Legendary Quilt

As soon as I saw the Legendary Quilt from Elizabeth Hartman, I knew I had to make it and send it to my Friend in Minnesota.  The pattern uses only one green for the trees, but I wanted to mix it up a bit.  So I pulled out several different greens from my batik stash and started cutting. Fabric selection went pretty quick for this project. Usually that is the hardest part, but it wasn't the case this time. I did have to buy some background fabric though.  I knew I wanted a very light blue and didn't have any in my stash.  Once that came in the mail I was off and sewing.

Once cut, the trees went together pretty quick.  One tree together, 13 more ready for sewing.




When I had them all on the wall I couldn't resist putting a photo of Shia Labeouf in the background. I left him there till my kids came home from school to find him hiding in the woods.
(reference to Actual Cannibal Shia Labeouf )





I had to pick up my Jacob from Greenville for Christmas break and knew exactly where I wanted to take a picture with this quilt, at Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville.



These tree roots are fabulous and huge.  I had Thomas stand next to the quilt. When I first looked at my pictures on the camera it looked like a mini quilt next to some roots. So I wanted a human in the picture so you could tell the actual size.




Quilting was an all over wood grain pattern.

Another shot. Not sure what these old bricks use to be, but they looked cool with part of the waterfall in the background.

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Fancy Foxes

I made my first fox this month.

 I combined him with 41 other foxes and then shipped them all to Tennessee.

The pattern is Fancy Foxes by Elizabeth Hartman

I used a jelly roll plus two extra strips from my stash.  Each strip let me cut two foxes.  I only used one of each in this quilt though.  Which leaves me with 42 more foxes.  I plan on turning them into another lap quilt but I want to use the same background fabric, which I had to order more of. It will arrive early January. The background fabric is Architextures Grid Plaid Shadow by Robert Kaufman.  It is my new favorite background color.     

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

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My Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt - Round Four

I decided to enter the world of swapping again.  This time it is mini quilts and all of the activity was on Instagram.  It was a new way to be a part of a swap, but since I love Instagram it was super easy to follow along.  My updates were all done on my quilting Instagram account: quilteddelights, but I want to post them here too.  So this post will be my mini quilt from start to finish.

I was going to make a mini New York Beauty quilt, but I didn't enjoy trying to sew one inch curved seams.  So I chucked all my paper pieces in the trash along with fabric from my first attempted block.  No pictures of that mishap, but it was a relief to trash it and move on to a more feasible and enjoyable project.

I really enjoyed making the Schnibbles Hook pattern last year and wanted to see how it would look in a tiny version.

I love my wonder clips. They helped keep all my hexagons in order.

The mini quilt went together pretty quick.

 All the fabric came from my batik scrap bin.  

Even the background fabrics came from the scrap bin.

It will be landing in its new home this week. 

Size is 11.5 x 12.5 inches.

I hope its new owner loves it as much as me.

This is the mini I received in return.  It was fabulous.  I really was worried about joining the swap world again, but after receiving such a lovely quilt I decided to keep swapping and joined a few more mini swaps on Instagram!

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Tackling a UFO - Paganini

In October of 2010 I cut out enough fabric to make two Paganini quilts.  I completed the first one right on time for my entry in the "Le Petite - A Year of Small Projects".  The second one has been sitting in a small bin ever since, so I put it on my UFO list for this quarter.  When I opened the bin to work on it again I found that I had a lot of cut triangles and some sashing.

I am please to say I now have a lot of Half Square Triangles with black corners attached

and a bunch of tiny one inch half square triangles for another project. Oh my! Where does the insanity end?!?

The top is coming along nicely. Even with cat tail interference.
 If I work hard at it I might have it done in time for Halloween night.

Check out Sheen on my new humongous ironing board!  I built it last month with wire shelving and a pine board.  It has a lot of padding under that gray fabric so I think Sheen has claimed it as his new napping spot. He is laying on top of another project I am working on, my mini quilt project for the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap.  I have plans to finish that one up early next week.

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Halloween Haunts Blog Hop

Today is the start of the Halloween Haunts Blog Hop. 

I am happy to be one of the bloggers who get to kick off the festivities.

For this hop I decided to dig into my stash of Halloween Fabrics and I made three different items.

First up,  I got out my old packs of Haunted Mansion by Moda and mixed it with a little bit of Kona solids in Snow and Pewter and whipped up this spiffy little quilt.

I used the Scnibble pattern Brocante and made it a wee bit bigger so I could drape it over the couch.

If you are having trouble finding a great Halloween pattern, take your favorite regular pattern and use Halloween fabrics.  It will turn out fabulous!

I love this backing fabric.  I found it on sale at Hobby Lobby and knew it would be perfect for backing some of my Halloween projects.  

Next up I used some of my Connecting Threads Rest In Pieces fabric and made a table runner for my front room. The pattern is a freeby and is called The Easy Christmas Table Runner.  Of course I altered the fabrics for something a little more spooky. 

My last item is really 8 items.  I made 8 small Treat Totes. I love making these little gift bags.
The pattern is from Happy Zombie and you can find the pattern here.

 I used several different Halloween Scraps for these tiny totes.  They whip up super fast!

All they need now is some candy to fill them up.

Make sure you check out the other hoppers today!

Featured Haunts on Friday, October 16
A Stitch In Time
Marjorie’s Busy Corner
Ravelly
Words & Stitches
Quilted Delights  - (Me)

Also the Fat Quarter Shop is hosting a Give Away every day of the hop. 
Check it out!  Most days the giveaway only lasts one day.  But on Friday's they last the whole weekend.
 a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy Haunting!

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Halloween Quilt

I have a new Halloween quilt in the works for the Halloween Haunts Blog Hop.
The hop starts this Friday and I get to help kick it off by showing off a couple of my Halloween projects.  I am loving how the quilt is turning out. More about it on Friday!
 

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Strip Tube Quit Finally Finished

 I finally settled on a binding fabric for my Strip Tube Quilt!

After months of agonizing decisions, I picked a red batik for the binding.

When in doubt stick with my favorite color - Red!

  And now I finally have a finish to turn in for my third quarter Finish-A-Long!  

It's been almost a year since I finished one of the UFOs on my list.

 I got the pattern from A Bright Corner, but copied the fabric choice from Grace and Favour and made it slightly bigger to fit the queen size bed in the guest room.

Another UFO off the list!

Started April 2012   ~  Finished September 2015 

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Pastel Dresden Plates

I finally got back to my sewing machine.  I finished up my Black and White Plus One Quilt and then didn't sew anything for weeks. Now I am back at it and have been working on my pastel dresdens.  

I found a new layout I want to use for this quilt which uses 18 dresden blocks.

 I only had 12 so I had to make six more. 

I didn't have enough of the same fabrics I used in the first 12 dresden plates, so I improvised.

When it is all together I doubt anyone will know I have a few different greens and yellows.

I also put together another lined drawstring bag.

I initially made this to deliver some cookies, but I all the cookies didn't fit,

so I will save this for another gift giving occasion.

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Black and White Plus One - Lonesome Beauty

Today was the reveal of the Swamp Fox Quilter's 2015 Guild Challenge and now I can show of my entry!  The theme this year was "Black and White Plus One." There is no gray in the quilt at all.  The illusion of gray is formed by picking out fabrics with tighter prints and varying amounts of black or white in each print.   

 The designed for this quilt came about by fusing three different quilts I saw on the internet:  The center Lonestar the outer ring of Lonestar blocks, and the stripped diagonal border.

I took several progress photos along the way with my cell phone.

 Since I worked on this quilt at various times each day, they all have different lighting.

Working full time and trying to get this quilt finished in time for the show meant random sewing times and several quick 15 minutes sessions during lunch breaks.

As I was putting the top together, I noticed the outer edge of the Lonestar got a little lost next to the black and white border fabric, so I decided to give the whole Lonestar section a skinny black outline.

Basting with the help of Sheen.
It never fails, when there is a quilt on the floor to be basted, Sheen is always here to make sure the pins are all in the right spot.

 I did continuous curves in all the diamond pieces, and some freehand in the New York Beauties.

 The borders got some fancy feathers, but they get lost somewhat in the busyness of the darker fabrics.

All those hours of shopping for the right fabrics, cutting, sewing, and quilting paid off and I am excited to say the quilt won Best of Show in our little quilt show!  It also won Best Piecing, Best Use of Theme, and second place for Machine Quilting!  I am super excited!

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Guild Challenge Quilt Progress

I snapped this photo on my phone when I was working on the borders for my guild challenge quilt.   I made another strip set just like it going in the opposite direction. Then I chopped them both up into smaller strips for the border.

I can't wait to show off the whole quilt!

Notice how I get assistance from my furry helper.

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End of April

Well, I didn't finish my goal for ALYOF.  All my spare sewing time in April was spent trying to finish my challenge quilt for my guild show.  The show is in June, but the quilts are due the first Thursday in May.  The challenge theme this year is "Black and White Plus One".  

Here is a sneak peak at one part of the quilt. I still have to finish the quilting. I may have to pull some late nights, but this will be done in time for the show!
I chose red as my "Plus One".  I contemplated picking another color because I feel there will be a lot of quilts with red, but seeing how red is my favorite color I ultimately couldn't stray from it.

I'll show the whole quilt at the beginning of June once all the quilts have been revealed at the show.

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ALYOF April Goal

I will be spending the first half of the month finishing up my guild challenge quilt, which has to stay secret till June so I am picking a smaller goal this month to make sure I have a good chance of finishing it. My Guild challenge quilt will be a finish in itself, but I want one I can show off at the end of the month.

I have been working on the hand embroidery on my "We Support You" quilt.  I got the rest of the hangers completed a couple weeks ago.  Now it is ready for a blanket stitch around the bras.  After that it will be ready for quilting.  For April's goal I am aiming for finishing only the blanket stitching.

If I finish my guild challenge early I may get to the quilting, but for now I am committing to completing the blanket stitching.  

Head over to the link party here to see all the other April Goals

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Polk A Dot Dresden In Progress

Some late night sewing tonight. Trying to get my dresden plates done in time to link up for the March ALYOF.