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.

Quilts for Boston

The Boston Modern Quilt Guild is asking all modern quilters to come together and donate quilt blocks to help those affected by the recent bombings at the Boston marathon. This is a great opportunity to actually do something to help those hurt by this tragedy.  The members of the BMQG will make the blocks into quilts and distribute them.

Here's my completed block.  Now I just need to get it in the mail to Boston!

I used the wonky star tutorial from Silly Boo Dilly.

It's a fun block, that goes together quickly.  Except that I made a little mistake in trimming the excess fabric.  On one star  point I accidentally cut through the fabric on the front.  See that gray star point in the picture?  Oops!

So, fellow quilters, join me in doing a little something to provide some comfort to those who need it. And check out lots of beautiful blocks in the Flickr group.

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!

Tree #2

I recently put together the final seams on Tree # 2.    

I like these closeups too. This was pretty time consuming to piece, and I think my next project will have some larger pieces with softer curves! 

This is designed to hang over the couch in my mother in-law's living room.  I think the colors will go well with her couch- luckily we have a matching couch so I could make sure!

I'm not sure when I'll have time to quilt it...I have a long list of projects ahead of it.

Retreat recap

I enjoyed a great quilt retreat this weekend with some very dear friends.  Thanks to our hosts at Crestfield for all the great food and meeting location!
It was a busy time, full of conversation, inspirations, laughs, and movies (usually simultaneously!)
Good thing my mom took pictures to share- I was too busy sewing!
Janet put together this top. I'm not sure you can tell from the picture, but it has the best polka dot fabrics.  So cheerful!

Here is Linda taking a photo break from her hard work.  She's finished an impressive number of star blocks (like maybe 60?  I know it is more than 50!) since our last retreat in January. 

Marilyn is hard at work too!  As you can see from this picture, the camp we go to has a nice big table for each person to work at.

I'm modeling my newest quilting apron.  My mom made it from start to finish at the retreat!  The fabrics are from our trip to Hawaii, so it brings back some great memories.  Now that I have two quilting aprons, I have to decide how to allocate them.  Maybe a piecing apron, and an FMQ apron?  Or just as the mood strikes?  Why have a quilting apron at all, you may ask.  Hard to explain- but putting on a stylish apron in fabric I love just helps me be in the zone.  (Not as my husband suggests "to keep off the quilting juice.")

I love these leaves my mom is putting together!  It's hard to appreciate from this picture, but the strips are super skinny.

Here's Wendy- she has an impressive technique of balancing a rotary cutting mat on her lap, and still managing to cut pieces accurately.  I think I'd just cut off my thumb...Check out Wendy's blog for details of all that happens behind the scenes of her beautiful fair trade shop, The Silk Road.

I don't have pictures of my mom, or friends Janice and Claudia.  Thanks to all who made it a fun weekend!