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.

Quilts · WIP

Another Sashless Quilt

March 20, 2013 Elizabeth E.5 Comments

Starting another sashless quilt, based on what I did in the Sunshine and Shadow Quilt Tutorial. But this one’s for my newest grandson Chris, adopted into our family this past December. Chris is eleven, so a “baby” quilt just won’t do, but every grandchild has a quilt from me, and soon he will too.

In pieces, on the pin wall. Having a pin wall is a real luxury, I think. Short of a stiff breeze, all the pieces stick there until I’m ready to sew it together (tomorrow).

The rows are marked. My Spring Break is half over and I still have a few things to get done, as Robert Frost noted: “And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

Another late WIP post, but if you get a chance, head back over to Lee’s Freshly Pieced blog and see what unfinished projects others are working on, plus the beautiful blocks that Lee’s crafting.

Quilts · WIP

Lollypop Tree Top Finished

March 6, 2013 Elizabeth E.19 Comments

Rhonda and I started talking about this about three years ago, thinking we’d do it together. We’d both admired it, yet were daunted by all the work. Yep, it was a lot of work, but I’m happy to say that I’ve finished the top and ready to start ~~obsessing~~ thinking about the backing and how to quilt this thing.

So I guess you could say my work in progress is ongoing, but I prefer to think of the next phase as different quilt; while in actuality it is the same, I think I’d prefer to swivel around in my chair while I’m grading, gaze at this draped in all its glory on my pinwall, and just enjoy a completed top for a while.

I’m linking up to Lee’s Freshly Pieced Work in Progress Wednesday, guest-hosted by Claire. She has a wild shot of a quilt by an airport control tower that’s worth seeing. Great commentary, too.

But — hallelujah! — tomorrow I’ll have a picture of my first March finish. See you then.

FAL · WIP

WIP and FAL are real motivation!

February 27, 2013February 27, 2013 Elizabeth E.5 Comments

I’ve been doing Lee’s Work In Progress Wednesdays for a long time now, and I love participating and reading her blog. Head back there to see more of what others are working on.

And Leanne’s Finish-A-Long has certainly focused what I’m working on. I’ll get back to posting up Road to California pictures next post, but here’s what I’m working on today.

I’ve finally figured out the outer pieces of my EPP quilt. And the border after this, too. Now just to sit and watch something interesting on television, so I can finish it up. What to watch now that Downton Abbey’s all finished, and the Oscar broadcast is over? I do have some interesting Netflix coming. By the way, if you like quirky movies, I can recommend Moonrise Kingdom.

And I finished appliqueing all the pieces on my Lollypop Tree Border Blocks. Now I have to cut away the backs of those that have freezer paper in them, pull out the paper, then press them. When that happens, it means that all the components of the Lollypop Tree quilt will be ready to be put together. I first saw Kim McLean’s pattern on the blog for Material Obsession–a blog you should defininitely have in your Reader.