4QFAL Finish: Citrus Starbursts!

Nothing particularly special about this, although it should be noted that it is as scrappy as I've ever gotten. Not all of these fabrics are related. See, I'm getting there! It's controlled, but I'm getting there.

Quilted all over in these wavy pointy swirly things. I'm pretty sure that's the official quilting term for them.

My girls have claimed this one for their room. And who wouldn't - backed in orange polka dot minky? Although the boys are starting to complain, so I suppose I should finish some more masculine quilts for their room.

Checking it off the 4QFAL list. Wahoo.

4QFAL Finish: Cowgirl Salt Water Taffy!

I really love this quilt. I think I might decorate my living room based entirely off this quilt. My couches are already brown. Just need some pillows and such. And some cowgirl paraphernalia for the walls. And a wagon wheel coffee table.

But I think my baby girl has claimed this one already. Not that she doesn't have enough blankets already. But you don't argue with my princess.

Pattern is by Fig Tree. Fabric line is from Riley Blake, and I think they are re-introducing it, or something similar. Quilted in a loopy flower and star pattern. I'm changing it up a little at a time!

Backed in hot pink Minky. Why not, right? We live in Idaho. It gets cold here. And snowy. More snow in the forecast, after the dusting we got last night!

Marking it off the 4QFAL list.

4QFAL Finish: Flirt Nine Patch!

Yet another one for Valentine's day. And this time, my girls don't get to steal it!

Took some risks with the quilting, but I'm happy with the result. It's important to try new things, no?

This has got to be my favorite pattern from Moda Bake Shop. Just the perfect lap quilt size for my family. Okay, it's basically a twin. But that's perfect in my book.

Backed in aqua minky (heavenly stuff!) and bound and done!

Crossing it off the 4QFAL list and getting yet another one in under the wire.

4QFAL Finish: Pam Kitty Morning Pinwheels!

What to say? Let's just stick with statistics, shall we?

The pattern: Pinwheels in the Park, only bigger, and different
The fabric: Pam Kitty Morning (and this isn't the last PKM quilt I've done - one more coming!)
Pieced: ages ago
Quilted: yesterday on my sis-in-law's longarm in all over pattern

Yes, I did brighten up some of these pictures. I wanted the colors to really pop in the photo, because they do in real life.

Okay, I did do some different flowers and some strawberries.  Wanted to do something a little different, and I was flipping through the book Doodle Quilting and I saw the strawberries and thought, "What the heck?" I love them! Some look like strawberries, some look like turnips or apples, but who cares? I declare them to be strawberries, and strawberries they shall be! The IG photo is the best one to see the quilting on.


It's cuddly and soft and who cares about the rest, right? Happy to have it done! Crossing it off the 4QFAL list, because I really don't want to carry it over YET again.

4QFAL Finish: London Trips!

Oh boy is this one fun!

I jumped on the Scrappy Tripalong bandwagon last winter and made this flimsy with my law student in mind. His mother is from London and we both love lots of British shows and movies.

 

So when I quilted it, it was only natural that I include some of our favorite quotes and references.

There's Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and one Blackadder quote thrown in, just to keep it real.

He's pretty excited about the whole thing. Especially since this quilt weighs a gazillion pounds, as it's backed in blue minky and has double batting.

Checking this one off the 4QFAL list, and going back into the sewing room to finish binding some more quilts! Love this bonus week we get!

4QFAL Finish: Pam Kitty Morning Scrappy Trips!

I've heard that the best way to cure a hangover is to take a little nip in the morning. Not being a drinking person AT ALL, I wouldn't know this for fact, but I have made a sewing comparison.

The best way to cure a Christmas sewing hangover is, apparently, to binge on finishes. It's working out well for me I guess. I honestly don't much feel like doing something new until I get this stuff finished. That's a great thing, in my book.

This is the second quilt I finished yesterday at my sis-in-law's house. My Pam Kitty Morning Scrappy Trips. I blogged about it many moons ago as I was making these blocks.

Y'see, I can't do scrappy. My OCD brain does not handle it all very well. I love looking at the finished products of others, but I can't put it together myself. I'm working on it, baby step at a time, but for now, this is me and I'm happy with it.

So here is my not-so-scrappy trip around the world quilt. I chose to do it in one big diamond for one big reason - those green squares. They were so very dark compared to the rest of the fabrics that they caught your eye no matter where they were. I figured I'd just work with it instead of against it, and put them dead center. I like how it turned out.

Quilted all over in loops and swirls (donuts in the Ferrari again, but who cares?).

And washed and ready to snuggle. The winter here has started out awfully cold, so these finishes will come in handy. Crossing it off my 4QFAL list! I like this bonus week!

And now, a quick question - anyone ever put double batting in a quilt before? I'm contemplating it for my husband's London quilt, but am a little nervous. He likes heavy quilts, so it might be perfect. But I don't want disastrous. At all!

4QFAL Finish: Flirt Briar Rose Quilt!

This girl is on FIRE!

The lovely, amazing sis-in-law gave me the green light to use her Gammill for the next several days. I went over today and quilted two. She's doing one over the weekend, and then I'm back on Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully, I can get three done on Monday and four on Tuesday.

Hopefully.

But back to today.

My sweetheart gave me this Flirt jelly roll for Christmas last year and I'm going to enjoy this quilt. I quilted big flowers on the big patchwork parts, and small hearts in each corner of the diamonds. I did some loops and hearts on the borders and called it a day.

The pattern is Briar Rose from England Street Quilts. Love this pattern!

Crossing this one off the 4QFAL list - I'm using this bonus week to get a few more done.

Friday Finish: Red String Quilt!

Drum roll please. Cue Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. I have finished the red string quilt (which I can now cross off the 4QFAL list!):

Wanna hear a great story? Of course you do.

I have a great friend I've known for over 20 years. She and I have always shared a love for all things Christmas. Every year, we see who starts playing the Christmas music first (I've been winning the last few years because I play it when I'm working on Christmas projects!). We shared an apartment in Salt Lake City for a while, and I have her to thank for introducing me to "White Christmas" while we were roomies.

Now, I always thought that my first Christmas with my new husband would be so fun and romantic. And it was. But we were still getting to know each other. He didn't get my obsession with Christmas music. Or my need to put twinkle lights on anything that stood still (don't worry, he gets it now). So I was sort of lonely the first Christmas we were married.

Until a package arrived. Just a CD.

Well, not JUST a CD. A carefully selected CD, chosen by my best friend, of Christmas music sung by one of my favorite singers (Josh Groban was still in high school, I think!). Michael Ball, tenor extraordinaire, who played Marius in Les Miserables, and what's-his-name in Phantom of the Opera.

(There were no videos of his Christmas music - just trust me, it's awesome!)

I was a bit giddy about it, and insisted on listening to it the entire month of December.

Such a simple, thoughtful gift, but it made me feel loved.

Flash forward to last year. She got married! Finally! And I didn't have time to get a quilt done for her. But I wanted to give her this one, because not only does she love Christmas, she also LOVES the color red.

So this quilt is headed to Utah as an early Christmas/late wedding gift. It's big enough to share, if she wants.

Here's to awesome friends! Have a lovely weekend, and I'm linking up!

Friday Finish: Stockings!

Edited to add that the pattern is available now in my Craftsy shop! Hope you love it.

My seven stockings a-swingin' at my house. So glad I replaced the old ones!

Hand embroidered our names on the cuffs. Backed them all in this candy cane print.

Linking up! And crossing the stockings off my 4QFAL list: I've finished seven projects so far! Only 31 more to go! Just kidding. There's no way I'm getting that many more done. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Linking up with Amanda Jean and Sarah. They both have some pretty cute finishes today.

Christmas is getting closer, y'all! Top secret sewing going on over here, but I'll post what I can, when I can!

Friday Finish: Gypsy Girl Weekender Bag

Phew! They Gypsy Girl Weekender bag is done! Check it off the 4QFAL!

A hard lesson learned. Broke three hand needles trying to stitch the lining to the bag, but I got it done. My thumb hurts. Maybe I need a thimble or two?

Next time (if there is a next time), I'd add a medium weight interfacing to the lining material, if I'm not using a home dec weight. It's a smidge too flimsy for me, but my daughter doesn't mind, and it's her bag.

I got a little big for my boots on this one. I followed the instructions for the lining, which has you sew with a larger seam allowance than the outer bag. Well, I did that and it didn't fit. Too tight. So I took out all that stitching and sewed it with the same seam allowance. Now it was too loose! Sheesh! I found a happy medium and I think it turned out okay.

Going to make a special plug for my zipper supplier. I needed a 30" zipper. I wanted a double zip one, since this bag is so very big. I found zipper heaven at zipit on etsy. Loved it all for several reasons. First, AMAZING prices. Like 10 30" zippers (yes, I plan on making more weekenders) for $20. Second, I got a free color card with my order, so I can have a better idea of the color selection. And believe you me, I'll be selecting colors! Third, shipping was super fast. I'm in Idaho, it came from Wisconsin, and only in a few days. So if you need zippers, shop here. Cheaper than JoAnn's. Better selection. Just plain awesome!

And I'm in love with the Weekender pattern again, and I want to make another one. This next one will be for my mom. I'm going to use this fabric for the outside (found here):

This for the lining, handles and piping (found here):

I might have more fabric for another one. Might. No guarantees. Okay, yes, I do. A yellow dandelion one for me. And another patchwork one.And then we'll see.

Up next: stockings for Christmas!

Linking up with crazy mom quilts (whose mad scrap skills are on display again!) and confessions of a fabric addict (who just completed a stunning repair job on an antique quilt!). 

Friday Finish: Crossroads Charity quilt and a new friend!

Another quilt to check off the 4QFAL list!

This one is already in a box, on it's way to New York. I thought it would be a nice extra, since it took me so long to do my official do.Good Stitches bee quilt, to send an extra one. Helps alleviate some guilt I suppose.

Played around on the long-arm some more. Doing these loopy swirly things is like doing donuts with a Ferrari, but I'll work up to more advanced stuff. Right now I'm just getting comfortable with it. That, and better at loading/unloading by myself. Still, I wanted to try quilting words, so this was good practice.

I quilted in the lyrics to the song "Smile." Josh Groban performed it at the concert I just attended, and it's been in my head ever since. It's a great song. You can watch/listen if you want!

And now, let me introduce you to my new friend, Jasmine. She just started her blog yesterday, and I got the sweetest e-mail from her. I guess I found out how different I am from other "you'd better give me credit if you so much as use the same fabric as me" bloggers. I'm terribly flattered that she found inspiration from my blog and made a Richard Scarry quilt like I did for her son. But I'm happier that she found an outlet for her creative energies, that she found a positive way to deal with post-partum depression. I've been there. I've blogged about it. It's real and frightening and lonely. So I'm so glad she's joined the party and has started her blog. Check her out at Quilt Kisses. There's always room for one more, right?

Wanna see some Swoon progress?

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Have a great weekend! And Smile!

Friday Finish: do.Good Stitches quilt

Hope there's enough Fridays for all my finishes! Which also means I've got to get to finishing more stuff!

The Gammill is quickly becoming my new best friend. Well, it's more like the really cool girl who lets me hang out with her. But still. She LETS ME HANG OUT WITH HER! Sorry for shouting. It's just so awesome!

I won't even tell you how long I've had these blocks. I hemmed and hawed over sashing and whatnot. Then I needed some more backing material. And then binding.

But now it is done and ready to ship! It's even bound in yellow polka dot. I want to keep it for the binding alone.

Hooray for finally finishing it! Checking it off the 4QFAL list. At this rate, I won't get it all done, but I'm gonna get a lot done!

And now, back to working on Christmas stuff. My string quilt is on hold until I get more white. By the way, I love the new changes at Fat Quarter Shop (wishlist, anyone!), but I don't see the discount if you order 15 yards or more of fabric. I always ordered a bolt of white (or two!), and it was nice to get the price knocked down. Sigh. Time to find a new source for Moda Bella White. Bummer.

Linking up with Sarah (LOVE that orphan pinwheel quilt!) and Amanda Jean.

Friday Finish: Hello Sunshine Jacob's Ladder Quilt, and Blogger's Quilt Festival!

A finish for this Friday, for my 4Q FAL list, and for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.
That's a lot of pressure, for one little quilt. Still, here she is:

A quilt for my baby girl!

I think she likes it!

The block is called Jacob's Ladder, and I kinda figured out how to maximize my fat quarter bundle with the pattern. A whole lot of half square triangles and four patches later and I have one big happy quilt.

I quilted it on my sister's Gammill long arm (way too much fun, lemme tell ya!). I did flowers on the diamonds, then a loopy meander everywhere else.

Backed in cozy red birdy (my girly loves bird-birds) flannel and bound in a sherbet-y bias stripe. Because I LOVE a stripey binding. Or gingham. Or polka dots. But this time, stripes for sure.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Best category for me? Bed quilt, or photography, I suppose.