I also fussy cut Snoopy for the zip tab. Momm loves Fall and I thought this bag would be perfect for her.  Especially since she hasn't tried this tutorial yet!

Well, that's all of the homemade gifts I made this year and I hope everyone loves them as much as I do.  Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas today!  Hope there's lots of cheer and smiles and good memories being made.

WIP :: 12/19/12

the one with the list!

mosaic pillow sample

A few weeks ago I sat down to write up a list of my in-progress projects.  As the year winds down I thought it'd be good to list them up here and work on finishing some of these up in 2013!
It doesn't seem *too* overwhelming so that's a good thing to start off with in the new year.


Completed tops::
Birthday Swoon
Summer Sampler
Roman Stripe
Psalm quilt
Labyrinth
Pinwheels
Pointless Wonder


Still in progress::
GS Quilt
Strip quilt 
Momm's strip quilt
Sunflower applique
Hawaiian applique blocks

Meanwhile, I finished up my sample for a new Junior Quilter project at work.  I'm excited for the girls to work on these pillows.  It uses the ticker tape method and scraps from our bins - win/win!  It was really fun to make and think they'll have fun with it too.

 

Friday Fun

I've spent the last couple nights working on this cute little wall hanging and am excited to see it all finished!  It's a going-away gift for a co-worker who is moving to a new job - I hope she likes it.  

HSTs in progress while watching the Santa Clause

It was fun to choose the fabrics and make the quilt- the block is the Ribbon Star from my Quick & Easy Block Tool.  I love this tool because it gives you multiple sizes for each block so you don't have to over think. I machine quilted inside each star with a matching thread, then used white for the rest of the outline quilting.  I machine bound it as well - I'm getting better at that for small projects.

Also in the works for the weekend- a couple more zip bags (at least one of them another oval box bag from Aneela's tutorial).  These will be gifts and I can't show them here yet.  ;)  Always nice to plan sewing projects for friends!
 

measures approx. 16" x 16"

I'm linking up with Finish it Up Friday!  Also linking up over at Friday Felicities!

Christmas Cheer

Happy December!  I'm already counting down the days left of work before my vacation (12 for anyone interested).  It doesn't feel like December here - this week it's been in the upper 60s/70s so far and that makes it hard to think about candy canes, snow angels and such. 

This year I got my first tree (artificial) and was able to clean enough this weekend to be able to put it up.  I love it!  I carried on tradition by watching White Christmas while putting on the ornaments, each tied on with red yarn.  In our house, our ornaments are keychains or tickets or something from places we've been or things we've done so each one has a story and it's fun to pull them out each year and remember where we got it!  

I have my own small collection of ornaments now that I have my own place and enjoyed putting them on the tree.  Some favorites include: a vacuum tube from my first job, a Toblerone candy bar keychain from our trip to Switzerland, guitar pick from Nashville and an Anne doll from PEI.  The only problem once they are on the tree and you want to find a specific one - it takes ages to spot it!

I also got some other decorations out and was relieved to see that I had enough candles for my Advent wreath this year.  I couldn't find any tall purple or pink candles the other day.  I also drove through the park to see the light display and found a Christmas music radio station.  Now that the tree is finished, I want to make a tree skirt for it - we'll see how that progresses!  It's nice to sit with a book or my computer by the glow of the Christmas tree so here's to you taking time to do the same. :]