weekend sewing

I was a sewing "machine" this weekend. he he

I finally finished sewing the last of the 4" blocks for my Oakshott diamond quilt and started laying them out.

This is only 135 of the 196 triangles, thrown up randomly. I'll need to set up a bigger design wall! Or maybe just start sewing them up and add more later. I'm going to lose a lot of size in the seam allowances.

The next thing I worked on was a quilt top for a family member who is about to begin breast cancer treatment. I have so much more to say about that, but maybe later when the quilt is completed. The pattern is a modification of Susan Beal's "Modern Crosses" from her book Modern Log Cabin Quilting. More on the details of that later too.

I hope you had a great weekend!

hot and cold

I've been frantically working on a quilt submission for the Modern Quilt Guild Showcase at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this fall. It's due Friday. I started it on Sunday afternoon after a wave of inspiration hit.

The top is done. It's a mix of linen, linen/cotton blends, shot cottons, and a few Suzuko Koseki prints thrown in for fun. I think it measures around 55" square? I'll measure after I quilt it, which I suppose should happen tonight. Doh! I'm running out of time! Send me fast quilting vibes.

next up...

Since I've been able to resist joining any new flickr swaps (and there are some REALLY good ones going on right now!), I'm rewarding myself by starting work on a big quilt for our family. I pulled my favorite fabrics-- the ones I've been hoarding, like mono pez and Uptown-- and cut them into 5.5 inch squares. I plan to add a few other prints, linen, and shot cottons to this current mix too.

I originally thought I'd do something with half sqaure triangles. But I think a very simple patchwork quilt is what I want the most. Who knows what will happen once I start sewing things together?

It feels good to create again, and even better to be creating things for my family. I've read from a lot of bloggers in the past few weeks that their focus for the year will also be on sewing for their own homes and family. What about you? What kinds of projects are you working on?

busy hands...

... lead to a calm mind, right?

Tonight was the second meeting of the Anchorage Modern Quilt Guild, and one of our members taught us all an easy way to do cathedral windows. I'm really loving this technique and that it's a simple project to take along for sewing by hand.

The timing is just right for me to work on a simple project like this. Not only is most of my sewing stuff still packed away while we wait for the last bit of remodeling to get finished, but Cooper is going in for surgery tomorrow. Something relatively simple, but it's still nerve wracking. I know I'll spend some anxious time in the waiting room, so hopefully sewing these little windows will distract me a bit. If you have any good vibes to spare, send them our way!

more awesome goodies!

I received the nicest package from Kathy, my partner in Malka's 2010 Great Potholder Swap.

Check out those awesome potholders, and all the Maryland goodies that came along with them! Crab seasoned potato chips! Old Bay (which I have always wanted to try)! Caramels! And a quilt pattern to try. I was definitely spoiled in this swap. Thanks Kathy!

I was up with the baby at 4:00 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. So I got out of bed and started working on the quilt for my friend Katrina's nephew Jack, who is due to be born in a few weeks. Originally I was going to use some very boyish fabrics in navy, blues, and greens. But then she sent me this photo of her sister's nursery inspiration:

I'll admit it straight out-- this is definitely not my style. But I can make it work! I've picked out the fabrics and cut them into strips for a stacked book design. Now I just need to decide whether to set them off with Kona Ash or Stone. Or maybe white. Hmmmm. Input? Katrina? Help!

Of course, this is part of my Spring to Finish. I still have my eye on the prize-- my reward of new shrubs along the house. I'm getting things all prepped and ready in the beds. Mostly with the help of RoundUp. Do any of you have experience with Yellow Toadflax? Such a pretty name for such a bastard of a weed. Seriously. I dig and dig and dig up those runners and they still come back. But this year, I will beat them!

We're having more beautiful weather and temps in the 70s. Sewing will have to wait, because I've got to spend the rest of the day outside! Hope you're having a great day wherever you are!

scenes from the weekend

We had a mellow weekend. Cooper is getting more content, and really likes hanging out with his big sisters. He's 14 weeks old today! Ack!



With Rob gone to a conference, I stayed up way too late every night sewing. I completed my first block for the "quilt-as-you-go" quilt along. I'm really digging this technique! It uses a LOT of thread though. I'll need to stock up. My sewing area is overflowing with strips of fabric too. Makes for a big mess (and a little bit of swearing when they accidently get sewn to the backs of other projects).





In my quest for zipper mastery, I whipped up a little pouch for the tools I use to sew by hand.



And I kept on with the batik log cabin quilt. Just waiting for that aqua sashing to show up from Pink Chalk Studio.

the funky momo

Last night I sewed this into a top to make a baby quilt. This was after thinking long and hard about using 2 more charm packs to make it lap-sized. But I don't think I want to invest much more time on it since I have so many other projects that I'm loving. I don't know of anyone who is having a baby girl though. Or rather, anyone who is having a baby girl and would appreciate such an eclectic quilt. So I think I'll finish this one off and donate it. I'm still searching for the best local organization that takes baby and child quilts.

The fun thing about making this was that it really made me stretch my ideas of what colors "go" together. Like the square with Kona Cheddar and the magenta on ivory scissors. And the Herb with the red print. There are some yummy combos in there.

I'm almost done sewing up all the blocks for the batik log cabin quilt, and have a few rows complete. I'll share more tomorrow.

it could go either way

I started what could end up being the ugliest quilt ever.



I had a charm pack of Momo Wonderland that I had planned on using for a zig zag quilt like this beauty. But I've been too lazy to cut the white squares. So instead, I grabbed the charm pack of the new Kona colors that I had sitting around and decided to use them instead. There are a lot of really beautiful colors in the pack, but some that are definitely not my taste-- namely the mint greens, pinks, and purples. And since they're more like swatches, they definitely don't coordinate with each other.



But as I'm laying it out, I think it just might be weird enough to work. So I think I'll keep on with it and see how it ends up.

quilt auditions

I have more time for dreaming up quilts than I do for making them. Here are some fabrics that I've pulled for upcoming projects.

Not sure whether to use this combo:

Or this one:

What do you think? I quilted Cooper's stacked coin playmat this past weekend, and although it's probably the worst quilting job I've ever done (he was on my lap for half of it, I forgot to lower the walking foot a few times, etc.) I'm glad it's almost done.

progress

I just need to bind the family placemats. That's usually one of my favorite things to do, but I've got less hands-free time these days. Of course I would have had more time today for sewing if I didn't have to deal with this:



Sadly, this isn't the first garage door I've backed into. Just the first brand new one, and the first since I've been married. So glad I have a husband with a sense of humor...

Another one added to the list...

Using up my big pile of batik scraps.





Luckily I can sew a bit with this little guy sleeping on me in the baby bjorn. Not ideal, but we make it work!

Works in progress...

Some projects I want to finish up this month:

kitchen sink improv wallhanging


simple baby boy quilt for donation


stacked coin floor quilt for Cooper (doesn't it remind you of a vegetable garden?)


And in desperate act to save the dining table from more scratches, family placemats. Right now when the girls set the table and pick spots, they write our initials on the napkins. When these are done they can just set out each person's placemat!