Pixies, Pincushions, & A Challenge for You!

I finally used my mini Hex n' More!
And now that I've added buttons, I can officially call this pincushion a finish!

I like this photo though, so you will just have to take my word for it about those buttons, lol.

This fabric jumped at me (take me! take me!) for the bottom-side:

I used Jaybird's mini Hex n' More template. It finished 6" across, a little bigger than I thought it might but still within the guidelines for our guild swap.
My heart belongs to Seattle.
The biggest distraction I succumbed to this week is the Pixie Summer Home QAL (Intrepid Thread).
I've really fallen off the wagon with this one I'm afraid, but having tons of fun of course!

The QAL is co-hosted by three bloggers: Julie, Brooke, and Sally.
I joined late and started with block #2, catching the linkup with Brooke, at Silly Mama Quilts:

At that point, I thought I would be using lots of summery-bright colors. When I returned to the project however, I stuck with blue and green/ gray and white.

Two more Block Two houses, and two of the Block One houses. I began to think of Seattle, my hometown, and somehow, some of my houses turned into houseboats!
Here is my favorite so far:

A dreamy little sewing shop on the water. Surely there's a Starbuck's around the corner.

Now that I'm considering a setting, I think I'll need a stadium. Maybe a needle and mountain too, we'll see. Those Block One houses will need their background fabric changed as well, I think they belong in front of the lake.

This morning I finished my first trees from Block Three:

The one on the left went smoothly. So did the one on the right, considering this quilt accepts casual wonkiness. I did not want to Paper Piece and just 'winged' it instead!

Do you like crafty challenges? 
Bagmaker Supply has launched a fun and easy challenge for anyone on Facebook! Make anything your imagination desires with their 1.5" slide; large or small!

Get some gorgeous purse hardware for free, even if you're not the winner. Make a bag from this striking piece of hardware. Take a picture of it and post it here. The entries with the most votes in each of two categories will win $50.00 of beautiful hardware from our Etsy shop. How do I get free hardware without enough votes? If you purchase the challenge item from 7/18/16 - 8/18/16 and follow a few easy rules (including actually entering the contest!) we'll refund the purchase price! 

Looks like fun, right? This is a great shop to work with, I hope you will check it out!

Thank you for reading today! 

I am looking forward to catching posts at the following linkups, I hope to see you there!

 

   

Summer Gathering: Finished in Green!

Finally, I have pictures to share of Summer Gathering!
It was an overcast, and muggy day.

I love love love the green binding!
Whew, the decision was tough. Thank you to those who weighed in on that :)
Honestly, the color is a bit more yellow and brighter than the sage looking tone in the photos! I like the utility-looking character it adds, and as a frame, it did not distract from the big bloom.

How she came to be:
I came home from a local fabric swap in Fall 2014 with an old kit made up of 100's of pre-cut squares and HST's. There was no pattern included, but I figured I could just start sewing and come up with something. The price was right, basically thrown in with another purchase, and I get a real thrill using fabrics others may not. I pieced the HST's over a two or three month period, mostly as leaders and enders, and had still not considered layout when those were completed. I began to play with basket forms first, then Bear Paws, then expanded the Paws all around as you see in the end result. Unusual for me, I named the quilt almost immediately upon finishing the layout.

Gathering fabric:
I first posted about Summer Gathering in May 2015, and pictured on my design wall during construction. I wanted the quilt to be over 60", and I was running out of the background variety of neutrals. I also wanted to add that last border around the perimeter, another 124 squares. The post was a call-out to help "save the fabrics", and I received wonderful response. Several quilter's shared exactly what I needed, from their stash! In this respect, Summer Gathering was put into action, quite literally, and quilty friendships ensued as well!

 Thinking of Kristen :)

Her future home:
I have such a hard time sometimes, matching quilts to recipients! Throughout the process, I thought frequently of my niece, Kristen. I am fairly certain this is not what she would actually choose for color/style. Something modern and bright would have been fun to gift her, however she is a traditional woman at heart and I could never shake the feeling that this is her quilt. It is a modern and bright quilt after all, made with traditional technique and vintage style! I hope she enjoys it!

Backside Stash-buster

Kind of Swoon-like

Quilt Stats:
Finished Size: 63" Square
Pattern: Original Design. This is my second finish in this pattern, however it is the first one that I started! I photographed Winter in Bloom in the same location, on a sunny day!
Fabric: Unknown origin: vintage calico's
Backing Fabric: vintage from stash, used wrong-side-out.
Binding Fabric: Moda Marbles from stash
Batting: Warm & Natural
Quilting Thread: Aurifil 2021, 50wt
Free-Motion Quilted on my Juki TL 98E
Pieced and Bound on Old Bernie, a 1020

I'll be linking this finish with a few of my favorite Finish Parties!

 

Kelly's linkup has been postponed while her home recovers from lightening(!)

  Sarah is dancing a Christmas jig at Confessions of a Fabric Addict!

 

TGIFF is hosted today at Celtic Thistle!

This quilt was my June goal for OMG, and today is the last day to link up our finishes!

Thank you so much for reading today! 

OMG: Goal-setting for July begins tomorrow!

Primarily Circles Modern Baby Quilt Finished!

Cheers! I am celebrating another UFO completed!

Photos taken out our local library
Cool bikeracks, eh?

Primarily Squared Quilt Stats:

31" Square
Block tutorial from Linda's Quiltmania.
White Kona Sashing and Border.
Vintage Zoo Backing Fabric, from my Stash!
Ingeo-Fiber Batting
Random ZigZag FMQuilting with Aurifil 50wt, on my Juki TL98E
Flanged Binding: Suzie's Magic Binding at 52 Quilts, (modified with 1 5/16" wide strip blue fabric, and 1 1/2" strip of orange fabric).

This finish meets my January Goal with OMG!
And, my first Quarter One finish with the 2016FAL! (goal number one HERE)

Linking up today with the following Parties:
OMG: It's Finished!

Needle and Thread Thursday

Doin' a jig at Confessions of a Fabric Addict...

Fabric Frenzy Friday!

Myra is hosting TGIFF this week at Busy Hands Quilt!

Cheers,

Heidi!

Cozy Afternoon BOM: The Christmas Critters are Finished!

My Cozy Christmas Quilt went for a photoshoot today at Clark County Museum.

Cozy Afternoon in the Wintertime Gazebo!
Finished Size 64" Square

The Sew-along and Bloghop for the Cozy Afternoon BOM was a highlight for 2015! (the link is to the Pinterest Board if you are interested in seeing different versions!)
Hosted by Jacquelynne Steves, my version is based upon the theme fabric from her line "Joy, Love, Peace, Noel". 

The little critters I embroidered were enlarged from the theme fabric, and now take center stage.

I used crayons to color them, heat-set the wax, then washed the fabric in hot water and pressed it again prior to stitching.
With some trial and error, the Crayola Crayon's used with a very heavy-hand worked the best.

Mr. Mouse was the first block!

Embroidery on quilts is new for me! After seeking Barbara's (Cat Patches) advice for quilting the blocks, I decided to closely outline the stitching and used a loopy fill much like the larger loops I used in the background areas.
The Free Motion Quilting is stitched with Aurifil 50wt threads, using my Juki TL-98E.

The backing is pieced from a long-stashed snowflake print, plus a bit of the StudioE bias check I love so much. I used Ingeo Fiber batting, a manmade fiber using "ingredients from the earth" (plants). It behaves much like polyester - kinda puffy and holds it shape well. For seasonal quilts, I like a batting that can handle storage without permanently creasing.

For the flanged binding, I followed the tutorial for Susie's Magic Binding at 52 Quilts, except I cut my strips a bit more narrow at 1 5/16" (navy), and 1.5"(accent red). Attached to the back at just over 1/4", it was a perfect wrap to the front to stitch in the ditch for a quick finish with a bit more accent!

Following the link, you can also find a video. The other tip I suggest for this type binding is to sew the strip lengths together prior to joining them into one long strip. The diagonal seams will all in the same place this way, making it easier to avoid landing their bulk in a corner.

This feels like the perfect finish to wrap up 2015! I have had a fun and productive year, and am very thankful to have met so many quilter's through blogging. Thank you for joining me in celebration!



 

All -American Lunch Bag!

All in good humor, I was inspired to make a lunch bag when I came across some McDonald's fabric hanging out in my stash! This result was not really my intent when I bookmarked the Lunch Box Tutorial at Pink Penguin ages ago, but a fun Christmas gift for sure!
The pattern is modified a bit - I quilted some denim to make a sturdy base.
Then, I couldn't resist doubling-up the handles to make the golden arches!

I love the drawstring coverlet!

The Bag It Challenge runs until December 14th - plenty of time to hop aboard, make some bags and enter for a chance at prizes! I am inspired by Patty to make a Jewelry Roll, and next week she will post a tutorial for Triangle Bags that sound pretty tempting too.

Check out more Bag-It makes at the Link-up!

I am linking this up with Ho! Ho! Ho!, hosted this month at Rose & Dahlia!

  The linkup is open through November 30th.