Nothing Sews like a Bernina…

I seriously think I am going to start a goofs page.  This is my latest:

Yes, that’s  a Clover pin that I sewed right through.  Even Jack the Ripper had a tough time with that one. I am happy to report that there were no casualties.  The needle was quietly retired to be used later as a picture hanger.  

This week, I was working on finishing up a quilt top for a challenge that Dragon Threads is hosting.  Leave it to me to decide to do a bias cut, on point, setting triangles quilt pattern for my first pieced quilt.  I'll show more pics next week, but here is a preview:

Happy sewing this week! 

Update on the BOM’s

Well, my big score this week was that I actually found the fabric that matches the inside sashing.  I had decided that the quilt of many colors would do best if I repeated the sashing.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough, so technically, it got delegated to my UFO pile.

Then Ta Da – I stopped at a quilt store (how unusual…)  and there it was!  Now I have enough to continue.  I think it looks great with the navy blue that repeats throughout.
  Unfortunately, I have started a new project, (or 6) .  So I didn’t get to work on the applique BOM.   I did start thinking about my other BOM WIP, which has embroidered blocks – my fave!  I’m scared to death to piece anything with pointy points!  
Here are some of the blocks. 
 
Most of the blocks are stitched out, but I still have several steps to go I am liking the black and white sashing, but have no idea what to do to join these puppies together.   I have a while to decide though.  This is my to do list before that can happen:
1. Remove all basting stitches
2. Trim any stray jump stitches
3. Remove all stabilizer – it’s all tear away and there are some tiny places
4. Add sashing to all blocks
5. STOP buying black and white fabric.  300 yards should be sufficient. 
Have a great week!

NewFO 2013

For those of you that don’t know what a NewFO is it is an attempt for us Newbies to not be left out.  I mean, check it out – everywhere you look there are all kinds of Linky parties going on celebrating the piles of UFO’s out there.  (a whole nother topic of discussion for one of these days.)  I mean, there must be a bazillion lonely, disconnected blocks out there.  Anyway, I digress.   If you are a new quilter/sewer/embroiderer, you are probably still in the mode of trying to complete everything before starting something new.   We say – balderdash!  (Really, we do say that..)

So a very clever lady by the name of Barbara over at Cat Patches has started a linky party for us.   Here are my pledges for the year.  Please note – I am still trying to complete my 1989 New Years resolution to stop procrastinating so I am limiting my pledge to only 9.  A good compromise, I think.  

 

January – a new rug for my bathroom

 

February – a new bag for me, and an excuse to play with leather

 

March – a new quilt – because I KNOW I will have all my BOM’s caught up

 

April – speaking of BOM’s…

 

May – a wall hanging for my office.   I’m sure it will be great even though I’ve never done paper piecing

 

June -  nifty hat for me.  Just in case I do decide to start golfing again

 

July – No excuse not to ride my bike to the store (wearing my nifty hat)

 

August – Another BOM to ensure I will  have sufficient UFO’s for next year!

 

September – November – Remember to start the Christmas stuff sooner than Christmas Eve!

Nice Surprises

Ok, I'm a bit late with the 2012 recap, and I'm so new to the whole quilting/embroidering/blogging deal that it's a bit daunting to try to capture it all. But, I had some really nice surprises in December, that I would be really remiss if I didn't acknowledge them.

First of all - thanks to Michelle over at Quilting Tutorials, who was kind enough to host the 2012 Christmas Quilt show, I was the winner of an ASF Beam and Read Light. It's a great hands free light, which I've been using while knitting and watching TV - it's great! I'll post more on that later.

 

(Be sure to check out Michelle's blog by clicking on the link above. She has the most amazing FREE block. You won't want to miss it!)

Secondly, I took a second leap of faith and committed to

Craftsy Gemini's winter Mug Rug Swap.

My swap partner, Emily, sent me the most beautiful mug rugs. Can you believe that killer piecing? Mad skills, don't you think? (Eat you heart out, these are mine!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the ones I did for her. I thought a SoCal Girl could use a taste of winter so I stitched her some:

 

The nicest surprise of all was making a new friend, so thank you Vanessa for hosting such a great event!

So, Happy New Year everyone! I hope the rest of the year continues to be filled with Nice Surprises!

In One Piece

Woo Hoo - I have a whole quilt top - my first ever!!! Well, kind of. I still have to do sashing. The pattern calls for about 6 more, with checkerboards and all kinds of stuff. Not sure I really want to do that much. And of course, I have that color challenge thing going on.

To back pedal a bit, When last I left you, my middle section was 1" shorter than the sides. I hemmed and hawed a bunch, but finally gave in and put Jack to work.

I ended up detaching the center 4 blocks, removing the sashing and re-doing it to add 1/2" to the top and bottom. Then, I reassembled the middle section, and Voila!, everything matched.

Here it is:

Now to pick out sashing….Yikes, I’m beginning to understand the concept of UFO…

I Got BOM’d

If any of you haven't seen the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show - head on over by using the linky button on the left. We have some amazing creative people out there. I don't know about you, but seeing some of those quilts has added about  67 new projects to my list....

Which brings me to my current project...

As I mentioned previously, I am fairly new to all of this.  I was like a kid in a candy store – “I want that, and that, and that,that THAT!”.   One of those “That’s” was learning to applique.  A wise woman (in a quilt store) said “if you want to learn to applique, you should join our BOM class.  I did, so I did.

The quilt is Stitcher's Garden designed by Lynda Howell.  Finished design

Block 1 – Yeah, I am on my way. 

Fast forward 10 months – and I had fallen pretty far behind.  Since each block was a QAYG and a new technique, I found it a tad difficult to keep up, especially when more than 1 block a month was required.  But I was determined to catch up. 

My biggest difficulty was (and is) picking colors, as I couldn’t envision the finished quilt because:

1. I never thought about auditioning or choosing fabrics at the start (this particular BOM runs continuously, and people join throughout the cycle.
2. I had no clue what I was doing
3. I kept finding gorgeous fabrics – I couldn’t help myself.

 

So here is my first audition (on the bed) 

That helped a ton – I started picking colors and moving forward.    2 months later, I had converted my hallway wall upstairs into a design wall. Much better than the bed, and guests are with invited to use my upstairs bathrooms in the hopes that they will tell me what colors will work.  

 

Second audition (on the wall

 

Still not sure I like the position of the blocks, but it’s time to start picking sashing

 

Final Placement, Sashing in Progress

I think I like this arrangement best – It moves the concentration of yellow around.  But Yikes – what is that big greenish block at the top.   Jack (as in – Jack the Ripper” )   will have to be doing some work on that block. 

So, little by little, I have been trying to figure out how to add sashing that will combine all the blocks I made.

I am happy to be joining the BOMS Away linkup.   I think it’s going to keep me from turning this into a UFO.

Thank you for your patience…

Thank you to all of you that stopped to leave comments about my entry to the 2012 Christmas Quilt Show.  If you haven’t had a chance to check it out,  there are some amazing creations.  Use the Linky Button to the right, and you will zoom on over!    I promise you it will get you into the Christmas Spirit.   (I am entry 22) 

As you can tell, I have been playing around with the look of my blog.   It’s basically trial and error (mostly error).  

I promise to leave it alone and focus on some actual blogging!!!  As my boss would say,  “I let perfection get in the way of completion.” 

Coming tomorrow:  a new post about my BOM experience.   As a sneak preview, here is my helper:  Jack