WIP Wednesday - Pattern Testing

The procrastination continues.  Last month, I offered to test a pattern for Brianna over at The Iron & Needle.  When Ocean Sky arrived in my Inbox, I was excited to get started, but it took me some time to decide on fabric.

The pattern consists of HQST (half quarter square triangles) and HST (half square triangles), with a few rectangles.  This was my first attempt at HQST, and I love them!!

Kona White for the background

Add some HST's:

And voilà:  a 24-inch finished block:

I was hesitant to use the dark blue fabric.  I had been hoarding coveting holding on to the last piece of this wonderful rich fabric, but with no project in mind.  But I am so very glad that I decided to use it for this project.  It was the right choice.

The pattern consists of six blocks, but I decided to only make four blocks for a large baby/toddler quilt.  I love how the blocks create an awesome centre.

Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails invited a few friends over to sew on Sunday.  She has a wonderful front yard, so I was able to get these great photos.

I would make this pattern again, and I encourage you to purchase Ocean Sky once it's released.  Now the difficult part of making a quilt....deciding how to quilt it.

If you have a WIP this week, you should link up with the following:

         

ALYOF December Goal

Where has the year gone?  It's hard to believe that it's already December.

Participating in the A Lovely Year of Finishes has been great.  The challenge of stating a goal at the beginning of the month and then working to achieve the goal before the end of the month, has kept me focused and on top of WIPs.

December's goal is to quilt my Glimmer quilt from last month, including the matching pillow I made this week.  Quilting will be an overall star FMQ motif.

I was thinking this quilt might be a gift, but now that I've made the pillow, I want to keep them both for myself. LOL

Well...I guess it's about time to start working on my two Christmas projects............

Friday Finish - Two Baby Quilts

This is the Star Bright quilt pattern from Swim Bike Quilt.  The pattern calls for 6-inch squares, but I used 5-inch squares.  All fabrics were from my stash.

Both quilts have the same fabrics, but different layouts.

An all-over stipple because I was on a tight deadline.  I'm glad I went with yellow thread -- I didn't want any contrast on the star.

Stop by the following links to see all the projects that are being showcased this week:

TGIFF hosted by Laura @ Quokka Quilts

Finish it up Friday hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts

Whoomp There It Is! hosted by A Quilted Passion

Throwback Thursday - December Edition

My friend Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge has been hosting Throwback Thursday for five months now.  It's been fun re-visiting past quilts.

I think I need to make a list of all the quilts I have made for my nephew.  Of the five months, three of the quilts have been for him.  I sure hope he remembers all this love when I need someone to care for me in my golden years.

The panel was cut up and sashing added.  Each panel features a different sport.

Baseball and basketball are the sports he plays.  Thankfully hockey was a short-lived experience -- the rink was too darn cold for my liking.

You can't see that I hand stitched around some of the elements in each of the panels.  This was definitely before I learned FMQ and stitching in the ditch was all that I knew.  But what was I thinking???  I hate hand quilting.  Clearly I must have been drunk or in a state of delirium.

The label says this was for Christmas 2008.

Stop by to see the other Throwback Thursday posts.  It's interesting to see how we have all evolved in our projects over the years.

WIP Wednesday - Procrastination Pillow

I have four quilt tops that need to be quilted.  But did I work on them this week...of course not.  Instead, I decided to make a pillow to match my Glimmer quilt that I made last month.  Procrastination is a great way to start new projects.

The pillow started out as strip sets.

The strips are then are cut into diamond shapes.  The background fabric is cut into diamonds, triangles, and half triangles.

Two of the six pieced sections:

I wonder what else I will create during my procrastination...

I encourage you to visit the following link ups so you can see what others have been creating this week:

         

ALYOF Goal Achieved!

My November ALYOF goal was to piece my Night Sky quilt top.  Goal achieved!!!  I finished up late last night but had to wait until today to get a photo.

Night Sky was easy to piece, but it took some time.  Half triangles were sewn together and then sewn to the diamonds.  This created a triangle, and three triangles were pieced to make a half hexagon.

Although the pieces become full hexagons in the quilt top, they are pieced together as half hexagons for easy piecing.

It was a tad windy trying to take a photo.

Now the difficult decision...how to quilt this (and thread colour).  Your suggestions are appreciated.

Linking up with the ALYOF November finishes link up.  Stop by to see all the goals that were achieved this month.

Friday Finish - BQ3

You may recall this WIP from last month.  I had no ideas on how to quilt it.  My MMQG mates provided some suggestions.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I did swirl FMQ in white.  I thought the white would stand it, but it didn't.

And with the change of season, it's difficult to get good photos.  It's dark in the morning before work, and it's dark when I get home from work.  Oh spring...where are you??

Here's a closeup of the quilting.  I've decided swirl FMQ is not a favourite of mine.

This quilt may not have turned out as I had envisioned, but it's going to charity, so it will be loved by someone.

Linking up my finish over at:

TGIFF hosted by Jan @ Quilting Among the Groves

Finish it up Friday hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts

Whoomp There It Is! hosted by A Quilted Passion

WIP Wednesday - Delight

And so the fascination with patterns by Jaybird Quilts continues...here is Delight.  No Kona solids today, but rather two fat quarter collections from the Bargain Lover's Club by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop.

The patterns often look difficult, until you look inside and see how the pieces are sewn together.  The Hex N More ruler is an awesome tool, and I also use it for non-Jaybird patterns.  You'll see that the low volume hexagon is actually six triangles made from two different fabrics.  But the triangles are sewn to the print hexagons.  The top is then pieced in columns -- no Y seams!

I'm unsure how to quilt this, but I think maybe I'll try loop FMQ.

I encourage you to visit the following link ups so you can see what others have been creating this week:

         

TGIFF - Whoomp There It Is!!!

"There's a party over here, a party over there.  Wave your hands in the air."  I'm waving my hands and doing a happy dance.  Gravity is finished!!!

I had some doubt that I would be able to quilt this 97-inch square quilt.  There were a few frantic late nights of sewing earlier this week.  I had to fold the edges over to fit it on the longarm, and then I did the background sections on my little Singer.

I present Gravity:

Gravity will be taking up permanent residence on my bed.

114 Kona colours were used in the making of this quilt -- 108 colours for the blocks and 6 colours for the background.  Woo hoo...lots of colours to cross off my list.

A closeup of the quilting.  I need to practice my skills in quilting curves.  It's not perfect, but I'm happy with it...because she's finished!!

I followed the quilting plan for the background sections from Tamarack Shack.

Thanks to Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts for hosting this QAL.  It was fun to sew along with others, and the timelines were very manageable.  Stop by to say hello and to see the other Gravity finishes.

The backing is wide back Prisms by Studio E Fabrics.

You can read about my adventures making Gravity here:

Block 1 - Horizon

Block 2 - Constellation

Block 3 - Orbit
Block 4 - Intergalactic
Block 5 - Celestial
Block 6 - Ultraviolet

Block 7 - Cosmic

Block 8 - Eclipse

Block 9 - Voyage

Background Blocks

Now it's time for your finishes.  Post your finished project using the linkup below.  Don't forget to visit some of the other finishes and share some love and encouragement.  Please include a link and/or the TGIFF button in your blog post so your readers can also view all the great finishes.

An InLinkz Link-up