Finish it Up! ~ The Finale

When Meg of Fashioned by Meg began the Finish it Up! challenge in June, I had high hopes of finishing the three projects on my list - three sounded pretty reasonable. I promptly joined two quilt-alongs and several swaps. Nothing like complicating things from the get-go! 

So here's the list I've been working on:
1. Dream Big Finished!*

2. Light and Shadow Bali pop quilt Cut out*

3. Gentlemen Caller Finished!*
4. Kaleidoscope Finished!
5. Summer Sampler Series Top in progress
6. Afternoon Snack table runner Finished!
(*indicates my original Finish it Up! list*)


But at least I have four finishes to show for myself:

1. PWSC #6, 2. Dream Big complete!,

3. Kaleidoscope complete, 4. "Afternoon Snack" table runner

and a near-finish.

Summer Sampler blocks framed and ready to stitch into rows!

So all in all, it's been a productive summer! Thanks, Meg, and everyone in the flickr group for all the encouragement and inspiration!

Finish it Up!, Swaps, and Shopping

I have a finish this week from my expanded Finish it Up! list. I really meant to have this runner done for my mom to enjoy all summer, but at least it is done now.

I took a break from working on the Summer Sampler after some frustration on Block #11. I'm ready to face the last block now and get this top finished up! The hosts of the quilt-along have lovely quilts/blocks to show! See Swim, Bike, Quilt {here}, Freshly Pieced {here}, and Fresh Lemons {here} - just beautiful!

In swap news, I received dots from all of my Dots Swap! partners! Thanks for the great dots to add to my stash!

And I ordered fabric for the Color Wheel Charm Swap.
I was assigned orange and orange-red, and chose these fabrics:

I did an etsy search on 'orange' and ended up ordering the orange daisy chain from a new etsy shop - a little shop by Monica Lee. I had no idea at the time that it was a brand new shop and I happened to be her first customer! ha. After checking out her blog, Monica Lee Studios, I just had to go back and order some of her dots too! What a cute line Monica has created!

The orange swirl came from Hawthorne Threads, who has a great color grid, which is useful when you're looking for a particular color of fabric!

So here's the updated list - progress but still a ways to go!
1. Dream Big Finished!

2. Light and Shadow Bali pop quilt Cut out

3. Gentlemen Caller Finished!
4. Kaleidoscope Finished!
5. Summer Sampler Series Top in progress
6. Afternoon Snack table runner Finished!

Have a great day as you work on your own lists!!

Finish it Up!

Another finish NOT on the Finish it Up! list - go figure. Kaleidoscope got finished up (see here) and pretty much made my week.


1. Dream Big Finished!

2. Light and Shadow Bali pop quilt 

3. Gentlemen Caller Finished!
4. Kaleidoscope Finished!
5. Summer Sampler Series
6. Afternoon Snack table runner


The Summer Sampler is coming along nicely. Wow, I did not anticipate as much paper-piecing as we've done. I confess it's not my favorite technique (last night's block was a doozy!), but the results are sure nice. But I have 10 of the 12 blocks done, so I'll get a breather soon. I'm starting to mull over how to finish this citrusy quilt - if you have any ideas, please feel free to share them!

Oh, and I have some swap-news. In today's mail were my charms from the I-Spy Spoonflower fabric swap hosted by Gen X Quilters!

Fun little prints - from trucks and rain boots to bicycles and sushi, little French bunnies and animated sandwiches, fruits, and veggies. Quite a varied little selection here, all delightfully custom printed fabric created at Spoonflower.


Well, the sewing room is calling, so I better pay attention. There's more to be done!

Fresh Sewing Day

The first day of each month is Fresh Sewing Day, hosted by Lily's Quilts. The purpose is to show something you've been working on the previous month that made you happy. Though small, I think Mini Swoon gave me the most joy.

I have a list of w.i.p. I'm working on, and a quilt-along I've just started, but still I couldn't resist squeezing in a new little project. For me, that often adds some extra fun and motivation to my quilting . . . veering off course for a fun little detour. I'd been wanting to try Camille Roskelley's Swoon ever since I bought the pattern a few weeks ago. When I began seeing photos of Swoon blocks and quilts other quilters were making, I basically got impatient. I had decided to make a little quilty gift in celebration of my 100th post, and had fat quarters on hand (two are needed for each Swoon block), so I decided on a whim to just go for it. I must say, it is a fun block to put together, and finishing at a large 24" was unusual and satisfying. In a matter of a couple of days, I was able to finish Mini Swoon, and am totally smitten. I'll totally be swooning again!

I feel like I've swooned a bit much this week, so if you

haven't seen the completed Swoon, see here.

There are lots of great projects to see at Lily's Quilts and Finish It Up!

To be quilted . . .

Well, it's always nice to have a quilt top and back completed and ready to go off to the long-arm quilter. It's kind of like an adventure - out of your control, but always quite exciting. Dream Big is heading off today. Last night I prepped her binding so it's ready to go the minute she gets back.

It was kind of a nice farewell for her to be featured in Fashioned by Meg's post last night about her Finish It Up! Challenge. Click here to see her collage, which includes Dream Big, as well as several other lovely projects being finished up.

Bye for now, Dream Big! Can't wait to see you again!

Finish It Up! Challenge and Friday Night Sew-In

Last night was Friday Night Sew-In, and I worked most of the evening on the backing for the Dream Big quilt I've been working on. I had what I thought was a good idea, to create a focal point for the back with 'modern crosses', inspired by Don't Call Me Betsy's latest finish, and then 'fill in' with the large pieces of Central Park fabric left over from the front. Well, it didn't turn out quite like I'd imagined - much more scrappy than I'd hoped, but I think we'll go with it. I'm so inspired by other pieced backs I see online, but never quite 'get it' to my satisfaction. Anyway, I'll be sending Dream Big off to my long-arm quilter next week, as it's a tad large to tackle with my machine. Meanwhile, I've ordered the binding and plan to have that made up by the time the quilt comes back home.

 completed top

modern cross detail on back;

weather precludes a full photo today . . .

Yesterday I joined the Finish it Up! challenge, sponsored by Meg of Fashioned by Meg. It is suggested to only list projects that are actually cut out, so "Dream Big" is my first major w.i.p. listed. Also included will be "Light and Shadow" Bali pop quilt and "Gentlemen Caller", the last quilt in my Prairie Women Sewing Circle series.

Bali pop strips for Cappucino Light and Shadow

bow-ties for "Gentlemen Caller"

There are oodles of other projects listed on my sewing room white-board, but none are actually cut out, so we'll add those as we go along.

I'm linking up with both Friday Night Sew-In and Finish it Up!. . .