W.i.P. Wednesday

Finished Projects 
It's a little depressing to still not have any finishes to show, but progress has been made . . .

Ongoing projects
Block-a-palooza quilt along - The 16 blocks are now complete, though I'm still puzzling on the layout and finishing fabric.

coming home using  Origins by BasicGrey. The top is now done, and waiting for a chunk of time to brave the stippling I want to do.

The Supernova Quilt Along with Lee of Freshly Pieced has begun! I'm loving the fabrics I brought home from our recent trip to Hawaii. Layout is complete, and blocks are cut out and waiting for piecing instructions on Thursday.

My Central Park quilt is being quilted. Anxious to get this one home and bound.

New Projects
A little peek of a project I am sneaking into the line up. Enough said for now.

Need to do
* Cappuccino Bali Pop quilt.
* Stash quilt - Sew Katie Did's zig zag quilt. Hoping to use fabrics from my Scrap Swap, as well as dig into my stash. I have received all of my Scrap Swap packages, and look forward to using them.
* Aneela Hoey's Comic Strip Quilt using sherbet pips - an obvious choice!
* A birthday quilt for my daughter
* Black and red table topper/runner for my Mom's friend.
* Quilts for our siblings.
* The last project from the Pioneer Women Sewing Circle.

That's all for now! Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see more great works in progress!

A Conversation

My "sewing room" is also hubby's "computer room". Considering we are empty nesters, it's a nice place to spend an evening - both enjoying our own projects, but also enjoying each other's company. This evening, I was working on a project and needed an opinion.

Me: "Do you think I should fussy cut these?" Holding up some fabric to show him.
Hubby: "Does that mean cut so you get a whole design?"
Me: "Exactly."
Hubby: "Yeah, I think that would look good."
Me: "Me too. Thanks."
Hubby: "I've never heard you use that phrase before."
Me: "Well, maybe I've never said it, but I've done it before."
Pause
Hubby: "It wastes some fabric, doesn't it?"
Well, yes. Yes, it does. But sometimes it's worth it.

Central Park Quilting

I was excited to receive a short video today from my friend and long-arm quilter, Darlene, showing my Central Park quilt on the quilting machine! Love the orange thread she chose! Can't wait to get it in my hands to bind up and finish!

The Table

My daughter asked recently, “Why haven’t you written about the table yet?” Ie. The ‘table’ in my blog name, A Quilter’s Table. She knew that when I started  blogging, I intended to write about my quilting, but also about experiences around the table. Not just the cutting table, but the dining table. ‘The table’ has always had special meaning in our family. I love how my son expressed it: “Joy is often consumed, devoured, and pursued in my family’s kitchens. We celebrate and mourn, welcome and remember, pray and lament, all around the table. Joy meets us, surrounds us, and engages us at the table.” We all enjoy creating in the kitchen. Some of us have even worked professionally in a kitchen. We like to try new things and expand our skills and tastes. We most definitely enjoy consuming – most happily, together.

I was reminded last night of our deep appreciation of the table, as 10 of us gathered, for a simple, “comfort food” meal, around my parents’ table. Papa, 88 years young, placed in hospice care just one short week ago, prayed, as he always does, before we began eating. His body, weak and failing; his voice, strong and faith-filled. A casual onlooker might have seen a group of people eating. But to us seated there, heavy-hearted, hope-buoyed, baby-bouncing, story-sharing, it was much, much more. And it was precious.

Block-a-Palooza . . . Help!

The last of my Block-a-Palooza blocks is done:

Now - time for layout. Three options have been given by Julie at Jaybird Quilts and I think I want to use option #3:

I'm not sure what to use for setting squares and border - any thoughts? (Nothing that I've used in my blocks is big enough except for the KONA snow.) Help!

Scrap Swap Update

I arrived home from vacation to find a very full mail box!

What fun to receive the rest of my scrap swap packages from SewSara's Scrap Swap! The envelopes were packed FULL of fabric goodness!

Can't wait to see what projects these turn into! THANKS everyone!

Aloha and Mahalo!

One of the joys of visiting a new place is the discovery of new quilt shops, won't you agree? I've had the pleasure of visiting four during my recent visit to the Big Island of Hawaii. The first was the least like the quilt shops I'm used to frequenting on the mainland. Hawaiian Quilt Collection in Queen's Marketplace in Waikoloa had finished quilts and other gift items made in the more traditional Hawaiian quilting style.

Topstitch in Kamuela, had a nice selection of Island Batiks, as well as some beautiful sun prints.

Fabric Impressions in Hilo was where I found real inspiration. They had some lovely blues and greens reminiscent of the gorgeous ocean waters surrounding Hawaii. I had a nice chat with the shop clerk, who had never heard of a quilt along, but thought it sounded wonderful!

Lastly, I visited Quilt Passions in Kailua-Kona. A cruise ship was in harbor that day, so the shop was full. I found a few more fabrics for the Supernova qa, including a great turtle batik that is exclusive to the shop (made by Hoffman).

All in all, fun excursions, and tangible memories to take home. . .

W.i.P. Wednesday

Finished Projects Nothing completed to show this week due to vacation, but . . .

Ongoing projects
Block-a-palooza quilt along - There are now 16 blocks, though I don't have #16 done yet. Top priority when I get back to my sewing room. Layout to be released on Thursday!

coming home using  Origins by BasicGrey. Had hoped to get farther on this, but so far it's turning out great. Still needs a border or two before quilting.

New Projects
Joined the Supernova Quilt Along with Lee of Freshly Pieced. I've been able to pick out fabric for the quilt along while on vacation, so that is progress!


(If per chance the fabrics make you think of water, specifically the beautiful Pacific Ocean, that is terrific!) I'll most likely be adding a few more fabrics to these 16, including my solids . . .

Need to do
Cappuccino Bali Pop quilt.

Stash quilt - Sew Katie Did's zig zag quilt. Hoping to use fabrics from my Scrap Swap, as well as dig into my stash. I have already received one Scrap Swap package, and am looking forward to seeing the rest soon!

Aneela Hoey's Comic Strip Quilt using sherbet pips - an obvious choice!

A birthday quilt for my daughter - I know the pattern, but what jelly roll? (hint, hint, sis...)

Black and red table topper/runner for my Mom's friend.

Quilts for our siblings. I talked to one sib this week about making a quilt for her, and she said she'd like to pick out the pattern and fabric, so I'll continue that conversation soon . . .

The last project from the Pioneer Women Sewing Circle.

That's all for now! Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see more great works in progress!

Supernova Quilt Along

Well, the Socken quilt along is over, Block-a-Palooza's end is in sight, so time to hook up with another. Lee of freshly pieced is starting a new Supernova Quilt Along that sounds fun.  I've really been enjoying the 'do a little every week, show off your stuff on flickr, and actually accomplish something' routine, so here I go again . . .

W.i.P. Wednesday

Finished Projects Nothing completed to show this week, but . . .

Ongoing projects
Block-a-palooza quilt along - There are now 15 blocks - only ONE to go! Anxious to see what the layout is like . . .

coming home using  Origins by BasicGrey. Had hoped to get farther on this, but so far it's turning out great. Still needs a border or two before quilting.

Need to do
Cappuccino Bali Pop quilt.

Stash quilt - Sew Katie Did's zig zag quilt. Hoping to use fabrics from my Scrap Swap, as well as dig into my stash.

Aneela Hoey's Comic Strip Quilt using sherbet pips - an obvious choice!

A birthday quilt for my daughter - I know the pattern, but what jelly roll? (hint, hint, sis...)

Black and red table topper/runner for my Mom's friend.

Quilts for our siblings.

The last project from the Pioneer Women Sewing Circle.

That's all for now! Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see more great works in progress!

Scrap Swap

I'm not sure why the scraps I find in my own stash bore me silly, and someone else's scraps are fun and exciting. But it's true! I recieved my first packet from SewSara's Scrap Swap, and it's full of interesting, colorful little treats.

March Madness Update

Well, the first round of Fat Quarterly's March Madness is complete! I scored 23 points out of a possible 32 - not great. I was especially surprised that two of my favorites, Daisy Janie's Shades of Grey and Geo Grands were knocked out of the running. But happy to have Kate Spain's Fandango and Central Park still in, not to mention sherbet pips. It'll be interesting to see the Modern Madness Leaderboard and how others have scored.

Odds & Ends

Every now and then, one of my friends has a sewing or quilting pattern they just can't figure out, and they offer me the 'challenge.' Well, this week, it was a paper-pieced crane. Paper-piecing is so not my favorite technique, but I (thankfully) was able to whip up a sample fairly quickly. So cannot imagine making a bunch of these though! (Finished crane is about 5" square.)

I've packed up my scrap packets for SewSara's swap. I didn't really have too many small pieces, due to a recent cleaning of the stash. It was interesting what my swap partners asked for - 'modern', ' rainbow colors', 'no solids', or simply 'surprise me!' Anyway, the packets are all in the mail today.

Lastly, I decided to sneak in a little project out of the charm pack I bought at the quilting class at The Quilting Loft. It is Origins by BasicGrey, and I'm using Camille Roskelley's "coming home" pattern, from her book, simplify. I bought the pack on a whim, but I really like it, and am hoping to brave free-motion quilting on it.

W.i.P. Wednesday

Finished Projects
Nothing completed to show this week, but . . .

Ongoing projects
Block-a-palooza quilt along - I continue to follow along. There are now 13 blocks - three to go.

Central Park Geese in the Park quilt top is done and backing is pieced. It is heading off to the quilter today.

Need to do
Cappuccino Bali Pop quilt.

Stash quilt - Sew Katie Did's zig zag quilt.

Black and red table topper/runner for my Mom's friend.

Quilts for our siblings.

The last project from the Pioneer Women Sewing Circle.

Adding Aneela Hoey's Comic Strip Quilt with my new sherbet pips to the list. This will probably get bumped up in priority!

That's all for now! Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see more great works in progress!

Traveling Geese

Well, last night I put the borders on "Geese in the Park". Tonight I pieced the backing. It turned out larger than I realized it would (68" X 72"), so it's headed off to my friendly long-arm quilter, Darlene. This one's a tad big for me to tackle. Will report back in a few weeks once the geese are back home . . .

quilt top

pieced backing using some left-over layer cake squares

Now sherbet pips

. . . last fall it was Bliss by Bonnie & Camille. I could barely wait until it was released and I could start stitching a project with it. I still love it and the quilt I made with it.

Earlier this year, it was Central Park by Kate Spain, from which I just finished a quilt top tonight. (Picture soon!)

Lately, it's been sherbet pips.

And today, they arrived! I have the pattern picked out - Aneela Hoey's Comic Strip Quilt. Can't wait to get started!

March Madness

Fat Quarterly is sponsoring March Madness in a way I can really get into! 64 lines of fabric are in the running to win "Modern Fabric Champion." The first round in Region I is over, but check out the results, and there's still time to vote in Region II! I'm happy to see one of my favs, Central Park, survived the first round, and you can be sure I voted for Sherbet Pips and Bliss just now! At the very least, you can check out the most popular lines in modern quilting.

Scrap Swap

Just for fun, I'm joining a 'Scrap Swap' with Sew Sara. I've been looking for a block swap, but haven't found any starting right now, and will keep looking. I'm thinking it'll be good to let go of some of the scraps I've been looking at for too long, as well as bring in some variety for my stash quilt projects. Will keep you posted . . .

W.i.P. Wednesday

Finished Projects
The Hungarian Blue table runner is done and mailed off to my cousin! Hope she likes it!

Socken quilt along is done also - a fun little quilt along. It was interesting working with only solids.

Ongoing projects
Block-a-palooza quilt along ~ finished this week’s first block, so now there are eleven!

Central Park Geese in the Park is coming along. I have all the flying geese done and the layout figured out - time to start stitching rows together.

Need to do
Cappuccino Bali Pop quilt.

I think the next stash quilt I want to make is Sew Katie Did's zig zag quilt.

Table topper/runner for my Mom's friend - black and red - still need to decide on pattern and fabric.

If I put it down, it might get done...I would really like to make quilts for our siblings this year.

The last project from the Pioneer Women Sewing Circle is still on the list.

That's all for now! head on over to Freshly Pieced to see more great works in progress!

Binding Flange

Surfing quilting blogs, as I often do, I came across this cool tutorial by Jaybird Quilts.

Jaybird Quilts Binding Flange Tutorial

Someone had mentioned 'binding flange' to me recently, and I could hardly imagine what it was or how it would actually look on a quilt! Then I saw this - something to try sometime!