WIPs - Visible Progress

Often it seems there is just enough time to either stitch or blog, but not both.  I've done a pretty good job of getting in the sewing room for at least 15 minutes each day.  But not such a good job of  posting regularly and reading other's blogs.  I'm trying to balance both, but some weeks it just doesn't work.  I didn't post any WIP progress last week due to attendance at that conference.  There just wasn't time to write a post.  Thankfully this week has been a bit slower and I actually have progress to show on Allietare. 

Allietare, Bonnie Hunter's 2015 Mystery Quilt

I've finally gotten back to making the star blocks and only have one more of the Pisa blocks to stitch together.  I still have more cutting to do for the star blocks, but at least there is visible progress.  I'm making the blocks for this project in between assembling the Midnight Mystery blocks. 

Midnight Mystery Quilt, From Meadow Mist Designs

The first block is now all stitched together and I've started on block number 2.  These big blocks will go together fast if I can keep up the momentum.  I'm hoping to have all the blocks pieced and in a flimsy before the end of the month.  

That's it for my WIPs this week.  You can find some very pretty things at the various WIP linky parties.  

Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
WIPs on Wednesay at Esther's Quilt Blog
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

WIPS - Lots of Yellow with a touch of Blue

Drama Teen is going to be disappointed this morning.  We had freezing fog and rain last night, so she was hoping for a day out of school.  No such luck, the roads are dry. But we apparently have another opportunity for nasty weather tonight.  She may get her wish for a snow day tomorrow. 

The colder weather has meant there's not much to do but stay indoors, so it's perfect stitching weather.  Over the weekend the last border was pieced and stitched to the McCall's Mystery Quilt.  It's outgrown the design wall, so it took me a couple of days to get it photographed.  

McCall's Mystery Quilt, From McCall's Quilting Magazine
Jan/Feb, April/May, June/July 2012 issues

The bright blue border does a lot to balance out all the bright yellow in the center of the quilt.  The focus fabric looks better in person, the pink just swamps the blocks in the photographs.  But overall I like how it turned out.  

The finished flimsy is half of my One Monthly Goal for January.  The other half of the goal is to get the back pieced.  That's been started but hit a snag when I realized there wasn't enough of the focus fabric to make a complete backing.  There's not enough left over of any of the other fabrics to use on the back, I have enough blue or yellow to make a binding (actually it's a bit iffy on the yellow).  After a search through the stash, I came up with a pale pink that looks good with the focus fabric.  It's been in the stash for at least 10 years, so it's on the cutting table waiting to be ironed.  I should be able to get the back pieced by the end of the weekend.  It feels nice to be on top of this month's goal.  

Linking up with 
Let's be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

WIPs - Progress on the January Goal

We are 6 days into the new year, almost a week in already.  So how are you doing on this year's goals so far?  I'm doing pretty well with mine at the moment.  I'm trying something new this year.  I'm participating in the One Monthly Goal over at Red Letter Quilts in hopes that it will help me focus on one project and move it closer to a finish.  Whatever that project is, will probably be the subject of each week's WIP update. 

This month's goal is to get the McCall's Mystery Quilt ready to go out for quilting.  Last night I added the second pieced border. 

McCall's Mystery Quilt, From McCall's Quilting Magazine
Jan/Feb, April/May, June/July 2012 issues

It's a huge quilt, much larger than my design wall and there are still two borders left to add.  I like the bright blue borders. They do a lot to calm down all that yellow in the center of the quilt.  If I keep up the pace, this should be a finished flimsy this weekend. 

I'm still working on Allietare.  

 Allietare
 Bonnie Hunter's 2015 Mystery Quilt

There's one more completed alternate block up on the design wall, plus three other blocks that need to be sewn together.  I need to rotate the bottom row of that middle block before it gets stitched down that way.    

That's a partially assembled Poinsettia block in the lower right corner.  It's still my current leaders and enders project. I need start this year's Rainbow Scrap Project.  I printed out the paper piecing pattern, but didn't have the printer set right, so I'll have to reprint those before I can start this month's Vintage Dress blocks.  

That's my 4 WIPs at the moment.  I try to keep the WIPs at 4 or less.  Any more and I can't make good progress on any one project. 

Linking up with:

Let's Bee Social
WIPs on Wednesday
WIP Wednesday
and 
Needle and Thread Thursday when it's posted.  

WIPS - Other Uses for Rotary Cutters and Cutting Tables

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written a progress report on my WIPs.  It's been harder the last few weeks to find time to sew during the week.  With the holidays coming up, other things have required more attention.  This week especially.  We are hosting Thanksgiving this year with My Guy's family.  That's meant spending some time doing deep cleaning in a few areas of the house.  So there hasn't been much stitching going on this week.  

Even though there's been no stitching, I did use the rotary cutter and my cutting table last night.  Our dining room set is almost 30 years old and the chairs are starting to show it. 

We use these chairs pretty much every day so it's not a big surprise that they are starting to show some wear. I've been wanting to recover them for a few months now, but My Guy and I couldn't agree on a fabric. But with family coming, we really needed to do something about the cushions that were ripping at the front. So last night Drama Teen and I went to Hobby Lobby to look.  Before we left, I was suggesting we look for brown or dark blue.  My Guy said he wanted beige again, as close as possible to what's on the chairs now. That's not what we came home with. 

We started out looking at the beige offerings, but they were either not the right weight or not in the right price range (I thought quilting fabric was expensive, it's been a while since I've had to buy home decorating fabric.)  Drama Teen picked out this gray with silver and gold.  It's a good neutral, it's not beige, it fits in with the rest of the house pretty well and it was on the lower end of the price scale, so it wasn't hard to convince me.  My Guy didn't like the fabric when I pulled it out of the bag once we got it home.  I talked him into letting me recover just one of the cushions.  I've learned over the years through discussing my quilt ideas with him that he cannot visualize how a fabric will look in the finished project.  After looking at the first finished chair he decided he liked it well enough to let me do the rest.  So though the chairs don't look brand new, they no longer look like thrift store finds.  

I did get in a few minutes in the sewing room earlier in the week.  All the pieces of the McCall's Mystery quilt got laid out on the design wall and I started sewing together the first couple of rows.  

This one may just make it to the finished flimsy stage before the end of the year and will likely be my first finish for 2016. My last finish for 2015 will be Back to Square One.  The binding is all made. Now I need to come up with a name for that one and make the label before I can start stitching down the binding.  

That's my progress for the week.  I'm linking up with

WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced

WOW:  WIPS on Wednesday over at Esther's Quilt Blog

Wishing everyone in the United States a very happy Thanksgiving.

WIPS - Midweek Progress on Midnight Mystery

Between having nothing really worth while to post about midweek and not having the time to write a post midweek, it's been three weeks since my last WIPs report.  Since Monday was a stay home and sew day, there's been some good progress on the Midnight Mystery quilt, so there is actually something to write about this week.   All the log cabin squares were finished up before the end of October. 

Midnight Mystery Quilt, From Meadow Mist Designs

Last night I finished up all the step 2 strips from the November clue.  

Now I just need to finish off step 3 and I'll be done with the November clue.  How all these pieces are going to fit together?  We still have 4 months left before we finish all the clues.  I wonder what's next? 

That's it for my midweek WIP progress.  I'm linking up with WIPs on Wednesday and WIP Wednesday, along with Needle and Thread Thursday.

WIPs - Schedules Make a Difference

It's been two weeks since my last works in progress post.  That surprised me till I realized that October hasn't been a great month for spending time in the sewing room.  Typically the concentrated sewing time happens on the weekends, but due to numerous factors, the weekends haven't been very productive.  Plus as darkness is descending earlier this time of year, it's been harder to keep the energy level up later in the evening and I end up going to sleep in the recliner rather than making it up the stairs at the end of the evening.  So I conducted an experiment starting on Monday.  Rather than spending the early evening reading blogs and responding to emails, I've been heading up the stairs after dinner and my evening chores are done.  That's definitely made a difference the last two nights and there's been more progress in the sewing room.  We'll see if I can keep that up once time change is here.  Then it will be dark when I leave work.  I'm definitely not looking forward to that.  

There has been progress.  Only one block needs to be finished to be caught up with the Midnight Mystery quilt. 

Midnight Mystery Quilt From Meadow Mist Designs

The last block is at the sewing machine with just one more black strip to sew down.  

Another Wonky Star for the QOV block drive at Alycia Quilts is up on the design wall.  

Wonky Star Block:  QOV Block Drive sponsored by Alycia Quilts (tutorial is here) 

There are two more at the sewing machine in various stages of assembly.  I'm not sure how many of these I'll make.  The goal is to make as many as possible by October 31st.  These are due to Alycia by November 11th.  

Lastly, I'm almost caught up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for September.  

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

The last orange block is almost assembled and two of the brown blocks for October are in progress.  Hopefully I'll be caught up on these by the end of the month, so I can get started on November's color at the start of the month.  

The change in my evening schedule seems to have made a difference.  I made some other changes in my work flow in the sewing room and those are helping too.  Now if I can just figure out how to not nod off when reading blogs and answering emails after my sewing time, I'll be in good shape.  

Linking up with WIP Wednesday, WIPS on Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.  

WIPS - It's a Mystery

It's been a bit busy this week.  I got tapped to provide dessert for this week's volleyball lunch for the juniors and seniors.  The request was for Rice Krispy treats and chocolate covered strawberries.  I wasn't too sure that the Rice Krispy treats were going to go over well with older girls.  The lunch was yesterday.  Drama Teen said both went fast and were much appreciated by the team.  

There has been a little bit of stitching since the weekend, but not a lot.  I finished off the 34 square in a square blocks that were this month's clue for the Midnight Mystery.  

Midnight Mystery Quilt From Meadow Mist Designs

That red really makes for bright blocks.  But these blocks will get paired with the flying geese that were last month's clue.

These should help tone down all that red.  Looking forward to getting starting on October's clue when it comes out next week.  

Linking up with WIP Wednesday, WIPS on Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday. 

WIPs - Bordering on Another Finish

It's been slow, but steady progress in the sewing room.  Most of my stitching time comes on the weekends, but I do manage a few minutes here and there during the week to pin and then stitch a few seams.  I spent a few minutes to cut the strips for the next round of borders for Back to Square One.  The log cabin/star borders are all assembled and attached. 

 Back to Square One by Judy Laquidara (pattern available here)

With the addition of the last round of borders, it's now too big for the design wall.  The purple fabric looks almost black in this photo, I just couldn't get the lighting right to get the true color. The quilt is actually much brighter in real life.   All that's left is a narrow purple border followed by a dark blue border.  Borders always take longer than I think they will, so it will probably be the end of next week before this one is finished.  

Progress continues on the Square in a Square blocks for the Midnight Mystery quilt.  I should have all those blocks finished in time to start on October's clue when it is issued.  I still need to trim up the Layer Cake Quilt Along project and make the binding so I can finish it.  I did come up with a better another name for that project, I'll share that when the quilt is finished. The current plan is to get  Back to Square One sent out for quilting before finishing off the Layer Cake project.  That's assuming I have backing fabric for BTSO. So locating the backing fabric I think is in the stash also goes on the to do list.  

Linking up with WIP Wednesday, WIPS on Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.  

WIPs - What's in a Name

Progress has been slow and steady on this year's quilt plan.  Grand Illusion is almost done, just a bit more binding to finish stitching down.  The next set of borders are coming together for Back to Square One.  The Layer Cake Quilt Along project is quilted, so I can start the binding.  The quilt needs a better name, but I'm pulling complete blanks.  Here's the quilt.

Moose on the Porch Layer Cake Quilt Along by Konda Luckau

It's not one of my favorite projects.  The layer cake was actually bought for another project, a quilt for Drama Teen's school auction.  I used a few of the 10" squares, but had a bunch left over.  So the only name I've come up with is "Leftovers".  Any other suggestions?

The square in a square blocks for Midnight Mystery are slowly multiplying. 

Midnight Mystery Quilt From Meadow Mist Designs

Now that I've got more up on the wall, I'm less concerned about the black and red tulip print.  The clue calls for 34 of these blocks, so I'm not quite half way there.  

I finally finished up the last black Twinkle Star block.

Twinkle Stars Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

 I really like this set.  Back to Square one is up on the big design wall, so I can't throw these up to see how they look with the other blocks.  I hope they aren't too dark to blend in with the others.  

That's it for my WIPs this week.  I'm linking up with WIPs on Wednesday, WIP Wednesday, and Needle and Thread Thursday.    

WIPs - Midnight Twinkle Stars

Yesterday was rainy and last night stormy.  It was perfect for spending some time in sewing room, but not so hot for a long bike ride.  That had been My Guy's plan for his day off, while I spent mine in the sewing room.  It didn't seem fair that my plans worked, but his didn't.  So the afternoon plans got shifted a bit. We ate lunch together, ran a few errands and just generally hung out together most of the afternoon. 

I did get some time in the sewing room after dinner.  One more Twinkle Star block made it to the design wall. 

 Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

Just one more black star to finish sewing together and I can move on to orange the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for September. The Twinkle Stars have been a fun project for the RSC.  It's going to be hard to find a block as fun as these for next year's project.  

I've also been chipping away at the square in a square blocks which are this month's clue for the Midnight Mystery Quilt.

Midnight Mystery Quilt From Meadow Mist Designs

I may be sorry for the placement of the black and red tulip fabric.  I probably should have taken a peak at the final project, but I so wanted to do this as a mystery.  Hopefully it will look fine when all the blocks are put together.  

I've also been inching along on the binding for Grand Illusion this week. I'm hoping to have that quilt done by the end of the weekend. Two more star blocks are up on the design wall for Back to Square One, just two more to complete and it will be time to piece the next border. Poinsettias has been my Leader and Enders project for the last year. 

By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

I've completed all of the Unit 2, Unit 5 and Unit 6 blocks.  I only need 4 more of Unit 4 and about 10 more of Unit 1 and Unit 3.  This one may make it to a finished flimsy stage by the end of the year.  

So that's the 5 WIPs I'm currently working on.  You can check out more works in progress over at WIPs on Wednesday, WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.  

WIPS - Block Progress

Just two more days and those of us in the United States have a three day holiday weekend.  Hopefully that means that it should start to get less hectic at work as the week goes on as people are likely to take Friday off and make it a four day weekend.  I can't, as my boss scheduled a staff meeting for Friday.  

I did a lot in the sewing room over the weekend, but it's been slow since the work week started.  I've made pretty good progress on the star blocks for the Back to Square One quilt. 

Back to Square One by Judy Laquidara (pattern available here)

I've added four more blocks.  Just five more blocks and I'll be ready to start assembling the next round of borders.  

That's it for my WIP progress this week.  You can see lots of other progress over at WIPs on Wednesday, WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.  

WIPS - Old is New Again

The Layer Cake Quilt Along project is on it's way to Trudy for quilting.  Since that one is out the door, but Grand Illusion hasn't come back from being quilted yet, I needed to pull another UFO off the pile.  Drama Teen and I wanted to do something nice for the family that hosted us in Florida last June.  Of course, for me the easiest thing to do is make someone a quilt.  One of my UFOs fit the bill, so Back to Square One is up on the design wall.  

UFO: Back to Square One by Judy Laquidara (pattern available here)

The colors and style of this quilt go really well with the decor in their living room.  Plus it will be big enough for everyone to fit under.  So it will be a nice cuddle quilt for when it gets a bit cool next winter.

After checking out all the stuff in the project box, I found that all the log cabin blocks for the next border were completed but only 3 star blocks.  

So just 9 more are needed for the next round of borders.  After starting on star block number 4, I remembered why this project got put away, the star blocks take forever to make it seems.  But I want this one done, so I'll just have to power through what's left.   

I've also been working on the flying geese for the Midnight Mystery Quilt Along.  

All 36 are finished.  So I'm ready for step 2 when it comes out in September.  

Linking up with WIPS on Wednesday, WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.    Check out all three to see the latest WIPs in blogland.  

WIPs - A Little Progress

It certainly seems like it was just yesterday that I wrote my last WIP update.  Since Drama Teen went back to school,  the days are more full.  She needs help with homework and there's been two quick shopping expeditions to pick up special school supplies for her classes.  Hopefully we'll settle back into the school year routine soon. 

My back is finally starting to feel better.  I'm behind on my blog reading because sitting has been uncomfortable.  Likewise, the stitching has been a bit slow this last week.  I did finish off the last of the red Twinkle Star blocks. 

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

These 6 blocks will certainly brighten up this project.  I didn't put them up with all the other blocks because the back for this month's UFO, the Layer Cake Quilt Along project, pretty much covers the big design wall. 

The Midnight Mystery project is the other WIP in progress.  I managed to double the size of the flock of flying geese over the last week.  

Just 20 more left to stitch up.  

That's all my progress for this week.  You can find more WIPs over at Freshly Pieced, Esther's Blog, and My Quilt Infatuation.  

WIPS - Something New

Wow, it's Wednesday already.  Drama Teen goes back to school tomorrow, maybe.  She was at school all day yesterday helping her Journalism teacher move into her room in the new addition, which DT says really isn't finished yet.  Some the rooms still don't have any desks and they were still working on the wiring.  The school system is supposed to text blast us if school can't start on Thursday. It's not a problem for us since DT has long been able to stay home on her own, but a number of parents who have younger kids will not be happy with the delay. 

 I've managed to do something to my back, so there hasn't been a lot of sewing this week.  I have finished up a couple of Twinkle Stars since last week. 

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

Just one more red block to finish, then I can move onto making a few black stars as this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  

There is a new WIP up on the design wall, Midnight Mystery. 

This month's clue is to make 34 flying geese.  I've got a ways to go on those yet.  Here's the fabrics I'm using for this mystery.

All but the tone on tone red have been in the stash for a while.  So I'm using this project to move some of the older stash out, so my newer stuff still will actually fit on the shelves.

What's your latest WIP?  You can find more WIPs over at Esther's Quilt Blog. On Thursday, there's Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.  

WIPS - Moving Towards a Finish

It was a productive weekend.  Grand Illusion is a finished flimsy as of last Friday.  The back is all pieced, pressed and ready for shipping.  I've spent the last two evenings prepping the flimsy for quilting.  Long ago and far away back when we lived in Texas, I had a quilting instructor that was very meticulous when prepping a quilt to send out for quilting.  I've spent the last two nights cleaning cleaning loose threads off the back and trying to be sure that the dark threads can't show through the lighter fabrics. Do you clean up the backs of your quilts before quilting?  

Grand Illusion, A Bonnie Hunter Mystery

  
I finished all the thread snipping tonight, so tomorrow night I can start cleaning off any loose threads from the front and then give this quit it's final pressing before it goes out for quilting. 

Since I've been so focused on finishing a quilt, there has not been a lot of progress on the Twinkle Star blocks.  I did finish one more red block while I was piecing the back for Grand Illusion.

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

I really like the first two red stars.  I think these are going to look great mixed in with all the other colors we've already done as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  

I'm looking forward to getting Grand Illusion off to the quilter's because then I can pick another UFO or WIP to focus on.  It will be nice to move on to something different.  

You can check out WIPs on Wednesday, WIP Wednesday or Needle and Thread Thursday to see what everyone one is working on as we head into the downhill slide to the weekend.  

WIPS - Catching Up

Last week's business trip must have wrecked havoc with my sleep schedule, I've been pretty tired ever since.  So much so that the computer has been a wonderful sleeping aid this week, I turn it on and I go out.  So I'm way behind on email and following up on blogs.  But I did manage to eek out some time in the sewing room before my early bedtimes this week.  All of the teal stars that were the June blocks for this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge have been finished. 

I can't decide if the red and teal or the yellow and teal block is my favorite from this set.  They all turned out nicely.  

I couldn't resist pulling out all the other Twinkle Star blocks and putting all of them up on the design wall. 

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

It's going to be a really bright quilt.  I've started on the red blocks for July.  Angela has announced that the color for August is indigo, but you can substitute black if you prefer.  Now that all the business travel is done and I'm finishing up all my reports, hopefully I can get back on track in the sewing room and catch up with these blocks over the next month.   

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced, Esther's Quilt Blog and My Quilt Infatuation.   

WIPS - Back to the Stars

It's been a while since I've posted anything about my works in progress (WIPs).  Work deadlines and a two week vacation will do that to you.  It was really nice to get back into the sewing room last weekend and play with some fabric.  Being out of pocket most of June meant that I didn't finish the teal twinkle stars for this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Only three of the six blocks for planned for June are up on the design wall.  

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

The star points on the first star look black, but are really a very dark red-violet.  They just didn't photograph that way.  The last three stars will be teal with teal star points.  Hopefully I can get the last three done and then start on this month's color which is red. 

You can check out more WIPS over at:

WIPs on Wednesday
WIP Wednesday
and Needle and Thread Thursday

WIPS - Twinkle Stars Under Cloudy Skys

It's been one of the rainiest springs we've had in a long time.  Tropical Depression Bill is scheduled to reach us this evening.   We aren't expected to get the highest rainfall amounts here, but it won't take much to push the river that runs through town over it's banks.  We live on high ground so flooding isn't a worry for us.  But if the river gets high enough, it will flood the roads that cross the center of town and the main highway out of town.  Hopefully it won't get that bad.  

With all the rain you'd expect a lot of progress in the sewing room.  Not so much.  Between report deadlines at work and a pretty icky migraine that started late in the weekend, there hasn't been a lot of progress.  I did finish off all the green Twinkle Star blocks last week.  

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

Before the green blocks got put away, I pulled out all the other blocks and played a little on the design wall. 

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite scrap projects.  I've made a start on the teal blocks, the color I'm doing as this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge color as I've already used light blue.    

Due to some upcoming work and family commitments, there won't be much stitching going on around here.  So there won't be much to post about over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll still have some time to follow up on what every one else has been up too.

I'm linking up with WIPs on Wednesday, WIP Wednesday, and Needle and Thread Thursday.  Check them all out to see lots and lots of eye candy.  

WIPs - Slow Green Growth

It's hard to believe it's already June, the half way point in the year.  I've limited my efforts to just 4 WIPs so far in 2015.  One of those is finished, but I still haven't gotten the photos taken.  Grand Illusion lacks just one block, four sashing blocks and the borders.  I've been playing in EQ trying to come up with borders that will tie that quilt together, but not be as busy as the border Bonnie designed to go with it. So far I've come up with a couple of options.  

Grand Illusion, A Bonnie Hunter Mystery

My working images aren't perfect, but this approach at least gives me a quick visual to decide if I like the direction or not without taking all the time to create blocks and sashing in EQ.  I'm leaning towards the blue and white border on the left at the moment.  

Most of my sewing room time has been focused on Grand Illusion because I'm ready to get it off the design wall.  Consequently, there hasn't been a lot of progress on the Twinkle Star Blocks. I've only finished one block in the last week.  

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

The last of the green Twinkle Star blocks are in various stages of construction over by the sewing machine.  I should have all 6 done by the weekend.  Then it will be time to select the teal fabrics for this month's stars.  

For more works in progress, check out Esther's Quilt Blog, Freshly Pieced and My Quilt Infatuation.