Starts and Finishes

Let's do finishes first, shall we?

I has been a busy week. I'm pretty surprised I got anything done! But the boyfriend had an exhausting couple of days and went to bed super early, so I had time to sneak back to my sewing room and get stuff done!

First up: this month's bee block (finally!). The queen this month wanted Christmas themed scrappy trip blocks. Here's mine:

Some of them aren't Christmas fabrics, but I think I covered my bases as far as colors go, at least! This little block is on its way to Australia! I had never sent anything internationally before and looked like a total n00b at the post office, but I was excited, anyway :) I hope it doesn't take too terribly long to get there!

Next up: PRETTINESS.

I really needed a bigger bag to take with me to work. I was getting really sick of carrying two- my purse and my lunch bag (that was usually just stuffed full of yarn). This one carries everything I need AND it's pretty. :D What more could a girl ask for??

I didn't follow a pattern. I used what I knew of bag construction to make something to fit my needs. The front and back panels measured 16.5" unfinished and I boxed the corners by about 3". I sewed a zipper pocket into the lining and did a much better job than I did on my Velocity Girl bag! Super proud of myself for that. But I do wish I'd had something other than a red zipper... I also added a magnetic snap closure. I wanted to do a recessed zipper, but I wanted to get it done without going to the store more, so I revised my plan.

Here it is all stuffed with crap! This is without my yarn and my lunch. It gets pretty full with everything in it, but not uncomfortably so. It's juuuuust right. It turned out even better than I thought it would! And it was a good opportunity to practice my FMQ loops. I think they're getting a lot more consistent :) Must try new designs soon! I absolutely LOVE this bag!

Okay. Now, are you wondering what I started? Well I can tell you, it is REALLY EXCITING.

My sewing room EXPLODED as soon as I heard about this:

Yup, that's right! That huge mess up there will eventually be my very own SWOOOOON! AH! I love this pattern so much! As soon as I saw this, I bought the pattern and started going through my stash to see what I could do. Because I am broke (yay student loan repayment!) this really needed to come mostly from my stash. I sorted and sketched and mocked things up with the Quilt Design Tool and did a whole lot of math and! I can totally do it. I am going to use my precious Daiwabo elephant prints and a variety of solids to create... THE ELEPHANT SWOON. It has taken all my willpower to be responsible and do things like fill out loan consolidation paperwork and sleep instead of just working on this all the time... but soon it will be the weekend. And then (as soon as I finish the last of my stitch and flip blocks) it will be swoon time! YAY! So what do you say, wanna Swoon with me?? Click the button above for details!

So that's been my week. How has yours been?

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday!

And don't forget- these are the hoppers posting this week for the Let's Get Acquainted 2013 blog hop:

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

Go check them out!

Finished Wall Hanging

Yes, I did it! I finished my little Tardis wall hanging! Once I decided how to quilt it, it was smooth sailing.

I free motion quilted some (not great) swirls in variegated purple thread (leftovers from my houndstooth quilt) to represent all that wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff in the time vortex. Yeah. I'm a nerd. :D I bound it in the same purple because I had nothing really better... But I think it works.

Sorry I didn't get a picture of the back! I added little corner pockets so it would be easy to hang, but totally forgot to snap a picture before handing it over. Oops! The pockets weren't super exciting. Mostly just functional. So you're not missing much, promise.

The best part? Giving it to my friend (finally) for her birthday:

Look at that happy face! How do you make a nerd happy? Give them a quilted Tardis :D It is now hanging on a wall next to a picture of Totorro. I have awesome friends.

In other news, I cast on a sweater! Because a sweater is a totally awesome idea for a third knitting project, right?

Can you tell I like purple? And bananas? Mmmm bananas... And sweaters. And learning new things. This is going to be an awesome project.

That's all for today! I will have more to show you later in the week if all goes to plan...

Remember to go check out this week's line up of new bloggers for the blog hop!

Friday, June 28:

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

I'm linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday over at Better Off Thread today. My Tardis block from last week was one of the things featured in Janice's blog post today! YAY! Go check it out and then look at all the cute projects linked up!

It's a Tardis!

Hooray! I finished the piecing part of the Tardis wall hanging!

The light on top is a bit crooked, but other than that the whole experience really wasn't bad at all. I still might leave block 2: Time Lord for a little while, though. That looks much more fiddly. But I am so pleased with how this turned out! Now I just have to figure out how to quilt it.

I have also made quite a bit of progress with stitch and flip blocks. I'm now at 97! Only 47 more to go!

And here they are! Love. Just love.

Have you been keeping up with the Let's Get Acquainted 2013 New Blogger Blog Hop?? I have! Here's the line up this week:

Friday, June 21st
Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage
Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt
Sarah @ Quilt Candy
Jackie @ NW Patchwork
Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles
Erica @ Happy Fabric
Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity
Lauren @ Seraphym
Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Go check these awesome ladies out!

I'm linking up today with Sew Cute Tuesday at Better Off Thread and WiP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced. Go check out the other cute projects! 

 

Here's the full schedule for the blog hop just in case you missed someone or want to look ahead! Have a great Tuesday!

Friday, June 7th
Nancy @ Owen's Olivia
Amy @ 13 Spools
Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day
Casey @ The Studiolo
Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That
Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood
Kim @ Robot Mom Sews
Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

Friday, June 14th

Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting
Adrianne @ On The Windy Side
Molli @ Molli Sparkles
Laura @ Little And Lots
Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation
Cari @ There's A Thread
Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21st
Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage
Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt
Sarah @ Quilt Candy
Jackie @ NW Patchwork
Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles
Erica @ Happy Fabric
Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity
Lauren @ Seraphym
Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28th
Green @ So Sew Green
Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts
Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme
Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy @ Kayak Quilting
Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts
Paula @ The Sassy Quilter
Kris @ Sew Sunshine
Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5th
Christa @ Christa Quilts!
Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce
Anna (ME!) @ The Crooked Banana
Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After
Stephanie @ Quarter Incher
Kristy & Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs
Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness
Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Friday, July 12th
Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure
Karen @ Quilty Creations
Anne @ PlayCrafts
Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...
Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm
Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain
Cath @ Wombat Quilts
Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19th
Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio
Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures
Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma
Alison @ Making Happyness
Kelsy and Amanda @ Everyday Fray
Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room
Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Nicole @ Modern Handcraft
Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Friday, July 26th
Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission
RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts
Elise @ Lovelea Designs
Elizabeth @ In The Boondocks
Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew
Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers
Emily @ Sew E.T.

Em @ Sewing By Moonlight

WiP: Paper Piecing!

Remember when I said I was going to be trying paper piecing for the first time? It's been so much fun!

I am making a paper pieced Tardis, which was the first block in the Doctor Who Along over at Trillium designs. Here's what I have done so far:

It's almost starting to look like a Tardis!! :D The instructions say this isn't a beginner block, but I really haven't had much trouble with them. Of course, I haven't started piecing the tiny bits that make up the light on top, so we'll see. I just love it, though! It does create a bit of a mess, though...

But even still, I think paper piecing is going to be a recurring thing for me. I love how precise it is! I would never be able to piece such little pieces otherwise. At least, not so well. It is still a little crooked in places, but it is my first try, so I'm not being too hard on myself :) I am planning on making the finished block into a little wall hanging for a friend's birthday. And then maybe I'll make one for myself, too!

I really want to get this finished tonight! We'll see, though. What are you working on?

Linking up to WiP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

A Little Gift

Good evening!

As promised, here is the list of everyone posting this week for the Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop (Scroll to bottom of this post to see the full listing):


Friday, June 14th:
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting
Adrienne @ On The Windy Side
Molli @ Molli Sparkles
Laura @ Little And Lots
Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation
Cari @ There's A Thread
Valerie @ Between Quilts


I had quite a busy weekend. But I made no progress on my quilt, sadly. That has been set aside for the moment as I make things for a couple of birthdays...

Yesterday it was one of my good friend's birthday. She is one of my only yarn-loving friends, so I thought it appropriate that she should receive a few skeins (plus a gift card so she can buy a few more)....



Inside a cute drawstring bag, of course!



Yay, elephants! I used the pattern from In Color Order again, but I added a few inches here and there so it would fit the yarn more comfortably. The elephant fabric is something I got at Joann months ago. The top band is some shade of Sketch, and the inside is the lovely peacock print from Frippery. I have gotten to the point where I barely even have to refer to the directions to make the bag anymore. Score! Now what I really need is to make one for myself...

Next up on the birthday list is a foray into paper piecing. Hopefully it is not a total disaster! I have only printed out my sheets at this point, but I can tell you it is Dr. Who related! Are you a Whovian? Maybe you should go check out the Dr. Who Along over at Trillium Design! There will eventually 20 blocks- so plenty for a quilt or you can pick and choose and make little projects (like I probably will). I'll let you know how my attempt at a paper pieced block goes!

Because it's Monday I will be linking up to Let's Get Acquainted hosted by Laura at Little and Lots this week. Speaking of Laura at Little and Lots, below is a list of all the participants in the 2013 Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop. Be sure to check them out!

Friday, June 7th
Nancy @ Owen's Olivia
Amy @ 13 Spools
Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day
Casey @ The Studiolo
Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That
Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood
Kim @ Robot Mom Sews
Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

Friday, June 14th

Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting
Adrianne @ On The Windy Side
Molli @ Molli Sparkles
Laura @ Little And Lots
Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation
Cari @ There's A Thread
Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21st
Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage
Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt
Sarah @ Quilt Candy
Jackie @ NW Patchwork
Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles
Erica @ Happy Fabric
Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity
Lauren @ Seraphym
Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28th
Green @ So Sew Green
Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts
Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme
Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy @ Kayak Quilting
Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts
Paula @ The Sassy Quilter
Kris @ Sew Sunshine
Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5th
Christa @ Christa Quilts!
Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce
Anna (ME!) @ The Crooked Banana
Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After
Stephanie @ Quarter Incher
Kristy & Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs
Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness
Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Friday, July 12th
Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure
Karen @ Quilty Creations
Anne @ PlayCrafts
Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...
Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm
Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain
Cath @ Wombat Quilts
Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19th
Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio
Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures
Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma
Alison @ Making Happyness
Kelsy and Amanda @ Everyday Fray
Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room
Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Nicole @ Modern Handcraft
Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Friday, July 26th
Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission
RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts
Elise @ Lovelea Designs
Elizabeth @ In The Boondocks
Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew
Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers
Emily @ Sew E.T.

Em @ Sewing By Moonlight

Let's Get Acquainted

I mentioned before that I will be participating in the 2013 Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop, organized by Beth at Plum and June.

Well it kicks off this week! Go check out these awesome new bloggers who are posting this week:

Friday, June 7
Nancy @ Owen's Olivia

Amy @ 13 Spools

Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day

Casey @ The Studiolo 

Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That

Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood

Kim @ Robot Mom Sews

Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

And for the rest of the hop:

Friday, June 14
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin

Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side

Molli @ Molli Sparkles

Laura @ Little And Lots

Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Cari @ There's A Thread

Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21

Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage

Stacy @ The Tilted Quilt

Sarah @ Quilt Candy

Jackie @ NW Patchwork

Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles

Erica @ Happy Fabric

Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity

Lauren @ Seraphym

Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5

Christa @ Christa Quilts!

Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce

Anna (ME!!) @ The Crooked Banana

Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After 

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher

Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs

Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Friday, July 12

Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure

Karen @ Karen, {Novice} Quilter

Anne @ PlayCrafts

Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...

Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm

Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain

Cath @ Wombat Quilts

Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19

Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures

Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma 

Alison @ Making Happyness

Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room

Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts

Nicole @ Modern Handcraft

Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Kelsey and Amanda @ Everyday Fray

Friday, July 26

Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission

RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts

Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs

Elizabeth @ In The Boondocks

Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew

Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers

Emily @ Sew E.T.

I'll post the week's schedule every Monday so you can keep up. Go support these new bloggers! :)

In other news, I now have over 50 6.5" stitch and flip blocks completed.

You can see the disaster that is my craft table in the background. I just have a huge pile of scraps so I can grab a couple at random as I make the blocks. Looks messy, but makes block making go by fast!

It seemed like most people liked the first layout in my last post, so here is a slightly larger preview of that.

I love it so much! It has the sort of weird hexagon start things that I was rather fond of in one of the other layouts, but it also radiates from the center, which breaks up that pattern a bit. Best of both worlds, right? I am so excited for this quilt. Just 90 more blocks to go until it is will be the size I want! Yay!

That's basically all I have been working on. Well. I did start a new pair of socks. I sort of messed up the first one, though, so I may rip a few rows down and re-do it. We'll see!

Tuesday/Monday News!

I know it's Tuesday, but it sure doesn't feel like it to me. I work Tues-Sat now, so Tuesday really feels like Monday. Which is rather blah...

So to cheer me up, I am going to show you some things I'm really happy about!


The first thing making me happy: BIG NEWS. I am going to be part of the Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop this year! :D

 

This is an excellent hop hosted by Beth over at Plum and June. Last year's hop was fabulous! I found a lot of the blogs I follow now through that hop and it is part of what made me decide to start my own blog. I saw how supportive and inviting all these modern quilters were and it made me much more comfortable with the idea of jumping in and joining that community. I am so excited to be included this year! I'll post some more details soon, so stay tuned!

Secnd, SOCKS.

Yes, there is already white dog hair stuck to my just-finished socks. Joys of owning a husky!

Look! I finished them both! I guess it was a really good thing I was impatient and decided to go with ankle socks- I was able to finish them both with just the one ball of yarn! It was getting pretty close down there at the end, but I still had a tiny bit leftover when all was said and done. So YAY!

I just love them.

For these I used some unknown color (thanks to my puppy) of Deborah Norville's sock yarn. I know it was some sort of wool blend and I'm almost certain they're machine washable (my other sock yarn of the same brand are!). What else can I tell you? I didn't use a "pattern" per se. I just followed the excellent directions in Kelley's Socks Class at Knit Picks. I highly recommend this resource if you have never knitted a sock before and are a visual learner like me. She goes over all the basics of knitting socks from the cuff down and it is all very easy to follow. These socks aren't fancy (although I did use the slightly fancier "Eye of the Partridge" stitch for the heel flap, which she goes over in the video), but they are functional and they fit perfectly!

I really liked making socks, which surprised me. I found they're a really good small project to bring with me to work to work on during my lunch break. I can easily fit a little pouch with a sock and a ball of yarn in my purse! It's a little more difficult to fit a sewing machine and several yards of fabric, say, or a half-completed afghan. Maybe I should take up EPP so I can bring a little sewing project to work sometimes, though. There are days when all I want to do is SEW and knitting and crocheting do not satisfy that urge!

I'm linking up today with Sew Cute Tuesday at Better Off Thread! Go see what other cute projects are linked up today!

Playing

First- Have you gone and looked at all the wonderful winners of the Blogger's Quilt Festival? And all the entries?? There is some seriously fabulous inspiration there. You should go check it out if you want some serious eye candy!

I have been playing with layouts for my stitch and flip blocks. Because I guess I like to know where I'm going before I get to the end of a quilt... It has been really bothering me. How is it going to look when I'm done making all the wonky gloriousness? So I have been rearranging them in different layouts, trying to decide so I will cease to be paralyzed by a lack of a known destination...

I sort of stumbled on this one by accident. I was trying to show the boyfriend what I was doing and just laid them out randomly... but then it started to look like fun diamonds radiating from the center. So I went with it. I kinda like this one. I wonder how it would look in a full quilt? Maybe with the central diamond off center? Or maybe with a few large diamond-y things? Hmmm.

There is also this diamond-y layout. I quite like how wonky they look. Another possibility.

This one has possibilities if I make all the little blocks sit on point. Then they kinda look like poorly drawn hexagons with pretty points. Like weird multi-colored suns?

I could also add a little more dead space and make rows of bow ties/butterflies. Or whatever you wanna call them. I prefer to think of them as weird little butterflies. This one could be fun, too... AH!

What do you think? Any preferences? Or other ideas? I could also make some with just one bright corner. Or four. Or three. See what I mean? I could do SO MANY THINGS. I thought this was just going to be easy and fun... But now... I don't know what to do. Any suggestions are totally welcome.

THANKS. What have you been playing around with lately?

Linking up with Let's Get Acquainted, hosted today at one of my favorite blogs to read, Life's Rich Pattern. Go check out Annabella's blog and look at all the linkies! :)