Quarter 3 FAL list

Time to link up my Quarter 3 list of the Finish-Along hosted by On the WindySide. I'm going to be ambitious again this time around for my list because I like options & never know which project I'll want to pull out next. This will definitely keep me busy for more than Quarter 3 but it'll be lots of fun in the process! 

In no particular order, Quarter 3:: (#105 on the linkup)

Tour de France quilt - partially quilted  - *update: finished
 Finishing the quilting is my July ALYOF goal, and then i'll need to choose some binding.  Le Tour runs through July 26 this year & I hope to finish this one in time.

Big Bear - Top
 Needs backing, quilting & binding so I can put him up on the wall when winter rolls around.

Improv quilt - Top
  Rolling over from previous lists.  :)  Still needs backing, quilting (the tricky part on this one!) & binding. 

Disco - Top
 Quilt top I made at retreat using Jaybirds Disco pattern & fabrics from Architextures & Botanics! Needs backing, quilting & binding.

 Science Fair - Top
 Another Jaybirds pattern! Needs backing, quilting & binding.

upside down on the design wall

Marsala quilt - Top
  It was fun to design this one! Took some coordinating colors and design elements from inspiration on Pinterest then I pulled fabrics that were already in my stash, free cut the curves & machine appliquéd the two triangles.  Sadly, I goofed on this one and missed the linkup for the Pantone Challenge.  :(  I would like to finish it up though so it also needs: backing, quilting & binding.

Mini Charm Stamps - blocks
 These blocks are ready to stitch into a top, then backing, basting, quilting & binding. This quilt grew out of my obsession collection of mini charm packs and the desire to make something with them. (and not just let them stack up on the shelf...) I chose a postage stamp style quilt because I wouldn't need to cut all of the 2.5" squares myself!  ;) 

Split 9 Patch - blocks - *update: finished!
I made one 15" block as a sample for my Junior Quilter club at work as they make a lap quilt. Then, once they got started, I wanted to make more blocks and have a finished quilt myself this time around! Mine are each one color per block with a value split on the diagonal. Thinking this will end up at 9 blocks and may even be a quick(ish) finish.

Tour de France

One of my favorite summer things to do is watch/follow the Tour de France cycling race each July. It's inspiring to watch the riders climb up mountains and zoom through the cities in France, Belgium & the Netherlands. The countryside is always spectacular and it invigorates me to get out on m bike more. 

So le Tour has also inspired me to (what else) make a quilt! I took a stage profile from the 100th Tour and cut it out of custom TdF fabric from Spoonflower.  The background is made up of fabrics representing the 4 main jersey colors in the race: White for best young rider, Green for sprint points, Polka Dot for best mountain climber & Yellow for the leader (best overall time)  of the race. It's more of a table runner size, but I'll probably hang it on the wall once it's complete.

My July ALYOF goal is to finish quilting this! I did straight lines through the profile so the print elements could be seen clearly. The doodles in the picture are drawn on a clear transparency sheet which helps me decide on a design before stitching. I want to keep it related to each of the jerseys & to cycling if possible.  Linking up at Fiber of All Sorts with this one. 

June finishes

Happy last day of June! This month went fast - mostly due to Quilt Camp the last 2 weeks at work. 57 kids learning & making their own quilts! Really fun and exciting to see their combinations of colors & prints.

I did manage to get my June goal finished too - hooray! My goal was to quilt the sort-of secret baby quilt and I'm happy to report that it is quilted, bound & labelled. 

Here's a small snippet since I can't reveal the whole thing yet; but it's ready to be hand-delivered in August! I chose to machine bind it for ease and *hopefully* durability. Linking up at Fiber of All Sorts for the June ALYOF goals.

This one is also a finish for the Q2 Finish-Along 2015 hosted by On the Windy Side. I'm linking up there too, so here's my original list for Quarter 2.

WIP :: 6/17/15

This WIP has been a few months in the making and I am excited to finally share. Linking up at Freshly Pieced this week for WIP Wednesday.
 One of the big projects for my job is to run our annual Quilt Camp for Kids! It's a tough time at the day job when I get to teach kids how it quilt. haha   ;)

During the next 2 weeks, over 50 kids, ages 7-17, will make their own quilts and learn some great quilt skills: using sewing machines, learning to rotary cut, paper piecing, and more! Each of the 4 sessions is 2.5 hours each day for 4 days, and there are 3 different skill levels: Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced.

Having 3 different levels means 3 different projects and samples that I get to test out! Seriously, the Best. Job. Ever. I have a great group of volunteers & coworkers that help me get everything cut, ready & that help each day of Camp. We started yesterday with 20 kids in the morning class & 20 kids in the afternoon class - so it can be a little chaotic at times- but always fun!

The Beginner projects are these fun Banners/flags - I was inspired by this quilt by Svetlana over at S.O.T.A.K handmade. Here's the sample I made, but the camper quilts will have a bright sky, blue background instead of the grey.

The Intermediate group will learn rotary cutting skills and be making this woven block found at Quilters Cache.

Finally, the Advanced group will be paper piecing and turn this awesome Circle Flying Geese block by piecebynumber into an 18" pillow.

Can't wait to see all of the finished quilts as this is always my biggest WIP this time of year. It's great to see how much fun the kids have learning and making quilts and how quickly they pick it up, so my current motto fits these 2 weeks really well: "World domination, one Quilter at a time!"

June:: the sort-of-secret-quilt

Happy June readers! Summer is here and there has been a lot to keep track of lately. I'm popping in today to get my June goal in for A Lovely Year of Finishes over at Fiber of All Sorts. My goal this month is to finish up the quilting on the baby quilt I'm making for L&D who just had a baby boy. Yay!

This quilt has been basted for about a month now, patiently waiting for me to have some time to quilt. I've pulled some coordinating Aurifil threads to work on this one and it should be a quick quilt to quilt. (say that five times fast!) 

I can't reveal too much of this project yet, as I'm keeping it secret until it's gifted. As my post title hints, it's only sort-of-secret since L&D know I'm making a quilt, but haven't seen fabrics/colors/design at all. This one will be such fun to deliver in person! Aren't baby quilts the most fun to make & gift?! :)

sneak peek!

May Finishes

Nothing like a deadline and a goal to get me to my sewing room. These will be gifts in the coming weeks so they had to be done. It helped to make my May goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes to make both of these oval bags & here's my goal-setting post. It's always fun to choose fabrics I think the recipients will love.  

 This one is a graduation gift for a music lover! I had fun going through my music fabric stash to pick just the right combo.

Number two is a moving gift for one of the girls in a program I run at work. Hopefully she'll like the bright butterflies as much as I do!

**Edited 5/20/15:: pattern is from Aneela Hoey when it was a free tutorial, now available for sale in her shop.

Linking Up: 
Fiber of All Sorts for ALYOF:MAY
CrazyMomQuilts for Finish It Up Friday
A Quarter Inch from the Edge with TGIFF

Neon Mosaic Contest: #2

Stitched In Color is hosting another one of her fab fabric mosaic contests and I had to participate. This one is "Nuanced Neon" and I think you'll need sunglasses to view all the neon filled entries. Once you get started it's really hard to stop creating new fabric stacks with the mosaic maker. I like to place them just right in the layout. This time I decided to tone down the neon with the more grounded teal & grey, without losing the eye catching pop of the neon itself. A little less eye-smarting.  (Check out my first entry here: Dino-Brite!)

Here's my second entry & I call it: Curiouser