June ‘19 OMG

Posted on June 1, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My June 2019 One Monthly Goal is to make 50 blocks that I will use in a modified version of Melody Miller’s Cotton + Steel Picnic Quilt. I’ve wanted to make a quilt using triangles that are not half-square triangles for awhile now. One of my favorite quilts that I saw online last year was Saija@Saijaelina.blogspot.com’s version of the Harlequin quilt using Mr. Domestic’s Loved to Pieces fabric collection. This quilt exclusively uses half-rectangle square blocks which I like very much, but I’m even more drawn to blocks that have variations of equilateral triangles. The Cotton+Steel Picnic quilt pattern combines half-rectangle squares with two different versions of equilateral triangles (that can each be rotated 180 degrees) which is a big win in my book. The only drawback for me with this pattern is cutting out the triangular pieces using paper templates which I flat-out do NOT like to do. So I drew the half-rectangle and equilateral blocks on graph paper and made copies, so I can make my version using foundation paper-piecing which I like very much. Like Saija, I am using the fabulous Loved to Pieces fabric collection along with some coordinating Pure Elements fabrics, and the finished quilt top will be made from a total of 132 blocks to make a 80” x 84” quilt for my bed. Below is a pic of the first three blocks that I have made:

And here are the two equilateral triangle blocks rotated 180 degrees:

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: June ‘19 OMG.

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May ‘19 OMG Finish

Posted on May 25, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My May ‘ 19 One Monthly Goal was to complete the block units for Months 2, 3, and 4 of the Stargazer Block of Month hosted by Rebecca of Bryan House Quilts (see my May ‘19 OMG post for information about this BOM). The units for Months 2 and 4 were straightforward, though I am using foundation paper piecing (FPP) for this project rather than freezer paper piecing as Rebecca has suggested for this project. She uses this method of paper piecing because she really does not like tearing the paper off projects made with the more traditional FPP. I’ve found that getting the tiny pieces of paper that are stuck in the seams when using FPP can be tedious (though tweezers help immensely), but I do not want to have to transfer the pattern over to freezer paper by hand (or pay for rather pricey ink jet printer paper), pre-fold all my seams, or deal with the increased fraying that can occur with freezer paper piecing. Below are the the block units for Months 2 and 4:

But the Month 3 units were more challenging. My least favorite paper-piecing task is sewing sub-units together that have tricky seams to match up, but I almost always first sew them together with a basting stitch, and then if the seams are aligned to my satisfaction, I sew over with a 1.4 stitch length. These sub-units will form Starbuck units, and frankly I was glad that we didn’t have to sew the four sub-unit triangles together this month.

Not everyone is a fan of paper piecing. I sure wasn’t when I first tried it in 2016, but I love all the complex angles that can be created with paper piecing and the increased precision of my piecing. Do you prefer the more traditional foundation paper piecing or is freezer paper piecing more to your liking? Or is paper piecing NOT your thing at all?

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: May ‘19 OMG Finishes.

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Camping Quilt Finished and Taken Camping

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I am so thrilled to have finished and gifted my Camping Quilt to my brother and sister-in-law. We just took it on its inaugural camping trip to Ft Bragg, California.

This quilt measures 60” x 68”. The 6 1/2” square paper-pieced economy blocks are made from a S’More Love fat quarter bundle plus extra yardage. The background is Gris Fonce grunge, and the cream border is an Art Gallery Fabrics marshmallows-on-sticks camping print.

Below is a photo of Bill and Sharon holding it in front of their motor home and a pic on the bed in the motor home with the travel trailer pillow that I made to go with this quilt. They absolutely love both the quilt and pillow.

And here is a close-up of the back of the quilt that shows the wonderful camping motif-quilting that Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting did on this quilt.

This is my fourth 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Finish.

Linking up to From Bolt to Beauty: Brag About Your Beauties. I’m also linking up to 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Finishes.

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Rainbow Autumn Chain Quilt Finished!

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I finished my Rainbow Autumn Chain quilt top in May ‘18, sent it out for quilting in Feb ‘19, and finally got it bound the very end of April ‘19. The 48” x 48” quilt is made up of 16 blocks—12 which were made by #IGHoneyBees2018 swarm-mates and four which were made by me. I really love how all the blocks work together to create a beautiful color wheel. My swarm-mates were able to choose the color of their choice, and it all worked out so well. I did make an intentional choice to make the last block on the bottom row in red violet to finish up the color wheel.

Below is more of a close-up that shows off Sew Shabby Quilting’s Diamond in the Sky quilting pattern:

This is one of my 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Goals.

Linking up to Cooking Up Quilts: Main Crush Monday. I’m also linking up to 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Finishes.

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Hands2Help 2019 Check-In #2

Posted on May 5, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I have completed the 50” x 70” quilt top that I will be sending off to Victoria Quilts Canada  as part of the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge 2019 hosted by Sarah@Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Please see my Hands2Help 2019 Check-In #1 post for information about the pattern and fabric I used for this quilt top.

Since the Victoria Quilts Canada charity is just requesting quilt tops, all I now need to do is get this quilt top in the mail. I hope when it is quilted and finished that it brings some measure of comfort to a person in Canada who is living with cancer.

Linking up to Hands2Help 2019 Check-In #2.

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May ‘19 OMG

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My May ‘19 One Monthly Goal is to make the Month 2, Month 3, and Month 4 blocks for the Stargazer Block of the Month (BOM) that was created and is being hosted by Rebecca of Bryan House Quilts. Be sure to click on the Stargazer Block of the Month link above to see Rebecca’s awesome mock-up of the Stargazer quilt. Making this quilt is one of my 2019 goals, but until a couple weeks ago, all I had done was purchase some of the Kona solids needed for this project. I finally completed the Month 1 units this week. Below is a pic of those units on/around my new felt letter board (isn’t it cute!?!).

I’m thrilled to have finally started this BOM and can’t wait to see how it comes together.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: May ‘19 OMG.

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Dog Adoption Celebration Quilt

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My friend, Laura, adopted a very special dog last month. She named him Ishwa which means Spiritual Teacher. I absolutely believe that we can learn much from our animals, and they often seem to understand us in ways that the human species can’t truly fathom.  My best friend, Mary, and I decided that we wanted to make a baby-size quilt for Laura and Ishwa to commemorate the beginning of their journey together. While we don’t exactly know what Ishwa’s genetic make-up is, it seems likely that he has some Husky and Malamute in him.

The two feature fabrics for this quilt are Husky and Malamute fabrics that I found on Spoonflower. While waiting for the fabric to arrive, I designed a simple 36” x 36” quilt in EQ8. I knew I wanted to include some pops of color around the brown Husky squares and also thought it would be interesting to put offset borders around the Malamute squares.

The quilt top itself went together fairly fast, and we decided that Sew Shabby Quilting’s Scratch quilting motif would be be the perfect quilting pattern and would allow the quilt to stay soft and cuddly.

Here’s a shot of the back of the quilt:

This quilt is the Secret Project I mentioned in my 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Goals post. Linking up to 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Finishes.

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Travel Trailers Pillow Covers Finished

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My April ‘19 One Monthly Goal was to make two Travel Trailer pillow covers in similar color schemes—one that will be given to my brother and sister-in-law along with their Camping Quilt (look for a post soon on the finished camping quilt), and the other pillow is for my friend, Sharon, who recently bought a travel trailer. Here is the one for my brother/sister-in-law:

And here is the pillow for my friend, Sharon:

Making these travel trailer pillow covers is one of my 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Goals.

See my April ‘19 One Monthly Goal link at the top of this post for information about the Travel Trailer pattern.

Linking up to:

Elm Street Quilts: April ‘19 OMG Finishes. I’m also linking up with 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Finishes.

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Hands2Help 2019 Check-in #1

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

After finishing up my Mercyful (Antique Tiles) Quilt in March, I have started working on another project that will benefit another Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge 2019 charity, Victoria’s Quilts Canada. I have adapted the Charm Box Mini Quilt Pattern by Fat Quarter Shop and am using left-over Zen Chic Reel Time charm packs that I used to make a Table Runner and Placemats for my sister in January 2017. I will be using the Bella Pewter solid for the sashing for this 50” x 70” quilt top.

I was recently given Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8) as a birthday present and have had fun designing simple quilts with this quilt-designing software. Below is a mock-up of my adapted Charm Box quilt top using a variety of digital swatches included in EQ8 that aren’t representative of the fabric or colors that I am using for my Victoria’s Quilts Canada quilt top.

Linking up to Hands2Help 2019 1st Check-in.

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2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Goals

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I have six proposed finishes for the second quarter of 2019. My five new projects are as follows:

My Meadowland Quilt

I just finished sewing the quilt top together this past weekend. I had so much fun participating in this quilt-along using my hoarded Katarina Roccella Imprint collection. To see other absolutely amazing Meadowland quilt tops, check out #meadowlandqal on Instagram. I am having Amy with Amy’s Creative Side do the long-arm quilting using her Window Pane quilting motif on this project.

Two Travel Trailer Pillow Covers

I plan to make two Travel Trailer Pillow Covers using Pen + Paper’s Travel Trailer Block pattern. Below are the fabric pulls for each of the pillows that use a similar color scheme:

Camping Quilt

My Camping Quilt is my 3rd proposed finish for this quarter. I hope to get it back from Sew Shabby Quilting by the end of the month to get this quilt bound and plan to hand carry this quilt and one Travel Trailer pillow (using the fabric pull above on the left) when I visit by brother and sister-in-law in May.

Wedding Whirl Mini

My  fourth proposed project is a mini quilt using my Wedding Whirl design with 1.5” finished HSTs. It is going to be 16.5” x 16.5” (or I may add a border on two sides to make it rectangular).

Secret Project

My last new Qtr 2 project is a secret project. Below is a pic of six fabrics used in this baby-size quilt, but I’ve not included the two feature fabrics.

Rainbow Autumn Chain Quilt

I’m carrying over one of my 2019 Qtr 1 Finish-A-Long Goals into this quarter. Sew Shabby Quilting did a lovely job with the quilting of my Rainbow Autumn Chain Quilt, and it just needs to be bound.

Linking up to .2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Goals

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