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!

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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!

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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).

UFO Busting #148

 

Happy Saturday!  Welcome back for some more celebrating those UFO's we finish and those things that distract us from what we should be doing.  Today I am celebrating a finish that didn't become a UFO.  I actually finished it in normal time.  That's practically unheard of for me.  The the pattern is Building Blocks by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.   This is the "real" quilt to my "place holder" quilt.

You can read more about this finish and check out more quilty shots here.

This week I've been super focused on quilting a quilt for Cheryl's upcoming blog hop in July.  

I have my quilting plan and I have started officially executing it.  I am exactly in the "what the hell was I thinking with all those match stick lines?" phase.  I still have a long haul ahead of me, but I think the result will be some super yummy background texture...at least that is what I keep telling  myself.   

Now let's have a look at last week's party.  First up we have Barbara at Bastelhexe's Kreativecke and her Scrap Happy quilt top finish.

I just love this quilt top!  Look at all the color!  Because she decided to make her blocks a little smaller, Barbara had to get creative with the quilt corners and, man oh man, did she do an amazing job.  Make sure you stop by and congratulate her on this finish and her creative fix.

Next up we have Gretchen at Gretchen's Little Corner and her Ancient Star Variation quilt top and wowsers is she seeing stars!

You might look at this top and think, beautiful and done.  Nope more decisions are being made on borders and I am super excited to see what she chooses!  Make sure you swing by to read Gretchen's thoughts on what her next steps may be.  What ever she chooses it will only add to the beauty of this one.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and tell us all about what you've been into this week. 

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Kind People-Building Blocks Baby Quilt

 

This quilt.  Oh, how I love this quilt.  This was one of those, you have so much fun quilting it quilts, that you just don't want it to end.  This may be one of the happiest quilts I've ever made.  So how did we get here...well, it started with a baby and a couch.  

The expecting momma, decided to reupholster a couch that would live in the baby's nursery.  When I saw the picture and found out the fabric came from Spoonflower  I knew there needed to be a matching quilt.  I couldn't get the fabric in time for the shower, so I whipped up a "place holder" baby quilt...

(you can read more about that finished quilt here)

until I could get this "real" baby quilt finished.  Crazy.  I know.

For the quilt pattern, I decided on a favorite of mine, Building Blocks by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Design.  This is the second time I've made this quilt (probably not the last).  I love that it requires one charm pack and minimal yardage to create a very cute quilt.

I paired the Kind People are my Kinda People fabric with a charm pack of Lori Holt's Prim (pictured) and yardage of her Granny Chic (not pictured) for smaller borders.  The results made my heart sing!

Now the hard part (or fun)...how to quilt it.  I could have went with an overall edge to edge and that would have been good.  But I wanted more.  I pulled out Natalia Bonner's Let's Stitch a Block a Day book and drew up my quilting plan.

I picked out 40 of my favorite square designs and referenced the numbers so I could find them as I was quilting.  Having this mark up helped tremendously!   One of the best things about the book is there is a barcode for each design, that when you scan will take you directly to the YouTube video of how to quilt it.

Being able to watch the videos and quilt along really allowed for some "ah ha" moments.  So that's how she does that?

As for the threads...not just one thread would do.  In my bobbin, I used Aurifil 2615 Aluminum.  For the top thread, I coordinated depending on the block.

Trust me, I used way more than four spools.

Almost all of the quilting in the charm squares is ruler work using the 4 N 1 and Inside Out Mini quilting rulers.  I love how I can switch from straight lines to curves without having to look for multiple rulers.  And they fit perfectly in my hand.  They have been my go to rulers for a while now.

Now I'll stop rambling and let the quilting speak for itself.  I cannot be happier with all the yummy texture I achieved on this quilt.  Rulers combined with a little bit of free motion quilting can really go along way. WARNING: what follows is a large amount of quilty goodness.

The only thing left to do is give this one a good wash in the machine and deliver it to the new parents.  Hey, I got the second quilt finished before the baby turned 6 months old.  I'm taking a big ol' pat on the back for that.  Hopefully, sweet Indie will be enjoying her quilt many many years from now.

If you are curious about my first version of this quilt, Hello Darling Building Blocks, you can read more about it here.

UFO Busting #147

 

Happy Saturday!  I'm celebrating a few things (in more detail later) this week.  I finished up the baby quilt!!

This was definitely one of those quilts I was sad to see finished...because it was so much fun to make!  Weather permitting for a good photo shoot this weekend and I will be sharing it with you this week.

A half finish I didn't see coming last week, was this quick little baby quilt top.  I realized a baby shower was right around the corner and I needed a quilt ASAP.  Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation's free quilt, Strip Tango, to the rescue! 

I grabbed a woodland creature themed fat quarter bundle from my stash and quickly went to work piecing.  In a few short hours this little top was pieced and basted.  Such a simple quick quilt...love it!

You know what else I love, all your posts from last week.  First up, we have Kathleen at Kathleen McMusing and her Follow Your Own Path Finish.

I personally, love the up close pictures of the quilting!  She chose the perfect quilt design to complement the piecing.  Love this quilt?  Make sure you visit Kathleen and get the details of how and where you could make one of your own.  Congrats on the beautiful finish!

Next up we have Rebecca at Rebecca Grace Quilting celebrating an early finish.

Look at all those colors!  She was able to finish up her May monthly goal with time to spare!  A few days is like months in quilter terms.  This fabulous finish isn't the only thing she's celebrating.  Rebecca got a super birthday surprise and you have to let her tell you all about it.  Make sure you hop over to congratulate her on her finish and find out why her husband is getting the husband of the year award this year! She also has a link to one of my favorite SNL skits.

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