February Reports

Here is my end-of-month wrap-up for February:


Something Old/Something New -

For my something old, See my comments below in my NewFO report about a stack of fat quarters that I won at a shop drawing in 2010, I believe.

My something new: figuring out how to quilt the intricate designs on my "25th, Baby!" that I wanted it have. 

 

I am not a particularly creative person beyond adapting other people's ideas that I find, so I'm really pleased with how my DWR detail work has been turning out. I put personalized focus spots in the center 9 rings, showcasing our initials, wedding year, etc. Then I took a printout of the fancy-wancy quilting pattern I bought to put in the bulk of my rings and adapted a rope-like cablework edge to fence that section off from the rest of the quilt's detailing. Playing around with a plexiglass overlay, I decided that the fill I liked best for this center area was a simple diagonal lining. I wasn't even thinking when I started drawing in the lines with a water-erasable pen, and just decided I wanted the lines 3/8" apart. The funny thing is that this width turned out to be absolutely PERFECT for the ring sections! It matched up exactly from one center mid-point to the next - I drew the lines straight across the elements as if the rings weren't there. I haven't tucked hardly any of my tails yet from all the starts and stops of the fill quilting, but it's going to look super neat when that's all finished.

 

 

 

You can see in that photo above that I decided to use Golden Threads paper to "mark" the quilting designs. I didn't like the melon design that came with the set I bought for the centers, so I drew my own. I also drew out the motif for the connector diamonds because the set didn't even have one of those. I've only got one side quilted in around the center. I move along ring by ring, quilting the center and the surrounding melons (that takes me right about one hour and five minutes), and then I do the micro-stippling fill on the ring to the inside of the one I just quilted. I can't do the micro-stippling around the design work until I pull off the Golden Threads paper, so this quilt-one-band, stipple the former band, approach is working great.  You can see one half-block from the corner of the center field that shows how the micro-stippling looks.

 

 

 

Wow, I'm going to love it all!!  I sure hope I can finish this by mid-August!

For February, my something old will be still more ring work on this DWR. I've been working on this project straight through from August of last year, so I think it now qualifies for an old project!  Something new - learn how to beautifully repair the tiny little snip I accidentally made in one of my center motifs!

 

 

 

 

NewFO Report for February

This month was not as productive as last month in non-DWR work.  But I did get a nice start on something made out of a pack of pink fat quarters I won in 2010 at a shop drawing.  I got 27 FQs in a range of pink or pink-on-white prints. Played around with my EQ program, and one days those FQs, combined with leftovers in my stash, will grow up to be something like this:

 

"Raspberry Lemonade"

 

I may or may not applique lemons in the corners, and I may or may not applique vines and raspberries on the piano-key border. I managed to get all the inner squares made and the center put together in a web. There's more contrast between the yellow and pinks than shows here. It'll be pretty! And I'm not a pink person. I also sewed several strips into pairs as a beginning of that one border.

 

 

 

I boxed it all up today with the notes, so sometime in the future that'll be nice to come back to.  :)  This use of NewFOs from my NETY storage is providing the new-to-my-eyes variety that I need to be able to keep on working on my DWR. Until that project, I had NEVER, EVER maintained dedication for long than 3 weeks running on a single project. I've come a long way, Baby!  ;D

 

 

Oh!  I did get the fabrics washed for the old NETY kit "Simply Fun."  But that's all. It's in a giant pile waiting to be ironed.

 

 

 

 

Let's Book It!  Report - 
 

This project is very slow going! I did finish block 7 (of 36) last night during a Sherlock episode. Back-basting needle-turn applique is so soothing when you're not on a deadline with it.  :D
 

 

 

 

 

I'll probably have to stick with only this book for this linky party until June. My thesis final draft is due by the first of that month, so I'm hoping that'll open some time to pull another book from my shelf and start something new!

So, there are my February reports - go check the link-ups out for some great eye-candy, tips from other quilters, and very good support groups to help you get your work finished.  :D

BOMs Away Monday - Holiday Tidings

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays!

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately.

This week's link-up is at the bottom of the post.

It's Holiday Tidings week for BOMs at my place.

 

 

I sewed the November pieces:

(That's 2000, not 2013 - one of my oldest UFOs here!)

 

 

 

Put them in their rows:

(which are not all crooked like they appear below)

 

 

 

 

Fused the bow - I think it was Barbara that I picked this technique up from ages ago. Cut out the guts of your fusible stuff before you attach it to the fabric. Accomplishes two things: Save fusing material by tracing smaller pieces inside the larger ones; Get a much nicer drape for your quilt - it won't be all nasty-stiff, especially if you have multiple layers.

 

 

 

 

And I even blanket-stitched it all:

 

 

 

 

Although, I was fed up with it long before I finished.  My poor machine kept having fits with skipped stitches any time we had to pass near a thick convergence of seams in the patchwork. So I'll clean the thread ends up some other time during a fun after-dinner show. 

 

It brought to mind that jean-a-ma-jig tool thing I've seen advertised in quilting catalogs.

 

Have any of you tried one? Do they really work, or are they not worth the fuss?

 

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

So how about you? Have you done any work on your BOM or other interval work lately?

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays!

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately.

This week's link-up is at the bottom of the post.

 

I got my Hello, Moon put together today:

 

 

 

 

The sashing is a sparkly light-gray Fairy Frost fabric that was in my stash - in fact, I'm really happy that everything for this quilt came from stash. I can even find something for the back, and definitely have enough batting. No shopping for this project!

 

The sashing is set at a width for the quilting design I'll be doing on this.  Can't wait to see the effect when I can finally get to it.  :D    I did want to work up a border, but that will make it too large for the spot I want to hang it in. So I may end up trimming the outer sashes down and hoping that if I make the binding a little wider than I usually do, it'll frame it in nicely. I think it will.

 

 

Oh! We filled the last hole in our family a couple of days ago. Isabeau is here now - the cutest little Fluff Ball I've ever seen! You can't see her pretty sky-blue Ragdoll eyes here, and her LONG fur is all licked down uncharacteristically flat, but sometime soon I'm sure I'll catch them for you. Such a pretty little thing. Navarre fell instantly in love with what he thinks is the coolest toy in the world - a warm, moving, cotton-fluff-ball delight brought home especially for him. . .  (lol)

 

 

 

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

So how about you? Have you done any work on your BOM or other interval work lately?

 

 

WIP - Finishing the Center

Been a while since I've done a WIP post. Still plugging away an hour each morning on my double wedding ring anniversary quilt. Putting the fill in now on the central focal area!

I used golden threads quilting paper to put in some personalization spots, like our initials, wedding year, 25th spot. . . And I "fenced" it off from the other rings which will all have the same design placed into them later.

Is it perfect? Not even. In particular, I'm dealing with tension issues while FMQing over the paper.

But it's pretty and it's getting finished - a far cry from my prior crippling need to have everything I do turn out perfectly. I'm so very glad I got over that!!

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Linking up at

 

Angie's Hexie Fridays

Esther's WOW

Leah's Free Motion quilting
(which is what got me over my fear of FMQ to start with!)

 

Lee's WIP

 

Marelize's ANYTHING GOES

BOMs Away - Ruffled Roses

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays!

 

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately.

This week's link-up is at the bottom of the post.

 

 

 

Sorry to post later than usual - we decided to run out to watch "Monuments Men," and I fluffed off on blogging stuff!

 

Before that, I got the other three 4-patch borders put together - they were a bit of a bear. I'd wanted to work out the floater borders and get everything attached to the quilt, but by the time I was attaching the turning ends and finishing triangles to each length, I had to unsew seams 4 times in a row. Not a good time to tackle quilting math!   ;D  

 

 

 

 

 

So, I'll put them on next month. I did get all the swag pieces cut out for the rest of the months. Last month, when I did the swag sections for this set, I had to cut little single pieces from each of the 16 colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 I really don't want to do that 8 times over, so I spread the remaining 7 instruction sets around my table and cut all of each color at a time. Double-checked it all and stacked it neatly. When I pull it all out again in March, I'll do the same thing for the basket pieces, and then each month will be so much easier!

 

 

 

 

 By the way - how has your week been? It's been crazy cold here with lots of snow. For the first time, the slope up our cul-de-sac defeated the Mini Mouse, and she had to spend a night tucked in with the Ponderosas down below.

 

 

 

 

 

And I'm thinking we need Alaska windows, or something!  That frost there - when it was *minus 20F* it was on the insides as well as the outsides!

 

 

 

 

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So how about you? Have you done any work on your BOM or other interval work lately?

(They've changed the coding again at InLinkz, so hopefully this'll work today!)

An InLinkz Link-up

BOMs Away - Strolling the Block April, Wonderland

Welcome to the Link-Up for BOMs Away Mondays!

 

We'd love to see the BOM you're working on lately.
This week's link-up is at the bottom of this post.

 

First Sunday of the month is Kelly BOM week, so I worked on her Strolling the Block.  April got some clouds and rain, and a bunch of tulips stitched in. Put some handles and a wheel on the barrow, a knob on the door, and you have to have an Easter Bunny, don't you?   ;D

 

 

 

 

We have a spectacular winter wonderland right now. We got 15" of perfect snow over the last 3 days. I caught these this morning before folks got out and about. There are cross-country and sled tracks across the meadows now, and while it never got above 28 F / -2 C, there's been enough solar melt for the trees to have the prettiest icicles hanging from their tips this afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Have you done any BOM work recently?