Sloops

I'm so excited to finally share my Sloops quilt.  I pieced this back in 2015 and then quilted it this spring as part of my whirlwind wrap up before Laurena sold her longarm rental business but I kept waiting and waiting to visit the perfect waterfront local for my photoshoot.

With the end of the year rapidly approaching I dragged it along on this year's Camp Stitchuate trip and finally got my pics.  I wanted everything to be perfect so in the magic hour before sunset we took a break from sewing and headed down to the lighthouse.  Don't be fooled by those laughing faces, it was bitterly cold and windy and this quilt is huge so wrestling it into submission was a challenge.  I have the most amazing friends!!!

The unequal borders look a bit strange when you see this hanging but unlike most of my quilts this one was actually designed to go on a bed.  It works perfectly with Dex's bed with plenty of length for a pillow tuck and to cover the bed frame.

And you know how I love a striped binding!

Ready to sail off into the sunset with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 88" x 92"
Pattern: Sloops by Frivolous Necessity.
Fabrics: Boat House by Sweetwater for Moda.  Kona Snow.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: Superior Threads King Tut in Papyrus (972).
Quilting: Serpentine by Anita Shackelford.

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?

Fleet Week

The fleet has landed!  I had some very minor surgery this week and while the actual procedure was a total peel me off the ceiling horror show the recovery has actually been a breeze.  And so, my carefully blocked out convalescence turned into a sewing marathon.  For two blissful days (I did get some really awesome happy pills!) I had nothing to do but sew up sailboat blocks and binge watch Gilmore Girls.

Once I figured out the cutting plan putting these blocks together was a breeze...  And ripping out all that paper was very therapeutic:-)

The setting was what originally drew me to this design.  I love the way the boats nest together and create a wavy look.  Words can't describe how much I love this one, and that's not just the happy pills talking;-)

Now that I've added the borders it's huge but I wanted it to fit on Dex's bed.  That's what I get for giving my kids queen sized beds:-)  This one is definitely too big to quilt on my Bernina so I really need to get some longarm time scheduled.  My TBQ pile is running over!

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

W.i.P. Wednesday: Setting Sail

One of my goals for this year was to use up all the precut collections I've got hanging around in my studio.  While I like them in concept I find them really hard to work with.  Still I couldn't resist this Boat House collection by Sweetwater and when I stumbled across this Sloops pattern on Pinterest I knew it was meant to be.

While this pattern is layer cake friendly the instructions are not.  There are also no cutting instructions included for the blocks.  I'm really glad I took the time to make a test block to verify my cutting plan before I started chopping up my layer cake.  Here are my suggestions if you decide to make this quilt for yourself.

From your background fabric cut 39 of the following:

   Piece 3 - 6 1/2" x 5 1/2"
   Piece 5 - 1 1/2" x 4 1/2"
   Piece 8 - 8 1/4" x 5 1/4"
   Pieces 10 & 11 - 4" x 2 1/2" (for a total of 78)

From you layer cake cut 39 of the following: (I did these in stacks of 5)
   Piece 9 - 2 3/4" x 10"
   Piece 6 - 7 1/4" x 1"
   Piece 7 - 7 1/4" x 4 1/2"

For your first block you will also need to cut 1:
   Piece 1 - 3" x 2" from print
   Piece 4 - 5 1/2" x 3" from a different print
   Piece 2- 2 1/2" x 4" from background

You don't need to cut all 39 of these pieces because you will be able to use trimmings from your blocks for these pieces.

When you trim after adding piece 5 you will be left with a triangle that is perfect for future flags.

Also, the piece remaining after you trim piece 8 is exactly the right size for another smaller flag 4.

Finally, when you trim your final block you will be left with background triangles that will fit in piece 2.  I do find pieces 2 and 3 to be the most awkward to sew.  Once you get past those the block is a breeze.

I have to admit I'm not usually a fan of the revolving rotary mat but for squaring up these blocks it's a life saver!

I'm making progress but the depressing thing about paper piecing is once you've done a few you have a pretty good idea how long it takes to make each block.  These average about 30 minutes a piece so I'm looking at 15 more hours of sailboat construction.  I see a movie marathon in my future:-)

Better late than never, linking up with this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)