Buttons!!

Check out all these buttons! I'll be covering them soon! This pattern requires three sizes. I had to search to find the smallest and the largest sizes! I did find them from Cute Stuffs on etsy. They made a custom listing for me and shipped quickly. I'm pretty happy with their service and prices.

Buttons are fun!

Just playing

I'm a bit in between projects right now (who am I kidding I have about half a dozen up in the air!)...

I'm at a breaking point on a couple of my projects - waiting for supplies on a couple of them, waiting for further instruction on another. 

I didn't want to start anything new, but came across these random tiny blocks from a year ago. I decided to play with them a little bit. Give them some fresh air and bring them out of the dark closet for a little bit. 

I added a couple borders and pieced a couple of the blocks into sections. I was really diving into it, and I kept thinking, "What should I do with this quilt? Who can I give it to that would actually appreciate it for it's craziness?" It hit me, my sister. :) So this one is going to you Roseann! I hope she likes it. I have no solid layout in my head. None.

So far I'm thinking scrappy but with a limited color combo (limited pink and purple), and I may attempt to come up with a cool quote or something to write in free-pieced letter blocks. 

Don't you just love it when a random sewing night really ignites a lot of fun ideas? I'm excited to keep working on this!!

Bella Solids FMQ Sampler

The quilt that has been finished for weeks - but I couldn't get wally to hold up for me! :) This is the quilt made with the samples from each of my days of the Bella Solids Parade. I joined them together using a quilt as you go method. I'll probably break it down with pictures here. I did take pictures along the way - but they're a little dark. 

I used strips of all my Sketch fabrics for the binding between the panels (on the back). I also used Pellon Wonder Under tape. It made those strips more manageable! 

I have no idea how this will wash up/shrink up though since the density of the quilting is so different in each block! We'll see! 

Bohemian Friendship - My Precious QAL Finished!

It's finished!! 

I'm so in love with this quilt! It's been hanging on my design board for months... waiting for me to be sure about what size I wanted it. I had decided on this size (about 37" x 37") but was frustrated since it's not quite  small enough to hang on the wall (I have no room for it!), and it's not quite big enough to use.

Last night I bit the bullet and left it this size. This is the size my drawings worked out to be - the size the quilt wanted to be. Emily came over last night to sew and talk about QuiltCon. We decided that it's a "Knee Quilt" it will lay over your knees as you're sitting in a chair. Perfect for admiring, not so perfect for warming. :)

I love it either way! It is backed in some lovely super-soft light weight fabric that I received in a swap from Shruti (DQS10? or 11? I can't remember now). And it's bound with some beloved Dobby Dots Pastry Line. Yum it's so soft and lightweight! 

Oh and I quilted it without my walking foot (which I had previously broken by going full Juki speed - apparently that's a no-no for walking feet!). I didn't have very much shifting at all. 

If you're wondering about the quilt's name? The prints in this quilt are all from Anna Maria Horner's first line of fabric "Bohemian" There's at least a partial star of each and every fabric from that line. How'd I manage that? By the generosity of sweet friends on flickr who shared the love! :) Thus "Bohemian Friendship." You can read more about the story here and here. Oh or you could read about the same generousity that Anna Maria herself witnessed - from one of the same sweet flickr friends! Thanks ladies for making this quilt possible!!

Looking forward...

This past week I was busy finishing up some projects that are not ready to be shared just yet. It feels good to have these done since they've been in process for most of the summer!

My little sewing room Mickeys holding a teensy quilt block. Yes. That is a 1/4 border.

Now I'm in the mood to look forward. I have my Chicago Modern Quilt Guild fall retreat coming up in about two weeks. I've already started my lists of "Stuff to complete before the retreat" / "Stuff to work on at the retreat" / "Stuff I need to buy to have on hand at the retreat." Those are the most exciting sorts of lists! I'm sure I'll post a bit more about what I'm planning on accomplishing at the retreat as we get closer. Also, we should have internet while we're there! We had no internet access the whole weekend last spring because the Sisters were updating their wireless network! Oh yes, did I fail to mention - we retreat at a lovely convent where the older sisters like to stop in and visit - they like to see the fun things we're making! 

(In case you wondered, I LOVE nuns. I do. Especially these ones. My very favorite sister/sister lives there!)

Some pretty fall colors? I love Kona Curry & Grass Green!

In other news, CMQG is sponsoring QuiltCon and I just got my discount code for registration!!! Eeek! Talk about exciting! I can't wait!!

Is there anything you guys are looking forward to? 

CMQG - Modern Art Challenge (part 2)

As promised here is the picture of the fabulous quilt I received in the guild challenge!

Sara had chosen my bag - which included a picture of Bernini's Baldacchino, which is within St Peter's Basilica in Rome (well Vatican City, if you want to be precise). My instructions were that I don't like brown or gold, and that she shouldn't take it too literal - I love the texture and the movement of the piece, as well as the way the light shines in... and the Holy Spirit window behind it (the dove).

Click here to see the picture I sent her - it's the first image. 

I love that Sara pulled grey fabrics for the main part of the piece, and added in the bright sunshiny yellow up there- and the piecing in the yellow has so much great movement just like sun shining through a stained glass window! Her quilting is flawless too! I'm so happy with this quilt - even though I know she fretted about it for a while. I really didn't mean to provide such a challenge! 

(Photo taken by Rachael from the CMQG flickr page)

I can't begin to express how excited I am with this quilt!! Sara did such a great job at interpreting it into a quilt!!! I really feel like the quilt gives me that "home" feeling that St. Peter's gives me! Thank you so much Sara!!! 

For a little bit of background, I have visited Roma three times. One of those times was for a college study abroad, where I lived around the block from St. Pete's. I was studying Catholic theology so it's not surprising that this basilica holds my heart in a special way. I long to return to Rome. One day we'll retire to a little apartment in Rome. :) I can dream! 

Chicago Modern Quilt Guild: Modern Art Challenge

Today was the day that we swapped our challenge quilts! Our Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meeting today was so fabulous! It was a love fest of amazing quilts and fun speakers! I'll tell you a bit more about the meeting in general (and the AMAZING quilt that I received later this week, but for now I want to show off the pretty little thing that I made for my partner!

Emily and I organized this swap (who's idea was it ladies? I don't even know)... and I blogged about it here and here (the details about the swap are in those posts. In short we each chose a work of art and a piece of fabric to inspire our partner. We brought them to the meeting in a bag and then chose a bag out of those that the other people brought. :) Random selection! 

Natalie & I and the finished quilt!

I chose Natalie's and I'm glad I did! First off she is a really awesome lady and it was a real joy to make this for her! She sent along a picture of a piece of art she has hanging in her home. I came up with this. Pixelated, ruffled, and wavy quilted! I was insanely inspired by the bag she brought her art in (pictured below), as well as Shruti's recent quilting piece here. 

Finished quilt, fabric sent (used as backing and for color inspiration), art sent, and bag.

For this quilt I tried some new things. It was a first for me to add a ruffled border (what's the technical term for that?). It proved to be a little challenging since my center portion was stabilized with interfacing.... But it turned out great! Also, it was the first time I've ever buried my thread tails. Yes, I know... I should be doing this all the time. I'm getting to the point where I have no excuse for it other than laziness. I used Ebony's method (video here) for burying them (there were a TON of tails to tuck under!

A simple label. 

I also added my little tiny prairie points to the side edge. I really enjoy those. My thoughts for this piece is that it's like the layers and layers of a lush garden. I highlighted some of the details. 

I'm really glad to have taken part of this swap. I feel like doing swaps like this with our guild helps us to form tighter bonds with each other. We grow as a community. I feel so much more connected to Natalie now, after working on this quilt for her, and I hope that that happens with all our participants (there were about 25 of us!)