FF: Magnolia Mystery Quilt Top.

This morning, chaos abounds! I set myself a reminder on my phone to email a picture of my finished Magnolia Mystery Quilt top to Cheryl so I could be a part of the parade. I had waited until today to send it, hoping that I would have a finished quilt, but that is not the case! And then, when I went to pull up the photos of this quilt, I realized I 1) can't find the photos I took of the finished top, and 2) I NEVER wrote a blog post about it. #winning!

So hooray for me, I managed to squeeze in a small photo shoot amidst homeschooling, and I'm dashing out a quick post before I forget again. I say quick...we'll see if I can tamp down my typical verbose self.

Here is my finished Magnolia Mystery Quilt top! Cheryl from Meadow Mist Designs runs a mystery quilt every year, and this is my second time participating in the fun.

This quilt was a BLAST to piece. Like, I seriously thought to myself multiple times during the process that I was having so much fun, and for a girl in a chaotic season of life, that makes this all the more special. Team that up with the fact that this is destined for a very important person in my life, and I have some serious feels for this quilt.

I didn't participate in Cheryl's mystery quilt last year, and I kicked myself for that decision. You see, I STILL haven't finished my Midnight Mystery Quilt from the year before, and I told myself I couldn't until I finished that one. (It's all pieced, I'm just waiting to get it long-armed.) When this year rolled around, I told myself I could, as long as I could find all of the fabric I would need in my stash. And I did! The black batik was a huge piece of fabric a friend gave me a few years ago, the green is a super fun swirl print that I can't remember the name of, though it's quite possibly my favorite blender ever. The turquoise is a mix of an Alison Glass print and a Grunge Dot print, and the purple are two blenders that I had in stash. I have enough of the black to use as binding, and I scored a ridiculously loud print for the back for $2.49/yard, but I think I'll let that be a little surprise.

2018 Q1 FAL list.

Dudes, I cannot even remember the last time I did this. (It was probably only a quarter or two ago, haha, but it feels like ages!) And I'm up for another round, so here is my list in all of its AWESOME glory.

1. Wayward Transparency Quilt - needs to be quilted and bound
DONE!

2. Magnolia Mystery Quilt - needs to be quilted and bound

3. Midnight Mystery Quilt -
I'm hopeful this is the quarter that this goes to the longarmer--
I have no idea how to have them quilt it!!!

4. Patina Quilt - I'm a third of the way done with the quilting
DONE

5. C2C Quilt - need to baste, quilt, bind

6. Triceratops Moneta Dress - 

I made a purple Moneta dress as a muslin, now I'm ready to make more!

7. Octopus Moneta Dress for ME--have pattern and fabric

AND

8. A Matching Octopus Geranium Dress for my daughter--have pattern and fabric

Let's cap it at eight. That's more than enough for right now! I'm linking up with the 2018 FAL Q1 linky party! Woo!

Tula Pink Patina Quilt Top

Friend, last time we chatted about this Patina Quilt project from the book Quilt with Tula and Angela, I had just begun piecing all of the strips. There was piecing, then more piecing, then more piecing! All.The.Piecing. By the time I finished piecing, I was thoroughly OVER IT, but then I sat back and looked at it and ooohed at the prettiness of it all.

I took this photo back in SEPTEMBER. I basted it in October. I started quilting it in November. And then I'd work on it between holiday gift-making and holiday prep, and then, just when I thought I could start working on it again with some serious dedication, I wrenched my shoulder somehow, and wrestling with this lovely and my sewing machine, Stella, seemed like a terrible idea. (And I found out it was because I'm stubborn and didn't want to be inconvenienced by hurt shoulders so I sewed anyway, and after ten inches, my shoulders were a world of pain, so I stopped and crashed on my couch with a heat pad.)

My shoulders are feeling (mostly) better now, though I'll admit that I'm hesitant to pick this quilt up again just yet as I don't want to re-injure them! But hopefully I'll be able to get er' done soon. As of right now, I'd say I'm about 1/3 done with the quilting, which I'm calling a MAJOR success.

This bomb cyclone thing and its terrible weather rendered us housebound for a few days, and while that was super lame, I *did* manage to get another quilt not only basted, but quilted! The binding is even picked out--though not prepared--so hopefully I'll be sharing that with you soon.

Patina Quilt Start

My oldest niece just had her Bat Mitzvah. (And if I may say so, she totally rocked it.) In the eyes of the Jewish community, she is now a woman. Cue Audrey freaking out. How do I have a niece that old?

And just how am I going to celebrate such a momentous occasion? You can probably guess, but just in case you're still waking up because it's Monday morning--oh it's Monday morning over here all right--I'm making her a quilt! Because it's one of those "go big or go home" kind of moments, I've chosen to make her a twin-size beauty of a quilt, the Patina quilt from Tula Pink and Angela Walter's book, Quilt with Tula and Angela.

I sent my niece 5-6 different quilt patterns that I thought she might like, and I was so excited when she chose the Patina quilt because it's the one I thought she might pick.

I have already used my seam ripper more than I would like to admit. I keep sewing the wrong colors to the wrong colors! But when you're dealing with 13 different fabrics and something between 500 and 600 rectangles, well, it's understandable that mistakes do occur.

I've chosen to use Kona solids for this quilt project, and I have this soft tie-dye flannel to back it with. (I actually bought the flannel before I bought the solids.) We're going with a color scheme very close to the original as my niece really liked it. I've finished sewing up my strip As and my strip Bs and I'm almost through my strip Cs. I hope to have a finished quilt top soon.

Happy Monday, friends!

Yes, Another 241 Tote.

Maybe I should rename this blog Hot Pink 241 Totes? Because I sure do make a lot of them! But I think you're right--it doesn't quite roll off the tongue the way Hot Pink Quilts does, so we'll stick with HPQ, and eventually maybe one of these days I'll get around to photographing the quilt-in-progress I'm working on. Maybe one of these days I'll actually get it done! But until then--241 Tote time!

I honestly don't know what number 241 tote this is for me. Eight? Nine? TEN? Suffice to say, I've made a ton of them. This time, I'm making a commissioned one. And if I'm going to make a commissioned tote, you'd best be believing it's going to rock and be exactly what that person is looking for in their heart of hearts.

We started with choosing a canvas for the exterior body of the bag. I love this print from Tokyo Train Ride. (We'd also considered a Melody Miller canvas and a few others, but we came back to this one, and I'm so glad we did. It's been magical watching it form.) I used fusible fleece interfacing, so this bag is good and solid.

I got the exterior mostly put together, went to insert the zipper, and face palmed as I had FORGOTTEN to buy a zipper. Bravo, Audrey! A few days later, I rectified that mistake. The super thick nature of the canvas + fusible fleece made it difficult to insert the zipper cleanly, so I did my best.

The interior (not pictured) came together without complication, including the pen pocket I added. I pressed fabric for the handle, choosing to fussy cut (ish) the mountains thinking they looked pretty bomb. But on the reverse of the mountains, quite by accident, there is this SUPER CUTE line of bunnies. Now, you'll be able to see both sides of the handle, but one side will be prominent, and choosing one which side to face out was hard! I took to instagram (thank you, friends for your input!) and chatted with my friend who commissioned the tote, and we made a decision, but I think I'm gonna have y'all wait until the end to see what we chose!

And when I went to finish up the adjustable strap--I use this tutorial, though I did modify it this go around, more details in the finish post--I realized I ALSO had neglected to buy a slide adjuster. Rather, I had one on hand, but I hadn't considered that it's 1" wide when I need one that is 1.5" wide. Finding one has been an awful pain, and I finally thought to check etsy, and sure enough, there were like fifty million listings.

When that slide adjuster arrives, this bag should come together in twenty (or so) minutes, and I am SO eager to have it done because it already looks pretty smart, so don't you think it'll look even better when complete?

Felicity Dress, Take 3 In Progress

This is my third time making Jennifer Lauren's Felicity Dress. I absolutely LOVE the second one I made--the first one, not so much!--and of all my handmade stuff, it's probably the piece I wear the most.

I have a couple of fun events to attend this summer, and a new dress for those get togethers sounded like a lovely plan! But rather than go through the arduous task of buying one RTW, I opted to make my own, and friends, it has been the best sort of idea. I was under a bit of a time crunch though, so rather than try (and possibly fail) with a new pattern, I opted to make a third Felicity dress.

It was an easy call, especially since I am still in the process of losing baby weight. Since I can currently fit into my other Felicity dress which was made pre-Vanilla, I knew that a third would still fit me when I've lost the baby weight. Also, the pattern was already cut out and marked, and that right there was a huge time-saver.

I ordered this super yummy lawn from Cotton + Steel--the line is specifically Hatbox--but it was going to be way too shear to wear solo, so I opted to line it with a muslin. I would still consider myself a beginning apparel-sewist, and I'm not too knowledgeable about the different types of lining fabrics. Because of that, the fabric I picked out is probably too structured for this lawn, or so I worried, but after sewing it up, I actually like the body it lends to the lawn. It gives the dress a bit more oomph and polish, and while it was completely accidental, I'm thankful for the accident!

My dress was all sewn up with the exception of the bottom hem when I went to try it on. I found with both of my previous versions of the Felicity dress that I needed to gather the neckline substantially more than is called for to make it lie flat and even on my chest. I accounted for that when I was sewing this version up, but after trying on the dress, I realized I still hadn't gathered enough, and so I need to rip out the binding fabric and gather the neckline again. Hopefully that fix will finish off this dress.

(And can I just say that I'm none too excited about this bit? The awesome lining fabric plus the lawn make gathering a tricky task.)

I did hem the bottom (obviously after this photo was taken) so once the neckline is finished, this dress will be ready to go! I'm really *really* excited to see this one done, and I'm even more excited to wear it this summer.

OH! And on looking up the Felicity Dress page while writing this post, I discovered that Jennifer Lauren has released a free skirt expansion, and I'm SO excited! I've been wanting to make some skirts for awhile now, and I've been eyeing the Cleo Skirt pattern by Made by Rae because it's cute and it has POCKETS. I may still wind up buying the Cleo pattern, but first I'm going to try this, especially since it also has pockets! (I kinda feel all dresses and skirts should have pockets.)

HPQ Sewing Nook

Seven months after moving into this house, I finally have my sewing nook kind of settled, and I thought I'd share it with you. This space also serves as homeschooling command central, but as you can see, the fabric and notions and fabulousness of sewing is waging a good war against the school books and supplies.

This is my favorite spot, as it has my mini quilts and thread and my sewing tool organizer that has definitely stood the test of time.

With four kidlets--or as my BFF calls them, my clients--I am having to squeeze sewing time in where I can. Sometimes, I only have enough time to cut a few pieces, or iron a cut of fabric or hunt hunt hunt for that elusive pattern piece that I still cannot find. I could see myself getting frustrated with the lack of sewing time, but my clients are a good bunch, and I do genuinely enjoy the SAHM/homeschooling gig. (Most of the time.)

This wall of lovely is the creation of my husband. Well, only the wall itself--all of the fabric goodness is mine with the exception of that stunning lonestar made by Alison for the Coast to Coast Traveling Quilt Bee. My most awesome husband put this together for my Christmas gift, and I can say I am thoroughly enjoying my first design wall. My nook is just off the kitchen, and the mess of color cheers me up when I'm cooking.

Here is the progress I made a couple of days ago. Some cut fabric on the right, and additional fabric on the left that I pulled for this project. I am hoping for some good nap time today to get a bit more done on this project, but we'll see. The baby still sleeps a ton, but the two-year-old has been battling a cold, and nap time hasn't been as long or awesome in the last few days. I've still got to find that pattern piece too!

FIP (Friday in Progress?)

I'm calling this Friday in Progress, and sadly, Friends, I have little to report. Vanilla is apparently quite snug in my stomach and wants to stay put, a fact with which I am finally coming to terms--but I have been busy with lots of baby prep and even some resting. My freezer is full of ready-to-cook crockpot meals, everything for baby is laundered and put away, our homeschool is planned through the end of the year, and I've knocked a few other annoying tasks off my to-do list. I haven't felt a huge rush to nest this pregnancy--with Fava, I decided one weekend that our dining room table had to be completely sanded and repainted because there was no way I could bring a child into a home that featured a table that chipped--so I've been taking it slow. Which is good. Because walking slowly seems to absolutely wind me at this point.

And for some reason, my motivation to sew has been zapped. I picked up my middle son's big boy bed quilt from the long-armer, and I love the way it turned out. The boxy design is maybe larger than I expected, but I actually like that about it. I've yet to trim this bad boy or even start work on piecing the binding, but I do know I'm planning to bind it in the lime solid we used. My son is sooooooo excited for it to be done, and he's asked if he can sleep under it every night once I've finished. That does a mama's heart good.

I attached the binding to Vanilla's baby quilt, but I've gotten little done on the handsewing front. (I'm one side down as of this morning!) I really need to step on this, especially since I'm still planning to handquilt those friendship stars, but even as I type this, I'm yawning. Maybe something about that quilt just makes me sleepy?

I have been making some knitting progress on my mama's shawl. I went up a size in needles after my other shawl turned out too small, but even still, I think this is going to run on the small size if I just stick with the pattern. Thankfully, this one looks like it will be a breeze to just add rows until I'm content with the length. I'm enjoying the pattern and the look, and I'm thinking I might knit up a second one after I finish this one, but with much larger needles.

That's what's going on around these parts. How are you? 

Vanilla's Quilt in Progress

After what I think was a successful spray basting session--or at the very least, what I hope was successful--I've commenced the quilting on Vanilla's baby quilt. So far, it's involved seven different types of thread, three different sewing machine feet, and by-the-seat-of-my-pants creativity.

I cannot get over echo quilting. I just can't. So that's what I spent a lot of my start doing, and let me tell you, it involved a lot of quilt turning around those NY Beauty wedges! I would do a bit at a time to make sure my back and shoulders didn't punish me later. (And even then, I spent some time with a heat pad and/or ice pack, but that could also be the whole, eight months pregnant thing.)

The straight line machine quilting came along really nicely, and I love this shot from the back. I didn't think to snag a picture after I added the FMQ in two of the corners, but I added a triangular meander to two opposite corners.

And then I jumped right into handquilting the center, as I haven't completely decided what to do with the friendship stars just yet. I'm using perl cottons, which I adore--I love the chunky texture and uneven stitches up against the machine stitched bits.

The center portion of the medallion is now complete, and you can see I did some infinity loops in the first border. I need to figure out a plan for the other borders, then attack!

I may not finish the quilt until after Vanilla arrives. I had an appointment a couple of days ago, and Vanilla is doing well. Oh, and she's locked and loaded and sitting really, really low. While I could still make it to my due date (later in November), it's highly likely she'll come before then. Given my history, and the fact that my three sons all came long before their due dates, it seems prudent to make sure everything else is ready to go. So we've been doing a lot of prepping around here. Laundry, carseat installation, laundry, hospital bag packing, trying to figure out a name, and MORE laundry. I keep thinking we're almost done--minus the tiny matter of not having a name picked out thing--but then I think of more stuff I need to do!

I'll keep you posted!

Vanilla's Quilt Top

Friends, hopefully by the time you're reading this, I'll have finished basting this bad boy using my latest acquisition--505 basting spray. Hopefully, the spray is good to me, and it revolutionizes my basting experience. We shall see. But first! Details on this lovely, which is finally done!

This was my original sketch for Vanilla's quilt, aka, #10 from the #30daysofquiltdesign challenge, and I'm not gonna lie, I still really love this design. Three-quarter dresdens in two corners? Fun blocks of color? Yowzas! This was going to be epic and just right.

Except, when I finished my friendship star border, I started to get worried. I really liked the dark navy of the quilt and the feel it gave to the top. I loved my original drawing, but I hadn't bothered to color anything in, just assuming I'd go navy/LV/navy/LV/etc. as I worked. And the more I looked at the quilt top, the more I started to think a thick low volume final border would significantly change the feel of the quilt, and in a way I wouldn't like. I didn't want to do it. I wanted my navy!

I stuck with my gut, and I didn't make the final border a low volume pièce de résistance. I split it into two thinner borders, one a thin low volume, and one a slightly thicker navy solid border--Kona Indigo, I think? And when I finished sewing that second border, I knew it was the right call. While not as flashy and skill-challenging as the dresdens certainly would have been, it finishes off this quilt top properly, at least in my opinion.

Besides, there is already kinda a lot going on with this top. A New York Beauty center...

...a round of friendship stars, two of which intentionally rotate in a different direction...

...and a backing pieced from Heather Ross' Briar Rose collection, the ever delicious strawberry fabric that I have been hoarding for just a wee bit.

So while I didn't follow my original plan exactly, I let this quilt take me where it would, and it was the right call. I have no idea how I'm going to quilt it. I love the idea of a mix of hand and machine quilting, but I may just machine quilt it for now and add in the perle cotton elements later. I do know I intend a scrappy binding using the warm colors in the top because while this quilt has a lot going on, I'm sure to pack in more. It's the Audrey way.

Q4 2016 FAL List.

The first six are items that I didn't finish last quarter. (I finished eight and scrapped two, so I'm calling Q3 a success.) And then some new ones, woo!

1. Negroni shirt for husband 

I completed a muslin that was waaaaaay too big. 

I need to make another before proceeding.

2. Midnight Mystery Quilt

Top needs to be sent to the long armer

3. Baby Quilt for Vanilla

Medallion Quilt--top is done
DONE

4. Big Boy Quilt for Lito

This bad boy is at the long-armer. 
DONE 

5. Dress for E
Geranium Dress pattern - pulled fabric; I'm going to be attempting a knit version.

6. Dress for Vanilla
Geranium Dress pattern - pulled fabric

7 & 8. Costumes for Banzo and Lito

 Pulled fabric--I'm planning to modify a pair of maxaloones and make a knit shirt

9. Indigo Landing Shawlette

almost done with this one--then need to figure out how to block it, eep!
DONE

10-13. Secret Sewing for Holiday Gifts

 pulled fabric, have pattern and plan of attack 
Boo's DONE

14. Quilt for Baby P
I'll be using one of my own designs and color palettes from the #30daysofquiltdesign challenge.

15. Quilt for Baby K
I'll be using one of my own designs and color palettes from the #30daysofquiltdesign challenge.

16. Quilt for Baby S
Here goes another Northern Lights pattern featuring solids!

This list is a big stack of dreams as Vanilla arrives next month and who knows what my sewing time will look like then! But Audreys are known for their dreaming prowess, and I am a girl who lives up to my name. If you're joining in the 2016 Q4 FAL, I wish you the best of luck on your finishes!

I'm linking up!