Pin Problem

I've been prodding myself to put in 15 minutes a day on my maple quilt.  I'm not sure why I'm dragging my feet so hard on this quilt but it needs to be done, so I'm going to have to make myself work on it.

Since the last time I posted, I decided on a layout, I cut out all the pieces for the remaining blocks, and marked up all my triangles.

Time for some sewing!

So sew I did.

But I was tired and I got sloppy about pulling my pins out.  And wouldn't you know it...  Bam!  As usual, less than an inch from the end.

And apparently I had no new machine needles handy.  The one I did find had obviously been used; it had a burr on the end.  Who knows why it was still lying around and not in the garbage... but now I'm hung up until I find another pack of needles.  I think there might be one hiding in my sewing room, somewhere.  But I'll likely be getting out to the store to buy more this weekend.  We'll see how my fabric diet goes when faced with a store-full of pretty temptation!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social.

My Quilt Bucket

The past few weeks have been a bit crazy, between being out of town and dealing with some dental issues (which are never a good thing), so instead of sewing, I've been enjoying all the Quilty Bucket Lists being shared over at the Tilted Quilt and thinking about my current wish list quilts and the techniques I want to try.  The list is long and ever changing, but here are a few of the highlights...

1. A Sampler Quilt

This is a bit outside my comfort zone; I like working on coordinated quilts.  For my first attempt I have chosen 20 different star blocks, but I'm only going to use 4 fabrics.  Baby steps!  I can't go from coordinated to super scrappy sampler in one fell swoop!  I was able to pick 3 colors from my stash but ended up having to purchase 3 yards of white for the background.  (Apparently my stash isn't set up well to actually use.)

2. Paper piecing

I'm planning to tackle this as part of my sampler quilt.  Somewhere around 4-5 of my stars are paper pieced patterns.  Hopefully I get the hang of it quickly!

Additionally, I want to make something with this circle of geese block.  It didn't fit into my sampler, but I'm considering how it might look as the center of a medallion.... Or maybe it will just be a pillow.  Who knows how ambitious I will be.

Tutorial by Christina Lane

By April Rosenthal for the Moda Bake Shop

3. Positively Perfect Nap Quilt (for me!)

A simple pattern, which surprised me because I tend to choose the path of most resistance, but I like the positive vibes.  Now I just need to pick some fabric.  There's too much pretty fabric to choose from!

By Turid Bakken of Norway

4. Holiday decorations.  I'd like to start with a tree skirt and a "hang the ornament on the tree" advent calendar.  I have also started gathering fabric to make a table runner for each season. So there's no lack of inspiration here!

5. Learn how to applique.

6. Make a piece using fussy cut fabrics.  I love the way fussy cutting highlights a fabric, but I still need to psych myself up a bit for making a scrappy quilt.

And last but certainly not least is a quilt for my husband.  The poor man has had to watch all my quilts walk out the door.  Someday it will happen.  That's a promise!

Linking up with A Tilted Quilt and Let's Bee Social.

Woodland Sampler - February

After not one but two fabric cutting mishaps, I hung up my rotary cutter for the weekend and worked on some cross stitch instead.

Ta Da!!

Even though I technically didn't finish in February, I did finish before my first March post so that counts for something, right?  He's peeking!  I love this sampler so much.

Original white on the right.  Test subjects on the left.

My family has assured me that the original white (on January's snowflakes) isn't as bad as I think it is and, depending on the light, they might be right.  But I still made some test stitches with my various white alternatives. 

Light Grey, Light Effects White, Winter White (L-R)

Winter white is right out.  I want more contrast, not less!  The Light Effects floss is cool, but has the downside of being metallic floss.  And after all of February's stars, I'm looking to use as little metallic floss as possible!  It frays like mad and goes every which way but the way I need it to go.  What a pain in the rear!

I'd love to hear what you think...  Which floss would you choose?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social and WiP Wednesday.