Round & Round by ThimbleBlossom

**Full disclosure - this has been sitting here typed up for almost 3 weeks waiting for me to get good pictures. It never happened. Sorry! :)

I finished my quilts! Hurray!

I love the binding! It's my favorite part!

In fact, I finished them on day #1 of a 3 day trip . . . so I had nothing to do on my 8 hour drive home! How's that for underestimation?

Anyway, here is the finished quilt.

Its Round & Round by ThimbleBlossom. 

My Review: (remember, while I've been quilting for a long time, I'm not great at it. So my reviews are my opinions based on my sewing level, which is somewhere between beginner and intermediate. I call it Crappy Intermediate)

It's a great pattern! I love all of her stuff. Her quilts seem to be close enough to vintage that my grandmother appreciates them, but there's always a modern twist. There's always an impact, and I have received a WHOLE lot of complements on it! Especially from Miss A.

Her patterns are well written, but complex (at least to me). Honestly, I can't drink while piecing them. I chain pieced all of the HSTs, but when it came to the blocks I had to lay them out and sew them one at a time. I labeled each row and put them back on the design wall after every seam. And I STILL screwed up the placement of some of the stars. Each block took me about 45 minutes (early on it was over an hour). So it was real work for me, but, again, her pattern took me step by step. The only confusion was when I tried to expand it to king size . . . but that's pregnancy brain, not ThimbleBlossom ;)

All in all, I recommend her patterns, but not as something quick and easy. It's a project that you really have to want to do, but I'm so glad I used it for Miss A's big-girl quilt. It's something really special!

On her Big Girl Bed!

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Round & Round by ThimbleBlossom
Top Fabrics: Some Kona gray (not sure which) and a TON of my scraps. As much purple and pink as I could stomach!
Backing Fabric: Doe by Carolyn Freelander in gray (108" baby!)
Binding Fabric: Widescreen by Carolyn Freelander in Orange (again, 108", but I had cut it up. So I couldn't use it for a back!)
Date Began: April 2014
Date Completed: January 22, 2016
Recipient: Miss A
Reason: Technically: Her 5th Birthday, but honestly, she needed a quilt for her bed that matched her room.
Pieced and Quilted by: Me!

I also finished my ThimbleBlossom Swap Mini. (see above, review is basically the same)

Front

Back

Quilt Stats:

Pattern: Fireworks by ThimbleBlossom
Top Fabrics: Some Kona cream (not sure which) and Sky Ships and Bats in the Belfry in Plum from Tula Pink's Elizabeth Line
Backing Fabric: 16th Century Selfie in Plum from Tula Pink's Elizabeth Line (My dad thinks this is hilarious. He likes it better than the front)
Binding Fabric: Tudor Windows in Plum from Tula Pink's Elizabeth Line
Date Began: November 2015
Date Completed: January 22, 2016
Recipient: Can't tell you, it's a secret swap!
Reason: ThimbleBlossom Swap #2
Pieced and Quilted by: Me!

UFO's Down: 2 of 16. And onto the next one. I'm working on a King Size quilt from Cabin Fever by Natalia Bonner. It's my second quilt from her book, and I love it!

See ya!
EL

PS: I met Jackie Gering of Tallgrass Prairie Studio at our DMQG meeting. My cool level just jumped, right? ;)

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm kind of freaking out here!

Packing and Sewing

I am frantically washing clothes and packing things and trying to clean the house (and keep it clean) so we can leave first thing tomorrow . . . and I decided to throw a "quick" sewing project in the mix, just to keep things interesting ;)

First of all, I did get both my full-size and my mini quilt ready to go. They are quilted and the binding is machine-stitched down, ready to be hand stitched!

I hope I can get them finished and washed at my mom's house

. . . she can help me get some pretty pictures of them!

Because I'm SOOOOOOO proud of myself for getting these done, I decided to make myself a present! I honestly thought I wouldn't have these ready to bind until the end of January, and my deadlines aren't until the second week in February, so if I finish this weekend, I'm 2 weeks ahead of schedule! That NEVER happens!

So instead of starting on another one of my UFO's on my list, I decided to try something I've been wanting for a while, the Goody Goody Binding Kit (tutorial by Vanessa of Lella Boutique)! It'll be helpful to finish my binding on my trip too, right?

My only problem is that the strap for my thread is too fat to go through my spool.

 :(. Oh well, it's keeping the scissors in the holder I made too big 

(trying too hard to be cool . . . My downfall every time!)

It took me about a week, working in little bits here and there (teething baby . . . lots of grump in my house this week). It's a great tutorial, easy to follow with lots of little steps. I liked that I could do one or 2 things and easily put it down and pick it up again. Somedays I only had about 10 minutes, so it was nice!

Fabrics are from C&S Moonlit.

I had a random FQ bundle lying around, so I decided to use it!

Mine's not perfect . . . nothing I make ever is, and I'm ok with that! It's just for me and the colors are bright, so I'm happy.

And a little reward for finishing some UFO's helps keep me going! I'm ready for the next thing on my list! :)

See ya!
EL

Progress!

I have progress to show you! Hurray!

I finished piecing Miss A's quilt top on Sunday (1/10) and got it basted the next day!

So bright and cheerful!

I worked on it for 2 days, and got the quilting finished on Tuesday night!

My stitches need work, but for me, done is better than perfect!

Thankfully, Miss A LOVES it! She couldn't even wait to get it bound before she started using it!

She's watching the downstairs TV here.

This weekend I plan on cutting the binding and getting it stitched to the back. I'm going out of town next weekend, so I want to do the hand part of the binding while I'm gone.

When I've completed it, I'll post the whole thing (hopefully with better pictures) with a pattern review. (Again, it's Round & Round by Thimble Blossom).

I'm pretty proud of myself! I know it's not the best piecing or quilting, but I'm usually so slow that I wasn't expecting to even start quilting before February! It's amazing what ACTUALLY sewing (instead of thinking about sewing) will do for your productivity! I will actually have this done before her birthday! (Even my husband is impressed at that!)

Since I pulled off the miracle of getting this done, I was able to work on my Thimble Blossoms Swap!

My partner likes brights, so I went with a couple of prints from Tula Pink's Elizabeth line. TP is usually pretty good about bright and happy colors!

Firework Mini by Thimble Blossom.

My goal is to get it basted and quilted this weekend, and hopefully half bound next week. It's just one block, so it shouldn't take that long, right? Again, I want to do the hand binding next weekend while I'm at my mom's.

It's kind of nice to actually be able to show you progress! That so rarely happens! It makes me want to sew more when I have something to show for my time! Maybe I'll actually get through all my UFO's this year! (Or is that just a pipe dream?)

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

See ya!

EL

On the Lasting Effects of Pregnancy Brain

So, after my last post, my momentum died. You don't want to hear my sob stories (even though I REALLY want to bitch about them), so let's chalk it up to holidays with small children and leave it at that.

Anyway, for New Years I got myself the new Quilter's Planner and I organized my year!

Off the top of my head I counted 16 UFOs (at least have fabric bought for it). So my goal is to make a dent in the list before starting anything new.

I love the way she organized this page!

My first priority is to finish Thing 1's birthday quilt (started May 2014). Her birthday is February 9. I had 3 blocks pieced, plus 11 more blocks cut, HST made, and organized (ready for piecing).

Pattern is Round & Round by ThimbleBlossom.

Here's my funny story.

Thing 1's bed is a full size . . . The mattress is 53"x72".  The pattern makes a quilt that's 68"x72". All I should need to add are borders on top and bottom to make it fit the bed, right?

I stressed myself out a ridiculous amount on this quilt. For some unknown reason, I did a TON of calculations at the beginning to make the quilt 96"x107".

Why? The only thing I can think is that I was pregnant at the time. I blame pregnancy brain!!!!! All I really needed were some borders on top & bottom.

So I've been freaking out thinking I had to make 14 blocks instead of 7. Hee hee hee!

So, as of today I have 1 more block to piece (instead of 8). And each one takes me an hour and a half, so that saves me 10 hours of piecing!! Hurray!!!

I love my design wall! 

I have 1 block to fix (too bad I can't blame pregnancy brain for this one).

There are several things wrong, but I'm just fixing the VERY visible one!

And then I can piece the top! If I keep up with the 1 hour a day/4 days a week, I should definitely have it done by her birthday!!!

So here's to a new year, and to crazy math mistakes from 2 years ago that save you time!

Happy New Year!

EL

Christmas Quilts are coming along!

Christmas is coming! It's only 6 weeks away!

So, last time I said I would keep you updated on my progress and that I would try to sew 4 days a week. So far I've been doing ok!

Saturday all my friends were at a retreat, so I had a pity party!! I shipped one kid off to grandma's and the other one was pretty happy in her "Thunder-dome" (it's a play pen, but the reference cracks me up), so I parked in front of the TV and sewed for 6 hours! 

I got 2 lap-size Christmas quilts pieced and 1 full-size Christmas quilt mostly cut!

Sunday - I cut some more on the full size quilt.

Monday - NOTHING!!!!!

Tuesday - finished cutting out the full sized quilt and laid out the more intricate blocks. Started piecing the blocks. Decided on a pattern for a KING SIZE Christmas quilt.

Wednesday - I swear I spent 3 HOURS shopping and I'm counting it! I needed to buy the fabric for my king size quilt. Thankfully the pattern is made in all 2.5" squares and rectangles, so I decided to make it easy and buy jelly rolls.  I wanted solid colors, obviously in red, green, and white. Guess what, YOU CANNOT FIND GREEN JELLY ROLLS!!! I went to 2 LQS, called 2 more, checked out at least 7 online stores and COULD NOT find green jelly rolls. I finally found the color I wanted on Ebay. After getting them off Ebay, I realized I had purchased Junior Jelly Rolls from my LQS in red and white, so I only had half of what I needed. So I ordered more online (from The Fat Quarter Shop! Quick shipping and awesome selection!).

At this point, I do want to give a shout-out to my LQS Stitched With Love. It's a bit of a drive for me, but when I couldn't find the green I wanted, they pulled out their Kona and Bella color cards and helped me go through and find the right color. (Evidently the one "green" that I found online was really teal. Would not have worked.). They also offered solutions to make cutting a billion strips easier and then offered to buy the green jelly rolls I wanted from the supplier for me in case I couldn't find it. Their customer service is AMAZING! That is why I'll make the drive and spend the time to shop with them!

Thursday - finished piecing the blocks, pressed and trimmed. Laid out full size quilt.

Friday - pieced full size top!

This weekend I'll be visiting my grandparents out of town so I doubt I'll have any more time to sew this week, but I've actually surpassed my weekly goal (an hour a day for at least 4 days). Lets just hope I can keep up the momentum next week! Next week I hope to baste and quilt the 3 tops I have done, and start piecing the KING SIZE quilt!

My goal is to have 4 christmas quilts completed by Thanksgiving. We're having a Christmas party on the 5th and I want everything decorated really well! So cross your fingers for me! If I keep going this way, I might be able to have it done!!! :)

See ya!

EL

November, How I Love Thee . . .

This time of year is always crazy.

Crazy but fun! I love fall!

As usual, I'll spend this month trying to make ALL my Christmas decorations . . . And next month I'll spend my time trying it make ALL my Christmas presents . . . And I rarely get anything done, much less everything! Add to all that, this year I have an (almost) one year old who requires almost constant supervision (I mean, come on! Don't you know not to eat cat litter yet?), a 4-year-old who has activities and friends (really? Gymnastics every week? And playing with other children? Can't you be anti-social like your mamma and just stay in your room to read?), and a new part time job (yes, from home. But still! You can't wash dishes and placate angry tenants at the same time); and suddenly my sewing time is almost nonexistent.

My parents live in Leland, MS. Home of Jim Henson. :)

But this year, I'm going to do it! See if I don't! I have a plan, and a kiddo who expects (and is excited for) a Christmas quilt for her big girl bed. I hate to disappoint her!

But isn't that the definition if insanity? Doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results?

Oh well, crazy is a fun place to be!

To prove I'm not all talk, I present to you my Momma's birthday quilt.

Its Peaches and Cream by Natalia Bonner from her book Cabin Fever . AWESOME book!!!

Her birthday was October 20th. We went to her home for a "party" on October 24th. I finally mailed it to her on November 4th. Only 2 weeks late! That's a marked improvement! I'm usually at least a month (if not a year) late!!!

So, do you want to know my plan for the 2015 holiday season?

I propose that 4 days a week (more than half . . . Impressive!) I will spend at least 1 hour working on sewing projects (this can be cutting, planning, or layout in addition to sewing). I know it's not much, and I'm hoping at least one day (Saturday or Sunday) I'll have more time, but a goal is meant to be surpassed, right?

I then hope to update y'all at least once a week. What's a plan without accountability?

Hopefully I'll get a few projects done this year . . . And then I'll have great momentum for 2016!

And yes, i am thinking about my 2016 Quilting New Years Resolution. Aren't you? What's the fun of being a crafter if you're not thinking months ahead of the next holiday? ;)

It's good to run things by y'all again. I missed you! :)

See ya!

El

Have You Given Up on Me?

It's been 16 months. I would have!!!

In fact, for a little while, I did.

I was right, though, 2014 was legendary.

                                                           Easter 2015

Now I have 2 Miss A's to sew for!

A lot has happened, and I don't want to go into it all. Lately I've actually been carving out time to sew, and I have started to miss my blog.

Stay tuned and maybe I'll add a little more here & there!

See ya!

EL