Quilting ADD

So grad school is hard.

Not only have I not blogged since NOVEMBER, I haven't even stepped into my sewing room since the first week of January.

Until tonight! Thank goodness for snow, right? Lol, not really. My class was cancelled today, and I managed to take an exam NOT at the last minute, so I rewarded myself.

I actually have two finished tops to show you (one was the Kate Spain one from the last post), but those will have to wait until daytime when I can take pictures.

But here is what my design wall has looked like for the last two months-ish - full on quilting ADD. I can't even count the WIPS I've got going on, and part of the problem is that I just don't care enough about any one project enough to get any real work done on it. Isn't that sad?

Well, only 15 months until I'm finished with school, so maybe I'll finish one between now and then?

How I Quilt - Centering Triangles

I've made a good bit of progress on my Sunnyside quilt - as a matter of fact, it's finished! I finished it last week sometime (or maybe even the week before??) but as I've been working day shift lately, it's dark when I get up to go to work and it's dark when I come home, so alas, no pictures yet. Soon, though!

One of the steps of this quilt involve ending a column of piecing with a triangle, which becomes the corner of the block. (Here is a reference for the finished block, in case you've forgotten. Which I wouldn't blame you for...)

There are lots of different ways to make sure your triangles end up centered, but here is how I do it:

Fold it in half lengthwise and finger press...

Line up the point of the triangle with the press line...

Chain piece the crap out of that ish...

Hey look! You're done! So pretty and symmetrical! Makes it so much easier to square up these blocks!

Hopefully I'll have a change to photograph this quilt over the weekend. Maybe I'll baste it too?? Let's not get ahead of ourselves...

I finished something!

I actually have a finish for Finish-it-up Friday! I really have a couple things to show you, but this one is actually done AND photographed!

I made a pillow top out of mini charms aaaaaaages ago, and it sat on my design wall forever while I contemplated how to quilt it. Like ages.

I found this picture of it's early stages on my Flickr. Taken in MARCH. Don't judge...

So it sat, and sat, and sat... and then divine inspiration came in the form of a blog post from Christina at A Few Scraps. She actually has a book out that is ah-may-zing, so you should get it. And she has no idea that I even exist, much less rave about her book, so you can trust my honesty!

So I saw that post, liked the design, and just sat at my machine and went to town. I didn't draw it out beforehand (maybe I should have!) but I think it turned out ok anyway. I have to say, when inspiration strikes, I don't have any patience!

I even managed to quilt it and make it into a Real Pillow on the same day! I know, right??

Doesn't she look so pretty next to her friend? Charlotte approves, though I don't have photographic proof.

I even started a little something else the other day, that I'm super stoked about. I've just hit a snag until more background fabric comes in the mail!

Socktober!

Here's a little knitting update for you, in honor of the end of Socktober! (a little late...)

I finished these purple lovelies, and as soon as they were done I put them on and now they're waiting to go in the wash. So you've have to forgive me for using an old photo...

The dye lots were also REALLY off. The labels said they were the same, but the blues are VERY different!

I also started these! I've been referring to them (it?) as the green monsters. I'm doing a seed stitch rib pattern, and I actually tried starting two at a time, but it stressed me out, and since this is supposed to be FUN, I pulled one off and I'm just working on one at a time. I'm totally ok with that. Maybe I'm just not meant to be a two-at-a-timer!

I'm also making really good progress (so far!) on my Color Affection. I'm a few repeats into the second contrast color, but I have to tell you, I've literally fallen asleep while knitting this TWICE. Hundreds of plain knit stitches at once is apparently like Ambien to me. I'm super stoked about getting this done this season, but I'm glad I started another pair of socks, to break up the monotony!

Officewarming!

I made a quick gift for a good friend the other day. She recently started a new fancy job, and has an office with a really great view and everything - so I made her a little something as an "officewarming" gift.

I used a mini charm pack of Horizon by Kate Spain and revisited my mini Rock Candy Quilt by Jaybird Quilts. It didn't take long at all to put this together, I feel like the longest part was deciding on how to lay out the pieces!

I first looked at a random-ish layout...

Then I used the more saturated fabrics for the inner bit and radiated out....

Then I did the opposite of that...

And we have a winner!

And here is the finished product!

I quilted it with straight lines overlapping in the center with Aurifil 3840, a really pretty variegated purple. I machine stitched the binding and it was done!

Build Me Up Buttercup

I have a finish! Whaaaat!!

Yeah, I know, I can't believe it either! I actually finished this quilt last week (maybe the week before? I just finished midterms, my brain is broken...) and I took some pictures of it right away, before I lost the light and/or the top got wrinkled.

I started this quilt intending it to be a nap-sized couch quilt (~60" square) but after it got to that size, I decided I liked it too much and wanted to make it bed-sized. It's a little small for my queen sized bed, but I have a few inches of overhang on each side so it's passable.

You can see where I planned out additional blocks after I finished the quilt top the first time... I also cut the fabric to preserve the directionality, which is a really nice effect with these beautiful prints!

This was a fun one. Super fast, instant gratification blocks. I've already started on the back, so once I figure out how I want to quilt it I'll finish the back, baste it, and get going!


Stats:
Build Me Up Buttercup
72"x84"
Fabric used is Meadow by Leah Duncan
Pieced with Aurifil 2600
On my Bernina 750 QE

Quilting ADD...

So apparently I can't finish one thing before starting another... I've had a plan for my FQ stack of Sunnyside for aaaaages... I just haven't had a chance to work on it! But since working on my Meadow quilt (which is finished - more on that later this week!) I've gotten a fire lit under me for piecing. So I decided to make a "sample" block... which turned into 6, which turned into cutting out the whole quilt. And I've even gotten the backing already! (I am SO BAD about making tops and then procrastinating on the backs forever!)

So here is what I have so far - I'm using Tula Pink's Treasure Hunt pattern, which she released for Acacia.

I'm still working on this pretty steadily, so I'm sure I'll have some more to share soon!

Knitting progress!

So in my lack of time for quilting while in grad school, I've been very happy to have a little bit of knitting to turn to in the evenings when I just need a few minutes to unwind. I started knitting last fall, and I think I've made some progress, but there is still a long way to go before I would consider myself proficient...

My first pair of socks was a worsted-weight "learning" pair that turned out ok, and I've since finished another pair!

These are Hermione's Everyday Socks in some Joann's yarn. I did these cuff down with a fish-lips kiss heel. I really liked these, but I had to frog the first sock because it was waaaay too small for my size 10 feet! I restarted them on slightly larger needles, with a slightly higher stitch count, and they turned out pretty well! I would consider them a tiiiiny bit too big, but they fit really well just after they're washed.

I actually finished these a while ago (much like the pillow...) but never blogged about them. I've almost finished another pair since! These are not quite finished, I have like 5 rows left of the cuff on the second sock. These are my first toe-ups and I LOVE how that worked! I didn't have to worry about running out of yarn at the toe! I just did vanilla stockinette, pleasantly mindless for tv watching, etc. These socks are from the same dye lot but the blues look VERY different. The yarn was another cheap Joann's purchase, so I'm not terribly upset.

I also bought some "good" yarn for a Color Affection shawl! I'm very excited about this! I started it the other night (since the other socks are almost done and I want something on needles at all times!) and looked at some of the mods people made on Ravelry. I'm doing KFBs instead of the M1s, and I'm adding yarn overs to the right side rows.

I've already had to frog it once, since my dropped YOs left big holes, (you can see them here, this picture is the first attempt) but I've started it again putting the YO between knit stitches instead of between a knit and KFB. It's looking better already!

I'll keep you posted as to how this goes, I've never done colorwork before, and I'm excited about it!

Forgotten Finish!

You might not even remember when I started this project... last summer!

I love hand work, and this was no exception. I remember distinctly working on this while my grandmother was in the hospital last year, just before she passed away. Maybe that's why I put it away for so long?

I even had a moment of ineptitude where I wasn't paying attention - don't try to hand piece and watch Scandal! At least it was an easy fix.

But anyway, I actually finished this several months ago, and neglected to share it with you. But here it is!

I quilted it with straight lines radiating out from the peach ring, with Aurifil 2600 (my go-to for everything!) The back is a simple pocket with navy Pearl Bracelets.

Something Sunny :-)

Remember this picture?

I really love Meadow by Leah Duncan. I made enough blocks for a little quilt. (I'm also actually hoarding a half-yard bundle of Tule, just waiting for the right moment...)

I liked it so much, in fact, that I decided to make more blocks.

Then I decided I wanted to put it on my bed, so I made even more.

These blocks are done now, so I just have to put them together and finish the top!

I made something!

Do me a favor and reach back into your Ancient History archives and recall this pull:

Yeah. That sat on my sewing table for aaaaaages. Once the semester (or two...) got out and I had more than one day off, I finally cut into it. You might remember this from the other day:

Well after finally playing with that fabric, I put it all together and quilted it with NOT gray(!!)...

It became this!! Since I got my drop-in sewing table in late February, I've still been using the cover that came with the machine. But since the machine is recessed now, the old cover is way too big. So I upgraded Bridget's duds!

I quilted it with blue and yellow variegated Aurifil and the fabrics are some of my Very Favorites, so I'm super stoked to be able to look at this every day instead of the plain boring old one. Yay!

I'm not dead!

So I definitely haven't been sewing much this spring/summer. I've been in school, and in the process of finding a new job, and what sewing I HAVE been doing is a gift, so it hasn't seen the light of blog (or Instagram! But the other day I turned on the machine for the first time in a couple weeks, and in manic sewing mode, started two projects in the same evening. So now my wall is looking very pretty and colorful again!

I'm quilting one of them already, and I'm NOT using gray! I know, right? 

Updates to come!

Napkins!!

A while ago I was planning on making some cloth napkins - I use cloth napkins exclusively at home and the ones I have are the plain cheap ones from Target and Ikea. At about the same time, Anne Marie posted on Instagram that she was looking for some pattern testers for a new napkin pattern. Good timing, huh??

So here is what I came up with. She released the pattern Monday, and it is on sale all week!

I used scraps for the piecing, and Kona Silver for the gray. All of the backing fabrics are different confetti dots colors. Since I used scraps, I didn't prewash these, but that would be best since they will get a lot of use! I think I might make four more to round out the set!