FF: Gypsy Wife Quilt.

My Gypsy Wife Quilt is complete. It's been such a long-term project that it honestly feels odd to have it done! 

I thought I'd been working on it for over two years, but come to find out, it hasn't been quite that long. I bought the pattern in February of last year.

The first time I saw the pattern, I knew that I wanted to make it and that I wanted it in AMH fabrics with a handquilted finish. I don't always have such strong feelings, but this quilt definitely did that for me.

This pattern...wooboy. It was an effort of love, let me tell you. And since I handquilted it, it took about a kajillion years to finish. So now I have a new system for measuring my love: if I'm willing to make someone a Gypsy Wife quilt, it means I love them A TON. (That being said, I have absolutely no desire to repeat this pattern. Ever.)

The handquilting took forever, but it was totally worth it. I mostly straight line quilted it using perle cotton, but occasionally I got fancy and tried something else out.

When I got ready to back it, I pulled some of my favorite fabrics from stash that hadn't found the perfect project. Some AMH prints I hadn't wanted to cut into, some Kate Spain, Lizzy House, Alison Glass, and I can't remember who designed that yellow print, but that made it in there too. It's a total mish-mash, but I love it.

I had pieced some HRTs incorrectly for one of the blocks, so I used them to form a diamond and added it to the back. At some point I'll add a label. One of these days....

The binding is a fun stripe, also by AMH. While my original plan had been only AMH fabrics plus a few solids thrown in willy-nilly, I expanded that to include a large number of other designers, including a precious bit of Tula's Parisville line.

With that project finished, it's time to move on to clearing out some of the other WIPs I have waiting. (And maybe even start a new quilt or two??)

This is my first finish off my Q4 FAL list. After sitting on that list for what feels like a year, I can finally cross it off, woo!

FF: A Blue? Baby Quilt Top.

These blue strings...

...transformed into blue log cabins...

...which transformed into this blue(?) log cabin quilt top.

Friends, blue log cabins on a white background seemed a little...safe. So when my quilting sensei recommended a PEACH background, I didn't really know what to think about that. Except, the idea got under my skin in a good way, and I went for it.

Peach? Yes, please.

This quilt is a much smaller version of the Bubbles quilt from Modern Rainbow. (If y'all don't know, I'm hoping to make every single quilt from that book. It's admittedly going to take a while.) I already have a backing picked out for this one and a quilting idea in mind, so hopefully I'll get this wrinkly quilt top basted shortly.

And NEXT WEEK, I hope to have my favoritest quilty finish ever to share with you. Stay tuned.

Q4 FAL List.

Let's dive right in! My stash and I are separated for the moment, but I'll post the missing pics when we are reunited in the next couple of days.

1. Gypsy Wife Quilt
FINISHED
OMG, I am so close to finishing the handquilting, it hurts. I'm maybe 90-95% done?

2. Baby H's Quilt
FINISHED
Blocks are done. Need to be set in with background fabric.

3. EPP Table Topper
FINISHED
This project is slowly coming together.

4. Dad's Quilt

Top is done. I'm hoping to have this one long-armed.

5. Project Linus Quilt

Top is done and quilted.

6. City Sampler Quilt
Blocks are finished--need to be set

7. Negroni Shirt for my husband

have fabric and pattern

8. Bag for husband
FINISHED
using scraps from his messenger bag to make a smaller version

9. Bags for my boys
using cargo pants and a noodle-head tutorial

10. Quilt for D & K's baby
FINISHED
secret project of awesome

I'm linking up with On the Windy Side for the Q4 FAL! 

FF: Another 241 Tote. (Yes, another.)

Yes. Another one. I've lost count of how many I've made. A bunch. I love this pattern, blahblahblah, this is old news. Do I sound unexcited about this? Because honestly, I'm thrilled with this latest one. It's just, how many new and creative blog post introductions can you write about a bag you can't stop making? I'm running out of material!

On a Friday night a few Fridays ago, I started with this fabric pull with the hopes of finishing up a 241 tote in two hours. Except, I forgot the thirty minutes it would take me to drop off and pick up my kid. Then my BFF called, and we had to chat. Then I didn't move so quickly because I was watching Star Trek and OMG, it was a stressful episode. (What if they all DIED??? They didn't, but WHAT IF???) So my two hours of child-freesewing time was more like...an hour? Thank goodness I was able to sew more after he went to bed!

What was particularly fun about this Friday night sewing session was that my friend Linda was also sewing that evening on a 241 tote, and even though we live in different states, we were able to send progress shots back and forth to each other. My interfacing acted up because OF COURSE IT DID, and she suffered some thread issues. But we kept working because we are sewers, and we are tough stuff. I didn't finish my tote in the allotted two hours, nor did I finish it that evening after my youngest was asleep, but I did manage to get everything done except the final topstitching, which had to wait until the next morning because a thunderstorm woke the baby, and he required some mama love.

It's a fun bag. I bought an FQ of Bella by Lotta Jansdotter what feels like years ago...actually, it was a couple of years ago! I paired it with some Kona in white and a blue print I also bought a couple of years back. The recipient's favorite colors are indigo and white, so while white is maybe not the best call for a bag, it is striking, and hopefully this blue is close enough to indigo to please.

The inside is...wild. I used some batiks I had on hand, plus the same blue print from the outside. I had a quarter yard cut of the main panel batik, but I just cut the pieces out and included a little extra for seam allowance, then sewed them up the middle. Worked like a charm, and I kind of like the look, so don't be surprised if you see this again.

Because there will be another 241 tote. You know it, I know. I can't stay away!