One Flower Wednesday

Time for the newest set of One Flower Wednesday flowers. I made 3 this week, but more importantly, I put several on the garden. Here is a pic of the 3 newest flowers.

Here is a pic of the garden to date. I went from 19 in the last garden pic to 28 in this garden pic. I didn't think I was making much progress, but I was pleasantly surprised when I counted them up. So in 4 weeks I put 9 new flowers on and made 18. Go me!

So the count is 3 new flowers, 9 completed flowers, and 9 new flowers on the garden.

One Flower Wednesday

It has been a couple of hectic weeks, but I am finally back on a schedule. I have finished 4 flowers in the last week, that brings the count to 10 flowers finished but not put on the garden. I am going to have to find a middle ground of finishing flowers and sewing them on the quilt. I also wanted to thank everyone for the comments on my posts. It is very inspirational to read them and keeps me plugging along on this project. I am so happy I joined the One Flower Wednesday group. A big thank you to Karen for organizing this group.

Now to the picture. I tried a new technique on taking my pictures, which failed horribly. The picture is fuzzy, but you can see the flowers okay. I think my favorites are the orange butterflies, and the zig zag stripe. They are probably some of my overall favorites so far. I will be going on a road trip this weekend, so hopefully I will have a new picture of the garden with several flowers added next week. Until next week, have a great Memorial weekend.

One Flower Wednesday

Checking in for my One Flower Wednesday posting. I have finished three flowers. If I keep at this rate, I might be done in 7 years instead of 12 years, lol. Nothing has changed on the completed flower garden piece this week.

One Flower Wednesday

Finally my camera works and I can post my first One Flower Wednesday progress report, yeah! This is a picture of two weeks of work on my flower garden. Since wednesday is probably my busiest day of the week, I work a little on Tuesday and Wednesday night when I am ready for bed. I am hoping to start posting regular weekly posts on Thursday morning.

This next photo is of my progress so far of my flower garden put together. You can see I am adding the yellow flower on the bottom right next. I pin a few flowers in and take a picture to see what looks best together. Since I am not waiting to arrange them on a design wall, It is the best way to make sure that I don't put two colors or fabrics next to each other. I am trying to make this a charm quilt with each flower different, but with 500 flowers it might not work. I only have about 470 more flowers to go.

This is the next set of fabrics I need to cut into squares for my flowers. After I cut these I think I will be pretty close to my 500 different fabrics for my flowers. Lots of cutting ahead too.

Well that is it for the check in today. I started a new class last week that uses the most unusual fabric I have ever seen, aka ugly. I will try to post some pics of my finished blocks in the next few days.

My 1st Quilt Shop Bus Tour

I am sorry I haven't checked in lately. I have been very busy the last week. I went on my very first Quilt Shop bus Tour. It was 5 states, 3 days and 10 shops. What fun I had. We took a group shot at Material Girls in Nebraska. What a wonderful store. Here is the group pic

I will for sure go on another bus tour. I am thinking of one in the fall to Denver, one of my favorite cities. All the girls from Harpers ( local quilt store) have agreed to meet in 4 months to show the projects that they have finished with the fabric they bought. I am in trouble because the only fabric I bought was for a binding. I only have the top done, so I better get to quilting. Enough chatting, Now back to the grind.

Lots of work, not much show

These are the pics from the week. I feel like I have worked all week, but not much to show for it.

This picture is of about 2,000 - 2" squares. I have cut on them all week (about 20 hours total), but I only have about half of the squares I will need to finish the quilt. These are my squares for my Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt (English Paper Piecing). I have decided to make it at least a twin, but more if I have the fabric. I will stop when I run out of the background fabric, lol. Each flower will be a different 30's print, so I have been collecting past collections and charm packs for a while. I figured I need approximately 400 different fabrics for a twin. This picture shows about 150 flowers worth of squares. You can see a picture of the progress on the quilt in an older post.

These are the blocks from my Log Cabin quilt class. I finished 40 blocks for the quilt (36 for the quilt with 4 extra for design placement). They measure 12" finished size. I used a Kaffe Fassett Tangerine shot cotton (Pink and Yellow threads woven together) with strips from a strip club pack from Harpers. I will lay it out next week in class, so I will have pics then of the quilt put together (or MOSTLY put together).

This is the last pic of the week. I finally finished the center to my Popsicle Posies quilt from American Jane. I have the borders planned, but not cut. Hopefully I will get them cut next week.This next week I am hoping to get borders for 3 quilts cut. One is pretty complex with sashing strips and floating blocks, so it might take a while to complete. I am furiously basting hexagons to put together for my Grandmothers Flower Garden because I am going on a bus tour with Harper's (a local quilt shop). We are visiting 11 shops in 4 states in 3 days. I always take a hand project along to work on, but need to have the pieces ready (See all the squares above). I have most of my Mod Quads blocks done, only about 15 left. I also have about half of my Jacks be Quick blocks done. You can see the Mod Quads and Jacks be Quick pieces in a previous post. When I finish both sets, I will post some pics of them. In the mean time, I am making 2 dress and pants sets for my daughter. See why I said I have done a lot, but nothing to show for it?

Billiard Ball Pajamas

I recently made my daughter a set of pajamas from a pattern she picked out at Harpers (our local fabric/quilt store). It is a Kwik Sew pattern that is pretty easy. My daughter then picked the fabric from my stash. I was going to make pants for my husband, but Hannah said she had to have this fabric. My 4 year old now has the best pair of PJ's ever made.

My Life Long Projects

I have been working on some English Paper Piecing projects (EPP as some people call it).English paper piecing is where you have paper templates you baste the fabric to, then you hand sew the pieces together. So all of it is done by hand. After you surround a piece with other pieces, you can take the paper template out and reuse it for another piece. My favorite site is Paper Pieces. They have everything you would need to do English Paper Piecing. I work on them when I am in the car, waiting for appointments, or on long road trips.

I have two projects going. The first one is a grandmothers flower garden that is made using 3/4" hexagons. Each flower is approximately 4 inches wide. I am using a black dot that is fussy cut in the center, 30's reproductions for the flowers and 2 different greens for the borders. One of the greens is a Jo Morton fabric and the other is a Hoffman Leaf Green Blender Fabric.

The second one is a Pinwheel design using 1" half hexagons (they might be 1-1/2 inch). I am using Japanese Taupes for the colors and a creme dot Japanese Taupe for the "background" or constant in the quilt. Each pinwheel (blocks on the side) are approximately 7" wide.
I am not for sure how big I want these to be or how long I will work on them. I figured I would work on them until I get bored then finish them off. Since I can switch which one I work on, Each time I pick them up it is like a new project.

Next Round of Projects

The next few pics are of my next projects to finish. The first pic is of the pieces for a pattern called Mod Quads from Blue Underground. I have about 12 blocks finished but need to make like 70 more.

This is the pieces for my next class which is a curved log cabin. I precut the solid strips which I am doing in orange instead of black on the pattern. I always have to change something from the original.
These are the pieces for a strip club from Harpers titled Bow Ties. I started the pieces, but ran into problems not being able to tell the right side of my background because it is a batik. I am back on track now, so I hope to be able to layout in the next week or so.
These are the strips to a Harpers strip club titled Jacks be Quick. The pattern came from Cozy Quilts. Just strips so far, but the blocks will be coming shortly.

That is it for now. I have been out of town the last few days, so not much sewing going on. I will be posting some pics of my long term english paper piecing projects in the future as well as some garments I have been working on. Till then have a great week.

Finally Done, Yeah!

Here is the finished Day and Night quilt top. It is a huge quilt. I made a twin, but It is super long. It is at least 96" long. I have no idea what I will do with it. I do have some plans on how to quilt it. I think stitch in the ditch is probably the best way to show off the pattern the stars make.

This is my first log cabin quilt. It is more like a courthouse steps than a log cabin, but I still like it. I planned it around the Floragraphix IV line and I think it turned out breathtaking. I fussy cut the inner border from a stripe and then mitered both borders. I was 1 strip short from my fabric, so I had to do a search online to get the extra yard. I think having the mitered borders really works.

This is what the Mystery quilt pieces look like after 4 months. The blocks are starting to be put together (the bottom larger pieces) , but still no idea what to expect and we still have like 6 yards of fabric left to use.
This is the center for the Jo's Club "Autumn Crossings" which my teacher renamed "Midnight Trails". I have a border picked out and will post pics after it is put on.Hope all is well and I will be checking back in a few days with more Works in Process projects that I am trying to finish. I just pulled out 3 older projects to finish up, plus I start a new log cabin class in a couple of weeks. Here's to cleaning out the closets, Yeah!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been busy working on finishing up some projects. Here is the finished Day and Night by Eleanor Burns. The first picture is the kaleidoscope center. I need to add borders to this one. I am going to "float" little star squares around the outside using sashing strips.

The second picture is the main block center. It still needs 3 different borders to be put on.
The next picture is of a strip club from my favorite local quilt shop called Harpers. Every month you purchase a package of fabric and they give you a pattern to go with it. This is based on a free quilt pattern from Amy Butler called the Thea' s Puzzle quilt. I loved this pattern and it was so easy. I will probably do this one again.

This is one of my quilt class projects that focuses on Jo Morton and reproduction fabrics. It is a snowball nine patch made entirely of Jo Morton Fabrics. I still have to add borders, but I haven't picked the fabric yet.Well, that is what I have been doing. This week I am going to finish a quilt center called Popsicle Posies, My Jo's club "Autumn Crossings", and all of my blue dresden plate quilts. More pics to come of my Mystery Quilt pieces, Day and Night finished quilt top, and my log cabin finished quilt top.

Technical Difficulties

I was trying to post some new things but my picture hosting site is not working right now. I will try again to post things this weekend. The good news is I get a whole day of sewing tomorrow to get some things finished. I hope to have 2 quilt tops finished by the end of the weekend. Wish me luck!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

What a busy weekend

I have been working my tail off this weekend. I am trying to get some of my Works in Progress (Wips) done. I have finished my Stars on Point. It was a class from last fall that I missed the last session and never finished the quilt. Here is a Pic:



I needed to clean off my design wall so I could layout my Dresden Plate. Here is the center portion. It also needs a blue border around the entire quilt.

I am also trying to play catch up on my Mystery quilt. I have step 1 and 2 done but 3 and 4 aren't finished. Here are my pieces:

I am also working on my Civil War Tribute Quilt from Homestead Hearth in Mexico MO. I am way behind. I have 1 block finished on month 1 but have 3 months worth to catch up on. Here is the first block.

I am working on borders for my Thea's Puzzle (Amy Butler Free Pattern) Strip club pattern, borders for my Log Cabin (courthouse steps really), and both the main and kaleidoscope blocks center for my Day and night quilts. Hope to have pics of the finished projects soon.

Block #51 - Nearly Insane

Block #51 - This is the Yahoo Group Challenge of the week. I procrastinated on this block because I wasn't for sure how the outer anvil border went on. I simplified it and added two sides, then added the other two sides. I also changed the color scheme a little and made the anvils and posts the same color. I love the X look to it. I noticed after I took this picture that the block was a little large and I had no seam allowances. I had to take off the outer triangle units and trim down the anvil border strips. After I did that I had enough room for a seam allowance.

Progress this week

I have been working on quite a few older projects this week trying to make some room for new ones. I have finished the two different kaleidoscope blocks (half with purple, half with blue), and am pinning together to make a middle. I have finished all of the main Night and Day blocks and am pinning them for a middle. Here are the pics of the finished kaleidoscope blocks.

I have also been working on my Dresden Plate quilt. Here is one of the red blocks. I am over half way through completing the red ones. All I have left is to put the ric rack on the bottom of the blades.

Here is the beginnings of a Jo Morton snowball/nine patch doll quilt. I just have 16 more nine patches to make.

I have also been trying to keep up with my Farmers Wife and Nearly Insane Samplers. As well as working on previously mentioned Autumn Crossing which I have named Indigo X, my Mystery quilt, Civil War Tribute Quilt Block of the Month (only on month 1, just 2 months behind), and a class quilt top I need to finish called Stars on Point. I have been a very busy girl. I will try to get some pictures of the above mentioned projects in the next week. I would like to get Stars on Point, Borders on one of my Strip Club quilts, and my Kaleidoscope center done this next week. Wish me luck!

Block #33 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Block #33 - I really liked the yellow/orange I used in the last block, so I decided to use it again in this one. I think it turned out great.

Blocks #15 and #72 - Farmers Wife Sampler

Block #15 Buzzards Roost - I had to rip this one apart and redo it. The first try, I had about 2 inches difference in size between the sides and center portions.


Block #72 Railroad - This is a very busy block, but I really like it (even though the photo turned out funny).

Blocks #5 and #71 - Farmers Wife Sampler

Block #5 Bat Wing - Freezer Paper Template and hand pieced. I don't really like the points and the way they match up when you hand piece. I don't think they are as sharp as machine piecing.


Block #71 Puss in the Corner - Rotary cut and Machine pieced. I miscut the long rectangles, but otherwise, smooth as silk.

Block #74 - Nearly Insane Quilt

This is block #74 from the Nearly Insane Book, Challenge of the week for Blog Nearly Insane Quilt. I am a little disappointed because some of my points don't match up, but it turned out okay. I even used Thangles, but the half squares still didn't turn out quite right. Oh Well, better luck next time.

Quilts in progress

I am working on several projects right now that I switch back and forth on. Here are a few of them:This is "Jo's Little Women" "Autumn Crossing". These pieces become......

These blocks. I love how such a small amount of fabric make some spectacular things.


This is a block from my Dresden Plate I am making. It is from a book called Thoroughly Modern Dresden by Anelie Belden. I also used the Fast 2 Cut dresden blade template ruler. I loved them both. The ruler was well worth the $12. I used Sulky Blendables to machine blanket stitch the fans down, then put on the white ric rac. I will post pics of the blue and red blocks when I get one of each finished.

I am also working on Eleanor Burns Day and Night quilt. The book comes with a special template. The template makes this quilt super easy. Here is the main block (above).



This quilt eats fabric like no tomorrow, but you get these extra blocks that you can make 2 different other projects. I am actually going to combine them and add a couple of fabrics and make another twin sized quilt.

Block #46 - Nearly Insane Quilt

I am so proud of this block. It is my first COMPLETED ON TIME block of the week ever! Go me, yeah!

Blocks #1 and #8 - Farmers Wife Sampler

Block #1 Attic Window - I kind of messed this one up a little. I decided to drink while trying to use freezer paper templates for the first time. Mistake! I ironed the freezer paper to the right side and traced everything on the right side instead of the wrong side. You can see the tracing marks and they were hard to sew together. At least I learned why you do it the other way.

Hint/tip of the Day: Buy 18" freezer paper and cut it to 8 1/2" by 11" and print the templates on your printer. Way faster and more accurate than tracing everything from printouts.

Block #8 Bouquet - I used templates and hand pieced this block.