Round Robin start

I was asked to join a new round robin traveling quilt bee, and I am really excited! There are just four other members, and I feel like each quilt will be unique and challenging. It is always fun to work within someone else's vision, and it often makes me consider something I wouldn't normally.

And you know, it is an excuse to start something new! I chose a more subtle palette than I normally do, although it has lovely pops of bright citron!

My starting piece was a block from the first issue of Quilt Now, which is a drunkard's path with a star pieced into the center. I really love it, and I added a little asymmetry to it, with some leftover pieced solids and a strip of Dreamin' Vintage.

I left it hanging with a batch of quarter log cabin blocks, until it was time to send it off (but those log cabin blocks are still hanging!). I can't wait to see how this quilt evolves!

Natalie's FQV

Last month, I worked on Natalie's fantastic quilt voyage.

Her theme was inspired by nature and I decided to make some improv sunny blocks. I used scraps that Natalie sent, along with a few additional pieces from the stash, and made these four blocks, which I sewed into a long strip.

I really love them, and I hope Natalie does, too.

I attached my strip to Nicke's diamond blocks, and sent Natalie's quilt on to the next person.

FO: Bounce

I won't lie.

Most projects I start don't get finished right away. It's rare that I have the attention span to work on something from start to finish. Having said that, remember this post? I started a lovely curvy quilt from Angela's A Quilter's Mixology back in September.

Fairly quickly, I pieced four blocks, but I knew I wanted to make it bigger. And so into the WIP pile it went. And sat. Then, this spring, my friends Julie and Jessica asked if I would make a baby quilt, and this one felt perfect for the occasion.

I pieced two additional blocks, which makes the quilt 42" x 63" (I like to make baby quilts a little bigger, so it can be enjoyed for years to come).

As usual, I made a scrappy back. As I sat down to bind the quilt, a little trouble cat (Olias, naturally), accidentally snagged a piece of the back. I debated how to fix it, and after consulting with Julie, an embroidery patch solution was born.

Wish I may, wish I might...

I love this little detail, so I guess I can forgive Olias for his recklessness.

It was bittersweet to let this one go, but I hope the recipient will enjoy it!

A Quilter's Mixology

Come visit Sara's blog today to read about my newest WIP, from Angela's A Quilter's Mixology!

FO: A Study in Blue

I have been pretty obsessed with the BBC Sherlock series. I haven't finished it yet, but I've been rewatching the older episodes in preparation. Additionally, I just read "A Study in Scarlet" for the first time. It was fun to compare the episode and story as it was originally written. It popped into my brain when I was coming up with a name for this project.

I just sent Amanda her Wonky Bee swap package. A few years back, we had plans to each make this mini quilt, from the Purl Bee Golden Wreath tutorial.

Of course, we got distracted, and I sort of forgot about it. When I was planning my package for Amanda, I thought it would be a nice treat for her.

I used a variety of blues, predominately Kona Cotton, and I used a favorite light grey Alison Glass Sun Print for the background and binding. Elizabeth suggested using the same fabric for the binding and background, and I'm so glad I took her advice!

I used several blue threads to quilt it, with converging lines in the center. I chose to do this in a random way, to match the scrappy wedges.

I used one of Amanda's favorites, from Lizzy House's Constellations, for the back. Oh, and I used Jeni's machine binding tutorial. As much as I LOVE to hand bind, I chose to machine bind, since my wrist has been giving me fits lately.

Honestly, it was hard to give this one away, but I know it will have a good home with Amanda, and she deserves it.

FO: Geodes

I really, really, love this quilt. This started with Penny's Improv curve tutorial, and my desire to make a fall-colored quilt. The do.Good Stitches Love circle made lovely blocks!

Assembling the curvy blocks was fun, but I especially enjoyed building the patchwork background. I used a variety of Art Gallery solids and sewed together strips, chopped, then repeated.

I stuck to simple quilting on the curvy blocks, just outlining in red thread. But I let the quilting shine on all that negative space, with a boxy free motion stitch.

The back features a couple of blocks, and some mixed neutral prints from the stash.
I machine-bound the quilt. I usually prefer to handsew the binding, but I wanted to practice doing it on the machine, and I think I did pretty well.

I actually finished this a month ago, but after washing, there was a small hole on one of the curves (where a seam was cut a little short). I let it marinate for a few weeks, while I decided how best to mend it.
Amy suggested a simple zig zag, which is what I ended up doing. It's not noticeable, and it will ensure that the recipient will have a lovely quilt!

Oh, and can I just say, Elliott is so sweet to help me photograph my quilts. He is a tall dude, and was totally ducking in these shots.

And while we're on the subject,

How about a do.Good Stitches update?
We have been making some pretty fun blocks in the Love circle lately.
I'm not sure when I last posted about the group, but last month, we made house blocks for Natalie.

In a paper-piecing mood, I first made this block. Whoa. Let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart. But it was fun, and I am thrilled with how it turned out! I used Charise's Cozy Chalet pattern from Fat Quarterly Issue 8.

I also made this block, using Elizabeth Hartman's Neighborhood block, from her second book.

I really love that tuba player fussy cut, from a Paper Sparrow 2012 tea towel.

This month, we used Rachel's tutorial for a paper-pieced striped block.

I think both quilts will be amazing!

I'm glad I finished up that Starry Quilt, because it's my month again in October! I'm planning to ask for improv curvy blocks using Penny's happy tutorial. I made a few practice blocks last night, and I'm excited to make more.
It's been awhile since I've made curvy things (my favorite was this one for Nicke.)

I am a leaf

So, as promised, I'm here to share with you the mini that Amanda made for me.
First, have you watched Firefly?
If you haven't, I highly recommend it. There's only one season (it got axed, and was followed by a movie, Serenity, a few years later). It's a fun sci-fi show!

Amanda incorporated our shared love of the show with a mini quilt. Amanda picked a quote (from Serenity) from the character, Wash, and embroidered it in a happy yellow thread.

Even better, she used pieces from the ever-amazing Good Folks line, by Anna Maria Horner (along with some other AMH goodies). She paper pieced the curvy triangles, which you can see her working on here. I just love it! She included those fun little fabric pieces of Firefly characters, found on Spoonflower.

She also included a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Sauterne. Ah, yellow. How I love you. I've said this before, I know, but I love our crafty community. To find others that share a love for sewing, knitting, quilting, embroidery, crochet, spinning, creating, etc. well, it's an awesome feeling. Thanks again, Amanda, for a very happy swap (oh, and psst! she's destashing some Mendocino at the moment!)!

FO: Nicke's Curvy Echo

It seems strange that I only met Nicke last year. We've become such good pals, and it feels like I've known her longer. I say "known", but we have not yet met in person. I think that will happen this year, though!

We recently agreed to do a swap, and she received her package last week.

Like most of the sewing and quilting community, Nicke fell hard for Lotta Jansdotter's line, Echo. I've fallen hard for this fabric, too. There's no question of that! I've already purchased some for myself to make a fun new project! Oh, but back to Nicke's pillow! This was not my first time sewing curves, as evidenced by my lingering Single Girl (I desperately want to finish that this year!).

For Nicke's pillow, I used some templates my grandmother shared with me from her stash. It was an old package, with two sizes of Drunkard's Path templates, and also, a clamshell template, which I am still investigating.

This was a perfect excuse to do more curvy sewing, which is fun and impressive!

My favorite part of this pillow is the yellow stitching. My mom gave me a fun box of assorted Guttermann thread for Christmas (too bad, but it's no longer on sale!), and this happy yellow was crying out to be used. The pillow is envelope-style, and I backed it with some It's a Hoot Chocolate brown dot fabric from the stash.

I knew Nicke would be thrilled, because I didn't want to give this pillow away, which is always an indication of a good gift! I will share what Nicke sends me in return when the time comes!

Oh, p.s., if you are intimidated by curvy sewing, you should check out Rachel's new class!

I hope you all have a fun weekend!

Overcoming the curves

I haven't blogged much about the Single Girl Support Group, but I joined as a way to challenge myself with my second quilt project. The Single Girl quilt, by Denyse Schmidt, definitely fulfills the challenge I was craving. I've never sewn curves before, and I was pretty intimidated when I started.

I chose to work with my fat quarter stack of Innocent Crush by AMH.

For my background color, I chose Kona Peridot.

I'm planning to make a QUEEN-sized quilt, because I am crazy.
I realized as I was sewing my first curve that I may have bitten off more than I could chew.
I pinned the curve to death, started sewing, had to rip.
Second time, same thing.
Finally, I decided to check my seam sizes. It turns out that almost every seam was shorter than 1/4 inch.

Precision matters here, folks.
Apparently, I'm not a very precise sewer.

Luckily, I had only sewn a few ring sections together at this point, so I didn't have to completely start over.
Trust me: there was enough cussing without any additional ripping.

Here's my first completed square.
Would you believe me if I told you I sewed this with no pins?? I don't believe it myself, but it's true. It's not perfect, but I felt so thrilled when I finished. I watched nova's video for pinless curves and just went with it.

So, only fifteen more squares to go. Um, yeah.