Quilting & Learning - What a Combo!: 30/30 sewing challenge

Showing posts with label 30/30 sewing challenge. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Lots of projects in the works

My quilting deadline season is coming up with two quilt shows in the works as well as a whole bunch of quilts started, promised or ready to finish. I made a list, with dates where applicable, so that I wouldn't forget anything. I didn't get much done this weekend, but I did start.

Scrappy Triangle Baby Quilt

Second triangle - highlighting the doggy fabric and FMQ leaves

A very long time ago I made some scrappy triangles. I was at an in-town retreat and didn't feel like working on anything. Thank goodness I had a box of scraps with me. I just started sewing them together.

At the other end of the hall, a couple of quilters were working on "Toe in the Sand" quilts. From afar, they looked scrappy. When I got close, I definitely saw my mistake. These were beautiful and very intricate - not at all what I was in the mood for. But they did spark my imagination to make a scrappy triangle quilt.

First triangle - FMQ a large starburst design

I worked on my triangles for a while and even trimmed them all to the same(ish) size and put aside a piece of solid fabric that came in a kit that I will never make. It then sat in a project box for a long time.

Block 3 - FMQ some starburst designs

As I was designing the pattern for the Charming baby quilt for Make Modern magazine, my mind turned to other baby quilts that I could make to practice my free motion quilting (FMQ). Out came the project box. It didn't take me long to make the solid triangles and finish piecing the quilt top.

The first row of the Scrappy Triangle Baby Quilt

Now that I have someone to give the quilt to, it's time to get going. As you saw above, I've FMQ the first row. I'm not sure what I'll do for the solid triangles. I want something simple that won't take away from the scrappy triangles. I FMQ another 3 blocks last night and now have 4 more scrappy triangles to quilt before I start on the solids, so I have a little bit of time to think about it. Any suggestions?

Postcard from Sweden

I've joined another Postcard from Sweden Quilt-Along, this time with MMM! Quilts. I'm really, really hoping that I will get this quilt finished this time 😊

Postcard From Sweden Quilt so far

My version is a variation of the original pattern since there is no way that I could ever go through the trouble of keeping track of all of those Kona solids, even if I bought the kit. I just printed up the original finished quilt in black and white, and then started using light, medium and darker batik fabrics to make it.

HST cut and ready to piece

Cut and ready to go

During the last quilt-along (with Busy Hands Quilts), I cut enough triangles to finish piecing the quilt. I really want to finish the quilt top so that I can start quilting it. I fell in love with this quilt when I saw someone's quilted version of it. I'll look for the link and add it to my next Postcard from Sweden post.

What I learned

As usual, I'm having a great time FMQ the scrappy triangles. When possible, I'll follow the fabric, but otherwise I will probably use Angela Walter's starburst design from her Dot-to-Dot technique course. It's easy, has lots of possibilities, does well in triangles and I generally don't have to mark them anymore.
I'm planning on making the Postcard from Sweden my next OMG to help me get it finished. We'll see what other deadlines I'll still have to meet by then :-)

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Throwback Thursday - My Colours

From the first Thursday of each month until Sunday, Jenn at a Quarter Inch from the Edge hosts Throwback Thursday! Linky parties. This is where bloggers write about a quilt that was made way, way back. Since I haven't been quilting for that long, for me way back means BB - before blogging.

My Colours is the first art quilt that I designed and made.

My Colours

I wanted to make a quilt that represented ME! My intention was to have it look like a crazy quilt. I did use embroidery and embellishments, but the shapes are mostly rectangular, not crazy. I used some very funky and colourful fabrics. Not bad for a very small fabric stash.

Each block represents something about my personality or my life. There were a lot of flowers since at the time I did a lot of gardening. That was before I got totally addicted to quilting and gave up on my garden. It turns out that the results of my quilting were much more predictable than my garden!

There were also many hearts and symbols of peace - for the hippie that I am, even if I was born at least 10 years too late.

I had a great time shopping for things to include in the quilt. I found a beautiful red hat - for the woman that I am becoming as I age. There were also cool decals and buttons about quilting and nature, including a beautiful glass fish pendant. Many of the blocks were embroidered in the crazy quilt style. The entire piece was hand quilted in different coloured thread.

At the 2010 Quilt Show

It was one of two quilts that I exhibited in my first show with the Common Thread Quilt Guild in 2010.

What I learned:

Even after all these years, this quilt still represents who I am.
For many years this wall hanging was in my cubicle. Unfortunately our new cubicles have very little wall space so it's now at home.
It had continued to evolve - it has a few more buttons and some postcards pinned to it.
This was quilted by hand, before I had a sewing machine that FMQ. It would have taken me much longer to make.

I am linking this post to Throwback Thursday! hosted by a Quarter Inch from the Edge,

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Finishing up - Final Update

What a month! It was a great idea to join the 30/30 Challenge hosted by Berry Barn Designs. It encouraged me to quilt as often as possible and I got to read some great blogs, comments etc. Thank you everyone, especially Sarah of Berry Barn Designs!

Here was my list of projects and what I hoped to accomplish:

I'll be finishing my Quilt-Along project using Dot-to-dot FMQ (free motion quilting);
I will also be working on my frog quilt. My objective is to get the quilt top finished.
I will be working on my Grandmother's Choice quilt. My objective is to get 10 more blocks finished and blog about them (that takes the longest time since I usually research the Canadian facts about each issue.)

What was I thinking? I think I thought I was going to take the month off work and quilt!

Quilt-Along almost finished

Here are my accomplishments:

The Quilt-Along project is almost finished. I used only Dot-to-Dot FMQ on it. All of the blocks and the sashing have been quilted. I just need to quilt the border with the Cathedral curves.
I completed two blocks of the frog quilt in the first week of the challenge. That's as far as it went.
The Grandmother's Choice quilt is coming along. Before the challenge, I had chosen and cut the fabric for 5 more blocks. This weekend, I completed them, plus one more; and then chose the fabric for another 6 blocks. I haven't blogged about them yet but I will in the near future.

Grandmother's Choice blocks

Accomplishments that were not included in the Challenge:

I completed a DIY kimono for my daughter;
I completed the batik quilt top that I started during week 2, when I was too tired to piece my complicated blocks (frog quilt and Grandmother's Choice);
I have embroidered about half of the leaf for one of the projects from Carol Armstrong's Applique Inside the Lines;
I have almost finished the Happy Villages project. It's 95% completed. I just have to add boats on the water and FMQ some waves on the water; and

Completed Batik Quilt Top

I attended one quilt guild meeting and three classes in Canadian art appreciation.

One of the reasons I got so much done was that I went on a quilting retreat from Thursday to Sunday this week. That's essentially where I did everything that I hadn't done in the previous 3 weeks.

It was a great weekend of quilting, sleeping, reading, and eating with friends....not necessarily in that order. It was almost as good as going down south for a holiday (almost but not quite!)

What I learned

Happy Villages - Amalfi Coast

Why am I always so ambitious in setting goals? At the time, I actually thought they were pretty realistic. Not sure on which planet or alternate universe!
I really did get a lot done - frankly an incredible amount. It just wasn't on the projects that I had anticipated doing.
In hindsight my objectives were made up of projects that demanded a fair amount of concentration and focus. What I did accomplish included easier projects that I could do without too much thought.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Joining the 30/30 Sewing Challenge

I love joining challenges that help me complete projects and not make me start more :-) The 30/30 Sewing Challenge is hosted by Berry Barn Designs.

For the month of March (30 days) we have to spend 30 minutes per day sewing, quilting etc. Today may be March 4th, but I've been spending at least that much time quilting for the last 3 days.

We also have to make a list of the projects that we will be working on during the month. There sure is no shortage of that!!! Here they are:

I'll be finishing my Quilt-Along project using Dot-to-dot FMQ (free motion quilting);
I will also be working on my frog quilt. My objective is to get the quilt top finished.
I will be working on my Grandmother's Choice quilt. My objective is to get 10 more blocks finished and blog about them (that takes the longest time since I usually research the Canadian facts about each issue.)

I'm sure that I'll get other odds and ends done, but I think that this is ambitious enough.

The other great thing is we'll be reporting on our progress and getting to see everyone else's blogs. It'll be a blast. I'll include the link to the weekly accomplishments page so that you can have a look at the other participants' projects.