Maple Leaf Star - Finished

Maple Leaf Star, about 64" x 80"

A Friday finish! Maple Leaf Star is done, quilted and bound. The blocks were the main block in a local shop's BOM series last year. The setting is my own. The quilting is a collaboration with my long-armer friend Sandy; she did the FMQ motifs in the blocks and the borders, and I did the SID in the sashing. I wanted the quilt to be soft and drapey, so the quilting is not overly dense.

Check out those mitered borders - not bad, huh?!

This quilt is destined to become a Christmas gift for some family members. Nice to have it finished ahead of time!

Speaking of Christmas, Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict is hosting both a Christmas quilt-along and the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop. I hope you'll visit Sarah and check out all the stops on the blog hop. My turn to post comes next Thursday.

Linking up with Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Friday Finish at Crazy Mom Quilts

The Very Good Influence of Friends...

... Or, when a friend shares a better idea, use it.

Several of my friends and I are participating in a local shop's BOM. We go out for coffee after the meetings, and gab for awhile. Lots of sharing about what we're working on, what's going on in our lives, travel plans, etc. I always enjoy our coffee get-togethers.

The current BOM series is in the final month. Each month there's a main block (left) and an optional alternate block (right). The series is inspired by the Roman road, hence the stone and brick color palette.

BOM Main Block and Original Alternate Block

The original alternate block as shown has four pieces in the side units, so the center seam has to align with the center point of the main block.

My friend Cherie of The Quilted Jonquil suggested that if the side unit had three pieces instead of four, there would be no seam to have to match up at the center point. She made a sample, which you can see on her design wall directly below her name. When she first showed us this option, I offered to mock it up in EQ for her so she could see if she liked it.

Cherie's Revised Alternate Block

 Layout Using Cherie's Revised Alternate Block

We both liked it.

This was about four months ago. I had finished eight of the original alternate blocks at that time. I liked Cherie's option so much that I started taking apart the alternate blocks I'd already completed. I have all but one disassembled, and all the new side units pieced and ready to reassemble them.

Parts & Kits for Revised Alternate Blocks

My layout requires 13 of the main block, so I searched through my stash and found fabrics that will work nicely.

Fabrics from Stash for 13th Main Block

So, work in progress:
 - Make two more of the main block, #12 from the shop and my own
 - Take apart the last alternate block
 - Reassemble 8 alternate blocks from the existing pieces
 - Make four alternate blocks from the shop kits that haven't been started yet, with the new side units

I'll add a small border of the background white Grunge to float the blocks, then a wider border of a taupe print. I may have one in my stash that will work, but I need to see if I have enough of it.

EQ Layout with Borders, 76" x 76"

So that's my plan. Actually the shop is presenting their finishing kit for sale at the next BOM meeting. I've heard it involves very narrow sashing. I really like the graphic secondary pattern of my layout, so I don't think I'll be using sashing.

Don't you just love it when quilter friends get their heads together? Thanks, Cherie, for sharing your brilliant block revision.

In other WIP Wednesday news, I've finished the SID in the Maple Leaf Star quilt but now I have a lot of thread tails to bury. Then I need to find binding fabric. Maybe by Friday I'll have a finish!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Maple Leaf Star Quilting

Maple Leaf Star is back from the long armer, but now it's my turn to finish the quilting.

Maple Leaf Star, partially quilted

My talented friend Sandy does custom long arm work. She's so popular that her wait list is usually about nine months! Together we had a plan for this quilt. She basted it and custom quilted the motif in the blocks. She also quilted the borders by following the shapes of the paisley print. I'll quilt the sashing with stitch-in-the-ditch using my walking foot. Since the quilt is fully stabilized, I can get the stitching down into the ditch better on my domestic machine. But since I can't FMQ, there's no way I could have managed the blocks or the border. So, a collaborative quilting effort.

Detail, Maple Leaf Star

One of my goals for this month is to get this finished and bound, so I need to clear space in my sewing room and get busy.

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times; check out other design walls over there.

The Siren Song of $1 Fat Quarters, and a Visit from a Friend

I cannot resist a fabric sale! When one of the local quilt shops advertised FQs for $1, I had to go check them out. I'm specifically looking for colors to make QOV blocks; my stash is lacking in red and dark blue.

So these came home with me on the first day of the sale: six FQs and a half-yard cut of dark blue from the sale table.

Then my friend Libby from Tennessee who blogs at Life on the Hill was in town yesterday. I took her to the STLMQG meeting, lunch with my bee, and then shopping at three of the local quilt shops. We had a great time! Again, of course, I succumbed to the lure of $1 FQs. A couple of good neutrals and two more dark blues joined my stash.

Libby & I had so much fun! Check out her post here. Our husbands joined us for a lovely dinner last night. Can you tell we had a great day?!

Libby & Jan

So... Stash report for this week:
IN - 3 yards
OUT - 0
Based on last week's numbers I'm still in the black for the year, but by less than a yard.

Check out the other stash reports at Patchwork Times

Secret Project

The blog has been kind of quiet lately. I've been sewing, and writing, but I can't blog about it yet. You see, I'm saving it for my turn on the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

I can tell you that I've made a nice start on my Christmas gifts for this year. I was able to accomplish a lot this week, including a lot of writing. My Christmas in July blog post will include a tutorial, and I've been hard at work on it.

Just a sneak peek:

The blog hop runs July 14-25, and my turn to post is on the 21st. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's posts and projects. Maybe it will inspire me to make some more hand-made Christmas gifts.

So even though I don't have anything exciting to show for it, it's been a good quilty week here. I hope your week has been good, too. 

Wow, What a Month! June Stash Report & Goals Update

I felt like every time I turned around I was buying fabric this month! But when I tally everything up, it turned out to be a really productive month with a lot more finishes than I realized.

My latest fabric purchase: I ordered these cute Forest Fellows prints for a baby quilt for my niece who's expecting her third boy in October. These will make a cute little boy quilt. I found some Orange Grunge to go with them, and I have some Kona Bone in my stash for background. The forest print will be borders and backing; the aqua foxes will be used in the pieced blocks.

Forest Fellows from Robert Kaufman 

June Stash Report
IN this month: 11 yards (1 yd - 4 colors Grunge x 1/4 yd ea @ Janie Lou;  5.5 yds ordered for baby quilt;  1/2 yd - 2 more colors of Grunge;  1/2 yd - mustard & lime grunge; 1 yd white Grunge from QF for BOMs; 1/2 yd orange Grunge for baby quilt;  2 yds wide backing for PAussietivity)
OUT this month: 18-1/8 yards (1-7/8 yds wide backing & 5/8 yd binding for Dancing Plus;  6 yds for PAussietivity top;  3-5/8 yds for magazine image challenge flimsy;  2-3/8 yds for D pillow;  2-5/8 yds for M pillow;  1 yd for Pulse heart blocks)
MONTH net change: 7-1/8 yards out

YTD IN: 67-1/8 yards
YTD OUT: 71 yards
YTD Net Change: 3-7/8 yards out

Whoo hoo! I'm in the black for the year!!! YAY


June Goals Update & July Goals

June update:
1. Quilt Dancing Plus.  DONE and bound and slept under it at GS camp
2. Piece one new top at Sew-in and GS camp.  DONE; pieced LCT blocks and pieced blocks & finished magazine challenge flimsy. 
3. Finish collecting fabrics for PAussietivity and cut out. DONE; not only cut out but flimsy complete, backing purchased.
4. Plan and organize 12 Days of Christmas In July blog hop project & post.  DONE; projects are sewn and photos & notes are prepped to write tutorial.
5. Make one doll outfit. DONE, made two tee shirts, jeans, & denim skirt.
6. Keep up with bee blocks. DONE
7. If returned from the long armer, finish SID quilting on Maple Leaf Star. Not back from the quilter yet.
Other: Made 5 heart blocks for Orlando MQG's drive for Pulse

Wow, I didn't realize I accomplished so much this month! No wonder my stash numbers looked good. My bee's Sew-In and a 3-day retreat at GS camp really helped. Plus I stayed home in the air conditioning a lot this month and it turned out to be really productive for me.

July Goals:
1, Write and post 12 Days of Christmas in July tutorial, to go live 7/21.
2. Prep PAussietivity & its backing and take to the long armer.
3. Plan and write up secret project, a collaboration with Alycia for later.
4. Work on Laurie's baby quilt.
5. Layer, baste, and quilt QF 2015 alt blocks quilt
6. If returned from the quilter, finish SID quilting and bind Maple Leaf Star.
7. Keep up with bee blocks
8. Make one doll outfit or accessory item

OK,  that should keep me busy!

And just because I feel good about accomplishing so much in June, here are pics of some of my finishes.

Dancing Plus

PAussietivity top

Magazine challenge top

Pulse blocks for Orlando MQG

Linking up with Patchwork Times and Molli Sparkles

Gracie's Growing Wardrobe

One of my ongoing projects is the making of doll clothes for my great-niece's Christmas gift. You may remember, I scored a doll in beautiful condition at a thrift store earlier this year, and I'm making one outfit or accessory set a month 'til Christmas.

My friend Jeanne is such an enabler. She used to make doll clothes for her granddaughters so she understands my obsession. She loaned me all her doll clothes patterns and gave me some interlock fabrics. More than I can ever use. But so fun!

I had a bit of denim left over from I don't know what, so I decided this month's wardrobe additions would be tee shirts and jeans. 

So, another monthly goal met and progress made toward Christmas gift giving. Whoo Hoo!
Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict