Lucky Stars Attempt #2

In January I joined the Lucky Stars Block of the Month club by Don't Call Me Betsy. I started strong and had a vision of jeweled colored stars used only from stash fabric. After a month or two I was almost dreading it. My vision was falling very, very, very short and I was running out of fabrics I wanted to use. And did I mention I wasn't liking my blocks at all?

Fast forward a few months and a fair amount of paper piecing experience later and I had a much better vision. I wanted really warm and bright tones, something that would fit in with the summer, when all we need on our bed is a light quilt, and keep me happy in the dark doldrums of winter. "Luckily" my stash had grown by then and I only needed to add a little bit here and there to round it out.

So far I'm loving this series. Not every one of them is a hit of course, but when it's all assembled I think it will really come together.

I have dreams of having this done by Christmas, but only have 4 out of 24 done (I signed up for both 2013 and 2013 patterns). Oh and then I plan on hand quilting... so maybe Christmas 2015??

Quilted, Knit and Sewn Autumn Pillows

I never used to decorate for the seasons (the obvious exception being Christmas of course!). A few years ago I started changing up the art above my mantle and the wreath on my door. Then, with my total and utter (redundant) disgust with winter this year I needed to go with a full decor change and started sewing spring-like pillows with abandon.

As much as I loved the bright and airy pillows in March, I needed some cozy and autumn pillows come September. First up was to change the economy block pillow and I immediately thought of Anna Maria Horner's feather pattern. I love me some feathers but I knew I didn't have the patience to do a whole quilt in them. 

I took the general pattern and hacked a bit off the bottom to fit my pillow size. I usually prefer items in odd numbers so just two feathers bothers me but so it is.

 

 

Next up was a squishy, cozy cabled pillow cover. I hinted to a knitting friend that I wanted one until I realized that I could probably figure it out myself. It's my first attempt at cabling (using this pattern) and not without issues. Including (but not limited to!) not having circular needles in the right size and not buying enough yarn.

In the end I knit the front flat, knit the back flat in stockinette stitch, basted both to muslin and then sewed it all up. It still needs some toggle buttons and it's not the cleanest work, but it was fun to make and adds a wonderful color and texture to my couch!

 

Have I mentioned how much I love texture?? It's why I love fabric so much and with my new found love of knitting it's texture overload over here! Here are my 4 new fall colors. I kind of just want to dive right in.

Texture close up. The fabric on the big down pillows in the back is from a local $2.99/yd store. It's hit or miss there but this time was definitely a hit. These are (I think) high quality suiting material. Super thick and extra gorgeous.

I'm going to go lay about in my pillows now...

Lilly Pulitzer Baby Quilt

First, I apologize for these photos. I was on my way out the door to give it to my friend and realized I hadn't photographed it yet. iPhone + toddler trying to roll on it does not equal great photos.

A dear friend (and the only who shares my passion for all things fabric) Loves. loves. loves Lilly Pulitzer. Like lives it, breathes it, hoardes it, and sells it online (here!). Before her I thought it was just a line of dresses that looked vaguely Floridian. Since meeting her I'm pretty good at identifying "Lilly" from a (short) distance and I've grown to appreciate the designers affinity for pairing wild animals and alcoholic beverages. I also have access to a huge stash of Lilly scraps that collectors would probably give their right arm for.

When my friend told me she was pregnant with her second and planning a nautical nursery I knew that I had to get my hands on those scraps.

(Wow these colors above are way off! And super blurry!) I found the pattern for the sailboats from PieceByNumbers on Etsy.

Another thing about my friend... she loves color and pattern. Like loves it nearly as much as she loves Lilly. I had to audition 3 bright pinks before her before she agreed that the one I used for the binding wasn't "neutral"! So I used as many patterned fabrics as I could and prayed that it wasn't too "neutral" or too crazy.

When Cotton and Steele debuted we were a wee bit obsessed so that obviously had to make it in there. And then I snagged whale fabric at my LQS and even though it didn't seem like a good fit at first I really love how it gives the lower sea some depth.

Free motion quilting was, as always, a pain. I actually love doing it and I love the effect, but I'm terrible at it. I don't know if it's my skills (probably) or my machine (probably not) but I'm constantly breaking thread and making beautiful little nests on the back of the quilt. It seems I've tried every needle and thread weight under the sun but it always ends up the same.

I love these fish. They were a last minute addition and I was inspired by a quilt photo I can't find anymore so I slapped together a paper template myself which explains why they are a bit wonky.

I hope she likes it!!

Sunshine Quilt

When I started this I had some sort of bizarre dream that I would be peacefully finishing up the handquilting while in the maternity ward after Chipmunk was born. I think because I spent 5 boring days at the hospital with Goose that the same would happen. Instead, I was beyond exhausted at the end so there was no energy for quilting, then she was a week late and we spent less than 48 hours in the hospital. Poof! Dreams were gone.

Then it was a rush to finish quilting it because I forgot how freakin exhausting the first months are and she was a good sleeper even early on!

So the quilt that I started in January so that I would have some sunshine during an otherwise gray and seemingly unending winter... was finished in July. Whoops.

And then of course I couldn't find the photos I took and had to sheepishly ask my cousin to send me some. I'm sure that didn't sound narcissistic at all!

I love how wrinkly a hand quilted quilt can get!

WIP Wednesday: Sunshine Quilt

Can I join the million others and start with: It's Cold. Wah.

I'm not a big fan of complaining about the weather (noticing it is just fine, complaining not so much). Especially when people complain that it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Especially when you live in the Northeast. That's just the way it is and always will be (hopefully). However, this year I want to complain. 

I'm an Upstate NY girl. I can deal with snow. I can deal with cold. Usually I don't get the spring itch until mid- to end-of February, but this year I'm over it. It's too cold for Goose to run around outside and that boy needs to get out some energy in the worst way. I am constantly cold in my house and non of my sweatshirts fit over my too big belly anymore. Spring seems so far away!

I'm craving heat and summer almost obsessively (I'm going to blame hormones for some of this too!). My solutions? Go to the coffee shop that has huge glass windows with a greenhouse effect. Make non-alcoholic margaritas (best mix ever) and sit next to the heater. And work on this sunny quilt for my cousin and his wife.

They are due a month or so after I am (and our first babies were born on the same day!) and I was waiting to make this quilt until I knew if they were having a boy or a girl. Not sure why, as I'm not much for gender specific quilts anyways. But the moment I got the word that they were having another boy I grabbed my Olfa. 

Laying it out on my dining room table might have been the catalyst for my winter blues. It warmed up the entire room and seemed to just glow!

I used this template found on Flickr. Downloaded in the Original Size and printed a full size, it was a perfect finished 4".

So the big bummer with this is that all the fabrics... okay, most of the fabrics... were straight from my stash. After stocking up on fabric earlier this year, I thought it best to try and de-stash some with this quilt. Here's the problem with only working from your stash... then the stash is gone. Or at least the yellows and oranges. Hubby couldn't quite understand my disappointment at cutting up the last of my yellows, since that is technically why I purchased it in the first place.

Plus I have since found that there aren't a lot of yellows I love in the market right now (I guess that's a good excuse to gobble them up if I find them!).

I've updated (or will shortly) my 2014 Finished Projects page to reflect my goal list for 2014. I got a little distracted this week with the purchase of new fabric that called out for a bag that I'll share in a couple of days. But I'll get back on track!

Sparkle Punch Crib Quilt

I finished this right after the New Year, but it's taken me awhile to get any photos of it (and I'm not seeing how blurry they are-- photos on the iPhone look so much sharper!)

The pattern/tutorial I used was from Oh Fransson! I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw it, especially since it had the added bonus of including a wonky element!

 

The little 30" x 40" quilt was definitely supposed to be bigger but when I made it this far I put all my blocks up on a vertical felt design wall, stood back to admire them and watched in semi-horror as Goose knocked over the dress form standing next to the wall and they all fell off. From there on out he realized that nothing on that wall was permanent and he could take down and rearrange at his own discretion. All of a sudden this size seemed large enough (and my patience not nearly).

I chose to hand quilt this one for many reasons. First, I don't really like machine quilting. I'm not sure whether I'm not really good at it, I'm using the wrong needle and thread (though I've tried a hundred combinations) or my 15 year old-$100-Walmart machine is not feeling up to the task. Second, I wanted a project that would keep my hands busy while I spent time with my family at night instead of shacked up in my studio (thereby freeing up my studio time to start a new project!).

I loved it. I used a size 8 Pearle cotton in a wine and pale green color. It was rhythmic and relaxing. AND I think it gives the quilt the best finished look. Little imperfections can be overlooked and it has a really squishy, comfy feel to it.

I wonder if I'd feel the same if I hand quilted a beastly sized quilt....

Lucky star

I'm still cruising on the blocks to catch me up for the January Lucky Stars 2013 and 2014 blocks. I wasn't psyched with the light turquoise vs dark turquoise points when it was all said and done. And I also realized that, with my love of the gold cotton ball fabric I'm about to run out of it. Might have to break my fabric diet and get some more gold fabric...

Still loving how the colors are all going together!

As with all these blocks, I'm realizing how very off the finished sizes have been. After doing some good old fashioned Googl-ing, I realized that my method of 1/4" seams, using the side of the presser foot, is very off. Maybe fixing that will make these a little more even!

Pouch

 

One of my 2014 goals is to make a on-the-go project bag for my hand quilting and embroidery. The designs for the bag are still under construction, but I had to jump in and make the little accessory pouch to go with it. My current tote bag has a mess of stuff floating around the bottom, and since the bag has no closure, it's constantly falling out.

I was scrounging through my stash and came across these two fabrics. My first big project after Goose was born was to try my hand at some low-immersion dyeing. I used some muslin I had on hand and blended a couple of tutorials and as such, I was less than pleased with the results and banished these pieces to the bottom of the pile. But with some years between us and a new project, it seemed they would be perfect.

It was such an easy project (or would have been if my focus hadn't been divided between the project and Goose trying to dance on the table), I'm ready to make a dozen more!

Sugar Block Club: January BOM

Before I found the Lucky Stars BOM, I joined the Sugar Block Club BOM. I was hesitant at first since it promised lots of pinwheels and I always associate pinwheels with more traditional quilts. But I loved the Flickr photos from the 2013 BOM club and thought I'd give it a try. To avoid the flying geese colorway fiasco I went to one of my favorite color palette design sources, Design Seed, to find inspiration. Looove me some Design Seeds. Nothing does more to start me planning an excessive number of projects than those palettes! 

I went with this one:

Color Celebration by Design Seeds

And naturally had to buy some fabric to support this.... which, on the first weekend of the New Years, made it my second purchase of the year. And I have since put myself on a fabric diet (kind of, sort of).

My current favorite source is Quilt Home. I've window shopped for a couple of months but this was my first purchase and they didn't disappoint!

Fabric (top to bottom): Kaffe Fasset Shot Cotton Latte, Heirloom Dandelion by Joel Dewberry, Midwest Modern Rust by Amy Butler, Kaffe Fasset PWGP140 Gold, Dowry Jade by Anna Maria Horner, Ocean by Kaffe Fassett, Aviary Granite by Joel Dewberry, Aviary Vintage Yellow by Joel Dewberry, Kaffe Fasset PWGPP135 Grey, Kaffe Fasset PWGP129 Brown

 

 I also had a chance to organize all these quilts I'm working on. I knew those gift boxes would come in handy a some point!

BOM: Lucky Stars 2014 Bonus Block

Last night my husband went over to our neighbor's house to watch the football game and I had 3 wonderful hours of sewing and was able to knock out most of the Bonus Block for 2014. It went so much better than my first attempt! The center is still a little wonky, but much much closer to on point than the other. And I love the colors. I know the Kaffe Fasset swiss chard fabric gets a little lost in the floral, but I like it. They are looking a little more kaleidoscope than stars, but I'm loving it!

But then I noticed how much smaller my first block (right) is than the the second block. Nearly 3/4" on each side! Clearly I botched that first one big time. I like the design though (or how the design should look) so I'm definitely going to take another go at it when I have some free time.

When I decided to do a BOM club and found Lucky Stars I accidentally purchased the pattern set for 2013, not 2014. I like to think of it as a happy accident of course. So I'm doing both 2013 and 2014 at the same time to end up with 26 blocks at the end of the year. I finished January 2013 today (it was a super quick one!), but I've realized my little iPhone does it's best at the top of my stairs in the daylight, so I'll photograph tomorrow!

BOM: Lucky Stars January

One of my Technical Goals for 2014 is to work on my points and "exact sewing". One of my Application Goals was to do a Block of a Month club. So when I happened upon Don't Call Me Betsy's Lucky Star BOM club it was perfect!

A lot of BOM clubs patterns seem to be a little old fashioned, which isn't my style, but I love the look of these stars! I decided to really tap into my stash for this one and not buy any fabric for the blocks (sashing, border, etc. will be a different story) and to make the stars as vibrant and jewel like as possible.

I was cruising along and thinking I was rocking this. I really like paper piecing. It feels so controlled. As I put together the "rays" together I was never off by more than a sixteenth inch here or there (pretty good for me!).

Then all the pieces were put together and the center looked like this (I really need to start taking photos in daylight, not under my dining room light!):
 

And another side looked like this:

Grrrr... So frustrating!

But here's the whole shot...

And if I ignore my terrible center and the wonky connection AND that this wasn't actually supposed to be the order of the fabrics... I like it!

I like how the colors work together. I like that most of all of the points line up (except of course for the glaring center). I like the visual that's developing in my head for the final product. That's a fair amount of likes for my first star (trying to be positive here!).

So here's what I'm taking from this one...

Technical:
-Be more careful with cutting the 1/4" seam allowance, especially on the centers of each ray
-Press carefully and accurately after each fabric addition

Practical:
-I love my seam ripper

Now the hubs went over to the neighbors to watch the football game so I'm going to continue with my evening of decadent sewing!

Confused Flying Geese

I have two typical approaches to designing quilts. First requirement: it must be small, lap or crib size. I typically get burnt out on larger quilts and they lay half finished in my studio for years (there may still be one or two up there hiding in corners).  Second requirement: they involve the word "drunk" or "wonky" in the title or directions. I'm not the best at fine (or even approximate) points or squaring blocks up so if the end goal is something a little crazy then I'm in my element.

But it's a new year and I have some new goals (actually I have a LOT of goals, but more on that later). I'm going to attempt some sharp points and exact piecing. Gulp. We'll see how this goes. It's not going to be perfect. I don't need my quilts to be perfect, but I do want to challenge myself.

Enter the Confusing Flying Geese quilt. Inspired by this quilt by Lindsay Sews (take a minute and swoon a little bit). I wanted to attack a Geese quilt of my own that was a little wonky and drunk but in a different way... and it's full size.

I picked a palette to work with... I have no idea now what that palette was. I can't imagine my original plan was to have coral and orange and olive and gray and a bunch of blues??

 I pride myself in being able to visualize how things will look together in the final product. I also pride myself in coming up with combinations that others may not immediately think of but enjoy once it's in front of them. I think I missed the boat here.

I love all the individual color combinations. I'll put together a set of geese and adore it, then attach it to the rest of the quilt and wonder what the hell I have done... again.

So to start, here's the layout I'm working loosely off of (I was so darn proud of myself for coming up with a layout first!). Each block outlined in black works with the same fabrics.

Goose (ha, Goose) took a super long nap yesterday and I was able to finish the first quadrant of the quilt. I was hoping that seeing the whole quadrant together would be inspiring, but I'm feeling a little deflated. Woof.

So with a camera photo (let's be honest, all my photos are camera photos) and a little photoshop "magic" (I'm still very much learning) tried to see the greater picture and came up with this...

Yep, my photoshop skills are lacking... and the photo is blurry... and I should point out that the original block is actually square but photographed very wavy. Anyways, I don't plan to have exact repeats of the first quadrant, but do want to make sure each fabric is represented at least once in order to have some order so this gives me a general idea.

I loved the dark teal, olive and light gray (shows as white) while I was sewing it but now it really sticks out like a sore thumb. Blast. On a whole, this image gives me some hope that I can pull it off, but it's not the quilt I originally imagine! Maybe I should break up the teal/olive/gray strips into something smaller and put more concentrated color in there?

Time to clear my head and work with some different colors and fabrics...