Tuesday, October 28, 2014

October Finishes!

Winding down another month and I have two more quilts completed.  I can't believe that in just 2 short months we'll be saying goodbye to 2014!

"Happily Ever After" began the month as a set of jewel blocks.  I set them together, floated with a white border and then a multicolored outer border.  I think it came out really cute, perfect for a couch cuddle quilt, so I gifted it to a friend's daughter on her wedding day!


Happily Ever After
68x76"
Quilting Design (Panto):  Holly's Hearts (Patricia Ritter, designer)

Charming Stars has been my leader & ender project for the last couple of months while joining in with Terri's Treasures sew along.  I began with Moda's Odds & Ends charm pack and the brown tone on tone for the stars really brought everything together!  


Charming Stars
74x74"
Pattern:  "Charming Stars" Moda Bake Shop (free pattern)
Quilting Design (Panto):  Double Rose Vine (Simple Quilting Stitches)

Linking up to A Lovely Year of Finishes, 52 Quilts, and the Charming Stars Sew Along.

Heather

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

WIPs Today...

What works in progress do I have going on today?  Well...

1.  Blocks #10&11 are finished for the Women of the Bible Quilt Along.
2.  The top is all finished for Friends & Companions Quilt Along and ready to be quilted (after I get the backing pieced together).  I've already made the binding in anticipation of getting it done!
3.  No real progress had been made on the Thai quilt, but that's my piecing station project for the next couple of weeks.  I'm hoping to get it finished by the end of the month...fingers crossed!  It still needs 8 more blocks to be pieced...
4.  Charming Stars is now quilted and I'm currently stitching down the binding in the evenings while DH has the TV turned on.  It even has it's label and hanging sleeve on!  Am I the only person that puts a hanging sleeve onto everything just in case I ever want to hang it (BTW, I rarely ever hang anything - and I use the flat sleeve method instead of the folded quilt show variety).

Linking up to WIP Wednesday and BOMs Away!

Heather

Friday, October 03, 2014

October UFO Goals

Autumn is upon us, so says the calendar, but I really can't believe it's already October!!!  This year has just flown by, but now it's time to declare my October UFO goal...again, this month, I've got 2 UFOs that need finishing.  And once again, one is a MUST finish because of an upcoming wedding!!!
 I've had these blocks put away for several years, just waiting to come out and play.  They are very simple scrappy HSTs set in a diamond layout.  They've been put away for so long because the piecing certainly left something to be desired (they were gifted to me some time ago and I thought I would be able to do something with them at some point).
Over the last couple of days I've cleaned up the blocks...trimming edges, resewing to match seams, and lots of thread trimming as many of the blocks were originally sewn with dark threads!
 As of today, these blocks are now a flimsy top.  I added a 3" white on white inner border and then a multi-colored paisley outer border.  I'm thinking this will make a nice sized cuddle quilt, at 63x72," for the newlyweds couch!
 This Thai inspired quilt was begun as an ostrich challenge hosted by Kimberly Crenshaw (aka Camou) over at Divine Inspirations.  You can read more about my journey thru this challenge here:  Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3.  Due to some unforseen circumstances, we never finished the challenge and thus, I ended up with yet another UFO.  Now, it's time to finish her up!
This quilt began with three metallic fabrics I picked up when we visited Thailand several years ago.  After the ostrich challenge got cancelled, I sent some of the fabric off in a squishie swap and got back nine blocks that others had made for me.  Now, it's time to put all of this together with at least 7 more blocks that I'll have to whip up!

Linking up to A Lovely Year of Finishes.
Heather

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Beginning of Charming Stars

Have you heard about the Charming Stars Sew Along that is currently being hosted by Terry's Treasures?  Each year, for the past couple of years, Terry has chosen a new pattern and a bunch of us just sew along!  As for me, I use them as leaders & enders to other projects that I've got in the works!
This time around, Terry chose "Charming Stars," a super cute, free pattern from the Moda Bakeshop.  The pattern calls for 3 charm packs and some additional yardage for sashings, borders and of course backing and binding.
For my version, I've chosen to begin with Moda's Odds & Ends (by Cosmo Cricket) charm packs.  I'm using a warm chocolate brown blender for the stars and sashing.  I cut a couple or extra 5" squares from a green fabric from Marcus Fabrics' Visual Effects line that will also be used for the outer border.  Finally, I'll be binding and making cornerstones with that pretty turquoise from the Raindrops Collection by Coral Tree Fabrics.  I had a backing fabric picked out a while ago, but I'm currently rethinking that.  Hmmm...
Charming Stars (as of 1 Oct 2014)
Linking up with the Charming Stars Sew Along & WIP Wednesday.

Heather