Works in Progress

The other night I put pen to paper and made a list of all the sewing projects I have going.  A lot of the projects are tops that need quilting, which brings me to the confession that I don't really enjoy quilting.  I love piecing, but quilting, not so much.  Maybe it's because I don't have the right tools for the job.  Anyhow, because I don't love quilting, I tend to put it off.

Here's my list:

Quilt Tops that Need Quilting

1. Working Title: Monstrosity,  blogged here

2. Linen Inside Out Quilt,  blogged here

3. hedgie pinwheels top,  blogged here

4. sapphire stars top in progress,  blogged here

5. Zoology II Patchwork Quilt Top,  blogged here

6. Breakfast At Tiffany's Lattice Quilt Top  blogged here

Piecing in Progress

Dwell, blogged here.  I have all the blocks joined in their rows with the vertical sashing.  I still need to attach the horizontal sashing and borders.  Then it goes to the giant "to be quilted" pile!

Butterflies (and Hearts?) - not pictured.  I have 11 butterfly blocks from Lori Holt's book "Quilty Fun" pieced.  I was thinking I would alternate rows of them with some heart blocks, space them all with plain white squares, and add a top and bottom border, perhaps with an appliqued name if this quilt ends up getting going in time to become a gift.

Deadline Sewing

Sew Sew Modern 4 Aeroplane Bag (hand stitch where lining meets zipper ends) - Mail 2/10

Sew Sew Modern 4 Device Pouch (fabric pulled, not started) - Mail 2/10.  It will look a lot like this, but with a different color linen.

Rockin Robin borders - Mail 3/10, not pictured.

Orphan Blocks to Turn into...Something


Scrappy Fireworks block with April Showers, will become a pillow



Incredible Hulk block (from testing a pattern for Kristy at Quiet Play), I have the face mostly embroidered.  the husband thinks I should make all the super heroes and make a quilt for our boy.  Another option would be a tote bag.  Or a little pillow.

Things to Start

Table Runner tutorial, pattern is written, just need to make it and take photos.

Strawberry Social Quilt (still acquiring fabric)

Whew.  So that's my list.  I'm thinking I just may suck it up and quilt those quilts in February.  Except for the Sapphire Stars, because it is big.  It's also a special quilt, so I may send it out to be quilted all fancy-like.  Or pay my sister to do it, though I am not sure if she has the time (or even wants to).

What's your WIP pile like?  

Dwell Along, Fireworks, and a little tip.

Ever since I got Camille Roskelley's second book, Simply Retro, I've wanted to make the Dwell Quilt.  And I wanted to make it in Bonnie & Camille fabrics.  It just so happened that circumstances collided to make it the time to start now.  I recently purchased a destash set of Bonnie & Camille fat quarters on Instagram, and yesterday the #dwellalong started up, also on Instagram.  It was time!

I made these four blocks fairly quickly last night.  I am glad I started with one of each, because I was able to find out that there is an errata page for the book, which includes updated cutting instructions for the striped block (house C).  I admit, I don't always check for errata before I start a project.  I didn't this time, and luckily it turned out to be an easy fix since the unit was cut too big and was easy to trim down.  Lesson learned though - always check before cutting!



I have also been meaning to make a quilt with a Happy Go Lucky FQ set.  I was debating between Fireworks and Flower Girl (both by Thimble Blossoms/Camille Roskelley).  So I tested a Fireworks block with a mini charm pack of April Showers that has been sitting in my precuts box since Market.  I will be making a pillow from this fun block.  I think I want to go ahead and make the Flower Girl quilt from my Happy Go Lucky though.  Fireworks sure is pretty, but there is a lot of cutting, and I've been a pretty lazy quilting mood lately.

Side note:  You may notice the extra seams in my pinwheel house block above.  That's because those HSTs were left over from my Fireworks block.  They are the perfect size after a teensy bit of trimming.  So my advice, if you're making Fireworks any time soon, is to sew an extra seam (a half inch away from the seam called for in the pattern) before cutting the corners off of the corner units.  Once trimmed down to 3.5" HSTs, then combined into a four patch, you'll have a 6.5" pinwheel, perfect for the house blocks in Dwell, or any other quilty use.  Don't throw those triangles out!

So that's my little homage to Bonnie & Camille!  I'm finding that I love their fabrics more and more every time I work with them.  What's not to love?

Purple Monstrosity

No offense to all the folks that love purple, but I just can't get into it.  I think it's hard for me to find just the right shade of purple to work with.  Then why did I make a quilt from purples?

This past weekend was my first Houston Modern Quilt Guild meeting.  I know, took me long enough.  Anyways, this month's meeting was a special color workshop given by Jessica Darling.  I tend to fall into color comfort zones, and the workshop encouraged me to branch out.

So I branched out.  But I still don't care for purple.  I think that's okay though.  At least, I'm not losing any sleep over it.  

I have some ideas for quilting this, but first I need to figure out a backing and piece together some batting scraps.  As much as I don't love this project, I feel compelled to finish it in time for show-n-tell at the guild meeting next month.  We were challenged to bring a finished quilt from the workshop to be entered into a drawing for a prize, so I am playing along.  

Maybe I'll learn to like this by then.

Stitcherie Grand Opening

Well, Stitcherie is open!  Cue freakout in 3...2...1....

But really, I am so super proud of myself for taking this leap.  I am beyond excited for what is to come.  And I think you'll be excited too, because we're having a sale!  

Use code WELCOME20 at checkout to receive 20% off of your entire order.  Even better, if you spend $50 or more, you'll automatically receive free shipping (US only for now, so sorry international friends, still working out the logistics for y'all).  

For my local pals that want to pick up your orders, you can remove the shipping charges to your orders with code LOCAL.  Make sure your order includes your email address, either by registering for a free account or putting it in the comments at checkout.  Please note:  The LOCAL code won't work with the 20% off sale (you cannot stack codes), so I'll be refunding any shipping if your order is less than $50.

I bet you're wondering what can you get with your 20% discount?  Well I will show you.

Purrfectly Happy from Lizzy House's Catnap in all four colorways

Low Volume Basics bundles

Bundles featuring Mercer by Dear Stella

Choose Your Own bundles

And much more!  I'm expecting a shipment of the entire line of Country Girls by Tasha Noel for Riley Blake today, and they'll be ready for purchase as soon as the UPS guy drops them off.

So please, let me formally welcome you all to Stitcherie.  Your support means the world to me, and I'll never be able to express how much.   xoxoxo

Works in Progress

I've got a mish-mosh of things to share today.  First up is this mini quilt for another Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap member that ended up not receiving.  All the angels had already been assigned, so I went ahead and made another angel quilt.  Can't leave anyone out in the cold!  I used some fussy cuts I had been hoarding and a bunch of coordinating solids, and played along with the #economyblockalong on Instagram (using this tutorial from Red Pepper Quilts).  It's super bright and fun, and I hope my angel partner loves it.

Next are some blocks for Love Circle at do. Good Stitches for Ara Jane.  These are monochromatic courthouse steps, and I used the tutorial Ara Jane posted on her blog to get them just right.

 

And finally, I'm working on a low volume, patchwork Aeroplane Bag for my secret Sew Sew Modern 4 partner.  I blew through a large portion of this bag thanks to Hilary, who came over to sew with me.  She's making the same bag (in beautiful quilt-as-you-go Constellations!).  Having a sewing buddy for me and a playmate for LT is really helpful!

Catvent Quiltalong: Ferdinand Pouch

This was a Christmas gift for my sister, so it hasn't made an appearance on the blog yet.  If you read Oh, Fransson!, then you are aware of the #catventquiltalong.  I really liked the blocks, but I knew I wouldn't have time to devote to a whole quilt.  Since each block was perfectly sized for a pouch, I decided to go that route and make one for my sister with the Ferdinand block.

I used this fun zipper I picked up at Fall Quilt Festival.  The zipper tabs were a happy accident.  They were supposed to be flat, but I guess I did something wrong and they got kind of tucked in.  But I think they look kinda cool.  Almost like I meant to make them all triangular like that.

This print from Madrona Road was perfect for the lining.  I made the pouch to fit my sister's little tablet she takes everywhere for writing.  It's quilted to provide a little protection too.  I got sneaky and had my mom measure the tablet when my sister wasn't looking.  Then I added a lot of extra space, because I didn't want to make the same mistake I did with my selvage pouch.  Thankfully, it was perfect and there is enough extra room to comfortably store her detachable keyboard.  Score!

The black linen and cross hatch quilting were inspired by Elizabeth's original quilt.  Why mess with a good thing?  Plus, everyone loves linen.  

2013 in Review

2013 was a good year.  Lots of ups, only a few downs.  Above you can see a little big mosaic of my favorite makes of the year.  Lots of fun memories here!  Also, it's funny how I always compare myself to all the other makers I follow, thinking I don't make nearly enough things to keep up (not sure why I even need to "keep up" but I suspect I'm not the only one with these feelings).  Anyways, I compare myself and then look at this mosaic (and the gallery below with links) and think, wow, I made a lot of stuff.  So there, Self Doubt, be gone.

One really exciting thing to happen to me that I made happen for myself this year is following through with a dream.  I opened my shop, Stitcherie, quietly the other day.  I plan to do some large grand opening hoopla when I work out some lingering kinks in the site's design.  But for now, feel free to enjoy some insider access during our "soft opening".

I was delighted to take part in a couple of online quilting bees.  This month marks my one year anniversary with the Love Circle of do. Good Stitches.  The ladies of the Stitch that Stash bee will always be in my heart as some of my very first online quilting friends.

It was an honor to participate in a couple of events over at Ellison Lane.  The Valentine blog hop was so much fun, and I really enjoyed guest posting for the Holiday Hostess series.  Jennifer is so inspiring and talented, it was simply a joy to get to be a part of the happenings over on her blog.  Thanks for including me, Jennifer!  xoxo

I was really thrilled to have a project featured over on Sew, Mama, Sew in Rachael's Sewing Trend's column.  I have a designer profile up at All Free Sewing.  I've had some projects featured quite a few different times on the Threadbias blog here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I got to go to Fall Quilt Market for the first time.  It was overwhelming and exhilarating and I can't wait to do it again in 2014.

Most of all, I've made tons of friends, thanks in large part to the fabulous Instagram sewing community, as well as connecting through blogs, Flickr, and various swaps.

Below, please find a gallery of all my blogged makes of 2013, with links to each post if you're interested in reading more.  Thank you so much for being a part of my little blog world.  Here's to a fantastic 2014!

Valentine Magnet Tutorial	Simplicity 2226	Sewing Room
Scrappy Heart Pillow	Spring Sprout Table Runner	Toddler Backpack
Scrappy Dishtowel Tutorial	Double Sided Table Runner	Summer Sampler Pillow
PTS 10 Pillow	Cool Triangles Mini	Scrappy Patchwork Throw
Marcelle Medallion	Selvage Pouch	Have It All Wallet
Quilt As You Go Super Tote	Paper Pieced Tulip Mini	Big Block Churn Dash Quilt
Quilted Tule Pillow	Rudolph Doll	Merry & Bright Pillows