2016...

There are so many good things to be said about social media.  So much inspiration and information out there!  There are also some negatives to it as well.  Sometimes too much inspiration and information.  Is anyone else guilty of losing time on Pinterest or Instagram?  I have so much quilting eye candy pinned on there and especially love all the free motion quilting examples.  At times it makes me feel both inspired to create more and guilty that I'm not as productive as others.  I love seeing all the new fabric coming out, but then that makes me want to go out and buy it.  And I already have a room full of beautiful fabric.  When I see a quilt someone has made, I start thinking how great that quilt would look in my bedroom or my living room or (fill in the blank) and start planning the fabrics I would make it with.  I completely forget the multitude of quilts I'm already working on or have planned.  That's one of the reasons I created my quilt binder - to remind me of the projects I have yet to finish/start.  It's helped to focus my attention - somewhat. 

However, I did see one quilt online at the beginning of the year that caught my attention and I couldn't resist it.  Nicole of Sister's Choice Quilts made the Triangle Gatherings quilt.  This was a year long quilt-along by Lisa Bongean in 2017.  I didn't pay much attention to it until I saw Nicole's quilt.  She added stars around each of her blocks.  Since then, I've seen several other Triangle Gathering's quilts, each of them set differently, and I've loved them all!  Fortunately I saved off all of the patterns early, because they're no longer available.  Apparently, Lisa from Primitive Gatherings is going to release them in a book in the future.  I had been hoarding these very old woven charm packs of Chocolat by 3 Sisters and Renewal by Brannock & Patek  There are 98 blocks, so I also ended up adding in a charm pack of Wool & Needle Flannels V by Primitive Gatherings.  For my background, I'm using a Manilla Grunge.

For some crazy reason, I decided on a finished block size of 3 inches.  I used Primitive Gatherings Triangle Paper to make all of my HST's.  They finish at 3/4" so they're pretty small.  My new rotating cutting mat came in very handy for cutting apart all the papers.

Because I had some extra charms, I've decided to make a total of 112 blocks.  I don't have a layout in mind yet.  I'm thinking I might add some hand embroidery or perhaps mix in some larger blocks.  I'll have to think on it, but I have plenty of time.  I thought it would be easier to make all of my HST's first and then put my blocks together, so that's what I did.  Here's all 2,016 of my HST's...

It really seems like it should make a bigger pile!  Next step is block assembly.

As usual, David was there helping me.  He made sure I took periodic breaks whether I wanted to or not!  He also gives a 'thumbs' up to the new cutting mat.

“When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions. Wait for hope to appear.” 

Lamentations 3:28-29 (MSG)

FMQ Sampler Quilt...

So I'm off to a good start on my goals for this year.  I really want to work on getting some of my tops quilted and I just finished an important one.  I've been a little quiet here because I've been so focused on working on it.  From start to finish it took me about 3 weeks to quilt it.

Originally this was a quilt along hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop back in 2014.  The pattern is called Wishes.  I was looking for a sampler quilt to do with my quilt bee and ran across it.  Each of the members of my quilt bee are making the quilt and then I'll give classes on how to free motion quilt it.  Keeping that in mind, I quilted each block differently and also have options for simplifying or personalizing the quilt to their tastes.

I used a solid backing so they could see the quilting more easily.  I also used 5 different patterns in the sashings and a different pattern on each side of the border.  My quilt is very busy, but this will let them see the different options and decide what will work best for them.

There's a little bit of everything in it.  We'll be doing one block a month so this will be a year long project, but I think it will be a lot of fun.  I've made another identical quilt that I'll demonstrate on in class.

I ordered a half yard bundle of Mojito by Another Point of View to use for these quilts.  It's an unusual choice for me but what a bright cheerful quilt!  I plan on donating these quilts after the classes are finished and I think they'll make great kids quilts.  But even after making 2 quilts, I still have all of this fabric leftover...

I have no idea what to make with it, so it will go in my stash until the perfect project comes along.

Quilt Summary:

• Size: 54"x68"
• Fabric: Mojito by Another Point of View
• Batting: Warm & White
• Thread: Aurifil 50 wt 2024 for Quilting
• Pattern: Wishes

After I finished the quilting, I figured it was time to clean out my machine.  I was shocked at how much lint was in there. I actually love cleaning the lint out so this was a lot of fun for me.  (What can I say, I'm weird that way.)

I got a great picture of Jack the other day when she was begging asking for a treat.  I marvel at her.  She's 17 and almost deaf, but looks, plays and acts like a kitten.  She'll do somersaults trying to catch a toy.

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)