City Sampler Blocks 7-9

Next set of City Sampler blocks --- check!

Block #7

Block #8

Block #9

Blocks 1 - 9

And just off camera, Emma waiting patiently to play with my blocks.

Currently on the needles....

I've been bit by the knitting bug!

I just cast on a new project and I'm addicted.  During the past winter, I took a knitting class. I didn't learn very much (or knit very much) but I finished my project.  During the class, I went to my local yarn shop Hooked (formerly Woolplay) and saw sample blocks from Michelle Hunter's book Building Blocks.  I never thought I'd knit an afghan (blanket?) but the blocks were so soft. 

First block - barely in progress

First block - 1/2 done

The yarn is Simpliworsted and is a superwash wool, acrylic, and nylon blend.  It's is so soft and buttery.  It's a little bit splitty but the colors are amazing.  So far I've only picked up bubblebum, but I plan on adding gray and framboise too.

City Sampler Sew Along - Blocks #1 - 6

Have you joined in the City Sampler sew along yet?? 

It's a quilt along using Tula Pink's new book, City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.

It's a lot of fun & all the cool kids are doing it :)

I missed out on the Farmer's Wife QAL so I knew I had to get my act together to not miss this one.

I'm using Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille for my blocks.  The blocks finish at 6" so a lot of the pieces are super small.

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5 - not as wonky as it appears in photo

Block 6

Fabric for blocks 7, 8, 9 is already cut and ready to be sewn.  If you haven't joined in, there is still plenty of time.  Don't forget & join the flickr group too!

Blogger's Quilt Festival - {truly} smitten

Well hello there!  If you are visiting from the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy, Welcome to my little space!

My entry into the spring quilt festival, is my {truly} smitten quilt.

I started this one awhile back...sometime last year.  I wanted to make a lap/toddler bed sized quilt for Emma.  The Hunky Dory line (Chez Moi for Moda) was perfect for her quilt.  The pastel pinks, blues, and greens --- so sweet!

After seeing Anna's Smitten quilt during a PMQG event, I fell in love with the pattern (by Rachel Griffith).  The quilt came together so quickly and then I got stuck.  I really wanted to try something different with this quilt --- a different style of free motion quilting.  At the PMQG retreat in November, a few guild members offered some suggestions for quilting and an idea was born.

I stippled in the white space, out-lined the prints with straight line quilting, and added a flower in each square.    I can see the progression of the free motion flowers from ehhhhh to ok, good enough.  What I was going for and what I ended up with were 2 different things but I love the result.

This is one of the "better" flowers!

I backed the quilt with a pink Kona solid and used the same for the binding.

Emma's still in a crib (YAAAY!) so for now we use this quilt to cuddle with on the couch.

Hi Paigey-dog!

Thanks for visiting!

More about Potholders - Potholder Pass 13

I participated in the spring round of Potholder Pass (Round 13) which doesn't seem to be my lucky round.  I over committed myself this spring and sent my potholders a week way late.  I was little overwhelmed by my partner's request and mosaic but in the end I like what I came up with.

This one is my favorite of the two.  I love this bird fabric (Oh, Deer by Momo for Moda).  My partner, Sabie sews, requested woodland crittery, modern, and bright!  I did random straight line quilting on this one.

For the second one, I fussy cut a deer from one of the fabric panels and framed it with a few narrow strips.  The quilting on this one was primarily stitch in the ditch with a little free motion outlining some of the details of the grass and tree.

I included a few extras: some of the Oh, Deer fat eighths and a quilt pattern.

Sabie sews received this last week & I think she liked them but, the package from my swap partner appears to be lost :-(.  I'll be waiting patiently.

Mother's Day, Potholders, & Dishtowels, Oh My!

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there :)  I had a relatively low key day myself which was perfect.  We spent the day gardening and Hubby made us a really lovely dinner.

For Mother's Day this year I was inspired by Rita @ Red Pepper Quilts to make my mom new potholders.  Knowing that my mom's potholders were in rough shape, they seemed like the perfect gift.  I used one of those mini charm packs which was enough for 2 potholders with a few squares left over. 

I layered the potholder top with a layer of Warm & Natural Batting and a layer of the Insul-Bright and did a little straight line quilting.  

Just finishing the binding.

 

 To add a little something to the potholders, I "made" mom a dishtowel.  I followed this wonderful tutorial by Kleio's Belly.  My pleat came out slightly off center {totally my fault} but, oh well, it's functional!  You can get two of these hanging dishtowels out of one full sized (15x24") kitchen towel.

Mom's second towel is still in progress but these literally take only a few minutes to make.  The most time consuming part for me was the button hole.  Well really procrastinating doing it.  I've done them in the past ----you know, on the old machine.  I was so intimidated by the new machine, with it's special button hole foot.  It was soooo darn easy.  You just pick the stitch number (#49 on my Babylock), attach the foot, line up the starting point, and press go.  Sew easy! (HA!)

Woodland Sampler - April & May

I had (what seemed like) a million things to get done in April, so the Woodland sampler was put on the back burner.  Now that I'm all caught up on various other deadlines, bee blocks, swaps, & pattern testing, I had a chance to work on my April and May Woodland sampler blocks.

April brought the jack-a-lope and April showers.  I added little dandelions which I love seeing this time of year.

For May, I stitched up this little gnome guy.  I think he's rather cute hiding in those sprouts.

I can't wait for the release of June's pattern, but until then I have plenty of work to do on the Springtime sampler. I'm over halfway done stitching up the frames and finally picked up the embroidery floss for the pattern. 

Happy May!!

The spring round of the 4 x 5 modern bee is over!  I chose the Arkansas Traveler block using a tutorial and templates by Freshly Pieced for my hive.  It was my first experience with paper piecing and worked out fairly well.  It was fairly time consuming and messy which was not good for my OCD tendencies, but I pushed through and I love these blocks.

For Allison - black, gray, white, pop of aqua

For Emily - yellow orange, turquoise, & gray

For Allison - pink, purple, & aqua

For Lisa - aqua & tangerine

For Ellie - red, navy, & yellow

And unfortunately I was a day late sending 4 of my blocks....I procrastinated until the day before the mailing deadline {because I was a scaredy-cat wimp about paper piecing} and then finally got my cookies together.  Yes, I said cookies....that's the toddler talk coming through!  Made 4 in one night after work...exhausting but worth it.  

Next up:  Blocks received from the spring 4x5 modern quilt bee....

PMQG Spring Retreat

The Philly Modern Quilt Guild is having a retreat this weekend.  This will only be the second time I've ever spent the night away from Emma.  The first time was the fall PMQG retreat!  I'm taking off Friday and spending the entire weekend sewing with friends.  It is going to be glorious!

There is so much I need to do to get ready ---- I have to pack clothes & toiletries, quilting/sewing projects, knitting(??), fabric (you know, just in case), and goodies.  To bake or to buy delicious treats?  And wine/beverages?  You better believe it!  I should go make my lists.  You know, it's the only way I get anything accomplished and not forget anything!  It should be a fun weekend and I'm sure you can join in on the fun on Instagram :)

Spring is here!

I'm not sure what it is about this beautiful weather, but I have so much energy and motivation to get things done.  As the weather gets nicer, we're spending more time outside each day --although I'm sure my allergies are going to start at any second.

Emma & her rock collection

This little girl loves to spend time outside, especially if Maggie and Paige are out there.  That's perfectly ok with us because the neglected gardens need a lot of work.   We're currently working on cleaning up the yard, taking breaks to play with bubbles, and are planning to get a few toys for the back yard once we receive our tax return.  It's fun to splurge every now and then.

When we're not outside, I'm dividing my time between the woodland sampler {April is fabulous!}, my springtime sampler frames {never-ending}, sewing my hugs and kisses blocks, and knitting.  It's craziness.  The weather is almost nice enough to do hand sewing on the porch in the evenings.  Can.not.wait.

WIP Wednesday: On the Needles

Socks in progress for Emma.

It's far from perfect though.  I got to the part of the directions to turn the heel and I just gave it a shot.  I'm not sure I did it correctly (the short rows were weird), but it looks ok.

Sock/heel as seen on Instagram.
Pattern: Jelly Bean Baby socks in Toddler size.

I think from this point forward I should be good, until the Kitchner stitch of course. Hopefully I'll get feedback from my instructor tomorrow night so the 2nd sock is better.

April Just 3

A little March re-cap for you:

1. Finish hand sewing the binding on Emma's Smitten quilt - Done!  Can't wait to get outside to photograph it.

2. Piece blocks for my Hugs and Kisses quilt - Done!

I wish I could rotate this :(

3.  Knitting goal -  Finish finger-less mitts so that I can stop freezing my butt {or hands} off at work - Done!

Having goals definitely keeps me motivated to get stuff done :)

April's Just 3

1. Finish piecing the Hugs & Kisses and Cherish Nature quilt blocks into tops (baby steps here, people!)

 2. Knit a pair of socks (a sock,  maybe? baby socks?).  I only have one more knitting class left and I really need to learn how to turn a heel.  I'm hoping that by knitting baby socks I'll get to the heel quicker and my teacher will be able to show me how in class. {Pattern is Jelly Bean Socks from Spud & Chloë.}

3. Make Miss Emma some clothes - quick change trousers, anyone?  I'm hoping Emma will still fit into the 18-24 month size but I may have to make them a little longer for my string bean.

What are your goals for this month?

Linking up:

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Trying something new.

Google reader departs on July 1st so to prepare myself properly, I'm claiming my blog!

You should too ;)

P.S. Happy April!

Bee Wrap Up

The Simply Modern bee ends in April. I've done 2 rounds of a Garden Fence block bee and have enough aqua and red blocks for a quilt now!   I ended up with almost an even number of blocks with red borders and aqua borders --which is fantastic.

I completed both my March and April blocks this week and got them out the door.  I'm so glad to have these off of my plate!

March Simply Modern Bee Block for QuiltyGirl2

March Simply Modern Bee Block for fushigi88

April Simply Modern Bee Block for Quilty McQuilterton

April Simply Modern Bee Block for Quilting&Cussing

Fabric used in the blocks are a variety of Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets, Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow, Momo It's a Hoot and Oh Deer, and Violet Craft Madrona Road --all from stash

March - Just 3 Check In

It's almost April!!!  I'm happy and sad at the same time.

This little girl is getting so big!  Time is flying by and she is picking up new words everyday.  I want her to stay this age for just a little longer.

I'm looking forward to the beautiful weather, playing outside, and getting back to gardening.  And of course April 1st will bring the next month of the Woodland Sampler and the first installment of the Springtime Sampler.

I'm making pretty good progress on my March Just 3.....

1. My fingerless mitts are done (yay!), except I have to weave in the yarn ends and figure out how to bind off....

2. My Hugs & Kisses quilt blocks are coming along.  I am about half done sewing the blocks...and should have no problem finishing up the rest this month.

3. Binding is complete!  I finished it on a recent car trip to visit my in-laws.  Once it starts to feel more like spring around here, I'll take it outside for some pictures!

Pattern is Smitten by Rachel Griffith.

I'll have lots of time this week to catch up on my Hugs & Kisses blocks because Hubby is traveling for work :(

A week in the life of the CraftyProcrastinator on Instagram

If you're on Instagram, I'm craftyprocrastinator. And well, if you aren't, you should be!

Instagram is my new favorite social media app...I love seeing what everyone is working on (stitching, sewing, quilting, knitting), the materials/eye candy (yarn, aurifil - did you see the Tula Pink aurifil collection?!, and of course fabric), and even what everyone is baking/cooking/eating.  Yum!  Plus it was a great way experience Quilt Con last month without being there.

Bad {work} day yesterday...stopped at Starbucks for a little relief.  It only took 20 minutes with one person ahead of me in line!

Finished knitting a hat...quickly frogged said hat because errors (holes) and sizing

Birthday cupcakes made by Heather.  Yum!

The only way I get to sew during normal hours is to let her "sew" too.  Set her up with a pattern, fat quarter bundle, and sometimes a few blocks and she's entertained for awhile.

Birthday breakfast in bed on the couch.  I woke up too early to be surprised by Chris & Emma with breakfast in bed.

I caved....I said I wasn't going to, but I did.  Spring is my favorite season.  How could I not? #springtimesampler #frostedpumpkinstitchery

Part of my Just 3 goals for March.  I'm finished the 2nd fingerless mitt and just need to figure out a proper bind off technique.  Suggestions?