3rd Quarter Finish-Along Projects

Since the 2nd Quarter on the Finish-Along with Adrienne of On The Windy Side just ended, that of course means that the 3rd quarter is just beginning. There are a few days left to link up your projects for the quarter, so be sure to stop by and check out all the details.

Here is my list for this quarter. As always I like to be ambitious and have a lot of things on my list, as well as give myself options to pick from.

So much for that goal...

At the beginning of the year I had a goal to blog more. I wanted to blog at least once a week, as well as blog all my finishes for the year - in at least a monthly blog post. Well, I obviously don't have to report on how bad I'm doing at those goals...

Birthday Celebration Month: Everyone is a Winner!!

I was wondering if my idea for this months celebration was going to be a good one or not. It looks like I should come up with some other idea.... ;) Any suggestions? Do you want daily discounts again? or coupon codes? Some other kind of giveaway? Let me know! :)

 

But until I announce something different, EVERYONE who linked up their project (form found in this post) is a winner! I'll be emailing you sometime this weekend! :) I'll get some pictures together of upcoming patterns to send you so you can pick an unreleased pattern, or let me know what you want that is already published. :) Feel free to keep linking up your projects if you want to! :)


Here are the beautiful projects that were kindly shared with me! :) Thanks Ladies!! ;D

Around the World Blog Hop

Have you heard of the Around the World Blog Hop? I had a few people invite me to join, so I decided I'll give it a go. It's been fun to look back and see lots of different people's posts, and see what everyone is working on.

I was tagged by Amanda of Material Girl Quilts. I mentioned her in my recent Celestial Star blog hop, as she was one of the sponsors. Amanda is crazy talented!! You should definitely go check out her blog if you haven't already. :)

As part of the blog hop, there are a set of questions to answer...

1. What am I working on?

That's kind of a tough one. I just finished up the Celestial Star QAL, which kept me pretty busy. Though I feel like I'm a little in between projects right now... besides the ones I can't share. ;) I'm am working on a few new patterns, as well as other projects. :) I have been catching up with my Handmade Birthday Club gifts though! Here are my latest finishes that I can share:


I made this fun little mini for Di.

 

 

and added a tissue cover and a few other goodies. :)

I also finished up this pillow for Rebecca.

 

 

and some extra goodies for her too!

I love how they both turned out!! and I'll be working on sharing both of these patterns soon. :)


2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

This is a hard question to answer. I think the biggest difference I notice about myself, is that I always have to come up with something new. There are so many great and amazing designs out there that I LOVE, but for some reason I always want to try something different and create my own designs or patterns. I think that is something that really fuels my desire to quilt. I love sewing and quilting, but constantly coming up with new patterns and designs really adds so much dimension to my own personal experience when it comes to quilting. Perhaps the design process is my first love, and sewing and quilting are the vehicles I use to make those ideas a reality. :)

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I kind of answered this in the previous question. To be more specific to my designs, I really like math, and geometry. I've always noticed shapes and how things fit together, especially designs of symmetry. I like figuring out how to put everything together, like a puzzle. I don't know...

On the flip side of the question, why do I design and create in the first place? I have a young family, 4 children 6 and under (the oldest was 4 (about 3 weeks shy of being 5) when the youngest was born) so they are all very close. When they were really young I did not enjoy taking them places because it was too crazy for me! Too stressful. So quilting became my hobby, and still is often my outlet from stress and the day-to-day routine of cleaning and those mundane mom tasks. Love my family and my children, but my hubby and I both realize that I need an outlet. ;) He's awesome!

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

Often I'll start doodling on graph paper. That used to be my all-the-time go-to medium, but it seems like I don't have any near me as often. I'll often do rough sketches on my phone in a drawing app. They are usually always really horrible, as the apps are kind of like using Paint. But at least I can get my ideas down. Then I'll work in Illustrator, where I can create, design, manipulate, and change my ideas until I have something I love, or maybe just like. Illustrator is my best friend in the entire process!! I love the freedom I have there to do so much. As well as how quick it is to make small changes and compare, without having to start over with a new drawing every time. It saves me a lot of time.

Then I fine tune my project, turn it into a pattern, print it out and start sewing. I'll often take notes as I use the pattern, on things to adjust and change. Then once it's ready, I type up my patterns in In Design, do some proof reading, and size checking, and there it is.

That is my really quick explanation of how I create my patterns! Often I'll start with the first steps, and then start working on different patterns before I complete the entire process. I just don't have enough time to materialize all of them. But I'm working on that. ;)

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek into my world. :) It was fun!


I'd love to point you in the direction of a few friends who I think are awesome!! Though some have already participated in the blog hop, I'll share them with you anyway. Because hey, I don't mind traveling to the same place more than once, especially if it's somewhere awesome!! :)

Marian will be participating next week. She is so awesome!! We met a while ago and was so nice and sent me some cookies once. It was the kindest thing ever!! I also bought some cute earrings from her, and we swapped some charms once.  Let me tell you our complete history together... haha. Anyway, she's super cool. I had a dream a few weeks ago that we were moving to the town where she lives. I wish it were true! She'd be awesome to hang out with. :)

Courtney is an awesome friend I've definitely mentioned on my blog before. What can I say? She's the bees knees of quilting and quilty friends! :) She's awesome!! And I love her style! Everything she makes is so cute. :)

Leona, I met her in Florida before we moved - she moved to the area where I lived about a month or so before we left. I miss her. She's amazing!! Probably the kindest person I've ever met!! I will always cherish the time we did get to spend together before we moved away. :) p.s. she doesn't know I'm tagging her. oops. :)

Stephanie Daniels and Pam Lincoln also tagged me. They are both super great!! It's been fun getting to know them better over the recent months and however long it's been since we've become online friends. :)

Ok, that's way more than three people. Oh well. ;)

 Hope you are having a great week!! :)

Made It: Swappers Anonymous

A year and a half ago (early 2013) two friends and I decided to do a little private swap! I was so excited! It is always fun making things for people you know and love!  Well, we started last spring, and decided to set the deadline for May or June... Tommy was born the end of April, so it was kind of busy, but definitely doable. Well, then there were some delays for other people and we decided to push it back, and back some more. Then I was teaching at the Sewing Summit last year, and that was REALLY busy, and right after that we moved to Florida... so anyway, our deadline became a bit fleeting on my end and it became a slow project amidst everything else going on. I think it was last December or maybe January of this year (?) that I finally finished up one project. Then we moved from Florida to Idaho and there goes more delays... I finally finished the other package this summer... but I don't think I really shared much of it. Anyway... I shared one picture on Instagram yesterday, and decided I should share everything because I received some amazing gifts that I just LOVE! :)


I'll start with the goodies I received. :)

Marika made me some amazing placemats and napkins (she did make me 6 of each - some must be in the wash). As well as a cute clutch. I love these placemats! They really are the most perfect colors!! We use them all the time, and I've probably washed them a bajillion times. Which means maybe I should have ironed them before photographing them, oh well. I think they are awesome in all their crinkly goodness! ;)

Tiffany made me the best pillow ever! Again, my favorite colors! I LOVE it! It lives on our couch and is one of my favorites! I ended up making my own insert from it from some other pillows that exploded in our dryer when I washed them. oops. :) But it works perfectly!

 

She also made me some cute fabric baskets that are perfect in my cubbies by my sewing area. love!

Here is what I made.

First I made this super cute fox hoop for Tiffany! I used the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery pattern from the Woodland Sampler, and simply enlarged it and added a few more dandelions.

I can't remember how large the hoop is, maybe 6 inches? So this is way bigger than the pattern.

A also made her this sewing machine cover. I love how it turned out. The color scheme is not one I have made much in, but I really love it! It is paper pieced, and some of those strips are super thin. It took for.ever. But I think it was definitely worth it! I love the design! I'd love to scale it up and do a quilt with this! Or it would be cute for a mini or mug rug or something. Anyway, it was really fun!

 I didn't get any really good pictures of the entire thing, but here's the best one.

 modeling over my smaller sewing machine. ;)

 Here's a shot of the back, showing off the quilting. I did really close wavy lines, but went around the x's.

I also sent some Lizzy House charms that she had mentioned earlier that she loved.

For Marika I made a Celestial Star Pillow. I really love the bold colors and the how the border pattern wraps around the pillow. This is definitely a favorite! and all of my family was SO sad when I sent it away (my son and my hubby were heart broken that it wasn't for them. lol.) :)

and how it looks on a pillow form. I like how the border wraps around.

I hand stitched the top, and I really like how subtle it is.

Here's a good shot of the border pattern.

I lucked out with the back - the pattern matches up so close on each side of the zipper!

I also made a tissue cover from some Anna Maria Horner Good Folks prints (the inside print is from the Pretty Potent collection), and included some more goodies, as well as some Erin McMorris charms and scraps.

I know I was super delayed with so much going on in life, but it was fun! I hope my gifts are loved and used as much as the gifts I received! It really is special to have some home made goodies around the house. :) Thanks Tiffany and Marika!!!


Ps. Don't forget to link up your finished Celestial Star projects on THIS POST! Winners will be picked and announced Monday morning!

2014 Finish Along!

One of my goals is to blog more. So far, I have done a horrible job at reaching that goal. lol. But if there is one event that will get me going, it's the Finish Along link ups. Rhonda of Quilter in the Gap started it two years ago(?). Then it moved to She Can Quilt with Leanne last year. And this year it is with Katy at The Littlest Thistle. The link up for the 1st Quarter is open until the 17th, so there is still time to get your WIPs together and join along! It is now closed. so bummed. I wrote this post on Monday, but it's taken me all week to find my camera, which I still haven't. So I have no pictures. I was going to throw in some old pictures, but the event is already closed. Anyway, even though I am not officially participating, I will still blog about it and do it on my own. :) Anyway... still stop by, so you can learn more about it - and be better prepared than I for the next quarter. I have really enjoyed it in the past! Plus there are prizes! (I've won some fun things in the past... which definitely helps with the motivation factor.) :)

I must say I was SOOO sad to miss the last quarter of last year. We moved at the same time as the pre-quarter link up. Although I missed it, I did finish a LOT of my projects that have been on my list for years! (I will post about those soon, I hope). I'm really excited to start over with a mostly fresh and new list this year. With no further delay, here's what I want to finish (and hoping you won't see these projects on my list over and over again. I at least feel like I'm getting better at actually finishing things.) ;)


Ok, looking at my previous list, I still have a lot of repeats... oh well. Anyway, here we go:


Quilts:

• Kaleidoscope Quilt - needs a back, then quilted and bound
• 60's Granny Quilt* - I want to change out the orange and teal instead. Then the giant squares need to be pieced to finish the top
• Tommy's Quilt* - I had the pattern all written out on my computer, and now I can't find the file anywhere. so bummed. I still remember how to make it, but I need to figure out the measurements again.
• Nest quilt* - just sew together, figure out a few details, and quilt and bind.
• My newest secret, upcoming pattern quilt.* The top is finished on this baby size. So excited to show this to you, but I am going to wait for the big reveal. I have a lap size of this to finish as well using some of Heather Bailey's new fabrics. So excited for it!
• Neil's triangle quilt - I started this one at Sewing Summit in Jeni's class. It's half finished. I LOVE how triangles look, but I am realizing that sewing them together is not my favorite. ;) I am probably going to confiscate the quilt once I give it to him. Good thing we live in the same house so he won't notice. ;)
• Bee Blocks Quilt. I received a lot of quilt blocks a year or so ago from the Quilting for a Cause group on Flickr (which I have been neglecting. the new flickr is so hard - as in hard to enjoy.) :( I laid these out the other day and paired up the blocks, and made a plan for them. I think I'll make all of these into 7 quilts.
  

Other projects:

• Numbers book, using My ABCs Numbers pattern. 
• Swap projects (these are TOP priority and what I'm working on very very first, like right as I'm typing this, I'm also working on these. lol. I am having a lot of self control not skipping over to other projects.) It's a secret, so the pictures are very secretive. lol. But here they are. :)
• This pillow from Angela's class at Sewing Summit (I just realized that I never blogged about that. we moved right after... I have been thinking about it a lot, so maybe I'll do a really random recap. lol.) 
• Coasters and mug rugs
• Starburst Mini
• and lots of patterns* that are in the works. but I don't know if those count here. ?

Alright, that is a long list. With everything else going on in life right now, I'm hoping I can still speed through these and get them finished! Who's with me?! :)

I hope you are having a wonderful Monday!

3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long

This post is for the 2013 Finish-A-Long, 3rd Quarter with Leanne of She Can Quilt. Learn more about it here.

I tried really hard to get more projects finished last quarter, but it didn't happen. (Not surprised since I really only tried the last week of the quarter. lol. oops.) But now I'm determined to get more of these projects finished! And it makes it easier since I did at least make some progress on some of them.


Finishes from last quarter:

• my Travel Duffel Bag. You can see it here.

Progress from last quarter:

• Mabel's quilt! Hooray!

I finally basted it and started quilting it. I think I would have/could have finished it, if I hadn't run out of the pink thread. (I am quilting the center with large pink flowers and then vertical lines in green thread.) I did finish the flowers, and only have a few more lines to quilt with the green thread. Then I want to write quilt Mabel's name, birthday, birth place, etc (just like the boys quilts) around the sashing and quilt more flowers around the outside border. I ordered more thread from Joann's and it's supposed to get her tomorrow. I really should have just waited and bought some Saturday when we were actually down there. Oh well.

I really like how it all looks on the back, granted my flowers are no where near perfect. But I'm not so sure about the front. I think the quilting is a little more juvenile, and the quilt/fabric on the front looks more elegant. I think it will be fine for my girl and I think she'll love it no matter what. If I wanted to really show off the quilt though, I think I could have gone with something else. Anyway, just my inner turmoil. ha. The only reason why I've put this quilt off so long is because I was so nervous that my quilting would be less than perfect. Since I sent the boys quilts out to be quilted on a long arm, they look so fantastic, and I know my skills aren't that good. I finally decided that it doesn't even matter, and I'm sure she'll love having a quilt by mom, more than she'll care if it was professionally quilted.

• coasters and mug rugs

You would THINK I could get these done already. I was going to finish these too, but I had the quilt on the machine. This quarter I got them squared up and cut the binding for them. As soon as I finish up the center of Mabel's quilt and get it off my machine, I'll sew the bindings on so I can stitch them when I'm not at my machine. :)

• 60's Granny Quilt - I did finally get all my larger blocks sewn together. Except now I want to replace the orange with an aqua or teal or something. (shaking my head. this will never be finished.) lol. I am really getting excited for this, but I am not in a rush to finish it right now.

Here is the rest of my list for the 3rd Quarter:
(I took new pictures so you at least can see new photos even if the projects are the same.) :)

• This quilt - this is top priority next on my list. I really want to finish it before we leave for Utah later this month. It might be a sewing marathon, but I want to do it. (I'm crossing my fingers that I can get this done along with my projects for my swap I'm in with two good friends of mine.)

 

•  This diaper bag - I actually would love to get this made this week, or whenever. But definitely before we leave for Utah. I really need a new diaper bag and I love all the pockets in this one. Plus I really want a green bag, I always have! I love this Amy Butler fabric and can't wait to finish this one up.

and the rest of my projects for the quarter, in no particular order:

• kaleidoscope quilt - I need to finish the back, baste and quilt.

• knitting roll - I still have like 3 rows to add to it this section and then finish it.

• My ABC's Number's Book

• Starburst mini - I don't actually know what to do with this. My hubby is not a fan of mini quilts. He doesn't understand the whole concept of hanging fabric on your wall. Idk.

 

• This block that I want to make into Tommy's quilt, maybe. I'm undecided. But I would love to write up a pattern for it either way. :)

• Placemats

I think I added only one new project, and actually left off a few that I've had on my list previously. I'm not going to worry about them right now. We'll see how this quarter goes... I'm in the mood to finish things, so hopefully it goes well. What about you?? What do you have on your list? Do you do better with longer lists? or shorter lists? (I like longer because then I can kind of pick and choose.) :)