A Year of Quilts 2014 (photos only)

Goal Reached and Other Things

I pray everyone had a Merry Christmas. Mine was good. My family came to my  house where we ate, drank and were merry. Afterward we went to Glendale Glitters. It was a really good day.

I actually finished sewing my quilted gifts on Christmas Eve. I wanted to give something quilted AND useful. I settled on these microwave cozies.

Leaning Tower of Cozies

 I made...and gave 37 of them. They were well received. I got the idea from this post and Jenn graciously sent me this tutorial.  Thanks ladies!

I've got my new grandson's quilt top together. It measures 39.75" x 47.5".   I basted it last night and will be quilting it this week. I remember Greta saying, as she was cutting out the triangles w/her Go! Baby Accuquilt Fabric Cutter, how the colors and fabrics reminded her of a "gourmet" Iowa spring day.  So I'm calling this quilt; Iowa Spring Day. Thanks Greta!

 At first I was overwhelmed, not sure how to layout all these colors and fabrics. I finally decided to just alternate dark and light triangles in each row. Eventually I started to run out of lighter colored fabrics but then I remembered a trick I saw somewhere...I think it was Instagram.  By turning a fabric over, to wrong side out, it basically looks like a lighter/muted shade of the same fabric. I did this several times through out the baby quilt.  Thank you whoever thought of this wonderful technique!

Middle fabric used as a dark

Middle fabric turned wrong side out and used as a light

This was my first time sewing triangles together. I found/used this tutorial. Thanks Lorna!  Instead of pressing the seams open, I opted to press to one side or the other, alternating rows.

I've also been working on the pattern test I mentioned in my last post. I've got it basted and ditched. I'm calling it Walk Like An Egyptian. I love how it's turning out. I can't wait for everyone to see it! It's going to be a wall hanging above my bed. I'm not sure how I'm going to hang it as I've never hung a quilt before, so if anyone can point me in the direction of a good How to Hang Quilts tutorial, please point away.

I bought myself a walking foot. One came w/my machine when I bought it a couple of years ago, but every time I used it, it bunched up my fabric and put a black line on it.

Anyway, I used my new one for ditching Walk Like An Egyptian and it worked beautifully. I am going to use it to quilt both of these quilt and I'm sure many others to come.

I haven't shared pics of Ivy in a while. She is now 6 1/2 mos.  Look how big and beautiful she's gotten.

I pray this coming year is a blessed and peaceful one for you all.

Until next time, Happy Quilting and God Bless!

A Thread for Life
So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. Matt 6:34

Linking up at:
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The Funk Is Dissipating...

First off I'd like to say Thank You for all the prayer, words of encouragement and well wishes in response to my last post. Between these things and quilting, the funk is slowly but surely dissipating.

Back in this post I listed everything I wanted/needed to complete by Christmas.  All I have left are the small quilted gifts for family, friends and coworkers. I'm about a third of the way through and I am confident I can finish all by/before Christmas.  I've got another 4-day weekend coming up this week!  I could have already been finished w/the small gifts if I hadn't allowed myself to be sidetracked w/other projects, but I think you all know how that goes.

I wrote about two of the sidetrack projects in this post. I like to think of them as rewards. 

Back in August a friend asked if I could do something w/two flimsies (approx twin size) her grandmother had started before she passed.  I quilted them while I was Visiting Greta in October.  I finished them last week. They are both backed w/a jungle print fabric and I chose 2 coordinating calico prints for the binding. 

I even got started on a couple of my 2015 projects!

The 1st is a pattern test that I can't show pics of yet, but I've already COMPLETED the 48" x 60" flimsy!  I will be posting pics of the completed quilt sometime in January...so stay tuned.

The 2nd  is a quilt for my grandson who is due on February 18th.  All of the colors and fabrics come from Greta's stash.  Thankfully, while I was Visiting Greta, not only did she pick out/suggest most of the fabrics, she also cut out all the triangles w/her amazing Go! Baby Accuquilt Fabric Cutter! I'm so very grateful for Greta. My daughter loves all of the colors and fabrics! The triangles are up on the design wall.  I've halved the end triangles and plan to start sewing it together today.  Of course I'll be alternating this project w/the small quilted gifts I still need to finish.  

Until next time, Happy Quilting and God Bless!

A Thread for Life

God will give you strength for every battle, wisdom for every decision and peace that surpasses understanding. - findingsalvation_

Linking up at:
Anything Goes Monday at Babco Unlimited

Let's Bee Social at sewfreshquilts
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

A Post of Finishes and Few Words

I'm in some kind of funk lately and I don't have much to say today, but I wanted to share my progress.

Diamonds and Purples is finished 68" x 80".

Spinning Stars is also finished 43" x 62".

I made a coordinating pillowcase

To reward myself for these two finishes, I sewed all my 1" strings together in jellyroll race fashion to make this panel. The panel is still just a flimsy but I plan on quilting it and making it a wall hanging. I also made a rag bag tote.

If you pray, pray me out of this funk please. Thank you and God bless.

A Thread for Life
Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; 
according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Psalms 51:1

Linking up at:
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WIP Wednesday

Steady Progress Continues

Steady progress is being made on my  Christmas Countdown.

Spinning Stars is basted and awaiting quilting.

 The backing is red w/white polka dots.

Diamonds and Purples has been flipped, turned or birthed, however you want to refer to a quilt w/o binding, and is awaiting top-stitching around perimeter and quilting.

The backing is pieced w/assorted purples.

 I've also got several of the small quilted gifts for friends and family finished. I will post pics of these after Christmas,  

I hope you are making progress on your projects too. 

Until next time, happy quilting.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Thread for Life
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. - 1Cor 1:25

Linking up at:
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Moving Right Along

The Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2014 has come to an end. A big shout out to Amy at Amy's Creative Side for coordinating the event.  Even though I didn't win this time around, I'm still super excited and very grateful that my quilt made it to Viewer's Choice Top 20!  A HUGE thank you for all who voted for my quilt. You can see the winners here.

Here are a few of my faves from the festival.

http://www.13spools.com/2014/10/bloggers-quilt-festival-icy-waters.html

http://quiltsmyway.blogspot.ca/2014/10/light-of-stars-quilt-bloggers-quilt.html

  

http://pugmomquilts.blogspot.com/2014/10/entering-bloggers-quilt-festival.html

If you missed the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time, don't despair, it happens twice a year! It'll be coming around again in Spring 2015, and I hope to see you there. 

In other quilty news...

I'm back to my countdown projects. I've been working on the double option star quilt which will be a Christmas present for my 3yr old sister. (my dad has a kid w/his girlfriend) 

Her favorite color is green so I chose this green from my stash BUT, it's very masculine.

What could I put w/it to make it more appropriate for a  3yr old girl?  Her mom said she also likes blue and red. So I went back in my stash and chose this beautiful blue paisley which has red (and the same green) in it. 

This fabric opened the door for yellow and a few other fabrics...which worked out well because I quickly ran out of the green. 

The blocks measure 8.5" square and originally I was going to make 42 of them for 6 across, 7 down. They are pretty busy though, so I decided to tone it down a bit by adding white sashing strips.

Here's what I've got so far. Because of the sashing I didn't need as many blocks after-all and settled on 24.  Four of these blocks (bottom row) are super scrappy because I used what was left-over from making the other sets. 

On Design Wall

 I'm calling it Spinning Stars. I've yet to add a white border and a 2nd border of the blue paisley.

Outside

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Happy Quilting!

A Thread for Life

If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

"One way to have more faith is to ask for it! If you're like me, sometimes we don't need more of anything. We just need the courage to exercise what we already have.  Other times we authentically require an increase to do God's will, and He will not refuse it if we ask in Jesus' name.

Jesus will never turn us away when we come to Him with gut-level honesty and request what we lack. Since it is impossible to please God without faith, you and I constantly have new challenges to believe God.  Let's learn to confess our unbelief and ask Christ to empower us to overcome it." 

Beth Moore's Believing God: Day by Day

Linking up at:
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