OMG for July

Well it's official.  I'm on summer holidays.  And although you would think that would give me more time to quilt, it's not so.  I had something to do or someone to visit every day this week, and next week is filled up as well.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice to catch up with everyone but seriously, there is so much to do, and quilting just gives me a moment to myself as well as relaxes me.  So I promised myself, no matter what I will take the time to sew and quilt.

So what is my goal for this month?  I'll make it very simple.  I want to finish up a number of jobs for quilting.  They're piling up.

Here are three on my list but I'll be happy with just one completed.

Deco by Siobhan Rogers

Sunflower by myself 

It's all sewn together and sandwiched, now the quilting.  A crafty class by Leah Day.

I've already done two of the blocks, and now the rest.  I love the look of this quilt. 

That's enough.  Linking up with OMG  from Red Letter Day.

Phew, that was a lot in 3 months for the 2015 Finish Along!!!

What a huge list of things to do for the 2015 Finish Along entry.  Was I crazy or what?  The list includes at least 4 queen size quilts and I do all my own quilting, sooooooo????!!!  But you don't succeed unless you try, and really I did try and did make many of my goals and a number of extra.  The extra I'll mention at the end of this entry, because it doesn't count for entries to this lovely contest.

Personal things have happened to me in November that has made it hard to complete many of the quilts, but when I came back home, it seemed the only thing that made me relax was quilting so in the end I went crazy and completed many of the quilts from the list, and more as well.  Here's what it looks like...

The pixulated sunflower quilt.  It needed to be quilted and binded. The quilting on the dark brown was 1/2 inch circles, very small, making the illusion of the sunflower seeds.  It's been on this list three times and although I got all of the dark brown completed, it's still not done, but it's coming along fabulous!!!  So I'm happy.

My Craftsy quilting class by Leah Day was also on my list.  It's been three times on this list.  Now I'm proud to say that now it has  another 3 squares completed, but still not done!!!

One of my other quilts that is queen size and I want to quilt (not send it out).  This one is over 3 years old, easy to quilt (straight line) so I'm hopng to get it done as well for November.

Picture of the finished pattern.  Mine is more green than anything else.

Here is another quilt that was partially finished and now it is - my Aurifill quilt - put together.  I added two more blocks, sewed all the strips together and put in a center piece to make the quilt a queen.  I added some borders and now I have to strip quilt it.  I don't want to show you until it's done but below is a sneak peek of the quilt, showing two blocks...  Stay tuned... It's on next month's list.

So what did I finish???

I wanted an autumn quilt for my bed for October.  This quilt had been sitting for over 3 years waiting for me.  And truthfully, I was worried about quilting a queen quilt on my singer, so when I got the Janome, I was a little braver.  So below is a picture of the backing and the front, and a piece that needs to be added to the front.  I'm proud to say that this one is completed!!!

From the above to the below!!!

This pillow is an extra piece from another project, and I wanted to play around quilting to practice.  The results is from the below 

to this pillow quilted free style!

I started to learn wool applique in 2008 with this quilt.   I think 7 years is old enough and it should be completed.  I don't even remember who was trying to teach us.  But that wasn't the only thing I forgot.  I couldn't find all the pattern, the instruction sheet was missing, so I couldn't do all the blocks, and I didn't know how to finish it.  But in the end I found two more blocks, completed them, and I had enough blocks to completed a wall quilt and that's what I did.  I added 2 1/2 inch squares of flower material around each square, one to two squares per section, in some areas and complete squares in others to make it a rectangle.  

Well I can honestly say it's done!!!!  That's me hiding!!  Notice all the two inch sqaures?  It was bigger than I thought but still great to hang on the wall so I'm happy with the results, and another UFO completed.

And to make my life a little more busy I signed up for a block of the month in August  This is  Block #2 but I need this done for Christmas for a friend (who's only job in the quilt shop  row by row field trip was to say NO to me every time I wanted to buy something, but instead talked me into this quilt.   I'm enjoying this quilt from the Quilt Company (see completed quilt pattern here) that I bought at Fabric Etc in Bellingham.  It's called the Quilted kettle and its a quilt of tea pots, tea cups and even tea bags.   So adorable.  it is made up with piecing and raw applique with button stitching. There is even some stitching on the top of some of the kettles to keep you busy.  I get each section on the 15th of the month, and there are six of them.  So far I've completed 4 of them (all the kettles), and I have the mugs to do, but I can honestly say there is no way I'll complete all this by December 25th (yep, you guessed it, I promised it to a friend for Christmas - don't have enough pressure, had to add to it  :). I have a all the center squares done but not the next level which are tea cups, so this one goes on into the new year!!!

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Everyone needs a christmas quilt on their quilt :)  This is an old BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop. Material all there, all cut up.  9 blocks to make.  It's from It's Sew Emma, a brilliant person.  My wall hanging for Christmas  :)

And this is it all completed and hanging on my wall just in time for Christmas. I finished it on November 28th, a Sunday, just in time to start Christmas season in December.  Love the look and the quilting on it!

I did two more rows on my row by row quilt, (the Pacific West quilts) so that's coming along but I didn't get the 10 I had bargained for. :(

There were others on my list that never got finished, but I was quite pleased with what I did.  And being impulsive, I did a few that were not on the list.  See below.

EXTRAS

OK, when you're mopping around and are a little depressed, one can stroke one's material (yes I do pull out my material and look at it to make myself feel happy), or on impulse, sew something that's not on one's list  (not everyone has a list like I make myself).  So in November I got impulsive, wanted to make a quilt to get over my funk, and did two of them.  

I'm trying to clean up my material but a good friend of mine keeps on giving me fat quarters to cheer me up.  The results:  a halloween quilt that turned out simple but cute.

I added black pumpkin shadows for interest and to draw the eye upwards.  The material (fat quarters) were random but cute, and I had a lot of orange from before, so I used up my stash, and got some simple work done.  The applique is all machine button stitched.

I also did a few others that were not on my list but I think that you might be interested (or maybe not)....

For Christmas I made over 20 bowl holders (if you have soup and it's hot, this bowl protects your hands.  If it's cold, it keeps the food cold).

the look of them.

Very fall colours

Then there was a quilt that I created from a class on Crafty.  The results, a spool quilt that I made my own.  It was my own design on the top to make the quilt larger.  I made the words on Word, then I enlarged them until there was one letter per page.  I traced the letters on another paper so they were backward, and that worked with the duo side interfacing to put them on the quilt.  Then I button stitched them.

I also made a Christmas gift that my mom got and since it's after Christmas I can show you.  This table topper is one of my best quilts yet, with the quilting being very intrinsic, and quite detailed.  In the end I sewed patters on the wings and body of the butterfly in blue silk thread.

With my Christmas quilt from last year, and the pillow I made this quarter.
Very proud of myself.

2015 Finish Along - Going Simple

So far in the 1/2 year that I've joined this group I have failed to complete what I've said I would complete.  I am still over doing it, with 5 BOM's and finishing last year's BOMs (most have their blocks done, it's to complete it and then free style quilt them).  

With this in mind I am making a list of only two things to complete in the next three months.  

This first one will take at least two months but I'm hoping to complete the online class by Leah Day "Free Motion Quilting a Quilt".  I completed the BOM I made by Amy Gibson "Craftsy Block of the Month 2012" and now I want to quilt it.  I loved the block of the month class and really learning in Leah's class as well.  But each video take about an hour and then there is the practice to do before doing the block on your quilt.  So last month  I only got one block down of the quilt, but I did free style stitch in the ditch the entire quilt, and I'm on my way to learning over 14 different styles of free motion quilting. 

Goal two is a quilt that I did do well one, I've got two corners completed, but I need to put it all together.  So here are example of the corner block (please excuse the cat - who doesn't have a cat that hangs around when quilts??? ).  Notice the green in the corner which goes around the quilt and has flowers on it as well.  It's time consuming, and I need to put it away every once in a while because my hand hurts, but that's the job.

I'm trying simple this time and focus!!!  But that's hard for an ADHD adult who needs to focus on three or four things to be a normal person  ;).

In between I'll be doing all the BOM squares that I'm a part of or I'm behind in.  That should keep me busy.

The Sewing never Ends.... Love it...

I continued on sewing on Monday, but I still didn't brag about everything I did Sunday.  I started to sew and cook at the same time at 1:00 and stopped at 2:30.  No I did not cook a quilt, while waiting for the timer to go off I sewed.  These are my blocks of the month (9 in total with two to be completed by the end of this month) that are on my list of things to do:

Crafty 2012 Block of the month (free online) for May

2nd Crafty 2012 BOM for May. 

Two blocks a month.  Block size is 12 1/2 inches.  I'm loving the colours - blast batique that I got years ago on sale in Belleview Washington.

The International Globetrotting Mystery quilt by Pat Sloan.  Using some very bright material for this and I don't know if it's working or I should get a different flatter colour so it fits in better.  Comment here and tell me what you think.  None of my pictures do justice to the material, which has gold thread in it.  There are beautiful different shades of purple and the green is olive green, darker, but it just doesn't show here.  This is the 5th block of the series.

Globetrotting May

And one of the other things that I needed to do to catch up is with my "Down the Rabbit Hole" quilt by Jennifer Overstreet at Gable House and Co.    I sewed the fans without thinking to add a 1/4 border for sewing, so I made them too small, and instead of redoing (I'm using 50 pieces of material that someone gave me for my 50th birthday and I'm running out of material) the blocks, I fixed up the quilts.  Here are the results  ;)  I love it.

Down the Rabbit Hole - April.

I still need to do May's, but I think I'll do that as applique.  That's it.  Got sewing for today (Monday).

Transporting your quilting

I seem to always be creating quilts with my sewing machine, piecing, and such, and working less with applique.  But applique is so easy to transport, and continue to work on.  This weekend I've been trying to catch up with all my blocks of a month, and doing quite well (I'm bragging here in case you don't get that ;).  But the applique is still behind.  So on Saturday we went down to Seattle, and the trip is approximately 2.5 to three hours long, depending on the border.  I decided to take my bag of appliques. 

There are three different blocks of the month that I am currently working on and I thought "What a good time to just talk to my husband and sew at the same time".  He was driving, and it's easy to do both in the car.  I don't get car sick, I'm use to concentrating on other things in the car.  The results, two blocks down, and one to go.  It was fun, it kept my ADHD in check, and I felt a sense of accomplishment instead of saying to myself "Great, another two hours of just sitting there".  Keeping my hands busy keeps my mind calm.  

So in the end, I felt I accomplished something, I enjoyed the time immensely talking to my husband, and I kept calm.  What do you think?

My Prairie Flowers BOM (see Quilts to complete tab on top
for info on this quilt).

Free BOM on Crafty.  Really worth it.
Never did hexigons before the lesson.
Not bad right?

I hand sewed the hexi's on this block, wanted to piece where everything went.  I used the glue method to glue the fabric on the hexigons, hand sew them, then watch the fabric when all sewing was done.  I think it worked out quite well.  But next time I'll try the basting method.

I did do some sewing on Friday as well, but with a few mistakes.  Take a look.

Quilter's Guild April's BOM

Colours are really working out well with this quilt. They are vibrant.   The finished masterpiece will really look spectacular. 

Block Lotto April's Block.

 There were three ways to do this quilt.  I chose piecing.

Down the Rabbit Hole - Another one done.

I made a little mistake on this one.  I didn't add the margin when I was cutting this one out so I need to add some white around the edges to that I can make it the right  size.  But still very happy with this.  If you have never seen the BOM for this quilt, please take a look at the final quilt, and visit Jennifer Overstreet's blog at Gable House and Company.  Or visit her patterns at Crafty.   

So I will be done two BOM in May, the Down the Rabbit Hole one and the Material Girls one.  The rest, continue on  :)

Working on the BOM's.

Well I got a few of them done.

June Block #1

April Block 1

 Enjoyed this one.  I hand sewed it.  Used card paper, printed out the hexagons, used normal school glue stick which washed out really easily, when all was hand sewed onto the background fabric.  The 2nd April block is also with hexagons, but it uses different sizes, and has a large one for the sun, then smaller ones then these for the sun rays.  It's coming….

June, Block 2

The June blocks were really easy, that's why I completed them right away. It was simple to cut and simple to put together.  I must admit I am running out of fabric and still have 6 months left and not enough fabric.  I promised I would not buy for 3 months but I think I'll be breaking that promise. But the good news is that I am half way done this block.

Half way done this block of the month.

What do you do when you're sick in bed, and can't do anything??? You hand sew...

I'm a bit ADHD.  For those of you that don't know what that stands for it's an acronym for Attention

Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  I have trouble sitting still, and can only read books if I read 2 or 3 at a time.  Yes I keep them in order in my head, the problem is I'm always moving and thinking.  I'm the person you hate because the moment I wake up my mind goes very quickly… and doesn't stop.  Wondering if you're ADHD?  Take this test on this link.

Anyways, here I am sick very badly with bronchitis, a lung infection, and too tired to work, and I can't sew, because it tires me out too quickly, so what can I do?  I'm working on hexagons now.  It's hand sewing so I can easily do it.  I'm also catching up on some of my wool work, so it's not that bad.   

I didn't do much, checked out all the BOM's that I'm in, slept,  cut material for 1/2 hour on one of them, slept, hand sewed the hexagons, then guess what?  Yes, slept.  Went to the doctor (had this cold/bronchitis for more then 3 weeks now) and got the great news of the lung infection.  Got the medication, then came home and (yup, you guessed it again) slept.  You would think that being sick you would take a fun day for sewing…. NOT!!!

Pictures of yesterday's quilting Catch Up Day....

Here we go.....

Globe Trotter centre piece - the one she started with....

Centre Piece - January

Debbie Mumm's Stars of Honour has been caught up - two block patterns, one I needed 5 blocks, and the other I need 4 blocks of.  Next one is coming in May.

In reds and browns, but I have golds in the corners.

Caught up with the Crafty 2013 online free course.  You need to look this one up because I can't link to it unless you are logged in.  This one I used all Batiks and bright colours because some of the patterns are very modern.  Loving how it's turning out.

April

March Block 2

February block 1

February Block 2

March Block 1

Can you believe the colours?  It will look fantastic when it's all done but I'll have to have stashing with white to make everything balance.

Get to cross off some things now off that list from my last blog entry...  Still some to go but I'm quite please.  Have my FVQG meeting on Tuesday and I have two completed quilts to show.  But I don't have a 1/2 completed quilt to show for the New FQ challenge - quilts UFO's to complete....  Something for Sunday  ;)