WIP Wednesday

Maybe I'll give this WIP Wednesday thing a try....

Completed projects:

•  Pillow Talk Swap - Finished and sent!! Now I just need to wait and wait for it to arrive at it's new home!

Ongoing projects:

• {Modern}Robin border (to be finished by the retreat next week, hopefully) - Pieces are cut, a plan has been made... now to just sew it all together.
• Doll Quilt Swap - nearly finished quilting (ran out of thread!) Needs to be bound and set up the "hanging structure."
• Bella Bella - Only just started. The center block is finished and I have a stack of pretty black & whites to use with the new solids that came in today!

No progress:

• CMQG Round Robin - what am I going to do with it??
• Michelle's Celebration Quilt - not yet started but the fabric is all ready!
• {Sew} Beautiful Bee - Elizabeth's block  
• Linda's Swoon Quilt - only a few feet of binding to sew down! So close!
• Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative mini - a bit more quilting and some binding! Needs to be finished by Sunday!!
• {Sew} Beautiful Bee Quilt / Lindsey's Quilt -- (the secret's out, she knows it's hers) still waiting for a couple blocks to come! More fabric came in for the backing.

This weeks's stats:

Completed projects: 1

New projects: 1

Currently in progress: 9

**That seems like so many things going at once, but really it's not a lot!**

Now go ahead and follow along at Freshly Pieced

"Quite Possibly the Happiest Mail You'll Get This Month!"

Indeed it is! Check out this pillow I received from Kelly / Scrapstudio for the Pillow Talk Swap 7!! I have had my heart set on this pillow every step of the way! (I think I even favorited and pinned it several different times!) Kelly was right on the mark with this one! I still can't believe it's actually mine! I'm so excited!!

One of the awesomest parts? I wasn't home Saturday when it arrived, and on my lunch break I called my husband to see if I'd gotten any mail (yes I stalk the mail man!), when he said yes my response was, "does it have pretty writing on it?!" Indeed it did! :) I spent the rest of the day at work smiling, knowing what was in that envelope!

Here's my couch full of my lovely PTS pillows! Rounds 4-7!

For kicks I decided to try to get a shot of all our quilted pillows from around the house... They wouldn't fit on our couch (a love seat) so I stacked them up! :) Yes, that's seven quilted pillows. :) I love them!

And I realized that I had never blogged about Wally's pillow -- It was a surprise Christmas gift so I never took pictures! That post will come soon!

It's Swap Time!!

I just received my partner assignment for the Pillow Talk Swap - my third time swapping with them. It's pretty exciting to stalk your partner and figure out what they like. I settled on a basic idea right away, and since I received my partner assignment just minutes before my husband took the toddler out for a couple hours - I was able to get started immediately!

Here's what I have so far, a round of 32 flying geese. They're foundation paper pieced using the printable pattern here. It was a little tedious, but not too bad. I like this sort of mindless, mind-numbing work on days where I tend to get obsessive about other things.... I'm not going to post about that today though - ugh (can I just have a baby already?).

So, the geese look pretty bad ass if you ask me! Perfect points and pretty colors. I'm thinking of using a newsprint type fabric for the middle and outside. I don't have any such fabrics (other than a fat eighth of sweetwater). Other than that sweetwater print does anyone know of a text/newsprint fabric that's readily available? I'm looking for a white/natural/grey type color scheme.

My pillow may be double-sided too... since I really think my normal style (total comfort zone without trying) is very much to my partner's liking too. We'll see.

This round each member will be required to include one of the following blocks in their quilt:
churn dash/shoofly, log cabin, drunkards path, N.Y. beauty, flying geese

By the way --- sign-ups are open for the Doll Quilt Swap!! I'm a mama this round - which is really fun and amusing - so it'll be better than ever!! You flickr people go on and sign up!!

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday over at Quiltstory!

PTS6!

It's time for the big reveal! I've finished my Pillow Talk Swap pillow, and actually was graced with a moment of sunshine today to take a picture!!

I'm not sure which side is the front, and I'll explain why. First I made several of the +/x blocks which were ok.  I wasn't really in love with them and didn't think the balance of colors was right. I put them aside and worked on something a little bit safer for me -- the square-in-square one. This time with my tiny signature wonky star included in one of the squares. I love that side best, but it seems like my swap-mates like the other side. That left me with really only one answer - to use them both! 

My first zippered pillow!

I quilted both sides and put it all together with a zippered side. I followed this tutorial for the side zipper - it was really fabulous and easier than I thought it would be!

The little star there? just under 3"!

Now for some more close-ups! I hope my partner likes large pillows... this one turned out to be about 23" square... it's huge and amazing... and inside are two of my normal pillows (and it's still a bit loose!).

Some "organic" straight line quilting!

This guy will be in the mail on Monday, after it makes an appearance at the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meeting Sunday! :)

Another chance

My mosaic for the PTS6

Pillow Talk Swap 6 is starting up again! I debated a little bit about whether or not I wanted to join up again. On the one hand I've received beautiful pieces of work in this swap - and have been challenged to new creativeness, but on the other hand last round I didn't even get an email thank you from my partner. I will try to bite my tongue here - and I have resisted posting this until now. I know people get busy etc, or maybe I didn't hit the mark with the pillow I sent. Either way I worked hard and spent my time, energy, and money to send out a unique package for my partner. 

So this time around I'm taking a chance and hoping that my work will be better received this time around. I've heard of a swapper who has requested their work back when they weren't even acknowledged/thanked. I won't go that far, but a personal thank you would have been nice. I just wonder though, did she even enjoy it? I cut up one of my Rome ties for that pillow! 

In all I'm joining up again because I love the challenge that this swap poses. There are a lot of talented and gracious people in this swap and I really am inspired by that. 

I really didn't intend for this post to be about that... but that's how life goes sometimes. I'm not going to hide out on my own blog. I hope in my heart that it was just a misunderstanding on my former partner's part. Maybe the swap etiquette isn't that clear... but still. 

Pillows!!!!

We finally have grown up and have a couch again! Which means....

We're now getting major use out of all my quilty pillows!! Two of them were made by me, and two of them I've received in the Pillow Talk Swap. They all fit in nicely and I must say that they're extra cozy since we know they were made with love! (and the one with the target $4 clearance pillow as in insert is much much cozier than the others which were a rip-off from joann's... note to self)

Now to cuddle up on our new loveseat with these pillows and maybe a quilt or two? Who said you can't use quilts in the summer... I freeze anytime the air conditioning is on!

Pillow Talk Swap 5 - Sending soon!

When I arrived home last weekend from visiting family out of state... there was a surprise waiting for me!! My pillow talk swap package had arrived!! Not only that, but it was the one I'd been pinning over since the first in-progress pictures were posted (I'd already even favorited all of them)!

I received this lovely pillow from Michele of Delightful Disarray. She used my favorite - grey, and my other favorite - yellow, and my other favorite - stars, and my other favorite - FMQ'd words, and my other favorite - hand stitching. And... the zipper is blue, which in itself is amazing. I know I'm gushing a bit, bur really this is an awesome pillow. It fits my 18" pillow "insert" (not an insert at all) that I got on clearance at Target - it's by far the cushiest pillow insert I've used (way better than the expensive yet cheaply made ones from Joann's). 

This week I also finished the pillow that I'll be sending out soon for my partner. My inspiration for this swap was to try something texturally outside of the box. I've been wanting to work with corduroy for a while now (ever since reading about the Gee's Bend quilts that used corduroy), and I think my partner would like the linen (light blue) that I paired it with. I also broke out the big guns and cut up a silk tie that I bought in Rome (at a farmer's market/flea market type deal) - I'd originally intended to use them to make another tie purse... but that never happened. The beautiful silk ties have been sitting around for years - and I recently "found" them when we moved. I also added in a bit of dots (to bind the envelope enclosure) and some printed linen that Shruti had sent from India in my DQS10 package! So the materials here all have a great story. That's a good starting point right?

I started with this a-symmetrical rectangle thing. I really wasn't sure I was feeling it at all but pushed through to the finish. Even as I was putting the finished pillow case on the form I was unsure if I liked it.... As soon as it was all on the pillow though I was sold! The texture really does it. That corduroy makes you want it on your couch (if I had a couch)... and the soft silk middle, and the textured linen.... I'm in love with it! I think I have to make myself one! I sure hope my partner likes it!! I feel like while it's a bit more simple technically then I usually do, the texture and warmth of it sets it aside. I hope my partner isn't disappointed!

Linking up for Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story!

Pillow Talk Swap 5

I just finished a freaking awesome pillow! I was really unsure of it until the moment that I put the finished thing on the pillow form. Now I'm in love and want to keep it. lol. Pictures will follow.

Bee Blocks, Mug Rugs, Pillow Swaps...

It's been a finishing kind of week so far. I'm not nearly as far down my list as I'd like to be though. I'm pushing through all my deadline work right now so that I can clear out and work on the BIG project. :) The table covers for my Aunt's jewelry booth. Those will be a bit of a challenge (totally out of my comfort zone in a good way). I'm not going to let myself sign up for any other swaps etc until those table covers are finished! I"m aiming for an early August finish for them (so I can bring them with me the next time we come to visit).

Sew Beautiful - June

As for those finishes ... well I've only finished on of those things listed above. The bee block. Cara asked for a house block for the Sew Beautiful Bee this month. Her final quilt will be sent to a family during their stay at a local NICU. My neice was a NICU baby when she was born... and my other neice is in the hospital so often that we really understand the comfort and longing for "home." That's what this quilt will represent, their home.

I had grand ideas for this block... I was going to make a two story deal with an "a-frame" entrance way... like my MIL's old house. I loved the shape of that entrance. But alas I started working on it and misused some fabric along the way... leading to my not haveing enough of that purple. I scrapped the original plan and worked with what I had. I think it turned out pretty nice... but I didn't have enough white to frame out the bottom. I'd still like to try a pieced word... maybe "Hope" to be used in the quilt too.... we'll see what the time allows me.

I made some major progress on my two remaining mug rugs for the CMQG swap. I finished the backs of both of them this afternoon and I'm about to go work on quilting them up. I have no idea how to quilt the one... but since my main machine is still out of commission (and FMQ is pretty hard on my old machine) I'm thinking it'll be some sort of straight quilting. We'll see.

Finally there's the Pillow Talk Swap. I've got my top almost all pieced. I am not feeling amazing about it... but I think it looks cool and is nicely executed. I've got to keep moving on it since it's due out soon enough!

More on these things later!

Some actual sewing pics!

Last night while I should have been sleeping, I sewed. I had an idea for my partner for the Pillow Talk Swap 5. The idea was to use lots of texture. I pulled out a pair of corduroy's that were saved to be cut up... some essex linen, some linen from a swap partner in India (cool right?), some DS Joann's dots, and a tie that I bought in Rome while studying there. It's scary to think of cutting into all these special fabrics but It'll work out (I hope). 

 

Here's my first attempt. I'm not sure that I like it so much. Mostly since I think something needs to be tiny. lol. I'm trying to stretch myself here... and didn't allow myself to fall back on that tiny border I always use. We'll see. I think I'll carry on with this idea and see how it finishes out. 

I also started up another idea with the same fabrics. This time it's a zig-zag without triangles. But as late as it was I didn't cut all the pieces so I'll have to go back and do that later so that the zig-zags match up by color. 

Either way I am thinking some dense straight line quilting to add more texture. We'll see. My hope is to get the "top" of the pillow made and quilted tomorrow. Or maybe I'll be working on those three mug rugs for our guild swap? :) hehe. I can't help myself.

Pillows Pillows Everywhere!

Has anyone else noticed that Pillows seem to be the hottest quilted item around? I have. Maybe it's just the fact that I have a couple from the Pillow Talk Swap? Or that I use mine all the time? I think it's a great trend because it's essentially a way to make a doll sized quilt but use it for something other than decoration (or warming dollies). Although I hate that making pillows require the use of pillow forms, which are expensive. 

I just read that SewMamaSew is designating this February as pillow month. I love that especially since I have one that's in the process of being made. And it's pretty fantastic if I say so myself. Again, a great big thanks to Cherie for having us all make Dresden plates for January's bee block. I made a great practice, then added another layer of petals, and a ton of detail work. It'll eventually be a pillow for my daughter's big girl bed (which she isn't in yet...). Here's a little peek at it.

 PS: Linked up at Quiltstory for Fabric Tuesday!

Pillow Talk Swap Recieved!

Pillow Talk Swap Recieved!
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

Today I received my package from Adrianne (Little Bluebell) and it's spectacular! My personal fav. AMH Good Folks fabrics and grey! It's gorgeous and fits right in with my bedroom! (Although the little girl keeps walking around hugging it). She sent along a beautiful matching pincushion too! :) Amazing!

Creativity helps cure the blahs.

As you could probably tell from my post yesterday, I've been a bit blah. 

Today I fixed it (at least temporarily) by finishing my Pillow Talk {Swap} pillows! Finished that's right! I quilted one with a free motion stipple, I'm not entirely sure I'm in love with the way the stipple distracts from the stars, but I do LOVE the texture it lends. So for the second one I did a strait line quilt just at the edge of each square border. I may need to hand stitch a stitch or so in the middle to keep it perfect (batting is ok for quilting up to 10" apart, this area is 13" ... I think). I like both so much!!!

I decided to add interfacing to the back sides of the back pieces, mostly to cover the seam allowances from the piecing I did back there. It added a bit more sturdiness and durability to it. I'm very very pleased with the pink / yellow pattern-y stripe for that little bound edge!

The Pillow Talk {Swap}

Sunday night I recieved my partner info for the Pillow Talk Swap. The swap mamas surely did a great job at matching us up since I think I've got quite a lot in common with my partner. Our tastes are very similar and I think she'll really like what I've got planned for her pillow. 

I usually don't jump right in and get started on day one of a swap, but last night this idea really stuck with me. I decided to stop by the local quilt shop (Quiltology) and pick up the supporting role fabrics (light yellows). I've really been itching to make a monochromatic quilt with lots of grey + one color so I'm going to do just that. Here's my idea:

Fabrics: some fat quarters of yellows, (the two on the right are Hope Valley) Kona Ash, and Kona Coal. 

The design here is one I've wanted to try ever since seeing it here on flickr. Here's the tutorial. Now here's the real shocker. I finished the block! lol I couldn't help myself! I did cut enough pieces for two pillows (one to keep for myself). I've got all the star points sewn together for the second one too! Oh let me tell you, I really did squeal right out loud as I ironed that last seam open. This block is really a work of art! I'm so excited about it!!! In the morning I'll take a picture of it and maybe let you count how many eensie pieces there are in that block - here's a hint, the block finishes at 10.5" and the centers of those stars are about 1" each! Did I ever mention that I loooove tiny piecing. (Ok so I don't always love sewing them together, but I love the finished product!)

Not to worry though, I've got lots more to do on this before it's done! I'm not sure if I'll be stippling it as originally planned though, there are a ton of bulky seams there. We'll see! :)

Oh yeah, and I'm linking up at Quiltstory for Fabric Tuesday!