Star Fling

 Isn't this cute? I finished this baby quilt late last night. Eight blocks and a bag full of leftover parts were donated to Ninigret's outreach committee. I've moved that bag around for a couple of years, and yesterday was the day to finally get the quilt done!

The fabric is from the Spring Fling collection by Terry Atkinson and Liz Lois for P&B from 2002. The original pattern is called Star Fling. I was able to pull together enough of the bits to make four more blocks. The sashing strips were already cut to 2" and there was enough of the blue to go around the outside edge.

There was only one piece of yardage in the bag: 3/4 yd of the green vine that I used on the back. Those chunky rectangles that I pieced the stacked coins from were already cut that size! And there were just enough of the 2.5" strips left for the binding. (I trimmed them down to 2.25".)

 I finished the top at about 9pm and couldn't stop there. I stole borrowed a piece of batting from another outreach project, spray basted, and did some quick swirly loopy quilting. I finished the machine stitched binding at about 11:20pm. The quilt is about 33" X 42". It will be donated to either Habitat for Humanity or Project Linus.

It is such a gorgeous Spring day, I couldn't resist trying some new locations around the yard for photos. The shadows are too harsh in this one, but I love this magnolia tree.

 

I hope you are all enjoying some sunshine today, too!

Mini Arrowheads

 I haven't had time to do much sewing for fun this week. I did start playing with some Kate Spain charms to make mini Anita's Arrowhead blocks. The large prints don't work very well being chopped up so small, but I love making these little blocks! I stumbled upon this one by Karen at Breezy Point and had to give it a try.

I made a batch of paper pieced lapel pins for a special order. I'm lucky to have good friends who sell them for me. Kate is a talented basket maker, so I provide an assortment of basket designs for her customers.

Today, I'll be preparing for a guild outreach workshop. We provide a quilt for every bed in South County Habitat for Humanity homes. We're getting low on kid quilts, so I'll have fun digging into the novelty prints.

Tuesday Top

The magenta top is done! It will probably sit in the pile o' tops for a while. I'm looking forward to presenting it at the next RIMQG meeting for the crayon challenge. (I pulled a magenta crayon.)

Everything for the center of the quilt came out of my stash. I ordered the border print from Jackie.

It was breezy all weekend, so it was tough to get a good picture. I tried to get my husband's feet out of the shot, but this is the best we could do!

Random Blocks

 Last week, I printed out one of these cute project lists by From Pixels to Patchwork and started filling it in. I was shocked to see eighteen (18!) projects on the list. With some free time this weekend, I got to work crossing things off the list.

First up: Jill's blocks for the April Modern Stash Bee. I hope they aren't too bright.

I'm coordinating a nine-patch swap with my traditional guild starting in May. I finished my stack of 16 blocks this morning.

 This little string block will be part of a secret project that I will reveal in June.

Three down, fifteen to go!

Eagle Progress

 FYI: there are no quilts in this post, but it is a little crafty.

My son, Pete, completed his Eagle Scout project this week. He has been working with the Rhode Island Veteran's Home to beautify the hallway leading to the activities department. There is a wall of windows that overlooks the dumpsters out back. Not pretty! The plan was to paint the windows with faux stained glass to allow light to come through while blocking the view.

We opted to paint the scenes on frosted privacy vinyl for a number of reasons. Pete found images of eight lighthouse in Rhode Island and free-handed the enlargements. Then he used a makeshift lightbox (my Ott light tucked under my machine extension table) to trace the leading lines.

Pete then gathered his troop to help color in the drawings with Gallery Glass paints.

 

"Thank you for your support!"

  

Pete's best friend and Eagle Scout came with us to the Vet's Home to help install the vinyl.

 

The folks who work and live there were really happy with the results.

 Job well done, Pete!

As we watch the events unfold in Boston, we are more proud of him than ever that he has chosen to serve our country in the Marine Corps. There are two titles that a man never loses, Eagle Scout and Marine. (There are no "former" Eagle Scouts or "former" Marines.) Pete will soon be both!

WIP Wednesday

Not much to report this week. It would appear my mad rush to finish projects has slowed dramatically. I haven't taken a stitch since Saturday. A group of friends got together for a sewing day and I sewed labels onto nine quilts. It was nice to sit and stitch and yack and eat.

This week, all my free time is being spent with Pete. He is finishing up his Eagle Scout project and we couldn't be happier! If all goes well, the project will be installed tomorrow. I can't wait to show you the pictures!

I'm not linking up my pile of labels, but I hope you'll visit WIP Wednesday for everyone else's quilty goodness.

It's Magenta

 Purple is so difficult to photograph! Even after editing, this is close, but not quite right.

Anyway, the top of the magenta crayon challenge is done. I'm trying to decide if it needs a border. It is only 42" x 56" now, so it would certainly be more useful if it was a little bigger. So far, everything has come out of my stash, but there is nothing left that will work as the border. Darn. I guess I'll need to shop!

Does anyone know if this block has a name? It is similar to, and inspired by, a quilt in Camille's new book that is not available yet. My triangles are all the same size, but hers are not.

So here we are back to the original picture of the crayon and cut fabrics. Morning light creates the truest colors.

 Karen and I are headed up to the Sewing Expo tomorrow. Maybe I'll find the right border fabric.

WIP Wednesday

 It has been a pretty good week here in Rhode Island. The weather is finally warming up and feeling like Spring. Daffodils are blooming and the forsythia is hot on their heels.

Finished: Batik Arrowheads. Read more here.

In Progress: RIMQG Crayon Challenge. My crayon is magenta. Blocks are done and laid out on a flannel-backed tablecloth on the floor. If I need to move it, I can roll it up and the blocks stay in place.

Modern Stash Bee. March was my month in the Mo Stash Bee, Three Men and a Baby Hive. The last two blocks arrived yesterday after a little coast to coast detour. Many thanks to my hive mates for contributing to Pete's boot camp graduation quilt! You can find my tutorial for this block here.

I need to add lots of labels to finished quilts, so I printed a bunch on a sheet of printable fabric. Now to cut them apart, border them and add them to the quilts.

Also in progress, the making of a future Marine, which apparently requires lots of protein and mud!

In the near future:
April blocks for Modern Stash Bee
Quilting Mod Bento
Quilting Swap Soup
Starting Bloom Bloom Pow Quilt Along

Time to link up!

2013 Finish Along - Q2 List

I'm on a roll with finishing things, and I hope I can keep it going! Here's my 2nd quarter list. I've included the date the project was started and its current status, listed in order of due date.

Mod Guild Crayon Challenge (4/7/13)- due May 4, 2013.

 Three by three (5/09)- need to fix the border by May 4, then send to quilter. 

Pete's Album Quilt (3/13)- waiting for 2 more swap blocks. Due June or December. Will be a graduation gift from high school or boot camp!

 

Mod Mento (6/10)- layered and pinned, ready to quilt.

Swap Soup (6/11)- in a pile with pieced back and batting.

 Linking up because I love a deadline!

Batik Arrowheads

 Another completed quilt! This was a quick one. Once I started making blocks, I couldn't stop! I started it on Friday, March 29 and completed it on Friday, April 5.

The pattern is Anita's Arrowheads from Anita Grossman Solomon's book Rotary Cutting Revolution and her Craftsy class Traditional Blocks Made Simple. (If you purchase the class, you get the e-book for free!)

 

All of the batiks came out of my stash. The only thing I had to buy was the back. It is quilted in the ditch with a variegated YLI machine quilting thread that blended perfectly with the back.

 

 It looks really good on the back of my brown sofa, but it won't be there for long. I'll bring it to guild show & tell tomorrow, then it will be given to a friend who needs to be wrapped in love and prayers.

My mother tested it out for him! If you saw yesterday's post, you know we went to a Marine Corps Poolee family day. The recruiters put them through their paces, then turned them over to the Drill Instructor standing behind mom.  It was a fun day for all of us!

Batik Arrowheads

March 29-April 5, 2013

50" x 76"

Family Day

 My husband, mother and I spent a few glorious hours at a lovely state park watching Pete and about a hundred other Marine Corps Poolees being run through their paces by their recruiters and a real live Drill Instructor.

My mother was not dressed appropriately for the cool breeze, so it's a good thing this quilt was in the car to bundle her up in. I brought it thinking I could take cool outdoor pics at the park. We were so focused on the action, I never did get any other photos.

 The day started at 10:30am with pull ups. If Pete looks like he's struggling, this was pull up number 25, perhaps the most he's ever done. My mother was very proud!

 Their day ended just before 2pm with volunteers rolling around in the mud with the DI.

 This muddy mess hugged me! He ships out for Parris Island in September.

 After family day, mom and I went to the Modern Guild meeting down the street from the park. Convenient, considering we were almost an hour from home. The current challenge is a crayon challenge and you can see my crayon in the middle of this pic. I pulled some fabric last night and made a sample block this morning, inspired by a quilt in Camille Roskelley's new book. I love this Martha Negley Dahlia print. It is literally the only thing in my stash that matches the crayon color.

Off to church, then I'll take the batik quilt out for photos. 

Have a great day!