WIP Wednesday: Blues & Purples

I'm going to try and get back into the habit of WIP Wednesday posts again this month because I like the built in checkpoint mid week of where I'm at with my current projects. I also love reading progress posts and this week I'm going to pay attention not only to the projects for inspiration but the format of the posts. I don't quite have a "method" for these posts and would like to settle into one that works for me.

All of my quilting time this week has been in the piecing stage (well, except for unpicking my Christmas Strings quilt). After my post last week I went ahead and made my Blue Slabs bigger. I rearranged the blocks to spread out some of the dominant fabrics, trimmed a few down and then picked some short strings out of my 2.5" bin. I'm happy with the results and my next step will be to frame the blocks in white and trim them down to 12.5" wonky blocks.

Tonga Treats is now a flimsy and I think it is so pretty. I love, love, love how wonderful it is to sew with crisp batiks! They press flat like a dream... if I ever attempt a really complex quilt with lots of little pieces and sharp points I MUST do it in batiks.

This morning I was thinking I might need to visit my LQS for some binding fabric because I always think of my batik stash as being small.

Um...NO! I'm not sure if there is a reliable translation for 8.5" of folded fabrics but guess what - I have a nice range of choices in that stack.

I'm leaning towards the one on the lower left because those bits of orange & blue really pop those shades in the blocks.

Or the fairly solid purple on the right which was my 1st choice actually until I looked at these pictures. Which one catches your eye?

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday@Freshly Pieced.

I Sewed Something!

In mid July my Mom and I met her Minnesota siblings for lunch in a nearby town to celebrate my aunt's birthday. Afterwards we decided to shop our favorite places there - a perennial nursery and a quilt shop. This morning I decided I HAD to get into my quilting room and came across the package of goodies I snagged that day.

The Stash Baskets pattern was in the 50% section and caught my eye right away. Just imagine having some of those to use instead of boring plastic bins! The shop had the Bareroots pattern stitched up and also had some of the cute little bags sitting around. I thought they would be a great way to use up those mini charm packs that seem to find their way into my shopping cart often.

I have some precuts of both of these holiday fabric lines so was happy to add these from the clearance section and as I was drooling over a gorgeous table runner sample one of the sales women steered me to the kit for an easy sale. There is something to be said for REAL shopping vs. online shipping.

So, about 2 months later I have a few four patches...

and some soon to be four patches laying on my ironing board.

Perhaps this little kit of charms is just what I needed to awaken my Quilty MoJo. I'll be gone until Monday celebrating a cousin's wedding in Dallas so I'll share more next week.

Last of the Batiks

I really enjoyed finishing this trio of batik quilts for Project Linus this week. I was definitely in the mood to try new things quilting wise on these 40" by 40" quilts and I like the results of my experiments. Simple pattern + fun fabrics + wavy quilting = good finishes!

Batik Noodle Recipe 3 has the prettiest assortment of batik blocks I think - I love the purples, blues and greens in this quilt. It is my 50th UFO Finish in 2013... I am confident that I will finish out the year ahead of my goal for one UFO Finish a week. That's exciting!

This was the first one that I quilted... kind of a warm-up for my play on the other two I guess. I used bright teal Connecting Threads Essential thread which doesn't really show well on my pictures but looks great in real life.

I used the same backing and binding batiks as I did on Batik Noodle Recipe 1. That binding fabric worked out nicely on all 3 of these quilts.

Next up on my UFO list for quilting is Cool Sparkles. I'm planning to quilt along both sides of the diagonal lines of the HSTs.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about UFOs lately in relation to 2014. After pushing on them hard for the last 13 months I'm trying to decide if it would be better to keep at them through the winter and really pare my UFO Collection down to the "It's OK to be a UFO" Collection or to consider 15 months (by year end) long enough and scale back my focus.

I'm hoping it will become clearer to me over the next 2 months. I don't want to burn out on quilting... but on the other hand it would feel so great to clear the deck and start fresh. While you are on a roll do you stay with it?  Would another 3 months of UFO Busting be 3 too many? Which way would you go - I'm quite interested to hear your thoughts!

More Fun Quilting

Batik Noodle Recipe 2 is finished and I will share Batik Noodle Recipe 3 tomorrow since I've decided that each quilt deserves it's own finish post. Just because I tended to create UFOs in bunches doesn't mean they have to stay that way right?

I tried another variation on wavy walking foot quilting by crossing the lines that follow the main seams of the blocks and adding a single line in between. I used orange Connecting Threads Essential thread since that was the predominate color in the blocks. I really like the playful/whimsical element it adds to the quilt!

I didn't have any batik yardage for the backing so I used some leftovers from other backings that had kind of a batik-y look and the same batik binding from Batik Noodle Recipe 1. It's hard to justify the cost of batik backing at full price for a donation quilt but I do like my backing to complement the top. I think it works.

Batik Noodle Recipe 2 is my 65th UFO Finish since 10/1/2012 and will be donated to Project Linus. You know how I like to note the significant numbers as my UFO Countdown continues.

Gratuitous grand cat photo of cuteness I couldn't resist sharing... this was taken on their last day here. That's JMeow getting the "spa" treatment from Jax. If you look closely you can see that Jax has both front paws hugging JMeow. Tucker is the only one around here who doesn't miss them!

I'm linking up to Freemotion by the River.

1st Finish Of November

It is a dark & rainy day today but I think I've got good enough pictures to post about Batik Noodle Recipe 1... this time of year it might not get better for days! November is typically the dreariest month for us as the fall colors are pretty much over and we don't seem to get a lot of sun again until the temperatures drop.

So I tend to turn to bright colors in my quilting room for a spark - crank up the tunes, turn on all the lights and sew. I played around with some walking foot waves that aren't symmetrical on this top and I really like the look. I tried to sew these lines quickly and not think about them too much which got easier by the time I flipped the quilt and did the other half. More of this please!

I used a variegated Star thread that has become my go-to on tops that aren't traditionally bright like this one... it adds a bit of subtle interest but also blends well. I bought it on sale thinking it was kind of blah but liked the price. It's a mix of lavender/mauve - not exactly something I'd ever go looking for!

It also looks great on the darker fabrics - just wanted to share it as an idea in case you struggle with choosing thread on some projects like I do. Sometimes the unexpected choice is the right one.

I had a length of batik in my stash that I bought to make a jumper eons ago, I think it is much better used as backing on this quilt. I used the blue/teal/green batik I bought at SR Harris last week for binding.

Batik Noodle Recipe 1 is my 55th finished project in 2013 (UFO Finish #48) and will be donated to Project Linus. It is the 1st of 3 that I will be posting this week. I also have a "new" UFO on my design wall today - Primary D9P which I am using as my leader/ender project. This UFO is on my Q4 list and it will go together quickly I think. I'm loving the pops of yellow!

I'm linking up to Design Wall Monday@Patchwork Times.

Batiks and a PDF Pattern to Share

I have been longing to sew with batiks for some time now... so I am going to totally enjoy finishing this trio of UFOs this week. And since I might have been a bit on the crazy optimistic side when I changed my November goal of finishing 6 UFOs to 8 just before I published yesterday's post I'd better get cracking with the smallest UFOs on my list. I'm perfectly OK with picking the low hanging fruit!

Batik Noodle Recipe 1:

Batik Noodle Recipe 2:

Batik Noodle Recipe 3:

After a bit of assembly line sewing I now have 3 tops ready to sandwich, quilt and bind for Project Linus. I'm thinking some wavy line quilting with brightly colored thread will look great!

I have made several of these Noodle Recipe quilts over the years - it's a pattern I made up when I started swapping 2.5" strips online. We called them noodles back then before Jelly Rolls were introduced. Since I wrote my instructions on a recipe card I've always just called it Noodle Recipe or Noodle Quilt. Original right?

Here are a couple that I finished earlier this year to give you an idea of what you can do to switch up the pattern by using novelty fabrics for the squares instead of background fabric like I am in these batik versions.

Cats in Dressy Hats

Come Sail Away

Last summer Sarah who blogs at Confessions of a Fabric Addict contacted me to ask about this pattern and for permission to write up directions for this quilt to share with her charity sewing group and readers of her blog. Of course I said sure!

If you would like a copy of Sarah's PDF which is very well written with instructions to make 3 different sizes (baby, child and adult with a border) please leave a comment and I'll be happy to email you one. I meant to blog about this last summer - how time flies. Thanks again Sarah for taking the time to do this!

A Finish That is NOT a UFO

Tucker and I have a good morning routine. After he has breakfast at 7:00 he snags my sewing chair for a morning snooze while I drink my coffee and use the computer in another room. This was the look I got when I claimed it was my turn this morning...

Oh I Think NOT!

I conceded gracefully, did some tidying up and settled down with some hand binding to watch the Vikings lose to the Packers. Can I tell you how I adore Adrian Peterson? Love him. 

Instead of posting about UFOs today I'm going to show you a finish on my family room table. But before that, let's talk about what has adorned that table for several years. My first quilt!

I took a beginning quilting class in January 2002 during our first winter here in northern Minnesota. We were given a copy of "Start Quilting with Alex Anderson" and had our choice of 3 quilts to make: Rail Fence, Flying Geese or Friendship Star. All 5 of us picked Rail Fence, in my case because it had no HSTs and I'm guessing I wasn't alone. We were turned loose in the quilt shop to pick a border print that we loved. Great advice that I still use today! Then our teacher worked with each of us to choose 3 color families and 3 values in each family. Let's just say there were bolts of fabric everywhere. Good times. I still love that border fabric and this quilt.  

One of the Other Crafts (per my blog title) that I enjoy is making mosaics. Here is a close-up of a tray made of tiles cut from dishes and a center cut from a dinner plate. I got into mosaics in 2004 and for a couple of years I sold mosaic tiles on eBay. One day next spring I will show you my mosaic room in our garage, projects I've made and my stash of dishes. You will laugh, because I have LOTS of dishes.  

Batik Pinwheels is finish #13 and is not a UFO. This was the project I started when I began quilting again after my 3 year hiatus in September. I bought this as a kit from my LQS within the last year thinking it might jump start my quilting mo-jo. The pattern is "A Little Twist" by This & That.

Beautiful batiks and simple quilting. I'm looking forward to trying this pattern again in a different palette as I really like it. And, it's a perfect fit for this table.

On a side note, I'm kind of fascinated by how the angle of the two photos of the quilts on the same table makes the table look like it's two different colors. Into the light (Rail Fence) is golden light and with the light at my back/side (Batik Topper) is pale light. I've got so much to learn about photography.

I'm linking up to UFO Sunday@The Free Motion Quilting Project and Sew Darn Crafty@Sew Many Ways.

2012 Christmas Quilt Show

Michele at Quilting Tutorials is hosting the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show and you won't want to miss all the beautiful eye candy in this virtual quilt showcase!

Snowy Stars is my entry, this quilt was UFO finish #5 for me in late October. In 2004 I purchased a bundle of snow themed batiks online and started looking for a simple pattern to showcase them. After seeing several versions of Lucky Stars using bright batiks I decided to give it a try in blues. Most of the batiks have a touch of silver metallic sparkle. The quilt measures 45" by 60" and will be going up on my wall next week for display all winter. Cannot wait!

Vertical View

Horizontal Full Length View

The pattern is Lucky Stars by Atkinson Designs. It was appealing to me as a relatively new quilter because of the floating stars. No worries about clipping any of these.

A Few Hints of Purple for Interest

Love the Pine Cone Fabric

See the Snowmen?

Snowy Stars was custom quilted by Nancy Clayburn from Quilting by Design in April 2005 and she did a fabulous job! I love the micro stippling on white, the star in the middle of each star block and the wiggly line down each point. The rest of the quilt is done using loops and bursts of snowflakes. 

The Benefit of White Backing!

My Mom attached the binding for me in the fall of 2009 after I fell and broke my leg, but it sat in my UFO Collection for 3 more years. Needless to say, I'll treasure this quilt for many years to come!

Snowy Stars on UFO Sunday

Snowy Stars brings my UFO finishes to 5! This quilt started with a bundle of beautiful snow themed batiks that seemed in need of a simple pattern to showcase them. I'd seen many Lucky Stars quilts made with bright batiks and thought I'd give it a try with blues.  Some of the batiks have touches of metallic for extra sparkle.

I love how the two fabrics with a hint of purple worked out as I remember being a bit leery of them while piecing. Lucky Stars is an Atkinson Designs pattern which uses fat quarters and is super easy because of the floating star points. I started this quilt in 2004 and it was machine quilted by Nancy Clayburn of Quilting by Design in April 2005. It is the last of my trio of quilts that spent 7 years waiting for binding. Never again!

Nancy's quilting is amazing on this!  I love the micro stippling on white, the star in the middle of each star block and the wiggly line down each point.  The rest of the quilt is done with loops and bursts of snowflakes.

This quilt will be proudly displayed on my wall all winter long.  I'm linking up to Sew Darn Crafty@Sew Many Ways and UFO Sunday@The Free Motion Quilting Project.

Another Top for My Needs Quilting Pile

I've had these blocks sitting around for few weeks now since I've been busy excavating for UFOs and getting things settled in my quilting room. I'm the kind of quilter who likes to have multiple projects going at one time.  As much as I would love to be a "start-to-finish" quilter I think that is just my dream. So, today these pretty batiks caught my eye.

Here are the blocks sewn together.  The pattern is "A Little Twist" by This & That.

Then, I added the double border which really makes the light background stand out I think.

A couple of closeups (click on any of these pictures to enlarge if you'd like)...

I love sewing with batiks... they have such a nice smooth crisp feeling to them.  And, it's hard to resist their beauty!