Random Sunday tidbits

Just a few photos from today ~

LOVE the difference in the brightness of my sewing machine space with my new lights from Inspired LED.

Four-square tablerunner is basted and quilting is half finished.

Took a class on Saturday ~ here's the first block for a quilt called Diamond District ~ love the white strips against the colors.

Like I said ~ tidbits.  Now I'm ready for a new (hopefully busy) week.

WIP Wednesday ~ New projects in the works

Two new projects in the works this week!  The first is on my Q3 list for the 2014 Finish Along over at The Littlest Thistle.  It's the Four Square Tablerunner which came in a kit I bought at Craftsy a while back using Tonga Treats charm squares in Ebony.  I'm not normally drawn to batiks (it's taken me a while to warm up to them), but I loved the black and white combination!  

The pattern is easy-peasy ~ putting together four-square blocks and slicing them up to create a more interesting block.  I finished the piecing on Tuesday, but I need to head over to my LQS to pick up some fabrics for the backing and binding.

For the second project I picked a pattern from Simply Retro by Camille Roskelly.  I don't buy too many books, but I felt I just had to have this one!  The pattern I chose was a baby quilt called Dapper.  I've had a fat quarter bundle of Zoe & Zack for a while and I thought it would be perfect for this pattern.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday and Let's Be Social!

Good Stuff Tuesday

I love giveaways ~ especially when I win one!  I was one of ten lucky people to win SewCanShe's giveaway of Inspired LED's Sewing Machine LED Lighting Kit ~ I've been drooling over this since I saw it months ago.  A HUGE thank you to Caroline at SewCanShe and Inspired LED!

So I guess this just means that I'll have to do more night-time sewing ~ awww, what a shame.  ;)

I finally broke down and washed three of my latest quilts yesterday ~ and I know what everyone means when they talk about "crinkly goodness"!

I especially love the difference in Good Night Irene between the freshly-made ~

and the freshly-washed quilt.

Speaking of Good Night Irene ~ I experimented with a quilt label that I did on my printer and stitched on with cotton embroidery thread.  I still have four quilts that I haven't labeled.  What do you think?

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday.

2014 Finish-A-Long ~ Third 3rd Quarter Finish

Can it be?  Another finish?  Why yes ~ yes it is ~ one more finish for my Q3 list.  This is my Good Night Irene quilt that I started back in February for Terry's quilt-along.  I missed all the deadlines for prizes, but I think this quilt is a prize in itself!  I love love it.  :)

(I really need to find a more creative way to take photos of my finishes ~ this closet door just isn't getting it!)

Here's a closer look at the quilting ~

and a roll-up shot :)

I love the straight line quilting I went with ~ the grid pattern it makes on the sashing looks really interesting while not overpowering the blocks.  

Quilt:   Good Night Irene 

Size:      Approx. 50" x 50"

Fabrics:  Delighted by Quilted Fish for Riley Blake

Batting:  Warm and White

Thread:  Aurifil 50 wt

Pieced and quilted by me!

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and TGIFF!

Weekend progress with Irene

I love it when I have a productive weekend!  In between shopping for tile and a vanity for our bathroom remodel (my hubby's summer project), I managed to make some more progress on my Good Night Irene quilt.  On Friday, I finished piecing the top:

Then on Saturday (after losing a bit a lot of sleep trying to figure out what to do with the back and what kind of quilting to do), I managed to get the back pieced and I love the way it turned out!

Next up, I put together some Franken-batting and made the binding (how cute is this 

Delighted Blue Floral by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake?)

On Sunday, I managed to get it basted ~

and started the quilting.  So far, so good!

Linking up with Anything Goes Monday and Sew Cute Tuesday.

Special Delivery

So excited ~ this was dropped at my door today!!

I came across this combo pack on Amazon the other day (which I guess is no longer available) ~ and of course I snapped it up!  I've had the Hex N More and Sidekick rulers by Jaybird Quilts on my wish list since like forever.  :)  The Park Bench pattern was just icing on the cake!  {squeal}

I've been saving all my change for quite a while now, separated into different jars.  So a few weeks ago, I decided that I didn't want to roll up all that change and I took my pennies and nickels to the nearest CoinStar machine and Hallelujah!  They now give you the option to trade in your change for a gift card (without having to pay the 8-10% if you just get the cash).  I chose an Amazon gift card and by the time I was finished dumping my change I had more than $36.00 to spend at Amazon!!  Win-Win ~ especially when it helps me pay for the stuff on my wish list.  :)

WIP Wednesday ~ Almost a flimsy!

Making good progress on my Good Night Irene quilt!  I finished all my blocks and I'm bound and determined to sew them together today.

I've decided I'm going to add a 2-inch print border to this and then a white border before I put the binding on ~ that should make it a nice size for a lap quilt.   This will hopefully be finish #3 for my 3rd Quarter for the 2014 Finish-A-Long.

Next up will be a class I'm taking at the end of this month.  I was thrilled to win 

Lee Heinrich's Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle recently, so I thought it would be perfect for this class quilt!  I've got all my pieces cut and ready to go :)  Love the colors in this collection!

It's amazing how excited I get to start a new project and I found that I'm starting to acquire more charm packs and jelly rolls than I thought I would ~ but I'm always afraid if I don't pick up what I like now, I'll be out of luck once it's out of stock, right?

I came across a blog post by Paula @ The Sassy Quilter with this quote from the Journal of Public Health which seems to explain this addiction I have:

“Cognitive, emotional and social processes were uncovered, which participants identified as important for their wellbeing. Participants found quilting to be a productive use of time and an accessible means of engaging in free creativity. Colour was psychologically uplifting. Quilting was challenging, demanded concentration and participants maintained and learned new skills. Participants experienced ‘flow’ while quilting. A strong social network fostered the formation of strong friendships. Affirmation from others boosted self-esteem and increased motivation for skill development. Quilts were often given altruistically and gave quilting added purpose.”

I'm so happy to learn it's an addiction that's good for my health!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday.