The Other Side of the Quilt

Um, so there's this awesome linky party going on. Have you heard? Katie over at Swim Bike Quilt is hosting a party to celebrate the Other Side of the Quilt. You've heard me say more than once that I often love the back of the quilt as much if not more than the front, so how could I resist participating?

Here are some photos:

 

This is the back of my Scrappy Trip quilt. It really came about because I didn't have enough continuous yardage of anything to make a quilt back. So I slapped together bits of all my bright solids and near solids and threw in a strip of leftovers from the front to create this. I absolutely adore it! I love the little strip of squares down the center and all the fun colors. This one really inspired me to make pieced quilt backs as often as possible for the future!

And this is the back of my Stitch and Flip or Wonky Triangles quilt (I never really settled on a name!). I had a few stitch and flip blocks left and didn't feel like making more to make the top bigger, so I just put them together on the back with bright teal and green to go with it. I love this quilt back, too! It's so simple, but so pretty.

The back of the quilt I'm currently working on is fun, too. You'll see that soon, hopefully! I want to get it quilted first before I try to take photos.

So I'm linking these up for now! I may link up future quilts as well depending on how long the linky stays open. So how about you? Have any exciting quilt backs to showcase? You should go link up!

Blogger's Quilt Festival 1

*First, a note. I have an explanation for my absence: my monitor died. Right in the middle of an awesome sewing frenzy. I have now "borrowed" my boyfriend's monitor because his desktop doesn't see much use these days. But it is not a permanent fix... Blah. Need a new monitor!*

I love Blogger's Quilt Festival. Seriously. It is so much fun getting to look at so many beautiful quilts from so many interesting bloggers. My favorite part is seeing all the new bloggers like me putting in entries. I have already seen one person entering their 5th ever quilt! Because that's the kind of wonderful, supportive community the quilt blogging world has created: even noobs like me feel comfortable entering their quilts! So that is the spirit in which I am entering. Yes, I am still a beginner. No, I don't expect to win anything. But just to participate in this great event is going to be awesome.

For my first entry, I chose my Scrappy Trip quilt. Mostly just because I love the way it turned out and it was so much fun to make. I use it all the time, even though it is disgustingly hot outside already. It just makes me happy seeing all those little bits of fabric playing so nicely together.

I took my photos at the Poetry Center. More on that in my original post about this quilt, if you're interested.

Here is some basic info:

Scrappy Trip Around the World

Size: 72"x72"
Quilted at home using a light blue Gutermann cotton thread- spool is gone so those are the only details I have left. The binding is Kona Ash.

I am entering mine in the Scrap Quilt category. I hope you'll go look at all the entries! You don't have to vote for mine. Just drool over all the pretty-ness and enjoy! :)

Scrappy Trip Along Quilt- Finished!!

So I achieved my goal of finishing my Scrappy Trips quilt before I started my big girl job- I even had almost a whole week to spare! I'm getting pretty good at cranking out a quilt in a couple of weeks ;) I bet it will be much harder with a full time job, though.

I wanted to get some pretty photos because I really LOVE this quilt. It needed something more special than the oil-spotted rocks in my front yard (hazards of living with a "car guy"). So I took it to the Poetry Center. I've mentioned the Poetry Center before, right? It's where I did my internship last fall, where I spent a lot of time as a poetry-writing and studying undergrad, and it's where I've been volunteering for the past few weeks. I love the Poetry Center. It's a really fantastic place for so many reasons. The staff is absolutely wonderful. They have an enormous collection of poetry, including some really rare small run books and some awesome one of a kind artist books. They also have a huge photo collection featuring poets from the very famous (Alice Walker) to the very obscure (The Dark Bob).  If you live near or in Tucson and like poetry at all, you should visit this excellent facility. Or you know, if you just want a quiet, comfortable place to read or knit. They have the best furniture.

But you came for the quilt, so I'll shut up and show you some pictures.

You can see some of the shelves in this picture. So much poetry! And this couch? So comfy.

This might be my favorite part of the Poetry Center, though- the garden. Shaded and quiet with a little fountain for atmosphere. Great place to read or contemplate the poem you were supposed to write last week that is due in an hour ;)

I really love this quilt from every angle. All those little squares playing so happily together... I went with a neutral binding in Kona Ash so as not to detract from all the pretty fabrics in the top. I really love how it turned out! I even used a new binding method, courtesy of Red Pepper Quilts. It isn't perfect, but I think it will look much better with more practice!

My favorite part. Well, I don't know if it's my favorite, exactly, but the back is pretty fantastic. I didn't have enough of any one fabric for the backing, so I decided to piece it together from solids and near solids, most of which were also used on the front. Then, because I had a few "tubes" left with enough fabric on them for one more cutting of squares that I decided to put a nice stripe down the middle. I LOVE that it turned out exactly like I imagined it! It adds something special to the already super special quilt. I almost wish I had made it big enough for my bed just so I could sleep under this magnificence, but then I don't think my backing would have worked out so perfectly.

See all the happy little squares? Eee! Love :) You can see how I quilted it here, too- an on-point grid in every other row. I didn't want to do every row for two reasons- 1. I didn't want the quilting to be too dense and 2. I wanted the lines to meet at the corners rather than in the middle of the squares. I'm glad I went with it!

So, there you have it. Another finished quilt for me! :) Yay! I have no money at all for fabric right now or I'd probably be starting another... I guess I have no excuses now not to catch up on my bee and BOM blocks, huh? ;) Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

Sleepy Sunday Updates

Why, hello!

It has been a while. I apologize. I just didn't want to keep showing you scrappy trip pictures, which is all I have been working on sewing-wise. But then today while sitting on the couch, enjoying an older episode of Doctor Who and knitting, I thought, why not take pictures of my knitting? Yes, knitting! I thought I would be a crochet girl for life, but I have seen so many beautiful pictures of things bloggy people have knit (knitted?) for friends and family and selves that I just had to jump on board. I do have a set of needles, after all, from an unsuccessful foray into knitting my freshman year of college. It was hard. I just didn't get it. But I thought maybe since my fingers are so quick with yarn and hook now that maybe they'd be able to catch on to using needles much easier.

My theory held! I caught on so much faster this time around. I don't know why it was so difficult for me when I was 18, but I'm glad I've gotten over it :) I took a picture of the wrong side because I fail, but this will eventually be my very own Honey Cowl. I know what you're thinking. "But Anna," you say, a bewildered expression on your face, "don't you live in the desert? Doesn't that mean cowl-wearing weather passed over a month ago?" Well. Yes. That's true. But living in the heat has never stopped me from making yarny delicious things. And besides, I know the library I am going to be working for. I have spent many hours perusing the stacks, looking for the perfect lit crit book, studying, typing, doing group projects, and just escaping the heat for a few minutes before class. It is cold in there. Trust me. I don't know exactly what my day to day will look like yet, but if there is any sitting around at all, I will certainly need a cowl and maybe some new wrist warmers and a few more cardigans and some knit socks and maybe a few other things... So don't worry. My homemade items will likely still be used frequently.

My yarn bag runneth over...

I think I may need multiple yarn bags now. One for crochet and one for knitting... This is getting a little full!

Because see? I am definitely still crocheting. These lovelies are made using this pattern from The Purl Bee. Obviously mine will be quite different. Hers is a rainbow of colors with white frames. Mine is two-tone. She also used lighter weight, much fancier (and more expensive) merino wool. Mine is cheap worsted weight acrylic a friend bought me for my birthday. But I don't care. It is still going to be fantastic when it's finished! I just love the look of these circles in squares, don't you? I love, too, that they finish up at about 7". That's going to be much easier to manage than the 4.5" she had listed as the finished size. I tried making an afghan out of squares that small.. No. Too many squares. It was also incredibly frustrating because I used two granny square patterns I thought were compatible but were not at all... But that's another project that is safely tucked away somewhere until my anger at it has dissipated somewhat...

I will, of course, show you one picture of my scrappy trip progress, though...

It is half quilted. WOO! It might be totally quilted now if I hadn't run out of thread halfway through. I knew that was going to happen... but did I run out and buy more thread when I realized I wouldn't have enough and save myself the headache later? No. Of course not. Instead I took a late night trip to Joann, which is on the other side of town, of course (well, not *that* late). But by the time I got back all I felt like doing was sitting in front of the TV, watching Captain Jack Harkness strut his stuff, and working on my cowl. Then this morning I got a weird cleaning bug and totally cleared off the incredibly neglected patio. My neighbor has pomegranate trees that lean over it and there are always SO MANY LEAVES. Always. All year. It's ridiculous. So sometimes I go months without sweeping them up because it's such a never ending (and losing) battle. But now it's all swept up- just in time for the brush and bulky trash pick up. Go me! I also cleared off Mario's "work table" that was covered in tree bits and nuts and bolts and almost a whole (rusty now) tool set and claimed it for myself. He hasn't used it in 2 years. That's the rule. Two years with no use and it becomes mine or it becomes trash. I'm going to put plants on it :)

I think I have definitely earned my crafting time today, don't you? If you need me, I'll  be quilting...

Linking up to Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Monday linky party, hosted this week by Nat at Made In Home! It is definitely one of my favorite linky parties. I always get to see so many new blogs :)

Finished Blocks + Pillow

I did it! I achieved my goal of finishing the rest of my scrappy trip blocks yesterday! I was super tired by the end of it, though. Mostly because I decided to do Insanity (again- I did it once last summer) and as this is my first week, I am SO SORE. But! I can still keep up and even do almost as many push-ups as the super fit people in the videos, so I'm pretty please with myself :) But that made for really sore arms during my sewing fest. My obsession was such that I gritted my teeth through the pain and now I have 36 pretty, scrappy blocks. Please excuse the crappy phone picture. I didn't remember to get out my nice camera while I had the blocks all laid out... and I really don't want to move the furniture and do it again!

I can't wait to get it all sewn together! Then I just have to put together some sort of backing and quilt! Question: if you were me, what color thread would you use for quilting? I feel like white would stick out too much, but there are so many colors, I just can't decide. There is more blue than anything else, probably, so I was thinking maybe a lighter blue. Or light grey, maybe? Hmmm. Help??

Also! In between the scrappy madness, I managed to finish another Sister's Ten pillow:

For this one, I just did straight line quilting. I couldn't decide what else to do and I didn't want the quilting to distract too much from the block itself, which I am really quite fond of. I love it so much! I need to redecorate my living room to match my new pillows, I think.

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

WiP Wednesday: Scrappy Edition

I have become obsessed. All I have done since my last post is make scrappy trip blocks... Well, and eat, sleep, and spend time with my boyfriend and dogs. And volunteer at the Poetry Center. But all my other time has been spent on this:

Please excuse the huge wire mess... that's what happens when a puppy trips on an errant wire and tangles them ALL up.

This is my scrappy trip quilt at 22 blocks. I am now at 30! I made... 7... of those today. See? I told you I was obsessed! I just need 6 more and I can start putting them together! I really want to try to get those done tomorrow. Then I can spend the weekend putting the top together and cobbling together a backing and then! Next week can be spent quilting! I am SO EXCITED about this quilt. I plan on laying them all out and snapping a couple of photos when I get them all done. I might be lazy and do this with my phone. Follow me on Instagram (@crookedbanana) if you wanna see!

So that's been my week. I haven't really responded to e-mails (sorry!) or spent much time interacting with the outside world at all unless I had a prior commitment. I have a problem. I will rejoin the land of the people shortly, I promise! And hopefully have new projects to show you in the next couple of weeks :)

Linking up to WiP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

A New WiP or A Trip Down the Rabbit Hole

I did it. I drank the kool aid. I just couldn't resist any longer.

That's right. I started a scrappy trip quilt! I kept telling myself I didn't have enough scraps or it would be too tedious and the blocks I did manage to make would end up languishing in a bin somewhere.. But you know what? I'm glad I gave it a shot. Because I am already in love :) What really pushed me over the edge was Couch's scrappy trip beginnings. Because she's a noob like me and since she just decided to go for it I thought, well why not? I can cut strips from fat quarters since I don't have many 2.5" scraps. I can make it work! So I am. Making it work. I couldn't be more pleased. Just 33 more blocks to go to get to the size I want! WOO! My goal is to finish this quilt before I start work, which gives me almost 4 weeks. I CAN DO THIS.

Back to work now! WEEEE!

Linking up to WiP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced!