WIP Wednesday

I've been tossing around some ideas for the Riley Blake challenge.  One of them involved some type of dresden block.  I decided to make a practice block and grabbed some Kaffe Fassett fabric that's been hanging around for much too long. 
I wanted to make one that would finish into a 16" block.  So I used the 7" measurement on my ruler figuring that each half circle combined would be 14".  My pea brain totally missed that there's a 3" opening in the middle.  So what did it do?  I made more.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with these. They'll get put away and maybe added to my 2nd quarter Finish Along list.  Making these dresdens was not in vain.  I now know that I definitely don't want to do a dresden block for the Riley Blake challenge.

I also finished another block for my Hexie Garden quilt.  So far, so good.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced.


Joyful stitching,
jane

WIP Wednesday

I've been working on some economy blocks that I started last week. I like making these.  There's a bit of trimming involved which (sounds weird, I know) has almost a Zen-like effect on me.   A new blade in my cutter and something trashy on Netflix and I am very happy.

I've finished 27 blocks. I'm not sure how many I'll need, but I'm just taking my time with this.

I finished a 2nd block for my Hexie Garden.

This one took a bit longer than the first one.  I had to keep laying out the hexies every time I sewed a seam to make sure that they were positioned correctly.  I wanted the design in the fabric to run in the same direction for all pieces.
These are a little tricky to piece because of the angles, but I think they're coming out nice.

I had planned on spending the afternoon playing around with designs for the Riley Blake challenge, but we had a little visitor.

A much nicer way to spend my time.  (12 weeks old already!)




Joyful stitching,
jane

2014 Finish Along Q1

I accomplished quite a bit last year in the 2013 Finish Along so I decided to do it again.  This year it is hosted by Katy at The Littlest Thistle. 

The following represent my hopes and dreams...

First on the list is the Hexie Garden.  One block is done and the rest is all cut out and ready to sew.  This may actually get done since it will probably be coming on my guild's retreat in March.

Next is the Honey Cowl.  I made two of these last year so I'm pretty confident this will be finished before the end of the quarter. (Awful picture.  The yarn is actually blue.)

The next contestant is the result of my poor performance with last year's Lucky Stars BOM.  I am a wicked slow paper piecer.  I'm not holding out much hope but since I'm supposed to be more positive in 2014, here she is.
And bringing up the rear,

it's the Local quilt by Carolyn Friedlander.  This is also a paper pieced project, but the blocks don't appear to be very difficult.  Love the fabric for this.

Joyful stitching,
jane
 

Make it do

Use it up,

wear it out,

make it do,

or do without.

Make it do.  Yup, my motto for 2014.  It was kismet when I read Sarah's blog and saw that she was hosting the perfect way for me to start the year.

After the stress and excesses of the holidays, I'm ready to get back in touch with my thrifty side.  After going through my stash last night, I realized I probably would not have to buy any fabric in 2014 (but of course, I will). I went on a bit of a fabric binge in November, but haven't bought any since.  My fabric purchases in 2014 will be carefully thought out.

I've been looking at the Economy blocks that people have been posting and tried out a couple.

I enjoyed making these and will probably make a bunch more.  I'm not in any hurry, so this will be a long-term project.

I also started cutting another scrap project.

This will be a scrappy star quilt.  No purchases necessary.
And I finally cut into a fat-quarter pack of Simply Color that I purchased last summer.

The name of the pattern is Hexie Garden.  It's all cut and ready to go.

Joyful stitching,
jane

2013 Final Finishes and 4th Quarter Finish-A-Long

My very last finish for 2013 is this embroidery piece. The pattern is by Bird Brain Designs.

It was one of the projects included in my list of goals for the 4th quarter of the 2013 Finish-A-Long hosted by Leanne at she can quilt. 

My original list can be found here.

I used Kona Snow for the background and a few different blues from my stash for the border and binding.  The back is also from my stash.  It makes me think of men's boxer shorts.  Oh well.

I did ok this quarter and finished 3 out of 5 projects.

Made the blocks from Fat Quarterly's BOM into a finished quilt,

and finished this cute quilt for Eamon.

I did not even touch

this Summersville top or

this sweater for Eamon.  At this point, I'll have to pull out what I've done and start something else.  The little bubbie is growing like a weed (13 lbs, 9 oz at 8 weeks) and will not fit into the size I started.  Maybe he'll get a hat.

I did manage one other finish just in time for Christmas.

The fabric is Winter's Lane. I used a snowball block and some diagonal straight lines for the quilting.  I love this collection.  I think it's probably my favorite seasonal line.

This one will stay around after the other holiday things are packed away.

Hope you managed to meet some of your goals for 2013.  I have a new philosophy for 2014, but more on that later.

Joyful stitching,

jane

Linking up with....

Fresh Sewing Day - See ya 2013

 

As I was putting together this collage of my finished items for 2013, I realized that I had accomplished a lot more than I thought.  I finished quite a few quilts, blocks and small items.  I also realized how bad I was at taking photos before giving things away, so there are some things missing from the collages.

I completed 7 baby quilts (one's missing from the collage). I have lots of baby fabric in my stash and 2 babies due in early 2014 for friends and family.  I should get busy on those.  

I finished 7 lap quilts.  My Saltwater and On the Plus Side were part of our guild's exhibit at the Lowell Quilt Festival this summer.  I also assembled and quilted 3 quilts using blocks that were donated to our guild's Quilts for Boston project. 

There are a couple of ongoing (they've been going on forever) projects that I managed to finish some of the blocks on.  I'm still working on the Lucky Stars BOM.  I've only finished the first 5 blocks, but I'm determined to finish all 12 of them.  My Rose Star blocks are EPP.  I managed only 4.  There are a couple of blocks for Boston as well as the flags that hung in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.  I had fun with some mini charm packs and made several candle mats and used some scraps on a set of potholders  I have a couple of holiday runners as well.

2014 will be a year of change.  Let's see how I do.

Linking up with Fresh Sewing Day.

Joyful stitching,

jane