Friday Catch Up

Has it really been two weeks since I've posted? It's easy to fall off the blogging grid when Instagram is so quick and easy. My apologies to those of you who follow along here, but not there.

I've been quite busy, stitching up a storm! I'll give you a sneaky peak of the two quilts that will be gifted tomorrow. Many more pics coming soon!

The wedding ring star for my nephew and his wife is done and it is massive!

The same couple is having a baby in July, and their baby quilt is done, too! Stay tuned for more, including a tutorial for free motion embroidery on a Featherweight.

I always like to do something extra for baby showers. This time, I made burp cloths using this tutorial on Made. I've been wanting to try them for a while, but couldn't find terry cloth that I liked. One day strolling through JoAnn's, the baby terry caught my eye. The gray chevron flannel matches the sheets on the baby registry. I strongly recommend pre-washing both fabrics as the flannel shrinks like crazy. They are super soft and cuddly. It's a good day when I remember to add my labels!

This week, I've been working on the center medallion for a guild raffle quilt. Since it was my bright idea to put a mariner's compass in the center, it was only fair that I should piece it. 

Julia was home last weekend to attend the ROTC military ball with boyfriend, Fred. She lucked out and found the dress for $19 at Marshall's. It took longer to find the shoes ($59). Not my best hemming job (somehow the lining was 1" too short) but it works. Her best friends did her hair, makeup and nails while I was at a quilt class. (FTW) They are a great couple and so happy together!

Yes, I did take that job. I will be training as a dental assistant, working two days a week. I spent way too much money at the uniform shop, but I love my fancy new scrubs. I'm going to try sneakers for a while. I'm not ready for Dansko clogs just yet. Yes, I'll probably start making my own scrub tops soon!

OK! That's all for now. It's time to get ready for a fun family weekend packed with a concert, baby shower, and first communion. Can we squeeze in a quick birding hike?

Ninigret Raffle Quilt

 I cannot tell you what a relief it is that this quilt is done! Now I just need to have the tickets printed so the members can start selling them. Visit the new Ninigret Quilters blog! (There's not much there besides these pictures, but I'm working on it.)

Julia and I took the quilt down to the beach in Narragansett for a photo shoot. It was a beautiful day (until the clouds rolled in). This was the first shot we took and the best one!

There are some really lovely sculptures by Anne Mimi Sammis.  This shot would be better if the grass wasn't still brown.

 Shadows too harsh.

Towers in the background, but quilt washed out.

I like this one at Point Judith.

 This blowing corner reminds me of the magic carpet in Aladdin.

Julia's job was to keep the quilt from blowing into the ocean!

I needed one straight shot, so we set up the rack at home, and Pete and his friend held onto it to keep it from blowing over. It doesn't take much of a breeze to catch a quilt like a sail!

The pattern is Going in Circles in the book Certifiably Crazy by Buggy Barn.

Finish Along Finish #4!

WIP Wednesday

 I'm still making progress this week, but not quite at the breakneck pace of last week. 

Finished:

Low Volume, Bright Hopes- I really enjoyed this little piece and I think it is a pattern I would like to teach at my LQS. There is a pretty fat quarter bundle in my stash that may become a class sample soon.

The guild raffle quilt is finished (except for the label). Julia and I will be taking it to the beach today for a photo shoot. That should be interesting!

In Progress:
I pulled out the Mod Bento swap quilt from the UFO pile last weekend. My LQS was having a huge sale, so I picked up a few yards of this gorgeous Amy Butler Love print for the back. I pieced the back and pin-basted yesterday. Now I'm trying to decide how to quilt it. I'd love to get it done by this week for the first quarter of the Finish Along.

Fabric box  - made one for a gift, but no time for process photos for the tutorial.

Friendship Star Mini - cut batting, chose backing.

On the near future list:
Swap Soup- quilting (backing already pieced)
Three by Three- fix borders

Time to link up!

WIP Wednesday

 I have had a super quilty week! I finished projects, started projects and went to a fabric shop sale with a friend.

Finished:

Emerald Selvage Spiderweb. Read more about it here!

Low Volume Mini. Inspiration to completion in 4 hours!

New:  As if one low volume project was not enough for one week, here's another! I kept looking at the remaining low volume charms trying to decide how to use them up. The Bright Hopes block came to mind (although I didn't know that was its name).  The top came together so quickly! It is 36" square right now. Border or no border? I hope to have it quilted soon and get back to the UFO pile.

In Progress:

I underestimated how tedious it would be to hand stitch the back of the binding on the raffle quilt. I can finish one side a night while watching TV, but some nights I'm just not into it. I'll get it done this week. I'm really looking forward to taking this quilt on location for a photo shoot!

On the near future list:
Fabric box tutorial
Swap Soup- quilting (backing already pieced)
Three by Three- fix borders
Friendship Star Mini - quilting

Time to link up!

Finishing Up Friday

Not finished yet, but I am making progress. This is the top half of the guild raffle quilt. I just stitched together the top two quarters. I'm really hoping to finish the top this weekend before I take Julia back to school. {sniff}

 

While I was piecing the first quarter of this top, I was not using leaders & enders. I felt like I was wasting too much thread, so I cut out a baby quilt! I'm not using the pattern I had intended to make with this jelly roll. I must have seen it on Pinterest and I am so easily distracted! I'm now making Whirlygig by Amelie Scott. It's going to be adorable! In just one day of piecing, you can see how much I pieced from the first pile (on the bottom). This is a great technique for piecing two quilts at once!

If I can stay off Pinterest for a while, I might just get this done soon!

I'm linking up to Amandajean's Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

WIP Wednesday - Raffle Options

Hello to all of you visiting from Quilt Story! Thank you so much to Heather and Megan for featuring my Zig Zag Friends quilt today! What a treat for me.

The original post didn't show the full quilt. I went back to look for one, and it seems I never took one! I guess no one was home to hold it up that day.

Moving on to our regularly scheduled WIP Wednesday post...

 It was not a terribly productive week, quilt-wise. Girl Scout cookie season is in full swing, so there's not much time to do anything else.

Finished:  I love these bee blocks that I sent to Kelleigh for the Modern Stash Bee.

In Progress:  When I counted up all the Ninigret Quilter's raffle quilt units, I realized I was short. I made more crazy stars and star points and started laying it out last night. I don't have a design wall- I use a flannel backed plastic table cloth on the living room floor. If I need to move it, it can be rolled up and the pieces stay in place.

This will be a big quilt, so I can only lay out a quarter at a time. Here's the top left quadrant.

Plan A

After I had it set out as I had planned, I thought it might be interesting to switch around the small stars. Interesting, yes, but do we like it better? 

Plan B

My Facebook friends like Plan A better. What say you, blogland?

On Hold: The rest of my WIP list is waiting for me to finish the raffle quilt. You can see it on my WIP page and in my Threadbias studio. I want to love Treadbias, but I haven't completely figured it out yet.

Thanks for stopping by! Now hop on over to Freshly Pieced for more WIP Wednesday inspiration.

WIP Wednesday

With no finishes to report this week, I'll just show you my top priority WIP: Ninigret Quilters Raffle Quilt. It really should be done by now. Done. Quilted. Bound. Labeled. Tickets printed. As usual, I'm behind schedule and playing catch-up. 

I was hoping to have something to show at the guild meeting tonight, but I only have piles of parts. Maybe I'll pin them to a flannel and bring them anyway. I feel like such a slacker!

The pattern is called Going in Circles from the book Certifiably Crazy by The Buggy Barn. 

I need to run! I have a full day of volunteering ahead of me. Religious education office at church this morning, Girl Scout cookie meeting this afternoon, and a guild meeting tonight. I'm tired already!

During my breaks, I'll be surfing here...

WIP Wednesday - Piano Keys

 Happy Wednesday!  After a rainy Tuesday, I'm hoping to see some sun today.

On to another WIP Wednesday report...

Resurrected:  I was tidying up the sewing room (I don't actually sew there - it's become primarily a storage area) and came across a growing stack of piano keys (2.5" x 10" rectangles).  I had calculated that I would need 150 to make a border for the Three by Three swap nine patches.  More than 100 were already cut, so as I filed away some fresh fabric, I chopped off a strip.  In no time, I was ready to stitch. 

Sewing them together into borders went fairly quickly.  Monday morning, I figured I'd slap them on and be done.  Not so much.  That's when I became reacquainted with my seam ripper!  I had put one side on backwards. rip rip rip. Then I wasn't happy with the corners.  rip rip rip.

Please ignore the junk on the end tables.  People live here.

I'm mostly happy with it, but it's too small to fit on my bed.  I need at least another 4-5" all the way around.  I could add another row of nine patches and white, but I wish they were inside the piano keys.  rip rip rip?  I think I'll make a bunch of nine patches and see where that takes me.


Back Burner:  I played with all of my 4x5 blocks this week. Yay! Then I piled them up and put them away.  boo. 

Now off you go to see what else is happening in WIPland...

Do you know me?

Does anyone recognize this quilt?  I found the photo on someone's Flickr album of the 2011 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  I'm trying to track down the quilt maker and/or the designer.

We're considering using this pattern for our guild raffle quilt, but in a cool palette.  Maybe batiks.  At the very least, I want to give credit where credit is due for the inspiration.

I love this quilt on so many levels.  The small paper pieced stars, the larger off-kilter stars, the HSTs that frame the stars, the positive/negative effect, the two-color-but-scrappy look, the piano key border.  It all adds up to a modern quilt with a traditional vibe.  LOVE!

So, if you know anything about this beauty, please leave a comment or email me at tinastitches (at) gmail (dot) com.  Thanks!

** Many thanks to Sinta and Elke!  This is a Buggy Barn pattern called Going in Circles from their book Certifiably Crazy.  I'm buying the book now! **

Phew!

I made it. The raffle quilt was quilted, bound, washed and photographed just in the nick of time. As I was leaving school, I think the bell rang for the end of the day.


I included care (washing) instructions on the package and a blurb about the eco-friendly batting made from corn. I think I like the bamboo batting better, because it is blended with some cotton. The PLA fiber made from corn feels like polyester. It washed nicely, though.


When I arrived in the office, I wrote a note to the teachers with a description of the quilt for the raffle tickets. Of course, on the way home, I thought of more clever wording. I didn't even mention the title of the quilt. I don't know how much space they'll have, but this is better than what I gave them:


Broad Rock Goes to Washington, a lap quilt made by Tina Craig of Seaside Stitches. At a generous 45" X 60", it is the perfect size for cuddling on the couch, taking on a picnic, or keeping warm at sporting events. Eco-friendly batting made from renewable corn is nestled inside 100% cotton fabrics, making the quilt red, white, blue and green!

Now I'm ready to go play outside. Have a great weekend!
Tina

A Beautiful Day

Finally, we're having a stretch of good weather. I hope the sun and heat burn up the winter germs. I'm sick again. I've had enough! Just a sore throat this time, but it prevented me from doing any quilting last night.

The raffle donations are due at school today (they didn't specify what time!). I managed to get the back pieced, the label drawn on, and the layering and pinning done before I crashed on the couch last night. Since I slept well, thanks to the ibuprofen, I was up and quilting by 6:15am. And I'm not a morning person.


I did my usual swirls and loops with a few stars thrown in for fun. I used 4 bobbins on this top that is 45" X 60". Pete is disappointed that I'm donating this quilt to the raffle and not the log cabin. He'll get over it.


I have good news...I made my first Etsy sale! Thank you, Jodi and Carmela! So I'll be taking a trip to the post office when I go out to deliver the quilt. The binding should take me less than 2 hours, and I'm hoping there will be time for a quick wash. I want to make sure the reds don't run.

The view from my bedroom window, looking down on the magnolia stelatta.
The flowers are gorgeous, but the tree is not in great shape. It only flowers on the top. Anyone have pruning tips?

Have a great day!
Tina