"Finish"

If I had to pick a word for 2013 mine would probably be "Finish".

Image credit: PixelPowerDesign on Etsy

Looking back over 2012 I realized that I started a ton of things... and then never finished them.  When I came to that realization I decided that in this new year I was going to make a point to finish all the projects in my WIP pile.  I of course have many other resolutions but this is a big one for me in regards to my sewing and quilting.  I've even gone a step further and decided that until I've either finished all my WIPs or scrapped them permanently I will start no new projects.  The exception, of course, is stuff for the baby and gifts for birthdays and showers.... and curves class stuff (since I already paid for it).... and previous commitments like Stash Bee and do. good stitches blocks.

I know, I know, that's a lot of exceptions, but if you think about it it's still very limiting.  For example, I'm not able to jump on the trend and do any Scrappy Trip Around the World blocks, and I'm not able to do the Starburst quilt qal. 

Since I'm making the commitment to finish my projects I thought I'd go ahead and get something out of it (hey- why not?  I'm already doing all the work), so I'm joining up with the 2013 Finish-a-Long with Leanne from She Can Quilt.

My list of WIPs is pretty atrocious, but here we go:
1. Repair Deacon Rick's Vestments (I currently need to cut new panels and then sew them in)

2. Finish sewing Steve's bookshelves (need to surge the edges and then make the fold-over pockets for the rods to go through)

3. Sew Heike's dirndl (currently only cut out) (and can't find to take pics of-- eek!!)

4. Finish Mario blocks and turn into quilt

5. Do something with Polaroid blocks

6. Quilt Christmas tablerunners

7. Turn Stash Bee house blocks into quilt

8. Turn 12 days of Christmas blocks into quilt

9. Finish Solstice Stars blocks and turn into quilt (3 blocks finished, only 2 to go!)

10. Finish Sew Happy Geek QAL blocks and turn into quilt (I think 7 blocks are finished)

11. Quilt and bind "be Creative" wallhanging

12. Surge napkins

13. Turn Buhler's blocks into baby quilt (only have 6 blocks so far)

14. Finish Harriet's quilt blocks turn into quilt (applique on all blocks complete, but need to add some detail, then sash, border, sandwich, quilt & bind)(pic is just of the sashing, the blocks were tucked away and I didn't want to pull them out)

15. Finish brown and blue purse (need to attach hardware)

16. Bind red & black potholders

17. Sew green skirt (currently only cut out)

And I know these don't count for the finish-a-long, but each month I want to get all my bee blocks finished and mailed ON TIME.

Oh, and while we're talking about resolutions and stuff, I'd like to start using my stash more.  When I do need to start a new project I plan to try and use fabrics out of my stash and not just go out and purchase new fabric.

Okay, here we go.  Wish me luck!

(p.s. I plan on posting pictures of Christmas finishes soon.  Another resolution: blog about ALL my finishes)

August do. Good Stitches Quilt Finished

Way back in August it was my turn in my do. Good Stitches circle to be the quilter. That meant that I got to pick the blocks and the color scheme for the blocks we all did and in return it was my job to make sure that the blocks turned into an actual finished quilted quilt (for the post I wrote about what blocks I wanted see here).

I was supposed to finish quilting the quilt by the end of October but with the Sewing Summit in there and finding out about the baby I was a little distracted and so it didn't get finished in October.  And even though I wasn't feeling good for the majority of November I did manage to get the quilt finished up before the deadline for Rachel of Stitched in Color's Celebrate Good Stitches celebration.

August do. Good Stitches Quilt -- Quilted by Stephanie of Sewing by Stephanie

The quilting ended up being much simpler than I had wanted it to be, but at the time I was actually sitting at the machine quilting this was the absolute best I could do.  Even though I wasn't impressed with my quilting job, I'm still happy to know that the recipient of the quilt will love and cherish it (all of the quilts my circle makes are donated to "My Very Own Blanket" an organization that gives blankets to children in the foster care system)

August do. Good Stitches Quilt -- Quilted by Stephanie of Sewing by Stephanie

These photos were taken on a rare rainy day in southern California.  I managed to sneak outside before the rain started coming down to take these shots, but as you can see in the little bit of sky pictures in the photos the sky does not look very happy.

But let's rewind a little bit.  Remember a little bit ago when I mentioned Rachel of Stitched in Color's Celebrate Good Stitches celebration?  Well, my circle didn't choose the quilt I quilted as our one quilt to submit for the contest, instead we chose this beautiful quilt quilted by Jenn of Knotted-Thread.  And guess what? We're currently in 2nd place!  So if you have a moment and haven't already voted please go over and consider voting for our quilt (or consider going over and voting for whatever quilt you think should win!).  Click here to vote!

October do. Good Stitches Quilt -- Quilted by Jenn of Knotted-Thread

 Thanks!

I'm Making Something Extra Special!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been gone so long from the blogging world.  I have a good excuse though--  I've been busy making something extra special!  A baby!!!

That's right! My husband and I are happy to say that we're expecting our first baby this summer.  My first trimester has been full of sickness and I've been dog tired, but I'm just now coming out if it and I'm happy to say that I've been feeling a lot better and am finally able to spend some time in my sewing room again.

Hopefully I'll be back to having quilty photos for you soon, but in the mean time here's a different kind of photo to enjoy!

This pic is from my ultrasound 3 weeks ago

Custom Bunting Quilt on Etsy

Hi Everyone!

I've been busy here the last few days working on a custom bunting quilt commission that I got on Etsy.  I finished it up yesterday and sent it off this morning.

Instead of the green/ blue/ yellow color scheme that I normally make these in I did this one in blues and yellows.  I personalized it for it's lucky new little owner-- a little boy named Thomas Henry who was just born last week.  I hope he loves it and gets lots of snuggles in it.

PT{S}9

The Pillow Talk {Swap} Round 9 is finishing up this week and this time around I was able to take part.

My secret partner says she loves the look of linen and text, with a splash of color.  She also hinted that something in reds would look nice in her house, and that a rectangular pillow for her bed would be appreciated.  I changed the plan for this pillow over and over again in my mind, and this is what I ended up with.

Do you think she'll like it?  This was my first time working with the neutrals/ text/ linen combo and I think it comes off very "clean".  The pillow measures 12"x20" and takes a pillow form of the same size.  I didn't have a pillow form of that size to test it out on so instead I took these pictures after stuffing the pillow with fiberfill.  I used Kona solids that I got in the I <3 Kona charm swap at Pile O' Fabric I participated in a while ago for the applique.  It was nice to have so many color options in small sizes so I didn't have to run out and buy fabric.  It was especially nice to not have to buy Kona since I had to go out and but all the neutrals, the text prints, and the linen specifically for this pillow.

I don't know if you can see it very well but I used tiny buttons for the door knobs on the houses.  Three "door knobs" are red and the fourth one is green.  I thought it added a nice little bit of color in there.

I had had plans to add a beautiful thick Ruby Kona piping around the edge of the pillow but when it came down to it my sewing machine wouldn't cooperate so it didn't work out.  I just couldn't get my presser foot close enough to the piping to get a tight fit, and it looked pretty dreadful loose, so I took it out.  This was also my first time doing "quilt as you go" and I have to say I really liked it. 

BTW, if anyone is looking for a good source for text prints I bought mine from Sew Me a Song on Etsy.  Her prices were very reasonable and she had quite a few FQ bundles all made up already that you can choose from, and she was kind enough to let me swap out some of the prints in the bundle for prints from a different bundle.

October Bee Blocks

I've been pretty absent from the sewing scene recently.  I don't know how October ended up being so busy for me, but I found that I just had no time to sit down and sew almost all month.

As a result, I was a little late getting by bee blocks done, but here they are.

My October Stash Bee blocks:

My October do. Good Stitches blocks:

After uploading my do. Good Stitches blocks to the group I realized that I made a mistake in my construction of the blocks, so now I'm waiting to hear if the bee mama Jenn wants the blocks as is or if I need to pull them apart and re-assemble them correctly.  I guess it's just a lesson for me in the importance of actually looking at the tutorial while making the blocks. 

On a side note these do. Good Stitches blocks will be flying off to Hawaii with some friends.  The October do. Good Stitches mama for my circle is Jenn of Knotted-Thread and she's doing a few charity quilts for Sandy victims and I signed up to make a few blocks for one of her quilts. She's planning on hand delivering the quilts in December when she goes to visit family and friends in New Jersey.  If you're interested in donating a few charity blocks the sign ups are still open.