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.

Bird Tree Blog Hop

I am excited to be a part of this blog hop. The birds in this fabric line are so pretty and I was lucky to be able to find the bird house panel and some coordinating fabric to go with it.

I cut each birdhouse and put them into a square in a square block on point...sort of.  The birdhouses aren't quite square, but I made them work all the same.  I used some of the all over bird fabric as the alternating blocks.  I figured the best way to show off this fabric was to cut it in a nice ten inch square.

The blue and the yellow sashing also come from this fabric line.  

They are soft colors and compliment the panel perfectly.

As I was contemplating what fabric I wanted for the back I thought about keeping it a nice pastel color to match the front, but I didn't have enough of anything in my stash that matched.  My stash is mostly jeweltones and bright rainbow colors, and a lot of halloween (which definitely wouldn't work). After letting the quilt sit for a while, I decided to go with this hydrangea print and matched some colors to go with it.  After all, birds live in bushes and trees.

Since I was only able to find the bird houses panel online, I am keeping my fingers crossed that I win one of the bird only panels from some of the other hoppers this week.  I have some left over scraps from this fabric line that would go fabulous with more birds.  ;)

If you haven't already, make sure you hop on over to these sites to see all the other bird related creations.

Friday, March 20 

Freemotion By The River

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Tea Time Creations

Baa's Amazing Adventures!

Selina Quilts

Ramblings of a Quilter

Busy Bee Quilts

Quilted Delights - (Me)

Grandmama's Stories

Thanks to Mdm Samm and Lana for getting everything set up.

To see the whole list of hoppers, click HERE.

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