2017 Finish Along Q1

Another year means another list of WIPs to finish! I'm joining in with the Finish Along again - making this the 5th year I've participated in this awesome link-up! It really helps me keep motivated and focused on working my way through the stack of WIPs in my sewing room.

All of these projects have rolled over from last year but I'm ready to get sewing on these and start enjoying them as finished quilts. Linking up at Charm About You to kick off the 2017FAL!


project Disco:: 2/3 quilted, then needs binding

 project medallion:: top needs an extra border, then quilting

project pineapples:: only blocks right now, top needs to be pieced, then quilted

project marsala:: basted, needs to be quilted

project improv:: ready to baste the pieces & quilt!

project radar wave:: basted, needs a quilting plan

A Year of Quilting :: 2016 recap

Happy New Year! Here's a round-up, look-back on my year in quilting:

going away Snapshot quilt for K

My quilt journey in 2016 covered a lot of ground.  I finished a total of 15 quilts (with many sample tops, blocks & other sewing projects in addition to that number). I also participated in the #30daysofquiltdesign prompt which was a lot of fun.

Park Bench block table topper

13 of those finishes were a direct result of participating again in the Finish Along which I find provides great motivation in working on those lingering WIPs. I've also been working to connect with the online quilt community more through Instagram, swaps & quilty link-ups like Finish It Up Friday.

Star Wars mini swap 

2016 saw my first mini quilt swaps and I had a blast participating in the #maythe4thmqs Star Wars theme & the #quietplayswap on #qpteamlove :: both via Instagram. 

circle of love swap

Both of these swaps challenged my color/design senses and I so enjoyed stretching my creativity.  Plus, the quilts I got in return were spot-on amazing!

 

Making a quilt to gift really captures the Joy of quilt making and I'm happy to have gifted a couple this last year. Firstly, Momm & I made a Quilt of Valor for my Uncle which was a fun collaborative project. I also got to try out Aurifil 40 wt. threads for quilting and love how they add extra texture. Then I stitched a whimsical butterfly baby quilt for a best friends new baby girl! 

Butterfly Dance for baby M

Quilt of Valor for G

Not only do I quilt for my own enjoyment & creative outlet; it's also my day job! I work at the National Quilt Museum and teach quilting to those around me in all sorts of ways!  #bestjobever  It's been such a joy to teach the next generation of quilters though programs like our annual Quilt Camp & our monthly Junior Quilters club & school group tours.  The kids constantly impress me with their designs, color choices and interest in the art of quilting. I also took a class with Victoria Findlay Wolfe and will be hanging and exhibit of our Educational youth program quilts later this month!

Quilt Camp samples - ready for the kids to arrive!

We had two Staff challenges at work - the first was to help celebrate our 25th anniversary year by making a quilt with unexpected materials. Mine was made with black batting, zippers, zip pulls, tulle & vinyl - even the binding!

Zip It quilt

The second challenge was to use fabrics from one of the Frivol tins by Moda and to create something with them. My entry uses Frivol #9 to make the feathers, so they dance in the wind across the quilt & I call it Scherzando.

Scherzando 

Big Bear quilt

Whew - what a fun year of quilting! I'm looking forward to 2017 and all of the stitching fun awaiting me in my sewing room (and office).  Cheers!

Jingle Jangle

Merry Christmas! It's such a joy to have a long vacation and to be home with family for the holiday! There's a good base of snow on the ground and it's been cold enough to keep it around so we'll have a white Christmas this year. :)

Christmas at home includes baking cookies & our traditional cherry holiday cake; cooking our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Polish city chicken with all the sides; lots of laughs and hugs and fun! The family tree glows at night and is loaded with ornaments- each one has a story from our travels, events, adventures through the years.  

Wishing you a Christmas season that's merry & bright!

Butterfly Dance

Allow me to show off my latest finish readers - Butterfly Dance! 

This quilt is intended for my best friend's new baby girl and I can't wait to send it their way. 

I reorganized the Butterflies quilt design from Angela Pingel's book A Quilters Mixology so that it was more baby sized. Originally I wanted to use a blue background so it would look like the sky, but while at Hancock's Momm & I found this perfect purple Moda Grunge that picked up all the colors I intended to use for the butterflies!

The pink, orange, purple & yellow prints chosen for the butterflies came from my stash and have a mix of favorites. Piecing the curves is fairly quick and not too tricky - for me, it's cutting around the templates that is the most tedious part of curved piecing.

I used a variegated thread for maybe the first time: Aurifil 3840: to outline the butterflies and then free motion quilt the windy swirls, as well as my signature bee! You can also see the variegated thread in this super close up shot.

The small butterflies are left unquilted on the insides and for the medium & large ones I used coordinating Aurifil colors to stitch wing lines.

Backing fabric is Feather Scallops in Berry by Sandra Rhodes for Free Spirit. Binding is the same as the background fabric and I machine finished it to the front. Quilt measures: 35.5" x 47.5"

Backing detail

It's ready to ship out and I hope baby M loves it forever!

This is another finish from my Quarter4 list for the 2016FAL and linking up at SloStudio for the finale of the 2016FAL.  Also linking to CrazyMomQuilts for Finish it Up Friday. 

Giveaway Day with SewMamaSew

Update 12/13:: Giveaway winner is Tamie & has been notified! Thanks to everyone who visited & entered.

Hi friends - welcome to Buzzing Around!  Here you'll find updates about my quilting projects & adventurings!  My quilting style is full of bright colors, I love to try new techniques & quilting is also my day job - where I get to teach people of all ages about quilt making.

It's Giveaway Day over at Sew Mama Sew - everyone's favorite day(week) this time of year! 

Today I'll be offering what's pictured below:

- Grand Canal mini charm

- Poppy Mae mini charm

- 3 pack of Moda Merit Badges

How to Enter:: 

Leave a comment telling me what project(s) you are currently working on!

Details:: You don't need to be a follower to enter - but feel free to join if you'd like to see more! Winner will be chosen by random and notified by December 14, 2016. Giveaway is open through Sunday, December 11, 5pm PST.

Have fun entering all the wonderful giveaways!

Sunday Snapshot #26

Happy mail arrived this week! These are the swapped blocks I received as part of the #pineapplequiltblockswap & I love the colors I got back in exchange. Thanks to all who made blocks - it'll be fun turning these happy pineapples into a quilt!

Celebrate

What I love about making quilts is the love and care and effort that goes into each one. When those quilts are gifted - all of that love and care gets passed onto the recipient. After reading Megan's latest post (canoeridgecreations) about collecting blocks for fallen police officers - I knew I had to make some. Here are my 2 blocks ready to send so they can become quilts full of love and hugs for those who need them most.

Another one of my mini finishes from my Quarter 4 FAL list is my Celebrate quilt! This was my word of the year a couple years ago (yes-this quilt was waaay late) and I came up with this idea to *ha* celebrate it in a quilt. :)

I cut out the letters and raw edge appliquéd them to the quilt. Then I free motion quilted with Aurifil 2415 40 wt. to add events/moments from throughout the year in the rest of it. Such a fun year! Linking this up at SloStudio for the finale of the 2016FAL.

This past weekend I got my act together in sewing sleeves on some quilts and pulled out the 3M hooks so I could *finally* hang up my mini quilts on the wall of my sewing room. This is a small portion of the wall - right above my cutting table. Having these up changes the look of my room and I absolutely love looking at them every time I enter the room! Linking up with Finish It Up Friday at CrazyMomQuilts.

::Quilts shown::

Top quilt- Tour de France, L-R: Celebrate, B! mini, Quiet Play circle of love swap, Bottom L: squid from Caohagan Island quilters