Friday Finishes

It's Friday and I've actually finished something! WooHoo!!

Remember THIS little backing fiasco from a couple of weeks ago that I ran into while preparing to quilt my Zen Garden quilt?

Well the correction has been made and the quilt is done. By done I mean pieced, quilted and bound. YEAH!

Here's how I corrected the back. As you can see, I added a strip of the same blue that I used in the binding and I'm quite happy with the results. 

I also made a small T-Shirt Quilt sample.

I am in the process of making a couple of T-Shirt Quilts for people and I've had a couple of other people express an interest. Unfortunately, whenever I've made a T-Shirt Quilt it's always been for someone else so I don't have a sample to show a perspective customer. I've taken plenty of pictures, but it's not the same as looking at the real thing. 

So, last night I decided to make a very small sample. I decided against adding extra borders, alternate blocks, etc. because I can show pictures of those. I just wanted to have something that a customer can touch so they understand how they actually feel, since they are a bit different than "normal" quilts. 

So, all in all, I feel like I finally accomplished something and I'm happy. Now I think I should get back to working on my Prairie Star quilt.  :-)

Have you finished anything this week? Why not post about it and link it to Sarah's Blog - Confessions of a Fabric Addict? Go ahead and head on over to the site even if you haven't finished anything. I'm pretty sure you'll find some wonderful eye candy and inspiration. I know I did! :-)

Design Wall Monday

Before you ask, no I did not finish my red and white Prairie Star quilt that I posted last week. I did work on it a little, but as you read on through this post, I think it will become apparent why I have decided that it's a good thing that I didn't work on it very much.

Instead of working on the Prairie Star quilt, I felt the need to finish up a few projects that I've had sitting around here for a while. I wanted to be productive, but not have to think too much. With that in mind, I pulled some quilt tops and prepared them for quilting and binding. 

Everything was going along swimmmingly until yesterday evening. I had finished two quilts - simple meander quilting and even finished the bindings, and I was feeling so good. Ok, I admit it, I was feeling a bit cocky. 

Since all was going well and I was being so productive, I decided to make the backing for my "dark" version of Zen Garden and get it ready for quilting. 

I really like this quilt  - and every other quilt designed by Little Louise Designs that I have made - so I knew that once I got started it would go quickly. (Click HERE to see the "light" version of the same quilt.)  

All was going well and I was even using up some stash to make the backing. I like this, don't you?

Well, I guess maybe I was tired or perhaps I was just not paying attention. I don't know, but I do know that my backing isn't wide enough! ARRGGHHH!!!  It's plenty long, but that doesn't help me. :-(

Can you see that the top left corner of the backing is shorter than the quilt top? The right side is lined up exactly, so there is no excess there from which to "borrow." I decided it was time to just put this away and try again later. I think I have some extra of the print fabric that I could piece together and make another strip. We'll see though....

Do you see why I have decided that it was a good thing I didn't work on the Prairie Star and have to think? That just might have been ugly!

Anyway, on a positive note I did completely finish two quilts. This first one was actually not a UFO, but I was so excited to try a strip piecing method for making Granny Squares that I spent part of last Wednesday pulling fabric and trying the technique. I loved it and this quilt is the result.

It's not too often that I begin and finish a quilt in such a short amount of time, but this was so easy and I was having fun. I still wasn't feeling well and did not want to have to think while sewing. This was perfect and I really like the end result!

The quilt below had been a quilt top just waiting to be finished for quite a while. I already had the backing and binding ready, but I just hadn't quilted it. It's done and I really like this too. (Quite a bit different than the Granny Squares now isn't it?) I've named this one Color Splash.

Anyway, I was productive and even though I am now faced with a backing challenge, I'm pretty happy with my progress. The Prairie Star quilt is not put away. It's just set aside for right now. It will be finished soon because I'm feeling much better and I really want to finish it!

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today.
Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times and be prepared to be inspired.

Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger lately! I really have no excuse, other than lack of desire to post either because I don't really feel like I have anything to post or because I was busy and didn't have the time to post. I guess when I say that I feel like I don't have anything to post, that's not really true. I have lots of stuff to post, but not much in the way of quilting and when I make a series of non-quilt related posts, I hear about it. 

There are a few quilt-related things going on here, but just not a lot to show. I was busy getting samples ready for the next series of classes and I completely finished my white Zen Garden. (Sorry for the partial quilt picture. I had some issues with getting pictures taken and this was as good as it was going to get.)

 

The black Zen Garden still needs quilted, but the top is pieced. I just couldn't get the quilting done before the samples needed up for display.  :-(

 





 I got a few other little odds and ends things done, but nothing of which I took a photo. (See what I mean by bad blogger?)

 

During my blogging absence, Quinn and Sadie spent a week with us and we had a blast. Of course Jack and I were quite tired by the end of the week, but it was still fun. I know the girls had fun, but I know they missed Mom, Dad and Ronan also. We all met up at a restaurant in Columbus and it was really fun to watch the girls discover when their parents arrived. Quinn saw the car first and was all excited to tell Sadie that she saw a car that was the same color as the one Dad drives. She then got all excited when she saw a person wearing a coat like Mom's! When Nikki turned around and they saw her carrying Ronan through the parking lot, both girls started giggling and clapping their hands. Good thing we were not inside with other patrons, although I think most of them would have thought it was fun to see. By the time Nikki, Zach and Ronan got into the building Quinn and Sadie were so excited that they couldn't contain themselves anymore. The hugs and kisses were just so much fun to watch!

 

While they were with us, the girls did a lot of playing together, but they also did their own things. Sadie spent a lot of time reading, and she especially liked reading in the room with the fireplace. She sure does look comfortable and interested, doesn't she!

 

 

Quinn liked being in the same room, but her activity of choice was doing puzzles. I think this particular puzzle was put together at least four times while she was here.

 

 

And of course there was lots of coloring! I found this memory the other day and just started laughing out loud.

 

 

The girls (Quinn) decided that it would be a good idea to hang up various colored pictures around the house to be used kind of like signs for visitors. This is one that Sadie colored and it was hung on the door to the downstairs bathroom.

 

Here's how it was to work. If someone came to the house for the first time and they had to use the bathroom, we would just tell them to find the colored picture of Mickey Mouse. According to Quinn, having to look for the picture would be fun and therefore, going to the bathroom would be fun. :-)

 

 

I think I'll leave the picture up a little longer......

 

Check out what other quilters are working on by going to Show and Tell Tuesday at 

i have to say...

Design Wall Monday

Here's what's up on the wall today. This is the completed Zen Garden quilt top. I'm playing with ideas on quilting before I take it down. I'm thinking about something girly like flowers or big swirls.

 

 

I really like how this turned out and hope to quilt it soon, especially since I want to offer this as a class in the next series of classes in the Spring. This is coming down from the wall tonight or tomorrow even if I haven't decided on the quilting because I've got all the pieces cut and ready to sew for the same quilt with a dark background. The print fabric is all the same for both quilts. (Ticklish by Me and My Sister Designs for  Moda)

 

 

For most quilts I teach, I like to have one quilt completely done that is full size, as well as at least a few blocks using a very different colorway or style of fabric. Because many of us quilters struggle to visualize projects in any fabric other than the sample, I think it's worth my time and energy to do that. I've had more than one student tell me that they appreciate what I've done so I plan to continue. 

 

Since one of these quilts take 20 strips that measure 2.5" x width of fabric plus background fabric, I'm making two complete quilts. I love that about this pattern and others by Little Louise Designs.  My Gateway to Paradise is by the same designer and uses only 20 strips also.  

 

 

I've been busy the last couple of weeks, but that really isn't an excuse for not posting. Later tonight or early tomorrow, I'll post some pictures from the Old Bags Day Sew-In that my friend Kare and I hosted on January 26th. We had 32 participants and I think they all had as much fun as Kare and I did. There was a lot of productivity that day, including a number of quilt tops being completed.

 

See what other quilters have on their design walls today.

Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

 

Design Wall Monday

I've got to get back in the routine of posting and I think today's Design Wall Monday is just the way to do that.

I have my Zen Garden with the white background up right now. Here are 11 blocks completely done, and I have the other 9 ready for the side strips. I'm using a jelly roll called Ticklish by Me & My Sister for Moda and I think it is so fresh and fun!

 

I really like this pattern. It's by Little Louise Designs and I'm also making it with a dark background. The really cool thing about the quilt is that since it only it takes 20 strips 2 1/2" x width of fabric (half a jelly roll), I can make both quilts and only have to come up with background fabrics. YEAH!!  This is the second of her patterns that I've made (Gateway to Paradise was the first), and it also only used half a jelly roll.  I have a couple other patterns by Little Louise Designs that I'm going to make, so be on the look out for them soon! I think these will make great classes. That's what Zen Garden is for so I better get busy and get it (them) done.  :-)

I have a couple of table runners that are not technically on the design wall, but since I made them today and they are ready to be quilted, I'm lumping them in with today's design wall post. These are made using the Easy Striped Table Runner pattern that I've mentioned before. Super simple, and super cute!

 

 

 

Click here to see a picture of a couple of other table runners I've done using this pattern. I made at least five of these table runners in November and I think I forgot to take pictures of most of them. Darn! I do have this one and I really like it. I think there is one more at Country Fabrics because it was hung up for display to advertise my class. I think I should check and see if it is still there. 

 

 

To check out what other quilter have up on their design walls today, go to

Judy L's Patchwork Times.