I Joined a Quilt Along

I really do have a lot to do, but when I saw samples of the Dear Darling quilt and heard that there was going to be a quilt along, I just had to join the fun. 

There are some really awesome samples on Kaitie's Instagram page that you'll want to check out. They are so cute and there are so many ideas to consider.

I'm going with the pieced center option and decided that I really am just going to with the flow for this project. I am NOT going to stress, which means that I will NOT overthink my fabric choices. With that in mind, I went to my container that holds Cotton+Steel fat quarters and pulled what I needed/wanted. I then looked at my background choices and am happy to say that I found something I like. Yay! 

I think I’ll use the same fabric for my sashing and border, and then use my leftover fat quarter pieces for a scrappy binding. Of course that may change after the blocks are pieced, but that's the plan for right now. I also decided to make this a bit smaller - 59” x 76”, which means that I’ll be making 12 blocks instead of 16. 

My pieces are cut, organized, and ready to sew. (Yep, I should still be cleaning, but I'm doing this as a diversion. Go to this post to see what what I did yesterday instead of clean.) 

I even put everything into a separate project bag to keep it together and organized. That counts as cleaning, right? 😁 This is going to be FUN! 

Check out Kaitie's Instagram page - Modern Folk Studio for more information or to join the quilt along.  

Design Wall Monday

I have completed my Peaks and Valleys quilt and I love it!

At the beginning of this pandemic, I decided to take a couple of online classes. Not only did I want to learn new things, I also wanted to support teachers like me who have had their classes come to a screeching halt. 

Since I test patterns for Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis and she was offering a variety of online events/classes, etc., I decided to dive in and have fun. I watched a couple of her free Facebook Live and then signed up for her Scrap Bracelet class. I posted about that a couple of weeks ago. 

After that class, I signed up for the Peaks and Valleys class. I'd seen the pattern before and thought it looked fun. I pulled all of the fabric from my stash and was happy to be able to have enough that looked Halloween, but didn't "scream" it.  I decided that I wanted the quilt to be a little wider than called for, so I added an extra column to the left side.

For the quilting, I wanted it to be simple, so I quilted lines echoing the piecing. The lines are sewn at random intervals, which made it so easy for me. 

Here's a shot of the back. 

It was kind of windy, so getting some good pictures was kind of challenging. 

I love the orange binding on this quilt! I don't usually pull my binding until after the top is made and even quilted. But, this time I pulled it while picking my fabrics. I was hopeful that it would work, and I'm so glad that it did. It's a fun orange with small white dots on it; and it's VERY old fabric. 

While participating in these Facebook Live events and taking classes, I learned more than just quilting. I've paid close attention to the actual production of the classes and have ventured into the world of video tutorials. I've started small and I'm not very professional at all, but I'm having fun. I'm hosting a FREE Spring Table Runner Sew Along for Chestnut Ridge. Here's a sketch of the runner that we are making. This is the short version, but I'm offering it in a longer size too. HERE'S a couple pictures of the long runners.

If you want to join the fun, go to the Friends of Chestnut Ridge Sewing's Facebook page. We are in the second week of the three-week sew along, but you can still join any time. The files and videos will remain on the page, so you can even refer back to it when/if you decide to make a second runner. A quick note about the videos. I love quilting and am much better at that than making videos. I am learning as I go and having fun doing it. I hope you do too.   😊

What are you working on today?

Check out the Quilters' Eye Candy at

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and 

Beth's Monday Making

Broken Panes QAL

I'm thrilled to be joining Jen over at Patterns by Jen for the Broken Panes Quilt Along.

When I first saw a picture of this quilt, I knew that I wanted to make it. There's something just really fun about this quilt!

I was really happy when Jen put out a request for a few bloggers to participate in the QAL and she picked me to be one of them. Yay!!

Here's the schedule Jen has put together for us:

Schedule

May 14th - Fabric Prep
May 21st - Needles and Rotary Cutters
May 28th - Bobbins and Thread June 4th - Cutting
June 11 - Sewing strips and sub - cutting
June 18 - Sewing week
June 25 - Sewing blocks together
July 2nd - Piecing top
July 9 - Quilting prep
July 16 - Sewing/basting week
July 23 - Quilting
July 30 - Finishing touches

August 13 - Some sort of quilt link up or something to show the finished tops (either fully pieced or fully quilted)

*********************************

I'll be making the 57" x 82" version, and here are the fabrics I've chosen.

Yep! I'm making a patriotic version. I plan to use this as a Quilt of Valor project and am sure that it'll look great. My fabrics are shown from left to right in the order that they appear in the fabric requirements on the pattern. I've swapped the blue star fabric for the red, the gold stars for the orange, the white swirl for the green, dark blue for the blue, and the red for the teal. 

There's still time to join the fun.

Go to Jen's blog to find out where to get the pattern and check out the information she has provided on choosing and prepping your fabric. 

2018 Planning Party

I've decided to join the 2018 Planning Party Linkup hosted by Yvonne - Quilting JetGirl

Yes, I waited until the last day of the year to decide to do this. Of course I've been thinking about it, but I just wasn't sure that I was ready to commit. You know, once you put something in writing, especially on a blog, there are a number of people who find pleasure in reminding you that you forgot to do something or that you are late in posting something. 

Nevertheless, I've decided to do it and not stress out about it. 

In terms of quilting, I am not going to do what I have in the past and pick particular UFOs to complete. Although it would be nice to do that and get them all done, I'm being realistic and purposely not forcing myself to work on something that just doesn't "fit" my mood. I'm purposely going to be a bit vague on other quilting goals as well, but they will be quantifiable and attainable.

I will do the following, in no particular order:

1) Complete at least six UFOs in the next 12 months. That's one every two months and I think that's realistic.

2) Complete at least 12 donation quilts in the next 12 months. These will include quilts for Hands2Help and Quilts of Valor. There may be more, but I'm not sure. If all goes well, some of the UFOs will be used for donations. 

3) I plan to participate in at least one Quilt Along. I enjoyed the Wayward Transparency QAL and learned a lot doing it. Since I always want to learn something in each of my projects, this Quilt Along surpassed my expectations and has encouraged me to participate in others. I'll be kind of picky in terms of which one(s) I chose to participate, but there will be at least one.

4) I am involved in a pattern testing right now and have been enjoying that. I have already found ways that I can write better patterns myself as well as be a better teacher, so I would like to participate in at least one pattern testing during 2018. 

5) Since I mentioned bettering my pattern writing and becoming a better quilt teacher, I want to revisit at least six of my patterns during 2018 and make updates and changes as needed. 

6) Write at least two blog posts per week. Included in this will be learning to take better photos so they enhance my posts. With that enhancement, I hope to offer much better tutorials, especially for when I participate in blog hops, etc. 

7) I want to actively help spread the joy of quilting. I've been involved with Scott Fortunoff, President of Jaftex, in helping to secure sewing machines for people who have lost theirs due to disasters, etc., but I want to do more. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do, but I'll do something. If you are interested, check out Scott's Facebook page or his blog on the Studio e website.  

8) And finally, as many of us always say, I want to be more organized in my quilting adventure. This is not limited to just cleaning up my space, but includes being better prepared for classes I offer, not procrastinating when making class samples or completing custom orders, and also be careful to not overbook myself, which creates chaos and tension.  

Personally, I would like to do the following:

1) Travel a little with Jack. There are a number of places that we've talked about, but just never seem to get around to organizing the trips. These are not necessarily BIG travel plans, but just some short trips that could last anywhere from one to five days. 

2) Read more for pleasure - not just quilting related books. You'd think that belonging to a book club would help that, but I think I missed at least five meeting nights in 2017. I don't want to do that again. 

3) Get more sleep. Because of my lack of organization, I often find myself not sleeping well. Hopefully this goal will be easily accomplished because of better organization.

4) Write more letters. While e-mail and texting are fine, I want to send actual cards and letters.

5) Enjoy family time more frequently. This not only includes my immediate family, but extended as well.

Ok, I think that's enough for now. Many of these goals overlap and working on one will affect the success of another.

What are your goals for 2018? If you choose to set goals, good luck with achieving them and Happy New Year!