Honored

I have been adding my quilts to Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival for a couple of years, since her first festival I believe, and this year she added a voting component to the mix.  I am so honored and excited that my ABC I-Spy quilt was nominated in the Bee Quilts Category!  It made my week to see that people had voted and selected it, so I wanted to say thank you to all of the people who did.  You made my day!

Voting is open until tomorrow night, and there are some beautiful quilts nominated!  Go check them out here.  If you wanted to vote for mine, I will send you hugs and be super grateful, but the other quilts are so beautiful, too!

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Wonky ABC I-Spy Quilt

 I am just under the wire getting this quilt added to the Blogger's Quilt Festival this year!  I am glad I made it because this is definitely one of my absolute favorite quilts.  Way back in 2009, I was a member of the Sewconnected Virtual Quilting Bee on Flickr led by Quiltdad, and I asked the members to make me a wonky letter block to compile an ABC quilt out of.  I sent everyone I-Spy fabric that corresponded to the the letter to use as patchwork background fabric to the letter, and I love the end result!

 I finally finished it this past fall, but I haven't blogged it until now.  I was working on it at a quilt retreat last spring in Ft. Collins, and Amanda Jean, who was an original member of the group, was at the retreat too.  She made me two additional blocks to help me finish it up, which was awesome. 

I found the book WordPlay by Tonya Riccuci to be super helpful when I was making the additional 12 blocks leftover after the swap. 

Each block is 15 inches square, so the quilt is about 75" x 90".  It easily fits a full bed, which my daughter will eventually have.  The last row makes up her name, which was a fun way to make 6 rows.  One of my favorite pieces is that I added photos of her to fabric, which I then used to illustrate her Z block.

I really like how the back turned out, too.  I used the dog pattern from the book Dare to Be Square, but I added a border of 2 1/2" squares and then another pink solid border to the back as well.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to my quilt, which my daughter loves!
twinfibers (blog, flickr)
crazymomquilts (blog, flickr)
acommonplacelife (blog, flickr)
SewHelpMe (flickr)
lucky duck day (blog, flickr)
Amy's Creative Side (blog, flickr)
artsymomma (blog, flickr)
tellen24 (blog, flickr)
Jacquie G (blog, flickr)
ritapizza (blog, flickr)
krommama (blog, flickr)
j_q_adams (blog, flickr)

Thank you, Amy for hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival again this spring!  If you haven't yet, you should head over there to see all of the beautiful quilts!

Little Apples Dress and Nightgown-Finish it up Friday!

This has been a productive week!  Last weekend, I attended the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild Meeting in the morning on Saturday and the sew in the afternoon.  I started cutting out this dress, and I tried to sew it together while I was there, with no luck since I forgot to bring the pattern instructions!  I thought I remembered how to make this style dress because I had made so many before, but I was combining patterns-it didn't help that I was talking while I was sewing.:)

Therefore, I woke up a little bit early on Sunday because I had to finish it!  It really only took about an hour to put it together once I was focusing on it, and I love this little dress so much.  The Little Apples fabric is so perfect for a 2 1/2 year old's summer dress!  It is a pattern by Children's Corner-the Lucy, and I made a size three, which she should be able to wear through the summer and into next fall!

Ever since our Front Range Modern Quilt Guild retreat a couple of weeks ago, I have been wanting a serger.  Actually, I wanted one before that but I had never seen one in action, so I was a little bit afraid of them.  After the retreat, I set up my rss feed in Google Reader to subscribe through Craigslist to any mention of serger that came up.  About four weeks later, this Janome popped up, and I called them up that day!  I actually was searching through Colorado Springs (an hour south of me), Denver (where I live), and Birmingham (where my mom lives).  It was fascinating to me that in Birmingham over that time period only a few sergers were listed, but in Denver, there were 2-3 sergers a week!

 It works beautifully and the previous owner had only used it sporadically for burp pads over the last five year, and she had not used it at all this last year.  I got such a great deal on it, and it looks brand new.  My birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so this is my birthday present!  At the sew last Saturday, my friend Melissa showed me how to thread it, and now it is working like a champ!  There were at least four new sergers bought after that retreat, so I suppose we all drank that serger kool-aid.:)

Sunday, during nap time, I whipped out this little nightgown/dress for my daughter for the summer.  It was going to be a dress for everyday, but my husband thought it looked like a hospital gown. (What?)  It did look slightly weird over her long sleeve shirt, but really?  The unfinished edges are supposed to be raw edge since it is knit material, but I am not sure that I like them.  I may try doing a rolled hem to see if it makes it look a little nicer.  I like the fabric, and it will at least be cute as a nightgown.  My daughter loves it, and ultimately, that is all that matters.  The pattern is Tee for Two by Patterns by Figgy's.

 

 I posted about my Sushi Quilt earlier this week, but I wanted to share it again since this is my Finish It Up Friday post.:) I finished sewing on the binding last Friday night, and I brought it to our guild meeting on Saturday, which is always a great motivator to finish!  I was a pattern tester for Sonja Callaghan of Artisania.  She designed this "I  Love Sushi Quilt" using paper piecing.  It is such a fun quilt to make, and I am in love with how it turned out!  The pattern is super easy to follow, and it will be available soon for sale.  I will definitely be posting when it is up for sale, and you can keep an eye out at her blog or in her shop to grab your own pattern!

I am linking up with Amanda Jean at her Finish It Up Friday Post!    I am off work for Spring Break starting this afternoon at 3, and I must say that I am looking forward to sleeping in until 7 and going to the Zoo next week!  The icing on the cake is that it is going to be absolutely gorgeous here in Colorado with the high near 78(!) on Sunday.  I plan on being outside as much as possible to soak up that beautiful sunlight and going to the park as much as possible, too.  I miss going to the park when it is snowy and cold outside.  Maybe I can even sneak a lot of sewing in between now and next Friday to have another project to share soon!  Have a great weekend everybody!  Thank you for stopping by!

{WIP} Wednesday

I am joining in with the fun over at Freshly Pieced this week for Work in Progress Wednesday!

My big finish this past week is my "I Love Sushi Quilt!", which I do love so very much.

I originally blogged about it here, but here is a quick recap.  I was a pattern tester for Sonja Callaghan of artisania.  She designed this awesome pattern, and it will be for sale soon!  Isn't it a lovely pattern?

Works in Progress:
-need to blog about two dresses I finished this week!
-need to finish putting together the top of my Swoon quilt.  It is finished, but I don't think my sashing was very accurate because it doesn't lay flat on the floor.  Therefore, I am contemplating ripping it apart and starting over-with the sashing only!

-add elastic to a skirt for my daughter
-make two more dresses-have the fabric just need to cut it out and sew!

On the back burner:
Geese in the Forest Quilt
Two(!) Nine Patch Quilts (all the nine patches are complete, need sashing, etc.)
Craftster Lap Quilt Swap Batik Quilt-top is finished
Star Quilt a Long-top is finished
50 States Swap Quilt-stalled forever until I figure out how to make this work
I know I am forgetting some here!

Total:
WIP-11
Finish-1  :)

I Love Sushi!

I didn't mean to be gone for so long, but it has been busy around here!  I really wanted to share my "I Love Sushi" Quilt with all of you.  About six weeks ago, Sonja put out a call for pattern testers for an upcoming pattern of hers, and I happily volunteered.  Actually, I was begging, "please, please, let me try!":)  She sent me the pattern along with a host of other happy pattern testers, and this is my end result!  Isn't it great?

 I love this pattern so much and it is so well written.  One of the things that I love is that she has options for you to customize it.  For example, the rice bowl can be a bowl of rice, or a bowl with just chopsticks, or a bowl with chopsticks and rice.  I had so much fun making it, and it was great practice with paper piecing.  Everything is very well explained, and she also has tutorials on her blog (artisania.wordpress.com) if it is your first time paper piecing.  Go check out her shop for all of her awesome patterns!

Here is a quick summary of everything else that has been going on around here:
-First Annual Front Range Modern Quilt Guild Retreat-  We had this last month, and it was so much fun.  I stayed up way too late sewing and chatting (mainly chatting) each night-3 A.M. the first night!  We have such a great guild, and it was so much fun to be surrounded by people who also like quilting and sewing as much as me.  I sat across from Traci, and we really had way too much fun talking into the night.  She made so many outfits for her little girl! She also convinced me that I need a serger because she was amazing switching back and forth between her sewing machine and the serger.  I shared a room with her and with Marta, who is so fun.  Marta just started a blog, and she is making a beautiful Swoon quilt. Amy did a great job recapping all of the fun on her blog, Stitchery Dickory Dock, with a group picture because I did not get one!  I barely took any pictures the entire weekend, which is shameful, but I was having too much fun!  Melissa also did a great job recapping the fun that this weekend was, so go check it out here, too.:)  These are just a few of the awesome people that I am so lucky to be in a guild with!  I went to bed Sunday night at 6:30 before my 2 1/2 year old daughter.  I was happily exhausted.

-Met up with other moms of young children from the guild to go to a trampoline center for the kids one Saturday, which was a blast.  My daughter had so much fun, and I didn't know they had places like that for kids! 

-Bought a Zoo pass for this summer a couple of weeks ago.  The weather over Spring Break, which is next week, is supposed to be unbelievably nice (high 70's this weekend!), so we are going to the Zoo soon!

-Bought a serger off of Craigslist!  It is an early birthday present, and you can get sergers for a great price off of Craigslist.  I set Denver, Colorado Springs, and Birmingham (where my mom lives) on a rss feed for sergers in my Google Reader, and anytime a serger popped up I knew that day.  I will share more details later, but it was interesting how many showed up in Denver or Colorado Springs (at least a couple a week) and how few showed up in Birmingham (I think two over an entire month!).

-This past Saturday we had another guild meeting and a sew day!  I learned how to thread my serger from Melissa, and cut out a dress, which I then proceeded to sew wrong.:)

-I have also been hanging out with my daughter, and we were going to the park every day last week enjoying our lovely spring weather until Thursday, when she became sick, but she is on antibiotics and seems to be doing better. 

I hope all of you have been doing well!  I have more projects to share soon!

Swoon-Blocks Finished!

This past week, I have been chugging a way on my Swoon blocks, and I am so happy to say that I have finished all of the blocks!  I am so in love with how it is turning out.  I love this fabric line so much.

This is one of my favorite blocks.  I just love the red and the focus it gives the block.

This one doesn't have the contrast the others do, but I still like it.:)

My husband was out of town at the beginning of the week, so once Z went to sleep I sewed a couple of hours each night.  Friday we had a snow day, so I snuck in an hour before everyone else was up, 2 1/2 hour nap time (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), and I stayed up way too late Friday and Saturday finishing these.  I am so glad I did because it feels so good to have these blocks completed!  I am going to work on the sashing this week, and I hope to have it basted in order to quilt it at the first Front Range Modern Quilt Guild Retreat in two weeks!  I can't wait!

January Stichery Completed

 

 I recently finished the cross stitch for January from the Frosted Pumkin just in time for the new February installment.  I have never cross stitched on linen before so it was a lesson in how to count on linen for me.  I  haven't really done any cross stitch since college, and it was a brief sampler then.  The last major thing I cross stitched was a horse and rider silhouette against the sun in front of the sun on a sweatshirt in high school.  It was really hard to stitch because it was going through sweatshirt material, and it was tedious.  I gave up on it until college because I was so burned out.  My sampler wasn't speaking to me, so I gave up half way through it too.  I still have it, and it will be eventually finished.  I was happy to find modern cross stich patterns to try.  I am not happy with this one, but I am looking forward to seeing how much I improve over the next 11 months!

I have also been working on my Swoon quilt, and I have 4/9 blocks completed here.  I finished the 5 and 6 blocks over the last couple of days, but they are not in this mosaic.  I am hopeful that I can finish them all this weekend!

Swoon-4 blocks finished!

As of this afternoon, I am up to four Swoon blocks!  I have been having a lot of fun pairing the story prints to the background fabrics.  I love the scarf print in the outside rim, and I am going to try to use a little bit of it in each block I think.  I think it will help it all tie together in the end.  My goal is going to be to complete two blocks a week, which seems doable at this point.  It will ultimately end up on my daughter's big girl bed when she graduates from her crib.

You should definitely check out the flickr pool where there are such amazing blocks!  I can't believe there are over 850 people in the group now; there are going to be some amazing quilts!

Baby Girl Plus Quilt

This past week I finished a plus or cross quilt for a new baby girl.  I wanted to try this pattern because I have seen it floating around, and I really like the way it shows off fabrics.  Each of the squares finishes at 4.5".  It is approximately 36" x 45", and it is a good crib size quilt.  It was a lot of fun pulling out different fabrics from my stash, and using some scraps up to finish it.  I really tried to balance low, medium, and high tones with this one, and play with different patterns, while trying to create a "girl" quilt that wasn't pastels.  I am sending it off to the recipient this week, and I hope she likes it!

I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilt's Finish It Up Friday!  Go check out all the other finishes over there this week!

Swoon!

Last year I was dedicated to finishing up quilts, so my reward this year is the opportunity to start new ones!  Yay!  I have been hoarding two fat quarter stacks that I used birthday money last April to buy since last April with the idea that I would make my daughter two matching twin sized quilts for her future twin beds when she moves up to a big girl bed.  Right now she is 28 months and quite happy in her crib still, and we don't plan on moving her until it is necessary!  So, I am planning ahead. 

I was determined to wait until I found a pattern that I loved for her bed(s) before I used up my precious Pips.  I love the single girl quilt, and I seriously considered that pattern, but I felt like a lot of the people would end up decapitated, which is never a good thing. :) I do plan on making one of those eventually, but not with my pips.  It is such the perfect pattern for a little girl though!  I do plan on making a throw using some of my scraps from this project and others that blend to put into this room eventually... 

This past December I finally decided on the Swoon pattern, and all of a sudden it became a quilt-a-long hosted by Katy. This was my fortuitous moment where I decided that I was supposed to make this quilt!

Last weekend we had a sewing day with the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild, which is a fabulous group if you live in the Front Range area of Colorado from just south of Colorado Springs to Denver/Boulder (you should definitely join!), and my friend Kari was making a block for the Swoon-a-long, which I had already joined but hadn't started cutting.  She figured out a way to make the block a little easier by omitting some of the seams, but the caveat is you need a little more fabric.  I decided this was the way to go, and I quickly jumped on board. 

So, I made this block on Monday and finished it on Monday!  I did have to rip and rip and rip, but I would have been doing that anyway.  I think that happens anytime you are trying to beat the clock of when nap time ends!  I really love it, and Kari has a abbreviated version of how to do it on her blog, which will make sense if you have the pattern already.:)

I am very excited about this swoon-a-long, and if you haven't already joined, now is the perfect time!