Camp Life

With all the fabulous summer weather I haven't been sewing (or blogging) much but this week we had an unseasonably cold and rainy day which inspired me to get back in my studio.  I was on a roll getting things done and decided it was finally time to make these pillow cases to match my Going Coastal quilt.

I used my go to burrito method by The Seasoned Homemaker.  I love how quickly these go together and how professional they look with all the enclosed seams.

Camp life at it's best...

The perfect addition to Dex's room at the camp!  And now it's back outside to enjoy a beautiful day at the lake.

Pillowcase Stats:
Finished pillowcases are 30" x 19"
Pattern: Burrito Method Pillowcase by The Seasoned Homemaker.
Fabrics: Going Coastal by Emily Herrick.  Michael Miller Cotton Couture: Tangerine. Kona Cotton: Storm.

Keeping blogging alive with this week's Brag About Your Beauties Pageant by Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty.

Going Coastal

Struggling to write this post today I realized I enjoy talking about the process of making quilts a lot more than the finished product.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this quilt - there's just not much else to say at this point.

Quick recap: I pieced the top and back of this one last summer.  Since then it's been hibernating in the UFO pile waiting for summer to return to do duty as a beach blanket.  I finally rescued this to quilt at Laurena's before she closed.  The Surf's Up panto is the perfect wave to meld everything together and the orange thread blends nicely on the front but gives lots of texture to the back.  

I don't tend to use a lot of orange but this Tangerine binding seemed perfect!

I wish it was really warm enough to head to the beach for a photoshoot but I took a practice run on the volleyball court at Kimball Farm.

Can't you just feel the sand in your toes...

Dreaming of summer with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 80" x 72"
Pattern: Inspired by Cluck Cluck Sew's Squares and Strips quilt
Fabrics: Going Coastal by Emily Herrick.  Michael Miller Cotton Couture: Love, Tangerine, Creamcicle.  Free Spirit Designer Solids: True Red, Miracle, Burst, Sap, Leaf.  Kona Cotton: Storm.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: Superior Threads King Tut in Orange Zest (1014).
Quilting: Surf's Up pantograph by Dave Hudson.

W.i.P. Wednesday: On the Go

Taking stock of my UFO stack always inspires me schedule some longarm sessions to finish things up.  This year has started off busy but when I heard Laurena's Longarm was closing I jumped to schedule some sessions before it was too late...  since then it's been quilt, quilt, quilt:-)

I started with my Sloops quilt.  I usually prefer hand guided pantographs or FMQ but in the interest of time I went with a computer driven pattern for this one.  I love how perfectly the waves flow across the sailboats!!!

While I was babysitting the machine doing Sloops I was also able to load up my Blue Plate Special on another machine.  I plan to use the same technique I used for my Ghastly Games to quilt the Dresden Plates on to the quilt sandwich but it's so big it was definitely easier to baste it on the longarm.

The next day I was back again adding this wavy Surf's Up pantograph to my Going Coastal quilt.

Then in a true fit of insanity I used my last session to not only baste my City Sampler quilt to custom quilt at home....

I also quilted Here Comes the Sun with this adorable Daisies Galore panto.  The good news is that Laurena has a buyer so it seems like I'll be happily longarming again.

And then I just couldn't resist quilting the Snake Trail quilt top I finished last week on retreat with the BostonMQG.  I'm so in love with this one now that it's almost done.

 Since I was on a roll I went ahead and got all my bindings on...  I predict some binge watching in my future.  Netflix and Quilts;-)  Any suggestions for a good movie marathon?

W.i.P. Wednesday: Kicking Off Summer

Today's our last day of school/my last day of freedom so I've been trying to get all my projects to a point where I can work on them with snippets of time.

I finished up this Going Coastal flimsy and after 3 trips to Quilter's Way for more fabric got a back pieced together.

I also finally cut into the Mendocino bundle I've been hoarding and made this chevron top.  Once my backing fabric shows up I'm hoping to get them both basted and ready for quilting.

And I've been prepping more La Passacaglia pieces for all those inevitable road trips.

What will you be sewing now that summer has arrived?

W.i.P. Wednesday: Beach Bound

I finally got a chance to dive into my Going Coastal bundle this week.  I'm not sure why it took me so long, I've been talking about this quilt since this year's Boston MQG retreat.  It's basically the same premise as my Briar Rose Mash Up except this time I'm using 8 1/2" blocks.

Cluck Cluck Sew has a fabulous free pattern, Squares and Strips that gives great instructions to effectively cut FQs to make a similar quilt.

I started out using her patterm but then veered off course and added some QSTs, Penny Patches and fussy cut blocks to the mix.

In general prefer to make blocks bigger than needed and trim them down.  I love this pile of leavings:-)

I've got a whole stack of blocks and I'm ready to start working on layouts.  I'm hoping to get this finished up to use as a beach blanket this summer.  What summer projects are you working on?