WIP: Reunion.

Morning, y'all! Today is another edition of Works in Progress at Freshly Pieced.

I have finished my Reunion quilt top, basted it, and now I'm working on quilting that puppy up. While this is my fifth quilt, it's only my first time burying threads, and I'm learning that while it looks better, it's a lot of work! And I'm doing more quilting than usual (for me) on this quilt, so I'll have a lot of threads to bury.

Linking up!

Let Them Eat Cake...In Bed!

After much deliberation, I have decided not only on the pattern I want to use for my bed quilt, but also some of the fabric. It was a long hard decision, and I spent many many hours perusing fabric websites and etsy for ideas. If I was honest, I wanted it to have a lot of pink--thank you, husband, for tolerating my hot pink obsession--and I wanted it to be frivolous and fun. I don't know why I didn't immediately think of Tula Pink, who is hands down my favorite fabric designer, but I didn't. I can only imagine it's because her latest collection, Nightshade, is awesome, but a little too dark for my bedquilt. (I want something happy and fanciful.) But that didn't rule out her older collections! Hours and hours later, I decided to make a quilt using Parisville. I'll also be using Tula Pink's Snow Globes pattern, which should be arriving in my mailbox any day now!

And while Parisville isn't the easiest fabric to locate, I popped in at my new LQS this morning, and not only did they have some bolts of Prince Charming left, they also had the fans print from Parisville. I still have a lot of fabric to purchase, but I'm stoked to have gotten started. And isn't it so dreamy?

Now, to resist purchasing Prince Charming....

PS-When chatting about the quilt with friends, my friends John and SS suggested I call the quilt "Let Them Eat Cake in Bed." Pretty much the coolest quilt name ever. Well, besides Polka Dot Attack Pinwheels!, which let's be honest, cannot be beat.

WIP: wonky stars.

An idea has been squirming around in my head, and while I've certainly had crazier ideas, it's probably my craziest quilting idea to boot:

I want to make a queen-sized quilt.

(Insert nervous giggle.) From a girl who has yet to make anything larger than a throw quilt, it's definitely an ambitious project. Do I think Agatha and I can handle it? Probably.

Now that I've decided to do it, I'm having a nightmare time deciding on everything else. I've had my current quilt since I got married--six years. When I saw it in the store, I knew I had to have it. But I won't know what the final product will look like until I've made the final product, and that paralyzes me with fear.

I've started auditioning blocks in hopes that I would stumble across something that I really like. The first I've tried is a "wonky star" block. I happen to love making this block, which is a bit odd since it involves wasting a bit of fabric, and to be honest, I hate wasting fabric.

I pulled this stack of fabric to work with. I later added solids in dark purple and white. Then I got to work!

They finish at 10.5 inches. I like this last block in particular. This might be a mini quilt. Or maybe a big 20" pillow? Or perhaps a long table runner? (PS-I used this tutorial.)

If I did make a big quilt using wonky star blocks, I'd want to make a quilt like this one or this one.

I've started on my quilt using Reunion fabric. I decided to chop up the charm pack and make a smaller batch of patchwork, and having made two 6x6 blocks, I'm happy I did. I love them!

I've got two more blocks to make, and then it's time to pick out accompanying fabrics and piece this puppy together.

I do have one small finish from this week--my jungle quilt from last week. Binding is added, and work is complete.

Linking up with WIP at Freshly Pieced.

this weekend.

Hi friends! Did you have a lovely weekend? I know I did. Our good friends D & K were in town, and we took the train to San Francisco and roamed around Chinatown and Fishermen's Wharf. It was awesomeness, especially when D got chewed out and threatened by this tea shop owner we encountered.

D was kind enough to fit into his suitcase the awesome quilt that K made for my Lito Bean.

 

Isn't it glorious? I'm in serious love, and unfortunately thankfully, it's for my son. 

I got to work on some new blocks--one patchwork and some wonky stars. Love! 

I cut charms into four pieces, and it was quite a bit of cutting work. But totally worth it. I love the patchwork block I made! And the star...well, what can I say? It's hot pink and totally fierce. 

What did you work on this weekend?

WIP: The Orange Edition

Hi Friends!

Welcome to another edition of Works in Progress. I've titled this one the "orange" edition due to the large amount of orange I used this week. Orange isn't my favorite of colors, but it is my oldest son's current favorite, so I'm guessing I'll be working with it on a more intimate basis if this orange trend continues.

First, the work in progress.

I started working on this mini-quilt before we made our move to the west coast. Since we only took a small amount of stuff with us, I was looking for art for the walls that wouldn't break on the car ride and wouldn't take up much space. I didn't get this one done before we left, but I should have the binding finished this week. I think it will look fierce in Banzo's room.

I struggled with picking a binding material, but I finally decided on this solid orange from my stash. I really like the look of it.

Now, to the finishes!

 

I finished my tote bags (more orange!) and I like the way they turned out. The French seams were surprisingly easy, though I had to read the instructions about eight times to make sure that I had read them correctly and that they weren't crazy! I may not be a sewing pro, but wrong sides together first? That sounds like crazy talk to me! But they look really nice. I understood the tutorial I used, but a pal recommended this tutorial, and I thought it was easier to understand.

I also finished my June BOM. The diamonds didn't do much for me initially, but I like the fabric combinations, and I think it will make a nice addition to my BOM quilt. Halfway done! I can't believe it! 

And now, I can begin on quilt #4! Oh, Reunion charm pack. I am SO excited to use you!

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced's WIP. If you haven't already, check out that page. I love Wednesdays!

 

reunited.

Agatha and I have been reunited.

Since I've done next to no sewing for nearly a month, I was eager to delve right in, but courtesy demanded that I pay attention to my mama, and Agatha had to wait. (My mama's visit was lovely, thanks for asking!)

My mama left this afternoon, and while I was very very sad, I only sniffled a little bit, then I called my sissy, who informed me that I had my husband now, so why was I whining? I adore her tough love speeches. They are just what I need. In fact, I often call her looking for her tough love because it keeps me in order. After the phone call, I enjoyed a visit to Trader Joe's--oh, how I missed you, TJ's!--then came home and surrounded myself with fabric. There was also some kidlet maintenance and feeding in there somewhere, but my oh my, the fabric!

First up on the to-do list are two drawstring bags I volunteered to make for Danny at Mommy for Reals. I thought the project was pretty much awesome, and I love me a drawstring bag. I wasn't bold enough to try the zipper pouch, but that is on my to-do list. The bags are for teenage boys, and let me tell you, it is NOT easy to find fabric for teenage boys. I found one FQ of the flames fabric, and I picked up an orange for the second pouch.

Speaking of a zippered pouch, all of these tutorials I keep finding say that I need a zipper foot. Well, punkins, Agatha does not have a zipper foot. She also doesn't have a walking foot. Am I able to do it with my regular foot?

Next up is my June BOM from In Color Order. The design is diamonds. Hurrah!

Upon completion of these two projects, and only upon their completion, will I resume work on quilt #4. That will involve visiting my local quilt shop and also deciding if I want to work my charm packet into 3x3 patchwork squares or cut those bad boys into 4 pieces and work them into 6x6 patchwork squares. The 6x6 will obviously be more work, but it means I can use the fabrics in multiple spots as opposed to only one location. I think the deciding point will be how I think it looks with the yardage I need to purchase. I should lay it out before cutting/sewing, but I so want to bust out that beautiful fabric and get to work!

Alright. I've got HSTs to tackle and French seams to navigate. Also, there is some Sherlock, Season 2 to watch! But tell me, what are you working on?