Alert! Alert! Quilt Finish!

Super excited last week to finish the binding on my Sugar Club Sampler quilt, and get the makers label attached over the weekend.

Then it kinda rained and was gross... but today the sun is shining... the grass is dry and my kids agreed to hold it up for me!

I was trying to work out why this photo had a blue band across the top... its the sky!  Duh!  And today has been truly beautiful.

This quilt started life back in June 2014 as part of a BOM run by Amy Gibson from Stitchery Dickory Dock, and I used my stash of Bonnie & Camille fabrics with Bella solid 'Feather' and a beige Moda crossweave.

The 12 blocks morphed into a 9 block setting with this interesting half square triangle frame arrangement.  The blocks upsize from their original 12 inches, to a massive 30 inch with these additional frames.  Combined with sashing this resulted in a quilt close to 100 inches square.

I made the decision to have this long arm quilted by Leeanne from Quilt Me Kiwi.  She did a wonderful edge to edge design.

I also experimented with a flange binding using a mix of leftover fabrics, but instead of machine stitching along the flange, I used a large running stitch and 12 weight thread.  It is a subtle feature but I really like it.

Interestingly both children were wondering if it was there's!  So maybe not a totally feminine quilt 😄

Mid month catch up... chasing one's tail!

March is just one of those hectic months isn't it?  March is crazy month at my work, and although I am in a great place deadline wise at work, I am still finding the overall stress of the month daunting and it has affected my crafting life also.

I have been busily buzzing away at my Meadowland blocks and they are so addictive.  The cutting of one block results in cuting pieces for other blocks.... so it is always pulling you forward (or dragging you into a black hole depending on your perspective).  The QAL instructions require blocks to be completed over 4 weeks, so I was optimistically hoping to complete four each week.  Yeah... nah... not happening.  I have scaled back production estimates back to two blocks per week and this still feels like it is taking up all my time.

I am really enjoying the fabric combinations and simple large piecing though!

So today was a bit of a reminder that there are other things I am supposed to be concentrating on and that I hadn't really achieved much so far, so I removed the miscellaneous piecing from covering up my diary and reassessed the month so far.

Not a lot to report

One of my broken down tasks was to trace the applique design onto my Timeless Treasures half finished corner.  So right, I pulled it out and it took like 3 minutes.  Next goal was to get the small sections of bias stem sewn down this week.  Right... another few minutes and I had these pinned down, and a few more minutes and the first of three was done.  Ok... now we're getting somewhere.

I have set another goal of sewing two lengths of thread on the Sugar Club binding.  Although this is a bit of a slow process... it will eventually get finished.

I attached the flange binding per the Missouri Quilt Companys tutorial... then instead of machine stitching through the flange seam, I decided to use running stitch and 12wt thread to stitch it down.  It is quite subtle, but I do like it, and once I am more comfortable with the technique I would be more likely to use more contrasting thread.  Although this was using stuff I already had.

I am thinking that keeping my goals small and very task specific is the key... so I will see how this variation to the diary planning works out.

One step closer

Part of my reorganisation over Xmas was deciding how to proceed with different WIPs and what was required to finish them. 

My Sugar Club sampler was almost a finished top... it just needed a plain 3" border then ready for quilting.  I even had the fabric put aside and all ready to go.  When I picked up the quilt top... I realised what had been subconsciously holding me back... this quilt top literally weighed a ton already! 

I finished the piecing.... but decided these 100 inches square of awesomeness was going to be long arm quilted!

And over the weekend I got my quilt back from my friendly almost neighbourhood quilter Leeanne from Quilt Me Kiwi - and I am beyond happy.

We decided on an all over floral pattern...

I love how it softens the piecing...

Leeanne also supplied a wide backing fabric and batting.

Luckily I still have some of the plain contrast fabric I used in the quilt top to use as binding...

But I think I'll use it as a peeper flange and use some leftover florals as the main binding.

I will need to add this to next months list!

AWOL?

I've not really been AWOL, maybe MIA would be a better description, because I have been busy and am excited to share the end of month progressions... and goals for next month.

With a clear floor, I spent a few hours pinning my Stack, Shuffle and Slide quilt, which has now been moved to a "holding zone" awaiting quilting. Perhaps once the blanket stitch station is free, I can get this one started.

With the last of the Sugar Club blocks upsized.  Yes, you read right... the LAST BLOCK, I have had it laid out on the floor and closely scrutinized, to get the perfect layout.  I may never sew another half square triangle.

And I've been cutting, pinning and sewing the sashing strips and blocks together.  Only one lonely block to attach now, and then the last row to sew... then it's just the final plain border!  I always underestimate the time it takes to get this stage finished... it just seems to take for-ever!

Getting away from machine piecing, I took the last My Tweets block to my monthly sewing session at my favourite patchwork shop - The Country Yard.  Although I didn't finish it all up there... there was a bit of cutting and ironing at home too... I did get the block constructed over the weekend.

And I'm all ready to tackle the blanket stitch as part of my June goals.

I decided to sash my blocks a bit differently to the pattern, so I've got a narrow 1/4" dark border framing the blocks, then a mid toned 3/4" frame.

A close up of the fabrics!  It is a bit fiddley doing the narrow borders, but as I don't have enough of the dark fabric to waste - I am being extra careful, and with the help of my friendly spray starch, so far so good.

I've selected a few other fabrics that will suit being sashing... both being somewhat mid toned and large enough!

My Tillie's Lane large applique block for June is this one, plus a small applique and 24 hour glass blocks.  I've got two done already!

I need to get my VQR blocks finished as Monika is ahead again... there are only two blocks left, so this will be my first priority to get finished this month.

Also on the radar are the RSC blocks... still don't know what colour June will be, so will keep you posted.

And, I have high hopes to get another dress finished up.  You won't believe it but I actually bought another fabric.  Once the Sugar Club blocks are cleared from the open floor space - I think it will be time to pin out another pattern.  Can't wait.

Sounds like it's going to be another busy month doesn't it?

A Really Great Week

I've just had a really great week.  This month I was a bit light on my monthly goals... mostly because I wasn't sure how the clothing sewing was going to go and how much time it would take up.  With one dress down, I can put that aside for a bit, and now that I can focus back on patchwork goals, I feel a lot more settled.

Charlotte's mystery quilt appeared on Carol's Quilts blog, and I searched out a possible selection of fabrics... but still had to read through the instructions to work out whether what I had would meet the requirements.  It took a bit of figuring... but I think it has all worked out.

I started off with a feature fabric and bunch of possible team mates:

While I had intended to chop up the feature fabric, it then became difficult to slot the other fabrics into the necessary positions according to the requirements.  So I made an executive decision, and figured I'd use the feature as a border... and use the other fabrics as the main contenders, and listed them as follows:

I added this Denyse Schmidt fabric into the B section of darks... it gives me four good dark options, although I've left the stripe in there because (a) I don't know where else to put it and this seems like the best fit and (b) while I would like to use it... I'm not sure whether it will work out in the long run.  The down side of participating in a mystery!

And I got my month one's blocks finished.  Four four patches...

And four four patches with a half square triangle in one of the  positions.  Then I had a bit of fun spinning these around...

Okay, on to the rest of the week.  I've been buzzing through the Tillies Lane hourglass blocks, and sewing triangles to my Sugar Club blocks... enough that I have completed not one...

but two upsize blocks!

I left a comment on someones blog about the interesting variety of blocks on the design wall... so just for full disclosure, there are remnants of three very different projects littered all over my one at the moment!

End of Month Goals Achieved

I can't believe it is almost the end of February!  I'm not going to bombard you with all the photos of the achievements this month... because it was only the last post that detailed the rest of the achievements this month, so after reading... please scroll down for further photos if required!

My Tweets: applique block 11 achieved.  My March goal is to get this block blanket stitched, plus the little bit left of the previous months block.  Just two bunches of these little circles need the blanket stitch finished for Block 10 to be all done.

Adornit Starburst cross quilt: several blocks sewn... leaving me 3 fabric combinations to sew, meaning 6 blocks left... well, actually that's only 5 blocks because I'm doing an odd number of finished blocks.  Next months goal... I suppose getting these remaining blocks pieced would be nice.

Another finished block

I have definitely had fun adding my own stash into this fabric collection

Those combos still left to cut

I ordered some backing fabric, from a different line from the same designers... not quite the same colouring (I had hoped for more grey in the background), but I'm OK with still using it.  I was also slightly disappointed with the scale of the print... I had hoped for bigger, but this is the problem with ordering online :o(

And also a binding fabric... 

Sugar Club Blocks: yeah, I got all three of these blocks added to so that they are just waiting for their final round of triangles.  Goal for March... not sure how to split this up into manageable chunks. I have four blocks in total that are unfinished... these three plus another one with nothing done to it. The triangle production line always seems like so much sewing... not much progress.  So maybe get one whole block finished?  I already have some of the triangles pieced so I'll have to see how this pans out.

Vintage Quilt Revival: this exploding star block went together quite nicely.  I took the plunge and pieced it using templates instead of foundation paper pieced like the instructions.  It was great for using up odd bits of fabric... I did end up using starch and was very careful to avoid stretching while sewing and pressing.

And Monika's block.  I didn't check her blog for progress until after I had sewn my version... I had to laugh that we obviously had channeled the same colour palette.

March we are planning this block: yay, another pinwheel! (she mutters sarcastically!)

Tillies Lane: hourglass blocks just finished today... but finished on time!

And March will be Month 4 with a large applique, small applique and 24 more hourglass blocks to piece.

Does that cover all of last months goals?

I have also been plugging away at the Stack, Shuffle Slide quilt.  Just a few more seams on the fourth chunk and the bulk of it will be sewn.  I still need to decide what is going to go into the hole in the middle, around which the chunks will be sewn with a partial seam.

Then in the being lead astray section, there are a couple of blogs I follow that have been doing monthly rainbow scrap challenges... and I think I might be getting suckered into starting that too.  Do I actually have time to do it... no, probably not.  But, it would be a good way to get motivated into doing something with the never-ending mountain of scraps... and, I have found a quilt that could lend itself to this monthly challenge.  We shall see what happens.