Kaleidoscope

No sewing on Saturday or Sunday because I was with the girls. Lots of hours at that machine today though. I started out arranging the Kaleidoscope scrappy but soon realized when I had it on my design wall that it was going to take a lot more fabrics. Since I had already cut 10 kaleidoscope pieces of each of the many fabrics I used I would make all the kaleidoscope pieces the same and the corner pieces the opposite in value. I put about 20 blocks on the design wall to check it out and with that decision made all I had to do was sew all 35 blocks.  

Pressing the seams open is a real chore but a necessary one. 

I have never made a quilt in less than a week but I'm on my way to making two in a week starting with the warm cool one! I will have to take time to quilt them soon so they will be completely finished. 

Happy sewing.

I Am So Excited!

I am going to send you over to Staci at the confused quilter to see the story of my yo-yo quilt. She did such a wonderful job and I loved sharing my quilt so much I started my own blog. Well, in my travels this morning I came across a yo-yo quilt along hosted by Penny. How exciting is that!  I'm a little ahead of the group because I make yo-yos at night when I'm watching TV. Yo-yos out of modern fabric are very cool. Just a small sample of this years crop.

I have been hard at work this week finishing up the first of two of my warm cool quilt along.

Yesterday I cut 200 kaleidoscope pieces and corner pieces for my kaleidoscope quilt along.

I am also working on my 'No Prints Allowed' piece for Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. I can't show you that one yet. That isn't due until July so I have some time on that one. 

Joining the quilt along groups really keeps me on my toes and motivated to finish projects. Just what I need since I have a hard time sticking to a project once I know how it is going to look. My usual mode is to want to start something else. Thank you Jeni, Elizabeth and Penny for hosting these quilt along groups and allowing me to participate.

Happy sewing until next time.

Endless Designs

The designs seem endless using half square triangles. I have never worked on a large scale using HST. As I trim the squares down to 4 1/2" I started yet another design. I'm thinking I like this one. Since I am going to make these for the twins I can make one zigzag going across and the other one going down. They will be the same, but different. 

The girls don't need quilts this time of year but this way I can make sure they are finished by the time they do need them. Here are the girls in a recent photo at two and a half.

They are such a joy to be around with their never ending questions and their great sense of humor. I won't be getting much sewing done this weekend as the girls mom is off to a conference and Dad needs all the help he can get. I always come away from them with a heart full of love and a smile that lasts for days. I better get to sewing while I can! 




 

Orange & Pink

As I progress with my HST sewing, cutting, and pressing I am wondering if another layout would be better for my very bold orange and pinks. The one on the left seems mellower but is it boring? Maybe hard to tell with so few squares. Would love to hear your opinion, if you have one. Do you see the boo boo in the layout on the left?

Warm Cool QAL

Here is my progress on my Warm Cool QAL. After cutting, sewing, cutting, sewing and pressing here is the first draft on my design wall. I think it is more light and dark fabric vs warm cool. I love it. I think I am going to offset the center square in the final set up. Half square triangles aren't as unforgiving as I thought. It needs to grow before I finalize the design. Thanks Jeni for this quilt along.

OOPS!

I'm in trouble now. I was notified by the blog police that yesterdays post included a photo that was not adequate! Much more detail was required. So here it is.

Another UFO Finished

Along with cutting my 5" squares for the Warm Cool quilt along I have quilted and put the binding on a wall piece I made for the girls playroom. I started this a year ago. I so I am glad to have it off my design wall and going to their house. These are two and a half year old twin girls that I have been involved with almost since birth. They have no local extended family so I am their Auntie Sharon. I made this piece to be used as a grow chart but was afraid that if I quilted the white part you wouldn't be able to write the name and date on the fabric. It is 12" x 44" so as a beginner quilter it took me all day to do the quilting. It is raw edge applique so I used lots of thread! Not a good picture but it will have to do.

Need to make a decision on the Kaleidoscope quit along fabric. Put together one group of fabrics. I think I will add more to go with these colors. I'm used to flying by the seat of my pants. You have to be organized to do a quilt along! Good to be out of my comfort zone.


Until next time, happy sewing.

Fabric, Fabric Everywhere

I haven't decided if I am going to do an organized Kaleidoscope like the picture or dive into my scraps to do that one. I have made my piles for my Warm Cool quilt along. I had more light fabrics than I thought. I have never been this thoughtful picking out fabrics for a quilt so we will see what the results will be.

Now I need to figure out how to do the Flickr thing so I can participate in a quilt-along properly. Wish me luck!

Oh, I have to admit that I'm doing the yo-yo thing again. After spotting the yo-yo post on the the confused quilter and then Staci posting my quilt and story I decided doing those funny little circles at a leisurely pace would be some well needed fabric therapy. Admitting my addiction to these things is now out in the open. I guess more fabric therapy is needed! Wait, that completes the circle. I'm in trouble now.

 

Confessions of A Quilter

I know I just posted about my first quilt-along but that is not exactly true. Now it is true that I haven't participated in a quilt along before but I signed up for one but had to work so hard at getting the button to work I forgot to post about it. (The problem was Me!) Warm Cool quilt along is hosted by Jeni at In Color Order . A stash buster that's really fun. Jeni has a wonderful way of simplifying the color wheel and making the gathering of fabrics seem so easy. I have a big stash of fabric to use up so these quilts will help trim it down a bit. I might have a hard time coming up with the light fabrics but that's what quilting stores are for!

I'm going to have to make room in my cubbies for my quilt-alongs to keep them separate. Fabric therapy here I come!

 

My First Quilt - Along : ) : ) : )

I have never participated in a quilt along and think it is high time did! A friend in Portland and I are going to do the same one that she found hosted by Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy . (I love her blog name and the story behind it.) It will be lots of fun. I have been known to have some issues with templates but I'm sure I am up to the challenge. Now to pick out some fabric.

UFOs

Oh, those projects that you work so hard on and something else catches your eye and suddenly they are gone. Out of sight, out of mind. They get put in a drawer until you see an old picture and you think, that's cool I wonder how much time would be involved in completing that quilt. It happened just like that. I found two old projects and finished them in the past week. Well, that's almost the whole story. My banner piece for this blog was in a drawer, and it didn't have a center! If you look closely, you can see the pins holding the body to the center! It just didn't seem right to have a banner that was a UFO. I appliqued the center and now I'm ready to sandwich and quilt it. I will show you the whole piece when it's finished.

The other project I am really excited about is my Dresden Plate that I started about two years ago. I have issues. I get sidetracked, bored, or just don't want to work on a project any more. I only needed to applique the circles in 4 of the squares, so I did! Ta Da!

I know, if you look closely (again!) you can see the second layer of black dots in the white centers. I am in the process of clipping the extra layers behind the circles to one layer of fabric. These are 15" squares (60" x 75"). Now I have to figure out how to quilt it! Using my table top Juki is rather new to me so deciding what to quilt, and with what color thread etc., is always a challenge.

Finishing up two projects, starting a blog . . . all in one week! Anyone who knows me well is amazed! Until next time, happy sewing!

Zipper Pouches

There are times when I am between projects when I want to sew and need to complete something, right now. I think it's along the line of what is called instant gratification! I have mastered these Perfect Pouches by Lazy Girl Designs patterns and can produce these bags in no time. They are great to have on hand for gifts. I have a stash of colorful zippers in assorted sizes ready when the urge strikes me. They are fun to make and so easy. Perfect for those of us who may be afraid of zippers!

Mod Mosaic

I finished my pillow that we started in the Modern Quilt Guild meeting last month. Cola got us started and was nice enough to follow up with me later because I needed a little extra help!

The Modern Quilt Guild is going to do a Block Party! I have been wanting to participate in an Internet one but never took the time to sign up, or I missed the start date. I think I have figured something out but you have to wait and see what I've come up with.

Until next time, happy quilting!