Playing Catch-Up

So I guess it’s not surprising my bee block for March was late too…after the whole Doll Quilt swap debacle.  I really have done zero sewing over the past few months…up until recently that is.

For March, Kristy asked for wonky stars.  I have such a tough time with all things wonky, but I gave it my best shot.  I used Just Wing It by Momo and I think I like it. 

Sarah’s bee block for the Scrap Bee for April.  Sarah asked for string blocks….pretty easy, except I made the wrong size.  Thankfully bigger so I trimmed it down and off it went. I dug into my scrap basket for this one (some Momo, Amy Butler, and Tula Pink among others).

I’ve really enjoyed the bee so far.  I’ve made 4 blocks that I’ve never made before….I definitely like making string blocks and am going to add a string quilt to my to do list.

May is my month in the bee!  I’m pretty sure I’m going to ask for spiderweb blocks.  Can’t wait!

DQS Complete

Round 10 of the Doll Quilt Swap on flickr is winding down.  Here is the quilt I sent to my partner.  It was sent a week late, but she should receive it any day now if she hasn’t already.  I was able to finish it thanks to the latest Philly Modern Quilt Guild sewing day.  It was just the motivation I needed to get it together.

Quilt made using Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda. 

Pieced quilt back.

Close up of the quilt detail.

I received a beautiful quilt from Leah.  She made me a string quilt in my favorite color!

Isn’t it gorgeous?!? 

 

Leah added cute pink buttons.

 

And she sent me a really fantastic package.  Everything was wrapped so beautifully!  Thanks Leah!

WIP Wednesday

I finally made some progress on my doll quilt for DQS 10.  I really wanted to try something out of my comfort zone for the swap so I chose applique. 

I cut the tree shape a few weeks ago using my Cricut and finished cutting the leaves this weekend.  The Cricut worked well for cutting through the fabric…any issues I had were purely due to operator error!  

I have lots of leaves left over so I’m debating adding more.  What do you think? 

For right now I’m going to leave it as is, and add the borders – green patchwork along the bottom and blue patchwork around the sides and top.  I plan on mostly using Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda but might supplement in some additional fabric as I go.

Central Park Charming Stars

I love this quilt!  I love the fabric….I love the stars….I love the size…..and the straight line quilting.  I just love it!  What I don’t love are these pictures…..too cold and windy outside for outdoor pictures. 

I tried out the embroidery functions on my machine a little more.  Very convenient for labels….and of all the quilts I’ve made this is the first one with a label (bad Tricia!).

The date is significant…it marks my mom’s 50th birthday.  Happy 50th Mom!  Sorry it took a few weeks extra to get the binding on this.

Quilt pattern: Charming Stars from the Moda Bake Shop

Pieced and Quilted by me.

Fabric:  Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda (LOVE!)

Size:  68” square

Started on January 12th and finished on February 20th

Trying New Things

This month our guild challenge was to make a mug rug for a swap while trying a new technique.

My plan was to try applique…at the last minute.  I had the design in my head for days, so it was just a matter of execution really.  As it turns out, I have no idea how to do applique, so I winged it!

Luckily I have the best husband who let me make my rug on Valentine’s day….while he made me a fancy dinner of steak and lobster.  It was delicious!  After dinner, we cleaned up and I sewed a little more.  Couldn’t ask for a better Valentine’s day (except I could have done without the cat knocking an entire vase of water onto the floor at 9pm!).

Here it is…..I kinda really like it.  Any guesses to what the animal is?

Other new things I tried on the mug rug…decorative stitches on my machine.  There are soo many and I’ve never used them.  Also, I tried expanding my free motion quilting to include swirls.  That did not go so well, but it’s something I’d like to try again.

Thank you Angie for inspiring us to try something new! 

And here’s my new mug rug I received in the swap from Cindy!  Thanks, I love it!

February Bee Blocks

It’s been a little quiet over here, huh?  Don’t worry!  I’ve been so busy…working on secret projects (which will be revealed very soon).  I haven’t even been able to keep up with my Sunday stash reports because I’m having trouble keeping track of my fabric out.  Crazy, I know!

Last night I managed to whip out this bee block for the Scrap Bee on Flickr.  It’s Jennifer’s month and she requested a square in a square block.  I had a slight math error at the end…but managed to work it out and come up with a 12.5x12.5” square.

Tonight’s goal….mug rug for the Philly Modern Quilt guild swap.

More clutches

Two more clutches made using Noodlehead’s gathered clutch tutorial.  No straps added to either of these…because I sort of forgot and realized it once they were sewn together.  The brown one is for my mom and the red one is for a friend.  The red one is exactly the same as the first one I made…I just really liked the color combination. 

Fabrics are Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  I even shortened the zipper on the red one…it may sound silly but my experience with zippers is so limited.  Shortening the zipper was super easy!

I think this might be the last time I use this tutorial though.  I might refer to it time to time for construction tips but I think I might make a patchwork clutch or something “non-gathered”.  I’m still confused about the zipper tabs and what exactly I’m supposed to do with them when sewing around the clutch in the final step, but I think I managed to fudge it properly.

WIP Wednesday

I had a record sewing weekend {for me}, but on Monday I just felt blah.  A complete lack of motivation for sewing, blogging, and all things crafty at the worst time possible…my mom’s birthday gift sat unfinished.

I finished her quilt top last week and ordered backing one day too late to receive it in time to finish her quilt over this past weekend…so I finished another {secret} quilt instead and burned myself out.  Unfortunately, this is a very special birthday for my mom so I feel a little guilty.  I’ll finish it this weekend, but I’m a little disappointed in my complete lack of energy.  I think she’ll like it…when I saw the Central Park fabric, I knew I had to make a quilt for her with it.

Pattern is Charming Stars via Moda Bake Shop. 

Other things in progress:

• 2 gathered clutches ala Noodlehead for mom’s birthday and one for a friend.
• Another Amy Butler Frenchy Bag
• It’s A Hoot patchwork quilt