UFO Finish #70!

What a nice big number to celebrate today... UFO Finish #70 since 10/01/12 and #54 for 2013 is Bouncing Balls. The free pattern "Play Ball" for this quilt can be found HERE in the Project Linus section at Quiltmaker.com. The ball blocks are paper pieced and are fun to make using bright scraps.

I added the piano key border and a narrow inner border instead of the plain border the pattern calls for back in 2007. Then it hung in my closet along with its UFO friends until today when it came up in my quilting queue.

Back then I would have been amazed to know that it only took me a few hours to sandwich, quilt AND bind this! Walking foot waves with white Aurifil seemed to suit this happy top.

This is my second finish in a row with a piano key border. This one uses variable widths, I imagine I was cutting leftover lengths and I quite like the random look.

I found this cute flannel print for backing in my stash and decided on green dotted binding to bring both sides together. This quilt measures 40.5" by 40.5" so I didn't have to piece the backing.

This quilt will be donated to Project Linus and I have another one in the piecing stage in my UFO Collection to finish up this winter.

November AYoLF Finish

I cut this one close... my November goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes was to finish my "And Sew On" BoM designed by Kristy@Quiet Play. I only have a flash photo tonight on my design wall but will have a proper post about this finish with better photos later in the week. It's done, I love it and I might even have a glass of wine to celebrate!

12/1: Adding a morning photo to this post - more photos later~!

I'm linking up to A Lovely Year of Finishes@Sew Bittersweet Designs.

70 Little Pieces

Introducing "I Like Big Stash" - block 9 of 9 for Kristy at Quiet Play's "And Sew On" BoM. This block was constructed from 11 sections with 70 pieces of fabric (some very tiny!) and I am loving how it turned out. The colors in this 1st pic are correct... the 2nd is a little washed out on my cutting table as I look at them now.

Making the stash shelves was great fun. I had saved these little slivers from making my Schnibbles quilt using Bonnie & Camille's "Marmalade" line so mixed them in with my "Sew Stitchy" scraps to create my fabric piles. I chose to make the basket on the bottom shelf red to match my IKEA bins under my cutting table. Love the pile on the floor without a home... just like I often have!

Next up is to get them sashed with the white pins fabric and start unpicking lots of paper. Hopefully I can get it quilted tomorrow so I can sew down the binding while we travel over Thanksgiving. I've decided on basic quilting to hold things together and then I will be adding some hand work to some of the blocks over the winter. A little embroidery, some hand quilting, some buttons perhaps are what I have in mind.

I'm A-OK with this plan... it takes the pressure off so I can just get it done now and make it "perfect" later. I don't consider many of my projects to be "masterpiece" level but this one comes close and I have lots of ideas bouncing around in my head but need them to settle down into a plan.

I've decided not to show you all 9 blocks together until it is done... rest assured that they are making me very happy today!

I'm linking up to Freemotion by the River.

One of Those Days...

I hadn't planned to do a post today but it is one of those days where I'm zigging instead of zagging so I might just as well!

I started out this morning thinking that I needed to clear off my cutting table so I can sandwich two quilts... then I remembered that my cleaning friend is coming tomorrow instead of Thursday so I really should get the floor cleared and tidy up a bit. So I put on some peppy music and got started.

Suddenly (it seems) I'm starving and still in my pajamas at 1 PM after a morning of sorting through this, that AND the other thing! I took some quick iPhone pics from the door

 and from the cutting table to share my productive chaos.

As you can see, I DID achieve one goal as the floor is clear. But guess what? I'm getting an AMAZING amount of sorting done putting like with like and it's all good! I moved in that shelf you see in the corner of the first picture to reclaim some vertical storage space even though it means I have to rehang some wall decor.

Those bins and boxes you see laying everywhere are either being emptied and or being filled with things that belong together which is long overdue. And some things "gone missing" have been found. I'm even looking forward to getting back to it after something to eat besides the bagel I just wolfed down and a shower!

Yesterday I was on a paper piecing groove working on these little bits.

Which magically turned into this! "Cut it Out" is block 8 of 9 for "And Sew On".  The light colored patch on the lower left will have lines of embroidery added to show that it is a ruler - so cute!

And I even got started on Block #9 which is called "I Like Big Stash". It's another challenging one but I had a blast making my stash piles last night and I'll get back at it tomorrow. I think I'm finally feeling like a bona fide Person Who Can Paper Piece!

I'll be back tomorrow with a super organized quilting room and my regular WIP Wednesday post.

Design Wall Monday

I have a new UFO up on my wall and am once again assembling the blocks as leader enders which has been working so well for me since late summer. This is an early Chez Moi line that I had a couple of charm packs of and somewhere along the way they became pinwheels. Right now they are just up on the wall randomly (I'll be scattering those solids around the top) but they are very pretty to look at on these seemingly endless grey days.

I'll have enough charms to make 20 blocks and then I'll add sashing in white with cornerstones and a border using the matching yardage in the top left corner. Did you notice how I managed to pull out yet another HST project? So much fun!

Thanks so much for everyone who weighed in on yesterday's post and cheered me on... I now have block 7 of 9 done and I'm thrilled with it! I've included my leftover material scrap just to show all those little zigs and zags that get snipped out along the way. The next block is called "Cut it Out" and it's going to have a spiffy teal rotary cutter in my version.

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

ALYoF Update

I set a pretty demanding goal this month for A Lovely Year of Finishes and it's going to test my patience to achieve it. It's ironic because I love this project so much when the blocks are done... but I really have to force myself to make them. It is tense sewing no matter how I try to go about it

Taking blog pictures in gloomy November weather is also a challenge and these seem to be the best I can come up with. I'll hopefully get some better ones for my next update.

I have 6 of 9 blocks done for Kristy's "And Sew On" BoM series. I have been drawn to these blocks since I first saw them on Kristy's blog Quiet Play - they are so darn cute and she is so darn talented! My November ALYoF goal is to finish the blocks, assemble them into a finished wall quilt and hang it in my quilting room.

I will keep at them and look forward to doing an inspired Happy Dance when they look like this! Then I will admire them Every Single Day Forever!

One issue that I'll have to deal is that my 1st two blocks are smaller than the rest... not being very experienced with printing paper pieced patterns off the internet I didn't realize they were incorrect until I changed to a new printer on block #3. Live and learn. So I will be adding some extra framing and I now print carefully, measure the pieces and leave a little extra around the edges just in case. Just a wee bit paranoid!

I'm going to be sashing them with the pins print from this line (Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey) in white with some cornerstones and am thinking about a piano keys border using my left over fabrics.

Today I am working on the hand sewing block with the hexies and tea cup. At the moment I am beginning to fear that I will run out of the grey pins fabric which is making me a bit nutty so I decided it was time for a break to write up this post while my husband grills dinner (my sweet, sweet man!).

UPDATE: I did have enough grey pins fabric and will show a block pic tomorrow!~

One small section at a time... I CAN do this right!?!

I'm linking up to November Mid-Month Check In@Sew Bittersweet Designs and Paper Piecing Party@Quiet Play.

Month End Plans

It's been a busy in a good way month and that will continue through Thursday as I'm heading back down to Minneapolis/St. Paul on Wednesday afternoon to go to a concert with my sister and spending the day on Thursday shopping my favorite places. Our daughter will be going home tonight with the grand cats and we are going up to my parents this afternoon for a visit. My mom continues to be doing well with her knee replacement recovery which is a big Yay!

So it's time to either go for broke re quilting finishes or put them aside until November. I see a lot of DONE! on my October Goals and I'm feeling pretty good about getting a few more. My design wall reflects that today. And one cat on the table getting ready to jump on the one on the floor which is typical after I open the door!

My plan is to sandwich, quilt and bind Kitchen Sink Feed Sacks (my October NewFO and WIP Finish goal) which is hanging over my wall tomorrow. This morning I'll finish up quilting the borders on Thimbleberries Jacob's Ladder so I can attach the binding and bring it along today for hand sewing.  I've altered the contrast a bit on the next two pictures so the quilting shows better.

I'm really happy with how the diagonal quilting is looking on the blocks. My goal is to highlight the ladders of the top but let the patchwork and fabrics be the star. I'm going to to add at least 2 more lines of quilting to each section... a small diamond in the middle 4 patch and a line on the other side of the seam line through the dark fabrics on the ladder.

I've been using cream Aurifil so far but will be using a darker thread in the borders and will probably use that for the next lines on the blocks as well. This quilt is my October goal for "A Lovely Year of Finishes" so it WILL get done!

Last but not least are my 3 remaining "And Sew On" BoM blocks. I'm going to try and get at least 2 of them done... here is my cup of tea taking shape!

I'm linking up to Design Wall Monday@Patchwork Times and heading down to sew.

Scrappy Sewing and More

Let's start with the "and More" part of the post... my September block for Kristy@Quiet Play's "And Sew On" paper pieced BoM.

It was a challenging block for me but I am so happy with how it turned out. Slow but steady wins the race for successful complex paper piecing... one section and then one row at a time. So much more relaxing! I'm going to embroider or add embellishments to my birdie window in the middle section later but for now I need to start the next block so I can catch up.

I've got my blocks for Blue & Yellow Strings trimmed and up on my design wall. This will be a lap quilt for our master bedroom so I need to make quite a few more blocks as these are only 7.5" unfinished. I'm really liking the blocks with the super skinny strings and just look at how that polka dot jumps out! I need to find some more "zingers" like that in my stash.

Last Sunday I posted this pic of my green & purple HST blocks and asked for feedback on which layout you preferred. It was really interesting to read the comments (thank you!) and you helped me to confirm my choice.

I expected to be all over the layout on the right because normally diagonal layouts are my favorite and I was was really intrigued by the "argyle" effect. But in person my eyes kept seeing blocks that really didn't work in this layout - their value was too muddled. What a great lesson! I'm going to refer back to this picture when I try it again paying careful attention to fabric placement.

I went ahead and sewed them them together early in the week. I haven't named this one yet... but it will have either Twinkle or Sparkle in the name because that the effect I get from this top. My eye just travels everywhere and I love it! I haven't found anything I like for a border in my stash and I might just quilt it up as it is.

I'm linking up to Scrap Basket Sunday@Kim's Big Quilting Adventure, Design Wall Monday@Patchwork Times, September's Link Up@Quiet Play and Paper Piecing Party@Quiet Play.

Paper Piecing Progress

OK... I think this might be the cutest paper piecing I've ever done!

If you need a hint as to what it is here you go - I mean really, who wouldn't want a red sewing table and a super cute teal chair?

This is September's block for the "And Sew On" BoM by Kristy@Quiet Play called "Sewing Sanctuary". It is a 10" block made of 17 sections and countless pieces of fabric.  

A week ago today I blogged HERE about my 4 Stalled Projects and received some great advice (thanks again!) in the comments about how to tackle complex paper piecing. Kristy also had a perfectly timed post HERE on her blog last Friday with helpful hints. I'm really starting to think that 1 section at a time is going to be my ticket to success.

As much I love what you can do with paper piecing, I find it to be rather stressful. It is slow sewing for me... I spent WAY too much time picking through my layer cake of Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey deciding what to use where (although thank goodness I've chosen to limit myself to that vs. my entire stash!). The fabrics I'm using for my wall and floor are not from that line and I'm really happy that I chose the Moda Bella solid for the floor in this block as it's just plain easy. Easy is good.

4 sections down... 13 to go. Hopefully there will be a 6th block to add to this group after all! 

I'm linking up to Freemotion by the River.

"And Sew On" Blocks

I am caught up with Kristi@Quiet Play's paper pieced BoM called "And Sew On"!  I'm making my blocks with a layer cake of "Sew Stitchy" by Aneela Hoey and my grey dotted background is from "Ruby" by Bonnie & Camille.

May's block is called "Keep Calm and Press On". Isn't it cute? I always seem to make a mistake when doing these blocks - this time it's a dent next to the iron that should be ironing board pins instead of background.

And here is "Snip it Real Good" for April. I still need to embroider my thread curling down through the scissors. No mistakes on this block!

 5 blocks done and 4 to go...

The end result will look something like this. A few of the remaining blocks make me think I'd better start them  as soon as they are released... they look like multiple day projects! I have some yardage of the pins print on white that I'll be using for my sashing.

I'm linking up May's block - click HERE if you want to see more of them.

Pincushions & Paper Piecing

My pincushions for a HGTV Quilting Forum swap are stuffed and ready for pins! I used an easy to follow tutorial found HERE at Very Berry Handmade. The only change I made was to cut my fabric strips 1 1/4" instead of 1" because I wanted them to be bigger, mine finished at 4.5" instead of 3".

I went with 2 versions highlighting different colors from the black fabric which I also used for the backing. It had been awhile since I've used polyfill stuffing - it felt like I stuffed and stuffed and then stuffed some more!

The March block for "And Sew On..." is called Just Spoolin' Around.

While I'm very happy with how the block turned out (minus the corner that I'll be fixing), I'm mostly just relieved to have finished it. Quite frankly, I'm starting to wonder if my paper piecing skills/methods are at the level these blocks require. 

It doesn't help my confidence level much when I realized just now that my January & February blocks are about a 1/2" smaller than my March block. So, I have several things to figure out before I make April's block.

• Obviously I did something different when I printed my pattern for March.
• I've read on blogs about using freezer paper for PP and I think I need to find out more about this method. I'm currently using paper from That Patchwork Place made for foundation piecing.
• There has to be a better way to make sure the fabric stays where it is supposed to be! And, I was taught to leave the paper in until you are done but that makes the tiny sections so bulky to work with. 

If you have any advice or can recommend a good tutorial or book on complex paper piecing please help! I love this pattern but when I start looking at some of the upcoming blocks I have a sinking feeling that I'm not up to the challenge.

At least I can click off 2 March Goals as DONE - yay for that!

And Sew On... Jan & Feb

When I saw this BoM by Kristy over at Quiet Play it was love at 1st sight! I've never done a BoM before but knew I had to join this one as my quilting room needs some wall art.

Here is January's block. I think Kristy was smart to give us the easiest block of the series to get everyone off to a good start! Well, except for me because I couldn't decide what to use for background fabric. I had bought a layer cake of Aneela Hoey's Sew Stitchy during one of the December blowout sales and had initially planned a white solid background. 

But when I peeked at the 9 blocks and saw how much background there will be I decided to try a tiny pin dot light grey from Bonnie & Camille's Ruby line instead. I'm happy with my choice. 
February's block is just adorable!

My only regret is that the seam ripper blades are a bit lost in the green, but a little back stitching with either dark grey or black perle cotton will be an easy solution. I'm planning to do some hand embellishments to these blocks and might even hand quilt them. I've got all year to figure that out.

I'm going to sash the blocks with the white pins fabric... I think that will set them off nicely. Now I'm wondering which of the 9 blocks we will be making in March!
I'm linking up to Design Wall Monday@Patchwork Times, Freemotion by the River, Building Blocks Tuesday@Quilter in the Closet and Let's Get Acquainted!@Weekend Doings.

Paper Piecing a UFO

After challenging myself with several new techniques making my Triple Zip Pouch and Reverse Applique Heart Pillow the other day I was still in the mood for something other than the usual. How about some paper piecing?

As in my February A Lovely Year of Finishes project - paper pieced Cabin & Trees. I'm making the small version because I don't have a surface in my family room that suits the runner size. Someday I can use the papers for the other scene and make one for a gift. I took a paper piecing class with my Mom and a few of her quilting friends around 2005 and this was the class project. Total Northern Minnesota style!

I pulled all the fabrics and pre-printed patterns out and was pleasantly surprised to find that the cabin was already pieced. Bonus!

On closer inspection I could not help but laugh... because I knew EXACTLY why this turned into a UFO. My cabin has a rather unstable foundation! And, that little mistake made me set it aside instead of simply grabbing Mr. Ripper and fixing it. Like this.

Maybe 5 minutes of ripping and an hour of sewing later the paper piecing was done. I enjoy paper piecing and would like to do more of it.

The border fabric is actually a deep red/burgundy that my camera sees as rust this morning. It's a Holly Taylor for Moda print and I'm loving the snowshoes, sleds and the wandering moose. The binding fabric is laid along the bottom. Now, how to quilt it I wonder?

My Saturday post needs a few kitty pics. Mealtime when J-Meow and Jax visit is always intense because Jax is hungry ALL.THE.TIME! His bowl has to be filled first or it's total chaos. All 3 cats get different food - kitten food for Jax, regular food for J-Meow and $$ vet food for Tucker because he has issues with urinary tract crystals. And, of course, they all want the other cats food.

So we have supervised meals to stand guard and keep them busy with their own bowl. Let's just say there is some seriously fast eating and bits of food go flying! At this seating they formed a zig zig pattern.

Look at Jax... he is actually lying down to eat! He untucked his paws before I could get down on the floor for a close-up, but he is still sprawled out.  LOL

I'm linking up to It's a Saturday Sharing Day@Pig Tales and Quilts and A Lovely Year of Finishes@Fiber of All Sorts.  Happy Weekend Everyone!