Get It Done - March 2013

Came across this great blog called Patchwork Times hosted by Judy Laquidara, and oh wonder of wonders, she's a list maker like me! Only sometimes I forget to make the list...

Anyway, she's got a new take on the UFO/WIP goals called "Get It Done 2013". To participate, make a list of four items that you want to accomplish during the next month. At the end of each month, post about what you accomplished and make a new list. Simple, sweet, and accountable (because I know all of you will encourage me, right?)

So, I've made my list and added it to the sidebar. I'll link to updates on the list as I go. Unfortunately, I have five items, not four. We will see what happens. Judy did say to make it challenging!

Here is my "Get It Done" list for March 2013....

1. Design and start a surprise quilt. I can't give too many details here because the intended recipient may possibly, however unlikely, read this blog. I have a general idea of what I want to do for this quilt and have purchased the central themed fabric (it is in the mail and should be here Friday if the stupid blizzard doesn't slow everything down). This is the only project with a current deadline. I have about nine weeks to complete it, so it will be a priority one the fabric arrives.

2. Complete eight paper pieced blocks for Nana's Quilt.

3. Quilt and Bind my Cubes & Illusions quilt. This is just a little tiny wall hanging that was impromptu in every way but was a lot of fun to make. It shouldn't take long to just blitz through it providing my thread doesn't break every few inches like last time I quilted.

4. Quilt & Bind Kool Kats Kwilt

 5. Complete Quilt top for Fishes & Cats Quilt

And since I'm an overachiever, I'm throwing in a couple extra, just on the off chance I get time or am bored. Think about it like I'm giving myself options..

6. Refine the Fishes & Cats pattern so that its actually useful. I published a rough draft of this for my co-conspirators over at www.quiltingboard.com but I'd really like to polish the pattern. Good practice you know.

7. Finish Mod Mosaic Quilt Top.

8. Quilt and bind Kaleidoscope quilt

Okay well I guess that is enough for now. ;)

A Crafty-Ful Day

Well, as I had hoped I've been able to spend most of the day sewing. And it has been so much fun.

I finished all the blocks for my Mod Mosaic Quilt. There are only six but thats okay. I wanted to make a smaller quilt this time. I'm trying to decide what color to set the blocks into, my options are grey or purple. I'm leaning towards purple. I know a lot of modern quilters like to set their blocks on a grey background but somehow I just can't get into the vibe.

 The colors just seem to pop so much better on purple.

I also tackled my Cubes & Illusions quilt. This was a little tricky, figuring out how to set the blocks without having to make y-seams (which I'm horrible at). First I choose a background and layout...

 And then very carefully cut 60 degree triangles and half-hexagons, assembling block on the diagonal until they all fit together. Yay for straight seams! I thought about making the background striped and then appliqueing the blocks onto it but I really wanted the blocks to fade into the background and the stitching around the applique would have prevented the illusion.

And Voila, my finished wall hanging quilt top....

Last but not least, I selected the fabrics for Nana's Quilt.

Oh hey.. the day is only half over. I've still got six hours before I have to go to bed for work tomorrow!

Fishies!

After having completed the piecing on my purple Kool Kats Kwilt, I decided I wanted to do something different with the blue one. After all, scrappy coin borders are nifty, but  I need to branch out! Seriously! The last quilt I finished had the same style border (triangle log cabin). And it looks great, I just feel like I'm stuck in a rut.

However, thanks to my co-conspirators over on Quiltingboard.com (love this message board site by the way. Everyone is nice and friendly and full of both encouragement and great ideas), and a little fiddling over in EQ7, I have a plan for a new border on my blue cat quilt.

*epic theme music plays in the background*

TADA!

Now I don't know when I'm going to get to this, as I have a busy weekend planned. I get to spend the day with my favorite niece, go to my cousin's basketball game, see The Hobbit in theaters one more time, and host a Red Wings party. I took Monday off work and I know Jack wants to write on that day so hopefully it will be a crafty-ful Monday.

Exponential Scrap Replication

I've been hearing rumors of this odd feature of fabric scraps to replicate faster than they can be used but I didn't really believe it. Logic dictates that if you use something, you will decrease its quantity.  However, I now have scientific photographic proof of Exponential Scrap Replication.

Here is my scrap box before starting my Mod Mosaic Quilt:

Please note how sweet and innocent and manageable my scrap collection seems to be. So I delved right in and converted some of it to approximately four square feet of usable quilt blocks.

I was so proud of myself! I'm using up what appears to be useless material and making something cool out of them. I must be making a wonderful dent and I'm going to get at least one quilt out of this box of odd and ends and mis-cuts.

 And then... I looked back at my scrap box... and was horrified to see this:

At some point when I so naively looked away my scrap collection spawned new baby scraps.

I will have to study this phenomenon in greater detail in the near future and develop an equation to explain the logarithmic growth. However, this does bring up another, possibly more pressing question. In a change of state, matter is neither created nor destroyed.... so what matter was converted into those new scraps?

Maybe its all those socks that get lost in the dryer.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesdays @ Quilt Story and Anything Goes @ Stitch by Stitch (see sidebar for links)

No New Projects Weekend (Okay, One New Project)

I promised myself I wouldn't start any new projects this weekend. Which was rough, because my bargello quilting has been especially difficult and I just wanted to throw it aside and forget about it for a while. I spent more than 2 hours tearing out quilting that "eyelashed" around the curves.

My "eyelashing" problem. No, I didn't invent that term - I found it on another quilting website!

 Now I obsessively stop every few inches and check my tension. 75% of the problem turned out to be that I was going too fast around the curves, so I slowed down. Also it seems to be VERY important to raise the presser foot before threading. It still didn't stop my thread from breaking at least once a sunflower but I finally got all the quilting done, tedious though it was. The density of quilting is a little uneven, but I think that will improve with practice. The binding is on and just needs to be hand-stitched along the back.

Completed quilting with binding half-stitched

I've been looking for an interesting way to use some of my scraps from my scrap box. I'm not a big fan of the typical scrappy quilt. However, I did find a couple of great options. My favorite thus far is the Mod Mosaic Quilt Block by Elizabeth Hartman. Her tutorial includes a downloadable pdf.

Mod Mosaic Quilt from Elizabeth Hartman

In the case of her example block from the tutorial, I would have NEVER chosen to put all those fabrics in the same block. I think they clash. However, once the sashing is added and the block sewn together, it looks amazing! Perfect for using up scraps.

 Also making good progress on my purple Kool Kats Kwilt and I'm really enjoying the unusual symmetry of the quilt.

Since my crafting supplies budget is suddenly and unexpectedly eliminated, I've been doing research on suitable substitutes for quilt backing and batting. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that batting can be anything from a lightweight sheets to cheap fleece blankets to mattress pads to sweatshirts, and the backing can be made of anything cotton or flannel. Quilting started as a recycling craft, using leftover scraps for the top and anything warm for the batting, back in the "good ole days" when expensive craft stores were non-existent and pioneer women had to make do with what they had. I'll be bringing back a little old school quilting over the next several months, raiding thrift stores for old sheets and blankets. Should be interesting!

Oh and by the way, I totally failed at not starting a new project. I just couldn't resist trying the Mod Mosaic. Dug into my scrap bin and ran with it.

All in all, it came out pretty nifty! I've got a weird combination of prints. Someday I'd like to do a coordinated one, maybe in all reds or something.