Mama Said Sew Quilt

I managed to get the blocks I showed you yesterday fixed. Here they are with the other blocks that didn't require fixing.

Corn Rows Quilt (blocks)

The name of this pattern is Corn Rows. It is from the book Graphic Mixx by Terry Atkinson. The Bohemian Stripes quilt I showed yesterday is also from this book. Six of the print fabrics are by Sweetwater - five from their current line, Mama Said Sew, and one from a previous line. The others are from my stash.

Retreat Round-Up

No Modern Monday for me this week. I didn't take my Modern Monday fabrics with me on my retreat and I didn't get the block done before leaving. I'll show two blocks next week. But Caroll has her block done. Go to Attic Window Quilt Shop to see her butterfly block.

I got home yesterday afternoon from my retreat weekend. I had a great time! I took 8 projects with me but only worked on 5 of them. I have three finished tops!

Jelly Roll 1600 Variation

Bohemian Stripes

Turning Twenty

All three of these use the same fabric line from Connecting Threads. I purchased the fabric a few years ago, on sale, because I liked it and it was the right price for charity quilts. I'm just now getting around to using it. It feels good to put this fabric to good use and get it out of my stash to make room for new fabric!

The fourth project I worked on also used this same fabric. I only got some of the blocks made at retreat. When I get the top finished, or at least get the blocks up on my design wall, I'll show it to you.

The fifth project I worked on required a bit of unsewing before I could proceed!

I sewed the last rectangle to the wrong side! It took me about 30 minutes of playing with the blocks on my design wall last night before I realized why the design was not working. Sheesh! And truth be told, I sewed both rectangles to the wrong side of the half-square triangles, but I only needed to remove the larger rectangle and resew that seam in order to get the design to work. This one is not ready to be photographed yet either. I hope to have the blocks resewn today and then I can take a picture of all the blocks laid out on my design wall.

A New Project

I'm starting a new project soon using these fabrics.

This is as far as I've gotten on it because I am preparing for my guild retreat this weekend. Last week I woke up early one morning and couldn't get back to sleep because I was worried about what projects I should pack for the retreat! LOL! Of all the things to worry about, sheesh! That morning I got out my project tub and loaded her up. The fabrics above make 8 projects I'm taking to work on. I'll don't think I'll run out of things to do!

This morning I purchased a new, smaller sewing chair for me to take to the retreat. My regular chair is quite heavy and has arms which makes it very difficult for me to get in and out of my car. The new chair is not as nice, but is height adjustable, much lighter, and has no arms. I'm only planning to use it for retreats. The rest of the time it will just be an extra office chair.

I'm on the crew for Friday night dinner. We planned our menu weeks ago and I have almost all of the ingredients already packed. I'm not sure if I will have any more posts before I leave for the retreat. Most of my sewing time is being spent cutting and making sure I have everything I need for each of my projects laid out or packed. Not very exciting.

I do have something else to show today though.

I made up more earbud pouches over the weekend. I decided that I like the one shown in the bottom of the photo above (with the earbuds inside) better than the first one I made. So I'm keeping it instead. I blogged about these last Friday and the link to the tutorial is in that post.

Modern Monday Quilt Along

Block 52:

If I had it to do over again I would have used a solid fabric for the background, but I'm not changing it.

Visit Attic Window Quilt Shop to see what fabrics Caroll used for her block. Then visit 42 Quilts to see what Jenifer has for us to make this week.

A Gift

... for me!

I will be making these as gifts this year for some of the teens on my list.

I used this excellent tutorial by Erin Erickson of Dog Under My Desk. I had no problems making it and it only took about 30 minutes of actual sewing. It took me a bit longer than 30 minutes to make it because I had to print out the pattern, trace it onto freezer paper, cut out the pattern, and pick fabric (I used scraps). I estimate that the whole project took about an hour. The next ones will take less time.

The pattern calls for a split ring to go in the tab. I don't have any at the moment, but I will get some. I'll put a split ring on this one later. It works just fine without it though.

Happiness is ...

... lime green striped binding.

This quilt is one of the classes I'm teaching at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. The pattern is called Round About and is in the book Another Bite of Schnibbles by Carrie Nelson. This is pattern can be made in two sizes. The large version uses two layer cakes and a background fabric. This is the small version which used two charm packs and about 3/4 yard of background fabric.

Below is the unquilted top.

I had the perfect backing fabric in my stash! It is flannel.

I recently purchased Angela Waters new book Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. I tried one of the all-over quilting motifs from her book, basic swirl.

I practiced it a few times in my sketchbook before quilting it. I think it looks better on the quilt than it does on paper.

The quilt has been "cat tested and approved" by Miss Spooky Boo! It is now ready to hang as a sample at the shop!

Details:

The finished size is approximately 31" by 35".  I added an additional row to the pattern as printed in the book. You could add even more blocks but you would need a third charm pack unless you want to do a different pieced border. Each block requires two charm squares plus a little background fabric. I used Signature 40 wt. thread in white for the quilting, top and bobbin. The quilting motif is a "basic swirl". Quilted by me on my HQ Sweet 16.

Modern Monday Quilt Along

Block 51:

This flower reminds me of the illustrations in a Dick Bruna book. I have three of his books, "Miffy", "The Sailor" and "The Fish". I remember my mom reading them to me when I was little and I read them to my son when he was little. Poor "Miffy" is falling apart. I've thought about trying to get it rebound but I am just keeping it safe for the time being.

Pop over to Attic Window Quilt Shop to see how Caroll's block turned out. Then visit 42 Quilts to see what we will be making this week.