Happy Mail - A prize from the Fat Quarter Shop

 I was super excited to start out the week finding that I had won the monthly draw for the Sewcialites Quilt Along!  I'm not one who wins a lot of prizes, so it's always so much fun when I do.  I knew it was coming today, but I was super surprised when I checked the Informed Delivery App today to see it was delivered at 8:00 am this morning!  I opened the front door and there was a pretty green box on my front porch -

Of course, I couldn't wait to go open it up to see what was inside - I had no clue what I would get!

What fun - like spring in a box!  Pretty yellow Aurifil thread, rulers from Creative Grids, a book and underneath it all a really gorgeous layer cake.

A Sicily yellow color builder set from Aurifil!  You know I will use these - this is one of the collections I haven't purchased, so will be a great addition to my stash.

What a pretty layer cake from Moda!

I can't wait to pull this apart and look at all the fabric - the colors from the side are really pretty!

A set of small rulers from Creative Grids - these will come in handy!  That little 2 1/2 inch one is sooo cute!  I really like these rulers, they have a grippy part on the back that keeps your ruler from sliding when you are cutting, which is really important with these tiny blocks.

And last, but not least this lovely book.   I have to confess that I already opened it up and read through the beginning - and I am excited to try out some of the projects.  I do love doing embroidery, though I consider myself pretty much a beginner.  Meg Hawkey's designs are so sweet and some of these projects will make lovely little gifts!  I like to try to do some handwork in the evenings instead of being on my computer because it helps me sleep better - so these projects will be great for that! 

Thank you to Kimberly and the crew at the Fat Quarter shop, not only for the great prize, but for the fun Quilt Along, I am really enjoying it!  

I hope you all have a happy sewing day - I know I will!

Completed OMG for February 2021!

I feel great about my OMG for February!  I set a high bar for myself and said that I would finish the Sloth quilt, add the borders on my Celtic Solstice Quilt and start my OBW from the Paris Panel.  I am very pleased to say that I accomplished all three goals.

After two years of good intentions/procrastination it is a great weight off my mind to have this quilt finished and gifted!  My son in law was delighted with it, he loves quilts and I hope he uses it often.  I felt so happy with my finish that I got right to work on adding the borders on Celtic Solstice, which I've been working on for years here and there, but with the addition of borders it is now ready for quilting!

Not to say it was a simple endeavor!  I looked all over the sewing room for the neutral that I had originally intended to use.  I finally remembered that I had used that fabric to replace the mis-cut triangles from Alouette in January.  No worries, I seem to have an overflow of neutral fabrics right now, so I chose something different and added that border. I had to turn the end triangles on two of my borders, so a little seam ripping happened and then I realized that I hadn't noticed that there was a final border in green.  I actually bought fabric for this border!  When I found this one, it just said "pick me" so I did!

Such a happy quilt!  I can't wait to get it quilted and enjoy it (yes, this one is for me!)  Then I got out my Paris Panels and got all the triangles cut for a One Block Wonder.

I'm excited to see how this will turn out!  This is another quilt for me and will be queen size for my bed, a pretty summer quilt.  I think by the time this year is over I will have made several new quilts for me - how fun!

I'm loving how my hexis are coming out so far!  I've got a lot more to go, but at least I made a start on this project, and if it takes all year, that's just fine.  I'm happy I set a big goal, and even more happy that I have given myself permission to make some pretty things for myself.  Hope you take the time to make some nice things for you, too!

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - February Finish Link-up

Project Quilting Challenge - Snail's Trail

 I've been thinking and planning all week about what I wanted to make for this week's challenge.  After all, Snail's Trail is a favorite block of mine so I didn't want to miss out!

I started out with my plan, and dug through my Island Batik Stash because I knew I would find some pretty blues to play with!  The turquoise solid is just so yummy, and any fabric called Blueberry just has to be included.  

I started my snail's trails blocks Friday night, so thought I would have an easy day of making my quilt on Saturday.  Somehow I didn't realize how long it would take to make the alternate star blocks!  I started sewing at about 2:00, and it took me several hours to get them done. 

Flying geese were the beginning...

Lots of trimming before the stars could get stitched together.

Once I got the four alternate blocks finished I was ready for the final assembly!

Then I sewed together the blocks together, and realized that I somehow got it all messed up!  

Out came the seam ripper, and by the time I got that mess sorted out it was almost time to fix dinner.  Borders were sewn on, then the quilt was basted, but would I be able to get it quilted and bound?  Time for a late night sewing session!

Yes, I got it finished!  I'm calling this quilt Spiral Galaxy.  It measures 47 x 47, and was made here in Coos Bay, OR.  I used Island Batik fabrics, and quilted it with Aurifil 50 wt thread in Light Jade.  I have three spools of this color, but was able to finish up one of them - and I love how it looks on the dark blue border!  

Another fun project in the books for Project Quilting!

New Cham Quilt pattern - Lucky Charm Table Runner

 I've been working to get some patterns polished up and published - here is one, just in time for St. Patrick's day!

I made my sample in Island Batik - I'm organizing all my stash by color, so it was fun to pull out the greens and make a cute star quilt for the season!  I like this because you can definitely use it all year long, not just for St. Pat's day.  

I did the quilting with a loop the loop design in a green variegated 40 wt thread by Aurifil.  It gives it a nice texture!

The backing is celery - such a nice light green (this is an Island Batik Basic)!  If you would like to make your own Lucky Charm table runner, the pattern is available now in my Etsy shop - Lucky Charm Table Runner.  Now I have to get back to sorting scraps - the Island Batik Ambassador challenge for next month is to make a scrap quilt, and I am so excited to see what I come up with!

Sloth Quilt is finished!

Happy Monday, and a big hurrah - my number one goal for the month is finished, and I also realized that I had the recipient's birthday wrong, so now I'm actually done way ahead of schedule.  Nice!  I got the quilting finished on Monday.  I was still debating on the thread right before I got started, then I found a perfect light brown 40wt Aurifil thread in my stash. It was just right, not too light on the darks and not too dark on the lights.  

A loose meander gives this quilt a nice texture and touchable quality.  I just love it!  I'm excited to give it to my son-in-law, I know he is going to be super happy with it!

I also dug a piece of fabric out of my stash, and was happily surprised to find out that it was just the right size for the backing of my Seashore Splendor quilt - so maybe I ought to go buy a lottery ticket or two.  This quilt is now basted and ready for quilting.  I think this one is going to go to my husband as a new couch quilt.  You should see his old one, it is absolutely tatters!  I have another one I'll make in a puffy comforter style for him as well.  Maybe with two quilts to alternate they will last him longer, though I think he's had his current quilt for at least 20 years!

I got all caught up on the Sewcialites Quilt Along!  I was five weeks behind - so that was a solid afternoon of stitching.  I gave myself a four day weekend to work on my own projects, so this was a good kick off!  Next I added the neutral and pieced border to my Celtic Solstice Quilt, and realized that there was also a solid green border.  I think I'll have to go shop for that one, I couldn't find anything in stash that was "just right".  

For Sunday, my plan was to get out those Paris panels and get them ready for creating a One Block Wonder - a fun Valentine's day project!  Hope you had a happy Valentine's day, too! With no dinner and movie out, it was a quiet day here in our nest, but it's rainy and gloomy, so we are content with a nice day at home and take out.  And quilting, of course :)

 Today, I think I will work on quilting my Seashore Splendor quilt, and I have things in the works to share with you later this week.  It seems like the more I dig into my stash the more creative goodness I find to play with.  I'm trying to keep the new projects to a minimum, but it's hard, especially when this week's Project Quilting challenge features one of my favorite blocks!  Snail's Trail is a great block, and has so much movement that it makes magical quilts, and I would love to play with making some blocks this week.

This week is also the final week of the Island Batik Create for a Cause Blog hop!  There are four more beautiful collections to admire, as well as a new giveaway!  First the schedule:

February 15:

• Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
• Joanne Hart, Unicornharts

February 16:

• Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
• Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

February 17:

• Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist
• Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

February 18:

• Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
• Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

February 19:

End of Blog Hop and Round-Up

And now the giveaway!  And don't forget, my giveaway for a set of charm squares of the collection I featured is still open here...Citrus Sun.  This week you can enter to receive a strip pack of Vincent's Garden or Starry Night!  I love them both!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!  I hope you have a great quilty week as well - whether it's starting a new project or a finish of a UFO!

Preparing for another Quilty week!

 After finishing four quilts in four days, I really needed some time out!  Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments on my Guiding Star quilt - I am loving reading about your own charity quilts, and seeing how wonderfully generous quilters are as a group!  I hope you have had a restful weekend as well and are prepared for another week coming up.

I got the fabric for the back of the sloth quilt, and it is sooo perfect!  Did I tell you the whole story about ordering it?  I found this at Joann's Fabric website.  I wanted to order 5 yards, but I could only order 4 or 8 yards.  Since I could use a 50% off coupon, I went ahead and ordered the whole 8 yards thinking I could use the extra and make pillowcases or something.  When I ordered there was a notification that my fabric might not be in one continuous piece, and I was fine with that.  What really got me is that I received a 6 yard piece from California and am waiting for the final two yards from somewhere else.  I have a mind to see if I can return the two yard piece since I don't need it and won't even open the package if I can do that.  The good news is that I got back pieced and basted the quilt over the weekend.  I'll work on getting it quilted tomorrow - SIL's birthday is on Saturday, so I should have it ready for gifting by then!  So exciting!

Here's a pretty picture of Alouette!  I'm getting ready to get that listed on Etsy.  I've got a few more I need to take pictures of and get listed while I am at it.  The quilts are starting to pile up again around here and I'd like to get some of them re-homed!  My other plans for this week?

1. I need to see if I have fabric to back my UFO challenge quilt for this month - time to quilt my Seashore Splendor quilt!
2. Finish up some chair pads that have been on the back burner.
3. Repair a down comforter for my friend who I'll see on Friday.
4. Finish up a new table runner idea that I've been playing with - this one will be a new pattern.
5. Sew the borders onto Celtic Solstice.

Sounds pleasantly busy, and will get me moving forward!  Plus I need to keep up with this weeks new posts for the Quilts for a Cause blog hop!  Check out the prize for this week from Island Batik!  Plus, of course all the great giveaways from the Ambassadors - you really need to check them out, and the quilts are so inspiring!  This week you can win Mystery - designed by Claudia Pfiel! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you missed any of last week's posts you can see the recap here....End of Week One

And here is this week's schedule:

February 8:

• Megan Best, Bestquilter
• Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

February 9:

• Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter
• Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

February 10:

• Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
• Jennifer Eubank, Archipelago Quilting

February 11:

• Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde
• Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

February 12:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

Enjoy!  

OMG for February

 I feel like I've already hit a bunch of goals for February considering that I managed to finish a quilt for the quilt shop and my Island Batik Ambassador challenge for February - and today is only the fourth of the month!

Since those things are already off my list, I'm going to go big for my One Monthly Goal this month, and try to hit a triple play! 

1)  Finish the sloth quilt and gift it!  I've ordered the backing and it should arrive any time now, plus I have batting on hand, so no excuses for not bringing this to the finish line.

2) Start working on the One Block Wonder that I bought this lovely Paris panel for!  I would like to get the pieces cut out at the least.

3)  Add the borders to Celtic Solstice and prepare the backing.  These last two projects are for me, so I am excited to work on them!  I do so many quilts that are for other purposes, or for charity, but don't often make any just for me.  This year I plan to do several :)

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal February Link-up