Random....Friday?

Anyone else awful at remembering what day it is? I have good intentions of doing a random post on Thursdays to link up with Cindy, but it never seems to happen because I never know what day it is.
And really, that isn't such a bad thing in the summer, is it? So, here's a random post complete with random pictures that don't necessarily go with the text...

Almost walking

I have done absolutely no sewing in the last week or more and it's starting to make me twitch. My machines are ready to be picked up but I really want to get my house painted before I go get them, or it may never get done. Side note: Why do paint colors always look better in the can than on my walls?

Do you read The Fabric Shopper? I just discovered it the other day, but it is a fun little website that features upcoming fabric lines, tutorials, and other neat bits from around the web.

Grapefruit margaritas are GOOD. (So is Shiner Bock. )

Do any of you have a rice cooker? I'm considering getting one but can't decide if it is worth it. I am horrible at making rice but love eating it. I've read that they are good at making oatmeal, too, which would be convenient because I'm not good at making that, either.

I'm really into making salads lately. They are so good for a quick lunch or pre-baseball snack. I'm pretty sure I could eat this Southwest Rice and Bean Salad every day and never get tired of it. This morning I made Corn and Chickpea Fiesta Salad and am excited to go try some. What's your favorite salad recipe?

 

I made Jill these shorts the other day and really want some in my size. They are the Oliver+S Puppet Show shorts and are so cute and quick to make. So far I've made three pairs and will definitely be making more. I got in a bit of a garment-sewing spree a few weeks ago and had fun making some little things for Jill. I have a hard time making myself buy her clothes when I go shopping because I see things and think that either I could make it myself, or everything I find is some hideous color/animal print.

And for the most random thing...any of my American friends self-employed and purchase your own health insurance? Have any wisdom to offer? To say that it is overwhelming is an understatement...

June Blocks

Hi guys!

All of the ladies who were queens in my bees for June posted their blocks early, so I was actually finished with this month's blocks at the end of May. And since I have a few house-related projects to tackle, I took my sewing machine in for maintenance. It really is amazing how much more I can get done around here when I know I can't sew! 

 

Debbie asked us to make these Modern Maple blocks in That Stash Bee. She asked for "leaf colors" on light solid or low-volume backgrounds. I had fun choosing fabrics for these blocks, and opted for two colors that I rarely seem to use. Since autumn is my absolute favorite time of the year, I have a feeling I will be making a quilt of my own with these blocks. 

 

Rachel was the quilter this month for the Imagine Circle of dGS. She asked us to make these Fractured Star blocks using black/white, cream, text, and teal. The tutorial for the star is a little more confusing than it needs to be, but in the end you get a pretty cool block. I'm excited to see this quilt come together! 

 

Celeste asked us to make these strip-pieced hexagons for June in Always Bee Learning. I was a little worried at first, but they turned out quite easy and quick to piece together! 

Imagination, Squared

Taking a quick break this afternoon while the kids are napping to share my latest finish for the Imagine Circle of Do Good Stitches. (Sidenote: Anyone know how to make the actual "squared" symbol?)

 In April, I asked the members of our circle to make this paper-pieced Square-in-Square block by Tamiko using a palette of navy, coral, yellow, aqua, and white/grey prints.  I was so excited when the blocks started coming in, because they were all so much fun. I didn't specifically request fussy cuts for the centers, but several people did just that and made some seriously cute blocks. Isn't this one from Amanda sweet?

 

I didn't take me long to get them all sewn together. I had originally planned to use this Ikea numbers print for the backing, but a few of the blocks came in too small to fit well with the others. Since that would have made our quilt a little smaller than desired, I went ahead and decided to add the borders to bring it up to a better size. I really could not decide on what to use, but chose to go with the Ikea fabric. I still haven't decided if it was the right call, but it is growing on me. 

 

I thought that using more of the numbers print would be a little much, so for the backing I used the other blocks along with quite a few of the greys in my stash, plus some Kona Azure, Kona Ochre, and the coral which I believe is Michael Miller. It is pretty wrinkly in the photo, but I didn't have time to really get it photo-shoot ready. I have to take my pictures when the resident quilt-holder is available and this time of year, that is pretty rare!  

For the quilting, I thought it would be cool to highlight one of the blocks and the surrounding star shape. I had a hard time choosing, but in the end decided to focus on the Itsy Bitsy Spider block because I thought the surrounding prints made the star pattern stand out a little more than the others. I quilted double lines around the star, then echo-quilted single line a few inches apart in the rest of the space. It didn't really turn out as I had hoped, since the front is busy and the quilting kind of gets lost. 

Overall, I'm pleased with how the quilt turned out. This is my third one for the Imagine Circle and I am already plotting what to do for my fourth. If you have any spare time to join, I highly recommend putting your name on the list for do.Good Stitches. I'll be sending this one off to our charity, Threading Hope, which benefits underprivileged children and families around the world.

Bella's Quilt

 

So, I made this quilt last week. As soon as I saw this tutorial at MLE Knits I knew that I would soon be making one. It is one of those quilt designs that looks more complicated than it actually is. And when Emily said that it was super-quick to make, she had me sold. I actually made this quilt in 24 hours, from choosing fabrics to attaching the binding. And yes, my kids were fed and bathed during that time! Mostly. I didn't start this quilt with the intention of finishing so quickly, but once I saw how fast it was going I decided to challenge myself to finish it in a day. So, from the end of naptime on Thursday until just before everyone woke up on Friday afternoon, this quilt was done.  

I love this stripey Nicey Jane print. I have had it a long time but couldn't seem to find the right project for it until now. I was also happy to discover that I had enough of this sweet Riley Blake dot to make the whole backing. That really helped speed things up! For the quilting, I just did random wavy lines with my walking foot. I started out using ivory thread, but ran out about halfway through then switched to a light pink.

This quilt is going to one of my college friends who is just about to have her first child. The baby's nursery is done in bright aquas and pinks, so I tried to choose some complementary prints from my stash.

 I have also been trying to branch out a little and use more colorful backgrounds. It seems like many of the vintage quilts I see and love have colorful backgrounds. For this quilt I used Kona Pearl Pink. I like it, but it is pretty pale and almost has that look of white that's been washed with red. An accidental pink, if you will. But, it is growing on me and I plan to keep trying new shades instead of my trusty Kona Snow. 

What is your go-to background shade?

Chicopee Herringbone:: BQF Spring 2013

This is one of those quilts that I can honestly say I enjoyed every aspect of making it. 

About this time last year, I joined a group of ladies on Flickr called Always Bee Learning. The focus of this bee was to challenge ourselves to try new sewing techniques or blocks.  I loved trying all the new blocks everyone used for their months, but when it was time for me to be the "queen" I really had no idea what to suggest. I'm not generally a fan of anything too intricate or fussy so I was worried that my choice of this Herringbone block from Bijou Lovely would be a little boring for my bee mates.Thankfully they all seemed eager to try this block, so I sent out my packets of Chicopee and away we went. In no time I had received their blocks and got to work piecing the top. 

I had already decided that this would be a lap quilt just for me, so I added several more blocks to bring it up to a good snuggling size. Since these blocks create a bit of waste when trimming, I also asked my friends to make a small improv block with some of the scraps to use on the back. 

After getting the top completed, I was really excited to finish this quilt and nearly decided to just use yardage to make a simple backing instead of piecing together the scraps, but in the end I am very glad that I did. This Paisley print is one of my favorites from the line, so I knew I wanted it for the backing. I also like how the black Ladder Dot  frames the crazy scrappiness. 

For the quilting, I simply followed the vertical zigzag of the blocks with random spacing between the quilting lines, using a light aqua Gutermann thread.  I also used the black Ladder Dot print for the binding.

Quilt Stats:

Dimensions: approximately 60"x72"

Pattern: Herringbone blocks, tutorial by Bijou Lovely

Fabric: Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt

Piecing: myself and the talented ladies of Always Bee Learning

Quilting: myself, on my domestic machine

 My previous Quilt Festival Entries:
Fall 2012: Jill's Quilt
Spring 2012: Baby Isabelle's quilt
Fall 2011: Carrie's Kaleidoscope

Special thanks goes to Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side who organizes this fabulous festival twice a year and to all the amazing sponsors. I can't wait until the kids go to bed tonight so I can sit back and gaze at all the quilts!

Random Thursday

Random tidbits from my life lately:

We just got home from the end-of-preschool picnic for this kid. Roger was working so I had to take Max and Jill with me. Generally, our kids are very well-behaved but Max decided that today would be the day to have the most outrageous fit in the history of mankind. So all the preschool parents got to witness me dragging my two-year old back to the car while carrying my infant. Fun. Then, when Carson got in the car at pickup time, he handed me a note that he was supposed to give me a few days ago. It said "no siblings allowed at the picnic." So yeah, I'm that mom now. Hopefully the teachers will forget over the summer!

 

On Mother's Day, my guys built me a raised bed for my garden. It is still too wet here to till my real garden, so I'm hoping to get a few things planted in there in the next few days. I usually plant way more than what that 6'x12' bed will hold, but eventually I want to convert all my gardening to raised beds. 

 

So, I made this quilt last week. It is still sitting on my table waiting to be washed, but I may just go ahead and take some pictures of it since the to-be-washed pile is enormous and underwear takes priority over quilts.

I also started on these stars a few days ago but they're going pretty slowly since the weather has finally decided to be nice. But, it is supposed to be stormy this afternoon so maybe I'll make a little progress. 

And for some random recipes we've really been enjoying around here lately...

Mediterranean Orzo Salad from Iowa Girl Eats

Honey and Chipotle Vinaigrette from A Farmgirl's Dabbles

Tex-Mex Enchilada Casserole from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Soft Batch Brown Sugar Cookies from Averie Cooks

The Latest Bee Blocks

I have never been one of those people who can wait until the last minute to make their bee blocks. Most of the time, I kind of look at them as a fun break from whatever other projects I might be working on. And since the majority of my other sewing doesn't have deadlines, it isn't a big deal for me to put it aside and make a few blocks. My real problem with bee blocks is getting them to the post office!

April was Valerie's month in That Stash Bee. She is making a quilt for her best friend who recently lost her young son, and asked us to make either star blocks or word blocks in rainbow colors. I love every minute of making this block and am so glad that Valerie included our group in the making of this quilt.

 

May is Cathy's month in that same bee, and she chose these Depression blocks. Cathy asked us to use black and white TV for our inspiration, and it was fun to get to use some of my black prints that I haven't used yet. 

 

For April in our Always Bee Learning group, Mary sent us an eclectic mix of scraps and asked us to make these Basketweave Braid Star Blocks. I really like these blocks and have been wanting to make one, but for some reason, the day I chose to sew this must not have been my day to sew. I seriously must have used my seam ripper at least 15 times. There was even one point where I noticed that my fabric had gotten folded over and caught in the seam and as I was starting to take it apart I realized that the fabric was upside down, too. Needless to say, I was a little relieved when this one was finished!

Debbie was the May Queen in Always Bee Learning, and being the genius that she is, had us assemble these 18" Polaroid Blocks using the little photo blocks she received in her swap. She is going to have a very fun quilt when she gets these blocks together!

 

And finally, Heidi is the quilter for May in our Imagine Circle of DGS. She chose to have us make Card Trick blocks using her own tutorial and these fun, bright colors. 

I am just waiting on a couple of more blocks to come in for our April DGS quilt, then I can get that started! What are you working on?