Timber--Finish

I can't believe I am down to the home stretch on completing the 2015 Aurifil Designer BOM mini quilts.  Only one more after this one, but maybe we should talk about this one first, right?  The November mini Timber was designed by Bonnie Christine  (read Pat Sloan's interview with Bonnie here).  It would involve more improv piecing (remember my fear with Indigo Crossing?) and applique...are you kidding???  Oh, wait I crossed the applique bridge with Grown Up, so I felt like this one would be a piece of cake.  And I was right, so much fun!

Once again I would pull out that large tub of scraps I like to call my Scraptastic Award and start to randomly piece scraps together.

I kept each tree near so I could tell when my blocks where big enough to cover them.

After the first little tree was cut out, I tried it against the solid tan background fabric.

Perfect.  It didn't take long and I had three happy little trees adhered to the tan background and all basted up.

I had decided that my quilting would be simple with this one.  Bonnie's mini was quilted with straight lines and I loved the look of those simple lines.  I chose to go the same root, but used curvy lines instead.  It kind of reminded me of the lines in tree bark.  My choice of thread was Aurifil #5011 a lovely tan that matched the background fabric perfectly.

Since I knew my lines of quilting would be close together, and this was a mini and wouldn't be washed much, I elected to not applique stitch around my trees.  Will this be a mistake...umm I'll let you know.

After the lines were quilted, it was time to trim up and bind this baby up.  If you have been following my blog recently, you know I have a crazy addiction to Aunt Marti's Susie's Magic Binding Tutorial.  So of course this mini wouldn't be any different...Aunt Marti's method it would be!

I just love how the little flange allows a little punch of color.

Perfection.  I guess the last thing to do is yell, "Timber!"

With November's mini finished time to turn my attention to piecing December's mini, Winter Stars by Celine Perkins.  I'm still holding out for some of the white stuff to float down as a background.  It just doesn't feel like winter without it.

Today I'm linking up with TGIFF@Faith and Fabric, Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop!,  Let's Bee Social, Linky Tuesday, Sew Cute Tuesday, and Main Crush Monday.

Committing To My Goals

When I wrote out my goals for 2016, goal #2 was tackling my pile of UFO's.  The goal is to finish one UFO a quarter.  So this brings about the question...at what point do you label something a UFO?  I guess it's a personal preference for each of us.  Does it start at the point of a purchased quilt kit or a pattern with fabric that goes into a plastic bin and then sits for more than six months?  Maybe UFO status only starts at the point where piecing has occurred but it has been abandoned for a new project.

For me I tend to consider something a UFO after it's been pieced and moved to the shelf.  Once I start piecing something, I usually (I said usually) see it through until it is a completed top.  So the mystery quilts or BOM's that sit around, I consider to be WIP's.  Most likely I have not got all of the instructions to finish it yet and that's not my fault, right?  However, if I have completed piecing the object and I sit it aside for more than two months, I consider it a UFO.  Chances are I have already been distracted by a small mini quilt I'm dying to finish or something else.  So, my friends, that means if you have been hanging around my blog at all the past year, chances are you have watched me create a few UFO's...oops.

This is a picture of a bookcase in my back room that holds most of my quilting stuff.  On the very top lives a stack of UFO's (by my definition).  If you look closely on the last shelf in the picture, you can see Gypsy Queen neatly folded...I have't quite given her UFO status yet, but she is dangerously close...yikes!  On the shelf above it are two smaller containers (on the right under the pillow) containing un-pieced UFO's.  A Strawberry Social quilt kit I put together (pattern from Fat Quarter Shop and fabric from LQS) and two panels that need quilted.  The panels were purchased to be gifts for my dad, but well, that didn't work out.  Lesson:  Do no put a gift off, you may not get a chance to give them.

So I decided last night to pick two of my pieced tops as possible candidates for a first quarter finish.  In a perfect world, I would finish both of them.  I do have till the end of March, right?  These are my choices.

Candidate #1 is a lap/wall hanging size version of  Labyrinth by Debbie Maddy.  I have my Aurifil thread to quilt this one and probably enough batting.  Since I just need backing fabric, it is probably the front runner.

Candidate #2 is a smallish quilt called Four Squared by Polly Monica that I found on Moda Bakeshop.  This one may take a bit more work.  I need to answer the age ol' question of to add borders or not add borders.  I used Moda's Flirt fabric line and have 2 yards of the blue left plus a yard of matching filler fabric.

To get myself headed in the correct mind set, I pulled a few books from my shelf looking for inspiration.

So the next phase to completing my goal, will be to calculate borders for Flirty Four Squared and auditioning designs for both quilts.

So back to UFO's...I would love to know what you think qualifies a project to have this title.  The line behind WIP and UFO can be incredibly thin...kind of like the line between genius and crazy.

Today I'm linking up with Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop!, Needle and Thread Thursday, Let's Bee Social and WIP Wednesday. 

Penny Love--Finish

After I had finished September's mini Indigo Crossing, it was time to kick things into gear and tackle the October Aurifil mini.  October's designer was Sara Lawson over at Sew Sweetness and she gave to us Penny Love.  You can read more about Sara in Pat Sloan's interview here.

This little mini quilt would make me step once again outside of my comfort zone.  Curves.  Before I could get started, I needed to commit to my fabrics.  I had just finished up working on some Mini Barn Quilts and was still crushing on the fabrics I had used on them.  I had plenty left over so I pulled them for Penny Love.

I cut out the templates provided in the pattern and traced them onto my fabrics.

After everything was cut out, it was time to tackle sewing curves.  My first attempt, I gave pinning a try.

This seemed easy enough.  But once the pins were pulled there was extra fabric on the bottom and I was left with this.

A very bad pucker.  I even got creative and tried pinning from the bottom.

It was better, but still not quite right.  So I stopped and turned to searching on Pinterest.  I ran across a video at She Can Quilt (you can check it out here).  In the video she uses no pins (sounds scary) but watching what she did, made total sense to me and that was the method I ran with.

I realized after I started writing the post that I had became so absorbed making my drunkard's path curves I forgot to take more pictures.  I'll admit, a few squares I had to make more than once in order to get my hearts to sew together correctly.  I struggled getting the curves to match up with the straight lines of the heart.

After I had four hearts I felt fairly happy with, I could piece them together and come up with a quilting plan.  My thought was to do some curvy hearts inside the heart and pebble/bubble the white background.  Maybe the tiny bubbles would create a nice distraction to the eye so you don't notice the small places where the piecing isn't as perfect.  After deciding on my Aurifil  2021 as the all over thread for this quilt, it was time to get started.

I'm glad I settled on pebbling as my back ground filler.  It went fairly quickly and added a great texture to the surface of the piece.

In to time at all I was posting this teaser picture to Instagram until I could get the binding on.

Once again I chose the Susie's Magic Binding method over at 52Quilts.  This binding method has changed the way I finish my quilts.  I used the white on white fabric for my main binding and the gray polka dots from my backing for the flange.

After the binding was attached, I was officially in love with Penny Love.  And Drunkard's Path blocks...bring it!  I no longer live in fear of curves.

So that wraps up my version of Penny Love.  Stay tuned for the November mini Timber, she should be finished really soon ;)

Today I'm linking up with Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop, Needle and Thread Thursday, Let's Bee Social, Sew Cute Tuesday, Free Motion By the River, and Main Crust Monday.

2016 Goals

Image from freepik.com

2015 is quickly winding down and 2016 is approaching.  All in all, I have to say 2015 was a wonderful year for me.  It lead to so many things, that I would have never dreamed of doing that it blows my mind.  It also brought new friendships that I treasure dearly.  I can only hope that 2016 is even better.

My husband loves to do reading on leadership and goal achievement.  He tells me and my daughter all the time, that one trait most successful people have is goal setting and making lists.  You are more likely to achieve your goal if you write it down and look at it often.  I'm usually not a list maker...more like a list misplace-er with good intentions.  2016 is the time for this to change.

When Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl announced she would host a linky party for us to share with each other our hopes and goals for the new year, it just seemed like the right time to get started. 

I also wanted to take this time to declare my word for 2016.  (I've never done this before and it just feels right)  I have chosen the word "balance."  I'm always saying there are only so many hours in a day, how can I be expected to get everything done??  Work, house work, mother of a teenager, cooking, sleeping and of course quilting.   If I can find better balance by planning, I think I will see more success in my goals. So... 

This was a few years ago

1) First and foremost, improve my health.  Cliche right?  No, I've let it go for to long, half heatedly making an effort.  You might see me eating a salad at my desk but I can admit there is a stash of Reese's Cups and Snickers locked in my desk drawer.  My poor little FitBit hardly ever sees over 5 thousand steps a day.  Heart disease is a huge issue in my family and I would like to be around for a long time to make my daughter miserable (but in that motherly loving way) and see some grand babies (years away).  So my health goal is to get my high cholesterol back within normal ranges (no medication) and actually run a 5K all the way through (no walking).

2)  This small list taped to my desk has haunted me all year.  This was a list of all my un-quilted quilts as of the beginning of the year in 2015.  I did manage to cross two of them off.  However, I think I am still left with around 15 sad little/large UFO's.  My goal is to cross at least one of them off a quarter.  That would shrink it by four quilts next year, but that's two more than last year.  Plus, if I'm able to cross off more, I can give myself a bigger pat on the back.  Maybe have a big ol' piece of chocolate cake.  Oh, yeah goal #1.

3)  Write a full size quilt pattern and at least two smaller patterns.  This year I was able to write tutorials for three projects.  This time last year I would have laughed long and hard at you if you had told me I would do that.  It was just something I had never thought about.  But I have fell in love with the process and would like to see myself grow in this area.  Baby steps.  The ultimate goal will be to write a mystery quilt (have I mentioned how much I love those?) and host a quilt along.  But that seems like an end of the year/beginning of next year goal.

4) Self-evaluation.  (I'm not sure this is goal)  I'm giving myself the responsibility of checking in at the end of each quarter and evaluating my progress toward my goals.  But I am also granting myself the freedom to adjust or make amendments as I go and permission to forgive myself if I start falling short.

I think the next step for me, will be to set down in the next few days and start mapping out a plan of how to achieve these goals.  Those pesky little steps needed to get you where you are going.  That is where The Quilter's Planner by Stephanie at Late Night Quilter will come in.  Not only will I have a place to keep all of my drawing and ideas, but I can set scheduled times and days to start and complete tasks and log things like guild meetings and band concerts.

Well after checking my schedule I think I'm due for a nap in just a few minuets.  Here's to 2016 and all the productivity we will inspire in each other!!

P.S. Goal #5 Drink more wine ;)

Today I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social,  2016 Planning Party and Tuesday Archives.

Indigo Crossing--Finish

Well, I did it.  I knew I would (that's probably why I let it happen in the first place).  I let myself get behind on the one goal I set for myself this year.  Completing the Aurifil 2015 Mystery Designer BOM challenge.  My goal was to complete each mini quilt as soon as I could after they were published.  I managed to keep a pretty good pace until September hit.

September's designer was Valori Wells and she brought us Indigo Crossing.  You can read Pat Sloan's interview with Valori here.  So you might ask, why, dear Tisha, did you stumble and not complete this tiny innocent little quilt on time?  (Warning: it's a bad answer)  Indigo Crossing is an improv piece based on a traditional log cabin.  So what's the problem?  I've never really tried improv and was (for some bizarre reason) too intimidated to give it a try.  From there I just lost my steam.

I decided NO I am not going to fail at my one and only goal.  Improv I shall!  I decided the best starting point was to pull out my Scraptastic Award and channel once again my inner, Grandma Carver.  I dug through the scraps until I had a pretty good pile of blue, gray and white scraps to pay with.  When I started separating my pile into lights, mediums and darks, I found a random bright pink strip had managed to sneak its way in.  I decided to leave it.

I even found several pre-pieced strips started by Mrs. Carver and decided I needed to work them into the piece as well.  How cool is that??

Slowly I started the process of sewing and trimming.

Things continued to grow and a small bit of pink made its way in.

Until finally I felt I had went far enough.

Looking at the pictures as I write this post, I'm not sure why I decided to do what I did next, but it felt right at the time.  I pulled out my ruler and trimmed my piece to be 12 1/2" square.

Now it was time to think about quilting.  Since the piece has so many straight lines, I thought some curves were in order.  I decided to start with a circle near the small white center square and spiral out using Aurifil blue #2780.  I thought that it would be easier to sew my spirals using my walking foot, but soon found out that it's not as easy as one might think.  The width between my lines of quilting started to vary in width, but I was perfectly okay with that.  This is an improv piece so those became my improve circles.  About half way through, I switched to my free motion foot.  Stitching that way was just easier for me.

In no time at all, I had finished all of my curves and trimmed the quilted square.  By reading blog posts over at Meadow Mist Designs Best of 2015 Linky Party I was introduced to Aunt Marti at 52 Quilts.  She shared with us a great machine binding tutorial she calls Susie's Magic Binding Tutorial and a video version of the tutorial.  There is a reason it's her most viewed post...it's amazing!!!  This tutorial may change the way I bind quilts forever.

By using this method, I would create a dark blue binding for my quilt with just the tiniest pop of pink.  Everything went surprisingly smoothly...

then I got to this step...combining my beginning and ending tails.  But fear not, it honestly went just as smooth.  I did keep my phone beside me and watch the video over and over as I went.  Marti, does warn that sometimes this step takes more than one try, but I was able to get it first time.  (Hold on for a moment while I find some wood to knock on)

For sewing my binding to the front of the quilt, I used Aurifil pink #1100 on top and Aurifil blue #2780 in my bobbin.  I could not be happier with the results.

I have to admit, when I envisioned taking pictures of this finished piece back when I started piecing it around Thanksgiving, I couldn't wait to see it against the fluffy white background of Christmas snow.  We have no snow.  How did that happen??  It's 72 degrees and a rainy muddy mess in my neck of the woods, but that didn't stop me from trying to sneak out and snap a picture.

This brings me to nine out of twelve completed Aurifil Designer Mini's.  Hopefully, within the next two weeks, I can share with you my versions of the remaining three.  Stay tuned.

Today I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social,  Linky Tuesday, and  Main Crush Monday.