Summer Goals

I've never really set many goals for myself as a quilter.  Since my day job can be somewhat stressful, it seemed like quilting should be done only for pure enjoyment, without any pressure to produce. That can make for a lot of WIPs and very few finished quilts, but, actually, I've got quite a lot to show for my hobby!  This summer, however, I've done a lot of sewing, and have several finishes that I am really proud of.  My biggest goal was to finish my Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt, and I did that a couple of weeks ago, right as company was coming for 10 days.  Perfect timing!

I love this quilt!  It is pure scrappy, and just fun to look at.  I lost count of how many different fabrics are in it, but I only duplicated a few, so there have to be at least 100 fabrics, maybe more!   Every piece has a story about what other project it came from - a special baby or birthday quilt, or the kit I bought in Albuquerque several years ago to make my beautiful southwestern quilt. 

I chose a completely whimsical cat print for the back of it that makes me smile every time I see it.

Machine quilting through each block, with straight lines on the diagonal gave me a chance to look at the design of the quilt with different eyes.  See the hourglasses?

I even made a scrappy binding for this quilt, using my favorite prints from the quilt itself.  This turned out to be fun, too. 

Who's this quilt for?  Just me!  And I'm going to enjoy it a lot this winter!

So will I set more goals for myself, now that I achieved this one?  Probably not, although I have lots of ideas about what I want to do next.  I guess I'd better get back to sewing!

I will be linking up with Kelly at Needle and Thread Thursday.  Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been working on!

Scrappy Storage Idea

Karen at Quilty Creations is having a Sunday Link-Up to show your stash organizing ideas, and it's so interesting to see what other quilters have come up with!

When I first started blogging in January, it didn't even occur to me that a quilter might make an entire quilt just out of scraps from her stash!  I didn't have a very big stash, and still don't, really, but I've started to look at scraps in a new way.  Especially now that my Scrappy Trip quilt is almost done!  A few years ago I saw this idea for organizing your stash in an American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  These are CD/DVD shelves, and they work really well for holding all kinds of fabric!

I've had the one on the right for quite a while, and it's full!  So this summer, I got a second shelf which is twice as wide! And now it's full too.  I guess I've started collecting more fabric!

I haven't really gotten around to organizing my stash completely by color yet, so right now there are shelves that hold different kinds of fabric, like flannel, or lines of fabric, like my Honey Honey or Hello Sunshine stashes.  And for now, that works for me!

 

I guess I'd better get to work on my next scrappy quilt!

Chevron Baby Quilt - Almost Done!

A quilting friend and I decided to make a baby quilt for a co-worker who's having a little girl very soon.  I love the chevron quilts I've seen around blog land, so I found a tutorial for one, and off we went!  The baby's room is decorated in pink and gray, so we added white to the mix and came up with this beautiful combination.

After we put the top together, it was my job to quilt it and attach the binding to the front.  I straight line quilted it by echoing the zig zag of the chevrons.  I love the scrappy binding my friend made out of the pink fabrics!  My favorite part of quilting is hand-sewing the binding  to the back, and I'm really tempted to get started on it, but I promised my friend I would wait until we could do it
together.  It's so hard to wait, though!

We found a fun Alice in Wonderland print by Robert Kaufman for the backing.  It gives the modern quilt top a little bit of an old fashioned feeling.  I'm excited to give the finished quilt to our co-worker!  

 

Today is the last day of the Let's Get Acquainted/New Blogger Blog Hop.  It has been so much fun and a great learning experience to check out all of the link ups throughout the summer.  Thank you, Beth, at Plum and June for setting it all up!  I'm going to link up over there, one last time.

Cut it Out!

In between other projects, I had a chance to make my July block for the And Sew On Block of the Month over at Quiet Play.

It came together really quickly, and I'm liking the look of it!  The fun of this project is seeing how all the little pieces go together to form the complete picture!

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday.  Go take a look at all the other great projects that people have been working on!

Lots to do!

We just returned from a lovely trip with our two grown sons to the San Francisco Bay Area.  This trip was all about photography for my husband and boys, and here is my favorite photo from the trip:

It was a foggy day at the Golden Gate Bridge!

My Open Wide Zippy Pouch was perfect for keeping track of all the electronic gear and cords I needed to carry around.

Now that we're back, and getting back to normal, I'm ready to get back to my sewing machine.  There's lots to do!  Before we left I finished putting the top for my Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt together.  I love the look of those diamonds that appear!

I was trying to decide what to back it in, and thanks to Kelly, I decided on a black and white backing.  At Hobby Lobby, I found this adorable cat print.  I don't have a cat, but I was really drawn to this, and think it will be a fun backing!  Thanks, Kelly!



I also have gotten started on my July block for the And Sew On BoM.  I have to admit that cutting is not my favorite part of quilting, but it is definitely a necessary part!

Finally, a friend and I are going to make a baby quilt for a co-worker.  We're making a pink,  gray, and white chevron quilt based on this tutorial.  It's my job to cut up the white today (speaking of rotary cutters!)

I'd better get started!  Linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday!

Moving Along With My Scrappy Trip

On my to-do list this summer is finishing my Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt.  Today I finished the blocks for it and got them laid out on my design wall floor.   There are so many different ways to organize these blocks, but I have always been drawn to the diamond orientation, so that's what I'm going to do.

It's a smallish size - 4 by 5 blocks.  Bigger than a baby quilt, but a little smaller than a lap size.  I like the size, though.  I think it'll be just right for laying over the back of a chair and cuddling up under with a good book on a cold day.  Now it's time to get it ready to quilt!

Today I'm linking up with Quilts in the Queue for Let's Get Acquainted Monday.

Also My Quilt Infatuation - Happy Needle and Thread Thursday!



My June Journey

I have a confession to make... When I first started following quilt blogs, I'd never heard of Kate Spain... I have always tended to be more of a traditional quilter with a color palette that tended toward darker fabrics.  As I have gotten more interested in modern quilting I realized that I need to branch out in my fabric choices.  My blogging research lead me to this honey bun of Kate Spain's Honey Honey.  I love the pinks, oranges, and light greens I found in it!

So, here is the baby quilt I made from some of that roll of beautiful Honey Honey.  I blogged about it here.

The best part is that I still have a lot more Kate Spain fabric to use for something else!

What a treat to link up to the Kate Spain Blog Hop at Blossom Heart Quilts!  Every day this month it has been fun to see and learn more about her designs and fabric.  A great summer journey for me.