When things work out...

Fussy cut feathers and ties, a photo by capitolaquilter on Flickr.

I couldn't have planned it better to have created the perfect pre-cut ties from the strips of "waste" when I fussy cut the centered feathers for the bumper pad.   The peacock motif placed itself nicely on the cradle ends with one right smack in the middle. Don't you just love when unexpected things work out?

ALYoF July Goal

With my room redo and last task of organizing notions yet to do, I could not put my hands on the elastic to make the fitted sheet however I did find handy tutorials like this one. Thanks for the input on adding solids and thread choices for the cradle quilt.

SBAMQG July Guild Meeting, a photo by capitolaquilter on Flickr.
I struck out on my May ALYoF with Rip Curl unfinished and didn't even link up with a June goal - super pathetic.  For July's ALYoF goal rather than roll it over, I'm choosing the cradle set with the bumper, sheet and quilt since I have a momentum going.

My book arrived for the Zakka 2.0 Patchwork Please Sew Along and although it's already week 5, I'm not feeling left behind since it runs all the way to October 7th. I think this bundle of Cream and Sugar from my "You are my Sister" Swag Bag will be perfect for the kitchen chapter.

Since the last time I linked up to Finish It Up Friday I did manage to get some items done including the bee blocks all mailed off on time. More about June finishes in this post.

I also had the privilege of helping to set up the very special benefit "You are my Sister" event at Hart's Fabric on Sunday where our SBAMG Low Volume Improv collaborative quilt was displayed and auctioned by Heather Ross with a photo featured on her most recent blog post . Check it out along with the list of Raffle winners.

Straightening my donation quilt "Bolt"

Adrianne at Little Bluebell also wrote this lovely recap with lots of pictures of the evening. I brought my camera and did take a single shot - thank goodness for friend and iPhones.

In January I'll be heading with a friend to Palm Springs for the Weekend Crafts Workshop and am so excited for the opportunity to hang out with Heather again.  She is not only incredibly talented and inspiring but the most genuine and easy person to be around.    I really do need to brush up on my needlework skills so I'm not a total star struck dork when I meet Anna Maria Horner for the first time.

Briar Rose by Heather Ross

Of course I just had to pick up a little bit of Briar Rose at our MQG meeting after Julia's feature fabric talk - and after seeing her in the adorable Hawthorne blouse. When I got it home I paired it with a few Windham solids.  Getting my hands on it as an early release feels like I should drop everything and start a new quilt now- and maybe I will.

There's a new twist to A Lovely Year of Finished with what I'll call a challenge: link up a goal and finished project for the next six months to qualify - Pretty fun stuff to keep us all going although if the last six months are a clue I won't likely be in the running but maybe you will.  Collectively, 665 goals were met and 37 prizes awarded - not bad people!  Read more HERE.

June 2013: Fresh Sewing Day

June 2013 Mosaic, a photo by capitolaquilter on Flickr.

Linking up to Fresh Sewing Day:

3 blocks and the piecing of the SBAMQG collaborative quilt made especially for "You are my Sister", Heather Ross/Hart's auction, Bee blocks for MoStash and F+F2, Ombre Cradle quilt top, QAYG jumbo beach tote, FMQ for H, Quilting workshop nine patch.

Sewing Room Redo Progress:

There you have it :)

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