A Knitting Finish

Here is my new finished shawl! It's called Over the Moon. It's 56 inches across and 26 inches wide at the spine. It's from the book Sock-Yarn Shawls. The author, Jen Lucas, is wonderful! I was having problems with another pattern. I contacted her with my problem and she figured out what I was doing wrong. My frustration was over! She was a delight to speak with.

I'm going to try and hold off knitting until the fall.  I have so much machine quilting to do.  I end up getting obsessed with a knitting pattern and never quilting! I'm also so behind reading books and magazines. I'll try to keep from knitting but not sure I'll be successful at that!

 

As you can see, Lily was so happy to see I was done my shawl and had a little leftover yarn. It made the perfect toy for her.  She's been playing with it all morning. My family room doesn't look too good right now! We've been yarn bombed!!

All Pinned and Ready to go!

I was off from work last week. I had planned on getting so much done but it didn't really work out that way! The weather was hot and I lost much of my motivation. However, I did manage to get 2 quilts all layered and pinned just dying to be quilted! This pattern is called Pinwheels and Posies by Beth Ferrier.  It was offered as a free BOM a few years back. I've had the top finished for quite awhile and had even bought the backing but had never gone any further. I think it's very pretty and deserves to become a finished quilt. 

This is a free pattern offered by Quiltmaker. It's called Single Scoop and the pattern can be found here. It's such a cute pattern! I had made it with the intention of donating it but it came out so cute! I have a few friends expecting babies so  I'm rather undecided right now. I used scraps except for the backing. It's amazing how much fabric I have in my stash!

I'm happy to say my daughter helped me with the pinning. It was nice to have my daughter involved with quilting. Maybe I'll convert into a quilter after all!!

More Finishes!

 

Blogger's BOM is done!! I'm so happy to finally be able to say that! This was a learning quilt for me. I tried different machine quilting. I got more comfortable with some designs but need more work with others. I'm happy I tried and feel I am working my way up that FMQ learning curve.

This is a picture of the fabric I used for the back.  I kept the purple/blue theme going but in a more subdued manner.

I also made 2 pillow cases using cat themed fabric. My quilt guild raffles off baskets each year at the quilt show.  I was asked to join the animal themed basket this year. I always have cat fabric in my stash. I made them both in a matter of hours. I think they would make nice gifts as well for birthdays or holidays.  I used the "tube" method. It's fast and a bit of a surprise when you open up your rolled up fabrics. I even used French seams to finish it up. The tutorial I used can be found here.

So hot here! I'm staying indoors with the air conditioning pumping away. The heat's not supposed to break until the weekend. Hope I last that long! Stay cool out there!

New Widget

I'm sewing the binding down on my Blogger's BOM. I can't wait to post the finished picture. It's been so hot and humid that some days, I just couldn't stand to have the quilt too close to me. The humidity is down today so I hope to make some progress. As you can see from the picture, Lily loved sleeping in the quilt. I guess the heat and humidity never bothered her!

I'm not sure if any of you have heard of Quilting by Answers.com  I've installed their widget onto my blog.  You'll be able to click on it and get answers to some quilt questions. They have an interesting website full of information.  There are some nice freebies as well as overall quilt information. Hope it's fun and full of info for you!

Enjoy your weekend and stay cool!
 

Another border

I finished the next to last border on the Blogger's BOM. I quilted a scroll which is relatively easy. The hardest part is making sure the direction of the curl alternates properly.  I seem to want to sew the scrolls in the same direction.  I've had problems in the past keeping the size of each scroll consistent.  This one was easy.  I used the width of the piano keys as a guide. It really worked out well.

I thought I would have more quilting done by now but the holiday as well as my work schedule seemed to throw me off.  I've started stitching in the ditch in the piano key border.  It seems a bit time consuming but I'll be happy when it's done!

 

As you can see, Lily likes the quilt so far! She thinks it's a great spot to lay down for a rest!

As usual, I will be linking up at Leah Day's Free Motion Friday page which you can see here.

Hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend!

Happy 4th of July!!

So glad I'm off from work today! My kids and parents will be eating with us today. My husband has everything all ready so he can grill the afternoon away! It's so hot that I plan on staying indoors most of the day.  We try and out on the deck every year but end up moving inside where the air conditioning keeps everything nice and cool!

I would love to find some time to quilt more of the piano border of the Blogger's BOM.  I'm not sure if that will happen.  So close to being finished!

Enjoy the holiday and be safe!!

EQ7 Summer Drawing Series Block 2

 

This month's EQ7 Summer Drawing Series involved making a paper pieced block. It started off as a basic octagon. We learned how to drawn in one area and "clone" it to another area. It was fun actually!

Here's one of the paper pieced units. I love the accuracy of paper piecing but hate ripping the paper out. I use smaller stitches but some of the stitching seems to come out no matter what I do.

Here are my blocks so far. Two more to go! Hope you all visit the EQ 7 Summer Drawing Series Block 2 Link Up. Lots of gorgeous blocks to see!