DQS7

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For Me?

September 22, 2009 in Quilts | 5 comments

Ooh, ooh!  You can just imagine the happy squeals when my mail carrier arrived yesterday and had a big envelope for me, all the way from Australia!

DQS7 - Received!

Hooray, it’s my adorable DQS7 swap from Erin!  It is so lovely.  Great colors, simple but pretty blocks. Adorable cherry print on the back, and a great purple (arguably my favorite color!) binding.  I love it!  And just because she’s sweet, she included some TimTams, which she says are a big favorite in Australia. I tried one last night, and I can see why!

DQS7 - Received!

I’m not the only one who adores it. My daughter carried it around for half the morning, mostly saying it was her “dress” and delightedly pointing out all of the colors.  Erin, clearly she is a big fan of your work!

DQS7 - Received!

DQS7 - Received!

So thank you, thank you!  What a delightful package to get in the mail.

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Doll Quilt, done, and other progress

August 24, 2009 in Finished Objects, Piecing | 8 comments

I am very pleased to announce that my DQS7 quilt is complete!

DQS7, Finished!

It’s sort of a nine-patch of wonky log cabins, if that makes any sense at all.  Nice, bright pieces from my scrap pile, with a bit of white to give it some space.  The quilting is done in white thread in a sort of square-spiral to mimic the blocks. I didn’t measure it, but I think it’s about 20 inches, square (before washing, haven’t decided if I’ll wash before sending or not).

DQS7, Back

I really like the back, and think my partner will, too.  That big pink floral was in my scrap bin from a previously abandoned project, and I’m glad I got to use a nice big piece of it.  The label might be my new favorite method, courtesy of Sarah’s tutorial.

DQS7, Folded

I thought the crazy colors and sort of wild, almost sparkly print for the binding worked pretty well. I was worried it would be too busy against the front, but I think it’s OK. And it’s only a doll-sized quilt, after all, I think you can get away with it being a little busy and not have it get overwhelming.

Anyways, it’s done! Yay! Just want to get a goodie or two to send with it, and then I’ll ship it off to its secret new home.

In the meantime, I’ve also finished the two ragged-square tops for Marie’s kids, and just need to baste and quilt them. Marie, I hope you like the preview!

Two ragged square tops

I’ve also got two commissioned quilts for baby boys in the works, both of which were requested to have some blue and brown, so I’m actually using a lot of the same prints.  The pile of fabric was just sitting up on my shelf, mocking me, so I finally did all of the cutting yesterday just to feel like I was finally making progress on them.  One will be a small version of the stacked coins quilt, the other will be a zig-zag.

Brown and blue coins

Brown and blue strips

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Buried in Fabric

August 17, 2009 in Piecing | 3 comments

Feeling a little crazed and behind-the-ball now that I’m back from vacation.  I suddenly realized that I have (at least) five quilts plus three new Bee blocks that need to be done by the end of September.  Thankfully, four of the five quilts are rather small, but still. I feel like I’m really frantic to get them done. Maybe because I have so many others on my list that have yet to be started?

Progress check is as follows…

Two ragged-square quilts for Marie, one top is mostly pieced and the other is cut and ready to be put together. My only debate at the moment is whether to make it 24×30 or 24×36. They’re six-inch blocks, and I just can’t decide if the 24×36 looks too oblong or if it works. Will have to ask my husband for a non-sewer’s judgment this evening.

My swap quilt for DQS7 is moving along.  I finished my nine wonky log cabin blocks last night, so they’re ready to become a completed quilt top. Hopefully it should move on pretty quickly from here. The blocks themselves were a bit slow-moving, but assembly of the top will be straightforward and I think I know what I’m doing for backing and quilting.  I hope my partner likes it!

Blocks, done!

The other two on the list are also custom orders for baby gifts. One is a small coin quilt, and one is a slightly larger zig-zag.  Both include a lot of brown and blue and some green, so there will probably be a fair amount of fabric overlap. I’ve got most of the fabric set aside, but haven’t cut it yet.

It doesn’t help that summer has arrived with a vengeance, making up for a very chilly start. Heat index is well above 90 today, and my house is sorely lacking in central air.  Let’s see how much I can get done with a fan pointed straight at my head…

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Relocation

July 27, 2009 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

For the last six months or so, my sewing space has been tucked into one side of our guest bedroom.  It’s a bit cramped, and sometimes it’s a problem sharing a wall with my kids’ bedroom when I want to sew while they nap.  But it works reasonably well.

sewing table

Until it actually turned into summer.

We’ve had a cool, rainy “summer” here in New England. Cool enough that we made it most of the way through July without seriously considering getting our two air conditioners down from the attic.  Sunday, though, was hot and muggy and it was time to make it happen.  Parked the kids in front of Backyardigans while we set them up in our room and in theirs.  And then, before bedtime, I did I trial run: while both air conditioners were running, I turned on my iron.  And pop went the circuit breaker.

In our… ahem… charming old house, the entire second floor of the house is on a single breaker. It’s a miracle we can actually run both a/c units at the same time, and clearly that represents about the upper limit of what the system can handle.

The prospect of no sewing until we’re done with the air conditioners is quite unacceptable, so while M read the kids their bedtime story, I started hauling my sewing necessities down to the dining room.

dining room sewing space

While I like having a larger table, I don’t really like having my sewing space set up in the dining room as a long-term solution. It’s a huge pain on the off chance we actually want to use the room for, you know, eating.  Plus, it leaves things a little too accessible to my curious (nearly)-two-year-olds. And we all know how quickly sewing spaces can turn into a huge mess.

But, it’ll just have to do for now, and I’ll have to do my best to keep it tidy.  Good thing I’m leaving Wednesday morning! There’s only so much damage I can do in the next 48 hours. Though I did make my first attempt at a block for the Doll Quilt Swap… we’ll see what it turns into!

My first block

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What I like

July 20, 2009 in Quilts | 2 comments

I’m totally jazzed up for the Doll Quilt Swap, and I believe we are to expect our partner assignments sometime Wednesday. There are several suggestions for getting the word out to your (secret) partner to let them know what you like and what you want.  Some people are putting together inspiration mosaics and posting them to the Flickr group.  Some are trying to update their Flickr favorites.  Another person suggested an actual blog post on your likes and dislikes, and I thought I’d try to put one together.

Honestly?  I like just about everything.  There’s very little I straight-out dislike.  And there are plenty of things that, while I wouldn’t do them myself, I think they’re lovely and would be simply tickled to get it in a swap.

I suppose I am not really into things that are, for lack of a better word, country-ish.  I think “traditional” quilts (Ohio Star this, Walking to Oklahoma that) can be quite lovely and impressive, but it’s not necessarily what I gravitate towards.  It’s just not my cup of tea, as far as what I choose to make.  I’m also not into a very fall-ish color palate right now. This one I made for my stepmom?  Yeah, doesn’t really resonate with me at all, but she liked it, so that’s cool.  And I suppose I don’t really get into holiday-themed things, since I don’t tend to swap out the decor in my house by season or holiday.

What I am particularly digging right now are fairly modern designs.  I like almost anything AmandaJean does (of course), and same with Red Pepper Quilts and Film in the Fridge.  Links to more folks I enjoy following are on the left sidebar.  As for other styles… I’ve seen some incredible applique and embroidery work, and while it’s not something that I do (AT ALL!) myself, I think it can certainly be wonderful when done by those who are good at it.

Anything else helpful to know about me? Hrm. I can’t say I have a single favorite color, as I have seen things that I love in seemingly every color of the rainbow.  I like pretty vibrant colors, and I think throwing in a solid neutral (white/gray/etc) is very pretty, but certainly not everything I like has solid white in it!  I have two rather active toddlers, so probably best not to put too much effort into delicate beading that could be ripped off by little hands (and swallowed!).  Though, honestly, whether it’s something kind of artsy or fancy to hang on the wall or something meant to be in the playroom with the kiddos, I think either would be great.

I’m relatively new in the quilting world, and still have a ton to learn. I just love to see what other people come up with and try out new things that I see and think are cool.  And I think the great part about a little quilt like this is that it gives you an opportunity to experiment with something new without spending too much time and money in case you don’t end up loving it.  So, dear Swap Partner, I leave it entirely up to you, and I’m sure I’ll love it!

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Performance Anxiety

July 16, 2009 in Binding, Piecing, Quilt-Along | 5 comments

Because I’m a glutton for punishment and having five projects on my to-do list, I decided to add two three more. Gah!  As it is, I finally have all of the fabrics I needed for Mary‘s daughter’s quilt, and have started putting the blocks together. Mary, hope you like the little preview!

DSC_0051

As for new stuff, I couldn’t resist joining the next project that has grown out of the Old Red Barn Co quilt-along: zig-zags! I’ve done a zig-zag before, of course (the baby for whom it was destined arrived yesterday, welcome to the world, Marcella!). And I have another one on my to-do list (a “commissioned” quilt for my husband’s aunt). But the ORBCo version will actually be done with half-square triangles. Plus, I’ve got a fat quarter bundle of Neptune just begging to be used.  I think I’m going to do two small (40″ square) quilts, one a little more girly and one a little more boyish.  Yes, I have boy/girl twins and a thing for fairness and symmetry, why do you ask?  Thankfully, though, these have no particular deadline, so they can get bumped down in the priority list if they need to be.

DSC_0048

And finally, I’ve joined my very first swap!  I’m doing the DQS7, and I’m both excited and totally nervous. What if the person I get is actually a REALLY good quilter and I send my lame beginner stuff and they’re really disappointed?  Gah!  But I’m looking forward to having an excuse to try something new and send it to someone who will hopefully enjoy it.  We’ll get our “assignments” next week, so I look forward to trying to figure out what my partner likes and figuring out what swaps are all about.

In the meantime, I’ve got two nearly-finished items on the pile for the trip to Chicago.  Binding attached, all it needs is the hand-sewing on the back.  It’s the nine-patch quilt and a cute little sock monkey baby quilt for my friend’s second son, due to arrive in the next week or two.

DSC_0054

I’ve got (theoretically) 12 more sewing days until we leave… we’ll see how much more can get added to that pile! I’m hoping for at least one more, but who knows what life will throw my way in the meantime.

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