Quiltpiecer

12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain Top #226 In August, I joined Karrie Lyne at  Freckled Whimsy  for her Charm Pack Quilt Along.  I love a quilt-along, and I also love the  12 Days of Christmas  by Kate Spain for Moda. It took me a while, but I managed to sew all the rows and finally finished the center of the top.  I still need to sew on the borders.  Maybe I’ll finish it before the end of the month. Happy quilting! Update 1/14/12 :   I never finished this project and sold it on Etsy, with 2 yards of fabric for the outside border and 13 leftover charms. 

Scrappy Striped Pinwheel Top #225  Last week, I posted here about the  Striped Quilt Challenge that Beth at Love Laugh Quilt has been hosting.  And, I believe today was the last day of the challenge, although I don’t think a finish was “required”.  It’s all about having fun and quilting!  I managed to finish this small quilt top, and I’m happy with it, especially since I had a limited stash to work with.  I do like how the stripes make the pinwheels look like they’re moving.  Not so much in the picture, but in person, they almost make you dizzy if you stare at them too long.  I hope to have it finished by the end of this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day holiday! Update 6/19/11 :  Sold on eBay

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt   has been hosting a Striped Quilt Challenge, and this is the last week of the challenge which, of course, ends this weekend. Here is Beth’s quilt … isn’t it beautiful!  When I saw this, I was inspired to make my own striped quilt. And, when I joined a month ago, I really believed that I would not have a problem … at least starting a project and even believed that I would surely finish one before the challenge ended.  But here I am, just a few days left,  and all I’ve done is cut a few strips.  I hope this counts as a “start”! At the time, I knew I had some striped fabric, but I happily envisioned myself going to the fabric store to add to my stash!  Well, that didn’t happen.  And, my limited stash gave me no vision and no plan, so I went online for inspiration. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do.  I’m thinking maybe pinwheels or hourglass blocks, but I do so love the zig-zag design!

Pinwheel Sampler Quilt #216 Update 2/12/11 : Sold on Etsy Well, I finally finished it and I LOVE it!  I joined the pinwheel sampler quilt-along hosted by Rachel of p.s. i quilt in February, but put it aside in my UFO pile.  I recently got motivated to finish it when I saw the finished quilts that others had made.  This was such a fun and easy project that I’m tempted to make another one! I spent all day yesterday quilting and binding it so I could link up today to Sew & Tell Friday!  Great motivation!  I quilted it using an overall heart and loopy design, and it measures 56 x 68 inches. This was my third blogging quilt-along, and they’re just a lot of fun.  I would have never tried a pinwheel sampler on my own, so thanks to Rachel for hosting! Linking up again to Amy's Sew and Tell Fridays … visit her post to see more sewing finishes!  I am also linking up to Lit & Laundry’s Finished for Friday .

Well, I finally finished my Pinwheel Sampler quilt top that I made as part of the quilt-along hosted by Rachel of p.s. i quilt .  I started this in February but had to put it aside for a while.  This was a fun project and I’m very happy with the outcome.  Hmmm, I wonder if I can finish it up quickly so I can post it for this week’s Sew & Tell Friday … maybe? Some of the others are slowly but surely finishing up their quilts, too.  Check out the pinwheel sampler Flickr group here . TTFN!

Road to Spring Quilt #209 I started this quilt in February when I joined The Road to Spring quilt-along with Randi at i have to say .  And, I FINALLY finished it this week! I just love these fabric collections from Maywood Studio and from South Sea Imports designed by Robyn Pandolph.  The prints really do say SPRING! The quilt top was fast and easy , especially since I used my handy-dandy Shape Cut from June Tailor.  I machine-quilted it with an all-over swirl design and bound it by hand. I still need to put a label on it, as I forgot to put one on before I quilted it.  But I’m so glad this quilt is finished, and I am really lovin’ it! I will be linking up again with Amy's Sew and Tell Fridays.  Don’t forget to check out what everyone else has been up to! Update :  Gifted this to a good friend in August. Happy quilting!

Week 3 pinwheel blocks for Rachel's quilt-along Week 2 pinwheel blocks (above) Week 1 pinwheel blocks (above).  That’s s ix done and 10 to go! Some of the fat quarters I’ll be using are from California Dreamin' by Jenean Morrison for Westminster Fibers.  I love this line, and I can’t wait to see how this pinwheel quilt turns out! Happy quilting!

Week 2 pinwheel blocks for Rachel's quilt-along .  These are SO easy and fun to make!  They are 12.5” unfinished, and there will be 16 blocks total.  Four done and 12 to go! Happy quilting!

  Here are the first two blocks of my Pinwheel Sampler, which I’m making as part of the quilt-along hosted by Rachel of p.s. i quilt .  I love pinwheels so I know this’ll be fun to make.  I’m using the following fabrics from my stash.  I love the bright color combo:  pink, green, and orange with yellow as an accent. The colors don’t show up well because I took this pic in the evening, but I can’t wait to see the finished quilt.  Here’s Rachel’s sample: The quilt-along will take 12 weeks so there’s no pressure or stress in making this.  This is the first week and the first two blocks so there’s still time to join the fun!  Rachel has a great tutorial … here’s the link to block one.  Also, be sure to check out the Flickr pool for inspiration! Happy quilting!

Still working on my Road to Spring quilt.  This is such an easy and fun design! The picture above is Randi’s sample quilt, and here’s the one she’s working on for the tutorial: I finally finished cutting my 100 squares and 100 rectangles, and it took me no time at all using my handy-dandy Shape Cut from June Tailor. From this:  To this:  And this ~ 120 rectangles in about 10 minutes: The Shape Cut by June Tailor is one of my all-time favorite quilting tools.  It is such a time-saver!  Step 1 :  Fold yardage in half, with the fold at the top ~ width measures about 11 inches.  You will have 4 layers to cut.  Place the Shape Cut on top and cut your strips per your desired width.  In this case, I needed 3.5” squares, so I cut at the 3.5, 7 and 10.5 slots: Step 2 :  Without moving your strips, you turn the Shape Cut to the side so that you are now cross-cutting the strips, again at the 3.5, 7, and 10.5 slots. Remove the Sh...

Now that Camp Sloanie with Pat Sloan has ended, I thought I’d join Randi at i have to say .  She is hosting a fun quilt-along she is calling "On the Road to Spring".  Week one : selected fabric from my stash.  I finally settled on this fabric collection from South Sea Imports designed by Robyn Pandolph, and I matched it up with similar fabric from Maywood Studio.  I’ve had these fabrics squirreled stored away for a couple of years, and I am so happy that I finally get to use them.  Week two :  cutting the pieces (squares and rectangles).  Well, that was last week, and I got as far as cutting out the larger pieces from yardage.  But still need to get busy cutting all those 100 squares and 100 rectangles.  Gotta love that rotary cutter and mat! This is already week three and everyone is busy sewing their strips together.  I should be able to catch up this week … gotta love retirement!   ‘Til next time … happy qui...

Well, okay, it’s not 100% finished as I still want to add inner and outer borders, but I made this in less than 24 hours.  Of course, it did help that I already had a stack of pre-cut 2-inch yellow strips, a big-time saver.  I used six 2-inch strips so the blocks measured 9 inches unfinished.  There are 6 blocks in each row, and there are 6 rows.  Once completed, this center panel should measure 50 square inches. I have a confession:  In my previous post , I said I had completed 36 blocks … must have been wishful thinking.  This morning when I laid out my blocks I discovered that I was 6 blocks SHORT!  Oh no!  So I quickly sewed up the additional blocks and laid out my design.  I decided to keep it simple and stick with the original pattern design.  I think I like it like that!  I took an afternoon break to meet with my pals Vivian and Lorie at the movie theatre to see “It’s Complicated”.  This movie is hilarious … we were RO...

What a great weekend to be at camp … Camp Sloanie , that is!  It started raining here Friday night and continued into Saturday morning … with most eastern states caught in a massive snowstorm, what else can one do but stay home and quilt? Friday was Day One of Camp Sloanie and most campers were busy cutting and sewing their blocks.  By Saturday afternoon, many were close to finishing … or had actually finished …  their quilt tops. But those who know me well know that I am always a dollar short and a day late, so I didn’t show up for camp until Saturday afternoon.  Luckily, I already had a stash of pre-cut yellow strips, and the Camp Sloanie pattern is an easy-peasy design.  I was able to sew up these 36 blocks within a few hours.  I should have the layout and rows sewn by Sunday afternoon: Be sure to head on over to Pat's blog and have a look at some very talented folks who are joining in.  There's also a Flickr group! CLICK HERE for pictures. Ha...

Applique Hearts Quilt #202 I started this quilt last year in August as part of Chrissie Grace’s Quilt Along party . Well, I FINALLY finished quilting and binding it. The binding is machine-sewn, which makes it sturdier. I also quilted it with an all-over loopy design, which seems much easier than meandering.  The hearts have a raw edge, so they should get fuzzier with each washing. The backing is a pre-owned curtain that was donated by my neighbor.  She replaced the curtains in her bedroom and gave me her old ones … they make great backings and are pretty too. I’m really happy how this quilt came out … just in time for Valentine’s Day! Update 5/25/11 :  Sold on eBay Happy quilting!