Update on the Super Nova Quilt

I am taking a class on how to lay out and sew together my Super Nova quilt.  I ran into some problems and had to recut some pieces on Block set C, but I have finished the set. I have now finished sets A-D for a total of 20 blocks out of 40. Half way done but I have worked on this  a LOT. I mean a really BIG LOT. Probably 15 hours a week for 9 weeks. Now that I think about it, I haven't done much else. 

Here are the pictures of the finished blocks so far

I am hoping to get new pictures in the next few days. I am really happy with the way this project is moving. I am not going to make the mid-January finish date, but I am going to keep at it until it is done. I am watching every episode of Once Upon a Time, then moving on to something else. I love my new Roku.

My I Do and Heartstrings Quilts Plus a Finished Top

This is the I Do Quilt from Cherry House Quilts that I had taken a class on like 3 years ago.

I have all the pieces cut and have started to applique the circles. I had decided that I didn't like the look of the 6 min circle on Cherry House Quilts blog because the circle didn't "poof" out of the fabric just sunk below the fabric. I don't care for machine applique either. So I decided to hand applique all the 40 some 4" circles. I asked for the pain and I got it. I love the look of the hand applique and I only have about 8 circles left (Yeah!). I hope to have the circles completed by the middle of January. 

Here are the pieces laid out by row in stacks.

I have also been working on another class quilt called Heartstrings by Black Mountain Quilts. I changed this quilt by changing the background to a dark red and making it a queen size. I think I still have 10+ blocks to make.  This is another quilt I need to dig out and work on. I put the quilt up on the design wall at my quilt shop to see if I like the dark red background. It looks okay. It is actually a Kaffe Fassett shot cotton with red and purple threads so it has an iridescent look to it.

This is a finished top from a class I took in October. It is a beginner foundation piecing class taught by Carl Hentsch. The class was very good, but my fabric choices were HORRIBLE! I didn't think about which pieces would be dominant in the finished project. I really wanted the brown stars to stand out in the yellow. My main quilting teacher gave me the idea to quilt the pink fabric with purple thread and quilt the purple fabric with pink thread. It might tone both fabrics down enough to make the quilt tolerable. I have several small quilts I need to sandwich and quilt, so we will see if it works then.

Here is the not so pretty quilt

The Saga of the Snowball Nine Patch

So if you don't know much about me and my quilting, I have to change something about every quilt to make it mine. I usually make it larger, change the coloring, change the layout, add difficult borders, etc...

To sum up the Snowball Nine Patch quilt photos so far...

Blocks

Center

On the snowball quilt I decided I would add 2 borders. One small inner and one larger outer border. I found the Jo Morton Ladies Head fabric and had to use it so I decided to fussy cut it to add this super special zing to the quilt. Great plan right? Here is the up close photo of the border corner.

So the fussy cut side border worked great, but I had to fudge the top and bottom because it didn't quite match up, which looks okay to me. My problem is that when I put the smaller red 3/4" border, the girls weren't long enough and I didn't have enough fabric to re-cut them. My quilting teacher came up with the corner stone idea and I think it works pretty good. It is not what I planned, but it turned out okay. I don't think it is the best thing I have made, but it works. 

Here is a picture of the entire top.

Super Nova and My New Look

I have been working on my blog the last couple of days to update it. I wanted to put up some information about my projects so I will continue to work on my problem ones instead of shoving them in the corner. Part of my plan to help motivate me.  Seeing the step by step pics of the projects are already giving me the drive to finish them.

The main project I am working on in my sewing room is a large foundation piecing project. I took an advanced foundation paper piecing class from my local quilt store (Harper's Fabrics). Carl Hentsch from 3 Dog Design Co. was teaching his pattern Super Nova. I would like to finish it by the middle of January, but I don't think I am going to make it. It takes a lot longer than I thought it would. I knew it would be time consuming, but geesh. I work on it about 3 hours a day and I am not giving up yet.

I decided to do the coloring a little different on my quilt, so I had to recolor and recalculate the fabric usage and cutting. I ran into a snag because one of the blocks had an error in the piece size on the pattern. I have to resize and recut some of my pieces, so it has stalled me a bit. I skipped over that block and moved on to the next set. 

This is a picture of the block A pieces about ready to put together. The pattern has blocks A-I with a total of 40 blocks.

This is a picture of blocks A and B layout. 8 blocks down.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.