Busy, Busy

Happy Tuesday! I have been swamped this past week or so: end of school projects and programs, soccer, quilting getaway, swimming, gardening and vacation planning. Luckily I get to include quilting in my busy schedule. The last week or so I quilted 2 quilts on my machine (at home) Double Yikes!! It was challenging and fun. I bought my machine 6 years ago with the premise to quilt my own quilts, and finally I am just going for it. It feels great.

I tried my hand at stippling (below) on my improv quilt and straight line stitching on my 9-patch on point I had basted at the begining of the month. I had a few hiccups on my 9-patch because of a feed dog issue which I was very discouraged about....but once I figured that out it was smooth sailing.
 

I got to "escape" here and there last weekend to attending a scrapbook/quilting getaway my friend Ella hosts. I worked on BINDINGS,something I always procrastinate doing, one quilt hadn't been bound from 2 years ago! Oi!! I bound 4 quilts over the weekend. Feels like a weighs has seriously been lifted. I also started work on a block swap: Granny Squares in 30's prints. I love how they are turning out: red/yellow/peach. I am using a strip piece tutorial so things are moving along quickily. Most of the ladies at the getaway are participating so it was fun to see their fabrics and progress.

I can't wait for summer to officially start, school to be finished and to really enjoy the last 10 weeks before this baby arrives. Happy Quilting.

Weekend Catch-up

My husband was out of town all last week and I had a laundry list of things I wanted to get done. On the top of that list was basting 2 quilts that I had finished at the end of last year. Since getting pregnant I've had only baby and baby quilts on the brain, but with the weather warming and hubby out of town I pulled out my frames and got to work.

I basted my improve quilt  (above) as well as my 9-patch on point. Basting for me is the easy part, the hard part is "tacking" down the quilt. I have really good frames, its just making the quilt taunt enough and working with three layers of material that's tricky. Just handing it over to Ella's for quilting is sooooo much easier but in the same breathe I am learning to love machine quilting and as we all know, practice makes perfect.

I borrow my SIL's kwik klips for basting and they are a life saver. I didn't even know these existed until I helped her baste a quilt last summer and wallah: kwik klips ~ soooo genius!!

The Best Kind of Quilt

{I am really having a hard time writing this post, because its hard putting into words how much this gift means to me.} Some dear friends surprised me yesterday with a BABY QUILT, for baby #4. I wasn't expecting it at all! {Which is always the best surprise} These "friends" I met through the quilt retreat I held last fall and we were visiting yesterday and all of a sudden they placed this amazing gift in my hands {see above}.

I was just sitting there looking dumbfounded. It was taking me a minute to register what was happening, because lets face it...my pregnancy brain is really bad this 4th time. {It takes me a whille to catch on.} I know how much effort, love, time, resources, and energy it takes to make a quilt let alone a quilt for someone else. These sweet friends got together {without me even knowing} and spent the day piecing, quilting, binding etc. a BEAUTIFUL quilt for me. I just couldn't really express my appreciating and love at the time. I was just staring and stumbling over my words ~ it was the oddest feeling.

Look how adorable this rememberance tag is: that doggie is just the sweetest thing! April's impressive handiwork.

Thank you April, Ella, Emily, Sue, Maggie and Kristen. XOXOXO

Just when you think it can't get any better, you turn the quilt over! Ahhh, just as perfect as the front. The back is from Emily's Going Coastal line from MMF. Love it!!

Granny Squares + Friends

The whole quilting world is just crazy about granny squares right now. Can you blame us?! You can find granny squares all over flickr, pinterest and instagram, even Dana at Old Red Barn Co. is doing a granny-square-quilt-along, so FUN!!!. A few weeks back my quilty friend Jeanette (who really should have a blog!) and I got together on her day off and made ourselves some Granny Squares. As  Jeanette puts it "What's not to love, its almost like a nine-patch but better".

Jeanette and I became friends after I got married (Dec. 2000) and moved into her neighborhood. She was already a big time quilter and I was just getting started. This was back when scrapbooking was HUGE and I didn't really know anyone else who was quilting. She was a great mentor for me and really helped me learn how to pick fabric, work on techniques and the always helpful quilting tips and tricks. We quilted once a week for about a year and then I moved an hour a away and she moved to Spokane for Law School. She moved back in (Dec) 2006 and we've gotten together to quilt consistently (not as often as once a week) for the last 6 years. Our conversations always revolve around work, kids, family and of course our latest quilt project.

She sent me a picture of her finished blocks and I am insane over them. (To see what I worked on click here) When she pulled out her fabrics last week I knew this quilt was going to be fantastic: the cool aquas, bright fuchsias, butter yellows, tantalizing tangerines, luscious lavenders and more. I Swoon! Now that she has all 16 blocks laid out it couldn't look better.

A day of Quilting

Before I knew "what" I was having, I was planning to make the baby a granny square quilt. These blocks are so hot right now and so dang cute. Blue Elephant Stitches has a great tutorial I referenced when starting my quilt,  so check it out before beginning. By the looks of it; can you guess "what" I am having.

The quilt will be a 3 by 3 and I am planning to use this Reunion fabric as by border from Moda. I was at my LQS and noticed they only had a yard left and snatched it up. I had been eyeing it for sometime and I think it will be just perfect. Because the border fabric has so much color I coordinated my granny squares with the pendants: yellow, red, green and grey.

We are experiencing full fledged spring here in Utah: daffodils, soccer, and of course spring cleaning. Happy Tuesday.

{Two} Work in Progress

I've been working on two quilts simultaneously this past week.  I do this frequently. It helps keep things fresh because when I get bored with one I can switch to the other.

Currently: I finished the top {minus borders} for my split 9-patch. I am so happy with its progress. The small pattering of cream looks fantastic.

I am also working on this beauty. I was inspired by THIS quilt but I switched out the plain white for black and whites prints. So far I've done 6 rows and I am still planning on adding a purple row and orange row. The bricks measure 4" by 12" and the quilt is 16 bricks across.

You can see my quilts and others at W.I.P.s at freshly pieced

 

St. Patrick's Day Favorites

Be sure to wear green this St. Patrick's Day and check out these other great treats and crafts from St. Patty's Day past!! Enjoy.

Little Leprechauns ~ How-To make this lucky beard

Mint Brownies ~ St. Patty's Day Must

Somewhere over the rainbow Carmel