Wednesday, February 27, 2013

WIP Wednesday!

So ladies and gentlemen, I've decided that Andrea over at Four Square Walls is my hero. But really. She works in the nonprofit community and still manages to crank out clothes like nobody's business. [And her blog is awesome, so give it a good read if you have time]. I myself come home and start doing nothing and then I just can't stop!

BUT. Last night I made myself get up and sew after I took a 2-hour nap. It's not that I don't want to sew, it's just that I can't seem to get back up after I sink into the couch after a long day.

Luckily I really like how my project is going!


Need to practice your precision sewing? This is the perfect block to tackle curves and precise seams. Mine isn't perfect - it's off on 2 or 3 seams, but I consider it a win anyways. As you can see it's a little wrinkly in the Architextures graph print area, so I'll be cutting into the seams later tonight to help it lay flat.


It doesn't even take that long to sew, but the cutting takes forever since I'm cutting by hand. So I've been cutting all the pieces for each unit at one time and then sewing it up.


Doesn't it look like the little icon on the map when you get directions online?!

I haven't decided on a layout just yet, but I do have several ideas. Plus, you know, several more blocks to make it through before I have to make a decision. Each block is 16" finished, just for reference.

When I finish all my blocks I get to play with these:


Happy Wednesday everyone!

*Linked at WIP Wednesday :)

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Green with...

...all my new projects!

I hadn't been working on my Pantone 2013: Emerald Quilt Challenge because I couldn't choose from the many ideas I've sketched up. And that was just plain silly.

So now I'm working on several projects at once. Which may also be silly. Only time will tell.






Here's to hoping there's lots more progress this week!


**Linked with Show and Tell Tuesday and with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Doll Quilt Swap 13 Finish! [alternatively titled My Dad is a Saint]

You guys, my dad saved the day! He spent a week manually finding files on my corrupt hard drive and transferring them to a DVD. Love him!


So thanks to my dad, I bring you my completed Doll Quilt Swap 13 mini that I sent to my partner!

She said that she loves purple and black and that she tends toward the traditional.

 
 

I said "Well crap, that's so far outside my comfort zone." But I came up with this mock-up and fabric pull, which got favorable reviews, and got to work!

I created my paper piecing templates by hand because my EQ software wasn't working well [foreshadowing for the failure of my computer, mayhaps?]. This mini required 48 paper piecing units! Phew! 

I was chugging away, assembly line style, when this happened:


What a sad moment, seriously. Paper piecing is very dull for me, so it takes all my internal oomph to keep going.



And oh my, those stripes. Those stripes! I've never paper pieced with directional fabric, and dagnabit it took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out how to make the stripes line up correctly. But hey, it all worked out. And I actually really love the shape of just these pieces together, and want to revisit this design as its own block.



I do think that perhaps my purple fabric choices could have had a little more contrast so that you could better see the piecing inside each pinwheel. I didn't have a lot of purple to work with in the quantities that I needed, nor the ability to buy more. So that will be something that I change for next time!

Once I got the top assembled I was pretty stuck on how to quilt it. The seams were really bulky in the middle since I couldn't press them open, so I was afraid to quilt over them.



I opted for swirls in the large gray stripe area and free-motion straight lines in the small gray stripe areas.


You can see it much easier on the back!

While I had some issues with the overall project because it was my first real full quilting project with my new machine, I'm pretty pleased with how my idea came to life. Hopefully my partner will love it!


Quilt stats:
Apprimately 21"square
Fabric - Black and white polka dot from Joann, coral Bella solid, dark purple Art Gallery print, light purple Tula Pink print, gray and white Dear Stella stripe
Binding - Black and white polka dot from Joann
Quilting - free motion swirls and lines

*Linked with Finish it up Friday :)

Friday, February 15, 2013

Oh hi I'm not dead

I've gotten some emails over the past couple days wondering if I'm alive and well.

Either I'm still alive or this is the coolest trick ever.

That being said, I've been busy as all get out. All sewing time has been spent trying to meet some deadlines [and failing, but hey, I'm not bitter or anything].

But the world marches on, I still have a desire to create, and the ladies at my work decided to do a "Sweetheart Swap." I came up with the name, and it makes me smile and cringe at the same time. I am not that kind of girl. But the girl whose name I drew totally is, so I wanted to whip up something super cute for her.


"Be silly. Be honest. Be kind." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

No sewing at all. A little Decor Bond, a 9" embroidery hoop, a red marker, and some red glitter glue.

Make it work!

PS, my computer hard drive crashed, so I'm trying to salvage pictures of my DQS13 to share! Also, it means it takes me longer to reply to emails and such, since I'm doing everything on my phone.

PPS, linked with Finish it Up Friday :)