UFO Busting #157

 

Yesterday kicked off the first day of what I call Tishmas.  What is Tishmas?  It is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas in which Tish wears a different Christmas themed shirt to work.  This year I kicked it off with this one.

Needless to say, I love Tishmas.  It also includes random small gifts to my coworkers.  They love Tishmas too.

As for quilting this week.  I did have a finish (that will be a Tishmas present) that I will share with you later.  And it was a UFO.

And in the spirit one goes off the list and one is added.  I purchased some fabric this week that will be a gift to an unsuspecting friend.

I love me some grunge fabric!  I can't wait to start piecing this one together.

Keeping it short and simple this week, it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you've been up to the past two weeks.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

And now I leave you with the pole dancing squirrel my daughter left on the Christmas tree for me.  She was quite proud.  It's the 21 year old version of a macaroni necklace or popsicle ornament.  It was left with love and laughs. 

UFO Busting #156

 

It's Saturday!  And you know what that means...party time.  This week I'm celebrating a non UFO finish.  I love those just as much as a UFO finish because it's like I saved a quilt from becoming a UFO.  I have completely finished the two Let Your Star Shine (pattern by Sandra at mmm!quilts)quilts I pieced back in July.

If you would like to learn more about the quilting of these quilts you can read more about it here.  In the post I break down the threads and rulers that I used and why I chose the motifs that I did.  Kind of a peak in side my quilting head...that's a scary place sometimes.  Or if you just need to look at pictures of quilting...I think you will still walk away happy.

So what next for me?  I've pulled a few UFO quilts that need quilting and I know I still have a dinosaur quilt to piece.  Fingers crossed I will find balance in both projects.

Now let's take a look at what you were up to last week.  Things have been flying over at Sew Yummy...it's like she's feeling goosey.  Why do I say that you ask?  Because of her recent Spurced Goose Quilt Top finish.

My favorite line in her post..."Please don't remind me I could have been working on a UFO."  Distractions can be a good thing.  Never feel bad for working on what your heart wants.  Make sure you fly over and congratulate her on her finish.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you have been working on or even what you aren't.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Let Your Star(s) Shine--Finish(es)

 

Back in July my good friend Sandra at mmm!quilts gifted me a copy of her recently released Let Your Star Shine pattern and I was bit hard by the make-me bug.  In one weekend, I ended up with two versions of the quilt.  I just couldn't stop!

I blame it on the well written, easy to follow pattern and the fabric selection the day I ran to the store.  Whatever the case, if you find yourself in the need of a smaller quick quilt, this is a perfect one.  Want to super size it?  Make four blocks and connect them.  Boom.  Bigger quilt and still super fast.

When it came time for the quilting, I knew I wanted to do something different with each quilt.  What will follow will be a picture overload of why I decided to quilt each one the way I did.  So let's break it down.

This one started with the black print with bright flowers and cute tiny blue birds.  I pulled my coordinating colors from the print.  My thread choice was to use one color on the entire quilt, Aurifil 50wt #2600 Dove.  Shades of gray are probably my favorite neutral.  This particular lighter shade, seemed to play nicely with each print without over powering anything...even on the busy black print.  I used one ruler, Piece and Quilt's Inside Out 4-in-1 Mini .  It's perfect for stitching in the ditch, straight lines and the curves in the center four patch block.

The rest was just free motion quilting fun, from the switch backs in the first pink/turquoise border to the pebble swirl filler.

I decided to do grid work in the first border.  For visual interest, I alternated the switch backs in the pink and turquoise fabrics.  You really notice it in the "mitered" corners.

I didn't go too crazy with the quilting in the black print.  It's so busy I knew you wouldn't necessarily see it unless you were pretty close to the quilt.  Some simple straight lines and a few curves to create a tiny bloom. 

The part that really stumped me was what to do with the second turquoise/pink border.  I'll be honest, nothing really spoke to me.  In the end, the decision was made to threat the outer border and white print as one background section...and I love it.  Straight lines helped to give the star the look of being bigger than it actually is and the pebble and swirl filler kind of mimics the small prints in the black fabric, pulling everything together.

And let's not forget the binding.  I'm a big fan of using a print that isn't in the actual piecing of the quilt...and that is the direction I chose to go for this one.  This tiny polka dot print added just another layer of fun to this already popping quilt.

Now let's take a look at the second quilt.  I hope you don't get motion sickness, because it's about to get curvy.

While the fabric for the first quilt was being cut, I noticed the purple/blue/pink print on the shelf and thought WAIT A MINUTE...I NEED THIS!  And so a second quilt would be born.  I love the curves and arcs in the print and decided this version would be all about the curves.  The more the merrier.  To achieve the look I wanted, I again used the Inside Out 4-in-1 Mini ruler accompanied by AngelaWalter's Squiggy ruler and Amanda Murphy's Good Measures Every Circle rulers.  Instead of using one thread color for all the quilting, I opted to match the threads to the fabrics.  So out came the trusty Aurifil 50wts #2588 Light Magenta, #2784 Dark Navy, #2510 Light Lilac and #2600 Dove.  Each color melted perfectly into the fabrics providing the perfect textures.

All of the quilting is about different versions of continuous curves. For the white(ish) background print, I marked out a 1" grid and let the free handed orange peels fly.

I marked the first pink/navy border into squares with diagonal lines and quilted orange peels around the lines.  For the outer pink/navy border I marked out on point squares with loops filling in the background.

The fabric in the larger star points is quite busy so again I needed to choose something simple as not to compete.  More large loops come together to form a sort of flower shape in each point.

For the binding, I chose to frame it in the large star point print.

A shot of the back of a quilt really shows off all the quilting.

So that completes the look inside my quilty head and my thoughts behind what I did.  I went into both projects not really having a quilting plan.  I started with the center stars and just kind of built from there, letting the pattern and fabrics guide me.  I'm really trying to turn my focus to finishes.  Obsessing and over thinking on the quilting only slows you down.  If I'm going to custom quilt something, I find if I can find one element to tackle first the rest will fall into place.  Just trust that.

UFO Busting #155

 

Welcome back to another Saturday of celebrating UFO's.  It's a time to celebrate finishing them, creating them and even ignoring them.  This week I officially started quilting on my version of Sandra at mmm!quilts Let Your Star Shine Quilt.

The quilting on this one is all about the curves.  It is actually the second version of this quilt that I have made.  I didn't really start with a quilting plan with either one of them, so its been interesting to watch them come together.  I will share full quilting details on both quilts when I finish this one later this weekend.  

Another project I haven't shared much about is my version of Cheryl at Meadow Mist Design's Macaroon Mystery Quilt.  

I'm always honored to pattern test Cheryl's mystery quilts.  It's probably one of the quilty things I look forward to the most each year and this year was no different.  There is plenty of time to join in before the final layout is revealed.

July brought clues for your fabric pull.  I took my inspiration from brightly colored macaroons.

August brought the excitement of cutting instructions.

September kicked things off with some half square triangles.

October found the flying geese migrating in.

And November called in more flying geese (you can never have too many).  November's instructions were just released this week.  So again, if you haven't decided to join in, there is plenty of time to grab some fabric and sew along.

That pretty much sums up the quilting fun for me for the week.  Let's take a look at what you were up to last week.  Nancy over at Grace and Peace Quilting was celebrating National Cat day (Oct 29th) with a special cat quilt.  

This is just a sneak peek of this beautiful and unique quilted hanging.  I love that it was a collaboration of international friends.  It would make any cat proud!  Make sure you swing by and congratulate Nancy on this beautiful finish.  Miss Caroline and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Miss Caroline hanging out on her section of the Sweet Sixteen.

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!

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UFO Busting #154

 

It's Saturday and Happy Halloween!  The only thing I'm scared of is this quilting streak fading away again.  Last week, I posted about a recent quilt finish for my sweet niece Pickle.

You can read more about this finish here and found out how you can get a copy of this free pattern.

I've also started marking my second version of Sandra at mmm!quilts Let Your Star Shine Quilt.

I'm seeing lots of ruler work combined with some free motion fillers.  I hope to have this one all finished up in about a week...just in time for my next squirrel project...Angela Walter's Fabulous Feathers QAL.  My panel arrived this week and I'm happy to say I have it all basted up.

The challenge will walk you through quilting feathers and several feather fillers.  If you are interested in joining in, you can read more about the challenge here.  On the fence?  There is still plenty of time to grab a panel from her shop and join us on Nov 16th for some fun time quilting.

Enough about me...what about you?  Link up below and share with us what you have been up to this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

All Stacked Up for Pickle

 

Today, I am celebrating a finish.  It's been forever since I have done anything quilting related.  I guess I just needed a break from life in general for a bit.  But I'm back and ready to make the thread fly!  I hope you are still here with me.  This little quilt was started back in March.  My niece, Pickle, has graduated to a big girl bed and she is way over due for a new quilt from her favorite aunt!

It all started with this fat quarter bundle that I found at Walmart of all places.  How can you turn town Catcus and Party Like a Flock Star?  The answer is you can't.

I chose a free pattern by Amber (Gigi's Thimble) and Amanda (Jedi Craft Girl) called All Stacked Up.  The larger rectangles were perfect for showcasing those fun animal prints.

As I recall it was easily pieced in an afternoon and sadly set for a few months while I over thought the quilting.  Isn't that what we do?

October came and I decided enough is enough.  I can continue to over think the quilting...or I can just overall quilt it and get Pickle her quilt!  There are forts to be built!

I went with Aurifil #3840 French Lilac, a beautiful variegated thread in shades of purple and a simple stipple to finish things off.

Sometime simple is just what a project calls for.  

So this week I delivered the quilt along with a copy of the book, The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt, to sweet Pickle and she loved both!  She was obsessed with the purple backing fabric because it matched her pj's.  I can't wait to hear about all the adventures she has with her quilt.  Who knows, maybe she will be a ghost?

Miss Pickle isn't the only one that loves the back of her quilt.

Her best friend Jackson seems to be pretty fond of it too.  I'm sure they will find a way to share.

Since things at work have finally calmed down and I've returned to things quilty, I will be bringing back the UFO Linky party next Saturday.  I hope you will join me back here to check out what we have all been up to.