angling into triangles

 back in the spring, when i was still struggling with fabric fasting, i picked up this intriguing little half yard bundle off etsy while i was snatching up heather bailey prints. it seemed so vintage and bold in a color palette i wouldn't normally go for. but i have been looking at it and loving it ever since it arrived. after it came, i realized it was "the ladies' stitching club" from liesel gibson of oliver + s for moda fabrics. when that line came out, i thought i didn't like it but apparently i do. funny how that works - you see bits of a fabric range paired together in a unique setting and it actually does appeal to you.

well, that bundle has been sitting atop my bawthroom sewing table being admired for months. sometime during the summer i broke it open and began to pull other fabrics that had similar colors to the shades of plum, pink, gold, peach, ochre, and a touch of blue, that were found in the large floral. i had also acquired another pink and ochre floral print (from "miscellany" by julia rothman for cloud 9 fabrics) that had a vintage, hand drawn vibe to it, which i wanted to use with the stack if possible.

in the end, i got this pile together. it's rather unusual for me, a real departure from my normal palette. it feels like it's either going to be totally cool or a complete disaster. granted, the fabrics are not represented to the scale they will appear in the final quilt. i also think it needs a few more low-volumes and maybe another plum fabric or two to round everything out. but i do not want buy any fabric right now and since this is a longterm project, i can hold off on those for a while.

so what am i doing with this? and why have i started something new again? well, i'm currently taking the "angled" class with rachel hauser at stitched in color. the class has been going for several weeks and so far all i've done is read the material and drool over the photos. i want to make three of the quilts and am really excited to tackle triangles, diamonds, and flying geese! (not "dying geese", right deborah?) but i just don't have time to sew right now. and lately i've realized i mostly just want to finish off the projects i already have going, hopefully by the end of the year, and start fresh next year with new stuff. but, but, but i did want to participate in the class just a little and at least give the new skills and directions provided a try.

so yesterday i tackled triangles.

i'm starting with the "indian blanket" quilt using this radical palette i pulled. i already had one huge pile of fabric i'd amassed when i tried to participate in paula's triangle quilt along earlier this year, but i still want to do that quilt and didn't like that pull for "indian blanket," so i turned my attention to that pile on my sewing table which had yet to be assigned a pattern. i'm kind of excited and also very nervous about it. i'm taking a "well, we'll see how it goes!" approach to all of it. i'm just doing a row or two for some practice, then i'm going to set it aside and finish my boys' quilts. and that "bloom where you are planted" quilt i started on my birthday.

rachel provided directions for cutting using a standard 6" x 24" grid ruler. that was very helpful because it means you don't have to buy a special triangle ruler. but i already own one, so i opted to use that for my cutting. however, my ruler has a blunt tip and after doing all my cutting, i realized that blunt tip cut off 1/4" of the triangle so by following rachel's instructions, i had made my triangles 1/4" too high. darn it. trimming 1/4" off 28+ triangles seemed like too much work and too much room for error, so this particular row will have to just be 1/4" too high. now that i think of it, hopefully that doesn't throw off the placement of the triangles in the quilt too much. "well, we'll see how it goes!" right?

 the blunt tips also threw off the alignment directions rachel had given, so i had to do a bit of trial and error (sewing all three seams on the first triangle) before i got it right. but here's what i discovered in case anyone else wants to know. if you want your on-grain edge (which is opposite the blunt tip if you cut with the blunt tip on the grain edge of your fabric piece) to be at the top or bottom of your row, line the two triangles up with the tips alternating along the top and bottom.

i know this is a really loud and bold pairing of fabrics but i've already decided that if i don't like it, i can always use it on the back! with the sizing mistake i made, i may have to.

 then fold the right triangle over the left one, keeping that middle edge where you'll sew the seam aligned along the diagonal. you can't just pick it up and place on top, you have to fold it over diagonally, which feels like you're folding the triangle down rather than over.

 then align the triangles along the cut edges. the first/bottom triangle will still have it's blunt tip  pointing up and the right/top triangle will now have it's blunt tip in the lower right corner. (you can see a little of the blue peeking out there.)

 now sew down that seam. you'll be sewing the side opposite the two matched pointed tips, aka the side between the two blunt tips.

sew in pairs first, then start adjoining those, which is a whole different alignment issue! it took me no less than three tries to get this right the first time. not having all the dogears made it harder to follow rachel's instructions, but i got it in the end.

i have nearly a whole row complete now! i think i'll do one more so i can see how well my points turn out when i match everything up. wish me luck! then i'll be putting these triangles away and getting back to some straightline quilting.

linking up with lee's wip wednesday at freshly pieced.

color me happy

 the littler girls and i have been working on assembling my manipulative color card before color intensive course begins next week. when signing up for the course, i got a free (shipping only) kona 2012 color card that rachel has showed us how to turn into a card with detachable swatches.

i'll admit i loved this idea, but also thought it was going to be pretty tedious to cut up all those swatches and the velcro. however, with my little helper at my side, it turned into a fun mommy-daughter project that even allowed me to sneak in some homeschool lessons on counting/number sense and letter recognition for a little girl that is coming to these skills rather slowly.

 we've had some very lively conversations about color comparisons, favorites or preferences, and name choices. when looking at the swatch called "banana" we thought it was too soft, not bright enough, so we got out a banana to check.  surprisingly, it did match a paler section of the banana near the stem! i think "lemon" and "school bus" need some checking, too, but maybe i'm the one who'll be surprised.

in general, it's just been a lovely introductory activity to the color theory class. spending time handling and considering each individual swatch and thinking about the differences and placement has been quite pleasurable and instructive already.

this is probably my favorite section of the card: all those pinks, lighter blues, and fresh, new greens. colors to please the eye and gladden the heart of this girl.

if you haven't yet signed up for the course, there's still time and a few cards left.  class starts feb 3. join me?

sign me up

with cousin wendy true at the baby shower

i didn't even touch my january lovely finish pick. yes, "paris daydreams" is still languishing on the family room floor in a pile of other wips. some other baby quilts which were required at the last minute got in the way, like the one i got 90% finished for the baby shower. so to make things even more doable for myself in february, this simple strips quilt for baby weston, due mid-month, is my lovely finish pick for february.

i have several wips going at the moment, but because my plate wasn't full enough or orderly enough or whatever enough, i have organized my quilting time to include a few new "to do's". this weekend after the baby shower, i took a quilting break for some blogland inspiration. and found two new quilt alongs that i want to join. yes, i still need to actually get started on sarah's barn door qal and finish penny patch, but here's why the others are different: they are block of the month quilt alongs that will use up my stash and will push me to skill build, one little bit at a time.

this one will produce one nice, large block a month. i love the idea of having just one block to try out a new skill with. it'll be a nice break from any other projects i have going to do just the one block. at least that's my thinking. I'm thinking of diving into my liberty stash for it, but am hesitant to commit my most precious pieces to skill building experimentation. maybe i'll give a practice block a go first. goodness, i have a harder time committing that liberty to a project than i did committing to my husband for eternity. (mormons don't just marry for time, it's for after death and the whole rest of eternity, too. he's stuck with me!)

 

i completely hesitated to add myself to this group, but the truth is i already have the pattern and some fabrics in mind, so why not pace myself with a few bits a month? and i'm pushing myself to full disclosure and complete honesty on this space as a way to hold myself accountable, which is why i'm fessing up about this project. no closet hiding here.

i'm actually thinking of using my first fabric purchase stack for this gypsy lady. i was going to do a plus quilt with it, but i've stopped liking that idea so much and now think it'd be great for the "gypsy wife". i think it will need a few additions of red and more solid medium- or high-volume prints, but it's a good start. I'm still thinking of a huge section of meadowdot for the back. yum.

additionally, i have a lot of leftovers from my headband stash and i don't make headbands anymore. looks good to me!

to be honest, this pattern rather scares me, but i think it will be a good skill builder that isn't too complicated just yet. it's going to fill my need for more complex/less simple designs, that's for sure.

there is no pressure here to get either of these quilts done right away. they are just filler projects. have i justified myself enough?

oh, yeah, and i'm also enrolled for color intensive with rachel at stitched in color. this is light on projects and heavy on theory/ideas, which appealed to me. it's actually going to help with my other projects, or so i tell myself.

it may seem like all i've done lately is rack up projects for myself, but this week i actually got most of that baby quilt done, finished another top, and made some good headway on my detachable color card. naturally, that meant i had to find more to do so my plate stays over-full rather than just getting on with my wips.

full disclosure, ladies. keeping it real and my insanity in the open.

last chevron class

monday was the last day of my beginner's quilting class for the chevron quilt. i had to skip week 3 because the mr. had a last-minute business trip come up. last minute, as in he tells me sunday afternoon he's flying to vegas in the morning. and the kids have appointments all day. so i missed last week's class session and stayed clear through the night class this week in hopes of getting near completion.

i loved seeing everyone else's nearly-finished quilts as they worked on their bindings. i am always surprised with how different each quilt looks because of the fabric choices even though we all use the same pattern. (you can click on the photo to get a better look at the quilts.)

veronica used a robert kauffman eyelet-style ivory solid for the neutral on her quilt. i love the added dimension and unique look it gave her project.

loni was making a quilt for her daughter, an only girl with 3 brothers. so the front is bold colors and houndstooth fabrics. not very feminine by choice. but for the backing she found this lovely little floral that had all the same colors as her chevrons. it's a perfect touch that is subtly feminine. then she bound it in black with tiny white polka dots like the floral fabric.

louise demonstrating attatching binding

while everyone else was oohing and aahing over louise's quilting work (she long-arm quilts as well as teaches) and getting their binding started, i was getting my top finished off. the main panel was still in four pieces and it needed borders. after the first class, i accidentally mixed up my rows and had sewn some of the middle of the quilt to the bottom of it by pairing the wrong white rows together. i didn't immediately undo them, waiting to see if maybe it wouldn't matter. but when i had all the pieces done, i decided it did matter and would need to be fixed. it just threw off the flow of the quilt to have the rows rearranged.

so i unpicked everything at home and got to work reassembling in class. however, when i was done, it was glaringly obvious there was now a different problem.

you can see it, right? that row of white diamonds where there is supposed to be a chevron. (i was not the only student to do this, by the way.) oh, boy. it was fixable if i unpicked the seam i'd just sewn and moved a block from one end of the quilt to the other. but i so did not want to do that. louise talked me in to leaving my "happy mistake" as a special design feature. this is the first time i've had one of these. i've seen them before on other people's work and usually like them, but it was a first for me. oh, well. it is okay and we are moving on.

my next challenge came when putting on the borders. while there was a lot of leftover solids from the kit, the blue floral i needed for the borders was running short. i was supposed to cut 7 strips 5 1/2" wide, but i could only squeeze out 6. the remaining fabric was literally 1/4" too short. i couldn't believe it. fortunately, i had my scraps from the chevron rows with me and i was able to get some short strips out of them. when all was done, i had about 5" leftover. that's very little breathing room!

the photo is of my pieced border (wrong side up) at bottom, the last strip that was 1/4" short under the ruler at top, and the little square that is my only remaining scrap, to the right. i was sweating this one out and wondering how the heck i was going to make do if i didn't have enough. thank goodness i eked out what i needed!

having all the rows together and the borders on makes for one huge piece of fabric to maneuver around. it always feels so strange to work with such large pieces after all the tiny piecing at the beginning of a project. and then i put together the back which is just yards and yards of material. turns out i was a bit short there, too. the backing didn't come with the kit and i think maybe i had more at home, but i just used part of the fabric intended for the binding as a filler to make it stretch. i double bought for the binding, but it still may be close. we'll see when i get to that point.

i had high hopes of getting started on the machine quilting before i had to go home, but, as usual, i underestimated how long it was going to take. i did manage to get the whole thing sandwiched and basted (yay!) and then i made the binding. at least i came home with what looks like a quilt. i'm just going to echo quilt all the chevrons, which should be fairly easy. this quilt should be knocked out in another month or two. almost there!

oh, what to do next? that's always the fun part to decide.

louise does have this fun quilt going for class the next two months:

there are even two options: the simpler quartered block or the union jack looking one for the more confident beginner. it's quite tempting. it might even be a good use for my strawberry fields layer cake. i was daydreaming about actually mixing the block styles in the quilt so i wouldn't have to do all of those hst's with mini sashing. but it probably won't happen.

and i'm itching to do something of my own design again. i found out this round i don't really like working with a kit. as much as i liked the way the kit looked, it makes me feel like an assembler and less like the quilt is my own creation when it was all picked out for me. some people like color-by-numbers. not me. i like at least selecting my own fabrics even if i'm using a pattern. and i really enjoy the surprise of watching it come together since you're never really sure exactly what it's going to look like beforehand. all that fun was gone with the kit. it makes me even happier i purchased the pow wow quilt instead of getting the kit.

gettin' craftsy and some discount links

wowsers! this weekend i was introduced to the world of craftsy.com and i have been sucked right in ever since, practically living there the last few days. if, like me, you've never heard of craftsy, it's this fantastic on-line diy classroom platform that offers tons of on-line classes by many industry leaders. the array of topics and line up of teachers is impressive. and i discovered a few deals on classes, including free ones, that saved me money, too. (i've highlighted my savings tips in red through out the post.)

i found the classes on friday, signed up for a couple, and spent time on and off on saturday in my courtyard enjoying the extremely pleasant spring weather and watching classes. it was awesome because i could stop and start whenever i needed to do something or give my kids attention. what a perfect way to spend a saturday.

i got to go to class in a beautiful, comfortable setting without driving anywhere or doing more than showering and throwing on some comfy clothes. since i was adding new projects to my roster, i also dug out my quilt patterns to sort through in an attempt to organize all my projects i would like to do. that list is getting out of control.

 the classes are designed for you to work along side the teacher, pausing whenever you need to. however, i like to watch everything first to get an idea of how it's going to go and also picking up any tips offered along the way to put into immediate use on my current projects since i won't be doing the new quilts just yet.

just an atmospheric shot of how wonderful my courtyard is looking right now - heavenly!

i found my way to craftsy through camille roskelly's blog announcement of her new class, pre-cut piecing made simple. i was intrigued by her description of the class and all the quilts she promised to teach us to make, so i linked over to craftsy for a closer look. her link, by the way, includes a 25% discount for the class, so definitely link through her if you are interested (or try here).

when i found out her swoon quilt pattern (above) was included, i was sold. i've admired swoon ever since she introduced it, but figured it was well beyond my skill level. however, having recently taken on the half square triangle with my garden paths quilt, and discovering that swoon was composed of HSTs, with camille leading me through each step of the quilt, i knew i could do it. so i signed on. the reviews from other class members also helped encourage me. camille really does share a lot of information as she goes.

the classes are really well put together, making watching enjoyable and informative, too. also, the platform for the classes is awesome. i've never experienced anything like it on line. here's what craftsy includes and how it works:

• unlimited, lifetime access to classes, 24/7, so you can watch and create at your own pace, whenever, wherever, over and over again, for as long as you want. years, even.
• ability to take notes that are recorded on a timeline allowing you to sort of bookmark spots in the video that you can refer back to  - very cool.
• you can ask questions of the teacher, which are recorded on a timeline of the class as the notes are. she answers them back pretty quickly, not always immediately, but in my experience so far, within a few hours or at least 24. i'm sure this will vary as time goes on.
• 30 second repeat that allows you to keep repeating a video segment until you feel you have mastered the content
• class projects photo gallery for sharing and viewing
• downloadable class materials lists
• 100% money back guarantee

i've found the classes quite easy to access and use. the only problem i've had is some pausing, but another student recommended turning off the HD button and it's been smooth sailing ever since.

craftsy offers many absolutely free classes that allow you to get a feel for how it works. you just create an account and put it in your cart. i picked up some classes on trouble-shooting with your sewing maching, quiltcon lectures, and some block of the month classes. all free!

a money-saving tip here, when i signed up for a craftsy account, my introductory welcome email gave me a link to get any class for $25, a nice savings since most classes are $40 or $50. i used it to get elizabeth hartman's, of oh, frannson! blog, class inspired modern quilts.

elizabeth also offers the free course, creative quilt backs, which i watched friday night. it was truly wonderful and got me so excited for how well the classes are put together and run. the free classes do not include instructor input, but they do still allow for input from other class members in case you have questions.

the last paid class i signed on for was free-motion quilting a sampler by leah day. and, another money saver: if you link from leah's site, day style designs, she offers a 50% discount on the class, making it only $20! (if you click on my 50% discount link, it might work for you - otherwise, try linking through leah.)

there were several free motion classes, but this looked like the best over all choice for a beginner. i am still desperate to learn stippling so i can complete taite. this looks like it's going to help. i also chose it because leah offers tips on how to quilt large quilts on a domestic machine.

yesterday, my husband took all the kids to the zoo, so i had some time to myself. i took the pins out of taite since it needs to be resandwiched and watched part of leah's class for ideas on how to get a better sandwich. leah explains herself very well. she has some very unique methods for quilting! she also has many special product recommendations that are supposed to help with your FMQ. i might invest in some of them but i'm not ready to go for everything she does just yet. so far, i don't think i'll be using her sandwiching and basting ideas. i have yet to decide if the class is really going to be helpful to me or not. the good news is that if i decide it really isn't for me, i can get a full refund from craftsy.

each of the teachers i have watched have been superb at delivering their lessons. and the line up of celebrity instructors is rather dazzling. some of my other favorite designers and crafters that teach are vanessa christenson of v and co, meg mcelwee of sew liberated, and master baker peter reinhart, author of artisan breads everyday and the bread baker's apprentice cookbooks. i'm totally drooling thinking of these classes, but i'm going to pace myself.

last but not least, craftsy also sells fabric, yarn, books, etc, at a discount in their shop.
and when you sign on for a class, it usually offers you related class materials at a significant discount.

craftsy, you are awesome.
i'm looking forward to a long and happy relationship here.

now i gotta go sign back into my class.

certifiable

i am certifiably insane.
really, i am.
loads of projects lined up at home, two nearly finished.
and what do i do?
i pick another completely new project not even slated on the books yet.
insane.

well, i signed up for this one day class at ETC with the hopes of having a fun day out, getting a quick project completed, and digging into my stash at home to use for it. sounded like a great combo. but when i got the pattern for the quilt a few days before class, i realized it wasn't pre-cut friendly like i thought. it looked like it should use either charm squares (which i have aplenty) or jelly roll strips and a few large blocks of fabric. this, however, was not the case once i got the supply list. ugh. i didn't want to buy more fabric, really i didn't. there weren't even any i had my eye on at the store. but the idea of sorting through my stash for the needed items was too daunting and time consuming. so while at bucks day, i scrounged around and found some fabrics i liked. i did have a 20% off coupon for the whole purchase, so i got a little break.

i picked some riley blakes from "songbird" and "bohemian festival" lines and some joel dewberry from "heirloom", all with strong hot pink, yellow/gold, and forest and lime green. a few small touches of turquoise, too. it was a pretty pile of fabric. and i was rather pleased with my cross-line color matching. with so many fantastic lines already coordinated, i rarely branch out and mix them up much.

but my simple idea continued to get more complicated and consume more than i intended. looking at the pattern size and sample, i decided it wasn't quite big enough, so i did the math to enlarge it. really, i didn't need another crib size quilt, but daughter #3 had been complaining that "star cookie" was getting too small for her. i thought this was a great opportunity to get her a larger quilt. all i had to do was add a spinner or two to the rows to widen it and increase the two large panels a few inches to add some height. easy.

i was even a good girl and precut all the strips needed the night before class so i could knock out as much of the quilt as possible during the workshop time. i am finding that with the added practice, my cutting is getting much more accurate. it's a miracle! never thought i'd see that happen.

but by the day before class, there were more complications afoot at home: i had some really sick kids and seemed to be coming down with something myself. i debated skipping the class, but it was too late for a refund so i was going to loose the class fee and then i'd be stuck with a load of fabric i'd likely never get around to using. so i went anyway.

i took a couple advil, packed food and gatorades, and hammered my way through that quilt as fast as ever i could. i avoided shopping and chatting as much as possible. i got a bit reckless as i went along, but everything went together quite well. i utilized chain piecing for the blocks and only had to redo two - my only mistakes all day. that is another miracle! experience really is starting to pay off and improve my skills. even my seams are more accurate.

once i got everything laid out, however, i didn't like the look of the quilt much. it was way too busy and hurting my eyes to look at. maybe that was the flu coming on, but i didn't think so. i decided to add in those green sashing strips to break up the busyness and add some breathing room. it also increased the size of the quilt some more.

class time was almost over as i started sewing all the major pieces together. that's when i discovered a big problem: the large fabric panels had been cut 1/2" too short. the teacher was helping me figure out how to squeeze the cuts out of my 1.5 yards of fabric and either she cut it short or i cut some off somehow. i'm not sure who did it. regardless, it was short. a lot. normally that's easy to fix by cutting everything down a bit, but the only thing to do in this case was shorten the outer blocks by 1/2" which would be noticeable and ruin their square shape.

having made the top so much larger, i had to buy more fabric for the backing. i got the same pattern as the large fabric blocks, so i think i will unpick them and recut to the right size. the thought of that makes me sick, but i think in the long run i will be happiest that way.

i finished putting all the major pieces together, nearly completing the top. at that point, my advil had worn off and the illness kicked in earnestly. i could barely see straight. what a day!

in reality, i've never done a project so quickly. i tried stack cutting and made good use of chain piecing, too. but i left with an incomplete quilt, much less finished top. it was pretty depressing.

and i'm not even sure i like it that much.
i have no idea what to call it.
(maybe "spinning out of control"?)
like i said, totally insane.
completely.

once apon a time

once upon a time i dabbled in quilting. i took a class or two with friends.eventually, i even braved designing my own quilt pattern.  it was a fun new hobby i was really enjoying. then i got pregnant and somehow the joy has flown. i'm hoping it's temporary and hormonal only.

yesterday i was visiting with my friend jill, who took one of those classes with me. she said she'd finally been able to download some pictures she took of our class. today i got them in an email. it made me all nostalgic for my long lost hobby.

 a shot of me and my chain pieced blocks. chain piecing is the best! so much faster than doing each bit separately. it does take some thought so you don't mix up blocks, but is not too complicated and definitely worth the extra bit of brain power you have to expend when using it. man, i really do like those heather bailey fabrics i picked for that quilt.

alas, that quilt top, minus its border, is still folded up laying on my neglected sewing table. the backing still needs to be planned out and assembled. my 8 year old daughter is now 9.  her birthday came and went without her promised quilt being completed. such a sad story, in a quilting-world kind of way.

jill also sent me a picture of her fabric selections for her quilt. she was brave enough (and savvy enough) to pick several fabrics from a variety of lines and manufacturers in her palette of lime green, pinks and reds, and turquoise blue. love it! her quilt is currently awaiting a little quilting on the border and its binding. she's several hours and steps ahead of me. can't wait to see it finished. that might be a little ways off too, though. not because jill's pregnant like me but because her kids are now home from school for the summer.

freemotion

last wednesday, i took a freemotion quilting class to learn how to do my own quilting beyond just straight lines. i am especially interested in learning how to stipple quilt so i can do it on "taite". the first half of the class was spent putting together mini-quilt sample pieces that we can practice on later. i wish we'd spent about half an hour less on that and a bit more on the actual content of the class because we ran out of time. louise continued to give instruction, but i had to get home for the afternoon taxi runs and missed some of the more detailed instruction she gave. still, i learned a lot and got some wonderful new ideas.

i had time to do a few samples of different basic stitch techniques:

we started with writing our names and doing loops. basically, when doing freemotion, you drop the feed dogs (those grippy guys under the needle plate that move the fabric through the machine) and you guide the fabric through all on your own. you "draw" with the needle and thread. it involves thinking a lot as you would when you draw with a pen. that's why we started with our names since louise said we could write them in the dark by now. our brains already know how to do it.

i was pretty pleased with how my name turned out and i did alright on the loopy vines. stones/pebbles/bubbles were also relatively easy. the stipple and feather techniques were harder. definitely need to practice doodling them on paper and on the machine before i attempt them on a quilt. it's a careful balance of speed and knowing which direction to move in. i would be moving along well, then suddenly not know exactly where to go next, but you have to keep moving, so i would get flustered and make mistakes. pretty challenging, but fun, too.

louise demonstrated how to do more complex designs, some very detailed, like flowers and geometrics, but i'm far, far away from anything like that. if i can just get stippling under my belt, i'll be happy. i think it's great to learn new things, to feel a little foolish as you try to wrap your brain around something new, and to continue to do so through out life. now i just need the time to practice and perfect the new skills.

quilt class four

today was my final, official day of class. ideally we should have bound our quilts. in the four hours i was there i managed to do a bunch of scrapbook shopping, eat lunch, sew together strips for my small inner border, resew every single seam of those strips at least once, attach the border, discuss my children's social lives and a bunch of other personal stuff with mequell, and decide i didn't like the way the border turned out at all, so now i'll have to unpick it and redo entirely.

basically i did nada today. pretty sad. i didn't even think to grab my camera and now have no pictures of the finished works of the other ladies and no photo of mequell, jill, and i together. i was tired and didn't feel the least bit like sewing. that is apparent by my output. i'll now have to finish off the quilt at home. actually, today i felt like putting the quilt away entirely and not thinking about it for a very long time. if the 8 year old wasn't waiting so longingly for it, i would do just that. (can you guess i'm having feminine issues?)

maybe wednesday will be more productive for me when i go take the freemotion quilting class. i hope!

quilt class, two and three

last week, on class #2, i took several photos of everyone elses work, but neglected to get one of me while working. that tends to happen somehow.

mequell and her cute piggy tails got busy cutting her strips. then she got to tackle working with minky, that snuggly yet slippery stuff. i hear it's miserable to work with, but worth it. haven't been brave enough to try yet.

carol, who didn't want to be photographed with her blocks, and her friend heather are both using oh, my! by sanae for moda. totally different look from my quilt. so much fun variety.

lucinda chose just wing it by momo for moda. i've got a jelly roll of this line, too, and am waiting on yardage, which will of course only wait on the shelf when it comes in. i really like some of the small butterfly florals. not a fan of purples, generally, but i don't have to buy the whole line now do i? i like the pinky reds, blues, and greens.

hard at the pedal, front to back: louise, marge, and marti. everyone was at different stages of completion, mequell and i being the least done, i think. we'll get there. slow and steady.

diana looked farther ahead, but she's actually a hold over from last month's class. love the soft colors in this line: breakfast at tiffany's by fig tree for moda. it's got some very sweet polka dots.

and here's a cheesy picture of me with my two different block styles. i went home with good intentions, but then my week got packed and by the time i had free moments on saturday, i didn't feel the least bit like sewing. after running some errands with my baby girls, i lounged in bed and read a whole book. really nice saturday!

this monday, i was ready to get down to business again. so ready, that i didn't even bring my camera since i promised myself i was just going to sew my little heart out. i of course immediately regretted that decision. jill did take a photo of me with my chain pieced blocks, but i don't have it. i did sew a whole lot, and even got permission from the mr. to stay longer than usual. but my top is not quite done. it needs it's small inner border and a larger outer one. i'm thinking i'll just make the thicker border out of the "snow" fabric, but i'm not decided just yet. this is what i brought home from class:

getting these laid out within the pattern bounds of alternating block styles and not having any of the same color next to each other as well as trying to have one of each color in each row of five was rather like doing a sudoku puzzle. i could never get it exactly right. the two blocks with the blue pattern in the center turned out too close to each other, but overall it's pretty balanced. now i just need borders and the top is done. i think that'll have to wait til class next week. we're supposed to bind next week, but i'm taking the freemotion quilting class next wednesday night and want to wait to learn how to stipple quilt this. at least it frees me up from worrying about sewing on it at all this week when there's so much else to do for easter.