Finish-A-Long First Quarter Wrap-Up

March 31, 2013March 31, 2013 Elizabeth E.15 Comments

I joined Leanne’s Finish-A-Long because I had too many quilts malingering in the closet together, and thought this might help me. This post is a wrap-up of my first quarter with FAL.

My opening post mentioned the following 7 projects:

Wonky Star Quilt • Wonky Star Pillow Shams • Autumn Quilt • English Paper Piecing Quilt Top • Lollypop Tree Quilt Top • Summer Treat Quilt

I found out later that quilt tops are not considered part of the finish, so I get to roll some projects over into the next quarter. But here’s my wrap-up of finishes, in the order I finished them:

Finish #1: Autumn Quilt was given a name of Into the Woods, and I did finish it and get a label on it. I let my father have it — on “long-term loan,” as he would say — because he loved the colors so much.

Finish #2: Summer Treat, shown here in her glamour pose, languidly draped across a chair. This quilt has a tutorial, found *here.*

Finish #3: Once There Was a Snowman, an improv or wonky-construction block quilt. Glad that’s done, and I owe it to the FAL.

Finish #4: Star Mother’s Youngest Child, based on a Moda Bake Shop pattern. I’m already looking forward to Christmas, when I can put these last two quilts out on the guest bed. Anyone coming to visit?

Finish #5: Wonky Star Pillow Shams, to go with Star Mother’s Youngest Child, above.

So I finished five of my seven projects, as outlined by the rules of the Finish-A-Long. But even though I didn’t have all seven finished, I don’t feel bad, because I add the following to my finishes for the first quarter of 2013:

Lollypop Tree Quilt Top

Springtime Table Runner from Far-Flung Bee blocks (last year’s bee) Tutorial for block *here*

Cushions for the sofa. I know it’s not quilting, but the fabric had been draped around the forms for about six months. Happy to have it done.

Hot Mitts for my kitchen, Tutorial *here*

A quilt for my newest grandson, Chris

Sunshine and Shadow, a quilt for my sister-in-law Janice
Tutorial *here*

FourArt2_Full

An art quilt for our Four-in-Art group: One Black Leaf

A satchel (or purse) called the Bag Bostonian.

Two handmade pouches

Snapshot, a Polaroid Quilt, and last. . .

. . . my EPP quilt, which is all pinned up and still can’t be shown all the way. Yet.

Now I have to go grade my brains out. Or take a nap.

If you want to add some notches to your quilt frame, racking up those finishes, please visit Leanne’s Second Quarter Finish-A-Long sign-up. I’ll post a link when I declare my projects for the next quarter. By the way, shoot high. I noticed that some add their smaller handmade projects to this, but I don’t need motivation to get to those–it’s the BIG projects that I need to move forward on.

FAL · Finish-A-Long · Quilts

Wonky Pillow Shams

March 30, 2013March 31, 2013 Elizabeth E.5 Comments

Breaking News!! Last Finish-A-Long Project Slides Under the Wire!

Pillow Shams Now in 3D!

Ooooh!

And a reminder for Sewing Corners!

Check back tomorrow for a complete wrap-up of the first quarter of Finish-A-Long 2013!

Update: Original Finish-A-Long post is *here.*

200 Quilts · Quilts

Snapshot: Polaroid Quilt finished

March 29, 2013October 3, 2022 Elizabeth E.12 Comments

Debbie of A Quilter’s Table hosted a Polaroids swap last summer, and although I put together the top fairly quickly, I didn’t send it to the quilter’s because I wanted to do the quilting. Finally I wised up and took it over to Kathy. Smart move, because now it’s finished and not still hanging on its hanger in the closet.

But it’s all done now! Dave and I snuck out yesterday morning in our jammies to grab the few rays of sun that morning, he holding up the quilt for me. Thanks, hon. (We always have cloudy mornings until mid-summer.)

When I put this up on Instagram, some folks said they wanted to see some details shots of the little blocks. I think of this quilt as kind of a travel, a memory book quilt, with all its little snapshots of different things.

So when I found this circle design, my quilter agreed to quilt it for me; it reminds me of wheels on a car, going round and round for a summer trip.

It was fun to use some old novelties in my stash, like the block that has “2000” on it–from all those turn of the century quilts we were doing thirteen years ago — when we thought all the computers in the whole world were going to crash.

This one’s kind of like an album block. Krista and I hatched up Project Gingham last year after I found a bunch of ginghams at a garage sale. She made this block for me and signed her name. It’s a treasure. How do you make these little blocks? Diagram *on this post.*

I found this stripe-y fabric at a little quilt shop not too far from my house, and it turned out to be perfect. The Polaroids are bordered in Quilter’s Linen in bright green and blue. Tutorial on how to make this quilt *here.*

The backing is a Marimekko print that looks like a grassy field.

And here’s the label. I love the quote from Eudora Welty, a great Southern writer: “A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.” Amen, Eudora. Well said.

This is #110 of 200 lifetime quilts.

EPP · Four-in-Art · WIP

This and That for a WIP Wednesday

March 26, 2013March 26, 2013 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

Many thanks to Lee of Freshly Pieced Fabrics for hosting all of us quilters on WIP Wednesday.

Picked up this pattern at the Glendale Quilt Show and slid in one more project before my Spring Break ended. I love the vinyl see-through fronts, so I can find those scissors. . . or spool of thread. I’ve already packed up one with a hand-sewing project.

The project is a little bird pincushion made of felted wool fabrics. Now to find some movie-watching time to work on it.

What else am I working on? Our next Four-in-Art reveal is about a month away, and we had to move the deadline because some of us were panicking. I resolve to not panic anymore. (Which involves getting stuff done early.)

I’m teaching a class for a local quilt shop (if peeps sign up. . .) and while it’s based on the idea of large globular shapes in a roughly floral design, I didn’t want to copy Kim McLean’s fine work.

So I pulled up the original quilt from the 1880’s, and tried to combine elements that had that funky vibe. I just finished it, and after I order some kind of Kona red (do you know how many reds there are in the Kona fabric rainbow?), I’ll start constructing a vaguely Christmasy-Hollandish wall hanging for my sample in blues and greens on a red background.

I’m also working on this one — in my mind. The quilt top is pinned to its backing and laying over the chair in our living room while my subconscious mind figures out a way to quilt it.

I’m trying to be patient. Lollypop Trees isn’t even pinned to a backing yet as my subconscious can only handle one quilt at a time. There are many other ideas working their way forward, but that’s enough for today, I think. Click *here* to head back over to Freshly Pieced and see other fabulous Works-in-Progress.