Finished things, and not finished things

Contrary to what the silence on the blog implies, I've actually finished a few things.  The projects have been posted on Instagram, but I haven't posted about them here.  The great thing about Instagram is you can share a picture with just a short caption about the subject you're sharing.  The downside is I've become lazy about documenting anything in great depth in this space.  One of my goals this year is to get back to blogging consistently.

Uncle Frank's Shirts was delivered to my parents during our holiday trip to New Orleans.  Despite the unending rain and the unseasonably warm temperatures and humidity, it was good to be back in the New Orleans area for the holidays.  Our last Christmas there was thirteen years ago.  We moved to California and never made it back for Christmas until this year (thanks to our move to Texas, which put us in driving distance).  I don't have a picture of the finished quilt, but I love how it turned out.  I'll be back in New Orleans in March and hope to snap a photo of it then.

Another project I've completed is a pillow cover  made for a paint chip challenge, hosted by the Mckinney Modern Quilt Guild.  Paint sample cards were cut up and thrown into brown paper bags.  The bags were passed around and we were instructed to draw 3 chips without looking into the bag.  We then had to make a project using mainly the three colors we drew.  I was lucky enough to draw three colors that I love and which go well together (see bottom center of the picture).  This Wonky Star pillow has been claimed by Kieran, and he insists on having it in his bed every night:

Delectable Mountains was started long ago, with blocks made by members of Love at do. Good Stitches.  It came out of the WIP bin because it is embarrassingly overdue.  I have a machine that is too small for quilting comfortably, plus it skips stitches and breaks the top thread like nobody's business, despite any trouble-shooting performed.  This makes the quilting of a quilt my least favorite part of the process.  Outbursts of frustration are usually involved.  However, I will soldier on and make efforts to complete this quilt (because there is another charity quilt that is also long overdue and will be the next sewing project I pick up):

The backing was pieced yesterday afternoon and got an unsolicited stamp of approval from Kieran upon his return home from school.  It's just a couple of fat quarters and some odd-sized cuts of orange and blue prints from my stash sewn together.  However, the 6-year old was impressed, and I'll take the compliment any day.

WIP Wednesday

Summer sewing... I have every intention of making myself a dress.  I purchased this fabric and this pattern, with an eye towards making View B (the knee-length version).  Because of my limited experience in apparel-making, I will definitely have to make a muslin first.  And there's the rub- if I'm going to spend the time making a dress, I want the immediate gratification of wearing it right away!  So the fabric and pattern sit in a neat pile on a shelf.

Here's a recap of what actually did make it to my sewing table this week:

June's Piece Bee theme was houses.  Eva asked for small details inside the house as well as in the garden.  I'm wishing I had framed the windows to make them look more like windows, but other than that, I like how the block turned out.

For this month's Love Circle block at do. Good Stitches, Jacey asked for scrappy improv blocks with citrus colors.  I dove into the bucket o'scraps and had fun using up crumbs I had been saving for Bottled Rainbows.  When those ran out, I pulled some fabric from the stash and cut small pieces to finish the blocks.  I really like the look of these blocks:

I've also made progress binding a charity quilt.  It's been a little challenging working on this quilt because the weather's been so gorgeous and warm- I've felt a little claustrophobic underneath the weight of it.  But just one more side to stitch down on charity quilt #1 and hoping to move on to charity quilt #2.

The only box left to tick on my list is Design Camp's June project.  In lieu of a block, we are making mini-quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  I've got the design and fabric worked out, it's just a matter of finding some time.  My older children have plans to make cookies this afternoon while the little one naps- perfect time for me to steal away and sew for an hour.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced...

Flowers and bees

Remember the Retro Flowers block for the Love Circle at do. Good Stitches?  It has been unsewn, has had seams pressed open (they were side-pressed) and has been sewn back up again.  It has also been  joined by a sister block:

 

I pieced those lovelies last night while watching old episodes of The Office (US) and Saturday Night Live with the hubby.  We usually watch old episodes of Being Human (UK) or Walking Dead (we got our fix earlier this week now that new episodes are being aired), but last night I was in the mood to be amused.

Today's agenda involves whittling down my other bee/swap commitments.  This includes, but is not limited to, making a test block, then cutting into this lovely Rendezvous fabric for the Aqua and Red Bee (I may save the gray and black dots for the binding, but the jury's still out on that decision):

and cutting up these old work shirts my husband was going to recycle (due to various stains and tears) for the Design Camp [think outside the block] Swap:

All will be packaged tonight and will go in the post tomorrow.  Some of the packages are going overseas, so there may be tardy arrivals due to the short month.  

So much to do, so little time

February is busy, busy with bee/swap commitments, charity and retreat planning for the BAMQG guild, and chairing Girl Scout cookie sales for Martina's troop.  Egads, why is February a short month?  

I managed to eek out a couple of bee blocks, but neither are ready to be shipped off.  In my previous post, I shared my Retro Flowers test block for the do. Good Stitches Love Circle.  I didn't press the seams open, so I'm either going to make the block again, or take the test block apart and re-sew with seams pressed open. 

February's Piece Bee theme for Lynne is tropical fish.  My inspiration was this picture of an Emperor Angelfish.  Lynne wanted bright colors and indicated batiks were okay.  I raided my stash and found some fabric I bought for my brother-in-law's Deadhead quilt (which I have yet to design, much less start).  The block feels very murky instead of the bright and colorful block Lynne requested.  I think I'm going to start over.

Blocks for Aqua and Red Bee (Flying Geese for Dawn) and Design Camp Swap (shipping containers for Jaime) blocks are also due this month.  Plus, I've also got to make test blocks, then cut up and ship out fabric for these same two bees, since March is my month for both. Thanks goodness the BAMQG retreat is coming up- it's going to be all about the bees and swaps for me.

Amidst all these deadlines, Jen and I have been trying to organize quarterly projects and track the piecing, quilting and binding of the guild's charity quilts.  When we first met to discuss the program launch in December, we settled on a target of 2 quilts per month.  We've got such enthusiastic members that 3 completed quilts are already done.  We've also got 6 quilts out amongst guild members in various stages of completion, and the first quarter isn't even up!  We are a guild of over-achievers!

Sewing the day away

It's hard to believe we're heading into the last week or so of the January.  I've got quite a bit of sewing on my plate for various bees and swaps.  Thank goodness for my local modern quilt guild's Sew Day over the weekend.  What quilter can resist the lure of a day of camaraderie and sewing?  Not I!  What a great opportunity to get those projects done (but more on that in a bit). 

One of the projects I brought along was my lot of red and teal wonky plus blocks from this Flickr swap.  Sadly, I couldn't use all the blocks I received from the swap because of the broad interpretation of red and teal, so my mission was to make replacements.   A fellow guild member who participated in the same swap was also making blocks for the same reason.  She and I traded a few fabrics and knocked out some blocks to supplement what we kept.  We donated the others to the guild for a charity quilt.  I've still got four more to make before these beauties can become a quilt top:

My bag was full of other projects I brought along (what was I thinking?), but in six hours of sewing time I only made four blocks.  If you've read my post about Open Sew at the local LQS, you'll see I'm a slow sewer.  Quite a bit of time was spent talking to the other guild members and admiring their work.  So many inspiring projects being made, among them Swoon blocks.  I've admired Swoon for a while but have been put off by the size of the blocks (24.5 inches!!!).  After seeing them at Sew Day and more on Flickr, I'm positively smitten and most probably will join the Swoon-Along.

The rest of my time was spent discussing guild charity business with the other charity co-coordinator.  There's an amazing spirit of generosity and good will in the guild.  Jennifer and I have received so much support for the newly launched charity program in the form of fabric and orphan block donations, ideas, and general enthusiasm.  There's been a high rate of participation in making blocks for our first charity project.  So far, we've got one completed quilt, one in the process of being quilted and bound by one of our guild members, and two more guild members took home blocks on Sew Day to make into quilt tops.  Not too shabby for the first month of the program!