Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April progress and May goal setting

Whew!  April sure did come and go quickly.  I can't believe how quickly!

Let's get down to business.

April UFO's

I wanted to finish my Beginner QAL quilt, and Les Amis Baby Quilt.  Well at least the later is done:

Les Amis top

And the BQA quilt did progress in some ways.  I put on the final borders and started piecing the backing.  Some of the pieces are rather small.  Why I don't take my own advice about these things, I will never know! I'm holding off more pictures until it is done!  The suspense isn't affecting anyone, I am sure.

April New FO's

I was certain that I would start on my Hands 2 Help Charity quilt.  Our quilts are not due until June,but I wanted to cross something off my to-do list well in advance.  Yeah, that didn't really happen since I was actually given a perfectly reasonable deadline to make my friend's baby boy quilt.

I am happy to report that progress was made on this one!  It is all pieced and the SID is finished!  I am really hoping to finish this one for a Friday finish, so I'm going to hold off on pics of it too.  Here is where I last left it with you guys.

Scoot WIP

 Can't wait, can you?

May  UFO's

I am determined to do something with this:

Fusible rose

Since I have a spot on the "Say it with Flowers" blog hop that starts towards the end of the month, it seems only fitting that I dust this UFO off and do something with it.  It's only been a few years after all.

May New FO's

Well now that the baby boy quilt is almost done, it's time to do my charity quilt for Hands 2 Help. I've decided on the design, and it is all ready for cutting!

H2H 2013 logo

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Linking up with:
My Button


2013NewFO



Monday, April 29, 2013

Bee's Helping Bee's - Building Blocks Tuesday

Today in addition to showing you a couple blocks I made this weekend, I want to tell you about a new group I joined called "Bee's Helping Bee's".

mrs pickles garden

The premise is simple - sometimes bees we join online don't always work out like we expected and sometimes you don't receive all the blocks you were hoping for.  If this has happened to you, this is the group for you.  You can read more about it at Mrs. Pickles Garden here, and check out the Flickr group here.  This group just got started, so you can get in easily.  If you ask for blocks though, you need to reciprocate by making someone else's requested blocks to fulfill their need.  Pretty easy.

Mrs. Pickles (Hayley) needed some more Classic Paintbox Blocks (tutorial here) when she came up short in a bee.  I made her one set of these little blocks and rather enjoyed it!  I might end up picking this block when one of my months come up in a bee.  The overall effect is super cool.

Here are my pink versions

Bee's Helping Bees blocks for Hayley

I hope you like them Hayley!

In other news, I finally got around to creating a design wall for myself.

design wall


As Earth Day was just last week, I went the recycle/reuse way.  I used a leftover scrap of cotton batting and a large canvas painting of the alphabet that used to hang in the girls' room.  The painting was a bit too bright and they have somewhat outgrown the idea of having the alphabet hanging on the wall.  I may want to keep it or sell it later though, so I didn't want to damage it.  I simply stapled the batting in place onto the backside of the canvas frame in a few places.  Not quite "polished looking" but it does the job beautifully.  I won't be able to put a queen sized quilt on it, but for arranging a few blocks and choosing color schemes, I imagine it will do the trick.

So what have you been working on this week?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading!

Jen





Sunday, April 28, 2013

Inspirational Sunday (11) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

Ha Cha Cha!  Color!

After last week's white whole cloth quilts, you might want to put your sunglasses on for these next two quilts, 'cause they are COLORFUL!

This first one is called "Fiesta Mexico" by Karen Kay Buckley of Carlisle, PA and quilted by Renae Haddadin.  These are Karen's original applique designs, and she used bright colors to go with the Mexican theme.  Likewise, Renae used a variety of thread and quilting designs to really play up the festive theme.

"Fiesta Mexico" by Karen Kay Buckley of Carlisle, PA

The quilting is really amazing!  I could have taken a dozen pictures of what she did.  Here's one close up for you to drool over.

detail of "Fiesta Mexico" by Karen Kay Buckley of Carlisle, PA

This next one is called "Tucker's Tulips" by Susan H. Garman of Friendswood, TX.  It was inspired by young Serena Tucker's 1853 red and green wedding quilt.  Susan modified her tulip vase block and chose wildly different colors - cheddar and teal.

"Tucker's Tulips" by Susan H Garman of Friendswood, TX

Because of the colors, I think this one even has a south of the border feel to it too, you?

Next week, we will dabble into the world of tiny little pieces.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Friday, April 26, 2013

Les Amis - a Friday Finish!

Finally! a Finish!

Les Amis top
terrible picture, I know
I just had to do it.  This little baby quilt hasn't really been sitting for an extremely long time, but I recognized my familiar stalling techniques starting to pop up.   The most predominate is "I can't decide on how I want to quilt it".  On this quilt, I actually had more ideas than less and deciding was difficult.  But, when I sat down at the machine to get started with a practice sandwich, two of the motifs just weren't working out as nicely as I wanted.  I wasn't feeling the feathers.  So I opted for this flower design by Angela Walters (in her book and Craftsy class).

Les Amis close up

This design was fun!  And relatively fast.  I just love the texture it gives the quilt.  I love running my fingers over the little bumps.  I almost don't want to send it off to it's new home.

Quilt Stats:
  • Fabric - Les Amis by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller
  • Size - 36 x 45
  • I used a double thickness of Hobbs Heirloom Wool Batting (love it, by the way).
  • Quilted with a creamish color of Sew Fine by Superior Threads, and Bottomline in the bobbin.
  • Backed with one of the larger prints of Les Amis
Les Amis back


As soon as I label and wash it, this quilt will be off to Prince Edward Island, Canada, where I'm told it is STILL cold.  Little Violette, it will be on it's way soon!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Linking up with:





Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Moments of Balance - WIP Wednesday

Wow, I can't believe it has been nearly a month since my last WIP Wednesday.  Sadly, I haven't made that much progress on my list.  BUT, I have had moments of balance in my life.  Just moments, but they were there!

I'm sure I'm not the only person out there that doesn't seem to have enough time to do everything they want to do.  I find that I am either sewing away in my little dungeon studio OR I am cooking and cleaning for my family.  They are mutually exclusive activities.  This month, I did not get as far along on my various lists as I hoped, but I did accomplish a couple Spring Cleaning activities, had a great vacation with my family, and cooked a few good meals for my family.  I even thought about exercising.  Since I only made a few meals, I also finished one quilt up and made some blocks for bee commitments.  (Had I done more than thinking about exercising, these probably wouldn't have gotten done!) So there they are: moments of balance.  I hope to continue the trend next month.

Back to what I didn't finish -- yesterday, I hoped to get my Beginner's Quilt Along top all finished and basted.  I pulled it out to put the final border on and realized I have given ZERO thought to how I was going to back it.  I didn't have a single cut of yardage big enough to use, but I did have loads of scraps that I really didn't want to keep.  So, I spent most of this morning cutting up fabric for the backing and for my friends baby boy quilt.  I even started piecing some of these together.

Scoot WIP

Yikes, that's a lot of yellow!  All my other solids looked a little too bright for the muted shades of this Riley Blake "Scoot" fabric.  I picked up this Scoot back when my nephew was really into trains, but I didn't get a chance to make him a quilt before he moved on.  Monster trucks are now his thing!  I thought the soft yellows and other muted colors would be ideal for a new baby though!  I'm doing a bit of manufacturer mix up - Riley Blake fabric with a Moda Bake shop pattern.  Hey, that's how I roll!  So there is the beginning of that WIP.

This Wednesday...

Completed Projects:
  • April Showers Mug Rugs - done, you can see them here
  • Bee Blocks - April Simply Solids, We Bee Learning (2 blocks done), Make it Modern (1 block done, and my tutorial here), Lucky Stars April Block, 
  • Les Amis Baby quilt - DONE!  Come back on Friday for the big reveal.  I love how this one turned out!
On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".
  • Bee Blocks & BOM blocks - Skill Builder BOM blocks (now 2 months worth), 
  • Star of Africa Bee - I have already slipped behind.  Need February, March, and April done.
  • Baby quilt for boy - A deadline has been given - just what I needed!  Baby shower is May 20th.  Piecing is now in progress
  • Beginner Quilt Along at Quilting Gallery - needs backing, basting, quilting, etc.  Probably NOT going to meet my April deadline.
  • Quilt for Hands 2 Help Charity Drive - deciding between two designs.
  • Items for the "It's for the Birds" Blog Hop - my day is May 13th - I've got one little thing complete, but it is pretty pathetic.  I've got a table runner pattern all picked out, and would love to get it done for the hop.
  • Items for the "Say it with Flowers" Blog Hop starting at the end of May - several ideas swarming through my head for this one!
Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks - I should really rename this category to "I want to remember that I have these projects, but realistically they won't be touched till 2015 because I'm too busy doing other stuff"
  • Handstitched Medallion Quilt - quilting in progress.  This is the project is going to take FOREVER!!
  • Discontinuity 2 - crib sized top is complete, but now I am thinking it really needs to be twin sized as all the girls are about to be in big girl beds.  On hold for now.
  • Curves Class goodies - catch up in progress, but on hold for now.   
This week's stats:
Completed projects - a handful, plus some blocks
New projects - 2?
Currently in Progress - 7 ish

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to the Building Blocks Tuesday post!

And as always, thanks for reading,

Jen

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with
 WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Bento of Googly Eyes - Building Blocks Tuesday


Make it Modern April

This is a bento box starter block I made for the Make it Modern Bee.  Starter - meaning that the recipient will chop it up into 4 pieces and mix it up with other blocks she receives.  The tutorial is found here.  I liked making this block and really like the look of the bento boxes (similar to Discontinuity).  I might have to try it out again soon, but with less orange.

Orange has grown on me a bit since making a bunch of bee blocks with orange as a requirement, BUT it is still not a favorite.  I even had to ask my bee mate if the block above was too busy, since anything with that much orange just shouts at me, I am not the best judge.  She claims it is OK, so it will be on its way.  I just love those herons, and I thought the googly eye fabric added some interest.  There is also some Simply Color and Sketch in there.

So what have you been working on this week?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading!

Jen

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Inspirational Sunday (10) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

The Feathers of Angel Wings

Today's 2 quilts are whole cloth quilts.  I love looking at whole cloth quilts.  The designs and texture created by just the quilting motifs is really inspirational.  It reminds me not to overlook the importance of the quilting design in my pieced quilts.

"Jordyn's Angel Quilt" by Richard W Orr of Dixon, CA


This stunning quilt is called "Jordyn's Angel Quilt" by Richard W. Orr of Dixon, CA.  It is made with dupioni silk.  All the blocks were designed using the Inteliquilter computerized program and the rays and micro stippling were done free motion with his APQS Millenium long arm machine.  It was designed by Joann Hoffman, Judy Woodworth, and Mary Nordeng.

It's rather fancy for a baby, but I can just imagine wrapping it around a precious child.


This next quilt is truly a lesson in how fillers are important to create depth in the quilting pattern.  It is called "Flowers and Feathers" by Kristin Vierra of Lincoln, NE.  It is based off a quilt designed by Debra Wagner called Winter Bouquet that was published in the 1993 edition of Great American Quilts.  Kirstin change the size of the quilt and added her own touch with the fillers and borders.

"Flowers and Feathers" by Kristin Vierra of Lincoln, NE

It's just beautiful, no?

Have you ever considered making a whole cloth quilt?  I don't really have time now, but it is on my quilting bucket list.  How about you?

All this white today, but next week we will return to the land of color with some of the most colorful quilts I saw at the show!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Mood Mug Rugs (Giveaway!) - April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop Stop

Welcome April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hoppers!  First, I would like to thank Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt for putting together all these marvelous blog hops.  They are so much fun!  And Erin at Sew at Home Mummy for being our cheerleader for the Hop.  I have felt inspired every day.

As I understood it, I was challenged with creating a mug rug, with anything that "April" brought to mind.  While yes, April showers bring May flowers.  April in general, makes me think of spring and spring flowers.

I should explain first....I grew up in South Florida, which didn't really have seasons (unless you count "snowbird season").  Also, despite its name meaning land of flowers, Florida didn't really have the kind of flowers that I wanted to see in springtime.  I loved the flowers that sprouted from bulbs in particular.  Tulips, lilies, iris (technically a rhizome), and especially daffodils.  Oh, how I yearned to have daffodils cheerfully showing their faces in our yard.  But Florida is too hot, too many bugs, too hungry squirrels....you get the point.   Luckily, my grandparents lived in Connecticut in an adorable little woodsy cottage.  The perfect place to have all these beautiful spring flowers nestled around the stone foundation.  I was still in school in the spring, so there is no way I could actually be there to see all these glorious flowers, but I could live vicariously through my grandparents.  And being the economical child that I was, it only made sense to get as many beautiful bulbs as I could for my $money.  I only realized once I got a little older more mature, why my poor grandparents were never really delighted to unwrap a bushel of 200 daffodil bulbs that would need to be planted in the rocky soil.  Never-mind that is was also a gift that they would have to wait another 6 months to actually get to see the benefits of.

Well Gram, here is a daffodil that doesn't have to be planted and can still herald the coming of spring!  I made it using a FREE pattern  at Craftsy made by Beth at Piece By Number.  Yes, I did say "Free", it is one of my favorite words in the English language!

Daffodil mug rug

My second favorite words are "on sale", and for my next few mug rugs, I used a pattern that I got on sale at Connecting Threads called "Let it Rain" by Jo-Lydia's Attic from The Joy of Sewing.

I decided to make these "mood mug rugs", because while I find little umbrellas cute and spring-like, every storm runs out of rain.  I am usually in a much sunnier mood after finishing my morning cup of coffee.  So, I made these reversible with suns on the back.  You get to choose which mood you are in - drizzly or sunny!

Mood mug rugs front

Wake up in a funk?  Need a little brightness in your morning?  Flip it over for a little sunshine.  Way too perky barista a little too bright for your morning?  Making you feel like you need a parasol? - flip it back to the umbrella side and breathe a little.

Mood mug rugs back

The Giveaway is now closed.

Did I mention a giveaway?  Yes!  I am giving away all of my mood mug rugs - one mug rug each for four lucky winners.  All you have to do to enter is:
  • Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite FREE or on sale pattern is right now
  • If you are follower of mine, you get a bonus entry!  Just leave me another comment telling me how you follow me (Bloglovin', Google Friend, etc).
That's it!  I will randomly draw 4 winners on Friday, April 19th around 9 am PST, and notify those winners by email.  International entries are welcome - I love to surprise those guys at the post office with interesting destinations.

****Please note!  IF you are a "No-Reply Blogger", I am not going to try to track you down, I will just draw another winner.  Wordpress people - this is usually you, I don't know why.  If in doubt, please leave your email address in you comment!****

Don't forget to visit all the other stops on the blog hop today.  There have already been some amazing mug rugs throughout the hop, and I know there will be more tomorrow too.

Here's the rest of the schedule:

Wednesday, April 17

Marjorie @ Marjorie's Busy Corner
Elita @ A Pieceful Perspective
Green @ So Sew Green
Mara @ Greco Mara
Wendy @ Why Knot Kwilt?
Gmama Jane @ GrandMama's Stories
Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts
Britt-Inger @ Hill Valley Quilter
Connie @ Freemotion by the River
Beth @ Words and Stitches
Kathy @ iHeartSquishy
Thursday April 18
Merry Gay @ Merry Gay in Stitches
Mary @ Sew Maybe I Can
Joanne @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt
Linda @ Buzzing and Bumbling
Mary @ NeedledMom
Sherry @ Peanuts Patchwork
Fredrika @ Feltfree pÃ¥ Ã…sly 
Shauna @ Welcome to Shauna's World
Sharon @ Dancing thru Threads
Madame Samm @ !Sew WE Quilt!

Thanks for reading today and good luck in the giveaway!

Jen

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Spring Cleaning, the Toy Witch, and Floating Hearts - Building Blocks Tuesday

Aren't these blocks adorable?  They are called "Floating Hearts", and I made them this week for Christine in the We Bee Learning bee.

We Bee Learning April

I got to choose where my hearts would end up in the block.  I didn't really mean for them to be so similar, but I'm sure they will be placed far apart from one another.  The quilt she is making has these grey blocks with floating red/pink hearts, with the exception of one block which is pink/red with a grey/black heart.  It looks really cool.  I hope she shares the finished quilt with us.  I would love to see how she quilts it too.

In other, non-quilty, going's on...

Yes, the dreaded words, "spring cleaning".   I put it off long enough, but it has been happening around here this week.  I probably would have put it off until next spring (or whenever we move) had it not been for the Girl Scouts at Ashley's school having a toy drive.   This is not just any toy drive.  They are willing to take used toys, even broken toys!  Evidently, Los Angeles has a rather large toy bank, so they use parts from other toys, fix them up, make them like new and give them to kids who need toys.  Brilliant!  And with 3 crazy little girls in the house, we had a lot of nearly complete toys that no one plays with and the second hand store isn't interested in.   So yesterday, I dumped out all the toy boxes, cleaned out all the closets and tried to put together as many sets of tea dishes and blocks, etc. as I could, not to mention the dozen completely new (with tags still on) Easter bunnies that various relatives have given us the last couple of years.  They all went in several large trash bags and made it to the bin at the school.  And I'm not even done yet!  There are still a few boxes that the Toy Witch put away in storage to go through.

Who is the Toy Witch, you ask?  She is a mysterious person who comes while the kids are at school - according to legend if she is looked by a child straight in the eye, she might turn to stone - and takes whatever toys are not put away properly.  What does she do with these toys?  Well, she used to throw them away (into storage), but now according to the International Treaty of 2011, she has to donate these toys to needy children who will take better care of them.  Another random detail (because kids believe in her more when there are details), she may or may not be related to the tooth fairy, in an evil stepsister kind of way.  Does her existence help my kids put away their toys?  Probably, yes.  They are smart enough to know which days she is expected to come. So if it is Saturday, those toys are still going to be all over the floor.  But in general, it has helped.

I hope you will come back tomorrow to visit during my day of the April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop.  I have a few creations to share!  There are also some fabulous creations on today's blog hop stops:


TUESDAY, APRIL 16th
Cathi @ Quilt Obsession
Jane @ Jane's Fabrics and Quilts
Heidi @ Nutz4Redwork
Cherry @ Cherry'sPrairiePrimatives
Christine @ Quilt Monster in my Closet
Vickie @ More Stars in Comanche
Pauline @ Stekje
Jan @ Jan's Art Friendzy
Nissa @ Nissa Made Stuff
Robin @ As Sweet As Peaches
Lyndsey @ Sew Many Yarns
And a guest post by Eleni located at Sew at Home Mummy


So what have you been working on this week?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading!  I'm off to pack up some more toys!

Jen


Sunday, April 14, 2013

Inspirational Sunday (9) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

Oh My Stars! - A Nod to the more Traditional Look

This week I wanted to share 2 quilts with Star blocks that are just gorgeous.

"Two Score and Seven Stars" by Thelma A Childers of Charleston, IL

This one is called "Two Score and Seven Stars" by Thelma A Childers of Charleston, IL, quilted by Judi Madsen.  Here is her description of the quilt, "Civil war themed fabric was selected for this stars in a star design.  The quilting continues the civil war theme & feel with original free hand quilting which uses civil war themed pieced block designs for the quilting design.  The light square blocks are quilted using the block Order Number 11.  The dark square blocks use 9 different civil war themed blocks.  The 3 outer borders are united by a unique overall design of stars and feathers."

I have no idea what some of that means, but I think we can all agree that it is stunning.

Here are some more stars in a color combo that I really enjoy.

"Chocolate and Toile" by Barbara G Goddard of Lancaster, CA

This quilt is called "Chocolate and Toile" by Barbara G. Goddard of Lancaster, CA, quilted by Myrna Ficken.  She took Judy Laquidara's (of Patchwork Times) Starlight Path Pattern, but used a different border by hand appliqueing those 584 leaves.  The result is an amazing border, don't you agree?

I hope you found these beautiful star quilts inspirational today!  Next week, 2 whole cloth quilts that are stunning.

Thanks for reading,

Jen

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

This isn't a ski blog - Building Blocks Tuesday


Simply Solids April for Licet

Check out the improv block I did today for Licet in the Simply Solids Bee.  She chose the prettiest colors didn't she?  These improv blocks are fun, but I really want to see what they all look like put together.

We are back from our ski trip to Mammoth, CA.  I didn't break anything this year - hooray!  AND, I got all the best prices at my yard sales (skiers will know what I mean).

Mammoth

They call it Mammoth Mountain because it is HUGE.  This is just one part of the mountain, there are at least four.  I was too busy enjoying myself to take many pictures.  We had gorgeous bluebird spring weather 4 of the 5 days we skied.  Not too shabby!

The girls all had a great time too.  Here's a pic of them riding in the gondola.

Girls in gondola

Olivia didn't ski, but she enjoyed riding the gondola up the mountain each morning and waving goodbye to her sisters at ski school.  Here are my little daredevils.

Ashley and Lizzy skiing

Lizzy did extremely well for her 2nd year on skis, and Ashley, well, she can almost ski better than me at this point, and she is only 6!  We are very proud of them.

But hey, this isn't a ski blog, is it?  So what have you been working on this week?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open for a whole week.  And spread the word!


Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading,

Jen


Monday, April 8, 2013

2nd Quarter Goal Setting - 2013 Finish Along

Just a quick post to formalize my goal setting for the next quarter.  This 2nd quarter list will take me to June, when things really get crazy around here with the kids out of school.  I should try to make the most of them still attending classes, while I can, because my 3rd quarter list will undoubtedly be more sparse.

Here it goes:
  • Beginner QAL quilt - need to finish it.  I still need to add outer borders, back, baste and quilt it.
  • BQA top WIP
  • Les Amis Baby quilt - This one is partially quilted
  • Les Amis top
  • Baby Boy quilt - my friend is due in July, so I need to get going on this one
  • Hands 2 Help quilt - I signed up for this year's charity drive and quilts are due in June.
  • I also have my bee commitments
    • Star of Africa Bee - I am 2 months behind, plus I will have 3 more during the quarter
    • Skill Builder QAL - I still have 6 blocks from last quarter, plus another 6 from this quarter
    • Lucky Star BOM - will have 3 to do.
    • We Bee Learning Bee - 2 blocks per month for 3 months
    • Simply Solids Bee - 1 block per month for 3 months
    • Make it Modern Bee - April is my month, so I will only have 2 blocks per month for 2 months
  • For the Birds Blog Hop item for a May date tbd
  • I would also really like to start on a quilt for my own bed!  I've chosen the pattern, and started collecting fabrics.  Truthfully, it will be a miracle if I even get it into a top in this time frame.
That's a lot of stuff!  There is also a potential for all my goal setting to be for nothing.  If we decide to move this quarter, I will be lucky to keep up with my bee commitments while packing/moving.  But, at the moment, there is no house to move into, so I better get cookin'!   I hope you will come back to cheer me on!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen



she can quilt

April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop



Just a quick reminder that the April Showers Mug Rug Blog Hop Starts today!  My date has been switched to April 17th, which might give me just enough time to complete a second mug rug for the hop.

You can check out the full schedule here at Sew at Home Mummy

Here are today's participants:

MONDAY, APRIL 8:
Erin @ Sew at Home Mummy
 Patty @ A Stitch in Time
Jenny @ Squawk That
Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt
Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio
Lisa @ In The Boon Docks
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin: the project girl
Beluah @ Sowing Stitches
Karen @ Bungalow Bay Quilts
Cyndi @ Stitch, Stitch, Stitch
DeAnna @ Georgia Girl Quilter

I can't wait to see what they come up with!  Everyone is so talented and creative.

Jen

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Inspirational Sunday (8) - via the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show

Cosmic Wonders

Today's inspiration comes from two quilts that I felt were inspired by the cosmos.  The first is quite obvious.

"Azzurro" by Lisa R Jenni of Redmond, WA

It is called "Azzuro" by Lisa R. Jenni of Redmond, WA.  It is an original design that was inspired by weeks of reading about sun flares in the newspaper.

"Elsa's Knot" by Ann Helbling of Fargo, ND

This one is called "Elsa's Knot" by Ann Helbling of Fargo, ND, and quilted by Clem Buzick.  The design is called "Solar Flare" from the book, Blocks to Diamonds, by Cheryl Malkowski.  It uses strip pieced squares and diamonds.

Here is a detailed shot of the quilting:


detail of "Elsa's Knot" by Ann Helbling of Fargo, ND


Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Monday, April 1, 2013

April - Fresh Sewing Day

March Mosaic


1. Boot for Tina, 2. Cherry Blossoms for Sana, 3. My Rainbow Road table runner, 4. Journal covers 1.1, 5. drunkard's path pot holder, 6. droplet journal covers, 7. Make it Modern March x plus, 8. Now spinning the right way, 9. Divided Baskets for Easter, 10. IMG_2137, 11. Ashley's Tooth Pillow Back, 12. Make it Modern March 1.1

There it is - the mosaic for this month's finishes.  Lots of blocks, lots of curves projects, but no finished quilts - wha, wha, whaaaa!

I guess that just leaves more opportunity for next month!

In other news, the girls really enjoyed going through their Easter baskets.  6 am came a little too early for the rest of us, but they were intent at discovering what was inside.  And despite not putting much candy in them, we had a hard time keeping them from eating what few pieces I did, until after a reasonable breakfast.

Ashley opening her basket


Ashley helping Olivia with her basket


Thanks for stopping by today,

Jen


Linking up with:


Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day


Lily's Quilts