UFO Busting #153

 

Happy Saturday!  Last week I found myself bitten by the squirrel bug and I'm hoping it didn't cause me to create two more UFO's (party security if it did).  It all started when my dear friend Sandra at mmm!quilts gifted me a copy of her latest pattern Let Your Star Shine.  OMG you guys!  This pattern is super easy and super quick to put together.  On my weekly Walmart run, I stopped by the fabric department and picked up some fabrics.  And in just a few short hours, this was born.

The problem was I couldn't get other fabric I saw there out of my head and the thought of how good they would look in this quilt.  So, really, I did the only thing a quilter could do.  I went back to the Walmart and retrieved those fabrics and BOOM!

Both quilts were made in the same day and that included store trips.  Let that be a testament to how great this pattern is if you need a quick wall hanging or baby quilt.  Heck stick four of them together and make a big block big quilt!  

I wasn't the only one distracted with this particular squirrel last week.  Carol over at Quilt Schmilt was also bitten by the same bug squirrel.

And of course we have the queen of providing us with lots of fun distractions, Ms Sandra herself.

If you haven't checked out Let Your Star Shine make sure you hop over to mmm!quilts to get the details and check out Sandra's Christmas version for the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and share with us what had you buzzing this week!

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UFO Busting #152

 

Welcome back for another addition of UFO busting!  This week I'm celebrating a not UFO finish and participating in a super inspiring blog hop.  Wednesday was my turn on Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs Just One Charm Pack book hop.  

The quilt I chose to show case is called Star Surround.  One thing that I really love about the book, it's really not just for charm packs (though all patterns and instructions are written for charm packs).  With just a bit of quilty math, you can easily translate the patterns to accommodate mini charms and layer cakes.  So if you take that in consideration, you are really getting 3 for the price of 1.  If you would like to know more about this quilt and find out more about this amazing book, make sure you check out my post about it here.

Now on to some drool worthy quilting...Rebecca over at Rebecca Grace Quilting has hit the project jackpot.  A client has asked Rebecca to help her create the perfect whole cloth quilt for her mother.  And Rebecca is definitely serving up a hot hot dish of quilting.

Whole clothes are one of my favorite things in the quilting world!  Make sure you hop over and check out every detail she is stitching into this one.  It's leaving me a little weak in the knees but in a very good way.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and share with us what you've been up to this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Star Surround

 Welcome to my day on Cheryl at Meadow Mist Design's Just One Charm Pack book blog hop!  Oh, this book.  I LOVE this book!  Confession, I have a lot (like I have no idea how many) charm packs stashed around the house.  Pre-cuts are great because they allow you to indulge in a fabric line without purchasing yards of each print.  And, my friends, I will buy into this every time.  The problem...I get them home and have no idea what to do with them.  That's where Cheryl and Just One Charm Pack come to the rescue.  

Cheryl has created the hamburger helper to charm packs.  By adding yardage of a background and accent fabric to one charm pack, you can create anything from a baby quilt to a small lap quilt.  She has packed the book full of 18 different projects that you are sure to fall in love with.  For my project I fell in love with a pattern called Star Surround.

I dug through my stash and narrowed it down to a charm pack of Moda Hoopla that has been hanging around for quite a while now.

I knew instantly that the four patch squares in the center of each star would be a perfect way to show off all the fun prints in this fabric line.  The best part is it pieced together super quick and is totally beginner friendly.  Once stitched together, I could get to my favorite part...the quilting.

For this quilt, I decided to custom quilt each of the seven stars and break the background into squares that I quilted with simple switch back lines.  I used one layer of wool batting and 50wt Aurifil 2600 Dove in the bobbin and Aurifil 2024 White on the top.

Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret...this book gives you 18 patterns with clear easy to understand instructions for constructing them, but with a bit of quilty math, you can adapt the patterns to translate to mini charm packs and layer cakes.  And that is just what I did.

I pulled this mini charm out of my stash, and basically cut the measurements in half and boom...a smaller Star Surround wall hanging.

It's still waiting to be quilted but I had to share the finished top with you.  I'm also super itching to make one of the patterns using a layer cake.  This book is really super versatile!

If you haven't picked up a copy of Just One Charm Pack yet, don't miss out.  You can grab a signed copy over at Cheryl's store here or an unsigned copy here.  You can also check out all the amazing quilts on Cheryl's blog hop landing page here.  The hop will be going on until July 29th with different quilts being featured everyday.  Don't miss out!!

I hope you have enjoyed my stop on the hop.  Please feel free to stick around and check out my little piece of the world.  Each Saturday (barring something crazy) I host a linky party for everyone to enjoy.  Come hang out with us and share the projects you are working on.  We'd love to cheer you on.

  

UFO Busting #151

 Welcome back for another week of UFO busting.  A party where we celebrate those UFO's we finish or start again, projects that never become UFO's and all those things that distract us from them.  The party took a two week hiatus while I was dealing with personal things.  Last week I had to say good bye to my dear dog of thirteen years, Becker.  

He was having some major health issues and he let me know, it was time.  But he would want me to get back to quilty things.  There are still cats and my 15 year old Maggie dog to keep warm.

So this week, I found the energy to finish up strip sets for a quilt that will be going on my bed.

The pattern is Wide Hedges by Angela Walters.  One of the super fun things about this quilt, is it uses extra wide fabric (usually for backing) to create extremely long strips sets that sew together quickly.  I LOVE that.  I will keep you up to date on this project as it progress.

For the week coming up, I will be posting in Cheryl at Meadow Mist Design's Just One Charm Pack Blog Hop.

My day is Wednesday the 21st and I can't wait to show you my project and share my thoughts on the book.  You can check out day one and two on her blog now.

And how it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you've been up to over the past two weeks.

Becker would have wanted you to.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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UFO Busting #150

 

Happy Saturday!  OMG did you see that Strawberry Moon on Thursday?  Just breath taking.  Another thing that took my breath away this week is my finish for the Just One Charm Pack book by Cheryl Brickey at Meadow Mist Designs.

I can't show you my finish quite yet, but I can show you her book, which is now for sale.  If you've got charm packs, layer cakes or even mini charms laying around, this book can help you turn them into beautiful quilts. (layer cakes and mini charms will require a bit of math on your part, but super easy)

With my hop quilt finished, I finally focused my attention on the sampler quilt for the Free Motion Quilting Academy.  So far we have discussed 15 quilting motifs.  This week I was able to put 6 of them to cloth.

I am enjoying the process very much.  Some of the motifs I have stitched before.  Most I really haven't.  All of this practice has me super excited to pull out more UFO's and use the designs!  Fingers crossed I will be able to stitch the rest of the designs this week.

You know what else gets me super excited?  Links to free patterns, simple custom quilting and UFO's flying to a finish and Vicki at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting gave me just that this week.

Last week Vicki shared her UFO finish of Lindsey Weight's free pattern Scooter (link at Vicki's).  I love the simple quilting textures she added to this quilt.  One can never go wrong with orange peel and wishbones.  Make sure you swing by to congratulate her on this finish and find out how you can make one of your own.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you've been up to this week!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

UFO Busting #149

 

It's Saturday and we are back at it again.  This week I'm celebrating yet another not UFO finish.  This week, I shared a finished Strip Tango baby quilt that will be gifted to a little one headed this way in early August.

I just couldn't say no to all those little woodland critters.  If you would like your visual sensory tickled hop over to here to check out this finish.

This week, I also finished basting up my sampler quilt for the Freemotion Quilting Academy.

We have talked about/practiced a total of 10 motifs, and I feel like I'm ready to start stitching them in the squares.  I'm really hoping to stay on top of this and graduate from the academy in August...fingers crossed.

But the main goal is staying on track for my blog hop project.

I'm pretty sure I'm a smidge over half way finished...I'm just dying to show it to you.

But what I can show you is...stuff from Gail's (Quilting Gail) weekly progress report.  She's got finishes...

She's got secret sewing.  She's got a mystery quilt.  She's even got what looks like a cute panel sample that is stitching up nicely.  But don't take my word for it.  Scoot on over there and take a look for yourself! 

But before you go, link up below and show us what you've been up to this week.  A party is always more fun with friends.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

And don't forget to take care of yourself this week.  Take sometime to find a quiet soft spot and maybe enjoy a little nap.  Caroline never forgets.

Strip Tango Finish

 

Today I am celebrating a quick baby quilt finish with you.  I found myself in need of a baby quilt for a special little boy that will be joining our family very soon.  Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation to the rescue with her Strip Tango quilt pattern.  This is the second time I've made this quilt (the first still lives in UFO land...shhh).  So when I ran across these rather woodsy prints, I knew it would be perfect for show casing them.

The great thing about this quilt, is it truly could be made start to finish in one day.  It may be bold of me to say, but in one afternoon even.

The supersized strips are the secret.  You create a large space in very little time.  Because I was in a time crunch to get this one shipped, I stuck with simple stippling for my quilting motif.  Sometimes the key is not to over think things.

For my thread, I decided on Aurifil #1158 Medium Grey.  And from the picture above you can see that it did a great job playing in all of the fabrics, without screaming look at me.

I have to admit, I love this one so much, I've already picked up more fabric to make another one for a baby that will be making its appearance in early fall.  How can you not love those frolicking woodland critters??

I'm on a roll over here and I don't want it to stop!  Now it's time to get back to quilting my quilt for the Just One Charm Pack blog hop coming up in July and I can't wait to show you the finished quilt(s).