Chugging Along

Do I have quilts that have deadlines that need to be quilted? Yes. Is there a baby quilt I still need to finish designing so I can make it? Yes. Did I decide to work on any of those next? No. Ok, so story time I guess.

Do you remember my Good Fortune quilt that I started after Christmas last year? The Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt pattern clues that I saved and never made until this year? The one that I started quilting and didn't like it so I ripped out the quilting I didn't like? Yeah, that one. That's the quilt that I started quilting again. And with the same pattern that I ripped out. But this time I used my FMQ foot rather than a walking foot to make the orange peels. And it looks better. It's certainly not great and some of my curves are looking a little flat, but they look better than the walking foot curves. 

Why this is the quilt that I suddenly needed to work on, I don't know. Part of me wanted it done by the end of the summer, but here we are in October, so that came and went. The only thing I can think of is that come Halloween, the colors for the next mystery quilt are going to be announced and I really wanted to have it done by then. Every year, her Facebook group gets much more active during mystery quilt season, and in the week up to it, many people share photos of past mystery quilts they've made and I would like to be able to include Good Fortune this year. It's also getting chillier and I want to add it into my rotation of bed quilts. 

I also wanted to practice my FMQ on a larger quilt too. My fiance requested a quilt for his bed, he picked a pattern and the colors. Except, I'm stumped on how to quilt it, since the sashing is narrower than the blocks, I can't do straight lines without it looking weird. So I'll probably just do loops or something, but I've never done FMQ on a quilt that large. This is my convoluted thinking on how to finish a quilt that doesn't actually have a deadline. 

But I did finish it! So that's 15 quilts finished so far this year and only two were wall hangings. I think I'm on track to have 18 finishes this year, it kinda depends on if I get that quilt for my fiance done or if I get moving again on hand quilting. 

Which, I did put some stitches in for the first time in months. There's just something about sitting under a quilt in the summer that just feels weird. But I also bound that one since I stole the excess backing of it to bind Good Fortune. So now, I really need to just finish quilting the background. But I'm going to run out of thread at some point this week, so I'll have to stop at Michael's or Hobby Lobby and pick up another spool. 

And I didn't get any pictures, because it's not done and the overhead light doesn't work and I'm not committed to a final floor plan, but I started setting up my sewing room at my fiance's place over the weekend. And by rearranging some furniture in the one bedroom, I believe I will have a space for a proper design wall. And the main part of the floor will be empty to make basting easier. 

I did get Fairy Ring and the snowflake quilt basted yesterday, so hopefully I can get at least one quilted this week, but there's a wedding planning meeting this week with the venue which is going to cut into quilting time as well. Same with taking my car to get an oil change. Life really gets in the way of quilting sometimes. 

And this is your friendly reminder if you haven't cleaned your machine recently, that you probably should. Get that lint out of there so you can keep quilting without issues! Alright, off to put some stitches in something!

Happy quilting!

All the Things

I really am trying to be consistent here, it's just that nothing in my life right now seems to be consistent! Wedding planning really throws a wrench in life, you know? Well, maybe you don't, but I'm learning that first hand. Some of my free time has been spent putting favors together and flowers wrapped in ribbon. But then there's meeting with vendors which took a break over the summer, but now we need to start making a bunch of decisions again and many of the vendors want things settled before the holidays ramp up, which makes sense, and I would rather that too. And on top of all that, I'm slowly moving stuff out of my apartment and into his house. 

But I figured out what I'm doing for that last gift quilt and it was all because I stumbled on the perfect fabric line while browsing Etsy. 

Tell me that's not the perfect fabric for a tween girl who's style is "woodsy, gothic, cottage core." It's amazing though how quickly a pattern formed in my head. Those pretty prints are begging to be fussy cut and mushroom blocks were needed as well. 

Which left me with this. And while a black background isn't my favorite to work with, I'm not old, but I just don't have the best lighting in my sewing space. But don't they look so cute fussy cut in the middle of the stars? 

Once I had all the stars made, I moved into the mushroom border. Because how do you have a fairy ring quilt without mushrooms? I wasn't super confident on the pint flower print, som times it looked like it worked well and other times it stood out, but once all sewn up, I like the little bit of interest it gave. 

So now on to finding a backing and figuring out how to quilt it and with what color thread. I think I saw a mushroom print at hobby lobby that might work which would be super convenient as I also need more batting. 

But I wasn't solely working on this quilt, and I do make quilts that other people have designed too. 

Like the Snowflake Quilt by Modern Handcraft. This pattern has been on my list to make for quite some time, and I knew I wanted to make it for my future sister in law and that I wanted a blue snowman fabric to feature. I just couldn't find anything. But then this fabric line came out this year and it was absolutely perfect. And it came with a panel that I'm going to sew into the backing for an extra special touch. 

But that's what I've been working on over the last few weeks. I haven't had a lot of time to just sit and sew, it's a half hour here and 20 minutes there and it does add up, it just doesn't feel like I'm getting a lot done. 

Hopefully I can get some more regular quilting time in soon, because despite all that's going on right now, I still want to participate in this years Quiltville mystery that starts right after Thanksgiving. But this year, I'm not going to decide halfway through that I need to make the full size. Half size is much more manageable and useful. I already have a bunch of bed sized quilts, not that I don't have a bunch of throw size, but they're also easier to wash since the cats love them so they get switched out more often. 

Happy Quilting!