W.i.P. Wednesday

W.i.P. Wednesday snuck up on me this week. Going out of town for the weekend was fun, but didn't help the sewing cause!

Completed projects
Shades of Grey  - This little quilt was really fun to make and was easy to take on the road to bind and finish. {more here, including a pic of the pieced back}

Ongoing projects

Cappuccino Bali Pop Quilt - Basting didn't go as planned last week, but at least the top is done, batt measured out, backing pieced, binding made, and some lovely variegated thread ready to go.

Swoon quilt with Terrain - Unfortunately no progress here. sigh.

Dead Simple Quilt Along with Lily's Quilts - No progress here either. The qa was put on hold for a bit.

Wrenly HST quilt started in Katie's class - I put the blocks on the end of the ironing board, so I press a few every time I turn the iron on. Not sure what I'll do for sure, but threw some up on the design wall just to get a feel for what I've got.

Upcoming projects
* Pretty {little} Pouch Swap project. 
* October do.Good Stitches blocks - two Raggedy Bullseye blocks NEW
* Stash quilt - zig zag quilt. 

* Quilts for siblings #2 and #3.

Be sure and check in at Freshly Pieced to see lots of other great w.i.p.s! You'll be glad you did! 

Sister Pairs

A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to win a fat quarter stack of shades of grey from Jan DiCintio on her blog, Daisy Janie. What beautiful fabric! I had been coveting it from afar, so was especially pleased to now have some! After much deliberation of pattern and accent color, I decided to use Jan's own pattern, Sister Pairs, accenting the grays with some KONA Spearmint (thanks sis!).

Daisy Janie's fabrics are 100% certified organic by the GOTC (Global Organic Textile Standard), from seed to fiber, fabric, printing, and packaging. It was so nice to work with, and I'm not sure why, whether it was the organic fabric, the larger needle I used, the Superior King Tut thread, or the 505 spray basting, but this project was a dream to quilt. It was Toni from Hoosier Toni that suggested the random angled line quilting, and I love how it looks. I used a light grey thread for most of the quilting, and at my quilting buddy, Sharon's, suggestion, I occasionally quilted with a very dark grey thread. Unfortunately, it doesn't show up in the pictures, but it adds a nice accent that you can see in person.

It was fun to finish binding this quilt while visiting family in Eastern Washington this weekend, and having my niece help me photograph it in the lovely (sunny!) yard.

I had tried to imitate the block design for the back, using mostly KONA Ash, with Charcoal and more Spearmint. Obviously, the Sister Pairs block goes lengthwise on the back, but I still like its visual connection to the front. Having forgotten entirely to photograph the back earlier, we did it at a winery as we wound our way back home, which was a fun end to an enjoyable project.

Linking up with {Sew} Modern Monday today and Quilt Story tomorrow.

Random

A week or so ago, I shared my Windows Improv table runner {see here}, and in doing so, mentioned Malka Dubrawsky's book, fresh*quilting. In the comments, I got the impression that some of you thought the table runner pattern is in the book, but actually, I purchased it online {here}.

For your calendars, note that the next Bloggers' Quilt Festival begins on October 28! I participated in the spring and had a great time, both sharing one of my most meaningful quilt stories, as well as reading oodles from other quilters. Be sure and watch for details at Amy's Creative Side.

I also wanted to remind you of the giveaway I'm having! I'd love to have you join in and share how you stay creative and inspired! I'll be choosing a random winner on Tuesday, October 4, so be sure and leave a comment on the giveaway post here.

Lastly, I finished up my Shades of Grey quilt this morning and will be sharing it tomorrow for {Sew} Modern Monday. For now, a sneak peek taken in a vineyard in eastern Washington this afternoon - a little pit stop as we drove home from a weekend visiting family.

W.i.P. Wednesday

It's been a good week of sewing, and here is is, W.i.P. Wednesday already!

Completed projects
Improv Windows table runner - This was a spur-of-the-moment project, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out, plus it was fun. Here it is again, for you W.i.P. Wednesday readers. If you'd like to hear more about it, see here.

Ongoing projects

Shades of Grey - Top and backing are pieced and basted; binding cut. It's busier than I expected - I'm kind of wishing I'd used less of the contrasting solid, but oh well. Hope to be quilting this tonight and have ready to share by Monday.

Cappuccino Bali Pop Quilt - Yay! I finished piecing this top, binding is cut, and backing discovered in my stash. I'm hoping to get it basted tonight.

Swoon quilt with Terrain - Two blocks down, seven to go!

Dead Simple Quilt Along with Lily's Quilts - No progress here. Trying to finish a couple of the above before I get started.

Upcoming projects
* Pretty {little} Pouch Swap project. NEW
* Wrenly HST quilt started in Katie's class.
* Stash quilt - zig zag quilt. 

* Quilts for siblings #2 and #3.

Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see lots of other great w.i.p.s! It really is inspiring! Have a great day!

W.i.P. Wednesday

Having a staycation last week allowed for a little extra sewing time and a good report for W.i.P. Wednesday!

Completed projects
For the Love of Solids - The swap is over, and what a fun one it was! Challenging as it was, my partner loved what I made her, so that's all that matters. Please go take a glance at my sharing of the process {see here}.

100 Quilts for Kids Quilt Along - I also posted about this quilt last week {see here}, and was able to drop my donations off with Project Linus. (FYI, they also take completed quilt tops, if you have any you aren't interested in finishing and would like to see go to a good cause!)

do.Good Stitches {a Charity Bee} - Swoon block mailed off {see here}.

Here's a quick glance at those three projects, in case you haven't seen them along the way.

Windows Improv table runner - This hopped on the list since last week - a wedding shower gift, that I need to get photos of.

Zip-pouch for mom - Mom's traveling soon and needed a new little pouch. It's the first time I've cut into a bit of Terrain - yum.

Ongoing projects

Cappuccino Bali Pop Quilt - I got all the blocks pieced! Now there's a fair bit of trimming to be done before I can actually sew them together. 

Dead Simple Quilt Along with Lily's Quilts - I showed my palette a few days ago {see here}, but here's a glance at the actual fabrics. Ie. I'm ready to go!

Shades of Grey - Finally have started on these and got 8/12 done. They are quick and fun. These blocks look much better in person - not sure how I'm going to finish this mini-quilt off, so if you have ideas, please share them!

Swoon quilt with Terrain - Fabrics are chosen and paired, but no cutting yet. . . soon, I hope.

Upcoming projects
* Wrenly HST quilt started in Katie's class.
* Stash quilt - zig zag quilt. 

* Quilts for siblings #2 and #3.

On hold
Block-a-palooza quilt along donated to Project Linus.

There's no W.i.P. Wednesday link-up today, as Lee's overwhelmed by the looming deadline for her fabric design. Feel free to check in and encourage her on over at Freshly Pieced! Have a great week!

Friday Night Sew-In

What do you do when you have a list of projects that you really need to get done, maybe even by a certain date? If you're like me, you start something new that's not on the list! Actually, the new project I chose to work on last night is on my list - just not the short-list that needs to be completed in the next several days.

But, in celebration of completing all the blocks for one project (Cappuccino), delivering my quilts for 100 Quilts for Kids to Project Linus, and hearing that Sibling Quilt #1 arrived at its destination {project detail here}, I decided to do exactly as I pleased. Which was to cut into Shades of Grey.

I was so thrilled when I won this FQ pack from a Daisy Janie giveaway in May. Wow. Obviously, it sat around a while, waiting in the project line-up. But I've known for a while what I wanted to do with it - "Sister Pairs", a block designed by Jan DiCintio herself. Though Jan made her original blocks with 5" charms, I wanted to use the whole stack in this one project, and make bigger blocks. So I've cut four 9" squares out of each fat quarter, and I'll end up with 12 rectangular blocks.

A few days ago, I asked opinions about which solid to use with my greys. The commenters pretty much tied - Spearmint (my original thought) or Curry. While I was debating, I got a text from daughter dear - "I think you should use the Spearmint!" Thanks for the tie-breaker, Rachel! So Spearmint it is!

The blocks are different than anything I've done before. You make random cuts, piece and trim, and put back together. Once they are all pieced, I'll need to trim them all to the same final dimension. So, I was able to make five blocks! Kinda fun.

Linking up with Friday Night Sew-In!

Giddy

It was late last night when I finally got to my sewing room. My freshly tuned sewing machine was waiting, all shiny. Seriously. I was giddy. I dropped pins. I spilt water filling the iron. I honestly was so excited to have my machine back and a couple of hours to spend sewing. It felt something like relief. I finished piecing Just Swell, and basted her up.

This morning, I snuck down before the day really got going, and quilted her. Progress.

When the mail came today, it brought something I'd anxiously been waiting for!

I must say, the Shades of Grey I won from Daisy Janie really are beautiful. They have a sheen of sorts, a texture unique to organic fabrics, I'm thinking. Really nice, and I'm thrilled to add them to my stash.