2014 Finish-Along ~ 2nd Quarter Results

Here are my results for the 2nd Quarter of the 2014 Finish-Along.  (See my original post here.)

1 - Verona Hourglass quilt.    FINISHED!  Blogged here.

2 - I'd really like to finish up the Tula Pink "City Sampler" Sew Along hosted by Sara at Sew Sweetness.  I think I'm up to block 70, so I still have 30 blocks to go.  NO PROGRESS.

3 - Good Night Irene quilt.  Little progress ~ 11 blocks done.

4 - Star Light Star Bright Quilt.  Another quilt-along that I lagged way behind on, but I can't wait to see this done!  VERY little progress ~ only 2 blocks finished.

  

5 -  Hop Skip & Jump Block of the Month over at Sew Lux Fabric.  Quilt top is done and I have the backing ready.

Not so happy this time ~ only 1 finish out of 5.  The other 4 are going back on the list for Quarter 3.

An oldie but a goodie ...

... finally finished!  I've had the top done for over a year and started the basting process this week.  I found a new tool to use!  I don't remember where I read about these, but I chopped up 20 feet of backer rod (I found it on Amazon for less than $4.00) into over 200 pieces to use like Pinmoors.  They worked great as a substitute, although I can see that they wouldn't last as long because they are a little spongy.  But for a cheap alternative ~ it'll work for me.

I quilted the hourglasses in a diagonal on either side of the seam ~ not perfectly straight, but it'll do if you don't look too close.  I machine-quilted the binding on using this tutorial.

I'm happy with it!  The fabric is Verona by Emily Taylor Design for Riley Blake.  

This is my one and only finish for the 2nd Quarter of the 2014 Finish-A-Long hosted by Katy at The Littlest Thistle.

2014 Finish-A-Long

OK ~ Here's my list for the 1st Quarter of the 2014 Finish-A-Long hosted by Katy at  The Littlest Thistle.

A couple of things were moved from last year:

1 - This table runner I was trying to finish before the Jan. 8th deadline ~ which of course didn't happen. :(

2 - Verona Hourglass quilt.  I finished piecing the top in February.  The backing is ready and I've made the binding ~ so why has it taken me so long to finish?  Originally, it was the fear of doing the actual quilting ~ I've wanted to do free-motion quilting on this one and it terrified me.  I have since taken a FMQ class and I've been practicing, so maybe I can do it this quarter!  :)

Now for the new things on the list:

3 - My In From the Cold quilt.  I LOVED putting this together!  I'm gathering ideas on how to quilt this one ~ so I'm excited to get it done.

4 -  Cat Quilt.  This one was fun to do as well.  I've begun the quilting and prepared the binding, so I'm sure I'll finish this quarter!

5 - I decided to jump into the "2014 It's a New Year Sewalong" at Sew Can She.  So far I've only got my fabrics ready, but I'm heading up north for a week or so, so I haven't really done much else!  Looking forward to learning how to make log cabin blocks.

6 - I'd also really like to finish up the Tula Pink "City Sampler" Sew Along hosted by Sara at Sew Sweetness.  I think I'm up to block 70, so I still have 30 blocks to go.  

I think that's it for now!  Linking up with Katy at The Littlest Thistle.

WIP Wednesday

I'm starting my list of WIPs (works in progress).  They don't change very quickly, because I don't usually get things done very quickly.  

It's been 11 months since I took my first class at my local quilt shop ~ that was a Christmas tree skirt that I finally finished in May.  My biggest problem in finishing?  I think I'm just terrified of the actual quilting.  I love the piecing part of it  ~ and then I get stuck, so my projects just hang on a quilt stand that my stepdad made for me.  :)

Here's a photo of my one and only finished quilt project.  The pattern came out of Back to Charm School by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene.  I used the Cherry Christmas collection by Aneela Hoey.  See the wavy quilting?  I went for easy.  But I do love the way it turned out for my first quilt!

I've actually pieced two other quilt tops (they're small, but that's where I'm at at the moment).

The first is an hourglass quilt using Verona by Riley Blake.  I found this pattern here at Cluck Cluck Sew.  My first hourglass attempt, but I'm pretty happy with it!  I just have the top done ~ and I've made the binding for it.

The second is a pattern called Pinwheels and Postage Stamps from the Sew She Sews blog.  I bought a layer cake called Meadow Friends by Deb Strain and thought it was perfect for a little boy's quilt!  I do have the backing and binding made for this one and actually have it pin-basted.

Aside from these two quilt tops, I'm working on the Tula Pink "City Sampler" Sew Along hosted by Sara at Sew Sweetness, and the Hop Skip & Jump Block of the Month over at Sew Lux Fabric.

It looks like all of these will be on my WIP list for a while, but I'm OK with that!  I know once I get the "quilting" thing down, I'll get them done eventually.