'When Life Goes to Pieces, Make a Quilt': A Finish

I tossed it in the chair to get ready to label it and turn around to this!

Howdy y'all, I hope your weekend is treating you well. The rain stopped earlier this morning and the sun (and heat) came back with a vengeance afterwards. It didn't take long for things to dry up, letting me take some pictures of my most recent finish.

Texture x 10000000000!

You've seen these scrappy blocks before here and here. They were a part of Crazy Mom Quilts' Scrap Vortex Along (that link takes you to her quilt along page, and the scrap vortex one is at the bottom). I made some blocks in my spare time, but at the time, I didn't have enough scraps to make a full quilt of those blocks. And when I had enough scraps, I didn't actually want to take the time to make a full quilt of those blocks (yet!).

Scrappy happy blocks and rainbow thread. :)

Seeing those blocks laying on my shelf, I knew I had to do something! So I paired them with some lovely Kona Coal to make those colors really pop!

The quilting looks much better on the back than the front.

I had so much hope for the quilting, but it fell a bit flat in my eyes. I dreamed of spirals for weeks as this one slowly came together. I would sew a seam or two when I had the time, the quilt top slowly taking shape. But I could see the quilting so clearly. I think my fabric shifted some though, because things got a bit bunchy in places on the front. But I couldn't make myself rip it out, I was so far along. And, honestly, I couldn't have yet another disappointment. So I left it and just kept going, cringing as I did. I just prayed that the washer and dryer could work some magic and erase some of my quilting sins.

A lot of mistakes are hidden by those crinkles!

And it did! The worst is still there (lower left center area), but many of the little wrinkles and tucks were disguised by the lovely crinkle. Thank the Lord for Color Catchers, hot water, and high heat, am I right?

The happiest little quilt roll I've ever made. :)

I topped this one off with a scrappy binding. I actually made twice as much binding by accident (when you get on a roll cutting fabric, there's no stopping!), so some of my favorite prints didn't make it in. But oh, these little critters lined up perfectly and it might be my favorite part of the entire quilt.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

And a label. From pretty early on, I intended to call this quilt 'Controlled Chaos' because those scrappy blocks are contained so well in the Kona. But life has a funny way of shifting ideas and perspectives. I won't bore y'all with the details, but for quite a while, it truly has felt like life has gone to pieces. And like the label says, I dig in and make quilts. Because if one thing can bring me happiness and joy, it is making a quilt, even if it is wonky! 

So for now, my heart is content and I'm going to cling to that for as long as I can. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! I hope to be able to share another finish later this week, I'm just waiting for it to make its way to its new home first! :)

Finish-A-Long: Quarter 2 Goals!

Shew, the second quarter of the year has begun! Which means it is time to start brainstorming and goal setting for the next 3 months! My fabric buying skidded to an impromptu stop earlier last quarter, but I still have fabric from my stash to work with so I'm going to keep sewing as much as the stash will let me! :) So here's my list, y'all. I'm placing my 'have to finish this quarter' goals first and the further down the list a goal is, the less pressing it is for it to be completed.

1.) Commission Baby Quilt

(Sorry, no picture yet!)

After finishing the Isabella Quilt, my Mom either took a picture or took the actual quilt to work and showed it off to her friends before popping it in the mail. Suddenly, everybody wants LBCQ to make them something! This order is for a quilt like the Isabella quilt with a different color palette. My client picked out the fabrics and after cutting them and laying them out, I didn't have a good feeling about it. My Mom came over and looked and agreed: it just wasn't working. So the fabric was sent back to my client to let her see and have the final say. If she likes it, I'll press forward. If not, some things will be swapped out before progress is made.

2.) Baby Tag Toy

So soft and fuzzy!

This is actually for the same person that wants the quilt I believe. They saw a cute little tag toy on Etsy and asked if I could make something similar. "Sure" was barely out of my mouth before most of the supplies showed up at my doorstep. I'm actually really looking forward to making this one, I think drafting a little pattern and trying something new will be fun!

3.) Charity Baby Quilt

You've seen a few peeks of this one lately. The top is all done and I'm hoping to possibly get started on piecing the backing today!

4.) Scrap Vortex Quilt

These blocks just keep coming back all the time, time to get them finished up!

I started these scrap vortex blocks a while back, back when Crazy Mom Quilts did a Quilt Along last year! I knew I wasn't going to make a whole quilt of these blocks, but I have a plan for how I want to do these. I think the Kona Coal is really going to make those scrappy blocks pop!

5.) Hexie Quilt

It's hard to tell that this fabric is white on white, but I think those hexies will look great against it. :)

These hexies are the product of a hurt back in February. I may have to make quite a few more before I can fiddle with the design in my head, but I have all the supplies (background and plenty of scraps for hexies!) to make this top come into existence. :)


6.) Alison Glass

I just want to hug this fabric all the time. The rainbow goodness is just fantastic!

You may remember that I got a fat quarter bundle of Alison Glass fabric for Christmas from my parents and I was absolutely over the moon about it! It sits proudly on my fabric shelf just waiting to be turned into a beauty. I actually have two pattern ideas in mind (and may be able to squeeze both of them out of this bundle!) but I haven't been able to get the Essex Linen I want for the first pattern. I'm still deciding on a background fabric for the second pattern, but until those fabrics magically find their way to my sewing room, this goal is a long loooooong shot. 

7.) Notched Baby Quilt

Seriously, check out that Notched tutoiral, the block is awesome!

I was a lucky blogger last year. I think I won 3 or 4 giveaways in all! One win was this bundle of solids that you may remember from a huge free block blog hop last summer. I have planned to make Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl's Notched Block using her free tutorial. I'm thinking I'll need more white fabric, but again, unless the fabric fairy pays me a visit, I may just get this one partially started.

Man, that seems like an overwhelming amount of goals, but I love having a game plan in place. And since there's no penalty for not meeting all the goals I set by the end of the quarter, there's no reason I can't shoot for the stars! :) I'm linking up with SloStudio for this quarter. Head on over and join the goal setting fun, there's plenty of chances to win some cool prizes and see some awesome projects! 

4x7 Challenge Complete!

Can y'all believe that February has come and gone?! What a blur! I started out strong with the 4x7 Challenge hosted by Berry Barn Designs, but I'll admit I fizzled out towards the end. I was still getting some sewing done, but none of it was selfish sewing. I got work on those baby quilt commissions I mentioned last week. I'm having fun getting back to FMQ loop-dee-doo's!

A few hearts thrown in for fun too! 

I did make some selfish sewing purchases lately though! Some lovely Kona Coal and this interesting white on white text print are hopefully going to help me finish two different projects. I can't wait to get started on them!

Remember those scrap vortex blocks?!

That white is going to be a great background for those hexies!

I'm sad to see the end of the 4x7 Challenge, but it was so fun to have some motivation to sew for myself this month!

Throwback and Looking Forward

Howdy y'all, I've got a double post for you today! First up, I have an oldie but goodie to share for Throwback Thursday over at A Quarter Inch From the Edge. This is a continuation of 'quilts I made the kiddos for Christmas'. This one is the third I will have shared, called the Garrett quilt for my little cousin that received it. He is quite the pirate, so I knew right away that it had to involve pirates and all things ocean.

This one is quite busy also (this was before I learned about using neutrals and blenders to keep things calmed down), but it's just so fun! And I remember I loved doing this FMQ. I was shooting for ocean waves and I feel like this simple and quick design was spot on.

And I love this backing fabric! I randomly find bits of it in my scrap bins and it always makes me smile. :)

I've been a scrappy binder since the beginning! Those bits of red really pop!

After looking back, it only seems fitting to look forward now! I'm sure many of you are getting sick of reading everybody's goals and resolutions for the coming year, but I'm here to add another! (I'm actually one of those people who loves reading those posts, anybody else like that?) One thing I wanted to do this year was be more active with goal setting, so here's what I have planned for the next 3 months thanks to the Finish-A-Long link up, which you can see here!

My biggest goal is to get City Blocks completely finished - quilted, bound, and labeled! I've already started quilting it, so this one is on its way to being completed.

Next up is my Orange Peels! I just ordered some fabric for a backing thanks to a gift certificate I won on a linky party. I also snagged some Aurifil thread to try out, which excites me to no end! My plans for the Orange Peels is the same as City Blocks - completely finish her up!

My final goal was a bit harder because I wasn't totally sure where I wanted to go after these 2 WIP's, but I think I know what I want to do. I've got my Scrap Vortex blocks back up on the design wall and I want to do something fun with them. I don't want to make an entire quilt out of just scrappy blocks (not yet at least!), but I do want to make a quilt top out of the ones I have. So my goal is to get them pieced into a top, then finished up like all the rest!

I've made more since this picture was taken, but forgot to take a picture!

Three quilts in three months is quite ambitious for me, but I'm shooting for the moon since there isn't a penalty for not completing all my goals in the time limit. After all, if there is something left to do, there's always next quarter to wrap things up! :)

WIP Wednesday: Progress, Progress, Progress!

Happy Hump Day y'all, hope your day is going well! Today is the first day in forever that it hasn't rained (yet!), so I'm loving this sunshine even if I'm stuck inside at work all day. I've made some serious progress over the last week that I'm so excited to share!

First up is my newest quilt start. I've been toying with a name, which is always the hardest part for me to decide. I think these blocks look like a street map of a downtown area, so I was toying with something like 'City Blocks'. Any suggestions for names are welcome, leave them in the comments below! :)

Also, I managed to save the embarrassing block that was my first attempt at this new technique. It's far from perfect, like all the others, but I think it looks so much better than what it was. I'm so glad all the effort wasn't wasted!

There are four smaller blocks to each bigger block and I have two bigger blocks done so far. Just chuggin' along... :)

Next up is scrap vortex blocks! I worked on these a couple days this week and manage to get some bigger slabs put together! I've said it before, but these are such a blast to work on, I love it. I dug even further into my fabric and came up with some more cute novelty prints (that octopus had to be included at least once!).

Overall, I've had a blast sewing this week. I've barely used my seam ripper and I've been getting off work early enough to actually get settled in and sew before it's time to head to bed. Hopefully the rest of the week keeps playing the same tune!

Linking up with NTT after I get off work this evening!

WIP Wednesday: Starting Something New!

Happy Hump Day y'all! I am back to good health after a crummy weekend, thank the good Lord! I managed to get most of my materials cut for my new quilt even while sick, though it seemed to take forever. I only cut one or two bits at a time though, so that might be why. Lol.

I started out stoked to make some progress on this quilt and learn a new technique. And all that excitement led me here:

I was so embarrassed by this, I almost didn't share it!

Yeah. Rather than the gorgeous block demonstrated in the guidelines, I had a skewed tic-tac-toe board. I just sort of stared at it for a minute and thought, "What on earth am I doing?" After a quick breath, I looked back at the instructions and just studied the blocks on the quilt. I'm not one to pick up on patterns easy, but somehow I was able to visualize things a little better after just looking with intent.

So I started again, being more deliberate and focusing a bit harder on different aspects before. I managed to get one done and trimmed before heading to bed. I will say, I'm more proud of this one than my demented practice block! Hahahaha

Still not quite what I want, but soooooooo much better than the first try. Lol.

I'm hoping to save my practice block and match some seams a bit better as I move forward. Like usual, I'm on the fence about whether or not I can pull this off. I always have this self doubt with each quilt I make, it's hard to be confident with these things for some reason!

Also, I made a little more progress with my scrap vortex. I'm hoping to get some more blocks done this coming week so I can see some 'real' progress up on my design wall!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday! Have a good week y'all!

Driving the Struggle Bus This Week

Hey y'all. As dramatic as it sounds, I'm surprised I made it to Friday. Work has been absolute madness with being understaffed and completely booked up and life in general has been crazy. But enough about life, let's talk about quilting. On Thursday, I was able to run to Jo Ann's and get fabric for my next project, which meant I had to actually decide what I was making. I really liked the Snowball quilt that I showed in my last post, but I had to be realistic; I needed more time and more money to be able to gather all the fabrics it called for. Maybe in the future I'll get to do it, but not this time. My second favorite was the Fresh Cut quilt, the last in my post that didn't make it into Quilting Modern.

Check out Sew Katie Did for a look at all her awesome quilts!

Rather than go with the original colors, I swapped out for a more vibrant blue (Kona turquoise, I think?) and a bold red (Kona, but I can't remember what sadly.) I stuck with Kona white for the neutral. My Jo Ann's is a little sparse with stocking Kona's, but I'm happy with the colors I got. I also snagged some red and blue thread for quilting, a first for me! Before now, I've always quilted in white or gray. It's time to branch out and try new things though.

I've already started cutting some, but progress will be slow for a day or so. I woke up sick this morning, so I'm wrapped up in the Supernova and praying for the ickies to get the heck out of my body. Speaking of slow progress, I got some more work done on my Scrap Vortex block. I put them up on my design wall in hopes that they would brighten things up (and my orange peels kept falling off, so I retired them to my fabric bookcase for now).

 So my only finish this week was deciding on my next project and buying supplies. Not much, but beggars can't be choosers, right? I hope everybody has a fun, healthy weekend, thanks for stoppin' by y'all.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.

WIP Wednesday: The Home Stretch

Hump Day once again, y'all! I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing/reading about my Supernova quilt. That's one of the curses of working on the same quilt until it's done before starting a new one. :P I'm loving working on it though! I've had a blast every step of the way (except basting, of course. YUCK!). I really like improv piecing and I'm looking forward to a lot more of it in my quilting future. So quilting this beast has actually been fun! I was worried about wrestling it all over the place and what not, but it has been surprisingly cooperative (knock on wood, I'm still not done! Lol).

So here's a sneak peek of a little bit of the FMQ I've done. I've never done swirl-thingy-majigs, but after a quick Pinterest search, I was zooming through them! You can tell when my hands got shaky, especially on the blue parts, but overall, I'm happy with the results. :)

I did sort of start a new quilt this week though! I've jumped on the bandwagon for the Scrap Vortex along over at Crazy Mom Quilts. I wasn't feeling the best the other day, but I reallllllllly wanted to sew some. I didn't feel like I had the energy or the focus to quilt on the Supernova, so I just started grabbing scraps out of my bins and sewing them together. I made a nice little pile in no time at all! I don't have enough scraps to make a whole quilt (at least I don't think I do), but I can make it a work in progress and keep adding as I make more scraps. :)

Linking up with WIP Wednesday!