Party Fireburst

And BOOM!  Number two.  Done.  Designing the quilting for this quilt top really was like mediation.  I've already quilted one and there is still one more small one to go, how do I come up with something different??  I seriously had to clear my head.

I set down one evening with just me, the quilt top, a chalk pencil and a ruler.  No music or noise.  I took a deep breath and just started connecting lines.

Shapes just started jumping out at me from the background space!  Every time I found myself thinking about it, I walked away to do something else.  When I would come back even more possibilities showed themselves to me.

UFO Busting #40

Oh my goodness, y'all, the linky party just turned older than me, but I'm not letting that slow me or it down.  I've been trying desperately to get a photo shoot with the second Fireburst Quilt but the sunshine is not cooperating with me.  So all I can give you for now is a sneak peak of the quilt folded kind of funny.

It's finished and bound and just waiting for its day to shine.

One of the things I love about #2 is the subtle texture the black thread on black fabric gave this quilt.  What I didn't love was actually stitching it.  There was no good lighting to see what I was quilting.  What's a girl to do??  I decided to go to the preverbal drawing board.  An LED light for the throat of my machine would be ideal, however, things are a bit tight in the budget and running to the store wasn't an option. Making Jenny hold a flash light seemed like a funny option but I let that go.  Then I remembered, I have an LED light!  Where?

After some digging I unearthed it in a cabinet.  I originally bought it to make a light box for tracing motifs onto quilt tops, but for the life of me I'm not sure why I abandoned that project.  But a few Velcro Command Strips later and I have a working light.

This is a HUGE improvement.  Why didn't I do this sooner?  Plus the Velcro allows for the light to be removed, if the light box idea comes back around.

Another thing that I am trying with this quilt, is using threads that slightly contrast with my fabrics instead of blending completely in; show those motifs off a little better.  Let me tell you it's a scary thing to try, even for someone who's been quilting for a while.

Like seriously, I feel like I just stripped down to a thread string bikini and I'm strolling down the beach for better or worse.  I'm just going to go on a limb here and say in the end I'll be my own worse critic.  Life is short, wear the swimsuit...stitch with contrasting threads.

So swimsuit stitching pretty much sums up my sewing week.  Let's see what you guys were up to last week.  Keeping with the Fireburst party, today I'd like to high light my friend Lisa over at Sunlight in Winter Quilts and her Fireburst Quilt top finish.

I just love how those bright colors pop against that dark blue back ground.  If you haven't popped over there to show her some love make sure you take some time to go visit.  Also I am accepting entries for the display of Fireburst Quilts on New Years Day.  You can email me a picture of your quilt or quilt top to tishnwonderlandqal(at)gmail(dot)com.  I will be accepting entries until noon on December 31st.  You can read about our list of sponsors here.

Now let's see what you've been up to this week.  Link up below and tell us how your sewing week has gone.  Are you a good elf or a distracted one?  Santa is watching you know.

An InLinkz Link-up

This is me hanging out last weekend with my good friend Meredith.  Since it's been so cold, we thought we would surprise her with a new hat for winter.  We talked that hat right off a stuffed teddy bear's head.  Who knew that not everyone appreciates hat weather....or hats??

Fireburst Mystery Quilt Sponsors

The end of the year is upon us and that means it will be time to celebrate my 40th birthday and our hard work on Fireburst Quilts with our fire works display of quilts!  Our own personal bursts of color in which no dogs or humans will have to run in fear of loud noises.  So how will this work? 

If you have made a Fireburst Mystery Quilt (quilt top or finished quilt) during the quilt along or after it wrapped up, email me a picture of your quilt with your name and link to your blog if you have one (you do not have to have a blog to participate) to TishNwonderlandQAL(at)gmail(dot)com starting today(I created a special email to send the pictures to).  You can even include where you are from if you would like (example: West Virginia, USA) just so we can see where all our fire bursts are launching from.  How cool would it be if we could light the quilty skies all over the globe?

We've  had a total of 11 sponsors for the Fireburst Mystery Quilt!  I am completely overwhelmed that so many quilters offered to help celebrate your quilt finishes.

Beth over at Cooking Up Quilts is serving up for two lucky winners a pdf pattern of their choice from her pattern shop.

Leanne from Devoted Quilter is offering up two pdf patterns of the winner's choice.

Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs will give two winners their choice of 2 pdf patterns from her online store.

Sandra at mmm!quilts will be giving one lucky winner a copy of her two pdf patterns.

Bernie at Needle and Foot Fine Fabrics will be giving one lucky winner a $25 gift certificate to her online fabric shop.

Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl will be giving a winner their choice of two pdf patterns from her shop.

Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts will be giving one winner a pdf pattern from her Etsy Shop.

Cindy from Stitchin at Home will be giving one lucky winner a pdf copy of her patterns Lattice and Outside Stars.

Jean from All Points of the Compass has very generously donated a hand made wooden bowl made by her sweet husband, Hugh.

And here in Wonderland we will be giving away to two winners (maybe a few more depending on how many people we have) a pdf copy of Star Blossom and Laurel Burst (not released yet) patterns.

There is no better way to celebrate the start of 2019, major life changes, and a mile stone birthday than with quilty friends from everywhere!  I do hope you will join in the fun.  There is still plenty of time to whip up a quilt top (32" or 64") before the end of the year.  You can find all the instructions here.  I will be accepting email entries until noon on December 31st.  Hope you will join us in all the fun!

Garnet Fireburst

I am bursting at the seams over here!  I finally have my first (of 5) Fireburst Mystery Quilt finish!  This is technically the quilt that started it all.  It was to be my submission to a guild challenge using birthstone colors (I ended up using another project).  As I pieced the quilt together I kept thinking it would make a great mystery quilt and I think as a mystery it held up pretty good.  Today I want to talk about the quilting on this quilt.

UFO Busting #39

It's been a week of nose to the grind stone-ness over here.  I decided this year to throw my hat in the quilting ring with the good folks over at Island Batik for a spot as a 2019 ambassador.  I've drooled over their fabrics for years so why not try to play with them as part of their team?  One of our tasks for first year applicants was to make a 12" block and send to them.  Above is my entry made with batik fabrics that were gifted to me back in the fall.

The rest of the focus this week has been on my second Fireburst Mystery Quilt and the quilting there of (a post of the first one is to come on Monday).  It always amazes me how many hours of quilting can go into a small quilt...needless to say I'm quilting the snot out of life into it.

With this version I am playing with secondary designs that are hiding in the background fabric, just waiting for you to see them.  I'm down to stitching black thread on black fabric, hopefully I'm not blind from eye strain when I'm done. #quiltersproblems.

Earlier this week, I shared my recent Americana Flag finishes.  If you missed them you can check them out here (there also may be a link to a free tutorial).

These flags lived in UFO land for way to long!  Now they just wait for loving homes.

Let's take a look from last week's party.  Gail from Quilting Gail had a cute little wine bag finish!

You have to love those super quick finishes right before the holidays.  Little gifts to show our loved ones how much they mean to us.  Gail also talks about her PhD program, designed to motivate us to finish UFO's.  It sounds like the program will continue on to next year and I'm thinking I just might have to join in.

Kathleen McMusing had a sweet little finish this week as well.

Her husband requested an iPhone mat and she delivered...two to be exact.  Kathleen has been joining in on the #slashthatstash movement I'm trying to start and found some fabrics she forgot how much she loved, and boom, iPhone mats.  Lot's of other fun stuff going on over there too.  I think I may have read there might be an upcoming give away and she could use some advice on picking fabrics for her Island Batik challenge, so make sure you go show Kathleen some love.

So what have you been up to this week?  Are you in the middle of the Christmas UFO or Squirrel shuffle?  You know that dance where you think you can make all the Christmas presents you need in the count down hours of the holiday??  Link up below and tell us all about it.

An InLinkz Link-up

I leave you with this picture.  My mother and other neighbor are really into decorating the outside of their houses for Christmas.  It's just never been my thing...never enough hours to get stuff up and then there is the whole take it back down thing.  I just want to quilt.  When I came home earlier this week, I found these little guys dancing in my yard and flapping in the wind.  My sweet neighbor couldn't take my lack of cheer anymore and decorated for me.  How sweet is that?!?  Wonder if she will take it down too??  Just kidding...kinda.

Americana Flag Finish 2018

Two small UFO's busted!  These sweet and innocent Americana Flags have been hanging out in my house, basted even, for three years...gasp.  Picture it, West Virginia 2015, a girl and a dream.  She wrote a tutorial for Americana Flags (you can find it here) a small wall hanging so easy you could piece it together in two-ish hours or less.  Her vision was to make flags and give them to all her loved ones for Christmas.  Needless to say five were promptly stitched up and given away.  Three were basted and banished to the back room.  Why?  Cause she's a quilter and got distracted by 20 million other things.

Then December 2016 one of those three flags managed to escape from the back room prison along with materials for some hot pads and found itself finished and gifted to a neighbor; leaving these two poor flags left to float around in UFO land again.  Their cries of anguish finally paid off.  The girl decided it was time to set these UFO's free!

UFO Busting #38

I may have got a bit distracted and full on turkey last week and totally didn't make the party.  Ok, there is not may about it, I did.  But that's okay.  I enjoyed every minute of family time and the bits of stitching I was able to sneak in.  I actually have four finishes to share with you over the next few days (when I brave the snow and cold to take pictures).  So what have I been up to?

Well, I'm happy to report I have my first personal Fireburst Mystery Quilt finish!  Here it is all bound and ready for pictures.

If you are dying to see where the quilting was going, you can always pop over to my Instagram page and see some in progress pictures.