I quilted it!

I was talking to my mom about my long list of quilting projects for the summer, and when I mentioned quilting this value quilt, she said, "Get it done in a day!"  Well, I got it basted AND quilted in one day- and the power went out during the quilting (okay, only for about 20 minutes).  This is a record for me!

I wanted it to stay soft and cuddly, because this is a quilt to use on the couch.  So I quilted it with an all-over, big scale leaf and loop design. It was hard for me to work on such a big scale and still keep the curves smooth.  It's not perfect, but it stayed soft and didn't stiffen up at all!  (Another first for me!)  This picture makes it look more wrinkly than it really is. 

 On the back I used this fun flannel.  It's "Little Spots" by Michael Miller, and I got it at The Fabric Shack.  What a great store! 

Now it's just waiting for binding.  I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced- check out tons of inspiring projects!

Value Quilt- the top is finished!

I finished piecing my Value quilt top late last week.  Thanks to my husband for posing in these pictures- yes, that's him with the red shoe laces.

It was kind of a windy day for pictures, but I'm not complaining because it was beautiful and sunny.

Here's a closeup, to help me plan the quilting.

Layouts for the value quilt

I've been re-arranging the pieces of the value quilt, inspired by the beautiful tutorial from SewKatieDid.  Here are 5 possible layouts.
#1 Chevrons

#2 Flying Geese

#3Broken Dishes

#4 Radiating Diamonds

#5 Squares on Point

Which layout is your favorite?

As I've been working on this, I've been listening the "The Hunger Games" audiobook. I had seen the movie before, but since I watched it at a quilt retreat, I missed some major elements.  (I thought Gail and Peeta were the same person). If you aren't familiar with the plot, this doesn't mean much to you, but basically I thought the main character's 2 possible romantic interests were the same person. I'll probably always think of "The Hunger Games" when I see this quilt now!

Any suggestions for great books to listen to while quilting?

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Check it out!

Value quilt

With a (self-imposed) deadline looming, I decided the best way to beat burn-out is to start a new project! I'd really like to finish Tree #1 in time to enter NQA, but recently my desire to finish it has been a little stressful and the project isn't so fun anymore.  So I decided to put it away for a few days.

In the meantime, Katie at SewKatieDid has a fun and easy tutorial for the Value Quilt that I've admired for awhile. I decided this is the perfect fast project to re-invigorate me.

I'm still re-arranging to make the value differences more obvious in some places.  And I need more pieces- I want it to be big enough to be a throw for the living room.  Maybe I'll back it with flannel or Minky to make it nice and snugly.

I like the mix of fresh, modern fabrics with a thrifted shirt, and some old favorites from my stash.

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Take a look to see tons of inspiring projects in the works!