Come Sail Away - Finished!

My started-vaguely-in-2006 sailboat quilt is finally done!

It looks almost nothing like the pattern it was based on. But I love how it came out. The boats were fun and easy to make, and gave me lots of practice on HSTs, flying geese and equilateral triangles.

The swirls were quilted by the wonderful Paula, who taught me everything I know about piecing but still lets me chicken out on free motion quilting.

It measures approximately 42x48.

The majority of the fabrics on the front are Bar Harbor by Minick & Simpson (Moda) and Nautical & Nice by Sandy Gervais (Moda). The back includes the panel Pirate's Life by Nancy J. Smith and Lynda S. Milligan (Avlyn).

I'm linking it to Fabric Tuesday on Quilt Story.

Design Wall Monday - Week 10

The wall is pretty stripped down right now - just the backing for Come Sail Away.

I should get it pieced together tonight. And the second borders on the Charm Pack Quilt Along. And then it's basting time!

Check out everyone else on Patchwork Times!

Disaster in Progress - Week 1

I work so well under deadlines...

Due tomorrow:

Sweet Dreams just needs the binding. That'll be finished sometime this afternoon. Hopefully.

The Dude has PJ Day on Friday, and all his are 3" too short. Fine for home, not for school. Luckily I had the flannel on hand!

Due next week:

There is a row of the Charm Pack Quilt Along draped on every surface of this room. I'm just thankful I labeled each row, otherwise I'd really be in trouble right about now.

Unpictured is the pile of stuff to be quilted, which includes Bad Romance (oops, was that for Valentine's Day?) and a heart table runner (oops, was that for...oh, nevermind.)

My LQS is having a quilting retreat on Monday, and I think I'm going to go - mostly because that will force me to clean everything up and get organized this weekend.

Because right now I can't even find the ironing board.

Everyone else at Freshly Pieced is doing much, much better.

Design Wall Monday - Week 9

Nothing tremendously exciting this week.

Rows 4 & 5 for the Charm Pack Quilt Along - and 4 is done! Almost time to start piecing the back of that, too.

The bottom is the back of the sailboat quilt. It be piratey. (Arrrr!) I'll probably frame the whole thing in the water from the front.

My goal for the week is to get both of these done and basted so I can pop the walking foot on and do some quilting by Friday.

Check out everyone else's on Patchwork Times!

Come Sail Away - Top Finished

So as I mentioned yesterday, the sailboat quilt top is done!

I was wrong about the piecing - the water went together way faster than the sky. But at least that meant I got the hard part over with first!

There are a few places I wish there were less seams, or I had spent more time making sure the water "flowed" the right way, or I hadn't used the lightest colored sails against the sky, but overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

It's about 50x45" - I'll get a better measure after I starch and press it.

I named it "Come Sail Away" because when my parents go on a cruise, my dad always calls as the ship pulls away from the dock to sing that song. Yeah, we have some weird family traditions.

Design Wall Monday - Week 7

Still the sailboat quilt...

Hatteras is complete, I decided on my sizing between the sky and the water, and I really should, at a minimum, be adding sky to the boats on top of the water, since that's the easiest measurement.

But noooooo, what am I doing in the bottom right? Randomly slicing into a Dream On charm pack that has no place, whatsoever, on my project list.

I think I have quilting ADD. 

The top row, the triangles are 2" apart; second row, 1.5"; third row, 1". I think I like 1.5" the best. 

But seriously, I'm not going to cut the purple sashing until I've put sky on those boats. And quilted Bad Romance. And caught up on the Layer Cake Quilt Along. Seriously.

Check out Patchwork Times and see if other people have more focus. Sigh.

Layer Cake Quilt Along - Block Seven & Lighthouse Block

I know, I skipped a block. I'm not sure what I'm doing for Block Six - I don't really like the block. I'm trying to figure out something similar.

Like, say, Block Seven. I really liked the design. Didn't like the border.

I tried to figure out the ratio to enlarge the triangles (let's see, if the square is 2.75" and mine will be 3.5", that means it increased by...uh...) Then when I looked at the sketch of the block in 12.5", I realized it could be done in half square triangles.

Oh my goodness, love love love this one. Love. All the stripes even worked out. Love.

I also made this, which makes me quite proud.

No pattern, I just built Hatteras Lighthouse based on pictures. It's even slightly tapered - the base is 5.5" wide; the top is 4.5" wide.

It goes in my nephew's sailboat quilt, hence the waterline.

I'm entering both in the Block Party. Check it out, there's lots of cool blocks listed!

Design Wall Monday - Week 6

Not much of a change from two weeks ago, but all the boats have hulls now, and the lighthouse is coming together.

I have a couple more sailboats that I'd like to make, plus topping off the lighthouse and deciding where it falls on the water line, then it's time to start piecing it together!

And the gap is widening. REALLY need to make a tooth pillow. Even though Tooth #2 disappeared, too. I think it's a plot to keep me from hoarding saving them.

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Design Wall Monday - Week 4

The sailboat quilt is back up, now with background fabric so I can visualize what I still need.

Four is plenty on the waterline. I think I need at least two more in the water. Anyone have a favorite (simple!) sailboat block I haven't made yet?
As pictured, the quilt is approximately 48x36, which is about the length I want. It will be wider when I add the lighthouse.

Check out other walls on Patchwork Times!

Design Wall Monday - Week 2

I started this quilt as leaders-and-enders on Cinderella. Actually, I started it 4+ years ago when my sister was pregnant with my niece. I bought this book by Debbie Mumm at the Fabric Depot in Portland, inspired by the sailboat and lighthouse quilt on the front. 

Needless to say, my niece never got the quilt, but my brand new nephew will. Or something vaguely based on that quilt.

So far, all I've been doing is making various sailboat blocks inspired by Google and Flikr. It's about time to make sure all the boats have hulls and measure them so I can start arranging the regatta in the "water" and add the lighthouse.

We also - finally! - got snow today. The Dude was happy.

Check out more design walls at Patchwork Times!