A "Dapper" Finish

My first finish for 2015 (which I'm happy about since we were gone half of the month!)  I decided on walking-foot quilting (my favorite) with a triple-ray pattern inside the pinwheel blocks and straight lines across the sashing.  I used a red & white stripe bias binding ~ hand-stitched on the back.

I can't believe I put those two blue blocks right on top of each other on the back ~ guess I'll have to add my label to one of them! :)  Check one off my Finish-Along 1st Quarter list!

Linking up with Fabric Frenzy Friday and Whoop Whoop Friday.

WIP Wednesday ~ some progress on a Dapper Quilt

Really didn't get much sewing time in this week ~ we took a trip to South Carolina for our grandson's graduation from the Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island.  Seeing all those new Marines sure makes us proud!  

I did manage to work on my Dapper quilt a little once we got home.  The top is pieced (there's actually a 2" border that I added after I took this pic) ...

and I started trying to figure out how to piece the back.  Hoping to get this quilt finished by the end of the quarter!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social!

Custom finish and a few WIPs

Has it really been 4 weeks since I've made an appearance on this blog?!  I guess I've been too focused on making sure that the custom tree skirt was made perfectly (or as perfect as I could make it).  I have a really hard time sending out anything that I don't love, especially when I'm getting paid for it!

The important thing is that the tree skirt is on its way to its new owner ~ hopefully to be treasured for a long time to come!  (sorry for the bad photo)

WIPs:

Dapper Quilt  ~ I finished the 12 blocks for the Dapper quilt, but when I had it up on my little design wall I was having a hard time with the block placement.  Trying to keep similar patterns far enough away from each other ~ and not being happy with the result.  

So I decided to throw in two more fabrics and cut out enough fabric for 4 more blocks ~ I'm hoping that will help mix it up enough!

Better?

I've finished 6 blocks for the QAYG Quilt-Along (I know, I'm not making very much progress on that one!) ~

and started an applique project for a Christmas wall hanging called Feathered Christmas by the Cherry Blossoms Shop on Etsy.  I haven't done much applique and there are lots of little pieces to this project, but I love the design and I got to use my scraps for this one!  Hopefully I'll get this done and up before Christmas.  :)

Linking up with Lorna for Let's Bee Social!

2014 Finish-Along ~ 4th Quarter

Here's my list for the 4th Quarter of the 2014 Finish-A-Long hosted by Katy at The Littlest Thistle.

A couple of things were moved from last quarter:

1 - Tula Pink "City Sampler" Sew Along that was hosted by Sara at Sew Sweetness ~ WAY back last year.  I'm up to block 70 and decided that it was big enough for what I wanted.  :)  I've just about finished the quilt top ~ just needs a wider border around the outside.  63 blocks on the front ~ I'll put the 7 leftover blocks on the back somewhere.  :)

2 - Star Light Star Bright Quilt.  Another quilt-along that I lagged way behind on ~ I still only have 2 blocks done and hope to make at least some progress this quarter.

               

New this quarter:

3 - Dapper quilt from from Simply Retro by Camille Roskelly.  I love this pattern and the fabric collection I chose for it!  I have 4 blocks done so far.

4 - Diamond District.  Again ~ four blocks done (hmm - I see a pattern here)

5 - Triangle Frenzy table runner.  This one's for me for Christmas!  

I can't believe it's the last quarter of the year!  This has been a great motivator for me, so Thanks, Katy!!  Linking up at the Littlest Thistle.  :)

WIP Wednesday ~ a few things

I know I should be working on my Q3 list, but I do have 4 finishes done so far (yay, me!) and I seem to be focused on this Diamond District quilt.

So this DD quilt starts with lots of rectangles:

which are sewn together in 4s:

then cut in half and paired with another 4:

with white strips in between and triangles on the outside:

then trimmed into small blocks:

and then four of those are sewn together to make a diamond.  I've got four diamonds finished so far and I love them!

Aside from the DD quilt ~ I've made a little progress on the Dapper quilt.  I've actually finished 4 blocks so far.

I love the way the swirled seams on the pinwheels make these little pinwheels on the back.  Makes for a much flatter quilt back.

I'm guessing this quilt should come together fairly quickly, but I'm going to be adding both these quilts to my Q4 list, so no rush!

Almost forgot my September Bee Block for Newbie Quilters Hive #8 at Threadbias ~ love the bright pop of green in this B&W block!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Sew Fresh Quilts.

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!