WIP Wednesday and the Finish-a-Long

Good morning!

I've been on impromptu hiatus for so long I surprised even myself, but I'm glad to have a WIP Wednesday to help get back into the swing of things! And even better, this can also serve as my linky post for the first quarter of Rhonda's Finish-a-Long Party, which is a great idea! I encourage y'all to link up, if you've got a WIP or two in your closet that's making you anxious...

So, what do I want to finish in the next couple months? How about this:


This is going to be a Quilt of Valor--I've got all 12 blocks sewn, and now it's on to the sashing and borders!

And I'd also like to get this one to its person:


I just finished the last block for this, too--this is my Layer Cake QAL quilt (with two substitutions), and the sashing is a bit more fancy for this one, so that's the next step.

The next major finish-it goal, and this one's going to cheer up our living room:


The Kaleidoscope quilt! I know the picture is from August, but that is honestly the last time it got looked at--it's ready to baste and quilt, and I'm nervous about free-motioning it myself but I'm also rather looking forward to it as I know I can only get better from where I am!

And the last thing to finish:


The all-by-hand spring wallhanging! So far the quilting is going swimmingly, especially now that I have my glider chair in a location with excellent light and I can quilt very comfortably. It would be fabulous to have the spring wallhanging up during springtime!

And don't forget to link up with Lee's WIP Wednesday and check out the other fabulous in-progress projects...

The WsIP stats:
New projects: 0
Completed projects: 0
In progress: 9

Happy New Year and a belated giveaway announcement

Hello, lovelies!

It's been many moons since I even logged on--suffice to say my semester got away from me and my sewing room got a bit dusty--but now that the semester's over I can breathe again and I'm back! I have a very belated congratulations to my giveaway winners, A.J. Dub for the hexagons and Lesly for the Luna FQs! Hooray, and thanks for stopping by my giveaway post!

I *do* have some progress to report: This past week, I've been clipping along on my hand-quilting and have gotten closer to finishing the two sampler quilts I've got going. To wit:


Block 11 for the Quilt of Valor. I'll be so excited to get this done!




And blocks 10 and 11 for the Layer Cake Quilt-Along quilt! Block 10 is the second block I decided to substitute, and the pattern is Love in a Mist from Modify Tradition. I love, love, love how this block turned out, but I wouldn't want to make a whole quilt of them, because hot diggety, that was a lot of HSTs for one block. ARGH.

The sashing fabric for the Dream On quilt is a solid orange--which to me feels rather bold!--so I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks put together.

As for the new year: I would like to finish the major quilts I've got in my queue: The two sampler quilts, my kaleidoscope quilt (which I need to baste and then I'm going to free-motion it myself: intimidating), and the queen-sized quilt for our bed. I have a couple of kits that I'm keen to get to, finally, and I'd like to get the seasonal wallhangings actually on the wall this year!

So we'll see how that goes...

Surprise! There's actually progress!

Hello, lovelies!

It doesn't feel like I've been doing a lot of sewing since last Wednesday, but when I take stock of it, I've been clipping along! I have almost all the hexies sewn together for my Kona solids challenge mini-quilt, and I've started putting rows together for my kaleidoscope quilt. I'm a little intimidated to quilt it, but I won't ever get it done if I don't tackle it, right?

I've also been sneaking a half-hour here and there to work on my hand-quilting on the spring wallhanging. I finally got the right size needles and I feel like I'm getting the hang of it, and it's going faster than I'd thought--I'm already at the point where I need to move my hoop!


I spray-basted this, and so far the quilting is going smoothly. I keep having to stop and pet the quilted parts, though!

Just a reminder: I'm offering two fabulous prizes in my first-blogiversary giveaway, and entries are easy! Stop in on the giveaway post to enter--the giveaway closes on Saturday, so you've still got plenty of time!



The WsIP stats:
New projects: 0
Completed projects: 0
In progress: 9

Why yes, I do enjoy starting new projects!

...although I'm trying to finish some, too?

I haven't been sewing as much as I thought I would, lately, but I am feeling the end of summer fast approaching and have missed chatting fabric, so I thought I'd stop in and share what I have been doing. Which isn't so much finishing as it is starting new projects!

At the beginning of August we traveled north to visit my brother and his family, and since I finished the piecing on the spring wallhanging, of course I needed another hand-piecing project, right? So just before we left I cut the batik fabric I'd bought (ahem, six years ago) for the autumn wallhanging, and while on the trip I pieced almost half the blocks I need!


I starched my fabric before cutting it, and I'm unsure if I like hand piecing the starched fabric. We'll see how it turns out!

I've also started hand-quilting on the spring wallhanging, but so far I don't really have enough to show you. I think my stitches are horribly large, but I'll get it figured out by the time I'm done with the quilt. And the kaleidoscope quilt didn't get finished in time for the quilt-along prizes, but I'm getting close--the rows are complete, and the top is almost together!


And last but not least--the other new project! My guild (the Rock River Modern Quilt Guild) got some charm packs of Kona solids and we're challenged to make something with it--here's how far I am right now:


I already know the name for this one, and it's going to be a mini quilt for my sewing room wall. I'm very excited, as I'm really feeling like I'm designing this one, all by myself. (I really should identify which Kona solids are which, as it would be like having a 'color card' on my wall. *g*)

This is my 50th post, and I see that my one-year blogiversary is coming up on August 22--I'll be posting a giveaway that day, so make sure you stop by to check it out! :)



The WsIP stats:
New projects: 2
Completed projects: 0
In progress: 9

Sewing Ironically

Hello, lovelies!

This week saw me at an online-teaching workshop (to help me learn how to teach online courses), and our typical schedule allowed an hour for lunch--which, in true professorial fashion, meant we would sit around talking. So naturally, I brought my sewing (I'm putting the final borders on the spring wallhanging, and oh, what a joy to sew such long seams!).

At one point another young prof said something about a thing she'd like to do in one of her classes that was a bit outside the norm and many of us laughed about it being scandalous. I did a whole 'clutching my pearls' gesture--which caused a bigger uproar when J pointed out that I did it complete with a thimble on my finger!


He backpedaled a bit, saying that I know I look like an old lady while sewing, so it's okay: I'm sewing ironically.

Which then sidetracked the whole table into a discussion of how 'old lady' crafts are making a big comeback among our generation. I got to talk about how my tattoo-artist younger brother knits his own socks--and no, I have no clue how he does it. He has a bunch of little needles and giant meaty hands, it's just amazing to watch. :)

What do y'all think? Does it ever bother you that the 'image' of the craft is solidly in 'grandma' territory? (Of course, if you are of the 'stereotypical quilter' generation, do you feel hemmed in [ahaha, punny! *groans*] by expectations?)

As for me, I feel quite proud to be carrying on this tradition, and learning how to make such beautiful things with my hands. And I can get so much done, even while chatting with friends--I kind of wished I could sew while in session, too. :) I kind of feel sorry for my students who give me weird looks when I mention that I quilt, like they don't understand the satisfaction that comes from creating something.


Here's a finished project! This little counted cross-stitch took me forever to actually complete. The fabric is ivory, and the pale pink and pale ivory half-stitches were impossible for me to see what I was doing unless I was practically in sunlight, so I stalled at several points. Ah, well, it's done now! And looks lovely on my wall.

Linking up with:

Late-Night Experimenting

Hello, everyone!

Just zipping in with a quick WIP Wednesday update--it's a gorgeous day here, so I'm headed out for a long walk soon. This past week has seen me working on my Kaleidoscope quilt (which included a clean-and-oil of my little Husqvie and some musing on how she talks to me), with a break for a sewing project I can't quite show you yet. :)

Last night I finished my layout, and started sewing blocks together:


That's where the experimentation came in.

Does your machine talk to you?

Hello, sweet sewists! :)

Today saw some significant progress on my kaleidoscope quilt--I spent time getting the quarter-blocks together:


And I was considering how my machine 'talks'--it tells me when I need to clean and oil it, just from the way it sounds and how it feels when it's running.

WIP Wednesday! Now actually on Wednesday!

Ah, Wednesday! Today is the day we all recover from our long holiday weekends!

My holiday weekend consisted of fourteen hours in the car, three repetitions of Beauty and the Beast, at least six repetitions of the Beauty and the Beast original Broadway cast recording on CD, one family reunion, one long-overdue and far-too-short visit with Tracie, ten years' worth of family memories while hunting for Grandma pictures, lots of glow-necklaces and glow-sticks shared among the family, a half-hour of delightful fireworks with commentary provided by Zoe, and more brats and hamburgers than I've eaten all year.

Today, we recover!

Fortunately, long visits also mean hand-sewing time, so I've made significant progress on my hand-pieced spring wallhanging (as always, click for bigger):


I've got the center all together, and the first two borders on! Isn't it exciting?

Kaleidoscoping

Hello, lovelies!

My rotary cutter and I got a workout the past couple days: I'm making a lap-size quilt for the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along over at Don't Call Me Betsy, and the cutting instructions went up on Thursday. I've been working in chunks--90 minutes of cutting seems to be my max before I begin to worry about slicing fingers and need a break--and this morning I finished!

FNSI results! And beautiful flowers!

Hello, lovelies!

It's a muggy Saturday here, and my sewing room is becoming a guest room for a couple days, so Friday Night Sew-In was my last chance at the machine for a few days!

But before I share my results, I want to point you in the direction of an artist friend of mine: Tracie Thompson in Minneapolis. I love pretty much everything she does! Case in point, her watercolor flower sketches:


Aren't they cheerful? I'm thinking I may need at least one of these lovely watercolors for my sewing room! Unless one of y'all get to them first--Tracie has good prices, and she'll ship all over. (She does pet portraits, too--OMG SO ADORABLE--I encourage you to check her blog out! Each picture takes you to Tracie's blog, where you can also see the flowers in much better detail.)

And now for FNSI results! I got two blocks done last night (one for the layer cake QAL and one for the jelly-roll Quilt of Valor, and as always, click for bigger):




And behind the cut, more pictures--I've gotten a lot done this week!

The Growlery

Growlery growl'er-ee, n (English; cf. Dutch grollen, to grumble)

A retreat for times of ill humour. This term has largely become obsolete, which is strange, given that so many people seem to have a place to go when they are in a bad mood - a place to be alone and think. It's similar in meaning to the Latin-derived sanctum sanctorum, with the added connotation that the individual in question is going to the place to be alone while upset. (From Forthright's Favourite Words)

An excellent word of the day, don't you think? It also happens to be perfect to describe my sewing room this past week: I had a few days where I really needed the escape!

Good thing I had a bunch of stuff already cut, eh?

I have *LOTS* of pictures to share, so I'll start with a yummy stack of fabric. That's right, my fabric for the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along arrived this week! It's mostly Fresh Flowers by Deb Strain (SO PRETTY OMG), and the 'solid' I found is a white tone-on-tone that has adorable flowers and vines that go perfectly with the other fabric.


There's still time to join! C'mon, you know you want to...

And follow the cut for many many pictures!

Quilting Along!

Hello!

It's a fine Sunday morning--I'm out on my deck, feeling the breeze between my toes, and it's wonderful! This week has seen me in my sewing room more often (yay!), so I actually have some sewing progress to share (double yay!). I'm catching up on a couple quilt-alongs and getting ready to start another--but I won't get behind on that one, honest!

First up, my first three blocks for an informal quilt-along I'm doing with my mother-in-law (as always, click for bigger pics):

Friday Night Sew-In: Finally, some sewing!

Hello, everybody!

You'd probably figured the minstrel had wandered off, and indeed, I got lost under a pile of grading and have only recently managed to find my way back into my sewing room! Just in time to participate in this month's Friday Night Sew-In.

I started out with this, on Friday afternoon:

Hello, March

I'm sneaking in under the wire to get my WIP Wednesday post up!

I was pretty excited to finish my Sliced Coins Quilt-Along quilt, which I named 'Blue Canary' and blogged about here.

It's Echo-cat approved:



At the Rock River Modern Quilt Guild meeting a couple weeks ago, I finished another hand-pieced block, so I'm at 24/25 blocks for the all-by-hand spring wallhanging. It's getting so close! But I'm afraid that's about all the sewing I've managed lately.

This week's stats:
New projects: 0
Completed projects: 1
In progress: 5

I encourage you to check out everyone's WsIP at Lee's--they're all inspirational!

Friday Night Sew-In: Results!

Friday night was sew-in! And I managed to get that much closer to finished with my Sliced Coins quilt!

I got the back pieced together, with every last scrap I had:



And I got it basted! I ran out of pins in the last corner, so a little bit is basted with basting spray.





This little quilt even gave me its name while I was working: "Birdhouse in Your Soul"



Now I'm debating how to quilt it--I'm wanting to do some free-motion, but I'm not sure if I want to try stippling or what. I was at the Rock River Modern Quilt Guild meeting today (what fun ladies!) and I saw some wonderful loopy quilting that I liked a lot.

Ideas and suggestions are welcome! :)

WiP Wednesday #14

It's that time again: WiP Wednesday!

I'm knee-deep in grading and other job-related stuff, so my sewing time has been reduced pretty drastically, but that doesn't mean I'm out of the groove entirely! I got the rest of the fabric for a quilt-along I'm planning with my MIL, as well as some sweet fat quarters (Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow) for a girl baby quilt:



Ahhh, Blissful goodness!! This jelly-roll quilt is going to be a Quilt of Valor, and I'm really looking forward to starting it in March. It also makes for an inspirational set of fabric stacks to decorate my sewing table!

Sliced Coins: Now With Sashing!

So now that the TweetyGigs is off the guest bed, it's time to catch up on my quilt-alongs! I'm less behind on the Sliced Coins, so this is where I started. I had less sewing time this week, as the first round of portfolios have come in for grading...

But today I put the last sashings on the Sliced Coin quilt!

New Fabric and WiP Wednesday #13

It's that time again! WiP Wednesday!


This weekend saw a major accomplishment (follow link to the blog post with details): I got the twin-size TweetyGigs all finished, de-cat-haired and trimmed, backing pieced, and the whole shebang delivered to a long-arm quilter!

Weekend Accomplishments!

Hello, lovelies!

I am beside myself with excitement! This weekend's sewing time was devoted to getting Z's TweetyGigs finished and ready to go to the long-arm quilter. I'd gotten the backing seamed together, a slice cut through to add the charm row, aaaaand...the charms sewed on the wrong side. So Saturday night was spent picking out 80 inches of stitching. GRRR, ARGH.

But! This morning went far better!

What I did Wednesday

This is what snow days should be! Lounging in the sunshine with the kitties:



And playing with fabric. I was toying with a block design to potentially enter into Quiltstory's Block Party next week, and I made it mug-rug size. It didn't turn out perfect, but I have a better idea of how I'd piece it next time around so it will look cleaner. What do y'all think? Should I enter this one, or make version 2.0 for the party (which is kind of where I'm leaning...)? Should I give this mug rug away, or keep it for myself?



Also, does anybody recognize this block? I was inspired by one of the stained-glass windows in our church, and I suspect it might be a published quilt block somewhere.