boats! boats! boats!

Or in this case:  Ice Boats! Ice Boats! Ice Boats!

 

I started this in November at Camp Stitchalot.  I thought it would be fun to work on a simple pattern while meeting new friends and quilters.  It was!  The pattern is by Brenda from Just A Bit Frayed.  Her quilt and the pattern were featured by the Modern Quilt Guild last July.

Here are the blocks arranged on my design wall.  Did you notice what happened?  I sewed every block together backwards - in every row.  I didn't notice this till I was joining all the rows together.  (I'm blaming this on a terrible virus I've been fighting for over 2 weeks now.)  Solution:  the wind has changed direction in my quilt!  

Or, turn the quilt on it's side.

This was my first time using wool batting and I LOVE how puffy the quilt is.  Super cozy, too!  If you hold the quilt vertically, the quilting represents the water.  If you hold it horizontally, the wind.  Both ways it works.  Yay!  I had intended to quilt each sail with a different pattern but ultimately decided to leave them.  I like how they look full of wind. 

The sails are Handcrafted by Alison Glass (available here or here).
The background is Kona Ash (here). 
The back is Ripples by Barri J (here).

This last photo was taken on the shore of Lake Michigan.  Almost 100 miles across to Wisconsin at this point.  It's a rare day that the wind is almost non existent.  It made the  -9 degrees F temperature feel like, well, -9.  Brrr!  A cold, beautiful, and fun day for a quilt photo shoot.


 

wee wander

I started quilting two years ago hoping that when my daughters and their friends started having babies I'd be decent enough at it to offer quilts at baby showers. This past weekend was the first...YAY!  

When I first saw Amy Smart's Wee Wander panel quilt I ordered the fabric.  Someday I would make this quilt.  While the prints aren't necessarily "baby" they are definitely "little girl" and this little one will grow quickly.

I altered Amy's pattern to enlarge the patchwork around the panel. This fabric is just too perfect to not fussy cut some of the scenes.  Like that girl hanging onto the horse's neck, the deer, and I had to leave one birch tree whole.  Baby quilts need some "I spy"!  

My plan was to quilt the patchwork with straight lines and just do the swirls on the panel.  But that didn't work so I unquilted - the whole thing - and quilted it again.  I'm getting lots of practice and more comfortable with my swirling...and my seam ripper!

 The back is a single piece from this super soft collection.

I struggled with lighting in these photos.  The bright snow and shadows are challenging me.  (As are the frigid temperatures!)  The way the shadows work here I can almost see the Northern Lights flickering in the sky.  Anyone else?

My daughters and I spent LOTS of time with this new mama and her mama and sisters.  We share lots of memories of summer and winter adventures wandering throughout Michigan's spectacular peninsulas.  (Our springs and falls were all about soccer - if you know what I mean.)  This post wouldn't be complete without sharing one of those days...

We weren't wee, but we were wandering - and resting on one of seven bridges in a Northern Michigan forest. 

Linking up this week with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.

a fast four patch

My second year of blogging starts with my first 2015 finish.   

This is the Fast Four Patch from Amy Smart's book Fabulously Fast Quilts.  All the prints are from Tula Pink's Acacia line.  The solids are by Moda.

Amy made her quilt scrappy.  I tried but my brain just had to line up the colors. 

I quilted this with a free motion dogwood in each of the larger squares and 4 -patches.  The border is a fun loop.  Is that little raccoon cute or what?

 The back is pieced with a few of the larger cuts I had from this line.

We don't have any Acacia trees so I've made do with these.

A cold but fun day in the woods!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish It Up Friday ! 

completed

Well today is the day.  Exactly one year ago I posted my first entry to this blog.  It has been a fun adventure for me and quite a learning experience.   My goal was to post 3 entries each month.  I did not succeed in that because sometimes, well, life just got in the way.

I like ending each quarter with a post to share trial blocks, works in progress, and general extras.  So here we go...

These are the final three blocks in the Aurifil Block of the Month.

And here is the completed year.
I learned a few things by participating in this but most important is to start a year long project with fabric you love.  (As I've mentioned before - I didn't in this case and it's been a struggle to continue on.)  I will finish this quilt.  The free thread was worth it!

A major highlight for me was attending my first ever sewing retreat!  I went to Camp Stitchalot in November and met new friends and learned some new skills.  Sherri Lynn Wood was there and helped us "get our curve on"!  This was so outside my comfort zone and a total challenge for me.  

Still not sure what I think of it but when my daughter saw it she said it reminded her of Oh, the Places You'll Go.  How perfect is that?

And the icing on the cake was meeting and learning from Carolyn Friedlander.  She inspired us with an amazing trunk show and taught us needle turn applique.  I have some big plans for these strips.  Stay tuned...


  

never say never

Guess what I made?

Yes, my neighbor and friend has been asking me for awhile now to make a t-shirt quilt out of her daughter's college collection.  I really hemmed and hawed on this one.  Partly because I think them a bit blah, and partly because I was concerned about the stress factor.  What if I messed up and wrecked a favorite shirt?  I like running and sewing...and quilting...to be fun!

Eventually I started surfing through Pinterest, and actually, people are being quite creative with these.  Also, there is the fact that I adore her daughter.  So in November I agreed to have a go at it.

And it was fun!!!  Sorting and arranging all these shirts and colors.  Along with the t-shirts I added a few classic quilt blocks:

• The Red Cross block because she is a nurse.
• The snowballs because we're talking Marquette, Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior, in the heart of the Upper Peninsula!
• And flying geese, because they're my favorite!  Plus, the honking of migrating geese is a welcome sign of the changing seasons in a place that loves when the seasons change!

It's backed in this classic Ikea print.  I used invisible thread for the quilting because there are so many deep colors in this top.  It worked very well.  

I only outlined the AGD because those shirts were so thick.  I love how it shows on the back.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, and more importantly, so is she!

denim

Happy New Year!  While everyone else is reviewing their annual goals and setting new ones, I'm hoping to catch up and finish posting a few of my 2014 finishes this week.

First up is a November finish.  Our quilt guild had a crayon challenge.  Someone dumped a large box of Crayolas into a bag and we each randomly drew one crayon from it.  We could use any hue of the color and only add white, gray, or black to it for our quilt.

I chose denim!  I found three pairs of jeans in various stages of fading and used them for my quilt.  I had lofty ideas of lots of flying geese in V formation switching out the leader, which our guild is ready to do.  I actually made lots of geese, but then thought about sewing together all the super thick blocks and losing all the points and breaking needles trying to quilt it.  I decided to go back to Modern Minimal and the Cobblestones quilt for inspiration.

This was my first attempt at improv quilting.  I absolutely love Alissa Haight Carlton's comment about moving back and forth from machine to ironing board to cutting table over and over being a calorie burning experience!
The long edge pieces are from a pair of my husband's old leaf raking jeans.  This year was their final.  I love how you can see the fading and thinning at the knees.

I still wanted our guild to be represented in this quilt.  We have lots of fun with the Lone Square pattern so I appliqued a pocket onto the back.

Because really, who doesn't need an extra place for snacks and treasures!

*The binding is a Cotton and Steel Basic in Jean Jacket!  I donated a fat quarter of it to the prize pile for my entry into the challenge.  I love our fun guild!

holiday sewing

Catching my breath from the holiday hustle to share a few December sewing projects.

Mitten tree hot pads for Michigan hostesses.  I made the blocks with the modern trees pattern from Christa Quilts and In From the Cold fabric by Kate Spain.  Each one is quilted slightly differently.  24 corners equals lots of good mitered corner binding practice!

 
I also made this mini for our family Yankee gift exchange.  We are historic Cleveland Browns fans.  My sister chose the package and fell in love with it.  No one dared steal it from her!  The football block is from the Touchdown pattern by Cluck, Cluck, Sew.
 
I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and finding time to breath!