Sunday, October 11, 2015

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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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

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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Saturday, July 11, 2015

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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Thursday, June 4, 2015

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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Sunday, May 10, 2015

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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