WIP Wednesday: the one with Christmas gift plans

One more scrappy quilt top down! How many dozen to go???

This is definitely going to be the year of the Growth Group Quilts. I've known the people in my growth group(s) at church for 3-4 years now (7-8 in my original group), and they should have quilts. I'm tempted to just make a bunch, bring a pile to a group gathering, and get to pick the one they like the most....

In the meantime...need moar backings! I'm going to start sewing together chunks of collections that I have which aren't really useful anymore. Also, cotton homespun interspersed with patterned stuff. It's not great, but it's solid.

I sent four quilts off to be longarmed with a local quilter, and will hopefully manage a couple more in the next weeks.

I'd like to make a stuffed pouffle - possibly for giving away? I have some denim, and I think I'm going to use that. 

Need to make 'handles' for a laundry bag (or a better laundry bag); actually, we need several more 'bra bags' that we can toss in the wash.

have backings for four more quilts (green spares, two quilts for Lin nephlets, one quilt for Kinsley)

make 3 more old maid's puzzle quilt blocks to add to the 3x3 one - using 'older style' fabrics

Christmas party plans?
- 1 slip dress in a beige colour, suitable for going underneath overlay dresses?
- something for a "hoedown"

To Do for November/December 2014

Unpacking the workroom has made me realise just how much fabric I have. And how much of it is half-finished projects and/or scraps.

So, I think, for the rest of the year, I may have to do nothing but scrap quilts and half-done projects. This may or may not be very successful, but if you aim for nothing you hit it every time, right?

WIPs - in pieces
- batik log cabins
- kaleidoscopes of autumn (was Don't Call Me Betsy's kaleidoscope QAL before I changed it up)
- comparing apples and pears
- violet crumble (was Blogger's Block Party 2012)

WIPs - borders
- Build Me Up Buttercup
- Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

WIPs - needs backing
- USA Hurray
- Radiant Orchid
- Farmhouse Stars

And then there are the scraps! Basically, all the quilts out of all the scraps ever for the next two months. (Possibly the next two years.)

Even simple quilts like Licorice Allsorts are good - all those little charm squares lying around.



Or the Scrap Vomit quilt by imagingermonkey.

Or the Rainbow Coins Quilt at Pile O'Fabric.

At some point I need to take photos of the four quilts I finished (read: finally got bound) during September/October.

The problem with getting anything done right now is that it's pretty much a recursive function:

I can't unpack because I'm running out of space due to having UFOs taking up so much of the storage area.
I can't finish the UFOs because I don't have the space to pull them out and start working on them.

Repeat ad infinitum...

WIP Wednesday: the one with selvage strings!

PSA: It is generally inadvisable to sew through one's finger:

That baby went through the nail and out the pad of my thumb. Owwwww!

Finished

I finished backings for Santorini Sun And Sky, and HST Harvest. Folded them up and packaged them in recycled packaging that was originally addressed to me. I stuck a label on it with the address of my quilter and posted it off at the post office.

And received the parcel back at my house on Monday when the label fell off.

*facepalm*

This time, I've written the address on the package. No labels to fall off this time!

WIPs

Baby Quilts

One of the babies has been born! A boy, still nameless last we heard. He's going to get the less colourful one (his parents are little more conservative).

And I've decided to back the quilts in flannel. It'll be nice and soft, as well as using up the fabric.

Scrap Attack {String Fever}

I tipped out my box of selvage strings:

It's a large pile. The ruler is in the back to provide perspective! I've been collecting strings for quite a while now!

Then I started sorting them:

The pile in the middle is mostly the whites and low-volumes. I'm still deciding how those are going to work. In the meantime...colours!

I put a couple of blocks together last night. I'm not sure if this is the "proper" way to do it, but this is how I'm doing them!

I have a layout plan, too!

We'll see how it all comes out in the coming weeks. :)

To Do

Diamonds Dancing In Rainbows

I'm going to sew these together. I'M GOING TO SEW THESE TOGETHER.

Maybe on Friday night? I have the Sydney Southern Cross Quilters meeting on Saturday, so having something new for that would be good!

--

How about you? What have you been doing this week? Have you linked to WIP Wednesday?

2012 recap: a big year

I’ve been a bit slow with this post – the recap of 2012 and the goals for 2013. Partly because I was away in Vietnam during that week when I usually do all my “past year, next year” organisation, and partly because my computer died at the start of December and I didn’t get around to replacing it until last week. I’ve been doing everything off my work computer which, while sturdy, makes me a bit antsy at times.

And it’s so much easier to 'do' than to 'recap'!

I'd have done a collage of my projects, only I don't have the time right now.

My goals for 2012 were:

1. Finish another 12 quilt tops.
2. Make at least 1 quilt from go to whoa - including the quilting stage, which I usually fob off to someone else.
3. Start making quilts and patterns with an intent to sell.

My results for 2012 were:

1. Not quite. My excuse is that we were doing kitchen renovations from February until August, and I had no sewing space because the kitchen essentially got moved into my sewing room.
2. Yes! The Eternity Quilt. Designed, cut, pieced, quilted, and bound by me!
3. Well, I did some quilt block patterns but they were nothing special. I'm not sure I'm cut out for the 'making patterns to sell' angle - it's not my focus, although I might still make some quilts to sell in future.

2012 Works

California Girl: A very quick project that turned out rather nice. More pastels than I like, but it'll be to someone's taste, I'm sure! (And the photography doesn't help.)

Charmed Prints: A quilt-along with Anne-Marie of Gen X Quilters.

HST Harvest: Using up the FQs of a "harvest themed" fabric collection I bought four years ago and which I don't like anymore. (The colours are Not My Thing at all!)

Floating Wildflowers: For the wedding of a friend in April. Another fabric collection I bought four years ago and hadn't yet used. I like this one better - the dark jewel tones, the design - much more to my tastes!

New York Beauty Blocks: Was to be for a huge NYB quilt-along, but I didn't like the colours I chose. I worked in mostly-solid or monochrome batiks and it just didn't work for me. So I'll make a small hanging from this and do a fullsize (or bigger size) quilt in some other fabric collection.

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner - Scrap Attack: Definitely a pattern to do again in future - love the scrappiness, and the off-white 'backing'. It would be interesting to do this with a layer cake (or jelly roll) and a background fabric...

Azerbaijani scarf for Eurovision: For my friend's Eurovision party back in May!

Two baby quilts: a commission by a friend for her nephew and niece.

mug rug: Part of a mug-rug exchange. Only mine was a bit large - it's more of a soup-bowl rug!

Heirloom: I was trying to do this in the manner of a quilt I saw online, but I think that one was more of a 'coins' style design, which makes a difference - this design is a little too rich for my eye.

Build Me Up Buttercup: I love the fabric, but I don't think the design quite hits me. Yellow (it's actually 'Kona Daffodil' not 'Kona Buttercup' but the name stuck) is not my favourite of colours - I prefer it as an accent, not a theme.

Snowflake block: My first block tutorial! Design is by Madame Parfait, but she never posted the tutorial. This one's a bit rough, and I really need to make a whole quiltload. Perhaps in 2013?

Stepdad’s Cushions: Commissioned by my mum for the stepdad, oh, two years ago. Finally finished this year. Along with her quilt. They now sit in pride of place on their bed.

Batman block: A block tutorial for the Wicked! bloghop in October 2013. I need to use this block - perhaps in a cushion cover?

Eternity: My 2013 nemesis, dreamed up for a church project and completed in a ridiculously short time given its complexity level. Four months from inception to completion, and I did every inch of it, from design to cutting to piecing to quilting.

So that’s 2012, done and dusted!

Up next, 2013 goals.

WIP Wednesday: the one with lots of cutting!

In Progress

Eternity Quilt
Laid out the fabrics to get an idea of the colour wheel:

Then pulled them out and started cutting strips:

Still cutting:

I only need a 3" strip from each colour, leaving me the better part of a fat quarter to add to my stash. That's a lot of stash!

And the selvedges cut from the edges - would be a gorgeous quilt! I must do something with this for the end of the year...

Aaaaand we're done!

I even cut an extra set of 2.5" strips for...another project. I don't know what project yet; I haven't decided. But they're there in case I want to use them!

Now to cut them into triangles lay them out, and sew them into rows! EASY PEASY!

*sound of breaking brain*

Scrap Attack (nobody puts baby in the corner)

I'm planning to quilt this one all myself. I may be crazy.

The front:

The back:

I've never quilted an entire full-size (well, single) quilt myself. I'd actually like to go with FMQ instead of the usual straight-line quilting. Perhaps in concentric diamonds around the centre?

I'm hoping to have this done for the Bloggers Quilt Festival in Oct/Nov.

Birthday Blocks

So crazily behind on these. This one was for May!

Yes, I did use a leetle piece of Mendocino Mermaids in there...

I think this one is May, too. Or possibly June?

And one for the Books and Blocks Bee organiser, Tracey:

This one was very easy: she'd cut up the fabrics and sent them over to me, and all I had to do was assemble them! Very very simple!

I managed to get these three put together last night - lots of cutting and sewing, but quite satisfying to get done!

Waiting in the Wings

Stepdad's pillow
Quilted it, but need to stick the pillowslip all together.

Terrain Challenge
On the backburner. Maybe when I need a break from the teeny-tiny piecing involved in the Eternity Quilt. Just needs to be ready for Swap Day at Material Obsession.

What have you done this week? Have you linked up at the Linky Party over at Freshly Pieced?

To B(order) or not To B(order)?

I always hate getting to the part where I have to add borders in to a quilt. I can never decide whether it needs a border or not. Or even how much border it should have.


I was going to leave it like that. Nice and simple. Focus on the blocks and the layout and the piecing and not complicate it with borders.

But I have a bunch of HSTs, some of which are roughly hand-sewn and which need using, and which are the right colour and suitably scrappy...

Which then brings up the question of the type of border it should have.

These things are never easy to decide!

Boxes?


Blocks?


Zig Zags?


Or Flying Geese?
Ugh. Choices. I am chronically indecisive....at least, I think I am. Am I? Or maybe I'm not?

Ultimately, I picked the one with the least sewing - the Flying Geese. Because the least effort for the best effect is always a good way to go for me!

Plus, I like the 'blank space' effect that the flying geese blocks produce.

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner!

Isn't it preeeeetty? So so preeeeeetty!

It was still a lot of sewing, mind! Two episodes of Castle - the one with the handcuffs and the 2nd half of the one with the national security threat - and three episodes of Sherlock - the one introducing Moriarty, the one with Irene Adler (*OMG LOVE*), and the Hounds of Baskerville.

My day is done. (And nearly gone the sun!)

And that's #5 for the year! And it's not even April!

I even have HSTs left over for the Festival of Half Square Triangles being put on by Megan over at Canoe Ridge Creations!!



HOWZAT?

Scrap Attack QAL: Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner

"Things are gonna get a little interesting around here..."
"Define 'interesting'."
"Oh God, Oh God, we're all gonna die?"
Wash & Mal, Serenity
So, spent yesterday afternoon watching episodes of Castle, Sherlock, and Lost Girl, and sewing 'Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner' together.

Sherlock is actually really very difficult to watch while sewing - there's a lot of visual stuff on the screen which you have to keep an eye on. Castle is easy to watch and Lost Girl nearly as simple.

But you don't want to hear about my fannish viewing habits. You've come for my Scrap Attack quilt!

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner (a.k.a. NPBITC or "no problem, bitches!") is nearly done!



It's very...scrappy. Which is the intention, I know, only I'm not used to this kind of scrappiness in my quilts - they usually look a lot more organised and colour co-ordinated!

It's not a bad look, it just takes some getting used to.



It is rather fun playing 'I Spy' with the fabrics though. "That's Terrain and that's Odyssea and that's Swoon and that's Central Park..."

It needs a border. I just have to decide what. I'm thinking one wide plain one in creams/whites, and one thin one composed of scrappy HSTs.

And then I have to sew it all together. Before the 28th.

It may not be interesting to the level of "oh God, Oh God, we're all gonna die" but it will certainly be 'interesting' for me!

Scrap Attack QAL!

I've decided to join in with the Scrap Attack QAL over at Stitched In Color - my first QAL of the year!

I've been thinking of getting rid of a bunch of my scraps for a while now - I have a great many selvedge strings, thanks to my own 12-quilts-in-2011 project, and have been threatening to make a string quilt for nearly six months now.



This might be my opportunity to get a move on it!

I'm a little uncertain about exactly what kind of fabric one uses as the backing block for a string quilt. I have some craft cottons which are good solid materials, just not quilting quality. And there's some craft calico in my stash - leftover from when I was making the Steampunk Victoriana dress. Again, it's good solid material, just not quilting quality.

Does it matter terribly much not to use 'quilting quality cotton'? There's a part of me that rebels at using 'good' fabric where it's not going to be seen!

Technically, my Drunkard's Path should fit the bill for a Scrap Attack quilt, too - the dark fabric is from stash, but the coloured fabrics are scraps of everything else. Only, I have no idea how long it will take to complete the Drunkard's Path quilt, seeing as I'm piecing the blocks by hand. I hope to have a wad of blocks when I get back from China and HK, but who knows?



Then (on yet another hand) there's also the ideas in 'Crazy For Scraps' by Sally Schneider - I'm really liking the askew quilt (halfway down the page) - I love that block, although I'm not sure I have large enough scraps for it. So many of my scraps are smaller bits and pieces (like the selvedges).

So many scraps and ideas! So little time!

The Scrap Attack Flickr Group