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Mod Rainbow

With no toddlers to entertain on my four-hour flight to Colorado, I was free to relax, listen to music, and stitch some binding.  By the time I went to bed on Friday, my sister-in-law’s quilt was finished.

Mod Rainbow - binding

She has been a great friend, awesome aunt, and is generally way overdue for a quilt of her own (not to mention graduating from medical school and having a birthday recently…).  When I asked her what colors she wanted in her quilt, she said, “rainbow!”  I assure you, she wasn’t kidding.

Mod Rainbow - Front

Obvious to the quilting folks, this is the Mod Sampler Quilt from Oh, Fransson, which I’ve been meaning to do.  The cutting instructions were insanely well-organized, so I was able to whip through the blocks in no time. (I also strongly recommend her writeups on color basics and choosing fabric, good food for thought even if you aren’t making this exact pattern.)  Sashing always seems to give me a headache, but is worth it in the end.  I put off the basting and quilting for a while, but once I got my foot fixed, it was a breeze.  I did my favorite loopy stipple, and it went super fast.

Mod Rainbow - detail

As a first-year medical intern, my sister-in-law has virtually no days off, so it may be another two weeks or so before I can get this into her hands.  But she said she wanted to see pictures, so here they are.  Rachel, I hope you like it!

Mod Rainbow - back

And, yes, I hung another quilt from the swingset just to get a good picture.  I haven’t the faintest idea what I’ll do once it snows!

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First of all, I did decide to go for it on the Old Red Barn Co quilt-along, but I’m only making one.  Bought the fabric this morning on Etsy, hopefully it will arrive quickly so I don’t get too behind.

I may, ahem, have bought some other fabric, too.  It was super cute, and I have something in mind…. Yes, I need to step away from Etsy and Paypal.  Maybe I should intentionally forget my password?  But oh well. It’s done. :-)

However, all of these plans are a little bit on hold.  My in-laws arrive tomorrow.  And while plans have somewhat changed and they are no longer staying in my sewing guest room, they’ll still be… you know… here.  And I think it might come off as antisocial if I just ignore them and sew all day long.  Alas.   The really good part about them coming is that the hubs and I are running away for the weekend sans kids.  And while that also translates into a few more days of no sewing, I’ll console myself by sleeping in a pillow-top king-sized bed, getting a massage and a pedicure, and going out to dinner with nary a toddler in sight.  It’ll be rough, but I’ll make it through.

Anyways, I’ll post week 5 of the nine-patch quilt-along tomorrow, and will otherwise try to get the green & purple quilt finished before the intended recipient’s baby shower, there won’t be as much sewing as I might like for the next week or so.

See you on the flip side.

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This is not a good idea.


I’m thinking about joining another quilt-along.  It’s hosted at Old Red Barn Co., and it’s a fairly simple-looking but lovely quilt, just about twin-sized.

Here’s why I’m thinking about doing it (aside from the fact that I’m a glutton for punishment)… I’ve been seriously toying with the idea of making some twin-sized quilts for my mom’s lake house.  In total, there are seven twin-sized beds there, but I’m going to start with the room that only has two.  So I’d like to make two matching/coordinating twin-sized quilts.

I’m considering doing it with the Michael Miller Farmers Market line.  Seems appropriate for a lake house, no?  Or possibly the Paula Prass Flights of Fancy, as recommended by the quilt-along host (and it gets you extra entries for the prize, but it’s also quite lovely).  Or any number of other fabric combos that I’m falling in love with.  (Damn, you online window shopping!)

Here’s why it’s a BAD idea….  um, do I really have that kind of time?!  Between the nine-patch quilt-along (nine-patch-a-day through early July), take two of the failed baby blanket (must be done by June 9, it’s coming along…), a twin-sized ragged square quilt I need to get cracking on for a custom Etsy order (should be done by early August, though I suppose it’s flexible)…. and, oh, LIFE!  I don’t know.

Part of me gets a bit uneasy with too many WIPs.  I think I worry that, in my excitement to start something new, I’ll never finish the things that were already in progress.  I get a little nervous when my to-do list gets too long.  My new white board next to my sewing table helps me keep tabs, but still.

On the other hand, I know people have many more things going at once than I do.  And there’s nothing saying that I can’t set these twin quilts aside if I need to, and not exactly keep pace with the quilt-along…

My final consideration in the lake house quilt project is that, well, I don’t want to tell my mom about it ahead of time.  I’ve mentioned the idea of making quilts for the house, and she thinks that’s a perfectly lovely idea.  But I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, and so I don’t really want her asking about their progress, you know? I’d really like to just present them when they’re done.  And if that’s next May for Mother’s Day? Fine.

So, what do you think? Join in?  Take a deep breath and step away from the fabric?

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My brother was very briefly in town this week.  It was fun to see him and have the kids play with him, even if only for a few hours.  I showed him some of the quilts I’ve been making, and he mentioned he and my sister-in-law were thinking about asking me to make one for their niece-to-be.  Of course, the baby’s due date is “sometime in May” (you can’t trust brothers for dates), so he wondered how quickly I could make it.  I told him I could probably make one fairly quickly, and that he should just get back to me when he decided what he wants.

Yeah.

Emailed him to see if he still wanted one.  He does.  And, as it would happen, the baby in question was born yesterday.  So, could I get going on it ASAP?

Right, then.  Got to whip out a baby quilt all of a sudden.  As if I wasn’t doing anything else. I’m trying to convince him that he wants the stacked coins quilt, maybe because I already have a few charm packs on the way in the mail.  I think I need a white board in my sewing space just to keep up with my list of projects!  It feels like it’s getting a little bit out of control.

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This was one of those WiPs that just sat around forever.  It’s the basic Take 5 pattern from The Teacher’s Pet.  My stepmom picked out the five fabrics herself back in, oh, October.

Char's Quilt

Of course, I had the top pieced in no time, flat.  Maybe two days after we went shopping together.  And then… then I stalled.  My big sticking point has long been the actual quilting.  I couldn’t get the free-motion thing figured out, and I didn’t like what little I was able to do with my walking foot.

Eventually I pieced the back (I do like a little perpendicular stripe action) and sandwiched the thing. In January.  And again, there it sat.  Still stymied by the quilting.

Char's Quilt

Finally, I got the basics of stippling figured out (and got my free-motion foot un-stuck).  I was getting things ready for my Etsy shop and suddenly felt pretty guilty about this unfinished pile of cotton sitting next to me.  It seemed wrong to finish things for other people, and not for family.  So, finally, I did it.  Wahoo!

Char's Quilt

It’s fine for what it is, but the truth of the matter is that I don’t love it.  I don’t think the pattern is all that interesting, and the colors feel kind of heavy.  But, not only is it not for me, but I think I’m coming into a different phase in terms of what I like to sew and the types of designs I like.  This doesn’t feel like the quilter I’d like to become.

But, hey, I think she’ll like it, I think it turned out fine, and I’m really glad it’s done.  And we had fun taking pictures of it on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Char's Quilt

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