Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Wall Hanging Update

This wall-hanging needs to be finished by Monday and I've been working really hard to make that happen.  Last night I sewed the final cloud and finished all the sky sections.



Next up: mountains!

Hopefully I'll be able to finish at least one this afternoon.  I can't wait to see what a finished block will look like.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sunday Stash and Quilting the Sky

Over Thanksgiving, I visited quite a few quilt shops.  In one week I added 20 yards of fabric to my stash!  So I'm going to break it up into a couple of posts.  Here's the first half...

Doesn't it look so pretty piled there?
Let's take a closer look!



I couldn't resist this map of the solar system.  And look!  It even recognizes Pluto!  Bonus.

In other news, I'm not a Trekkie.  Not at all; why do you ask?

The first store I visited was in New York City and they had some city specific fabrics.  A good number of them were too flashy for me, but this piece caught my eye.  The background is a sepia map of the streets covered with the name tiles from subway stops.  And I won it by checking the website before going, because there weren't any bolts on the floor when I was there.

In addition, I've been making some progress on my niece's wall hanging. Not as much as I need to be making, but progress nonetheless.

All four sets of trees have been finished.  Each of the four blocks also has a sun, and one block has the entire sky quilted.  The sun was quilted with a doubled strand of cotton thread in the hopes that it would stand out.  I'm not sure that was entirely successful, and it was a pain in the rear to work with.


Linking up with Sunday Stash and Fabric Tuesday.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Sunday Stash - Winter

I've put together a little bundle of pretty fabric from my stash based on Ali's prompt: "winter."


Detail shot:
White on white and metallic swirls


Crisp tones of blues and greys and silver metallic threads.  That's what I think of when I hear "winter;" a snow covered winter wonderland.

It was a little difficult to find 10 fabrics.  I don't have much seasonal fabric in my stash.  But I think this bundle turned out pretty well despite that.


Linking up to Ali's Stash Flash and Sunday Stash.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Finding Gold

Back when I revealed Secret Garden I had mentioned another mystery quilt that had rockier beginnings.  Today I'd like to share this quilt with you in all its finished glory.

I give you "Finding Gold".
Finished Size: 66 x 82.
Machine Quilted.



It was my first mystery weekend and I had been looking forward to finally being out of school and able to go away on retreat with my mom.  Unfortunately, that weekend I was feeling poorly.  But because of that I was working slower than everyone else and I watched as one quilter after another wasn't thrilled with their finished product.



 I brought my pieces home and let them languish in my closet for a couple of years, but I was determined to make this quilt into something.  I wasn't letting my hard work on 192 triangles amount to nothing!  So I pulled them out, started playing with layouts, and bought some gold to make the quilt a little more rounded.  (A solely pink and purple quilt means a lot more pink than I am comfortable with.)


Finally I came up with a design I was happy with.  And now, after a trip to the quilter and a bit of binding, it's off on a new journey.

I gifted this quilt to a coworker friend of mine to raffle off for Relay for Life.  She is one of two event coordinators for my area.  I hope this quilt will help her fundraising efforts.  Relay for life happens in early June, so I have to wait a while to see how it does.

Linking up with Finish it Up Friday.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Giving Thanks and Productivity

What a productive holiday I've had.  In between long bouts of relaxing, eating, and the occasional walk, I've made some granny squares...


...and after people threatened to use them for coasters several times, I made some actual coasters for my parents' new house.


I worked on quilting a certain wall hanging.  Two sets of trees down, but there's still a long way to go.  I sure hope I can have this done in three weeks.  I have to get a serious move on!


And last but not least, my little scorpion was given a tail!  I've started a couple of cross-stitches but have never finished one.  Finishing a cross-stitch is on my bucket list, and there's no time like the present to start working towards it!

(Before and After)

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday and WiP Wednesday.