July Recap and August Goals - ALYOF

My goodness, I cannot believe that July is already over.  I thought for sure I had another week until I looked at the calendar yesterday! At the beginning of the month I set out what I thought were some modest goals. I thought it was a no brainer since 2 of them were nearly complete!  I finished the third project yesterday.  Down to the wire LOL.

When Lisa told me she wanted to have a houndstooth done in brown and cream, I was doubtful.  They are definitely not my go to colors!  We met up to choose colors that matched the tones in her crib sheets and ended up with Bella Chocolate and Bella Natural.  Once it started coming together, I really fell in love with it.

The process of piecing the quilt together was fairly simply with lots of strip piecing.  However when it came time to quilt, I was stumped.  I started by doing lines of stitching from one corner to the other along the ditch.  And immediately knew that I didn't want cream thread on the brown teeth or viceversa.  Once I finished one tooth with these tight quilting lines, I knew it was the right choice. I used my regular foot to space the lines so they are about 3/8 of an inch apart.  Not gonna lie, the quilting took a loooong time :)

After some discussion here and on instagram, I decided to pebble quilt the green tooth.  I am THRILLED with how this came out.  It was my first time pebbling without any tension issues or eyelashing.  To set off the lime green tooth, I inserted a small strip of the same color in the binding (Kona Chartreuse).

I backed it in Happy Go Lucky Dandelions.  The orange and green are a great match for the accent pieces in her nursery.  All that's left to do is a quick wash and then deliver it to the little guy for snuggling :)

I'm following the same path in August and making some more modest goals.  School doesn't start here until September so I have the girls all month and we have quite a bit of travelling scheduled.  My aim is to quilt String of Luck and spend 10 hours doing craft fair prep.

This is also the last week of the New Blogger Blog Hop.  There are some truly amazing bloggers participating in this year's hop and I'm honored to have participated with them. Head on over, check them out and get inspired.

Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission

RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts

Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs

Elizabeth @ In The Boon Docks

Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew

Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers

Emily @ Sew E.T.

Em @ Sewing by Moonlight

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced and Melissa at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs.

That's a lot of quilty inspiration right there!  I think I will spend a few hours today being inspired by my fellow quilty bloggers :)

WIP Wednesday

It has been nearly two years since I have parented two children full time for any stretch of days.  For the last 7 days I have had both of my girls all day.  Guys, this parenting stuff is exhausting!  I love my kids but they sure do make making any sort of plans near to impossible!  And my sewing/blogging/creating time has suffered monstrously.

In addition, on Monday morning Nolan's Mom texted me that she was having pre labour contractions!  He wasn't expected until August so I quickly changed my morning plans to help her run a few errands and keep her company while her husband tied up some loose ends at work.  Of course, this also upped the urgency for finishing his quilt.  I know she wouldn't mind if it was a little later but I love bringing along a little something when I get my first baby snuggles!

I've been quilting up a storm while my friend laboured.  And laboured.  And then laboured some more.  Just minutes ago I got the message that Nolan has finally made his appearance.  Yep, you read that right.  55 hours of labour!  Poor mama!!

I think just a few more hours and this will be ready to go home with it's new owner.  But I need your help!  I've been planning on quilting the green tooth all along but as I took this picture I kind of like that the puffiness makes it stand out a little more.  What do you think?

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

WIP Wednesday

It has not been a very productive week so far as far as sewing goes.

We've been framing in our basement and have reached a point where all of my sewing things need to be be jammed to one side.  So access to my machine is limited.  But it's awesome to see us inching closer to a finished studio space!

Also, these two gals have returned and I am spending lots of time snuggling them and relaxing on the beach.

I do have access to my cutting table!  So I've been making my way through a monster pile of scraps that have accumulated over the last month.  I've got binding strips cut for 3 of my in progress quilts.  small stacks of 2 1/2", 3" and 3 1/2" squares.  And just for fun, I'm doing some really small snips to make a few of these blocks Amanda Jean talked about this week.  I will decide after the first few blocks if I want to make it a full quilt project!

Linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced!

Let's Get Acquainted Week 6!

Hello folks!  I know I've promised part two of the Harper tutorial today but I've been busy doing all of the things around here I should have been doing last week.  Things like laundry and dishes LOL.

While you are here, why don't you click on a few of the following links.  You are guaranteed to find some eye candy and learn a little bit more about some amazing quilty bloggers!

Sew and So Farm
Wombat Quilts
{no} hats in the house
playcrafts
627handworks
Let's Begin Sewing . . .
Quilting Along the Grain
Love by
Quilty Creations

Let's Tally It Up!

WOW!  Y'all either think I am a robot or that I didn't sleep for the last week LOL.  19 finishes!!  Crazy.  I did not get to 19 finishes but I did accomplish a few finishes.

1. Harper's Quilt - you've seen the details of this one.  It is en route to it's new owner as we speak.  Watch for part 2 of the tutorial tomorrow.

2. Black and White Chevron

3. Churn Dash - this actually went from an idea in my head to a finished quilt top during the week.  It's baby sized (36" sq) and come together really quickly

4. String of Luck - this is my version of String of Pearl's by Christa Quilts.  Finishing this top gives me hope that I can finish up the quilt by the end of the quiltalong!

5. Houndstooth - I finished this top and started the quilting.  This project has the closest deadline so I will be spending a lot of quality time with it over the next few weeks.  Especially considering the ambitious quilting plan I have committed to!  Please forgive the poor photos :(  I have tons of camera photos but none using my good camera.

Surprisingly, only one person guessed 5 finishes. 

Mimi has left a new comment on your post "Friday Finish and a Giveaway!!":

I am going to low ball it and say that you finished 5 projects - which in my estimation is totally amazing!!!

Congratulations Mimi!  I've sent you an email.  Everyone else can still use the SHIPFREE50 code for free shipping in Canada/US on orders over $50.

Linking up with Sewing by Moonlight

Friday Finish and a Giveaway!!

Read all the way to the bottom for the giveaway!!

It's done!!  I really didn't think when I first made my gaggle of chevron tops that it would take me quite so long to finish them up.  And I still have one more left to do!!

The front fabrics are Bella Solids Black and Unbleached White.  I quilted on either side of the chevron seams in a bright pink thread.  I love the extra impact this gives. 

It's bound and backed in Simply Color's Pink Ombre.  Finished size is 40" x 46" and it has been listed in the shop.

Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts and Free for All Friday at 5 Days...5 Ways 

And now for the good stuff: A GIVEAWAY!!!  My vacation is coming to a close and I would like to celebrate by giving away a $25 gift certificate to my shop.  To be entered, guess how many finishes I will have finished during my child free week.  The person closest to my actual number will win.  If multiple people guess correctly, I will draw a winner from all the correct guesses and announce on Monday.

You can also use the code SHIPFREE50 for free shipping to Canada/US for orders over $50.  International peeps can contact me for a custom listing and receive 50% off shipping for orders over $50.

Need some help?  Here's a few details that might help with your guess.

1.  This is my full time job.
2.  My evenings have been full with socializing.
3. Time frame is Monday morning until Sunday evening.  So I still have 3 days to go!
4.  These are some of the projects I had on the go (I added two more during the week!)
5.  Finishes include tops and completed quilts (even if they were in progress or almost done!)

Harper Quilt Tutorial: Part 1

If you have been following along for the last few months you will have seen lots of this quilt!  As soon as I put pencil to paper (my low tech method of figuring out dimensions and methods) I knew it would be a great option for a tutorial.  This is my first tutorial so please bear with me  and definitely contact me if anything does not make sense!

Today I am going to discuss fabric requirements and cutting directions.  The directions that follow are for a 44" x 72" quilt.  I consider it to be a good toddler bed size or lap quilt for a young child.  If you would like to make this exact quilt, I have 2 bundles available in my shop.  I am also willing to make up other kits using fabrics you choose from the shop! BONUS: Enter SHIPFREE50 at checkout if you live in Canada/US.

Fabric Requirements

2 1/4 yards background fabric (blue and white aqua dot here)
2 yards backing fabric
1/2 yard binding
10 fat eighths for chevron and name applique (could also use assorted scraps)
Batting measuring 48" x 75"
Coordinating Thread
Fusible Backing for the Applique (I use this ThermoWeb)

Cutting Instructions

1. From your background fabric cut 33 rectangles 4 1/2" x 6 1/2"
2. From your fat eighths cut 44 squares 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
3. From your binding fabric cut 6 strips 2 1/2" x WOF (width of fabric) and set aside

Keep all of the scraps from your fat eighths to use for the name applique!

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday.  Head on over for some amazing inspiration!

Disclaimer: This is not an original design.  A friend contacted me about making a quilt for her based on this design.  Because my friend wanted a quilt that would be used and washed often I opted for a completely different construction method and a slightly different quilting method.  Definitely visit Cynthia to read about her methods and just check out her quilts in general.  They are stunning!