La Passing Time

My La Passacaglia has been helping me pass the time for quite a while now.

I don't know how I would have made it through all Audrey's activities without something to keep me occupied.

I started this project Audrey's freshman year of high school so it seems fitting that I completed my last rosette at Audrey's final basketball game.  It's hard to believe I won't be watching her cheer anymore.

I was hoping to get this done in time for graduation but didn't quite make it.  It becomes a lot less portable as you start putting it all together but I started with quadrants and then kept joining.

I spent many road trips appliqueing everything down to the background this summer.  Those star points are tough.  If I did it again I think I'd take the time to hand baste around the edges before stitching it down.  Also, I didn't do a good enough job basting this to the background so it doesn't lay as flat as I'd like.  

It feels like the end of an era now that it's finally all together.  Of course I still have to quilt it...  we'll see how long that takes me;-)

Labor of Love

Since Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer I thought this was a good time to catch up on my La Passacaglia progress.  I've spent very little time in my studio the last few months but summer is always a great time for handwork.  My La Pass has kept me company...

On the plane.

By the pool.

At the beach.

At another beach.

On the lake.

And during our back to school staff meeting (Shhh, don't tell!)

And after all that I only have 3 rosettes left to make for the bottom right corner.  Of course then I'll have to sew them all together...  and quilt it but it's a labor of love and I'm in no hurry to be done.

Did you have a productive sewing summer?

Olympic Sewing

There hasn't been much sewing going on here lately but that all changed the minute the opening ceremonies launched.  I am a total Olympic junkie but of course I can just sit and watch TV without something to work on.  I kicked things off with this Dresden Plate quilt.

The great thing about big stitch quilting is it goes so fast!  By the time Sean White was cruising down the half pipe to his 3rd gold medal I was done.  The next step is to add the centers.  I plan to use my favorite fusible interface method to make the circles and then machine quilt them on to the quilt.

With that done I switched back to my La Passacaglia...  let's hear it for those rings:-)

Do you have a handwork project going for the Olympics?

Cheering along with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

W.i.P. Wednesday: Totally Trippin'

I spend a lot of time sewing in the car but this weekend may have set a new record.  We traveled to Western Pennsylvania and back to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  With a newly permitted driver looking to get in her required practice time I was regulated to the backseat and relieved of driving duty which left me with 16 hours of enforced blissful sewing time...

I kicked off the trip with a finish.  It was sooo hot to be sitting with this snuggly flannel backed quilt in my lap but I love tacking bindings in the car.

From there I moved on to my La Passacaglia and finished up this rosette.  I searched long and hard for the perfect cotton candy pink to make this one pop.

I thought I'd finished this one on our last road trip to Maine but I decided I didn't like the fabric I'd used on outer diamonds so I swapped it for this one.  Much better!

And I made another hexagon ring - or would have if I hadn't forgotten the last piece;-)  I didn't get as much of this prepped as I'd hoped before we left.  I've really been struggling with fabric choices for my remaining rosettes but I'm hoping if I just keep chipping away at it the pieces will fall into place.

With many miles left to go I pulled out my backup project and finally started hand quilting my Blue Plate Special.  I love how fast big stitch quilting goes - I was able to quilt around 4 of the Dresdens before it got dark.  It will be a long time before I get back in the car for more than a quick trip around town but I'm thrilled with how much I accomplished.  What's your go to road trip distraction?

The Fruits of My Labors

I've been on a bit of a sewing/blogging break.  Summer is just too short not to get out and enjoy it but drives to Maine and lazy days at the lake are perfect for handwork.  With all that time I've made a lot of progress on my La Pass this summer...

Lots of people seem to start with this one but I finally made the one small full cog.

Gratuitous piecing by the pool shot...

I couldn't resist adding in some Mendocino.  I love them all but I think this may be my all-time favorite cog.

I liked this one when I made it but now that I've put it in place I may swap out the purple and teal diamonds.

It turns out if you don't have time to prep your pieces before you leave on a road trip you can do it in the car... though I draw the line and cutting while moving!

All those little bits paid off and I was able to wrap up my 3rd large cog over the Labor Day Weekend.

And here's my progress to date... while we may be saying goodbye to summer it's hello football season so there will be plenty more opportunities to La Pass the time away;-)

W.i.P. Wednesday: Vacationland

With summer in full swing we've been on the go.  We spent the week in Maine which meant my long ignored La Passacaglia is finally getting some attention.  I think I'm going to keep adding to this one so it will be my last large rosette.

I'd have finished this one if I hadn't been one star short...  Luckily we were on our way home - time for some more prepping.

Being in Maine also meant I got to hit some fabric stores...  I may have went a bit overboard at Marden's but how could I resist when these OOP fabrics were only $4/yard?

It rained Friday so we took a trip up to Portland where I got to check out a new modern quilt shop, Z Fabrics.  It's off the beaten track and a bit hard to find but well worth the search...  Birds & the Bees voile - are you kidding me?

Now that we're back I've been folding all my fabric and dreaming up ways to use it.  My shelves are overflowing so I think I'm going to do some destashing on Instagram.  Stay tuned for details...  Are you finding sewing time this summer?

Lazy Days of La Passacaglia

We have had an amazing summer!  For once the weather and our schedules cooperated for lots of long, lazy weekends relaxing in Maine.  This meant not much time in my studio but plenty of time for hand work so I've made a lot of progress on my La Passacaglia.  I love that this is so portable - the perfect on the go project.

My La Pas made the rounds this summer with the final Hand Sewing Happy Hour at Quilter's Way,

movie night,

sewing nights with friends,

beach days,

Olympic fever.

roadtrips,

and endless days by the lake.

It all adds up...  I've finished almost half of the cogs.  It's hard to believe school is starting next week but that will bring football games and waiting for practice pick-ups.  I'm getting prepped for a La Pas filled fall.

W.i.P. Wednesday: On Track

I'd have sworn I didn't get anything done this week but looking around my studio there's actually evidence that I did...

I finished up my second Island Life mini so now I have a neighborhood.  For this one I moved things around and extended the Carribean blue so I could be on the canal:-)

I also quilted my Briar Rose Stair Steps quilt.  I obsessed about doing these butterflies way longer than it actually took to do them.  I was inspired by the Flutter Bys pantograph and with a little practice mastered doing them free motion.  This is definitely a pattern I'll use again!

After a series of thread mishaps and multiple trips to Quilter's Way I've got the binding on and am ready for a good movie to hand tack it down.

And I got some La Pas prep work done in time for tonight's final Hand Sewing Happy Hour.

I've got plenty of handwork lined up just in time for things to heat up!!!  What are you working on now that warmer weather is arriving?

W.i.P. Wednesday: Getaway

I went on a girls' getaway weekend to NYC last weekend, a perfect time to make some progress on my neglected La Passacaglia.  Not only did I get lots done but sewing keeps me from annoying Aimee with my backseat driving;-)

I kicked things off with this ring of Tula Pink tigers...

and then moved on to another round of stars.

I also finished up the flowers ring of this large cog.

This one was a lesson in what NOT to do...  Visually it made sense to assemble these as flowers but that meant having to inset the green diamonds.  I made it work but a smarter construction approach would have been to pair the pentagons with the diamonds and build out.

While I'm keeping it real, I might have gotten a bit distracted by the conversation on this one;-)

Here it is all laid out on my design wall.  April vacation is next week so there are some more road trips in my future...  I better start prepping!