Blogger's BOM #6

Just finished Blogger's Block of the Month for February. It was quick and easy. The tutorial by Amy Smart is great and easy to follow. I saw the tutorial while I was at work yesterday and had somewhat decided what fabrics to use. It seemed to take no time to cut the fabrics and sew the block together. Here's a photo with all the blocks so far.

I really love the colors. I'm just not sure how large this quilt will be. The blocks are finishing up at 81/2 inches. Some people are making two blocks each month. I suppose I could always go back and make another but I would prefer not to. I could always add a plain square and increase the size in that way. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see! It's been fun to make and I look forward to the next 6 blocks!

Twist Along Step 2 and More Feathers

Here is my Twister Quilt top with a border. It was very easy to pick a fabric for the border since I just chose one of the fabrics from Butterscotch and Roses that I didn't use in the quilt. It's a gorgeous line of fabrics from Fig Tree Quilts for Moda. I'm a little excited and scared to actually cut the twister blocks. I'm just hoping I have enough contrast and that everything lines up correctly. I'm just waiting for Step 3 which will come at the end of this week.

I'm all caught up with my Mystery Quilt. I just have to iron and trim up the squares. Since I have a little time, I decided to try my free motion feathers again. I tried to add more feathers to the main feather I started with but I don't think I had enough space. It was fun and I may attempt a little feather on the next quilt I machine quilt.

Going back to my knitting for awhile. I've had a few busy days at work and feel like resting!

Twist Along Step 1

I have decided to take part in the Twist Along sponsored by Craizee Corners. I needed to buy a layer cake and 1 1/4 yards for a border. I had bought the Twister Ruler last spring and had never used it. I thought this was a good opportunity to try the ruler. You could use your own yardage and just cut out 10 inch squares but I wanted to buy fabric in colors that I don't usually work with. I never use red or brown. It's not that I don't like them, I just always seem to gravitate to feminine pinks and greens. I felt this was an opportunity to try something outside my comfort zone.

Week one was pretty easy. Just sew 36 ten inch squares into  a 6 x 6 formation. The hardest part was trying to keep up a high degree of contrast between the blocks. I like it so far although I see a few places I could have switched things around. I feel I'm happy with the end result. That's good because I doubt I would actually take anything apart!

Next week we add the border and may actually start cutting out the twister block. It's a little bit scary but I'm hoping doing this with a group will offer insight into the process that I wouldn't have doing it alone. I will update when I'm done Week Two!

Baby Quilt is Done!!

I am so happy to say I have finished my baby quilt! I finished it late last night. It's pretty good timing since the baby shower is this Sunday. I love the way it came out and hope the person I give it to will love it as much as I do. I love making quilts as gifts but am sort of sad to give them away. I guess I feel somewhat connected to it but I do want someone to actually use it and enjoy it.

Here's a close up of the free motion quilting. It's the only quilting I feel comfortable with other than stitching in the ditch.

I like the look of a somewhat crinkled up quilt top. The meandering adds some sort of depth to the whole quilt. I think it's a nice way to finish a quilt but I would also like to have more of a variety of stitches that I can finish a quilt. I'm back to practicing more free motion quilting!! This may take a while!

Mystery Quilt and Feathers

Here are the first two blocks I made for the guild's Mystery Quilt. I have 23 more to go! This is Block A. I'm sure there is a Block B next time. I used scraps which makes me feel as though I'm making a free quilt! It didn't cost me anything to make since it's all stuff in my stash. We'll forget the part that I paid for this fabric at some point! It's just nice to use up fabric!

Here are my messy piles of what I'm using to make the rest of Block A. I'm glad that the instructions are clear and easy to follow. It's a Judy Hopkins Mystery. She's written some great quilt patterns over the years. I hope my little mystery quilt looks good when it's done. It's a nice surprise to see what you've been working on for the past few months.

Not sure how well you can see this, but these are my latest feathers. Some days, they come out pretty good but other days, not very good! I wish I could practice everyday but it's so hard. I'm shooting for every other day. They're getting better but they're still not easy for me.

About Town Bag finished!

I started this tote bag a few months ago but never finished it. It has a zipper attached to it and I have never sewn anything where I had to sew a zipper. I think I was a little afraid. Anyways, I did the whole project in steps. I did the braid first, then the outer bag, etc. I only had the zipper part left for quite awhile. I finally took the plunge today and finished it! I am really happy with the results. It wasn't difficult at all. I got everything first try and now I actually know how to use a zipper foot! I'm dying to tell my dad but he doesn't even use a zipper foot. He just sort of sews it!

If anyone is interested, these directions are found as a free download at Connecting Threads. They're written by Kiera Vanella whose blog is It's Sew Kiki! She has a lot of neat stuff to see. I'm always finding something fun over there! Check it out!!

Monday

I haven't felt well all day. I had planned on starting the quilting on the baby quilt but my head ache just wouldn't let me!! However, I ate dinner and felt a little better. I have neglected practicing my free motion feathers so I decided to try some. I am actually going to share a photo. It's not very good but it is better than what I've been doing.

You can actually tell that I am attempting a feather! It is by no means even close to perfect, but it is so nice to see some improvement! I plan on practicing for quite some time before I even try this on a real quilt. Diane Gaudynski's tutorial is so informative! She makes it look so easy. I wish I was a bit more artistic but I just am not. My mom and my brother can both draw so well. My mother had hoped to become an art teacher but got married instead. My brother inherited her talent. However, my dad and I can both sew so I guess I inherited something pretty good as well! I'll never be as good as my dad. But I will keep trying!

Although I didn't feel well all day, I did sit on the couch and knit while watching TV. This is the lace scarf I've started using one of the hand dyed yarns I bought a while back. This pattern is also from my Jane Austen book. I love that book! The scarf needs to be blocked when finished but you can see a bit of the pattern forming. The middle is pairs of leaves with a row of undulating waves on either side. The bottom edge is hard to see but will be pointed when blocked. I'm going back to the couch but I'm happy I got to post this!

February already?

I'm so happy to show you my finished baby quilt top! It was fun to make but also a bit tedious since there were so many seams to match up. However, now that it's done, I'm happy I made it and looking forward to machine quilting it and really finishing it up! I bought the backing yesterday. I found an adorable Hello Kitty print.

I thought this print was pretty but will also be fun for the baby to point at the different motifs. There are so many cute baby prints out there. There are so many choices. I wasn't a quilter when I had my babies but maybe I would have been if these prints were available!

I've also been working on a few of my other projects. I'm still practicing my free motion leaves. I was trying to practice every day but every other day seemed to work out better for me.  There is some improvement. My leaves are a more consistent size and my stitch length is somewhat even. I plan on continuing practicing the leaves although this month's tutorial is with Diane Gaudynski and her wonderful feathers. I'm a little afraid!! Maybe I'll show you a picture of my feathers. Maybe!!

This is the latest hexagon I made. I am still working on my hexagon quilt top. I have to add a bunch of hexies to my quilt top and will definitely publish a photo when they're all sewn together. I love to hand sew but wish it wouldn't take so long!!