February tangents

I think I would have fewer tangents if it weren't for Project Quilting.  Thankfully the season is only 6 challenges long, so I will have less distractions soon.  (But I have a way of distracting myself with other projects so I don't know if anything will actually improve.)  Anyway, here is something Bigger Than a Breadbox.  I was just going to focus on all the projects I had already started, but then I saw this while scrolling through Facebook, and thought it'd be easy enough to make a small doll quilt.  I have lots of 5" squares, picked a few and off I went.  The actual quilting isn't my best - the back is quite wrinkly - but I think it's pretty cute.  A non-pink heart for Valentine's Day (although I was tempted by some pink and purple .. that may have to happen later). 

While basting the blue heart above, I also basted this project too - I finished the top for this table runner before Christmas and now it is all done! It was made from scraps from a quilt that is .. sadly in the UFO pile.  All the blocks are done, but it hasn't turned into a top yet.  It is on the list to finish for Christmas this year, and hopefully a second Christmas quilt as well - I have a stack of fabric but haven't settled on a pattern yet.

I've kept up with my Harry Potter quilt until now.  Ron here was a little late (typical) and Luna is still in pieces.  Her glasses look quite intimidating, so it keeps getting pushed aside.  I won't let myself go too much farther without picking up the UFOs and turning them into completed projects.  This one is slated for a friend's baby due at the beginning of April so I can't wait much longer!

Speaking of Harry Potter... one of the challenges from Project Quilting this season was Pixel Play and I had been eyeing this beautiful Hedwig from the second QAL.  Even though I didn't start it until Thursday (and the deadline is always Sunday) I eeked it out just in time.  I turned the 12" block into a pillowcase for my friend's birthday and she loved it.

Not a great picture, but my Unicorn mini quilt top is complete.  I've got the backing and binding ready, but I haven't been super confident with my basting skills lately so it keeps getting set aside.  It is so pretty though, and I had a lot of fun making economy blocks.  I may have to hop onto a round of Finish-A-Long so I can be motivated to get more things completed!

Aside from quilting and sewing I've been reading and DRAWING!  Look!  Oh it feels good to be drawing again.  This is Salty, and I'm loving how he's turning out.

And finally, the longest running project on the list - the last of the Squared Away Twilt blocks were completed! (Can't call this one Squared Away because it wasn't originally included.)  I ended up doing a second blue pinwheel to bring my total block count to 48.  That is a LOT of blocks!  Trina finished hers up as well and we both got them in the mail.

All of our blocks.  I'm still playing with the layout, and leaning towards a grey sashing with cornerstones.  And that border.  Did some math - I need over 300 2.5" squares to make a double-wide border.  Good thing I've got over 400 cut then!  It's going to take a lot of time to get this finished, and with a July deadline I better not put it off for much longer.

First Finishes of 2019

Since I've started quilting, I've noticed lots of quilt-alongs and Blocks of the Month and lots of fun in the sewing community.  Trina and I are still working on our BoM from last year, and I haven't even done my 2018 review post, but that isn't stopping me from playing with new projects!

I follow Project Quilting and have done one or two of their challenges -- sew a project, from idea to completion, in one week, within the suggested theme.   Right after Christmas they hosted a Mystery Quilt, which sounded quite intriguing.  So I jumped in on it!  Lots of tiny 2.5" squares.  But half way through I figured out what it was going to say - I heart PQ.  Which is great, but I've only done a few of their challenges so it isn't super inspirational to me.  So I spent some extra time to add MORE squares and came up with this:

It is 16" x 42" and is hanging up above my sewing desk.  I adore it.  Aside from being first finish of the year, and my first mystery quilt, it was also the first time I had made fabric from scraps (the heart), the first time using low volume fabrics (not just white on white), and my first time using decorative stitching to attach the binding (which was harder than I thought it would be).  Lots of firsts, lots of fun.

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And then immediately after finishing that I started the first challenge of Season 10: Hope Springs Eternal.  Start the timer, I've got one week.

Sunday: Project Quilting posts the first challenge of Season 10, Hope.  Perfect.  I had a stack of grey and yellow fabric just waiting to be turned into a baby quilt for a friend.  And what is more hopeful than a brand new baby!  I finally settled on this Giant Block from Kitchen Table Quilting and got started.  I added an extra block in the middle to feature the little lamb fabric - my first economy block!  It was fun to make and I want to make more in the future.

Monday - Wednesday: Making the top.  Aside from adding the center square I followed the directions for the 36" square and added a 3" border around it.  I like how the grey and yellow play together.

Surely you remember Cupcake's best buddy Grey, right?

Thursday: My favorite sandwich is a quilt sandwich.  Actually, basting is one of my least favorite parts of quilting, because I just can't seem to get it right and always end up with wrinkles in my backing.  But this time wasn't so bad - I used grey flannel for the backing and it stuck to my rug just enough to keep everything pretty flat while I pinned!

Friday - Saturday: Quilting.  I had to keep it simple to make sure I got it done in time.  To keep it even faster I used the backing for the binding - and it's the only way I can manage to get the binding to look decent.

I hope my friend loves this for her baby due next month.  I hope it brings a bit of sunshine as she adjusts to being a mom.  And I hope that baby is healthy and happy and brings great joy to family and friends.