Project Flitting

One definite down side to having months of quilting lethargy is that now there are so many projects I want to work on, it's hard to maintain focus on just one. So I put the Mistletoe Manor aside for a day or two while I whipped up this Valentine's Day tablerunner using a couple of Moda charm packs. I made the runner 'one heart' longer than the pattern and will add another border of squares to use up my extras. For a couple of hours work, this was a very quick and satisfying project!

Return of the Mojo

I finished the orange quilt and immediately began work on another project.  I started sewing the rows together for my Anniversary Stars quilt made using the Moda Rhubarb & Ginger fabrics.  But my empty design wall was really bothering me, so I began to lay out some pieces to fill the gap.

Last year I bought several Mistletoe Manor charm packs on sale and randomly sewed them together into half-square triangles. As a layout, I'm going to do a kind of a "Barn Raising" pattern, and just build out from the center until I run out of pieces. I love the colors and patterns of these fabrics - not too Christmasy.

I am SO HAPPY to be feeling creative and productive again!

Look at those miters!

Well, I'm very pleased with the way the borders turned out on this quilt. I think the pink inner border could have been a bit narrrower, but I'm certainly not going to make any changes at this point. This quilt will hang in my 2 story entryway when I have it completed. It's wild, isn't it?

And a close-up look.

Edited to add:  I forgot to credit the pattern designer for this quilt!  The pattern is Zuzu's Petals, designed by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

Also - the instructions I wound up using for the mitering were from this site.  I used the first technique.

Afraid to jinx myself!

I got home last night, exhausted from a really stressful day at work.  I was trying to talk myself out of doing the mitered borders.  After about an hour wasting time, I went into my sewing room.  I had printed off 3 sets of instructions based on suggestions that I got in my blog comments.  As I poured over the different instructions, I got more and more confused and was ready to give up.

But, I proceeded with the first technique, and sweated through the first corner, which came out to a perfect miter.  I was mentally taxed and thought I would save the other corners for another day, but forced myself to push on.  In just under an hour total, I produced 3 perfectly mitered corners!

I hope to finish #4 tonight, with any luck, and then I am hoping to take this quilt and one other to my quilter this weekend.  I LOVE THIS ORANGE QUILT!!!  It's one of my most favorites in a very long time.

You'll have to take my word for it

I made huge progress on my orange quilt this weekend, but for lack of photographic evidence, you'll just have to take my word for it. I finally mustered up the courage to attempt the mitered borders. I measured and attached the borders to all 4 sides. The lengthwise and crosswise measurements were actually the same - perfectly square as the pattern intended! The borders all went on without any stretching or puckering, and I'm now ready for the mitering step. I'll take a deep breath and attempt them tomorrow.

Stay tuned!!!

Quilting malaise

Still unable to break out of my funk.  I did some pressing of the 234999439987 half-square triangles I pieced together at my retreat in November, but now I need to trim them to size and that task seems daunting as well.

My orange quilt is still hanging out on the design wall, awaiting its borders and mocking me.  I so don't want to do the mitered borders, even though I know it is the perfect finish for this quilt.  It requires actually THINKING about the process and I'm just mentally exhausted.

I started a new job and work hours and I'm just exhausted when I get home at night.  I just want to veg in front of the tv under the blankets.  And on the weekends, I'm busy catching up with housework and other chores.

I haven't even done a test sew on my Featherweight.  How sad is that?   <heavy sigh>

Pink enough?

Here is the block I created for one of the Kim daughters. I really liked the cute Heather Ross bike print and hope my block is pink enough to fit into the theme of the quilt. Shanna, I will get this in the mail to you most likely on Wednesday.

Toys - old and new!

I received 2 new toys last week - a Singer Featherweight that I got for an incredible price on ebay. It's not a pristine machine, but for what I paid, it was a very good bargain. I still haven't fired it up yet to see how she sews, but I've got my fingers crossed that with a tune up, she'll be purring like a kitten.

Why haven't I tried sewing, you ask? Well, that could be because I've been a little wrapped up with my other new toy - the Blackberry Pearl. I'd been contemplating getting a new cell phone anyway, and found an incredible deal where I got this baby for free (after rebates). It is so incredibly cool and I can receive my emails AND surf the web from my phone - so fast, too! The pages load unbelievably fast. Don't know if you can see it, but there's a picture of my blog on the screen. It's way too much fun. I can see why they call them "Crackberries" Very addicting!

First 2007 finish!

Actually, the first finish in a very long time! I hope this will help get my quilting mojo jumpstarted. I made this 12" block for Sabine's quilt for the Quilts for the Kims project. I hope it's pink enough, but the peachy orange surrounding the center bicycle fabric has some pink tones in it and I thought it looked as though it would match well with the fabrics that Shanna chose for her block.

Happy New Year everyone!!!