Quarter 3 wishes

Whew- a whirlwind Q2 left me with 3/6 finishes so I'll be rolling over those remaining 3 to this Quarter [and adding loads more!].  Linking up at SloStudio for Q3!

project Disco: currently partially quilted so i need to plan a few blocks of quilty-time in my schedule

project Radar wave: basted  & needs a plan of action on the quilting

project Marsala-challenge: basted & needs a plan of action on the quilting

project Campfire: fabric pull with inspiration image on the background fabric as the beginnings for this quilt. It's a small challenge between Momm & I to make campfire inspired wall quilts using the same backing print.

project winter quilt: this came to be a quilt top at retreat in January, so now that it's July...maybe it could be finished before Christmas? Top is complete, so i better get searching for backing fabric & a quilting plan.

project mini: a new project I've got going because I just. can't. stop. :P I'm using the free Moda love pattern to make 16 blocks with 16 different mini charm packs. I've already got 1.5 blocks pieced & the rest of the charms ready to go.

project improv: this is still only a top, but I have backing & batting ready to go. Need a quilting plan

project Medallion: a sample for Junior Quilters club at work that I'd like to finish for my wall. Thinking of adding another border to bring it up to size- probably more improv style with that solid teal continuing outwards.

Project Snapshot

In the midst of prepping for Quilt Camp at work in June, I found out one of my coworkers was moving away - so what else can we do but plan a signature quilt to gift her before she moved?!

L & I tossed a few ideas out and then hit on using Polaroid blocks so that each staff member could choose a fabric to represent themselves. We had a grand time sneakily pulling people down the hall to the classroom where we set out our scrap bins for everyone. It was fun to watch each person dither over different prints before choosing the one that said 'this is me'. 

L & I stitched up the quilt and included two filler blocks using a mini charm of the Dogwood Trail II fabric as it represented Paducah & the Museum. The rest of the pack went into creating the back- a large Polaroid to act as our label.

back- complete with hanging corners

Once the top was complete we snuck down to the different offices and had everyone sign their name on their Polaroid blocks - such fun! Of course, the 'secret project' turned into a project that everyone except the recipient knew about, but we did manage to surprise her!

It was completed in about a week total since we had short notice, but we know it'll be a lovely reminder of her time at NQM & of all of us who will miss her when she moves. Linking this finish up at CrazymomQuilts for Finish It Up Friday!

mini charm overload

This quilt is my last Q2 Finish - I managed 3/6 which is awesome since this is my busiest quarter.

I've wanted to try a post stamp style quilt, but really wasn't sold on cutting so many tiny squares to make it happen. Enter the mini charm! My favorite pre-cut size for sure as they are great to tuck in a stocking, use as a pillow treat or send in some happy mail envelopes.

But what to do with all those mini charms that stack up? Of course! If I used mini charms as the base for my post stamp quilt there would only be half the amount of 2.5" squares to cut: score! So I paired a good mix of mini charm packs with this bold Kona Glacier solid and went to work stitching squares into blocks (starting at quilt retreat:2014) and then blocks into a quilt top.

Once the top was together I went hunting backing fabric and found several remnants of this Feather Scallops by Zandra Rhodes for Free Spirit print at Hancock's. I pieced those with some solids from my stash that coordinated and had an epic basting session where I actually pinned it from the back. It was a little tricky, and did require some flipping to make sure I hadn't wrinkled the quilt top at all.

Basting from the back meant I could follow the clamshell type shapes on the feather print for my quilting which was a first for me. I used an Aurifil thread that matched the solid fabric in the bobbin and a grey Aurifil in the top thread to blend on the backing. Quilting came in two parts - I did all the line on the feather print that I could follow, then used a marking pen to draw lines in the solid fabrics so the pattern wouldn't be interrupted. It went very smoothly despite all of the seams on the front! 





This one has been sitting on the Finish Along list for a few quarters (original Q2 post) so I'm happy to have it finished and draped over the back of the couch. Linking up at Slo Studio for Q2 finishes.

Quilt of Valor

Momm and I worked together to create a Quilt of Valor for my Uncle! He served in Vietnam and we wanted to make him something special and full of love to honor that.
We discussed ideas back & forth, pulling Dad into the discussion too! before deciding on this off-set star pattern. We both raided our stashes for all of the blues & reds & white - seriously all of that came from stash fabrics!

Momm pieced it together and brought it down to me, so of course we went looking for backings at Hancock's of Paducah and found a fun star print. Then we discussed quilting designs and I threaded up my machine. There are loopy stars in the blue, stipple in the red and some straight echo lines in the white. The quilting was fun and I used 40 wt. Aurifil threads in coordinating colors so it would stand out a little more.

I managed to finish the quilting right before Momm's visit during Quilt Week so we were able to use the leftover backing fabric as binding and finish the quilt before Momm went home. It was gifted with a hug in Quilt of Valor fashion to my Uncle & he loved it! Hooray! So happy we were able to put this together and honor his service in such a special way.

This was on my original Quarter 2 Finish Along list so check it off the list - linking up at SloStudio for Q2 finishes.

what I'm working on now

So May has come and gone without much of a peep over here. I've made some behind the scenes progress though!  
I already had my Disco quilt basted and am currently working out a plan for quilting it. now it just needs som of my free time to get this one going.

Matched up and choose backings for several other quilt tops and got those ready too. I used up most of my pins basting these smaller quilts - my Marsala color challenge quilt ::

::and my Radar wave quilt. 

Then I remembered the unopened packages of pins sitting in my sewing room! I ripped them open and ended up basting a fourth quilt also- my post stamp charm quilt. This one I basted from the backing, as I'm going to try out following the fabric design on the back with my quilting. Will let you know how that goes. 

*Edit: Post stamp quilt basted from the back. 

I've got plenty to keep me occupied for the near future - so stay tuned!

Use the Force

Excited to share with you dear readers my finished mini quilt for the #maythe4thmqs swap on instagram. After the initial inspiration mosaic was posted, my partner also expressed a love of bright fabrics and inspiration struck! My thoughts went right to Andy Warhol style pop art so that's what I tried to capture in the quilt. 

I drew the outlines/faces on paper first, then copied them onto fusible web before ironing the fusible to the fabrics. It was fun choosing color combos and prints to use for each square. I zig-zag stitched around each element in a matching thread to make sure they stayed in place before free motion quilting different designs in each background.

I also made a triangular zipper pouch & the photo shows both sides, since I used a different fabric for each side- one rebel, one empire. 

My quilt went winging off to Australia and was happily received by my swap partner. Phew! It was hard to part with but I'm eagerly stalking my mailbox to see what shows up for me. 

Linking up at RedLetterQuilts for my April OMG finish too. 
Linking over at Crazymomquilts for Finish it up Friday as well.
Linking at SloStudio for Quarter2 finishes - original Q2 list found here.

Quarter 2 Hopes

I'm happy to say I completed 6/10 projects from my Q1 list! Hooray! I'll be a busy-bee this quarter so the list is a little shorter this time around. Linking up Q2 with our illustrious team of hosts.

Here's my list of hopes for Q2 - linking up with the Finish Along hosts.

Quilt for G - tag-teaming this w/Momm and she made the top, so I've got it basted and am ready to quilt!

#maythe4thmqs Instagram mini quilt swap
this has been a lot of fun to create and it needs fusing/applique & then quilting....use the force....

Radar Wave quilt

Disco

 Charm stamps

 Marsala