Weekly Progress - Doll Dresses

Quilter's Corner, a Connecticut quilt shop, is collecting pillowcases for the surviving children at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton. The tube method is super easy and I know I'll be making a couple.

As for sewing this week, it's been doll dresses, all day, every day. {Next year, I swear, I'm making one a month! Seriously! Okay, not really.}

This is my new model, Vivienne.

Two Cinderella dresses. Lamé is lame. These still need their velcro so they will fit better, and headband.

 Purple party dress.

Pink party dress. I need to find my scraps and make a fabric flower from the pink to cover the seam in the bow.

I still have a blue dress cut out that I need to sew, and a cowboy skirt and vest to make, and a leotard and tutu. Hopefully will get all that done today so I can mail off Christmas tomorrow!

Finished!

{Design Wall} No change, no new blocks.

Still insanely slacking on the UFO Challenge and Fifteen Minute Challenge. I've been doing a quick five minute clean-up every day before I start sewing, just to keep the cutting table semi-free of clutter, but that's it. 

Linked:
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces
UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project 
Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times 
BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot 
Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story 
WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Saturday Sampler Quilt - Finished!

This might be my longest in-progress quilt! I don't really want to look to figure it out, so we'll call it that.

My local quilt store does two Saturday Sampler quilts every year - pieced and applique. Basically, you buy the pattern and get every block free as long as you show up for the monthly demonstration. I wasn't a big fan of the fabric, but I like free, so I signed up in January 2011.

Some of the blocks gave me headaches, but I learned super-accurate piecing with all the bits in each one!

I bought the panel with the fabric line instead of the finishing kit and made it my own, placing everything on point around the center medallion from the original pattern. {The cat also put his special stamp on it.}

I did not, ahem, intend for the words to face in and out on the medallion. I discovered the error too late to contemplate swapping it, though.

I adore all the cream. Obviously not appropriate for my house, with the kid and the black cat. But it's going to my mother-in-law so I think she can manage to keep it clean!

The binding is piped, via this method. I love how it looks...hate the process of making the piping...attaching it to the binding...all before the normal binding!

And now I have to figure out what to do with the scraps and leftovers! {I'm kidding. Tons of 1.5" strips in there. Obviously a log cabin!}

Size: 64" square
Fabric: Wildflower Rhapsody by Timeless Treasures
Pattern: BOM by Wing and a Prayer {and me!}
Quilted by Paula

Linked:
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
TGIFF @ Quilt Matters
Link A Finish Friday @ Richard and Tanya Quilts

Weekly Progress - With Bling!

Oh, my shiny. I love you so.

I was aiming for a 2:30:00 finish, and I actually did a good job making it up all the hills in the first five miles without stopping. Then around mile 8, my IT band was all, "Remember those hills? I hate you."

Close - and there are so many more squats and lunges in my future.

Ahem. Sewing. Yes, that's what I do. 

So Friday, I couldn't run, couldn't do strength, and had a lot of pent up energy. I scrubbed the house. I wrapped Christmas presents. I shredded an entire box of paper in the office.

Finally took that energy to the sewing room. I'm awaiting my next set of t-shirts, so I was free to do anything. I should have basted and quilted something. Or at least put borders on the few quilts that need them. Or made some doll dresses or prepped binding or...

Yeah. You know what I did.

New project!

It's a Schnibble, which is typically done with a layer cake, but I used up some Olivia yardage and fat quarters.

Oh, list of to-be-quilted tops... You're never going down.

Design Wall/UFO Busting - Chunky Log Cabin

I think the layout is going to come down to this one {Streak of Lightning} or the Furrows from two weeks ago. And I swear, I'm making a decision and putting them together before next week!

Also, my cat is a jerk.

Finished!

Running T-Shirt Quilt #2

Other sewing

First of several doll dresses. I really need a model.

Saturday Sampler 2011 is back from the longarm. Time to prep some binding!

Made the Dude a pillowcase for his sleepover while I was in Tulsa.

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization
3 out of 7 - I wrapped ribbon, picked up the sewing room floor, and refolded and organized my flannel scraps after making the pillowcase.
 
Linked: 
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - You Can Take the Girl Out of Jersey

I'm a Jersey Girl, born and raised.

I went to the shore when I was a kid.

I jumped off a pier in Asbury Park in high school.

{Unless my mom reads this. In which case, that sounds very dangerous and I'm sure I would never do that.}

My husband and I went to the shore for our nine month dating anniversary, and I still have the cheesy boardwalk heart mirror with our names engraved on it.

Now, I have relatives and friends who are still without power, with a snowstorm on the way.

Please, if you're able, donate to the Red Cross or NJ Sandy Relief.

Vesuviusmama is also collecting quilt blocks for Sandy victims. I'll be sending her a few!

Anyway, there was some progress...

Finished tops:

Saturday Sampler 2011! It's off to the longarmer's. So glad to get this one out the door, long before Christmas.

Running T-Shirt Quilt #2 - have to quilt this one myself, and I'm out of batting until I hit Joann's with a 60% off coupon on Thursday. So I have a couple days off.

Design Wall/UFO Busting - Chunky Log Cabin

Finished all the blocks. Still pondering the layout. This one is a strong contender.

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization

Notion drawer before

Notion drawer after 15 minutes

Slowly keeping things picked up and in place. I have a Pinterest-y plan for the ribbon drawer that will definitely take a couple 15 minute sessions!

Linked: 
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - To The Finish

I had a much better week last week - including a kick-ass long run on Friday. Yeah, I just described an eight mile run as awesome. The fresh air must be getting to me.

There's also been a ton of sewing - focused sewing - with several projects completed or nearing completion.

In full disclosure - the rest of my house is a disaster. I don't think I've folded laundry in three weeks.

Finished:

Striped Spiral

Also, the Dude's Halloween costume is finished, but you'll have to wait until Halloween for pictures.

Nearly Finished:

LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 - I just have the top and bottom border to add. And it's not due to the quilter until Nov. 15 - AND I already have the backing good to go!

Running T-Shirt Quilt #2 - all the blocks except for the hardest two are done! I just need to very carefully piece the shirts her husband made for her Ironman.

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization

Monday - cleared the cutting table

Tuesday - folded fabric and cleared Necchi sewing machine table
Wednesday - cleared Singer sewing machine table
Thursday - nothing
Friday - cleared the treadle sewing machine
Saturday - cleaned off the bench the cats are supposed to sit on, although they only sit on fabric even when the bench is clear
Sunday - cleaned off the sewing table - and now all the flat surfaces are clear! {Okay, maybe not that exciting...but I don't think ALL the sewing machine tables have ever ALL been clear at the same time.}

Design Wall/UFO Busting
Since I finished off quilting of a UFO earlier in the week, and found some UFO blocks while cleaning, I decided to put them on the design wall and play around with them for my UFO day.
 

 Didn't actually sew them since I'm still playing... I have a total of 20 blocks. I like this frame...but I don't know what to fill it with. Plus I'll have leftover blocks.

I like it on point...could go two rows higher and one column wider... I think if I went with this one, I would slash the blocks instead of adding setting triangles before the border. Or maybe not.

It already looks totally different as I fiddle with the blocks every time I walk past it. And I prepped the last seven partial blocks to finish as leaders/enders throughout this week.

Linked:

Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - On UFOs

I have not started anything really new in ages. But I need to get somewhere with all these projects before I can start something new!

T-shirt quilts are not very creative. But they force me to be very precise in piecing. And they pay for more creative quilts.

Design Wall - LQS Saturday Sampler 2011

I'm working on this because I have to - it has a date with the long arm and needs to be in a box by Christmas. But all that white space and the simple layout makes the blocks pop.

Grandmother's Choice, block six. I like this one. I don't like #7, and I really don't like #8. But this is a BOW about choice. So...I'm going to do the blocks I like, and appreciate the work the designer put into each week even if I don't make the block.

 Fat Quarter Stars - I made two 12" blocks - Weather Vane and LeMoyne Star - from my shop hop collection. Then I figured that if I was going to get my sister's block book back to her, I should start doing those. So, my first 9" block - Air Castle.
Technically, Weather Vane and Air Castle aren't stars, but they are kind of star-like.

UFO Busting

 Oh, Skorca! I mowed the backyard on Sunday to put off quilting this UFO...talk about a bad sign. I think I need something different than one UFO day a week - because I will come up with a hundred excuses to not sew that day! This week, I'm going to try quilting for an hour each day. That should, hopefully, take care of Skorca, and then maybe I can move on. 

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization

 I only folded fabric once in the past week. The cutting table? Covered. The sewing table? Piles on the corners. Felt boxes are on the floor from a kid craft project, I have a giant basket of t-shirt scraps... I need to DO my 15 minutes this week!

Oh, and my other deadline project. Crazy as the idea was, this is actually coming along nicely. The base of the costume is done - now I'm adding the layers. 

Linked:

Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - Scattered

I feel like my progress this week was a bit scattered. Or at least, scatter brained. I totally forgot to take a picture of my mother's wall hanging before putting it in the mail. Ah well - she can get an accurate shot of it hanging!

Anyway, things I did do - and sometimes remembered to take pictures of...

Finished:

T-Shirt Quilt #2

Candy Corn Bunting {from Sew Lux's tutorial}

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization

The floor is clean, the flat surfaces are clean, and I have a nice pile of fabric that needs to be ironed and folded this week. Never ending process.

Design Wall - LQS Saturday Sampler 2011

I didn't actually sew a bit of this, but I did make some decisions. Mainly, to use the little flowers, plain, in the corners of the center, and to use the longer strips on the sides. Everything else will be filled in with the white-ish from the words.

UFO Busting
I've done a bit of quilting on to Skorca! But I'm not sure I like it. So on my UFO Sunday, I ended up hemming a pair of pants that have sat around for 18 months. For a five-minute hem. 

Then I worked on cutting out my son's Halloween costume, which is not a UFO, but really does have a deadline, so...

Blocks

Saturday Sampler 2012 - Four Corners, Swamp Patch, Ohio Star - love this set!

Oh, and we carved our Halloween pumpkin!

Linked:
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - Serious Progress!

We are finally getting into a routine and getting life into a rhythm, and I got tons done this week!

Finished: 

Bad Romance - finally!

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization

Slow and steady, I am getting my sewing room under control. I did my fifteen minutes every day this week: sorting scraps, folding bigger scraps, filing patterns and keeping the flat surfaces clear.

Design Wall - LQS Saturday Sampler 2011

I want this to be a Christmas gift, so I talked to my quilter and scheduled it to go to her on Nov. 15. Deadline!

UFO Busting
Leah's post last week was about the snowball effect - working on little things to free up more time to work on the bigger things. So I looked at my stack of flimsies and picked Bad Romance because it was already halfway quilted.

Next, quilted a wall hanging for my mother. Binding is on and handstitching has begun.

Now I'm at the point that the next quilt done will probably be my Blogger's Quilt Festival Quilt....so I want it to be a good one. But also one that has a back picked already...which kind of limited it to Skorca! 

Blocks
 
Grandmother's Choice, block five. It's a little chaotic, but I like it!

I found six of these blocks {leftover from Sunkissed Jewel Box} and made four into a pillow-sized block. Once I quilt the quilt version, I'll use leftover backing to finish off the pillow. The other two blocks...I don't know. Probably make a notebook cover or something.

Other
 
Toyland Row Quilt had a few of the rows sewn together. I'm not in a hurry to finish it...only to add it to the quilting pile.

No picture, but I finished another t-shirt quilt to the quilting stage! I should finish that off this week.

And finally, I started making these as leaders/enders, thanks to a tutorial on the Sew Lux blog.

Linked:
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced