Busy like a bee.....

OK, between school, and home I've been busy. But I'm still quilting because I want to finish my OMG (One More Goal) and I'm there.  Got it done, did quilting as you go, but that's for another posting.  This weekend I finished a couple of other goals that I want to share with you because I'm so pleased with them. 

The first please.....

Made completely with left over pieces.  The cross in the middle was 2 1/2 inch squares of left over material.  Got all my bright colors and colors of fall and put these together.  This is the result.  The quilt tester says it's perfect.

 See the smaller pieces.  The quilting is straight line to help with the lines of alternate color strips.  I love the look of this pattern.  I originally intended to keep it for myself because I wanted something with fall colors but a friend asked me for a quilt to wrap herself up in and this is perfect for her for Christmas.  So off it will go.  And yes, those colors are the real colors (the yellow and gray) of the quilt.  It all came together with colors.  I was extremely pleased with that.  Luck.....

The next quilt (yes there are two) is a creation from Fat Quarter Blog.  It's a free pattern.    And this link is the YouTube video on how to make it with the pattern attached.

This is the actual pattern but not big enough for the baby quilt that I intended to make.  So I added a bit.  I made a couple of bamboo shoots to the side of the quilt and just a line on top to keep your eye on the quilt pattern.  It was really fun and not that hard at all.  Forgiving for the beginner quilter.

I took the bamboo from the center and just continued to make the leaves, using a long strip of green for the center unlike the pattern which used two different colors of green, I used just one because it changed color. 

The quilt ended up being 36" by 36", the perfect size for a baby quilt.  I'm very pleased with it.  Perfect for a friend who asked me to make the quilt for her first grandchild coming up.  She chose the color for the background and I had a piece of yellow with a hint of green that worked just perfect for it.

Between this and correcting a lot of homework I'm very satisfied with this weekend's work production.  Take care.

Another Month, Another Try

picture by Phillip Martin - the Grove Church

Good intentions are great, but a little disappointing if you don't make it.  But you got to remember that life is not on a schedule, it's random, and most days when you work full time at a high school, a little erratic as well.

I'm back to teaching full time, and I'm loving it.  I use to repair computers 1/2 time and teach the other half (usually with two or three different courses in the same block so I was constantly running).  Now I'm teaching the same amount of courses but full time, so my load is easier, and I'm spending more time individualizing student learning.  I love it!!  But I'm still running around, and I am tired when I get home. So I'm too tired to sew as much as the last couple of months.  I'm hoping that will change, and I know it will, with my courses taking on bigger projects.  But it is what it is, and as I said, I love it and I love teaching.  

So how do you fix this?  Exercise to get my energy up and going to bed at 9:30.  I hope this will help.  Also I have to realize (which I have) and recognize that I won't be able to sew as much, just in smaller amounts of time.  With that in mind, my goal for this month I believe is attainable, and will still give me the pleasure of creating something beautiful.

I want to finish my Harry Potter Quilt (I'm using quilt as you go) in two weeks (yes, even smaller than the OMG goal!) so I can show it to my quilt group and enter it on the SewFresh Linkup.  It's a lovely quilt by SewFresh, a BOM that was created by Lorna, a wonderful designer (I have about 15 of her patterns - can't get enough).  She uses the stitch and flip mostly, and the designs are so cute you'll love it.  The pattern for Harry Potter made a queen size quilt which I extended to a king.  Here's what it looks like so far

I did get the owl done.  You can see it on the chair, it was complicated but if you follow the directions that are mostly pictures it really is easy and fun to see it come out.  I even have some of the pattern on my sewing machine (see picture below).  Made a huge mistake, printed out the small bit of paper piecing for the castle the wrong size.  There were directions to print them at 110, so my bad....  I'll redo them.  That's what I'm doing below.

So that's my goal, to complete the FINAL block and put it together.  As you can see from the first picture 4 other blocks that I did last month are quilted, just need to put them together and attach it to the quilt part that already done.  Then finish the castle, attach it to the owl, and quilt that section, then attach it to the quilt.  And the final thing is to quilt the side panels and attach, and voila!!!  Done.

OK it sounds like a lot and it is, but it can be done...  That's my goal for the One More Goal (sorry One Monthly Goal) for October.  But I have to tell you, linking up with Elm Street Quilts has really been helping me with finishing off my UFOs and projects that need to be completed.  So link up here, and join the fun.  What's your goal???

A quiet day of Quilting

I still seem to have the stomach flu, and that means I need to take it easy.  But when you're ADHD that's very hard to do.  You can slow down but it's hard to stop completely.  My cat has it down pat, how to relax.  Someone once told me that it shows how safe the cat is with you when he sleeps with his stomach exposed.  When both my husband and I are home together this is usually how the cat sleeps.  You can't quite make it out but his toy mouse is just above his head.  He loves that toy....

So I relaxed and tried to stake it easy yesterday and today.  I cut up two of the blocks I was behind on the Harry Potter Quilt by SewFresh.  I cut the pieces for the train and for the logo of the group.  Both are ready to start sewing.

I also sewed and quilted another block, Dobby.  I love how it turned out.  My husband was laughing at it.  He wants me to make a pillow of this.  Take a look yourself.  Do you think it would make a great pillow?

I've been doing circular quilting on the quilt.  Love the effects when all of the blocks are together.  Love how the eyes were done, with the "white of your eye".  So cute.

This FREE sew along started a while ago, and it finishes this month, so if you're interested in doing this quilt (there are two sizes), here's where you can get the pattern.

I also started to catch up with the Disappearing nine blocks.  Did another row.  That's two done and three others to completed.  Take a look at this row.

It's two nine blocks, then you cut 2 1/2 inches from the sides all around (do this on two of them), then exchange the center pieces and sew them back up.  The block turns out to be 13 and 1/2 inches.  It's a big block.  The quilt is quite large.  Patchwork Posse is the designer.  The patterns are available FREE for the month of that row.  All others you have to pay for when the month is up.

The Disappearing Quilt Block Row Along is just that - a row quilt along.  Which means you get one new block a month, and you make 5 - 8 of them, and put them in a row.  It's great learning new blocks, all are very interesting.  It last till November 2019, where you'll get instructions on how to put the blocks together but it's up to us if we want to do it a different way, place them in a different order.  The pattern are available in the  for FREE for the month the latest part is released.   All others you have to purchase.    

The final thing that I did today was start a new pattern, called Sky by Zen Chic.  I love all her designs, I just don't have enough time to do all the quilting I want to do.  Here's what the pattern looks like.  All those flying geese.  There are over a hundred of them.  You use a charm pack, cut it in half and then cut off a bit of it to make it smaller.  You add 2 1/2 inch squares on both sides to make the triangle, and you connect them all up.  To do that many of them, that small, the only way to do it is chain piecing.  Do one side of about 30 of them at once.  Then cut them apart, iron it down, and then do the other side.  So far I have 50 of them completed.  But there is so many more to do.  I'm not doing the quilt as shown.  Instead I have a piece of wall that makes up our landing that totally blank.  I can make a rectangle, with the geese , that will be longer horizontally, and shorter vertically.  Can't wait to complete it.  Take a look at the pictures below, and you'll see the color scheme.  The material is from Kaffe from Free Spirits.  It's so colorful, I didn't want to do a white.  Instead I used a duller green, with small prints of trees on it that aren't that noticeable, but it really does pop the colors now.  Take a look below.

Chain piecing 

All my stuff together, organized.  The greens cut, the 2 1/2 inch rectangles, and those completed.

Sewing on the small 2 1/2 inch squares to each side.  So many to do...  it will require patience.

And that's what I've completed so far.  Not bad for a Sunday.  Have my quilt guild meeting this Tuesday.  See some of you then .....

Working On September's OMG

OMG!!!!  I won the prize for August's OMG!!!!  Read about what I accomplished here.  But I was sooooooo excited to get an email from Elm Street Quilts saying that I won the thread kit!!  So excited and so useful as well.

Well, school starts tomorrow here in Surrey, BC and that means I won't be sewing so much.  It also doesn't help that I'm sick with the flu right now, but life goes on and so do I...

I finished one quilt that has been just sitting there on my desk for a year...  It's a paper piece by Tartankiwi,  She has some really beautiful patterns that are not for the faint of heart, they're from medium skill to very advance (her quilt patterns) and though you might want to do one right away, start with a few of her free ones.  This one was one of her free patterns (find it here) but now it cost $4 approximately.  I was lucky to get it when I did.

I have done some purchases from her (couldn't resist), and got the zebra face  as well as the big bear with bear claws.  The bear was the first time I saw her work and I was crazy about how well it turned out so I bought it.  But I digress, onward

I also completed another row of my Harry Potter Quilt which also happens to be my OMG from Elm Street Quilts.  That leaves two more rows to complete.  Here is what it looked like now. 

This quilt is lining the top of a queen size bed (now you can realize how huge it is).    I am quilting as I go, so it's going very well.  Thus the strips between each block.  It is actually a part of the quilt pattern so it works well to quilt as you go.

I also started the Disappearing Row by Row quilt by Patchwork Posse.  It's a lovely quilt but I'm behind 4 rows.  So  I completed two different rows to catch up.  One is 13 1/2 inches and the other is 8 inches.  So That's doing well.  I'm only using left over scraps from a different quilt that was completed two years ago.   I have the mountain row completed, the top row on this picture and I'm working on finding material for the third row.  It's coming along, so I'm happy.  And more importantly I'm cleaning house.  A friend asked me for a quilt and this one really does suit here.  The patterns are only free for the week on specific dates, but you can purchase to catch up if you want.  It's up to you.  I don't like to promote buying other people's patterns but I really do love this one, and it's over in November with a month to put all of it together.  I'm looking at quilt as you go again to quilt while I'm doing this.  It helps with my small sewing machine to work in small blocks or in this case in rows.  

Not bad for another weekend of sewing.  Have lots to show my guild the 2nd Tuesday of the month.  Have a great week everyone.