Design Wall Monday

My sister needs a baby girl quilt for a friend who is due in the fall.  She brought me the leftovers from a quilt I made for her a while back.  I added some other fabrics and colors.  This was the perfect opportunity to try an idea I had seen a while back and so far I am liking it.

It's taking shape.

I feel like I am getting better at randomizing colors.  This was a good test.  This was almost the final layout of colors.

Now to figure the larger sashing pieces and the flower petals.

Linking up to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Stash Report

Made some forward progress this week.

Three New Aprons

Aprons for the teachers. 1.5 yards

Felt banners for my class.  1 yard     (No Photo)

And a backward slide.  Since school/work started I haven't been able to get to my favorite thrift store.  Which is not a bad thing.  I was able to go on Saturday and everything was half off!  They had more fabric than I'd seen all summer and the prices were much better than previous trips even before the half off. 

Bundled and Bagged

So I splurged.

Fantastic Polka Dots --- $1/bag containing 3.41 yards!!

 It didn't seem like so much until I measured it. 

Calico and more dots  -- $2.25/rolls containing 6.52 yards!!

But the price was right!!  Final numbers = 9.93 yards for $3.25  TOTAL = $0.32/yard 
Can't beat that.  Now I've got to USE it!!


Fabric Purchased This Week: 9.93 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 46.67 yards

Fabric Acquired This Week:   0
Fabric Acquired YTD: 18.98 yards

Fabric Used This Week: 2.5 yds

Fabric Used YTD: 44.67 yards

Fabric Stashed in 2017: 20.99 yards stashed


Staying accountable with quiltpaintcreate.

Friday Finish

Time again for aprons for the new teachers.  Just three this year.  I did the embroidery before add the ties and that was a lot easier.

New work aprons

This is something my mother started when I started teaching at this pre-school and I have continued every year.  There is still fabric on her bolt for years to come I think.

Showing off finishes with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Stash Report

Fabric out.  Nothing sewn, but fabric out.  Works for me.  A co-worker needed squares of muslin for a project for her class.  She knows who to go to for anything in the textile category.  Makes me think I need a fabric project for my class as well!

pennants in the making

Fabric Purchased This Week: 0 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 36.74 yards

Fabric Acquired This Week:   0
Fabric Acquired YTD: 18.98 yards

Fabric Used This Week: 0.75 yds muslin squares for VPK project
Fabric Used YTD: 42.17 yards

Fabric Stashed in 2017: 13.56 yards stashed

At least I'm moving fabric in the right direction. 

Staying accountable with quiltpaintcreate.

Friday Finish

More college towels.  This time for my niece.

I like her color choices.

And a friend of hers.

Plain and simple.

They both chose super simple designs which was fine by me.  My machine is so old that the actual work space is not very big and I have to re-hoop frequently.  It always stresses me that I might not get it all lined up perfectly.  In the case of the college towels I put it in perspective.  It's a towel - for a dorm!

I'm thinking that's the last of the towels, but you never know.  Jenny's were actually finished a few weeks ago, but Perry's just came in - and out - this week.

Hope I can figure out the technology problem and show off Jenny's College Quilt next week.

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off finishes.

Design Wall Monday

Well I was hoping to show off the beginnings of the other college quilt I made this summer, but technology is working against me.

So I'll show you another hexagon block.  I really like how these are coming out.  I had thought I'd do them as leader/enders, but since I don't have a big project - or any size at all project - I just sat and made another for fun.

I'm liking it!

The fact that the original hexagons were cut not exactly uniformly 20 years ago is not affecting the finished project too much.  I tried to trim them uniformly but it actually made it worse so I left it alone! There are a few places where the corners are not exact, but not enough to make me throw away the precut hexies and start over.

I have no idea what I will do with these or how many I will even finish, but for now the idea is too just use up what I have prepped and go from there.  I can envision a cute little baby quilt.

Linking up to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts to show off our design walls.

Stash Report

May Your Compass Always Point North is DONE DONE DONE! Here's the finish.

Happy Camper

That was all stash which is kind of surprising considering how specific the colors needed to be, but not really surprising when I think of all the odd bits and pieces in my stash.

90F outside, but she still bundled up in it!

Most important were the fabrics from my father-in-law's shirt and my mother's stash.  Those were very meaningful to Middle E to have in her College Quilt.  Here's the story.
front 4.51 yards + back  2.67 yards = 7.19 yards

I also recovered a roll pillow to match her college sheets.  0.25 yards

I am way behind on stash reports so I will just work with the present and try to catch up on anything else later.



Fabric Purchased This Week: 0 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 36.74 yards

Fabric Acquired This Week:   0
Fabric Acquired YTD: 18.98 yards

Fabric Used This Week: 7.44 yds for college quilt and pillow
Fabric Used YTD: 41.42 yards

Fabric Stashed in 2017: 14.31 yards stashed

I'm so happy to be back at the sewing machine and moving fabric in the right direction. 

Staying accountable with quiltpaintcreate.

May Your Compass Always Point North - Finished

One of the biggest challenges for me - ever!

May Your Compass Always Point North

The compass, calculating the black borders, floating the stars, planning the ribbon border, the quilting, just about everything.

Happy "client"!

 I am pleased with all that I accomplished and learned along the way.

Corner detail

You can read the story of this quilt HERE

Lots of math, but it worked!!

There are definitely things I would do differently if I ever did it again, but overall I am satisfied.  

Good for bundling

Middle E is thrilled with it and that's what really matters.

Dedicated to Abuelito & Grandma

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off finishes. 

May Your Compass Always Point North

Middle E's college uses a compass as one of its logos.  So she chose a Mariner's Compass quilt.  Even though I have always liked the Mariner's Compass design, in all honesty, I was scared to actually make it.  But I did quite a bit of research and just started slowly.  Of course I was so intent on what  I was doing I forgot to take pictures.

Approximately 600 pins to hold it all together!

I worked with the school colors - maroon, gold, and black.  On our trip to Guatemala my mother-in-law gave me several of my father-in-law's old shirts to sew with.  He had passed away in the Spring and she also sews, so she understood my desire to have the shirts.  One of the shirts was maroon, so it was just perfect.  The calico that is paired with the largest solid maroon compass point is from my mother's stash.  So Middle E is taking her Abuelito and her Grandma with her to college.  That is important to her.

Little S enjoyed spraying out the blue ruler lines

I had tried paper piecing with some of the Dear Jane blocks, with not much success.  But after studying up more on the process I did fine on the compass points.  Even using regular copy paper didn't cause any problems.  Probably because the compass was so big.  I made it super big, because I figured if I got one good compass sewn that was going to be it.  Realistically I knew I was unlikely to make several.

Making progress.  Thinking about the next quilting element.

First I made the compass and then she looked at several layout options and choose what she liked.  She wanted stars and "frames" separating each "round".  Since I am best when I can make up things as I go along this worked perfectly.  We just decided each round as we came to it.  I took the math slowly and was successful although I had a scare (false alarm) when I went to attach the ribbon border.

Check back on Friday to see the finished quilt. 

Linking up to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts to show off our design walls - or floors in this case!

Friday Finish- College Prep

Hard to believe but we are down to less than a week. Middle E will always be Middle E, but next Thursday she will officially become College E.  She was just a cute little baby not so long ago.  How did this happen?

Pillow

I mentioned in a previous post that I worked on college quilts this summer, but I still haven't gotten them written up.  Today I will show you my most recent finish - personalized towels and a pillow.

It is nice when things turn out like you imagine!

When we first moved to the States a woman in the quilt guild I joined gave me an old embroidery machine with all the attachments that she had accumulated.  She herself did amazing embroidery work and had upgraded long ago to a monster of a machine that did everything.

Coral & peach under the needle

This little machine doesn't do much but that works for me.  I am not good with lots of bells and whistles anyways.  I have 7 fonts, 3 sizes - small, smaller, and smallest!, and a single monogram.

I really like this color combination

After choosing thread colors and fonts I got to work.  I don't have to operate the machine, but I do have to be attentive.  The thread bunched up on the pillow front when I was distracted and turned into a huge mess that forever to unsew the previous evening.

Moving along nicely

I set it aside to think on and when I got back to it I went together very nicely.  I added ruffled trim and an extension to the ends of the pillow body.  Then made a casing in the ends of the extensions.  Ran ribbon through the casings and VOILA!  A tube covering that is pretty darn cute.  It is simple but matches the bedding set she chose and if she changes bedding it has a chance of still matching something.

 Turquoise & sea foam green set is all finished

The towels were done relatively easily.  The only mistake was when I spelled her name wrong and didn't catch it til it was sewing the wrong letter.  This machine does not have a very large working area so for longer name I have to move the hoop and do the name in sections trying my best to get it all lined up correctly.  The toweling was pretty forgiving about that and I don't think the "break" is too noticeable.

Gifted microfiber beach towel

Next up  - towels for nieces and a friend's kids.  Hoping to get them all done this weekend.  I guess we are in the stage where everyone is off to college.

Check back on Monday to see Middle E's College Quilt.

Linking up to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off finishes.