Summer Sampler, so far...a couple seasons behind!

There was absolutely no start to a new block last night, so I will just show you what I have finished to date. I hadn't looked at these blocks in a while [months] and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I really like them! I remember liking them before, but I guess I forgot how much! It is totally motivating me to get paper piecing some more!





I finished up this top last night. I kind of needed the design wall space, so I figured I should get crackin on it. The corners aren't sewn on in this photo because it was snapped at nap time. I am not brave enough to sew at nap time, it is for cutting & ironing only!




I really love it! Might have to make the backing this weekend, finish it up & get it in the hands of it's rightful owner...she is coming up on 5 months old now, so I am beyond 'fashionably late' at this point!

Swoon, Sparkles & Swap!

Well...let's see...I feel like there's lots to update you on this week!
I signed up for the Craftsy Block of the Month. It's free, so I am only going to do the blocks that appeal to me most, or that will teach me something new. They will most likely be made with Modern Meadow & added to my 'summer sampler' quilt, which is turning into a catch all for random blocks!

Yesterday I made it into the Polka Dot Charm Swap! Whoo hoo! I have a few of the fabrics that will be included, mostly the 'Ta Dot' prints. So, I might decide to make a fun little quilt for the playroom. Or possibly just a ton of new bean bags! However they get used up, it's exciting to know all those dots will make it here eventually!


Some progress was made on my Sparkle quilt - too much maybe, as in the quiltalong, we are still piecing the HST's. Oops! I am signed up for Curves Class starting Feb. 1st, so I have been trying to finish up what I can before then. I am not used to having so many projects on the go. My usual style is to make a quilt start to finish & then move onto the next! Having the option of which project to work on is nice, but I worry this way will mean more things sitting unfinished!
Anyway, I have done all I can of my Sparkle until more Kona Med Grey arrives in the mail. Here is a mock up of what I have so far.

I placed what I could finish of the white block over my blue for a better visual

Swoon. Oh Swoon. Here is my one lone block. It is SO large, the next two regularly sized 12.5" blocks I made after it seemed way too small. I measured them to make sure, they just felt tiny by comparison!





The plan was to show you all my Summer Sampler blocks to date, but maybe I will finish off another one tonight & save that post for tomorrow...or Saturday.

 

w.i.p. - my first of the year

Now, I listed & linked to my plans for the immediate future in my last couple of posts, but here are some photos I took today. You know, the proof!

Swoon. I am really unsure as to how many of these blocks I will do. My 3 yr old niece was looking through my flickr favs of this block & saying, "that is so pretty", "I love that one", "look at those pretty colours!". She basically said every. single. one. was her favourite, and I feel the same way! It confirmed that my original swoon idea of making her a pillow was a good one. It also got me wondering if I should try some hand sewing with her soon...the fabric love seems to be there!
Here is my start. Medium Grey Kona & some Heirloom...

 


Next up - solstice star #1, ribbon star. Made up with Modern Meadow to fit in with my Summer Sampler blocks from last year. (Missing some background Raffia Kona in this pic, as I forgot to cut it out! Laid the block pieces out like so & thought, "how did I miss those?!"


 


These are the fabrics I've picked out for my Sparkle quilt. I hope to make it a baby sized (9 blocks) but am starting with these 4 to see how I like it. I believe cutting instructions come tomorrow, so my 1.5hrs of nap time is already spoken for!





I also have to vent just a little bit. My local quilt shop does not carry the types of fabric that I love. It's okay though, internet shopping is good to me! What I would love to pick up locally are things such as Best Press (or something similar, since I don't know the difference yet), an assortment of rulers (a square smaller than 6.5" specifically), fusible interfacing, insul-bright & quilting gloves. That was my list & the shop had nothing I needed. The woman working there told me to check walmart. Um...really? I was a little surprised that 1- she thinks walmart has all this stuff & 2- that she would rather I shop there. (Has anyone in a Canadian Walmart ever seen Best Press on the shelves?) I wish my LQS was more impressive. It would be so nice to purchase some items in person (no stalking the post office) & in CAD!

Linking up at Freshly Pieced today :)  

Why not, there are more hours in the day now, right?

Here we are, a whole day later...and I am adding two more projects to my 'to do' list!

I've decided that I need to make a Sparkle quilt with some of the Little Apples fabric I bought over the holidays. The large center squares will be perfect to showcase some of the cute little scenes of children playing/trees/turtles. I knew a pattern that would allow me to avoid chopping it all to bits would be best & I think this is it. I will make the baby size & then hopefully find a baby who wants it! It's generally not a good idea for me to make quilts without recipients in mind, they tend to just hang around & look lonely.

The second addition isn't a whole other quilt, thank goodness! Faith of Fresh Lemons is doing tutorials for solstice star blocks. My Summer Sampler quilt [in progress] needs a few more blocks so I can finish it up. I had a couple picked out already, but have not started on them. The completed blocks are sitting in a pile in my studio, gathering dust. I finished them up (um, pretty much...) with the help of Faith & the other bloggers who hosted/taught us how to make them - maybe I need to follow along with these too! You know, to increase the odds of them actually being finished. Maybe I need sewing buddies, even if they are only on the computer & don't even know who I am. I like the push it gives you to get going!
 I'm kind of into peer pressure. You should be too.

 

A little of everything

Well, it's 2012...not that I can remember it when writing the date yet! (Once last year, I apparently thought it was 1999, so there may not be much hope for me)

Here are a couple of little mosaics of 2011's projects. There are more, but my computer died last year & is still hanging around waiting for someone who knows how/if I can recover my photos... but I believe this covers all the quilts.

So far I haven't really done any sewing this month. So strange & I don't like it!

I shortened my little sister's curtains last night. I've sewn up a couple of simple made-from-one-fabric pillowcases. And that about covers it!

I have publicly announced on facebook that I am making another KeykaLou wallet for a family Christmas party prize table, so I better get cracking on that for this weekend.

 What I have been doing is signing up left, right & center for quilt alongs & other such things! I am taking Rachel's curves class that starts in February. I will be swooning along with Katy & approximately 300 others! I have also been wanting to make a sparkle punch baby quilt a la Elizabeth Hartman. So, we'll see how all that goes!

Also this year, I want to:

• make a sewing machine cover (finally)
• finish my summer sampler quilt, ideally before this summer!
• finish the Aviary 2 baby quilt in progress
• make more KeykaLou wallets
• make Mom's quilt, currently just a pile of fabric
• whip up a table topper for my playroom shelf, which will really be a 'cat mat'. Sort of like a mug rug, but bigger, for cats to nap in the window. A cat nap mat!
  
  I am sure there are more projects floating around in my brain (& on pinterest!), but for now, this seems like plenty to start! I hope that need to sew every night kicks in soon.