Getting lots of help from my quilting partner.  Can you see him testing out this quilt at the back of my couch???  We've worked hard so he's taking a break.....

 Caught up on my Quilt Doodle Garden Quilt.  There's still time to join, and as usual Cindy is designing something absolutely Gorgeous.  Haven't missed a single one of her BOMs, each is so special and makes a great gift for a special friend.  January and February is below, and one is a double block together with not one but two appliques (I button stitched them).  Loving the design!!

Did the forth block for SewFresh's Harry Potter's QAL.  The blocks can be huge like I'm doing (21 inches) or smaller for a lap (10 x 10 blocks).  I'm finding the huge ones so simple to do.  See previous post for the last ones.  This one is still free, so join us.  It makes a queen size quilt.

 Been working on getting my sewing/painting/everything room cleaned up a bit, because I can't take it anymore!!  :)  So one of the problems is my scrap bin which means all of my scrap materials is in a giant laundry bag... So I'm doing a string quilt to get that down.  The blocks are 12 inches each.  And so far I have 16 of them.  Still have tons of scraps but the actual quilt is shocking me...  Loving the colors and the triangles.  Now looking at making it 8 blocks by 8 blocks and just doing horizontal and vertical strips around the edge when completed.  Seriously, this will be great color when done and on my queen size bed.

And how does my room look now?  The first picture is the before, the next is the after...

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

 This corner is still very messy, but it's projects that I have to complete.  The material in the corner is all organized for backing and for the neutral colors to complete with 4 projects in bags waiting to be sewing.  As for the books - all patterns and books as well as quilt patterns I've completed.  There's also some painting books in there, and to the top right you'll see paints.  Still working on this.

So it's been a very busy couple of days, with both sewing and quilting.  When I'm done two more quilts (just quilting them) it will be cleaner.

Back to work with family day over.  Have a great week.

Working at it....

With two snow days (actually I only had the one to catch up) I was able to complete a number of quilts, and that gives you great satisfaction.  But it's only because of all this snow in Vancouver (over 5 inches in a day.).

So lets get right to it and show what we've done....

The Harry Potter QAL from SewFresh has four of their blocks out and ready to go.  So far I have 3 completed, and I'm even starting to quilt as I go.  Here they are:

Each one so unique...

 And so much fun to do!!

Three done, one more to go for February.  They're close to 20 inches each, so it's going to be a very large quilt.  That's why I'm going to do "Quilt as you Go".

The other quilt I completed was one for my mother's 80th birthday party.  It was a quilt by Missouri Quilts.  Here's the video I watched.

And here is the finished production...  People signed the light blue around the quilt.  It worked out perfectly as my aunt's theme for the birthday party was daffodils.

I stitched in the ditch and got it all done.  It was so easy, using a jelly roll, two whites and one color sewn together, then sew two colors with a white in between, then sew it all together on top of each other, then cut.  Really, see the video, which is really well done.

So now, no more rushing to sew.  Now I can finish (or rather catch up) on my quilt alongs.  It's suppose to snow again tonight and into tomorrow and I have family day, so we'll see how much I get done this weekend.  I do have 3 quilts to actually finish off and quilt so they're off the UFO table.  We'll see.

Hope you all have a sunny, happy day.

OMG for February and things to try with scraps....

A star quilt with no Y seams, which is what scares me.  It actually uses a jelly roll but if you can cut up some of your extra fabric into 2 1/2 inch strips it would be great.  It's from Jordan Fabrics, you have to see their web site, fa-nominal.  


Her free pattern is here.

I would like to try that for this month's OMG but I have more important things at this point.

I am proud to say that I finished my January's goal, and I want to finish at least 10 of the goals I set.  so I need to choose wisely.

So although I am in the middle of another quilt (it's a surprise so you have to wait until the middle of February to see it), my goal this month is to catch up on all of my BOMs.  That means:

• 5 of the blocks from the Harry Potter QAL from Sew Fresh Quilts.  I'm doing both the big one and the small one
• 3 blocks from Quilt Doodles Garden Sunshine BOM.
• 3 blocks from Choose your Own Adventure from Moda Blog - that one was this summer but I've always wanted to do another medallion quilt, and I gave my first one away so...
• 2 blocks from Freshly Pieced, a modern HST BOM that I bought into.
• 10 blocks from Anna Marie Channey's Conversation BOM that I get through email.

You think that's enough?  I can catch up on all of this in February and keep on cleaning my sewing room.  That's another blog entry later this week.  So if I pull this off, I am going to be absolutely amazed with myself, considering I've already started two new habits this month (exercising every morning for 1/2 hour, and swimming every Tuesday) as well as my painting class is on again.

Someone told me I'm acting like I'm retired but with a job.  What do you think???  Taking on too much?  I think so to.  Happy Friday.

Nicole

Really got down to business.

My guild meeting is tomorrow, and half these quilts are leaving me in February, so a quick note to show you what I've done during Christmas:

Jelly Roll Race.

From  Quilting Magazine, with some changes.

 Backing for the top one

Notice the stitching?!!

From Pat Sloan and her friends Row by Row

From Quilt Doodle

All quilted and binded, and  fully completed.

2019 BOMs

I was considering not doing any of the blocks of the month this year, just working very hard on getting many of my old blocks of the months completed (or even started in many cases) or cleaning up many of my different projects that I've started or have everything for and are just waiting to be started. But there are so many beautiful blocks of the month just starting and I simply just can't resist.  They're just sooooooo beautiful.  

Here's a few that I'm very interested in and some that I've even purchased.  This one is from Sew Incredibly Crazy and her friends.

It starts the 1st of February..  This year there is a mix of pieced and applique blocks.  So, a little bit of something for everyone.  There is a total of 24 blocks.  All the blocks will also be 10 1/2" square unfinished size.  All the pattern are free for the month that they have been released.  After that, there

will be a small fee.  So timing is everything on this one.  The link is here....

I missed the linking to this one but it's one that I am considering for both my friend and this group.  I'm going to follow along even though I'm not listed because I like doing that...

Resolutions for 2019.  A friend of mine told me to do 19 for the year 2019, and that's the very next blog that I'm about to do.  Some will be quilts and some will be things to do for the year that I want to try.  I'm excited about it and about sharing it with my friend.

AnneMarie Chany is doing a BOM called Conversation Sampler.  It's available in print and PDf at her shop on her blog.  It's absolutely gorgeous and can be done in candy colors like her sampler or in one color only.  She shows you a number of samples for doing it.  Look below:

Finished Block Size: 6” x 6” | Finished Quilt Size: 76” x 76”

Another one that is being done by Sew Fresh Quilts is a Harry Potter Quilt Along. The quilts finish at 44 x 55 or 85" x 106" (what I'm looking to do or the next one) or 106" by 106". It's going to be great. The blocks finish at 10" x 10" or 20" x 20". Following the introductory post on January 15th, one of 20 blocks will be posted every Saturday starting on the 19th of January and going forward. The link is listed above to keep an eye on the blocks. As Lorna says, lets have fun!! This one is free...

The final one is below, it's a paid one but really inexpensive.  It's called Modern HST's and it's a learning one.  

tt's by Freshly Pieced, and created by one of my favorite designer Lee Henrich. I have done a number of the summer samplers, always waiting for the next because of the beautiful design and this one is jsut as fantastic.  Although it's only 52" by 62" (a lap in my opinion) it can be used to hang on my wall.  I'm looking at doing it all in straight colors, with a light tan background, with white in the centers.  I am so looking forward to it.

Finally, it would not be a year without Quilt Doodle and her great designs.  It is called Garden Sunshine, with old fashion piecing this time as well as her fantastic applique.  I've been following along with Cindy for years now, and you can look in the top pages to see each one of her quilts.  They're fun and the appliques are so beautiful.  This block of the month will be run the same as in past years. The pattern section will be available for free the month that it is out. The first of the month when a new pattern comes out, the old month's pattern is still available for a small $2.99 fee. Very reasonable.  

So we're off and running with me already committed to five BOMs and three others that I've purchased and have to complete at some time (two of them are hand sewing for when I travel somewhere....).  Once more I'll have fun, and hopefully keep up. 

How many are you joining?  Follow along to see if I can keep up  :) 

On to the next.....

Finished my OMG for the month already...  But's that only because I have had the time to really work at it.  I've spent about 10 hours quilting it and sewing the binding.  So I'm ready to show my quilt and more on to the next.  I love this quilt but it's for another aunt who's been so super and supportive this year.  Here it is.

I love this quilt design by Wendy Sheppard.  She designed it for Quilt Magazine

I quilted the middle line with flowers (hard to make out here).  All the rest are quilted around the objects/blocks.

The green binding was perfect for the quilt....  but.....

The backing is superb.  I love this backing and didn't want to give it up.  But I did....  Can't get any other, it was in the clearance section and I don't even know the maker....  Got to start tracking that.  So it's done.  Here's where I put my goal..... 

As well as this quilt I've completed a few more quilt tops.  But most importantly, from my last post, you saw how dirty or unorganized my room is.  So I now have it more organized in one section.  Three quilts that were on my desk half done, are now done, and need to be sandwiched and quilted.  Here is my room now.

Clean desk with the next project ready to go.

Even the corner is down with two of the boxes gone, the projects are completed.  But I still have some work to do...  This area needs a lot of work...

It's a bit cleaner, and one of the bins below is small because now I've done 11 strip blocks from the scraps around the room.  And if you look at the picture above, you'll see a big bag on the floor.  That's all my scrap sorted by color but now I have to sort by strips.  At this rate I could probably do a queen side quilt easily.  You'll have to wait for the pictures to see almost finished.

Here's my next one for my mother....  I'm using Boundless blue and yellow, beautiful flower material.

So wait a day, because I've found some star backing for the star wards quilt, and I've found some backing for the jelly roll race quilt, and I'll be cutting my strips for the one above, white with a light line of blue through it.  Lets see what it looks like....  

Clean up time.....

OK, I have to do something today.  Tomorrow I'm busy, and the next and the next, and now I'm going back to school next week, which means I'll be busy as usual, so today is the day to clean up this mess.  Take a look...  each one is a quilt that I need to finish, part of my list of UFOs and quilts that I want to do.  I won't finish them all, but I would like to do as many as possible.  Take a look...

My sewing desk, crowded in with sewing to the right, and a bookcase full of organized sewing to the left.  I idea is to finish the sewing at the right.

On my desk is a folder of a star wars smaller quilt.  It's not the one pictured although I want to do that one as well, it's a paper piece of all the characters of the first movie, one of my favorite movies.  Three characters are completed, two to go.  On my list of things to do.

All scrap material, pieces, and leftover stuff, waiting to be used.  I am looking at getting rid of most of it in two scrap quilt patterns.  The first is a string quilt that I started, and the second is an Irish chain of 2 1/2 blocks.  This should get rid of some of my scraps  :)

The bag on the floor to the right is a bag that a good friend gave to me.  It contains a lot of material, some of it good, some bad, that was from her aunt who passed away.  The idea is to make some baby quilts to donate in the name of her aunt, and one quilt for her to remember her aunt by.  I don't know how I'll finish that, but I plan to make one baby quilt a month for the guild.  They donate baby quilts to the premies at the hospital, an excellent idea that is well received by mothers.  The Fraser Valley Quilt Guild has been doing it for years and although I make one or two a year, I'll be doing a lot more to use up all that material. 

There is also a quilt (in blue) that I've completed.  It's part of the row by row with Pat Sloan and her friends.  I made it thinking  I would give it to my Aunt for Christmas but the quilting is not completed.  So I'll work on that one today, only a bit more quilting to completed.  Easy piezy....

The pink in the background is on a trolly that I bought to sort out a number of my backings and the front clearings for quilts.  It also contains some material to make dresses and tops, something I want to get back into.  I have over 10 containers of great material (some of it wool) that I've had for years, I need to get back to making my own clothing again.  But that's not on my list of must do this very minute.  And truthfully, I can't reach my surger right now, so it's on the back burner right now. 

Also the green on top is a patter, on top of a couple of other patterns.  I plan on putting all my patterns in one spot so I can pick and choose what I want.  Right now I have too many patterns and I don't know if I'll get to all of them, so I have to be a bit more selective of what I'll do and not do.

 This is one of my strip blocks that I was talking about above.  I have five blocks completed at this point but I'll need 36 to get to the size I want, and I don't know if I want a queen or a lap.  The colors are gorgeous.  At this point I have so much to do I'll take this quilt one block at a time.

This pile (and it can only be called a pile) is on top of five different clear containers that I keep some of my UFOs in, or the quilts that I am currently working on.  To the back of the pile of material are more of those containers. You can see how much I'm doing.  So under the green material, with the backing of another quilt that I want to start (yes, I'm looking at starting another small lap), is a quilt that is completed.  It covers the top of my queen bed, but not the sides, so I'm building up the sides of the quilt to make a queen for the spring or the end of winder.  This quilt is from Sewalong BOM which was fantastic and part of the Craftsy library quilts (see label Sewalong on the side to see all writeups on it).  It is one that I am considering putting into the Quilt Guild's show, but I already have three quilts that I want to enter, so we'll see.  Plus I am looking at putting flannel on the back of this quilt (in black) so it's warmer than summer.  The quilt's main backing is gray, so it will look good together, and I want to quilt it like crazy for fun.  Truthfully not too such what to do with the quilt, but I'll think of something.  Also under this quilt is another quilt of 2 1/2 inch jelly roll.  The quilt was one of those race quilts.   A friend of mine is doing one queen size.  She asked me for help so I thought I better know how to do it before I help her.  Here is Missouri Quilts tutorial to show you how.

So I'm hoping to finish this one today or tomorrow.  At least before the end of these holidays.

So now you know the mess that I'm in, and how I want to clean up my area.  It's part of the list of things to do from the American Quilting Society.  Lets hope I can get this under control.