2015 Finish Along: The Final Countdown

I still can't quite believe it's already October.  This year has flown by!!!  I'm actually doing pretty well with 2015 Finish Along ...  so far I've listed 14 different projects and actually finished 6 of them.  Given that some of these were really old UFOs I count that as a win.  So here's the plan to wrap up the year...

1.  Out to Sea Penny Patch - I'm sad I didn't get this one finished before we closed our camp again but I did get started on the quilting during this month's Midnight Madness at Quilter's Way.  After being draped in it for the evening I think it was a wise decision not to try quilting it during the summer but it will be perfect for a few quilting marathon days now that things are turning chilly.

2.  Spellbound - I need another Halloween quilt like I need a hole in the head but I couldn't resist this fabulous Cotton + Steel collection.  I've been pinning Halloween quilt ideas for months so I just have to settle on a design and get stitching...

3.  Tree Farm - I totally missed the boat for the Quilt Along but I love these Modern Trees by Christa's Quilts.  I've pretty much maxed out all my available space for Christmas decorations but I think these will be fabulous as picture frame covers like my Halloween Ghastly Portraits.  I've got everything I need, here's hoping they make it up this year:-)

4.  Keeping It Together - This has been just sitting around waiting to be quilted and showing up on to do lists for an embarrassingly long time.  I finally pulled the trigger and scheduled time at Laurena's Longarm to finish this one up so it might finally happen.

5.  Toes In the Sand - Another one that's been done for a long time.  I had big plans for piecing the back but finally just broke down and bought the last 5 yards of pb&j chevron.  Another day at  Laurena's and I can put this one to rest also.

6.  Sloops - I am loving this one and really want to get it quilted and on Dex's bed.  I actually managed to use this Boat House layer cake before it went out of print so it wasn't too hard to track down yardage for the back (Thank you Loopy Ewe!).  It's too big to quilt at home so it'll require yet another trip to Laurena's, possibly for some custom FMQ.

7.  Houndstooth - This one is basted and ready to quilt.  It's a long shot with the holidays but there may be enough cold days where I don't want to leave the house to get this one done also.

How are you planning to finish out the year?

Join the fun at On the Windy Side!!!

2015 Finish Along: Halfway There

I don't seem to be getting the hang of this!  I've been dutifully listing the things I plan to finish each quarter for the 2015 Finish Along but things really haven't been going as planned... Even scaling things back for Q2 I had 1 measly finish.  Not that I didn't finish things, just not the things on my list.  Hope springs eternal so here I am back for another go with the plan for Q3...

1.  Cover It Up:  One of my goals for the year is to make new slipcovers for our living room couches (yes, there are 2).  Mark at Fabric Corner gave me a fabulous deal on this raspberry twill but it's been sitting in the corner of my studio for the last month while I muster up the resolve to start cutting.  This time is now!!!

2.  A Walk in the Park:  This one keeps showing up on my lists and I have been chipping away at it.  I've quilted flowers in the centers of all the squares but now I want to do some dense vines in the printed areas to make the brick pathways pop.

3.  Houndstooth: Another one basted and ready for a quilting marathon.

4.  Out to Sea:  Last fall I started working on this Penny Square quilt.  I wanted to size it for my daughter's bed at our house in Maine but since we'd already closed up for the year I had to wait for Summer to roll around again.  Now that I've had a chance to see it on her bed I've decided it needs another row on each side and another on the bottom.  I'd really like to get this one on her bed before we close up again!

5.  Beatrix Potter:  This one just keeps lingering but rushing hand quilting defeats the purpose.  With all our road trips I've been making progress on this one so maybe I'll really finish it this time:-)

I'm keeping this one short and sweet.  Are you more productive in summer or less?  Either way, join the fun at On the Windy Side!!!

Enchanted

Another long overdue retreat finish.  This started on my list for Q1 of the 2015 Finish Along by On the Windy Side but looks like it's going to slip to Q2...  better late than never;-)

I fell in love with these Alexander Henry prints the minute I saw them at Quilter's Way but it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with them.

I've wanted to make something from Modern Minimal ever since I met the adorable Alissa Haight Carlton.  While we don't exactly share the same aesthetic, I love the idea of this basket weave quilt.  Rather than using solids, I thought this would be a fun way to showcase these novelty prints.

Since I needed to fussy cut the prints to highlight the design I ended up having to do my own math.  Luckily it came together pretty easily.  There is one partial seam in the middle but luckily Alissa has this fabulous tutorial on her blog to make it super easy:-)

For the quilting I or course turned to my good buddy Angela Walters.  I did bricks in the pink, grass in the green, and flowers in the floral print.

And it wouldn't be one of my quilts without some Nicey Jane and a striped binding;-)

The adorable daughter of my dearest friend spotted this one and claimed it for herself so I know it will be well loved!

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 48" x 55"
Pattern based on Basket Weave from Modern Minimal by Alissa Haight Carlton.
Fabrics from the Once Upon a Time collection by Alexander Henry with Kona baby pink and green tea.  Binding Slim Dandy from Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in Arctic Sky (2612), Light Peony (2437) and Dusty Mint (2847).

2015 Finish Along: The Saga Continues...

I may have been a bit overly optimistic when I made my list for Q1 of the 2015 Finish Along hosted by On the Windy Side.  Only 2 finishes from my list, my Kate Spain Christmas quilt and Plus One but I did make progress on several other items.  Knowing Spring is always busy I'm trying to be a bit more realistic with my plan for Q2...

1.  Enchanted:  This is quilted and just needs to be finished up.

2. A Walk in the Park:  I basted this while on the Boston MQG retreat so it's ready for quilting.

3. Keeping it Together and 4. Toes In the Sand:  I want to gift these in June so I have a real deadline now.  I'm planning to quilt both of these at Laurena's Longarm but with the never-ending snow and cold this winter I pretty much barricaded myself in my quilt studio and refused to leave for anything short of a thread emergency:-)  Now that the weather is improving I can schedule some time but it'll be trickier now that I'm working.

5. Blue Plate Special:  I've made all the plates I need so I just need to settle on the final layout.  I plan to finish this the same as I completed my Ghastly Othello quilt so I'll just quilt the plates on to the assembled quilt sandwich rather than appliqueing them down first.

6.  Here Comes the Sun:  Another retreat project, I was cruising along on this until I ran out of low volume fabrics for the sashing.

7. Beatrix Potter:  It's a long shot that I'll actually finish hand quilting this but having it on the list for Q1 actually got things started.  I'll have lots more time for handwork once it's actually warm enough to start spending weekends in Maine but you never know...  the big stitch quilting goes a lot faster than my old 12 stitches/inch!

What's on your to do list?  Join the fun at On the Windy Side!!!

Twofer

I busted my first UFO of the year!!!  I put together this top last winter during my plus quilt phase.  Most of the fabrics are what was left of a Rouenneries Deux jelly roll with some scraps thrown in for good measure.

My original plan was for crosshatching but once I finished the first side I decided I was done happy with it.  It's a more modern ascetic;-)  Jacquie Gering has some great tips for straight-line quilting on her blog.  It was too cold for a trip to the hardware store for 1 1/2" wide tape but next time I go I'm going to stock up...  only marking every other row would definitely speed up the process!

I used 28wt. Aurifil thread to make the the straight line quilting a bit bolder.  I love the extra texture it adds to the simple design.

I was a little discouraged with this one after my binding debacle but look how perfectly these stripes lined up on the back!

I got a bit distracted while I was trying to finish this and ended up also making a pillow cover with the last of my French General scraps.  And now I have two for the price of one;-)

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts and another check off my list for the 2015 Finish Along with On the Windy Side.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 46" x 46"
Fabrics: Rouenneries & Rouenneries Deux by French General.  Assorted scraps.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 28 wt. (grey spool) Aurifil in Light Beige (2310).

In a Flurry

Better late than never...  I finished up this cute little Christmas quilt.  After almost no snow this winter we suddenly got six inches of snow last weekend, the perfect backdrop for a photo shoot.  I cashed in some of my birthday chips to enlist my DH as a quilt stand.  Good thing, it hasn't stopped snowing since and now we'd be buried under a snow drift!

I started this quilt right before we left for Christmas vacation.  I was in desperate need of some mindless sewing after all the deadlines and fussiness of my holiday sewing.  I spotted this collection of Kate Spain holiday charm packs in my stash and got sewing.

I didn't want to deal with anything complicated and wanted to use up as many charms as possible.  I just randomly grabbed pairs of charms, sewed them together and then stuck them on the wall.  Without getting too thinky about it I just kept sewing pairs together into bigger units until I had strips of 12 blocks which seemed like a good throw size.

To stretch things and give all the prints some breathing room I alternated with solid white squares on the odd rows.  I love the almost gingham effect it adds with minimal effort!

For the quilting I just went with straight lines a 1/4" from the seams.  It was a bit tedious but was helped along by the final season of The Closer.

And there's my first finished quilt of 2015...  just in time for Christmas:-)

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts and making my first check on the 2015 Finish Along with On the Windy Side.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 58" x 76"
Fabrics: Solstice, Flurry, and 12 Days of Christmas charm packs by Kate Spain, FSDS Mist.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in Light Beige (2310).

2015 Finish Along: Tackling the Tower

Delving into my UFO pile is like an archaeological dig...  I can't believe how old some of these are!!!  I've gotten much better about finishing what I start but there are a few stragglers that have been hanging around for an embarrassingly long time.  Since prizes and camaraderie are always a good incentive for getting things done I'm joining the Finish Along at On the Windy Side.  If I say it I have to do it, right?  Here's the list for what I'd like to finish in Q1...

1. Kate Spain Christmas Quilt:  I started this right before I left on vacation as some mindless charm square sewing.  I could easily let this linger in the WiP Pile until next Christmas but I went on a basting kick this week so there's no reason not to get this quilted and finished now.

2. A Walk In the Park:  This is ready for quilting and I even know how I want to quilt it.  It's a bit larger than I usually quilt on my domestic machine so I've been waffling on doing this at home vs. the longarm.  Time to decide and be done.

3. Plus One:  Another one finished and just moldering in the To Be Quilted pile...

4. Toes In The Sand:  I like this quilt well enough but I don't feel mine has anything special that sets it apart from what anyone else did with this BOM.  I have 2 people willing to take it off my hands so I should really finish it up and send it on its way.

5. Enchanted:  I want to do fancy free motion in the solid negative spaces of this one.  It's really just a matter of picking out patterns to go in each section, FMQ always goes faster than I think it will.

6. Keeping It Together and 7. Urban Window:  There are just no excuses for these 2.  I just need to schedule time on the longarm and whip them out.  Neither one is going to take very long and the bindings are ready and waiting.

8. Frenchie:  This is soooo old...  I whipped this up for one of Audrey's friends who was moving away and then never got around to quilting it.  It's basted and ready to quilt as soon as I master these Fleur-de-lis for the borders.

9. Beatrix Potter:  I love this quilt (and I would never do something like this again) so there's no reason for it to have spent over a decade in the WiP pile waiting to be hand quilted.  Oh wait, I need some handwork... all that's stopping me from getting started is a trip to the fabric store for some thread;-)

Join the fun at On the Windy Side!!!