Project Quilting 10.6 - Craving Chocolate

I'm excited that I actually managed to finish all 6 of this year's Project Quilting challenges!  I got the cutting done early this week, but didn't have any time to work on my quilt until today, when my guild got together for a sew day.  It was the perfect opportunity to get my sew on and finish up my project!

I started off with this little pile of pieces I cut using the Accuquilt GO!  I received as an Island Batik Ambassador.  I wound a full bobbin of Aurifil 50 wt thread in dark brown to piece with, and got to work sewing square in a square and flying geese units.  Once those were done, my four blocks came right together and were sewn into a top.

After that, I layered my top with the backing and a piece of Hobb's Black cotton batting - awesome stuff!  I've used poly batting in black, but this black cotton batting is really terrific!  It's thin and light and has just the right amount of loft.  You will definitely want to give this batting a try.

Then I just quilted this with diagonal lines, easy as pie!  My friends were actually a little surprised at how quickly this quilt was finished.  I'll tell you what was amazing to me - I only had to wind one bobbin!  I pieced, quilted and stitched the binding all with one bobbin of thread, and had plenty to spare.  Just one of the reasons I love Aurifil!

This quilt measures 24 x 24.  My inspiration is the color - plus this block is Chocolate Cake from EQ8.

 And chocolate was consumed during the process of making it!  (Should have got a picture, but I forgot)  Created in Coos Bay, Oregon in the company of my friends from Coos Sand 'N Sea quilters - it was fun ladies, can't wait until we can do it again!

Thanks to Kim at Persimmon Dreams for the fun challenges this year!  It's been a blast, and I appreciate all the work to make it happen.  And the participants are amazing and creative - you should definitely check them all out!

Craving Chocolate...yes!

After taking a couple days break from the computer, I checked in this morning to see what the final Project Quilting challenge would be this week.  Craving Chocolate sounds like a great challenge to me, I do love my chocolate!  I had a great idea and decided to break out some pieces of lovely brown Island Batik fabric (received from Island Batik for my role as an Island Batik Ambassador) that I've never used yet.  My intention was to make a simple mug rug this morning and have an early finish for a change...

Well, I had so much fun cutting out the pieces using the Go! fabric cutting system that my quilt is definitely going to be larger than a mug rug!  Oh well, never enough chocolate, am I right?  (Thanks again to Accuquilt for providing this awesome cutting system, I am having way too much fun using it!)

Can't wait to start sewing these lovelies into a quilt!

I've got all the blocks quilted for the Brothers and Sisters quilt!  Now to get through the four borders....

And I'm putting the finishing touches on the wedding gown for my daughter!  I can't believe it's less than a month away already.  We are so looking forward to it!

I also snuck in a little bit of fun sewing some strings up.  Next week is Carla's String Along Blog hop - guess I'd better get ready for that, too.  Lots of sewing to do, I'm a happy girl to have so much fun fabric to play with and projects to work on.  I'll never be bored as long as I keep this up!

Looking forward to a fun week!

Happy National Quilting Day!

What are you going to do today?  I am looking forward to making more progress on quilting the Brothers and Sisters quilt! 

It took me a while to decide how to quilt all the blocks, but now I am on a roll and have just more than half of them done.

I'm doing curves and swirls - I think it adds a nice softness to the blocks.  

After the blocks are done I have borders to figure out.  Three plain and one pieced.  The pieced one I will do like it is in the book, but the plain borders I need to figure out.  I'm sure an idea will come once I get there!

This is a huge quilt, so I'm glad I was able to get the centers done fairly easily.  Thank goodness for that extra throat space that my Juki has!  I'm using light delft blue in 50 wt for the quilting, and it looks perfect.  I bought two large spools because, like I said - this quilt is huge, and I don't want to run out.  Plus I will be making matching shams as well.

Hope you have a great day, and especially that you get to do some quilting!

Seashore Splendor - Block 3 - Sailboat

Ahoy there!  I hope you've had a good two weeks and been able to sew the blocks for part 2.  For today's block we are going above the waves and creating a sailboat block.  If you are just joining in, welcome!  I encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter so you don't miss any blocks, I'll be posting a new block every other week through the end of the year.

Today's block is a 12 1/2 inch (unfinished) Sailboat Block.  You will need light sky, light sea, red and white fabrics for this one.

Isn't that sea fabric fun?  No swimming here, there are sharks in the water!  I love the fabric for the sky as well, it's a pale blue floral, but I think it will look great in my quilt, it's a great color for a misty sky!

The sewing for this block is super easy.  Make four half square triangles.  Make sure you measure them to make sure you are sewing accurately!

Sew them together in a four-patch, then add the sides to finish off the sails.

Make your boat unit using a sew and flip technique and add the sea strip at the bottom.

Sew it all together and you have your block!  Easy, peasy, right?

I'm really having fun using some unusual fabrics, and challenging myself to use stash.  Now all you need to do is go download your block and make it, too!  Click the picture below to download from my Payhip shop.  I hope this is working out for everyone.  I haven't heard any complaints, so I assume you have all been able to get your patterns all right.  If not, please let me know!

Download Sailboat Instructions here!

See you in a couple weeks with the next block!  Thanks for quilting along with me.

Happy Pi Day!

It's been another busy week here!  This week I've been putting the finishing touches on some secret sewing I've been doing.  I'm going to give you a peek, and share the fun with you!

Ready to pack your trunk for a dream trip? 

Tomorrow is the start of Northcott's Stonehenge Block Party!  Collect 12 block kits from different shops, make a quilt with them and you could win a trip for two to England including a private tour of Stonehenge.  I have designed the block kit for my local quilt shop:  Threads That Bind.  I also made a sample quilt top for the Panel Quilt Challenge.  You can see more about all the fun in the video below:

And here is a Pi day sale for your from my friend Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts:  Pi Day Pattern Sale - including her new Hee-Haw Donkey Quilt!  Really, you want to check it out....so cute!

Now, go eat some Pie, and go quilt!  See you tomorrow with Block Three of my Seashore Splendor Quilt along...

Joy Journal Cover - Project Quilting 10.5

I loved this challenge - Abecedarius.  My project was inspired by a friend's experience that she shared with me.  She was having a tough day, but when she was stopped at an intersection she saw bubbles floating by and was reminded of all the joy there really was in life.  I have wanted to make something inspired by this story, so decided to make a journal cover featuring the word “Joy” along with floating bubbles.

This is my finished journal.  I really enjoyed the time I spent creating this, and I love the results - I give a lot of the credit to the lovely Island Batik fabrics that I used.

Here is the back.

And the front flap and pocket.

My journal cover measures 10.5 inches high and 7 3/4 inches tall. The lettering and bubbles were attached using fusible web and two rounds of topsttitching (the thread is Aurifil 50 wt in bright green)

Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop!

 I created this in my Coos Bay home - I'll be linking to the Project Quilting 10.5 challenge page - make sure you visit and vote for your favorites this week!

Daisy Chain Mystery and Color Challenge for March

Yesterday I set aside some "fun" sewing time and got my unit A pieces done for the Daisy Chain Mystery.  Love these little pink birdies!  I am enjoying the relaxed pace of this Quilt Along, plus I am making the crib size, so I know that I won't get too overwhelmed.  You can definitely still join in now, the sewing for these pieces can be done in an afternoon, even for the larger sizes.

I also got my block done for Jen's 2019 Monthly Color Challenge.  Finding two fabrics that I would call Navy Blue was a bit of a challenge because I am using up some of my Island Batik stash!  I love this block, it's very simple, yet has a very neat look. 

I moved my Color Challenge blocks up to the top of my design wall so I can get busy on the Sleepy Sloth quilt.  One block down, three to go!

Very satisfying sewing time - it's always great to feel like things are under control!  I'm almost done with the little chair that I am recovering.  The red velvet is lovely!

Hope your projects are staying under control, too!