2013 Q2 FAL: Glass half full or empty?

It's linky time at Leanne's 2013 Q2 FAL (finish-a-long) and I knew that my list of eight quilts was pretty ambitious when I made it.  With 4 out of 8 completed I can either see the glass half full or half empty :)

GOAL MOSAIC

The really funny thing is that I was scrambling to try and finish Row Robin to make it 5 done but ran face first into a migraine yesterday - that's not the funny part.  Today when I was doing my link ups for each finished post and took a closer look at the Goal Mosaic I realized that the photo I included for it was actually a picture of the row I added to Jacqueline's instead of my top!  Those little thumbnails look alike don't they?!

Jacqueline's on the lower left, mine is on the lower right

Since it's not done, I will include MY Row Robin for Q3 (properly this time) and there's a good chance it'll be complete! I still peak in on the group now and then and am amazed at some of the quilts being created - check out Around the Bend and Across the Pond.

Here's the report on the other three that got left behind: I also made progress on the back for Rip Curl  and sewed the final row and prepped Fruit Salad for basting but neither was a finish.   As for Jigsaw 21st, uuhhmmm... it's been ditched and replaced by Labyrinth Maze. 

parts for Rip Curl Backing

Fruit Salad - all ready to baste 

Pattern to replace the abandoned Jigsaw 21st 

Now on to what DID get finished:  Bikes on Point, Tweet Tweet Two, Bolts and Thumbs Up. 

Bikes On Point

Tweet Tweet Two

Bolts

Thumbs Up

Machine Binding detail 

Panels are challenging

Thumbs Up at Sew Day FMQ marathon

Thumbs Up was one of the 31 Quilts in 31 Days charity challenge and you can see the little gnome hovering above my head if you look closely at this picture taken by Anne.

All in all I'd say the glass if half full, How about you?

Be sure to check out and join up if you aren't already participating in 2013 FAL at She Can Quilt. There will wonderful prizes by generous sponsors and a series of tutorials from guest bloggers,

Bee Blocks, Backing and Buckets

As June comes to a close I say goodbye to MoStash with the final bee blocks for our Magnum PI Hive. I've really enjoyed this six-month swap comprised of talented and thoughtful quilters.  Joanne (JoJo33) let us choose the scrappy colors in the Wonky Pinwheel using this tutorial by Greenleaf Goods and asked for a variety of background with at least some white for continuity.

I chose cool blue/green and the less common rust.  The block reminds me of the tutorial I wrote for Tassels except with 16 squares instead of 8 rectangles.

This month for F+F2 Maria (mpress studio) asked for Granny Squares with colors of our choice - don't you love how easy to please my hivemates are?  At first I thought I'd use up some pre-cut squares from my newly organized stash but in the end I decided to pick from scratch and cut new ones.

Down to the wire on 2013 FAL Q2 hosted by Leanne (she can quilt)with the linky party opening up on Sunday.  Be sure to check out the upcoming week of tutorials featured on her blog and hop on board for Q3 beginning July 8.

Originally I was going to do an improv backing for Rip Curl but am giving a jumbo version of the friendly hand a shot.  Because I mis-counted the hst blocks needed I'll be  trimming down the ones I have and using the center squares to make more.  That of course means replacing the centers with something else entirely...

Parts for Rip Curl Backing

Rip Curl top

My design wall is down and layout on my bed is challenging.  A bit more progress to share on the Sewing Room Redo includes the return of the computer (read:hulu and pandora) and the beginning of the never ending sorting of notions.

so many buckets - ugh.... 

Each time I empty a bucket I rejoice! I'm down to my last four so there is an end in sight but not much space left. The new cabinet and shelves for pre-cuts and all of my "bits" do give me hope.

Along the lines of crafty more than quilty are these little wooden clothespins that I covered with pink and white chevron washi tape.  I used a rotary cutter to splice them to size - they're for the baby shower game, sshhh.

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts, Can I get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and  WIP Wednesday  at Freshly Pieced.

My list isn't any shorter but I'm still feeling pretty accomplished - plus in another couple of days it'll be Friday Sew Day for our MQG and that always keeps me on track!

Finished:
Wonky Pinwheel June MoStash(2)

Granny Square June F+F2 (2)

Chevron Clothespins (24)

Progress:

Rip Curl Backing

Sewing Room ReDo 

Cradle bumper (fabric cut)

Two fabric basket covers (1 lining done)

Still To Do:

baby shower bunting and runner
moby style wrap 

2 bee blocks
21st Bday Quilts (x3!)
cradle quilt
8 11 more curtain panels (yawn)
Taffy in Bike
bind Row Robin

sandwich, quilt and bind Fruit Salad
bind August charity Fairies quilt
Sewing Room ReDo
more..more...more..

It's all about the Segue...

Today's post is all about the Segue... Modern Mini Challenge winner Wild Card was announced at Ellison Lane Quilts.  I totally gravitated to it from the moment I saw it and although there were too many great ones to choose from, I'm happy that one of my favorites won.   Competition makes me uncomfortable so I appreciate that she also had a bunch of prizes for random participants.

Speaking of playing along and winning...Last year I won during the Zakka Sew-Along. Now it's week 3 of the Zakka Along 2.0 and I've been watching from the sidelines until my book arrives.  Anna at Noodlehead featured her adorable Tea Cozy but the tea bag pouch re-purposed into a needle holder by Sewzalot* was super clever and I just may need to visit that one.   Debbie at A Quilter's Table is spearheading the hop along with Lindsey.  Her quilt Auspicious Sky was part of the recent Seattle MQG Modern Solstice show and I really enjoyed seeing all of the other quilts in this post.

Speaking of MQG Quilt Shows...Ours will be hanging at SueDee's in the month of September which means I really should get on it and finish up (or start LOL) something for it.   Their Shop Hop theme is Steam Punk and is in full swing around these parts. Last year a I managed to hit every single location (blogged here). This year it may be only theirs. I've used both of the tools I bought but haven't touched the fabric or pattern.

Speaking of tools... Wanda at Exuberant Color blogged about cutting 120 triangle with a single crank  - now that's a serious toy!  She's the first blogger I ever followed and I admire her eye for color and design.  She also uses batiks quite heavily and I need to tap into that inspiration again after hitting the wall with my Sewing Room Redo when it comes to the sheer volume that I own.  Using it rather than just storing it seems a good approach.

Speaking of my RedDo....I'll sign off with a full circle segue back to the mini from and a photo of the new home for my FTLOS2 swap from June on the door.  It use to hang on the only wall space in my room but hubby is installing the final piece of the puzzle and a shelf will go there. I'm kind of known for (and proud of) my unconventional solutions so I think it fits right in.

How about you - do you have any display or storage that is unconventional in your Sewing room?

Still on a fast track

I'm happy to report that the collaborative quilt SBAMQG created for the Heather Ross/Hart's event "you are my sister" is right on track to completion.  The design choice of low volume improv with a pop of navy was a good call.  The members pulled through once again with a "drop everything" deadline and provided an assortment of blocks.  On Friday there was a piecing party at Sue Dee's. I was the official "piecer" and of course placing them on the design wall gave an abundance of options.

The Finished Top

Layout on the Design Wall

Piecing party Feast

Sewn as two panels

Quilt Label

A bit of Sewing Room ReDo progress.  We looked high and low for the extra paint to touch up the wall before installing the new computer desk and cabinet without luck.  For more than a year I kept the chip in my wallet to match thing while out shopping but couldn't find that either.  Since it wasn't going to match, I decided to just get close and call it good.  One evening was spent boarding FQs but I do need to get back on it.

Dottie checking out the open space

H's bound quilt - finished 64x80

This weekend I also showed my son's girlfriend how to put on binding by machine.  I'm still amazed at how she pulled off this huge quilt as her very first.  Matching the yellow and black binding to the quilt at each joint was a smart decision.  It was done in time for Father's day and he loved it.

one of many...many curtains

The majority of progress lately has been the window coverings.  Measuring, cutting and hemming 18 panels with 8 11 more to go. Ugh, not fun. I especially love the sheers we chose to use in our living room (from Ikea) and I used the cut off fabric for casing on another set of sheers for my son's place.

I've got so many old and new projects:

Finished:
18 curtain panels
You Are My Sister SBAMQG Collaborative quilt:
(made 3 blocks, label and pieced the top)

Still To Do:

baby shower bunting and runner
moby style wrap 

2 fabric basket covers

6 bee blocks
21st Bday Quilts (x3!)
cradle bumper and quilt
8 11 more curtain panels (yawn)
Taffy in Bike
Rip Curl backing
bind Row Robin
bind August charity Fairies quilt
Sewing Room ReDo
more..more...more..

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

So much going on..

Life has been full speed for me lately and I could use the lazy day pace of Summer right about now.  I'm going to make a picture heavy post of what I've finished up, made progress on and started new (yes - I do confess).  Captions under each in place of a real blog post is about all I can manage!

Two 15" blocks for the Heather Ross/Harts auction quilt our MQG is making

Got my ticket to attend - I plan to bid and win!

Detail of "Tiger Grain" skateboard , a custom design by my son.. Donated for the auction

Proud mama dropping off the board at Hart's

My little project from a workshop with Mary Mashuta based on her book "Foolproof Machine Quilting"
Aurifil variegated 12wt thread on top and 50wt in the bobbin.

Mega Large beach tote - birthday gift and big hit 

Pattern for my nephew's 21st Bday quilt instead of Japanese Jigsaw

Having our Guild meeting at Hart's Fabric = no restraint  

There are so many new fabric lines releasing I'm trying to be good - but probably won't be!

FMQ wonky/random scallops

My other son's girlfriend made her dad a quilt for Father's Day, all designed and sewn on her own but I offered to FMQ some detail since it's her very first and quite huge 64"x80".  Just got around to it late last night and am taking it to her this morning so she can bind it- nothing like the last minute!

Almost forgot to mention: it's voting time at Art Gallery and my friend Kelly has an awesome chair entry for the Home Decor challenge category, so go re-pin and like it!

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.
So there you have it -in a nut shell. How about you?

May 2013 : Fresh Sewing Day

May 2013 Fresh Sewing Day 

Sewing Room Redo Progress, Quilts for Boston blocks, Appliqué Pillow, Baby Quilt, 

Heat Lightning, Fairies Quilt, Tablecloth & Linen Napkins, Octagonal Orb

Scrappy Trip Along, Jumbo 24" xPlus blocks

This month has been a blur and putting together the May mosaic of project to link up at Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day was a bit challenging.  There were so many things that I worked on in bits and pieces that I wasn't sure what to include.  

Yesterday at Ikea we picked up the brackets for the narrow shelves that will go above the vertical blinds (see picture below) to house the scrap buckets but they only had three of the 7.5" size so my hubby will cut down the 11" ones and modify the length to optimize the space. After sorting a dozen containers I burned out and my sewing room redo is at a stall. I'm hoping new shelves will get things going again.

wish it still looked this clean!

Mock up of what it will look like - please don't crash down!

We also purchased new sheers and drapes for the living room and bedroom that need hemmed but unfortunately I changed my plans once we got back home so we didn't get everything needed.  An online order for those items will delay that progress too... After running around town with no success I was pretty discouraged.  It's sad how little window treatment is available in our local stores and what I did find was 4x the price.  

 I have yet to find a miracle cure for too much stuff in too little space.  It must be the same as too many projects and too little time or too many new release fabric lines and too little money. On that note, I'm off to try and deal with that realization and leave you with a picture of the pups underfoot as aways!