Saturday, June 2, 2012

Fat Quarter Fun -- and Fat Quarter Foul-up

Wow, this is one of those days I'm glad we live close to the mountains -- all kinds of tornadoes and tornado warnings in far Eastern Colorado.  Pretty colors on the weather map mean bad news!

Today was Fat Quarter Fun at Ruth's Stitchery.  Yesterday I finished the FQF quilt from last time, "Hot Tamale."

The strip of fabric on the left is my "border audition"  The pattern doesn't call for a border, but the other folks in the class added one and I think it will finish off the quilt nicely.  First, a narrow border of Kona "Cerise," then a wider border of the olive/fuchsia/cerise print.  I blogged the details on this pattern yesterday

Today we made another Villa Rosa Designs pattern, "Lovers Lane."  I love these simple, quick quilts!


I didn't notice the mistake until I took the photo!  Oops!  This will have a narrow red border and a wider border of the navy patriotic print.  I will quilt this on Meggie, practicing my "loops and stars" quilting.

Tomorrow is Scrappy Sunday, I am planning to work on my Anna Lena's Block-a-Day pyramids.  Only 18 days until the first day of Summer!  



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Friday, June 1, 2012

Friday Finish and What's Up for June

First Finish
  The first finish of the month of June (OK, all I had to do was sew on the binding):


I used Susie's Magic Binding with the small blue print as the piping.  The fabric is Stockholm by Robin Zingone for Robert Kaufman in the Autumn colorway.  The background is a linen/cotton blend I picked up at Sew to Speak in Columbus, Ohio.  This is my first try at using linen as the background, and I think it really sets off the modern print nicely.  I also used the linen as the main color for the binding.  I was worried that it would be too heavy, but it worked beautifully.

The pattern is a new one from Modern Quilt Relish, "Brioche and Baguette." 

 I love MQR's patterns, not only are they fresh and modern, but their directions are so well written, their quilts take no time at all to sew together!

This quilt is going to a friend who grew up in Stockholm.

June WIPs
  Today is June 1st, Rabbit Rabbit Day and the day I draw two numbers to determine which WIPs I will work on for the month.

The first draw is lucky number 7 (well, 7A):


And it is a classic 30s reproduction quilt from a 2001 issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine's "Quilting An Indoor Garden."  This must have been my 30s reproduction  phase, because I have a stack of 30s WIPs from around that time.


The second draw is an interesting choice:


I love these fabrics together, but there is no pattern in the bag.  What was I thinking I would make?


Maybe it was this pattern from Cozy Quilt's Strip Club, "Autumn Braid?"

Autumn Braid

Ah ha -- the turkey on the strip in the first photo is the clue.  These are the leftovers from my Thanksgiving wall hanging.  So I can choose another pattern for this stack of fabrics!

B.O.M.onday
  I try to work on Blocks of the Month on the first of the month, but since tomorrow is Fat Quarter Fun day, and because I didn't get to go to FWF last time, I'm going to designate Monday as B.O.M.onday -- the first Monday of each month will be BOM day.  (Marta, is that a run-on sentence, or just a long one?)

Last FQF, the pattern was "Hot Tamale" from Villa Rosa Designs:


Villa Rosa publishes these cute little postcard patterns -- easy designs at an easy price!  I chose this colorful collection mostly from Anthropology fabrics:

I just love chartreuse!


This is a super-easy pattern, so I should have the second June finish, and the 33rd quilt of 2012 completed by bedtime tonight!  Come back tomorrow to see what we make at Fat Quarter Fun (it's another Villa Rosa Design).

Oops, almost forgot!  I'm linking up to Lily's Quilt's Fresh Sewing Day:

Lily's Quilts



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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorial Day Sew-a-Thon

Dang. I mean really.  Dang.

Never has it taken me so long to make one simple top.  Neither have I ever had so much trouble with a pattern.  And I've done a lot of fashion sewing in my day, including tailoring suits and more than one wedding dress.

It took two tries to get a collar that fit this neckline.  And two tries to make the armscye binding fit.  I don't know if I was off on my seam allowance, if there was a problem with the pattern, or if I was just having an "off day."

Here's the pattern: 

 And here's my finished top:


I guess anyone close enough to see the sloppy collar won't be looking at my collar!  AND there is an ink blot right in the front -- don't know if it was on the fabric or if it picked up from the ruler when I was marking the front pleats.  I had success removing ink from some t-shirts (SOMEONE left his razor-point felt tip in his pocket when he put his shirt in the laundry.  Not naming names, but I only know one person who likes that kind of pen!) using hairspray, so after I wear this today, I'll try removing the ink.

The fabric is from the Filigree Collection by artgallery fabrics, purchased last June at G Street Fabrics last June when DH and I went to visit My Little Sailor at Ft. Meade, Maryland.  Artgallery uses the finest grey goods for their fabric, their quilting cottons are nicer than a lot of fashion fabric cottons.

Hancock Fabrics has Butterick patterns on sale this week for 99 cents, maybe I'll try a different pattern for my next summer top.

Really.  Dang!

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Sunday is for . . . Schnibbles!

This is only the second Schnibbles I've completed in time for the monthly Scnibbles Parade this year.

The pattern is named "Doc," because -- you should never play cards with a man named "Doc!"  In case you don't recognize the block pattern, it's an oldie named "Card Trick."

I foolishly threw out the wrappers for my charm pack, so I don't remember what fabric it is.  But I think it's kitcheny and cheerful!  Can't wait for next week to see all the "Doc" quilts on Pink Pincushion's Schnibbles Parade.  Note:  Oooh, I found it!  The fabric is Sweet Pickins by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman.  Why didn't I think of Darlene Zimmerman, I have virtually every fabric she has ever designed!?



When my boys were little, every Memorial Day we had the Annual Memorial Day Shorts-Making Orgy.  I made them a half-dozen or so pair of shorts (each) from fabric each had chosen.  Since they're "all grown up" and wouldn't be caught dead in shorts made of colorful juvenile print fabric, I plan to make some summer tops for me tomorrow.

I'll be back tomorrow night to show off the fruits of my labor!


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