Overdue January Wrap-up

I have been crazy busy and have not had a chance to post my January UFO update until now... I managed to cross one item off of my list - I completed the binding on my Farmhouse quilt. It was quilted well over a year ago.  I am not a big fan of binding!

The quilting (done by Elvira Illig) is amazing!  These pictures don't do it justice.  She did an incredible job.

I also completed my basket block for my SLAM quilt (posted previously) and prepped another block for SLAM.  I will be working on SLAM at TKDAA this weekend so I hope to have more progress to report on it soon.

I finally made a start on my Triangle Gatherings blocks. I decided to try Lisa's starch method again as she is adamant about it making a difference. I starched my charm squares and waited overnight for them to dry.

I'm not sure if they shrunk a little with the starching or if they were just cut a little on the small side but some of them were a bit challenging to get lined up with the triangle paper. There certainly wasn't any excess.  

I have to admit that they turned out very well - better with the starch than the one I tried without previously. I assume that it is at least partly due to the starch. I also pressed the seams open as Lisa suggests. There are just too many coming together in the corners for them to lay flat otherwise.

At the time that I took this photo I was completely caught up on my 6" blocks. Two more have been posted now so I am behind again.  I still plan to make at least some of them as 3" blocks also.

I am not predicting a lot of UFO progress for February.  Both of the UFOs selected (bow ties and Among Friends) are machine-intensive piecing projects and I am only home one weekend this month. I really don't have time to do machine work during the week, so my ability to make progress is limited.  I will hope to do better on those next time they come up.

I'm off to Dallas tomorrow for 4 1/2 days of applique fun. I have plenty of projects packed (I am taking a "self study" type of class) and have big plans for getting a lot accomplished!

Paducah Edyta Immersion

I had an absolutely wonderful time in Paducah last week - a giant step up from last year!  The workshop selection was much better this time around and I was fortunate enough (make that fast enough!) to get into a lecture and two workshops with Edyta Sitar. It was a week of Edyta immersion - so inspirational! All I want to do now is work on Edyta quilts (I already have several in progress not counting the ones I started in her workshops!).  I actually finished a couple of tops prior to heading for Kentucky.  I've been working on piecing the sashing blocks for My Garden Album for the past couple of months and finally finished. I had finished the applique blocks a few years ago. This was a block of the month from Homestead Hearth.  I didn't care for the sashing or border fabrics they provided (multi-colored batiks like on Edyta's original) so I opted for a mix of batiks and reproduction fabrics from my stash and added a Jo Morton border.

I finally finished the applique on my house quilt and got the borders on just before heading to Paducah. I will have to say that appliqueing on a large project is not my idea of a good time...

So back to Paducah.... On Wednesday night I attended Edyta's "Reasons for Quilts" lecture. She is an amazing speaker and it was an incredible presentation!  She brought tons of quilts - many I had not seen before - and did such a nice job sharing the meaning behind each one.

On Thursday afternoon I participated in Edyta's spool quilt workshop.  Her preparation for class and her generosity is amazing. She provided each of us with two pieces of fabric to cut into 24 strips that we then exchanged with each other in order to ensure that everything worked well together and was good quality. Much better than taking whatever people brought from their stash!  We only completed one spool in the class which was fine - the Janome machine I was using was giving me fits so I would much rather work on them at home.

Friday I had an all-day workshop on Stars in Quilts.  It was great!  Edyta started with a lecture detailing 15 different types of stars and how to make them and use them in quilts. She reviewed her technique for piecing 8-pointed stars by machine. I plan to practice that with my Prairie Peony blocks as soon as I get a chance.

After the presentation, Edyta started us on Dresden Stars.  I had no idea we would be making these in class - I have been wanting to do that pattern forever!  Here's Edyta's version:

And here is my first nearly-complete block.  I ended up making two before class ended.

Edyta is such a thorough instructor!  She makes everything seem so easy, from choosing fabrics to sewing complicated pieces.

The other highlight of my week down south was my visit(s) to the Primitive Gatherings booth. Yes, I went more than once.  Almost every day. I couldn't help myself! Lisa gave us a sneak preview of the Summer BOW. She somehow manages to top herself every year - it is beautiful!  I can't wait for it to start.  She also had a project at the booth that completely sucked me in....little bowties.  I couldn't resist!  I bought a bunch of charm packs (the $5 pattern was free if you bought >$200 in fabric - makes perfect sense to everyone, right?!?!) and couldn't wait to get home to start.  I managed to spend a little time in the sewing room yesterday and knocked out 42 bow ties.  They are so much fun!

I was so impressed with my progress....that is, until I took a second look at the pattern and saw that is says "you will need 3,024 bow ties for the quilt". WHAT?????  That's over 18,000 pieces and this thing isn't even bed-sized! This is going to take a while....

Retreating at the Lake

I had a chance to get away to the lake house for a couple of days and focus on sewing and hooking (and working a bit, but that part isn't fun to talk about!).  I've been spending most of the time doing applique and managed to finish my third rose block. That makes five blocks out of twenty - and three out of four roses finished.



















I also finished two more of the applique blocks for my house quilt.  Four more and I will be able to piece the top and add the rest of the applique.

I have made progress on my Sauder Village rug over the past week or so, too.

I plan to finish the chair tonight and start on the lettering.  I'm heading home tomorrow so I want to make the best of every uninterrupted minute I have left!  Too bad I don't have any of these to munch on while I hook:

Amaretto macaroons from Missouri Baking Company on The Hill.  Delicious!  It's a shame they are back home in the freezer!

A Few Days Off

A few days off over the holidays has meant a little extra time in the sewing room. I probably should have used the time more effectively - picked a project and spent all my sewing time making progress on it - but where's the fun in that? So instead I spent the time on lots of different things and made little bits of progress on all of them.  I started my second block for Stars and Sprigs (still in progress) and stitched the first applique block for my Farmhouse quilt.

I also started the new Dear Jane I have been planning ever since seeing the photo of the one done in Kaffe fabrics...

I started with applique blocks, of course.  There aren't nearly as many as I remember - so many pieced blocks!  I would love to hand piece them but probably should stick with paper piecing so that I actually get at least a few of them done.

I also had a blast digging out an old project I started back when I first began quilting. I have always loved New York Beauty quilts, especially the bright ones.  I started a NYB quilt in a class at The Quilted Fox. I don't think I had much fabric at the time (boy, how that has changed!) so I purchased all kinds of brights to use for this project. I was shocked at how much fabric I found in those boxes!  My original thought was to sort it into my stash, but there is clearly not enough room in my drawers to accomodate it all.  I'll have to deal with what to do with it all later... In the meantime, I decided to get back to working on the quilt.  It took me a little while to get back into the swing of the paper piecing and curves, but I managed to knock out one block on Thanksgiving.

I now have 13 of the 30 the pattern calls for - still lots of work to do there, too. 

Other projects I worked on this week include my Runaway quilt (stitching binding) and the Ha Ha Tonka rug. I am the poster child for quilter's ADD!

New Projects

My quilter's ADD has taken over once again and I have started a couple of new projects.  I am so excited that I finally have my first Stars & Sprigs block done!  There are many, many still to make - I think 48 applique and 49 pieced blocks and a very busy appliqued border, but it's great to finally start it after collecting fabrics for over a year!  I picked up a lot of the fabrics at Houston last year.

I've also made a start on my house blocks.  They don't photograph all that well, but I really like how they are turning out so far.  There are only 12 of these blocks, but plenty of applique to add once the quilt is pieced.



I plan to spend a lot of time in the sewing room this weekend. My goal is to get the binding on my Runaway Mystery quilt, prep another Stars & Sprigs block, and piece the rest of my houses. We'll see how it goes!