Caramel kitties

This quilt was one of 5 that I found hiding in the back of my closet half made. I set a goal last Easter to finish all of the UFOs by this Easter and I just about succeeded. Some of these quilts were not even close to completion and many of them were started as baby quilts. The intended recipient of this one must be 16 by now.

I had the piecing done for the center and needed to find some fabrics to create a wide border. This is tricky when your fabrics are 15+ years old - colors change. After much shopping, I finally found what I needed.

What I like about this quilt is that is not something that I would make now. My taste has changed. But there is something sweet about the tessellated cats and the simple color scheme is also appealing.

But what I like best is the quilting. I really pushed myself to do more on this quilt than on any others I had done. Impossible to capture in a photo are the names of two cats that I have loved and lost since I started this quilt - Frisco and Aspen. Their names are written on the inner border resting in a field of sunflowers.

I'm linking up to the Blogger's Quilt festival - check out all of the beautiful quilts there.

Crumb flimsy

I think I have finished my crumb top - I am debating if it is big enough. Current size is about 42"x56". I have so many other things to work on and I feel like they have been hijacked by these crumbs. And, my scrap pile seems bigger than ever. I really don't know what happened! I decided to put some mostly black (with cream and white) fabrics as scrappy sashings to extend the size and to calm the overall effect. I felt like there was so much pattern and color without the sashings.

Jo has shown lettering and more blocks on a border, but I think I might just leave it as it is. Any suggestions?

WIP Wednesday

I've been on my own this week without DD & DH. You'd think that I would have accomplished so much. But, alas, I am not away with the rest of the family on the ski slopes because I had too much work to do. And work, I have done. Still, there has been some activity:

Challenge cushion: finished 8 weeks ahead of the due date. See all the final details here.

Crumb along: I've finished a total of 44 crumb blocks - about 8 of them this week. Jo suggested 42 for the middle, but I'm thinking I want 56.

Green half-square triangles: I've been progressing with cutting and sewing these squares. I did a count the other day - 144 already sewn into blocks, 631 squares sewn. I need a total of 1296 squares so I'm a little more than halfway there.

Christmas presents: I have a plan and have picked up a few things to add to some fabrics pulled from my stash. I can't post too many details because I'd ruin the surprise.

Blue/brown polka dots: Just in the conceptual stages. Using some fabric my mom sent me plus some more I've added to the mix. I will post more when I get some time.

Blue snowflakes: no progress.

Butterfly hearts: no progress.

Crumby progress

I've finished 44 crumb blocks (42 shown below). I can't decide if this is enough or if I want to make it a bit bigger. I'm wondering if 48 or 56 might be the right number.

This week we are making log cabin blocks. I was playing with the idea of warm/cool colors and also light/dark. I like the way they came out and am imagining a whole quilt of these...

Last week's blocks were all about triangles. I made a few more after my last post and found a few random blocks that I don't think made it online. Here are all of the ones I've put together recently. I will definitely make more log cabins too before Jo posts the next set of instructions

Challenge cushion finished

I finished my challenge cushion today - 6 weeks before the deadline. This is a good thing - I need to start thinking about Christmas presents.

I decided to make it a box cushion. It's 18" square and does seem a bit on the big side. My plan was to make it a little thinner, but after machine quilting the sides I realised that I covered a larger area. Still, I like that it's substantial which gave me the opportunity to develop a pattern beyond a single block on the front and to quilt the sides.

I like the 'back' better. It's only the back because there is not enough of the challange fabric showing (which I used up on the 'front').

Overall I'm pleased with the results. This is my first challenge piece so we will see how it is received.

WIP

What I've been up to:

• I've spent a bit of time this past week working on my Block Lotto Blocks (more here).


• Crumbs are coming along. I've made a few more since I posted a picture of all of them last week. This week is all about triangles.
  
  
  


• Cut more squares for my green half-square triangles. It's become something I pick up when I feel like doing something mindless.


• Challenge cushion: I've made good progress and have put in a zipper and quilted the side panels. I just need to sew it all together and create an inner for it. My goal is to do that this weekend. (Sorry no pictures yet.)

I've had an exhausting week and there's more to come. I find myself sewing at night as a way to de-clutter my head from the day's stresses. Hubby came up to bed the other night to find me cutting up crumbs and said I was a "sewing machine".

It's the end of term tomorrow and the beginning of a 2-week holiday for DD. She and DH are off to the mountain to ski while I stay home and work. But it does mean I should have time for some sewing too. Watch this space...

Block lotto blocks for October

This month we are doing quilters choice in blue and cream with some optional brown. In my usual adventurous spirit I decided to use this as an opportunity to try out a few techniques that I have been wanting to experiment with.

A little background about me: I studied electrical engineering at university. I did years of physics and calculus. I was good at this stuff. Really, I was. So, ask me why a 1/4" seam allowance and a few interesting angles can get me so messed up? I'll tell you why - because I try to calculate everything rather than just drawing it on graph paper, that's why.

Enough complaining - the good part is I've learned a few things along the way and some of my blocks turned out pretty good. For example, my first attempt at drafting and then doing paper piecing.

Some string things.

An easy thing.

And a star thing.

My favorite block was inspired by Megan by way of Leanne by way of Lee.

My last one was also paper pieced. I pulled this pattern off of the Quilter's Cache - it's called String Stars.

My hexagon thing was a disaster (note to self: hexagons do not fit inside of squares). It is not fit for public viewing.