Design Wall Monday - Skorca!

Bit by bit, Skorca! grows.

I like it better now that I have the blues facing the right way.

I've been catching up on it in between my sister's Hunter's Star blocks - one day I'll do a bunch of QSTs, then assemble some Ohio Stars, then work on the blues.

The one thing I haven't worked on in a while is the red, since it's paper piecing.

And then along came this...

I know, I need another quilt-a-long like I need another hole in my head. That's why I have double pierced ears, people.

And I have two bags of selvages. Two string blocks a week for 40 weeks? No problem!

In fact, that, plus the red block in Skorca! and the St. Paul's Cross blocks, means I'm finally going to set up my Centennial Singer for full-time paper piecing. This way I won't have to change the stitch length and needle every time I want to do a block.

And, bonus with the quilt room move, the ironing board is the grey on the left, which is so much better than its former hallway locale.

 But it does mean the cat's chair is moving somewhere else.

Check out more design walls at Patchwork Times!

Sunday Stash Report - Week 2

Got my first blocks for my LQS's Saturday Sampler yesterday.

The pattern is Round Robin - three classic blocks each month. The original plan was Civil War fabrics, which I was happy with. Then the store decided to offer the blocks in solids with a black background. I didn't even hesitate to change my mind!

{Shoofly}
The funny thing - ask any of the modern quilters and they might call it a modern design.

{Eccentric Star}
The store is advertising it as "Amish Style" because black with solids is the staple of very early Amish quilts, since they used their clothing scraps and that's what they wore.

{Contrary Wife}
That's why I find it so hard to "define" a quilting style for myself - what's old is new. I've been hand-repairing my great-grandmother's quilt, full if bright solids and cheerful cottons. If you didn't know any better, you'd think this was made in the last year, not fifty years ago.

Of course, my LQS owner says I can't define my style because I made a hexagon novelty quilt and a Tennessee Waltz in the same month. She might be right.

Anyway, enough philosophy! I'm happy with the blocks, whether it's modern or Amish style. They're definitely MY style.

Used this Week: 0

Used Year to Date: 0

Added this Week: 0.25

Added Year to Date: 0.25

Net Used for 2012: (0.25) yards

Check out how everyone else is doing on Patchwork Times and check out more BoMs at What a Hoot!

Goals for 2012

Looking at my WiP list, I think my word of the year will be focus. I need to focus on a few quilts at a time until they're done, and not start TOO many new projects until I've whittled down the WiP list.

And I say that knowing I'm going to do Pins and Bobbins' Made in Cherry Quilt Along.

I separated quilts by quarters, for Quilter in the Gap's Finish-A-Long. I'm not saying I won't work on any out of its quarter (or start any extras), but I'd like to finish the ones listed by the end of each quarter.

Quarter One

Hunter's Star, round two - I have more than half of the dark blue half-blocks finished, so I'll be to the assembly stage soon 
 
Frolicking Pinwheels - 7/9 pinwheels done

 
Skorca! - not quite as far along on this one. I'm doing a 6x6 layout, so I have a ways to go still.

Quarter Two
 

LQS Saturday Sampler - 10/12 blocks finished. I'd like to finish this for my MIL's birthday in May.

 
Swoon A Little, Swoon A Lot - probably need to make about five more 8" blocks before assembly - which I might just make as part of I'm A Ginger Monkey's Quilt-Along. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a QA.

Chunky Log Cabin - 13 blocks finished. I forget how many I need.

Quarter Three

St. Paul's Cross - 2/?? finished. This is for my best friend's birthday in September. 

Jarred Picnic Quilt - I've had the fat quarters for this for 2+ years. I'm going to make mason jars full of food (and candy) for a picnic blanket.

Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along - if I keep up with the blocks (haha) this should be easy to assemble over the summer


Quarter Four

Dutch Pinwheels - I'm probably about halfway through the flying geese I cut for this one. No idea what the full layout will look like.

Star Wars Iotacons - mentioned this before. I'm planning on using scraps from this year's Saturday Sampler (plus other solids I've collected in the last few years) to make Iotacon versions of Star Wars characters.
Drunkard's Path - I'm taking a class in April on curve sewing, and giving myself a generous amount of time to finish it.

Oh, and then there's the unquilted list...

Sunkissed Jewel Box

Bad Romance

Layer Cake Quilt Along

Hunter's Star

Fall-gyle

Star Wall Hanging

One every other month, plus keeping up with the finished quilt tops this year...doable? Maybe?

Felt Food Friday - Spaghetti

I swear I did not encourage my child in any way to pick this.

I even showed him pictures of tortellini and ravioli, but he wanted straight spaghetti with meatballs.

So I whipped out the ShapeCut and sliced 1/2" strips of cream felt.

A wavy cut piece of red felt and brown yarn meatballs from this tutorial, and I'm done.

I might stitch the spaghetti to the sauce, because someone has already suggested throwing pasta at his Angry Birds.

Rudolph Quilt - Finished!

Finished and gifted and FINALLY a post about it. Sheesh. I know. And there's two more Christmas posts to go. I may finish writing about Christmas before next Christmas.

Rudolph is a book panel from Hobby Lobby last year. The Dude is OBSESSED with Rudolph, so I picked it up with the intention of cutting the "pages" into quilt blocks.

Cheapy book panels? Not printed straight, and therefore not easy to square up. I finally got all twelve "pages" to the same size with minimal skewing, and then realized the quarter yard of red Rudolph fabric would in no way be enough for anything more than cornerstones.

I lucked out and found an online seller who had this red for the borders and backing, and white Rudolph for the sashing.

The quilting is three straight lines through each block. I was going to add more lines through the sashing, but it didn't look right. So I picked them out. Fun.

The binding is a candy cane stripe from Hobby Lobby.

Finished size: 45x55"

The Dude loves it, of course. And even better, he didn't puke on it during the whole Christmas car ride!

Check out more finishes at Whoop Whoop Fridays and Finish It Up Friday.

WiP Wednesday/Fifteen Minute Challenge - New Year, New Plan

This year, I'm going to combine posts a little better. I felt like I was writing something almost every day and never had time to schedule finishing posts. {See: Rudolph and the Grinch. Or don't see. Because I haven't written them yet.}

So the Fifteen Minute Challenge will now be a part of my WiP list, since after all, it's a WiP. And I'm going to get back to my original plan - work on something that's been lingering on the Untouched List a bit too long for fifteen minutes every day before starting the rest of my sewing. First up will be Frolicking Pinwheels.

Finished:

Rudolph and the Grinch.

Regular Quilts:

Hunter's Star, round two - 39/90

Quilt-Alongs:

Fat Quarter Stars - five blocks behind...sigh...

LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 - 10/12 blocks done - need to do October and December

Quiltville Orca Bay {Skorca!} - final instructions are out and I am busily assembling lots of Ohio Stars. I think I'll need 36 and countless other elements. Yes, I know #3 in the second row is wrong.

Untouched This Week:

Chunky Log Cabin

Frolicking Pinwheels

St. Paul's Cross

Swoon A Little, Swoon A Lot

Awaiting Quilting:

Sunkissed Jewel Box

Bad Romance

Layer Cake Quilt Along

Hunter's Star

Fall-gyle

Star Wall Hanging

New Projects: 0

Completed Projects: 2

In Progress: 14

Check out more at Work in Progress Wednesday and see how others are managing their time at Life in Pieces!

Goals for 2011 - Revisited

Last year, I made some goals. So how did I do?

1. My new nephew's sailboat quilt. Done!

2. My other nephew's iSpy quilt. Done!

3. Two t-shirt quilts. Made my neighbor's, but not mine. I have two more scheduled for 2012, so mine is even further down the list.

4. Finish the Cinderella quilt. Done! {Minus the applique.}

5. Finish the Charm Pack Quilt Along. Done!

6. Continue the Layer Cake Quilt Along. Done but unquilted.

7. Find something to do with my new pretties. Undone, and added Grinch and Cat in the Hat FQs to the pretties.

8. Tennessee Waltz for my mom. Done!


9. Dutch Pinwheels for my mom. Undone - I made flying geese on occasion as leaders/enders, but it's not been a serious project.


10. Frolicking Pinwheels. Undone.

11. Rudolph quilt for the Dude. Done!
12. Stash quilts - every quilt-along I did this year used stash, and Skorca is almost entirely from stash.

Eight finished goals, one finished but unquilted, and three not finished. Not bad!

And of course, there was the stuff I hadn't planned on doing at the beginning of last year.

Nine additional quilts finished.

And five tops unquilted.