A Goosey Finish

 I'm always surprised when so much time passes between blog posts. It is never my intention to be gone for so long. If you ever wonder what I'm working on, check my Instagram account. I've been posting there for instant gratification. 

It does take some time to sit down at a computer, upload and edit pics from my camera, and write a coherent blog post. Since I'm all caught up with deadlines, I finally have the time to do all that. So get ready for a bunch of posts!

When we left off in August, I was finishing up the blocks for my little Wild & Goosey quilt.

When I started this project back in February, it was a leader/ender project. Toward the end, I just wanted to get it done, so it become a primary project. I cut all the pieces for the goose blocks from my bin of batik scraps. I wanted to control the chaos, so you might be able to see how I placed warm and cool colors in each block.

The binding is scrappy, too, but I used a fresh piece of batik for the backing.

I combined straight lines and free motion quilting with variegated YLI machine quilting thread. It's a neat little piece that I will be happy to hang up in January when I need color!

Wild & Goosey

36" X 36"

Started February 1, 2015

Completed August 28, 2015

Pattern by Bonnie Hunter

WIP Wednesday

Yesterday was a soggy, rainy day. I have to force myself to be productive on days like that. I'd much rather spend the day on the couch with my laptop.  

I did manage to get two Wild & Goosey blocks done. That brings me to 20 out of 25 I need for my wall hanging. This riot of color was the perfect antidote for the crummy weather.

Quilting the Farmer's Engineer's Wife is at the top of my priority list. I have to add one more large piece to the back, then it can be basted. I will be trying Sharon Shamber's method of using boards to keep the parts square and flat. I haven't decided yet if I'll thread- or pin-baste.

In the finished column since my last WIP post, I have added another QOV for a cousin 

and a graduation gift for a friend's daughter.

I'm participating in the modern fabric postcard swap on Instagram. These are the 4x6" postcards I will be dropping in the mail later today. It was fun playing with the color and fabric choices of the recipients.

 I printed 4" New York Beauty blocks from EQ7 and added 2" of extra background on one side. I wasn't sure if I could piece such a small curve, but it wasn't too bad. I pinned a lot!

Have a great day!

WIP Wednesday

 Oh, my goodness. I finished a boat load of stuff this past week. I blame the snow! 

This morning, I finished the binding on The Cool Side of the Rainbow.

Yesterday, I sewed the button on my Marine Mom tote.

 

Monday, I quilted and bound the Selvage Log Cabin.

 

I needed a break, so I crocheted this adorable blue elephant on Sunday night.

 On Saturday, I made myself a tray table ironing board.

I finished the Friendship Star on Thursday night. I've been enjoying hand stitching bindings at night while I watch TV.

 

I also finished a secret little project on Thursday. (Come back on Friday for the reveal.)

 

In progress: 

I made 48 string blocks to use as "thread" in an upcoming spools workshop.

I've made a few more Wild & Goosey blocks as leaders/enders. This one might become the primary piecing project soon.

I went to a workshop with Thomas Knauer last Wednesday which was awesome! I'm not ready to show that piece yet. It still needs some tweaking.

 I guess it's time to dig out some older WIPs. What will Tina finish next week?

Scraptastic Tuesday

 It has certainly been scrappy around here lately! It all started two weeks ago when I had everything out to finish up my Farmer's Wife blocks. I needed a plan for tackling the scraps, and I finally feel like I'm making progress.

The top of my selvage log cabin has been assembled. (I highly recommend this pattern by Karen Griska!) I'm trying to decide if I want to add borders. It is already 45" square, which is a nice size for a wall hanging. If I make it much bigger, it limits where I can hang it. OK. No borders. How should I quilt it? Organic vertical lines or free motion swirls? I'm thinking about using red thread.

I had a couple of blocks leftover, so I made a pillow cover for the couch. (More about it here.)

I had not done much improv piecing in my 24 years of quilting. I fixed that yesterday! This little quilt top was made in about 4 hours! Twenty five 6.5" squares came directly out of my bin of cool (not warm) modern scraps. Why have I not done this before? Liberating is definitely the right word for it!

I wanted to see it on the wall, so I pinned it to the back of the wall hanging that was on display in the kitchen. We really like it with the pale yellow "borders." It pains me that I'll have to buy some fresh yellow to finish this.

It seems like this bin is still full, but I really did use a lot. 

 Wild & Goosey is coming along (pattern info here). I've been mostly using these as leaders/enders, but I do sit and sew a few units when I have a bit of free time.

Thirteen blocks to go...

I pulled some 2.5" strips of red and pink to make two of these mug mats. One will be a gift tonight at our guild meeting. This one is mine! Happy Valentine's Day to me! Looking back, the one I made for my mother last year has more quilting.

Mrs. Sew and Sow is hosting the Scraptastic Tuesday link up this month. Head on over for lots of scrappy inspiration!

Two at a Time

I'm having so much fun working on these two projects this week! The selvage log cabins are coming along nicely. I need to make six more blocks for the layout I have planned. I was hoping to get them done today, but it is not looking promising. 

 

I have discovered that the process goes more quickly if I plan out the selvages before I sit down to sew. Here are my piles waiting to go. 

 

I'm using the Wild & Goosey blocks as leaders/enders and it is working like a charm!

 

I don't have enough variety to be truly random, so I dealt out the pieces last night while I was watching TV. Nineteen blocks ready to go! 

 

In about 40 minutes, I can sew a log cabin block and two goosey units. My Featherweight is getting a workout this week! I'm trying to take good care of her with lots of TLC and oil.

Have a great weekend!

Scrappy WIP Wednesday

 I've been obsessively stitching for weeks now. The plus side of all this productivity is that I don't snack when I'm sewing so much, so I've lost a few pounds. Win-Win! Here's what I've been up to.

Farmer's Engineer's Wife: All 111 blocks are now done! I'm a little sick of looking at them, as cute as they are, so we're going to take a little break.

RIMQG Bee blocks for Jackie: Jackie provided the blue for her log cabins. These went in the mail today.

Wild & Goosey: Oh, how I love these blocks! Learn more about Bonnie Hunter's pattern here.

Selvage Log Cabins: This will be my entry in the RIMQG Log Cabin challenge, due in March. These blocks are really time consuming, but so worth it! Karen Griska's pattern is only $5 on Etsy. It's worth every penny!

I'm planning to set them on point. Don't mind my thready socks.

Friendship Star Swap: I quilted half of this last week before I ran out of thread. As soon as my order arrives from Superior, I'll get this finished.

Scrappy Mountain Majesties: When all the scraps were out, I cut some big squares for this project. Can't wait to get back to this one!

It's time to surf...