Black & Bright

I just love Brights. Loud, Vivid colors are my favorites. I always say "If it hurts your eyes I'll like it".

When QATW had a swap for these easy Black & Bright blocks earlier this spring I just had to join. Purple seemed to be the favorite color. The original quilt design had all the blocks on point but of course I had to be different. I played around with laying out the colors randomly and nothing looked right. So I did this.

It's hard to tell but there is a difference between the dark blue and the light blue. They seem to blend together. Those are teal blocks in the bottom left next to the purple corner.

I'm doing a skinny border of black, and then a scrappy/strippy border of colors around it with the colorways switched. Does that make sense? The 1/2 with blues, green, teal will have pink/red/orange/ yellow strips and vice versa. Then I think there will be another strip of black beyond that. I hope it turns out like the design in my head. LOL.

I've also been working on a layout for some 30's Sampler blocks and I've been making "Kansas Trouble" blocks with scraps for another QATW swap. And I'm plugging away at cleaning up the sewing room. I've got the afternoon off today and am going to get back to working on it.

This is actually week 3 of my 13 week challenge and my goals are:

• get the borders cut for the Bright quilt
• finish designing the layout for the 30's quilt
• finish the "Kansas Trouble" blocks for that swap

Oh, I keep forgetting to post some really fun news! I joined the Garland TX Quilt Guild back in the spring and I've been asked to serve on the Board! They need a "Fundraiser" chairman. So far the only fundraiser they've been doing is the monthly BOM at meetings. So I will get to pick those and make one to show and sell the tickets and all that. I think it will be a lot of fun. I can't wait to get with the gal who has been doing it to see what blocks have already been done cause I have lots of ideas but I want to make sure I don't repeat a block too soon.

Voila!

I finished it yesterday! I am so glad I followed tirane's suggestion in using the square in square border. It really makes the quilt.

Then I stayed up late and got another set of blocks into rows. I smell another finish coming on!

Fall 2009 Online Quilt Show

This is my entry in Amy's Fall 2009 Online Quilt Show. This is the first top I ever made. I saw the pattern in a magazine and had to make it. It took me several months to gather up the fabrics I wanted to use since I was a new quilter but I wanted a scrappy look.

I started the top sometime around 2001 and it got put away until last year. I pulled it back out and finished it up and had my dear friend tirane do the quilting.

Here's a closeup of the quilting

and a closeup of the border. It's one of the only times I've asked her to do something specific in the border. I wanted a holly vine and as usual she did an outstanding job.

I hope you've enjoyed my quilt and check out what other quilters around the world are doing!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know....

1. What thread do you use for machine piecing?
2. How often do you change your rotary blade?
3. How often do you buy a new ruler to use?
4. How often do you clean out your lint and oil your machine?
   

I have been using Coats & Clark ever since I started sewing but it does put out a lot of lint. I change out my rotary blade as soon as I have a hard time going through a couple of layers of fabric.

I think I'm too rough on my rulers/templates. I use a 6 1/2 inch square ruler a LOT. It seems that if I've been getting a lot of projects done, I have to get a new ruler every other month or so. The corners end up worn off. I like the yellow Omnigrid ones.

I clean out my machine (at least the parts I can get to easily) every time I change the bobbin and I oil it the first of every month.

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An update on the square in squares for the border- they are done except for squaring them up! Maybe I'll have a finish by Sunday night?

30's prints

I'm working on the square in squares for the border of the shoofly quilt and wanted to show off some of my favorite fabrics. Some of these were given to me in a special exchange we have in QATW called "Heart to Heart". If you need certain kinds of squares or strips you can post a request and then people will send you packages in the mail if they have that.

I think I especially like the little houses on purple and the cute Little Bo Peep print. So many of the prints I have remind me of quilts my Grandmother made. I wish I had pictures of those.

I have about 1/2 of the 46 squares needed...

October Goals

1. Finish "30's Shooflies" quilt
2. Get bed out of sewing room.
3. I just got a commision to make a baby quilt for a boy in blues and browns. I'm going to do something very simple like a rail fence or a turning 20.
4. Make substantial progress towards "Random Blocks".
5. Blog at least twice a week WITH pictures.

My hours at work are getting cut again for a while. I'll have more afternoons to get some cleaning and sewing done though so I look at it as a mixed blessing.

13 week Challenge

I decided that I'm giving myself a 13 week challenge. Each week I'm going to pick 2 projects and ONLY work on those 2. I CANNOT start anything new (from scratch). It must be from my UFO list or my BIB list. I hope to have at least 4 tops finished by the end of the challenge.

I've decided on the border for the 30's shoofly and will get those on. I should have time left to make a few more Random Blocks.

Projects that only need a little bit of work will get worked on till they are done. Other projects may get worked on a bit at a time.

A non-quilty goal for next week is to get rid of that bed and then I'll have a design wall!!!

And the Winner Is.....

I realized it was really weird of me to put a giveaway and my biopsy news in the same post and I apologize for doing that.

But I did promise that anyone who posted had a chance to win my scrap bag, so the winner is.....

GINA!

Please send me your address and I'll get this bag out to you!