October Goal for a ALYOF

Earlier this year, I won a Gee's Bend pattern from Debby Kratovil Quilts.  I chose the Medallion Variation pattern:

You can read more about the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers.

Kona:  Poppy - Black - Corn Yellow - Jamaica - Turquoise- Purple - Yarrow - Grass Green - Pomegranate

I've had the pieces all cut and ready to sew for some time.  So October's goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes is to piece and finish this quilt.  I'm so glad I decided to participate in ALYOF -- it's been great accountability to get a bunch of WIP's completed.  And the chance to win prizes is a great motivator as well.

There were a lot of cutting instructions, so I was a bit nervous about the piecing.  But the piecing of the quilt is broken down into six sections -- that makes it manageable and not seem overwhelming.

Thanks to Melissa @ Sew BitterSweet Designs and to Shanna @ Fiber of All Sorts for hosting.

Do you have any goals for October?

The FART That Wasn't

I'm a little behind in my stash posts.  Fabric generally goes right in the laundry pile, and I often forget to take photos.

Our annual trip to the USA was moved up from November to the end of August this year.  I had high hopes that this would be an awesome FART -- Fabric Acquisition Road Trip.  I had dreamed about all the wonderful fabric I would buy.  But alas, it was not meant to be.  Instead, it turned out to be the Shoe Acquisition Road Trip -- seven pairs of shoes/sneakers -- and I'm not complaining.

I purchased the orange wide-back with the plan to use it on the back of my Gravity quilt, but I have since changed my mind.

Wide-back

Before I purchased the orange wide-back, I wanted to use this Michael Miller HST print for the back of Gravity, but the thought of having to piece the back stopped me.  But I did buy one metre for the back of the Gravity pillows.

Michael Miller

Some miscellaneous prints because the price was right.

Miscellaneous

And a few more...just because...

More Miscellaneous

I did purchase notions at Joann's:  several bottles of spray baste, a bottle of spray starch, pins, and rotary cutter blades -- using 50% off coupons.  Yeah for coupons!!

Linking up with Sunday Stash hosted by Molli Sparkles:

Whoomp! There It is!!!

Zenia over at A Quilted Passion has started a new linkup party on Saturdays called Whoomp There It Is.

Some of the lyrics to the song are:  There's a party over here, a party over there.  Wave your hands in the air.  Well, I'm waving my hands in the air (like you don't care) for a great Saturday finish.  I made a baby quilt in two days!!!

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to test a pattern for Leanne over at Devoted Quilter.  Friendship Galaxy is a great pattern with several options.  Leanne's instructions are clear, and there are great diagrams.  I highly recommend this pattern.

I did the wall hanging version but added 6-inch borders to make a baby quilt that ends up about 38-inches square.  The pattern calls for different backgrounds for the two blocks, but I decided to use the same background fabric.

Here's a closeup of the double friendship star.

Kona:  Canary and Cyan

And a closeup my star FMQ.

I used yellow thread, and the back looks awesome.  So much so that I'd consider using the back as the front of the quilt.  In person, the yellow on the blue background is so vibrant and striking.

Head over to A Quilted Passion to see everyone else's Whoomp There It Is creations.

Also linking up with Show Off Saturday over at Sew Can She:

Road Trip!!

I bought the Road Trip Case pattern by Noodlehead some time ago, but I only just got around to making it.

I had a few fat quarters left from my Robert Kaufman Girl Scouts USA collection.  Perfect...a new crest trader bag to take to Guiding Mosaic 2016 -- an national Girl Guide camp being hosted in Alberta next July.

I modified the pattern and made vinyl pockets on both sides, rather than the pocket options provided.

Working with vinyl is not easy -- although not very difficult, you definitely have to take your time.

I love this print.  It has so many positive messages.

Linking up this Friday Finish over at:

TGIFF hosted by Laura @ Quokka Quilts

Finish it up Friday hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts

Throwback Thursday - October Edition

Where does the time go??  Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge recently started a monthly Throwback Thursday.  It's hard to believe this is the third edition.

Today's featured quilt goes back to 2011 -- thank goodness for the label; otherwise, I wouldn't have a clue.

Another quilt for nephew.  I don't know how many quilts I've made for him since I began quilting, but I'm covered for Throwback Thursday posts for many months to come.

Did everyone make a bugs-in-the-jar quilt?  It sounded like a good idea at the time.

This was clearly from the early days of learning to free motion quilt.  Thank goodness skills improve over time with practice.

 A wonderful stripey back.  I wish I had bought more.

Clearly, I was a terrible Auntie  -- no message on the label.  When I borrowed the quilt back, I thought perhaps the ink had faded.  But why not my signature.  Then my brain kicked in, and I remembered.  My sister had bought the fabric for me to make a quilt for Lorenzo.  So I left the label blank for her to write a message.  Clearly, she's the terrible mother.  LOL

Linking up for Throwback Thursday over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge.  Stop by and see what other past creations are showcased.

WIP - Midnight Mystery Quilt Update

September's sewing instructions for the Midnight Mystery Quilt hosted by Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs were to make square in a square units.

Here are my 34 square in a square units.  I love orange, so I'm glad it ended up being in the middle of the block.

They need a tiny bit of squaring up.  But at least they are bigger than the required 6.5 inches and not smaller.

A wonderfully pieced block if I do say so myself.  [insert pat on the back]

August's sewing instructions were flying geese.  I wonder how the geese will play with these new blocks.

There's still time to join in if you want to play along with us.

Linking up my WIP update with:

         

Another ALYOF Goal Completed!!

Pat on the back for another project finished!!  My ALYOF September goal was to piece and quilt my Triangle quilt.

It was difficult to take photos today because it was so windy.  I kept hollering at the wind to stop (like it could hear me), but it calmed down enough for me to capture these.

For those keen-eye Kona lovers, that's Citrus thrown into the mix for fun.

I had some leftover triangles, so they were added to the back.

I broke out of my comfort zone and tried some dot-to-dot free motion quilting.  My lack of skills in piecing curves transfers to quilting...pretty stressful at times trying to keep my speed even and to make a curve.

Lots of wobbly stitches on the front, but the back looks awesome.

Linking up for the ALYOF September finishes party over at Sew BitterSweet Designs.

Friday Finish - Bee Swap

Today's Friday Finish is brought to you courtesy of a Bee swap.  The Do Bees is the first bee I joined, and currently there are five members.  At the end of May, we each bundled four fat quarters.  To keep the mystery, we each drew a number and put that number on our bundle.  The bundles were put into envelopes, and we each drew an envelope, not knowing whose fabric we had chosen.

We had until our September meeting to make something with the four fat quarters.  I made what I thought was a very educated guess on whose fabric I had.  So I went on faith and made something that I knew my Bee mate wanted.

I knew Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge wanted an iron caddy.  This is pattern from Sisters' Common Thread.  It's a combination carry case for your iron and an ironing pad.

Jenn has an Oliso iron, so I had to upsize the pattern.  Picture a text message to Jenn's husband asking him to measure her iron.  I knew he thought I'm crazy, and his response clearly showed it.  But he did get the measurements to me.  Thanks Himself!!

Kona:  Eggshell

The exterior is cotton, and the inside is heat resistant fabric that you use as an ironing pad.

In return, I received a great tote bag made by Ann.

There's ton of space inside to hold lots of goodies.

This was a fun challenge.

It's time to link up over at:

TGIFF hosted by Janet @ Simply Pieced

Finish it up Friday hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts

Dog Gone Cute - Update 2

Well, these dogs are so darn cute!!  Dog Gone Cute!  Kudos to Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for yet another amazing animal creation.  There's still time to play along with the Quilt Along.  You know you want to play along, so just pull some fabric and get sewing.

Here's my finished small Dog #5.  I'm happy with the fabric I choose for his face.  But I'm not a fan of the small block -- too many 1-inch and 1.5-inch pieces.  And I didn't think about using my new starch until I was finished.

Here's Dog #1 and Dog #5 hanging out together.

I decided to make Dog #3.  I like this version, but I think the other two are my favourite.

Now I need to decide what I'm going to make.  My turn on the blog hop is fast approaching.

Linking up my WIP with: