Another Blogger Bundle

I know it's been a while... but first trimester does that to a girl.  =)  Katy, over at i'm a ginger monkey, is hosting another blogger bundle contest!  I had so much fun the first time that I couldn't resist putting another bundle together.  I looked and looked for an inspiration fabric, from which to pull color and shape ideas - but I couldn't come up with anything I wanted to use more than "my living room."  I am sitting here looking at lighty gray-blue walls, "crocodile" green sofas (dusty, faded, darkish), dark wood and golden accents.  So, since I've been intrigued by the idea of a quilt with no crazy patterns - almost batiky while still using some patterns - here's my very muted patterns that would all work in my living room!

My Modern Mini: Tickle Tape

Wow - I love it.  I know it's nothing that hasn't been done before - it's 'just another spectrum quilt,' but I wanted to try it, and it turned out better than I had hoped.  I also had never done raw edge applique of this magnitude, and loved that too!

Basically, I just pulled fabrics from my stash, from a color wheel charm swap and from olive and ollie's scraps...  then got to cut and fussy cut to my heart's content!  My 5 year old (the model) absolutely had her heart set on a pink heart as the center motif, but i edged it in black for some well-needed contrast.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do!  My daughters' favorite bubbles are the elephants, chickens, owls, robot, etc!!  I used a lot of dot fabrics to echo the "bubble" motif, but they just like the fussy cut ones.  Can't wait to make them some I-spy quilts then!

Please ignore the disappearing marker that hasn't been disappeared yet.

The Fastest Layer Cake Quilt Ever: Salt Air Tears

I am one that takes three or four months to make a quilt, typically (except for the aberration at Christmas-time when I made two matching throw quilts for my parents in three weeks.)  I enjoy a little piecing here, a little quilting there...  it's in three or four hour chunks, but I don't do it every day.  This one took three days.

However, a very dear friend of mine just experienced the heart-wrenching loss of her child.  There's nothing I can do for her but to offer love and support - and one of the ways I do that is through quilts.  I wanted to make her something that wasn't childish at all - this wasn't in remembrance of her daughter, it was for her.  Since I was aiming for super-fast, I simply took a layer cake of Salt Air, laid it out in a 6x7 pattern and sewed it up!  I backed it with Kona Gray and bound it with Kona Cheddar - which really gave it a cheery feel.  These fabrics were just lovely - I kept changing my mind as to which was my favorite!

The quilting is a free-motion loop pattern.  (And it counts as my March entry into SewCalGal's FMQ, since I did the loop and twist!)  I hadn't ever tried that much free motion quilting - this was a great chance to work on my technique!  I found that I need my tension all the way to 9, my pedal all the way down, and my hands need to move way slower than I think they should.  This is obviously just my personal style, since everyone needs to find what works for them, but I'm fighting the constant battle of wanting to go too quickly.  When I slow down, though, my stitches are a better length and my curves are more natural.  To further challenge myself, I quilted an inspirational word onto each square of the quilt.  Words like "faith," "hope," "friendship," etc.  Here's a picture of the whole thing and a close-up of the word "future."  I hope that she wraps herself in it, and knows she is loved...

Tickle Tape: The Audition Process

I'm currently working on a doll quilt for the cradle between my girls' beds.  Okay, it's also to enter the modern mini quilt contest, but still...  My oldest daughter's been after me to make a ticker tape quilt ever since I showed one to her one day; she just loves them!  The other day, though, she slipped and called it a tickle tape quilt, and so that is definitely the name of this little version!!

I've got the ticker tape pieces laid out in the "audition" process....   does your eye see any that need adjusting?  I still haven't decided what to do with the heart in the center.  My original intent had been a medium pink, but it's just not right.  I need to play around with that some more.

FMQ: January's Leaves

Ugh.  I guess the lesson I learned in January is that I didn't make enough time to practice, so I didn't get better.  I only took 4 15 minute sessions during the whole month - I sketched leaves the first time, then FMQed them the other three times.  There wasn't much improvement, although the third time, I gave myself the freedom to do whatever I wanted...  I wrote my name, I did some squiggles, I even tried some pebbling.

The whole time, it was difficult for me...  I felt like I was wasting fabric and batting...  I tried to conserve my space.  Of course, that's ridiculous - I was using ugly old fat quarters that I'd bought (super cheap) for a project a while back and never used.  Probably because they were ugly...  And I was using a batting scrap, so that was free as well.  I think for February, I'm going to make a whole pile of sandwiches, and if I use them all up, FINE!

I'm glad that I didn't make sandwiches for my final sampler quilt yet...  I would be really frustrated that I couldn't do January's square yet.  I think my plan is to practice more in February, and if I get confident with the new pattern, then I'll try the leaves again.  I need to master my pace (and what the heck - I've never had back thread issues until this month...) before I work on a final project!

Here's some pictures...  the color variation is simply flash vs. no flash.  I think I need to work on my photography.  =)

WIPs

So I read these blogs, and I think "gosh, how can these women have TWENTY works in progress?  Don't they have deadlines?  Don't they just want to get them finished?"

So far, I've worked on one quilt at a time.  Start to finish, just one project is going at a time.

I'm currently working on piecing blocks for my husband's quilt (pics to come - quilting blogs are no fun without pictures!), but **gasp** I've started working on another one.

I've been cutting charms and planning layouts for my girls' twin quilts.  We moved them into a joint room last week, and everytime I walk into their "sleeping room" (as opposed to the "play room"), I just can't wait to see homemade quilts gracing their beds.

Then, today, Ellison Lane Quilts put forth a Mini Challenge.  Dare I try to tackle another?  I've got some lovely winnings that I need to use up!

cutting, and cutting, and cutting!!

I've already sent off the ELQ swap squares...  but tonight's project is cutting the MM #1 and MM#2 charms and the layer cake squares for the DP swap....  let's hope my straight lines stay straight!

phew!

I am currently in four swaps.  Whoa.  At least these aren't the "make it and swap it" type - these are the "cut into squares and swap it" type!

I thought I'd share my fabric selections for each swap (if for no other reason than to keep them straight in my head!)

Ellison Lane Quilts I Spy Swap:

Backyard Baby Gray Bug Jars

Midnight Maker I Spy Swap #1:

Urban Zoologie - Bermuda Ladybugs

Midnight Maker I Spy Swap #2: (still open!)

1001 Peeps in Purple

Distant Pickles Rainbow Layer Cake Swap: (I was assigned red and red/orange)

Pimatex Basics Red Lovely Circles

Very Hungry Caterpillar Orange & Red Crosspatch

Migrating....

Okay, I just moved over here from craftylaurel.blogspot.com - I'll work on bringing over some of the posts / content soon!