Endgame

definition: the final stages of sewing together a quilt top

I don’t know how to play chess, but that word can apply to quilt making too.  It always pops into my mind the minute I start collecting all the blocks off the floor in careful order, labeling each pile with a post it note and pinning the stack just so.  Then heading to my sewing machine to piece together the rows.  On one hand, it’s the most boring part of quilt making for me, but it’s also exciting as I feel my heart flutter each time I join together another row and more of the quilt top is revealed, bit by bit.

Just last night I had a realization that my sewing skills have vastly improved over the past few months.  I sat down to my machine, lowered my presser foot and needle, and put the petal to the medal.  The speed control was on high, and it wasn’t fast enough.  That’s when it dawned on me that I had the speed lever all the way to the right.  Little by little, over the past few months, I’d been sliding  it over, not even thinking about it.  For years I’d been plodding along on the slowest setting possible, and even that felt a little fast sometimes.  Now I am wondering, can this machine sew any faster??? 

Today I had to head out to Joann’s for a few supplies and lucky me, I came upon this Kona chartreuse remnant (1 yard for $3.20) and a Dear Stella basketweave fat quarter.  Did you know Joann’s sometimes has name brand fat quarters in their bins?  It’s hit or miss, but I’ve certainly found some good deals over the years. 

The Kona chartreuse will come in handy because it seems like every single person I know is having a baby boy in May or July.  I love this shade of green with a dark blue or turquoise.

I also picked up a few stash builders (two blues, a cream, and a gray) and the rest of the bolt of some owl fabric.  It will make a cute quilt backing someday, right? 

I’m hoping to have another quilt finished up this weekend so I can get started on these baby quilts.  The first shower is in two weeks, so I need to get my game on!  I was thinking of making a coordinating basket for the baby’s dresser.  Any ideas of what I could put in it?  Shampoo and lotion?  Washcloths?  Board books?

Moving Along

Last week was rough.  I was sick, which was no big deal but I just didn’t want to be around people for a few days.  That can be hard when you are a full-time stay-at-home mom with two little kids home all day.  On top of that I gained about 10 pounds from eating scones and tea or hot chocolate for every meal while I was feeling under the weather.  I am feeling back to normal today, yay!  Back to exercising, eating healthy, and getting outdoors.  To celebrate, my husband helped me get a few photos of the Penny Patch quilt top all sewn up!

I am so happy with the way it’s turned out.  My favorite part of the quilt by far is the little diagonal rows the penny patch blocks create.  I always have a hard time visualizing how things are going to look, and the effect was such a happy surprise! 

Now it’s time to decide what to use for backing and binding.  I had a little bit of penny patch scraps left over, so I made a horizontal scrappy stripe for the back.  I’m leaning toward Kona Ash for the rest, and either Alison Glass sunprint text in charcoal or her bike path in teal for binding.  Any suggestions would be appreciated! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Potholders or something like that

Two Christmases ago my husband bought me a book I had checked out from the library multiple times, Pretty Little Potholders.  I’ve loved to leaf through the book just to look at the pretty photos, but I’d yet to make a potholder. 

I’m not sure if these classify as potholders since A) there are no hand pockets and B) there are no hangy loops.  But I did line them with Insul-Brite and another layer of batting, so I plan to use them on the dining room table when serving hot dishes, which I believe technically makes them “trivets.”

I got these awesomely modern farmer’s market prints on Etsy at Twigs and Twist.  I plan to make 3 more trivets with the other prints and then maybe a tablerunner or even dishtowels?  I’m not sure, but one thing I’m sure of is how much I love these prints!

I made log cabin blocks for the reverse side.  I had some problems with my layers shifting when I was quilting them, maybe because the batting layer was so thick, and everything was kind of wonky by the time I squared them up. 

But I like them nonetheless and they really spruce up my kitchen.  Did you see Pink Chalk’s newsletter this week?  Kathy featured SOTAK Handmade’s Scrappy Apples and if you look in my photos, you will see that I am the proud owner of one of them!!!  A few weeks ago I was really sick and Svetlana sent me the sweetest package with goodies for me and my daughters.  The apple was one of the treats and I was so thrilled when I saw it!  Wait till I show you what she sent my girls!

I’ve finished the quilt top of my “Come What May” Stash Bee quilt and I have learned a ton from participating in the bee for the past few months.  I hope to get some good photos of the quilt top in the next day or two.  So say tuned for awesome-y modern triangles and dark gray!

Charmed Prints Quilt Top

Last night during the Friday Night Sew In I finished up the quilt top for the Charmed Prints Quilt Along.  I am really proud of this quilt top! 

It’s not perfect and has some visible errors—two of the pieced blocks on the end of a row were a little too big and points had to be cut off to accommodate the sashing.  But most importantly, I used stash fabrics to create this quilt (the backing and binding are yet to be completed):

• charm pack I won two years ago and forgot the name of
• polka dot sashing I bought on clearance from Connecting Threads
• floral “Whimsy” fabric for the border
• blue Heidi Grace (from Joanns) fabric for the binding
• Kona aqua solid for the backing

It is true that I ordered the butterfly and heart fabric from Fabric.com the week of Thanksgiving, but overall I did a good job using up fabrics from my stash.  And what’s most important is I think they look good together.  There are some projects that I’ve made that I’ve never shared on my blog because they are just…not blogworthy!  Using fabric from my stash is sometimes a real challenge for me because I like the look of all the prints from a collection and am usually less than satisfied with the outcome when I try to pull different fabrics together. 

The sashing is actually while with tiny aqua polka dots, which I like immensely!

Luckily, the quilt does not need to be completed until 12/20, so I’m going to be putting it away for now and working on a few Christmas gifts that I need to get done.