New Trend – Go BIG!

Jun23

I want to officially take credit for any future trend that starts in the near future where the designers go BIG instead of mini. At least, in my mind, I’ll take the credit.

I have finished the main block for the back of my Great Granny squared quilt. This measures roughly 68 1/2″ square. I LOVE IT! I think that truly this will now be a reversible quilt. I will love the back as much as the front…

Those are 25 layer cake squares (10″) and 3 yards of backing. I found a perfect compliment fabric for this backing. It is by Dear Stella and is from the Paloma collection. I got these three yards on a chance, and on a 50% off sale, from FQS. They are now since sold out, which is sad – because I definitely want more of it. My lighting wasn’t so great. All of those orange squares are prints except one. A lot of them look like solids, but they aren’t. Also, this backing is a true light gray and clean white. Not off-white like it looks. Here is a closeup of the backing:

I am asking Linh to mimic the paisely motif designs in the quilting when I send it to her. It feels so great to already know how I want it quilted too.

Now, my decision is to order more of this same fabric to complete the entire backing (I need a few inches on either side and about 12″ on top and bottom), or use a similar print, but in High Street HOT PINK to finish it up (which I already have in my stash). I think I know what I want, but I’ll do my final reveal when it is quilted.

Also, I had some good luck with eBay auctions in the past week as well. Lots of ‘vintage’ bundles from one seller, who apparently is a Fat Quarter Shop fan as well. I am gathering different collections from American Jane fabrics. I was able to get a charm pack of Cherries Jubilee and a fat quarter pack of Building Blocks (from 2007).

I also bid on this adorable sewing tin and won it for only $15! I don’t think the other bidders read closely in the description or looked at all the pictures, because it was full of so many goodies!

Love the decorative pins – can add those to my collection as well. Another ‘vintage’ charm pack of Notting Hill , labels, buttons, needles, scissors, magnets, thread, ribbons, and some hexagon paper piecing templates. I was thrilled to win it.

And, today wouldn’t be complete without sharing some kitten pictures with you. I hope you have a great week ahead!

Jennifer

End of an Era

Jun19

Every other month, there is a “large trash” pickup day in our neighborhood. We try to purge what we can. This month, we decided it was time to get rid of the car seats.

***sigh***

***sniff sniff***

The kids are now too tall to really be comfortable in these seats anymore, and although from a distance, they look pretty good … you don’t see the food stains, crumbs, dirt and dried icecream in the buckles. Car seats are also one of those items that they say you shouldn’t get used, or donate. Hence, they are ready for the trash pickup.

I am so sentimental about these kind of things. I would keep them in the garage forever if my husband would let me.

When I was driving the kids across the street this morning, with just the regular seat belts on, my daughter exclaimed “I feel like a Queen!” and my son said “I feel like the President!”. They are enjoying the increased leg room I think.

Bring on the booster seats!

Happy Thursday,

Jennifer

Just bring me back a T Shirt…

Jun17

I am a huge collector and wearer of T Shirts. It is my go-to clothing of choice for anytime I’m not at work. My mother hates it, but she can’t complain too much because she bought most of them for me. I have a lot of vacation t-shirts.

It only seemed natural that when I found these two items, I had to buy them! Have you seen them? Do you own them yet yourself?

I got this one in a extra large size for sleeping… Love it!

I got home really, really late last night. Everyone was asleep already, piled in my bed. So I headed to the guest bedroom and found my squishy package from Fat Quarter Shop. I opened it up and had my night shirt ready to go!

Very soft and my XL size fit me well (I’m a size 16). I’m a huge fan of FQS, as you can see by this small sampling of my overflow stash boxes under the design wall:

Speaking of which – I decided on a little change up in the backing squares for the GGS quilt. I got my Bella solid light gray fabric last night also (along with the shirt), but I also found on sale a light gray/white paisley fabric which I think will work better. I took advantage of FQS shipping sale this week and I should have that delivered tomorrow or Thurdsay. Then I’ll make my final selections and get this back pieced and off to Linh!

Here’s the BEFORE picture:

Finally – I completed Block 1 of the FQS Designer Mystery BOM featuring the Snowbird collection. This is a great star! I might just make an entire quilt out of it…

I was a little nervous to cut the hour glass units to piece in the sides and top, but it went together just perfectly!

I am wrapping up a very busy week(s) today and hope to jump back on my sewing machine by tomorrow night. I’m anxious to get another block or two or three done on the Reach for the Stars quilt.

Have a great week!

Jennifer

No lectures, please…

Jun13

I know it. But, you do the same thing! Don’t deny!

I got my box from Fat Quarter Shop yesterday and it had the first block of the 2014 Designer Mystery BOM program. This year it is featuring the collection Snowbird by Edyta Star of Laundry Basket Quilts and I think it will be all star blocks.

But yes … I know … I have three blocks left to do on 2013 DM BOM … but they got pushed to the side last night so I could prep.

I started by ironing and lightly starching all the fabric pieces. Don’t you love those blues with the gray and beige colors?

It took no time to cut out the pieces for the block. In the the past two DM BOM years, I have tried to cut out two blocks from the same pack of fabric. Unfortunatley, at least on Block 1 this time, the cuts called for some large squares and I just couldn’t fit a second set out of the swatches. I might try again since all but one of the large squares got subcut diagonally twice, so I could possibly work it out as smaller squares for the extra block set. I’ll wait and see how Block 2 goes and I might invest in a layer cake to supplement. I wanted to make another quilt at the same time – I think my mom would like this one.

Here are the cuts and in the top right corner, you can see the abundant left over ‘scraps’:

As of this morning, FQS still had this program available along with the backing and finishing kits. It is going to be beautiful!

Also, a quick look at my design wall where I’m laying out the pieced backing for my GGS quilt. I have some light gray solid on order to help finish it out.

This one Great Granny Square will be about 60″ square when it is done. Can’t wait to see how it ends up!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and to those celebrating – a Happy Father’s Day!

All the best,

Jennifer

Garden Diversion

Jun12

Well, as I type this, my office is gathering in the main area to watch the opening of the World Cup games. Pizza for everyone! We have a diverse group of employees from all over the world. My staff in particular include three ladies from Colombia, one from Mexico and one from Poland. We have offices in Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Barcelona, Antwerp and Shanghai. Therefore, this World Cup thing is big (to some). Me… I’m just glad I get to wear jeans today!

I wanted to share a bit of our garden with you. My husband and I love to garden, but my quilt obsession took over and now I’m more inclined to piece a quilt top than sweat it out – but this may turn me back a bit. My husband has been working on the beds and buying some nice accent flowers. I thought I would share some with you…

We love Coleus of all sorts…

I have a desire to build back my Daylily collection. This is just a start. Three varieties below with a peachy color, a bright yellow and this top picture of a variety with a purple/white bloom:

Potted plants are scattered about, this one with some blooming geraniums. Suppose to be good for mosquito control, which is absolutely necessary in Houston, TX:

And newly bloomed star lillies:

To top it all off, he ordered 10 yards of combination mulch/mushroom compost and we have 4 inch layers going over all the beds now. It looks great and really makes you want to be out in the yard (best to be dipped in bug spray first).

Hope you are getting some sunshine and fresh air this week. I’ll be back soon to show my backing for the GGS quilt. It will be like a quilt in itself!

All my best,

Jennifer

Great Granny Squared quilt top completed!

Jun9

I stayed up until 3 am on Friday night (Sat morning) to complete this top.

There is a point where you get near the finish line and you tell yourself – just keep going. You are too close not to just finish these borders and have it DONE. I was at that point Friday night. My son tried his best to keep up with me, but he fell asleep about 30 minutes from the finish line. We were both pretty tired on Saturday.

What about you – how close do you get to a quilt finish where you will just grind it out? 10 min? 1 hour? 3 hours?

I’m happy to show off the finish… Great Granny Squared pattern by Lori Holt from her recent book by the same name.

Fabric is from collections including Birds & Berries, High Street and Bluebird Park.

Background is a light gray polka dot on white from Vintage Modern.

A charm pack of Grunge basics (variety of colors) was used in the border to mix with the prints.

A little close up of the corner.

I do have a problem however. I don’t have much of my background left and I would have liked to used it for the backing. I can’t seem to find it on eBay, Etsy or my favorite online shops either. My grand plan is to use another layer cake from High Street, the leftover layer cake squares from Birds & Berries and piece a big GGS block on the back. I just need to decide on a complimentary fabric to make up the difference. Any suggestions? Pull out the yellow or green and find yardage of that perhaps? Or the light teal blue? So, I’m really not ready to send this off, but so close!

Thanks for stopping by today! I’m looking forward to switching gears a bit and working on my languishing BOM projects for awhile.

All the best for a great week!

Jennifer

Happy Friday!

Apr25

It’s 5:30 am, and this is apparently the perfect time to update a new post. There is always a chance that one of my offspring will sense that I am not asleep, then wake up themselves and seek me out – but if I type fast enough….

You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.

First – I’ll share some gratuitous kitten pictures because that is really what the internet was invented for after all.

All five kittens were named for characters from the Disney Frozen movie, by the way.

1) Anna (black and white)

2) Elsa (tabby)

3) Olaf and either Sven or Kristoff (we have two solid black kittens)

Olaf is by far the most outgoing. I think he was the first born as well. We are working on socializing them and litter box training. Next week, mommy goes in for her snip-snip surgery. There are just too many dead-beat dad tom cats out there! And she likes to escape and run off with the first one (or several given the out come of this litter) that she finds. Tsk tsk… 🙂

Now, for my latest project. I’m completing the main quilt pattern in Lori Holt’s book “Great Granny Squared”. It calls for twenty of her GGS blocks and then it will have a pieced border of 5″ squares set on point around it. These fabrics have been so fun to work with. I ended up using three main collections: Bluebird Park, Birds & Berries and High Street. There is one fabric round in the blocks from Mirabelle – but it truly doesn’t fit in (see bottom row, second from left, outer pale yellow fabric round). There are also perhaps 4-8 squares in the mix from Wishes by Sweetwater – but I found that the colors were also too muted for what I evolved into using.

I ran out of room on the design wall, so I had to tape up the other 5 blocks on the bathroom door. That is what the blue dots are holding up the squares.

My photography skills at night in a spare bedroom are lacking. The colors are really so vibrant and cheerful.

My daughter’s favorite block:

One of my favorites. Once I added in some of the High Street collection, I wish I had more blocks to make!

I have the sashing strips cut, so that will be my next step. This is going to be a housewarming gift for one of my coworkers. I have plans to make another of these for myself, in Vintage Happy fabric and other Lori Holt collections.

Have a great Friday and thanks so much for visiting my blog today!

Jennifer

I’m taking what I can get

Apr24

Look at that. Last post was 2 1/2 weeks ago. Fantastic. It does feel like forever. I have been resolved down to only a few minutes of quilting a day, if that. I usually grab a few minutes when I’m pressing my kids clothes for school. I’ll sew a few rows together and get them pressed and ready for the next five minutes I can find.

I don’t even have pictures for today.

Another reason could be that we have 5 baby kittens that are now adventurous and slowly weaning off mommy kitty. It takes a bit of time for them to all figure out the litter box routine. Fun times.

I’m also so depressed by the news lately. Everything seems so bleak and horrible. I even went so far as to change my opening internet home page to my bank, instead of MSN.COM because I just kept seeing these stories pop up of murder, tragedy, kids illness, and equally depressing all the hype around celebrities that seem to be at the other extreme end and is just too tiring to care about.

I know what I need, I just can’t get it right now. Perhaps this weekend I can get some great sewing time in. Nope – just remembered that I have a sleep study night to go through to be fitted for a CPAP machine. Apparently I have severe obstructive apnea.

I have managed to complete all 20 blocks for my Great Granny Squared quilt. I added in some bright and cheery colors from the High Street collection. A charm pack of it was just enough to add into the mix. I love the blocks and I hope my friend remembers that she asked for bright colors. I’ll get a picture tonight of the finished set and show them off tomorrow. That will make me happy too.

Hope you are having a great week and loving life and those around you!

Jennifer

Sherri’s Progress and My Block 9

Apr8

I wanted to share progress pictures from Sherri who is doing the Reach for the Stars sew-a-long. She’s keeping the pace and has completed blocks 5 and 6.

I don’t know what I did wrong with transferring her pictures, but her individual block pictures keep coming out super small. But her group photo looks great! Block 5 is that pinwheel bear paw block and Block 6 is the bottom left block. Love them all in this picture, especially with the striking sashing attached! You can really see the quilt taking shape now! Thanks for sharing Sherri!

I didn’t snap a picture of my Block 9 this weekend, so here it is now. This is the last published block at the moment. This may be one of my favorite blocks so far, and it was probably the easiest.

Picture taken on my desk, excuse the media cords cluttering it up.

That’s it for tonight! See you again soon!

Jennifer

Aaaahhhh, That Feels Better!

Apr5

Wow, I needed that. A few hours spent on quilting and piecing is the best therapy. It isn’t free – but a lot more fun than an alternative!

I splurged a few weeks ago and ordered a 14 1/2″ square Creative Grids ruler from FQS. It is the same size as the unfinished RFTS (Reach for the Stars) blocks with their sashing added:

The hardest thing about the ruler was getting the plastic wrap off!

I was able to put the ruler to use twice already this weekend! I finished Blocks 7 and 8 for RFTS:

Reach for the Stars – Block 7

I was initially freaked out a little by the block, due to the light pattern instructions … but I broke it down into the components and it went together really well. The longest part was selecting the fussy cut areas for my applique circles.

Block 7 – Center

Then I moved into Block 8. At first glance, I thought … easy peasy!

Reach for the Stars – Block 8

Well, poop. Actually I said !@#$!@#$ a few times last night. With no finished sizes given for the sub units, I tried to oversize my cuttings so I would be able to trim down, but then I didn’t know what size to trim down into! Here’s a hint for you though … the center fussy cut square-in-a-square ended up being 4 3/4″ unfinished when I was done. Perhaps it is suppose to be 4 7/8″, but it worked out well for me at the other size.

Hint #2 – I did try to follow the pattern – but when they show you piecing the two sides with the corner squares and flying geese unit – piece the flying geese unit first, then add the squares. That is different than the instructions. My Open Gate Quilts Flying Geese Ruler worked great for this step too. Line up the side triangles to the pieced center triangle at the bottom first, and let the overhang fall off at the top points. The side units will be 3 1/2″ by 12 1/2″ when you are done.

RFTS Block 8 Center

You could certainly change this up and make 4 complete flying geese units with 4 corner squares and a center ‘square-in-a-square-in-a-square’ unit. You will have a few more seam lines in that black star – but it might work better for you if you are doing this block.

RFTS Blocks 7 and 8

I wanted to give up after I realized I would have to unpick the whole thing (except the center flying geese units). But I persisted and was done at around 2:15 am. So glad I made it though! They look great. Added the sashing strips this morning and got a group shot on my design wall:

RFTS Blocks 1 – 8

What’s next you ask? Well – there is still Block 9 instructions for RFTS in the latest issue of Quilters Newsletter, and I also got Block 10 this week from FQS on their 2013 Designer Mystery BOM. It will be a row of flower blocks! Cute I tell you!!\

I love that I am going between bright, happy colors and the soothing, calming colors in Reach for the Stars. Variety is a spice of life!

Tomorrow I will share pictures from Sherri Crisp in Knoxville. She has more blocks done for RFTS too! I just didn’t want to picture overload you. You can jump over to Dawn’s blog post (here) and see the pictures though, if you are in a hurry! She has posted since then also, with more participation pictures – go check it out!!

Have a great, wonderful, quilty, relaxing, fun weekend! (See how a little quilt therapy cheers me up??)

Thanks for stopping by – I love your comments too!

Jennifer

Seams Crazy

Quilting and Family – both crazy!

Archives

New Trend – Go BIG!

End of an Era

Just bring me back a T Shirt…

No lectures, please…

Garden Diversion

Great Granny Squared quilt top completed!

Happy Friday!

I’m taking what I can get

Sherri’s Progress and My Block 9

Aaaahhhh, That Feels Better!

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