WIP Wednesday

 My guild challenge piece is coming along for Narragansett Bay Quilters. It's due next Thursday, so I really need to get moving. I was at my sister's house last weekend, basting pieces for the top row. Her granddaughter had fun putting together the stars with Grammie.

 Most of my free time recently has been spent preparing for lectures. Last night, I spoke to my home guild, Ninigret Quilters, about quilting on the internet. The topic wasn't my idea, but it was fun! I got to drag out all my swap pieces, BOMs, mysteries, and trendy patterns. Berta was one of my holders, and this post is for her! Pat, thank you for taking pictures!

Yes, I'm that short and my hands are always moving.

A note to my Ninnies: If you need more info for something you saw last night, click over to my Completed Projects page or try a search in the box top left.

Since my last post, I finished a bunch of small projects for my next lecture. I'm saving the big reveals for the Clamshell Quilters next week. Here's a tease...

I'm a Modern Blue Star Mom!

Fussy cut hexie gears and lots of quilted texture.

What do these three minis have in common?

All this snow has given me plenty of time to stitch! 

Lee is taking a break from her WIP Wednesday link-ups. Thanks for 5 years of fun, Lee!

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

 How has it been three weeks since the my last post? Summer fun has kept me away from the blog, but not my sewing machine. I was able to complete two quilt tops recently.

My Farmer's Engineer's Wife top is done! It's great to have friends working on the same pattern to push me along. (Hi, Sharon & Donna!) Sharon started quilting this week, so the pressure is on!

The spools top is done, too. I might quilt this one first since it's a lot smaller and I can just have fun with it.

I'm finishing up another Quilt of Valor this week. Tonight, I'm burying threads while I watch TV.  More quilting and binding tomorrow or Friday.

WIP Wednesday

 I'm packing for a weekend retreat, so my house is turned upside down! I want to bring everything, but that is just silly. How do you decide which projects to bring with you to retreats and sew-in days? To complicate things, this is the retreat that I organize. And. Julia is meeting me there, so I need to bring projects and supplies for her, too. Yup. My car will be FULL!

I did finish a quilt this week- last year's retreat project. I wanted to have it done for show & tell. It looks a little odd, but it makes more sense with Julia's quilt next to it (which is not done yet). Read more about them here.

Holy crap! I just found a 24 year old UFO! I made this wall hanging top with leftovers from the first quilt I made by myself after I took a beginner class in 1990. So this is probably from 1991 or 1992. My points are bad, and the fabric screams 1990's, but it's a good design. Maybe I'll reproduce it this weekend with modern scraps. You know, because I don't have enough projects packed already.

I'm going to pack some more. I'll be surfing the linkup when I need a break.

WIP Wednesday

I finished this mini for Julia a couple of weeks ago but couldn't post about it until she saw it. You can read more about its story in that post. 

There was a lot of random progress this week. Today I made a noodlehead gathered pouch (without the gathers) for our retiring church organist. She'll love the cat fabric!

I started making hourglass blocks for setting my Farmer's Wife blocks. Only 100 more to go! (Sorry- this is a really bad picture, but you get the idea.)

And I did the prep work for a retreat project. I can't wait to get away, if only for the weekend! 

What WIPs are you working on?

WIP Wednesday

 I started a new project and it is going to be awesome! I volunteered to be a pattern tester for Juliet at The Tartan Kiwi. She sent me a copy of her latest design for this handsome lion. Julia and I had fun choosing fabric, and we decided to go scrappy with his mane.

 I started cutting a little after 8am and finished the last seam at about 6pm. It's a big 24" block. This is not a beginner pattern. He's a lot of work, but well worth it! Look at those eyes! When I'm done with this post, I'm going over to The Tartan Kiwi to buy all of her safari animal patterns.

He reminds me of this Tanzanian boy!

In other WIP news...

I finished my Hawaiian applique pillow that has been waiting patiently for 6 months.

When I went looking for the next WIP to work on, I chose this stripey project. Read more about it here.

I also found the fabric for my new pajama bottoms that I bought over a year ago. The pattern has been cut out and they are ready to stitch together. It shouldn't take long, but I'm not good with apparel so I'm stalling. Maybe today?

I thought it was cool that Julia and I were using the same colors this week. I was cutting strips for a retreat project, and she was painting a birthday gift for her boyfriend. Coincidentally, the pattern I'll be working on is called Sunset.

And there was more snow overnight. Because we don't have enough?

Linking up...

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?

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...