OMG January - Finished!

With just a few hours to spare, the Solids Quilt is done!

This was a fast top to put together, it was done during a retreat weekend with the guild (a few years ago).  Then it sat as I pondered the quilting.  Eventually, I decided to do a quilt pattern per shape with thread to match each colour.  (Close-ups below).  It was bound in a dark grey solid to frame the quilt.

Here is the back of the quilt.  I almost had enough of the writing fabric for the quilt but I really really wanted to use it on this quilt, so I made it work.

And this is why I wanted to used this fabric on the back.  When I quilt, I usually use the same colour thread on the top and bottom - I like the secondary design you get on the back and for this one I thought (hoped) it would be almost like a reversible quilt if the back was quiet enough.

This closeup is my attempt to show you the quilting I did.  For the little squares I did a diagonal thin line (almost matchstick) quilting back and forth.  On the pieced rectangles I went for pebbling.  While on the solid rectangles I tried a swirl.  Since the quilt was full of strong straight lines, I wanted to add some curves into the quilt's overall texture.

I hope everyone else had a good month and were able to complete their January goals for Red Letter Quilts - OMG.

And now for Something Completely Different

Great progress has been made on the solids quilt this week, but the photos pretty much look the same so I won't bore you with them.  I really doubted I'd get there but I managed to get the quilting finished!  Now I just have to bury the threads and bind it.  I may just make that January 31 deadline yet.

In the meantime, I keep this crochet project near the phone just to have something to do while chatting.  There were lots of phone calls this week and this was finished.  These are the most amazing pot holders/trivets ever.  They're something everyone in my family has grown up using and learning to make.  They're cotton and a double thickness so they really shield you from the heat.

With the left overs I have been making these little hexagons.  I figure in a decade or two I might have enough to make an afghan.  (Yes, I can't resist making use of any and all scraps.  It's just so fun looking back at them and remembering all the projects they were used for.)

Linked up with Freshly Pieced - WIP Wednesday, The Needle and Thread Network - WIP Wednesday, and Sew Fresh Quilts - Let's Bee Social.

Distractions, Distractions

Well, instead of working on the quilt I should be working on, I've been quilting away on my January goal quilt.  Slowly making progress.  I've been quilting one colour at a time, just to avoid constantly changing threads.  This idea was great in theory but the quilt is fairly densely quilted; now that I'm nearing the end and more of the quilt is quilted, I'm thinking I should have started in the centre and quilted out.  The quilt has become much less squishy and quilting these last few colours is getting tricky.

This quilt back is primarily not pieced and I'm loving the secondary pattern that the quilting is creating.

My quilt guild had a sew day this weekend and both of my projects were a little too big to be dragging out to a sew day, so I abandoned it all to start something new!  (Not really)  I cut fabric for the back of the circle game quilt.  Normally I cut a few minutes here and a few minutes there and it feels like cutting takes no time at all..  The sew day taught me that's not true!  At all!  This pile is fewer than 200 pieces and it took the *entire* day to cut.

This week also brought with it a special treat.  A friend was giving a talk on antique quilts at her guild and invited us to it.  She is a great story teller and below you can see many of the quilts she shared with us.  I wish I had close ups to show you, but I was too busy visiting... 

Linked up with Freshly Pieced - WIP Wednesday, The Needle and Thread Network - WIP Wednesday, and Sew Fresh Quilts - Let's Bee Social.

Quilt Backs

Now that the quilt top is together it's time to move on to the back!

Philosophical question of the day...  Do you piece your backs?

I do.  I find it to be a great way to make use of the stash.  When I started quilting, I would buy a coordinating fabric for the back.  Then, I made this fabulous quilt.  It used a beautiful and distinctive fabric and the leftovers lingered in the stash for ages.  Any time I tried to use it, it made quilts look like that first quilt.  Thus began the start of a stash with pieces that were incredibly distinctive and repetitive.  To combat this growing problem, I started piecing backs.

Here is the start of the latest quilt back.  This pile represents many hours of cutting and is a grand total of 450 rectangles.

And after a few hours of chain piecing, here is a lovely pile of sewing well on it's way to becoming blocks.

I have no enders and leaders to show you, but I do have my last finishes of 2016.  (Just realized that these were not shared - bad blogger!)

We had a couple of people in the guild that wanted to learn how to do foundation paper piecing, so for our last meeting of the year we made little paper pieced stockings.  

Linked up with Freshly Pieced - WIP Wednesday, The Needle and Thread Network - WIP Wednesday, and Sew Fresh Quilts - Let's Bee Social.

OMG - January

Red Letter Quilt has taken up the torch and is continuing one with the One Monthly Goal (OMG) link ups.

For January, I'd like to focus on the solids quilt.

I'm about half way there with the quilting and I hope January 31 will see this quilted and bound.

Good luck to everyone for their January finishes!

Q1 FAL - Goals

The quarterly Finish A-Long continues for another year.  Yeah!

In addition to the works already in progress, I'd love to get a few UFOs off the list.

The solids quilt.
It's been basted and ready for quilting for about 18 months  Maybe it's time to quilt it....
I'm hoping to get this quilt finished this quarter.

Circa 1934 charm pack quilt.
I have a bit of a charm pack addiction and started playing with HSTs to see how many different quilts I could make with just one block.
I'm hoping to get this quilt finished this quarter.

French General charm pack quilt
Another quilt that came our of the charm pack addiction.
I'm hoping to get this quilt finished this quarter.

The Circle Game
This is a quilt that a friend and I have spent the past year or so working on together.  I have one block left to finish and a few centres to applique.
I consider this one a bonus project and while I would love to finish it; I'd be thrilled if I can finish off the blocks.

Valkommen
This is an embroidery project I picked up when I was visiting family a number of years ago.
This is another bonus project and anything I can get done on this is good.

Estonian Flag Quilt Top

If your guess was that I was working on an Estonian flag, then you'd be right!

The blocks are all laid out, ready to go.  The black blocks have been sewn together - not too much shrinkage.

 Here is it mid creation.  I love the sunshine rippling over the quilt.

I was relieved when they came together.  Seeing all of the blocks laid out, they just looked sooo blockish and was worried that it wouldn't have the all-over scrappy look I was going for.  Fortunately, it was harder to distinguish the individual blocks once they were all pieced together.  I'm thrilled with how it is coming together so far.  The patterns in the individual fabrics have given a nice texture to the quilt; a flat looking quilt was my other worry. 

Piecing the quilt top added a couple more blocks to add to the enders & leaders pile.

I found a kit to make this little doll keychain when cleaning out a drawer.  It was just too cute to shove back in the drawer so I whipped her up.  I think she needs a name; any suggestions?

Linked up with Freshly Pieced - WIP Wednesday and The Needle and Thread Network.