2013 Finish-A-Long: Q1 Finishes

There's always a hopeful sort of feeling when one posts a new Finish-A-Long list, as I did just three short months ago. And I'm more than pleased to be able to report that I finished my list!

Mod Crosses - The blocks for this quilt were all done when the quarter started, but I was short on time to get the rows together before an appointment with the long-arm quilter. Thankfully I made it and was super pleased with the finished quilt, and hubby and I took it out for a fun photo-shoot.

Quiet Book - This project was intended as a Christmas gift for grandgirl, but the details took longer than I anticipated. At least she enjoyed it when I finally finished it.

Merry Stocking - Another belated Christmas item, but at least it's ready for Christmas 2013.

Scrappy Trip - On a whim I joined this sew-along on Instagram, and maybe even due to its impromptu nature, I thoroughly enjoyed putting these blocks together straight from the scrap bin.

Mod Angles Cushion - This was one of those finishes that really made no sense to have dawdled on so long. The blocks were already made, and once I sat down to stitch them together, it was a quick finish. And the quilting on this one was immensely satisfying. {tutorial here}

So that's it for this quarter - time to start pulling together a new list!

Linking up with Q1 post quarter link up at shecanquilt.

W.i.P. Wednesday

It's been one of those weeks - busy, busy and slowed by a nasty cold. But I finished a biggie and puttered on several projects that don't yet warrant photos. I'll abstain from linking up this week, but at least for my benefit, will list what's up in the sewing room.

Completed projects
Modern Crosses quilt - complete! For all the details and pics, check out the reveal post here.

Ongoing projects
Scrappy Trip Along -I've managed to get this quilt basted and have started quilting!

Emerald mini/placemats - I shared the first {unquilted} placemat yesterday at Tuesday at the Table {here}.

x and + blocks {#xplusalong} - no progress.

Woodland cross-stitch sampler - I actually worked on it one evening!

Upcoming projects
* February bee blocks
* flannel pillow for grandgirl
* table topper for mom
* scrappy Metrolink
* Polaroid block projects

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

Crosses

There's nothing quite like taking a finished quilt out for a photo-shoot.  There's an excitement that's hard to describe, but I bet alot of you know exactly what I'm talking about. So today hubby and I headed out, not quite having a plan, but with quilt and camera tossed in the back seat of the car. I had in mind maybe finding a church. Considering the finished quilt was one of modern crosses, I thought it would be nice to take photos with a more traditional cross.

We lucked out fairly quickly in a historic town near our home, though there was nowhere to hang the quilt, and it was too big for me to show it off in it's entirety. At least we got some decent pics of the front and the back.

Hubby raced up those stairs twice to try and help me hold the width of the quilt, with the camera below on automatic shoot. Unfortunately, we still weren't able to get the whole quilt or the cross up top.

We went on our merry way, and came across a sweet fence-line, but again, were only able to show off half the quilt, but still worth a few snaps.

Then around a bend, I saw a little building I had never noticed before. What caught my eye was its wire "framing" - perfect for a clothespin or six! Finally - a full view of this quilt - close to 95" square.

What may be my new go-to display spot, was in actuality a refurbished pump house from the 1930's.

Inside and out was decorated with glass tiles, mostly of sea creatures, apropos considering Puget Sound is a stone's throw away.

Here's a shot that shows off the beautiful quilting done by Girton Quilting.

 And one of the back of the quilt from inside the pump house.

Mission accomplished.

Modern Crosses was modified from a pattern by Susan Beal. The feature fabric was a jelly roll of curio by basic grey for Moda on a background of Kona Eggshell. Backing is Kona Parchment with strips of Eggshell and curio flowers on orange. Piecing was done entirely with Aurifil Mako 50 cotton thread in Natural, and the quilt was finished with a scrappy curio binding. This quilt is on my Q1 FAL list.

Linking up with Let's Get Acquainted Monday, Fabric Tuesday, and Finish it Up Friday!

W.i.P. Wednesday

You know how some weeks you start new things more than you make progress on your wips? Well that was pretty much the kind of week I've had . . .

Completed projects
Lucky Stars BOM - I couldn't resist tackling the Exploding Star as soon as I could.

Triple-Zip Pouches - I managed to make three, all given as gifts already. I shared about one already . . .

and have made two others . . .

And for those of you who were interested in the Quiet Book I made for grandgirl, I posted about it here.

Ongoing projects

Woodland cross-stitch sampler - no progress.

Modern Crosses - Scrappy binding is made and machine-stitched on. Now need to do the 400" or so of hand stitching.

Scrappy Trip Along - No progress. Haven't touched these blocks since last week except to take them down from the design wall.

do.Good Stitches FAITH circle - This is my first month as a quilter for my circle. I've let my bee-mates know the plan, and I'll post here about it soon. Meanwhile, it starts with these blocks:

Upcoming projects
* Hubby's Christmas stocking
* Emerald mini
* Mod Angles cushion
* flannel pillow for grandgirl
* table topper for mom
* scrappy Metrolink
* x and + blocks {#xplusalong}
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

The last week has been a teeter-totter, the 'up' an unexpectedly delightful revisit to paper piecing, and the 'down' being some cross-stitch confusion. The constant pleasure has been my #scrappytripalong! The more blocks I've done, the more I love it, and I am so excited to move on to the #xand+along in February.

Completed projects
Lucky Stars BOM - I was able to complete both the practice block + January's block. These were great fun and I can't wait for the next one! Plus I'm really happy to have gone the 6 1/2" route and with the fabrics I've chosen.

Ongoing projects
Woodland cross-stitch sampler - Whew! After much encouragement, I have finally begun stitching!

Modern Crosses - This quilt's at the long-armer's. I might even have pics to share soon, and better yet, should have this back by week's end!

Quiet Book - I have made real progress on this project! Can't say it's the most fun I've ever had, but I'm on the downhill stretch. Just have had a few 'issues' along the way, and there's lots of fiddly pieces to deal with.

Scrappy Trip Along - This one may be the most fun I've ever had! The 30 blocks are done! There's not enough room on the design wall to show them all off, but I can live with that. There will be another row along both the side and the bottom (5 blocks x 6 blocks). I don't expect to be overly thoughtful about block placement for the final layout, so hopefully the top will go together fairly quickly.

Triple-Zip Pouch - The 3ZAL officially starts Monday, January 28. Meanwhile, fabric and zip choices have begun to pop up in the flickr group. Here's mine:

Upcoming projects
* Hubby's Christmas stocking - no progress yet
* Binding for Mod Cross quilt
* plan for FAITH Circle's February quilt
* Emerald mini
* Mod Angles cushion
* flannel pillow for grandgirl
* table topper for mom
* scrappy Metrolink
* x and + blocks {#xplusalong}
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

The pending report on my Finish-A-Long list for 4th quarter was motivation enough to get me going this last week. Good thing. I feel pretty great about what I've gotten accomplished!

And something to look forward to! A Triple-Zip Along is coming soon! You may already be plenty involved in monthly, quarterly, and yearly groups. But this sew along will be just a few weeks long, making a project that will take just a couple hours of your time {a Triple-Zip Pouch!}. What could be better? I'll be posting more details before long, but meanwhile you can join the Triple-Zip Along flickr group, where the most detailed and up-to-date info will always be! Hope you can join in!

Meanwhile, about those projects . . .

Completed projects

Binary - I managed to finish this FAL quilt just in the nick of time! Full post here.

Ongoing projects

Modern Crosses quilt - Even I can't believe I was still piecing blocks last Wednesday. As of today, the top (98" square!) is pieced, as is the back, and will be hooking up with the long arm quilter yet this week. (yay)

Scrappy Trip Along - I've shown real restraint not moving too far forward on this one before dealing with the projects above. So as a reward, I cut more strips and pieced another couple of blocks.

Quiet Book and stocking - no progress, but soon.

Upcoming projects - yeah I put pretty much everything I could think of on the list here. Hope to get those bee blocks started over the week end . . .
* Binding for Mod Cross quilt

* FAITH Circle January "Sparkle" blocks (2)

* That Stash Bee's January "Birds in the Air" blocks (2) + siggy block

* Lucky Stars BOM - practice block + January block

* Always Bee Learning Bee - herringbone block + improv block

* Mid Century Modern Bee - churn dash block + siggy block
* Modern Blocks Bee January"Piece of the Garden" block

* Woodland cross-stitch sampler (waiting for supplies)

* plan for FAITH Circle's February quilt

* Emerald mini

* Mod Angles cushion

* flannel pillow for grandgirl

* table topper for mom

* scrappy Metrolink

* x and + blocks

* Polaroid block projects

* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

2013 Finish-A-Long: Q1 List

It's time to link up with Leanne/shecanquilt and the new year's Finish-A-Long! If you've stopped by A Quilter's Table anytime recently, you've seen most of these projects, but they are nonetheless at the top of my first quarter to-do list.

Modern Crosses - The 60 blocks for this quilt are done! Now to piece rows together. Hopefully it will be handed off to my longarmer this week. I plan to make the scrappy binding while it's away.

Quiet Book - Since this was officially a Christmas present for grandgirl, I want to finish it pronto and get it back in her sweet little hands.

Christmas Stocking - Hubby said, "You've got a whole year to get it done." And I replied, "No, it's going on the 'to-do-asap' list, so it's ready for Christmas 2013!

Scrappy Trip Along - A month ago, this quilt was not even a twinkle in my eye, but today, it's all I want to do, and as soon as I deal with the above projects, it's all holds back on this one. Two blocks done, and I'm working on cutting strips . . .

Mod Angles Cushion - When I made the original Mod Angles Cushion, I first made some practice blocks. They are too pretty not to use.

So there's my list - hopefully manageable, as you never know what else will come up to tempt and motivate!

Linking up with the 2013 Finish-A-Long, Quarter 1!

Finish-A-Long Fourth Quarter Finishes 2012

The fourth quarter of Quilter in the Gap's 2012 Finish-A-Long is drawing to a close, and I'm cutting it just a bit close reporting in!

Christmas lap quilt - Now known as "Maisy", I had only the center nine blocks done when my list was posted. Basicly I strip pieced WOF strips cut between 1" and 3" wide, then cut them into rectangular blocks. There was no real plan in organizing the fabric other than separating all my strips into three stacks by value. I humbly confess I was so much more pleased with the end result than I expected to be. And it coordinates lovely with our Christmas tree skirt, just as I'd hoped.

Mod Pop - I joined Leanne/shecanquilt's QAL on a whim and was midway through piecing the curves when this quarter began. Confession here is I struggled with accuracy on the curves, even with all the helpful hints. So I kind of drug my feet getting this done, but was rewarded by the enjoyment in quilting it. I used two different threads, and quilted both echo-stitching with my walking foot (the light gray parts) and free-motion (the purple parts).

Binary -  The blocks for this quilt were made by the Modern Blocks Bee. I stalled on this one until last weekend when I came up with an uncomplicated layout. Lap size, it was pretty quick to quilt up. Adding the matched binding was a little something extra that seemed to finish it off just right.

Modern Crosses quilt - There's no good reason this one isn't done, except that I let it happen. I wish I hadn't, but that's that, and I'm trying to make it up as quickly as I can. It has an appointment with a longarm next week, so it's my goal to make that appointment.

I have 25 blocks done. The remaining 35 are on the ironing board in some form or another. This one will go right to the top of my First Quarter 2013 list.

So that's a wrap on the 2012 Finish-A-Long. A big thank you to Rhonda for hosting this fun and motivating event!

A review of my previous quarters' finishes can be found here, here, and here. 

W.i.P. Wednesday

In lieu of a W.i.P. Wednesday post last week, I shared about several small finishes. Since Christmas, the little time I've had in the sewing room has mostly been spent on a few wips that I really want to finish before moving ahead.

Ongoing projects

Quiet Book - This was my Christmas gift to grandgirl, though it was only half done. So I'm working on finishing the remaining pages. It's very like one I made for her mommy years ago.

Binary - I've pulled together the blocks from my month with the Modern Blocks Bee. I'd had no big plan for these blocks, so basically just want to get them sewn into a small quilt. Hope to be able to call this a finish by week's end.

A stocking for hubby - It was crazy to start this so late in the game, but I do want to finish it so it's ready for next year.

Modern Crosses quilt - I'm embarrassed this isn't already done, and shame on me for setting it aside. But Christmas is over, and it's high on my list!

Scrappy Trip Along - I didn't mean to do it. I mean really, I have the above wips I really want to finish! Call it peer pressure . . . curiosity . . . nostalgia. Block one is done and we'll just see where this goes.

Upcoming projects
* FAITH Circle January "Sparkle" block
* That Stash Bee's January "Birds in the Air" blocks
* Lucky Stars BOM - practice block + January block
* scrappy Metrolink
* Woodland cross-stitch sampler
* plan for FAITH Circle's February quilt
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

Two weeks from this W.i.P. Wednesday, Christmas will be over! SO much still to do!

Completed Projects
Ruby Star Wrapping - The Simple Drawstring Bag had a slow start but ended up being just delightful and I hope to make a few more.

December do.Good Stitches blocks - Shown in last week's Random post, they were mailed off today!

More Brrr! Potholders - Love this simple design, and I love making them in pairs!

A Maisy Quilt - This was my proudest finish of the week! Not only is it on my fourth quarter Finish-A-Long list (two done!), but it coordinates with the tree skirt I made last year. In the reveal post where there's plenty of pics, I failed to mention that the initial fabrics came from Nancy Halvorsen's Jingle All the Way, so there are really "Christmas" fabrics in there, though several stash favorites were also included. Unconventional as it is, I'm super pleased with it and love it in our living room.

Ongoing projects
Modern Crosses quilt - It may not look like much, but I have all the remaining blocks started - over 10 yards of continuous piecing! Now time to cut apart and press.{oh joy}

Snack Sack minis - Haven't touched these yet. In addition, I have several other littles in a variety of stages . . .

Falling Flakes stocking - I loved this pattern by imagine gnats, and have the front and back of this one quilted.

A Zakka frame purse without the pleat.

And some Zakka potholders.

Plus other Christmas surprises are in the works!

Upcoming projects
* Christmas!
* more frame purses
* Ruby Star Wrapping
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* scrappy Metrolink - January?
* Polaroid block projects - January?
* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.