(9, 10 and) 11/52

I didn't intend to take a break, but it happens sometimes! I have fluctuated between being very focused on finishing projects and flittering between random craftiness. Lots to share, because of this!

First, I want to make note of my February yarn and fabric totals.
Here is my second stash update:
Fabric: -2.5 yards
Yarn: -221 yards

Fabric total 2018: -31.25 yards
Yarn total 2018: -3,127 yards

Even though I didn't do as well in February, I still feel good about my progress this year!

So, the red and white string quilt is done (although I haven't taken full photos yet). I plan to gift this quilt next weekend, so I will definitely have photos to share soon.

Early in the month, I cut a pile of new garments and have finished about half of them so far.

I'm almost done with my first Driftless Cardigan (I just need to stitch on the buttonband now!), and I hope it will be a very wearable garment. Additionally, I finished a Lark tee and two more Lindens (one in this awesome weird vacation purchase!).

I also started a new shawl, using a favorite Moonrover yarn.

Finally, I am sewing the binding onto my 2x4 quilt (tutorial by Film in the Fridge here). in the last week, I made a back for it, basted and quilted. After letting the finished top linger for six(!) months, that feels really good! I love the quilt so much, and I hope to have photos soon. In my next update, I'll share the recipes we have tried this month. Additionally, I would like to share some of the random small things I've been sewing the past few days.

8/52

Last week, I refocused on finishing a WIP, which I hope to gift next month.

I finished the quilt top and I'm nearly done with the scrappy back. I plan to baste and start quilting it this week. I always love sewing with strings!

I also focused on hand quilting my String Diamonds project over the weekend, and finally see some progress!

I decided to spend at least 15 minutes a day on the quilting. It is fun to see the texture start forming on the back!

This week, I tried three new recipes as well. Talk about down to the wire, but they were all winners. Two were from Good to the Grain, which I have owned for several years. I tried the Banana Walnut Cake (although I subbed pecans). This was a great cake/bread, made so much better by the ground nuts that you mix into to the batter. Also from this book, the focaccia. omg. It was incredible, and I'm grateful that we only baked part of it last night because it means there is more in my belly's immediate future.
We also tried this Smitten Kitchen recipe, and will be enjoying the leftovers tonight. The chickpeas and pistachios add so much!

I also finished a weaving project this week, although I need to figure out what to do with it. It was supposed to be a scarf, but it is woefully short! I'm either going to finish it as a cowl or some small pouches.
And finally, I traced a new garment pattern. More on that soon!

7/52

More scrappy cog blocks! Since I was traveling over the weekend, this week has consisted mainly of catching up on household tasks and errands, but I have sewn another set of cog blocks. I have 20 blocks done, with another five that are at the HST trimming stage. Not bad for something I started last week.

I'm really loving the scrappiness, and planning each block is fun.

I am behind on recipes for the month, but I have plans for two next week.

6/52 (a little late)

I intended to post before I left for another quick trip, but it didn't work out that way. I have more to share, since I waited, though. First off, I finished this scarf last month, but just gifted it this weekend.

Using about 900 yards of fingering weight yarn, held double I knit this lovely marled scarf for a friend.

It is made from leftovers and mini skeins on US 5 needles, and I just love how it turned out. I may make another in different colors someday.

Also, in Portland this weekend, I scored a few new fabrics, including this sweatshirt knit (so soft and squishy!).

It is always hard to show restraint on vacation, but I don't feel too bad about my new stash.

I have been working on my string diamond hand quilting, but it is slow. I am enjoying the process, and I am going to try to work on it a few times a week for the rest of the month.

Additionally, I've started a new project, working strictly from scraps (with the exception of the neutral squares).

They are cog blocks, and I am choosing fabrics for each one individually. This is a traditional block, and I am using the instructions in Make Your Own Medallion.

I'll be back later in the week!

3/52

It's been sort of a weird week, and I've felt scatter-brained as a result. I have been fighting the sinus issues, and we got some snow/ice, which basically shut down the city. Obviously, it's nothing like Northern winters here, but Houston isn't really equipped for any kind of ice or snow. But of course, we will be back in the 60 degree Fahrenheit range by the weekend!

A post shared by Jacey (@jaceynotjc) on Jan 16, 2018 at 12:30pm PST

I made my first Linden sweatshirt (pattern by Grainline Studio yesterday. I've made many Lark Tees (pattern also by Grainline) (I've made countless Larks, but have not documented them well!). For some reason, I couldn't imagine myself wearing the Linden, but I love it so much!
I used a Charley Harper knit, and a striped accent (the striped knit was a gift from my friend Brianne).

This is the first garment that I sewed completely on my new serger.

A post shared by Jacey (@jaceynotjc) on Jan 16, 2018 at 10:37am PST

I received it last month (a gift from Elliott), and I've been learning the basics. My friend Jenn recommended this craftsy class, and it has been very helpful.

I've also been slowly hand quilting my string diamonds quilt.

Additionally, I've been working on a weaving project that I started last month. Finally, I have added a few sections to a long-term WIP that I never shared here. The last photos I have before today are from October, but I can't recall when I started this.

You know I love a good string project, and it has been fun to work on the past few days. This is a gift, and I'd like to finish it before May. Although I didn't use the pattern, I was definitely inspired by Amanda Jean's cover quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts (I didn't use the exact same colors, but tweaked it for the recipient).

See you next week!

2/52

Thanks for the feedback on my new posting idea. It has been a great motivation so far.
This week, with continuing sinus issues, I made another new soup. I highly recommend the Red Lentil Stew (link is a blogged version) from Slow Cooker Revolution. I used fresh tomatoes (added them in the last ten minutes, before the peas; I also added Penzey's Now Curry in addition to the other spices listed).

I've still been working on that Marled scarf, and I think I'll be finished pretty quickly.

The most exciting news this week is that I basted my String Diamonds quilt, and started the quilting.

I outlined the largest diamonds on the machine, but I think the really amazing way to keep going is by hand, and so I'm going to!

You can see the diamonds best on the back.

As soon as I finish that scarf, this quilt will become my couch project. I took a hand quilting class from Chawne over the summer in Maine (AMAZING), and I'm excited to practice again!

I finished my book last night, and I'm trying to figure out which book to read next.

Quilt WIPs update

This is a stack of finished quilt tops, just waiting for basting. There are ten here, plus one more that is already basted.

I'm not saying I won't work on other projects for the rest of the year, but this stack will be my main focus for the remaining months of 2017. I haven't shared all of these projects here, but included in the stack are:

Scrappy Quarter Log Cabin
Big Plaid Log Cabin (bottom of this post)
Aerial Grove
Scrappy Geese
String Diamonds

It will be fun to see how many I can finish this year!

A lie and a quarter log cabin WIP

After thinking about my last post, I realized that I am not done making pineapple log cabin blocks. I currently have 24, so there are more to make!

And here is my photographic proof of a finished scrappy quarter log cabin quilt top:

photo credit-Jeni Baker (Thanks, Jeni!)

I think I will share my current pile of finished tops next, in hopes that it will motivate me to get quilting!

A few strip scrap WIPs

Lately, I have been extra obsessed with sewing from my strip scraps. I have four strip WIPs right now.

There's the scrappy quarter log cabin (I assembled the top this past weekend in Wisconsin! Photographic proof soon!). I made 56 10.5 inch blocks using all kinds of color.

Then there's the June quilt, from Amanda Jean's new book, No Scrap Left Behind. I have the top partially assembled, and I hope to finish it pretty soon. For this one, I cut a big pile of strips into the size she called for, which sped up the sewing process.

I also started a more selective log cabin project a few weeks ago. I'm using reds, neutrals, browns and yellows, and I've got ten blocks finished.

This color palette inspired me to make a pillow for Chase recently (I'll share that soon!), and then led to these blocks.

Finally, there are my scrappy pineapple blocks. I have the blocks finished, so I just need to stitch them together for a finished top!

With all of these projects, I still have the itch to work with my strips (and they never seem to deplete), so I am sure I will start a few more projects with them before the year is out.
And that brings me great comfort.

WIP: Aerial Grove (top is finished!)

Oh, man.

I am super excited to share my finished Aerial Grove (pattern from Savor Each Stitch) top with you today. Well, to be fair, the top is a little bigger than these photos indicate. I was at a little weekend retreat, and I didn't have just the right fabric to finish. But this is most of it, and I love, love, love how it turned out!

I started this two years ago, in February of 2016.

I attended Carolyn's Quiltcon workshop, and then slowly stitched my way through the squircles. This quilt feels like me, although the neutral background is a stretch! The squircle fabrics and strips that they are stitched on, though = pure Jacey.

I intend to figure out a quilt back quickly, and add this to my quilting queue (which is nearing the double digits. yikes!).

Hooray for hand stitching, and an enjoyable process!

WIP: Scrappy geese (and then some)

So, it's been awhile since I have shared anything here.

I'm back with a doozy, though!

About seven weeks ago, I posted this pile of fabric on instagram:

The stack happened by accident. I was rearranging my yellow fabrics, and then, well... If you have a fabric stash (or any other medium), you know what I mean.

I started by pairing fabrics and making flying geese in a variety of sizes, and then just started piecing things together. I'm using the HSTs made off the geese corners, as well as strips and scraps.

And of course, I had to add a few bear paws.

Olias and Fiztgerald (and Bella, too, although no photo here) helped, as cats do.

This project is really coming together now, although I didn't have a specific size planned when I started.

It won't be long now!

Nothing but blues - (three years in the making)

It's true. When I checked the date that I started this English paper Piecing project, I was a little shocked. October 2013.

It has been a project with stops and starts, like any long-term project should (in my opinion). It gave me comfort during some difficult stretches, but has since been lingering. Crumpled. In my closet. So, when I was considering starting a new quilt for my sister's baby (yes! I will have a little nephew this fall!), this project popped into my head. As much as I love starting new things (and I even made a bundle for the new quilt), I decided that finishing this EPP project would be so satisfying.

I think it will make a lovely baby quilt, too.

It's got many fun prints and hues of blue.

WIP: Diamonds

A few months ago, I got an itch to make some string diamonds, after seeing this instagram post by Ramonarose.

Strings are always fun to work with, and I happen to have an abundance of them. It's funny how that happens. And after fourteen full blocks (which is 56 rectangles worth), a dent has not been made.

That's okay! There are more blocks to make, and this has me itching to make another string project when I finish the diamonds. I love them! Each rectangle (quarter block) is 10.5" x 5.5" unfinished, and most strings are 1.25" or less wide. There are a few wider strings for variety.

It's so colorful and it makes me happy every time I make a block (or more realistically, a stack of blocks).

FO: Magic Stars

This quilt is completely because of my pal Charlotte (who is now on The Great British Sewing Bee!!!). After seeing this on instagram, I knew I had to make a nearly identical version. Blue is my most-represented stash color, and come on, it's lovely!

Aneela's pattern is fun and sewed up quickly!

It has become one of my favorite quilts, and I love the way it looks on our new quilt ladder.

I took so long to blog this finish that I have started a second version!

It was fun to choose a variety of yellow prints for this version. This is a great scrappy pattern!

Skinny Triangle quilt top

Well, it doesn't always work out this way, but I started cutting for this quilt top on Sunday, and finished the quilt top yesterday.

It was a frenzy! Here's a little detail shot:

There are so many happy prints in this, and I love the little improv bits. I have to give my husband credit for that skinny strip with the goose. That was absolutely his contribution, and I think it adds just the right amount of balance to the patchwork. And there's a little sneak peek of one of my finished Lark Tees. I'll be sharing more on that next!