Cherry Christmas

This is the last installment of the Get It Done UFO Challenge 2018.

Way back in September the Get It Done UFO Challenge was number 11. What is number 11? That would be Cherry Christmas. A tumbler quilt top constructed as number 3 for 2017 UFO challenge. It still needed to be quilted and bound. Crazy how some of these projects just seem to hang around. 

I needed the project box that was holding the completed top so I pulled it out and loaded it up. That's a fair reason to finish a project.

These quilts go together quickly and really are a satisfying finish.

I didn't get fancy with the quilting on this one, but it is quilted. After a couple washings it should be perfectly cuddly.

I really like this one. I might wash it and put it on my couch. Quilted in November. 

Binding finished in December. I completed all 12 of my UFO Challenge quilts this year. I think I will have a hard time coming up with 12 for next year. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q

Warm and Natural Cotton Batting, 90-Inch by 40-Yard

Carpenter's Star

This Carpenter's Star quilt was a great stash busting project.

I put this under Sew My Stash 2018 because Other than the backing fabric, I didn't buy anything to finish this project.

I pulled out all the quilting books (links at the bottom of the post) to try to figure out what to do with the quilting.

In the end it didn't end up being fancy quilting, but I think it is effective. Swirls are my favorite!

This is the back of the quilt so you can see the details of the quilting on the center star.

I finished the binding by machine (you can find my instructions on how I machine-finish binding in the side bar and on this page) because it is just so much faster. It is also getting warmer here in Maryland and I have no intention of sitting under a quilt for 4-6 hours to hand-finish binding.

Labeled, quilted, and bound.

Quilting books I have in my library and use as a reference (affiliate links to Amazon):
Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters
Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book by Amanda Murphy
Shape by Shape Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters
Shape by Shape, Collection 2: Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters
Free-Motion Meandering: A Beginners Guide to Machine Quilting by Angela Walters

I also love to look through Quilted Textures from A to Zen by Bethanne Nemesh. Bethanne has so many great designs that really get my my creativity moving. Her work is absolutely beautiful and recommend you check out her work.

divergence

This quilt was a result of one of the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild bee I participated in last year.

I was the queen bee for the month of April, so I guess it is fitting I finished it in April of this year.

I used the same backing for another quilt and liked it. I thought it would be perfect for this quilt. I quilted swirls as an all-over quilting design. The thread is a very light gray, the same light gray I piece with most of the time.

I think the quilting really adds a dimension to the quilt.

Scrappy binding, again. I really like how this one turned out. Look! I even remembered to label the backing before I loaded it onto the frame.

Free foundation paper-piecing pattern I designed for the bee can be found in this blog post. More about my process and how this one came together is in this post from January.

Get It Done UFO Challenge 2018 - March

This is the March installment of the Get It Done UFO Challenge 2018.

The challenge this month is for Number 9. My number nine is On Ringo Lake. It was a risk putting it on the Challenge list, but otherwise I may never finish it. 

I've been working on it between other projects. I pieced all the blocks. This shows them laid out without sashing. 

I finished all the sashing early in the month. Time to get to the assembly.

On point blocks are a challenge. On point, with sashings is even more challenging. I sure hope all those sashings are in the right spot!

I really like how my quilt differs from hundreds of others. Next step: quilting!

I loaded it up and got quilting. I wanted the quilting to run down the length of the quilt, so I loaded it on the frame so a long side is parallel with the rails. 

The back is a great diagonal hash that hides the thread. I used these wavy lines as an all over design. I didn't want the quilting to compete with the piecing. Not that the piecing is perfect. Just that with all that piecing seeing quilting detail won't be easy.

I used So Fine #50 from Superior Threads for the top thread and Omni in a coordinating gray for the bobbin thread. 

I embroidered the label onto a piece of leftover green fabric. Normally I embroider the label directly onto the backing fabric, but I remembered to do it after I had loaded the backing, batting, and top onto the frame. The label came out great, so no loss there. I had about a yard of the green print so it was the perfect choice for the binding. The lighting in this photo makes the fabric look much more yellow than it is in person. 

In this picture the label looks closer to the right color. Labeled and bound makes that a finish!

I wonder what's next on the Get It Done UFO Challenge? Because I'm ready. 

2017 Baltimore MQG Mystery Quilt

This is the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild 2017 Mystery Quilt. The first clue of the 2018 mystery is going to be handed out this month and I wanted to work on the 2017 mystery quilt so I wouldn't feel so guilty about starting the new one.

I spent a bunch of time thinking about how to quilt this one. The stars wanted their own quilting and that dark orange strip really wanted the right color thread. I don't always do custom quilting but when I do it seems to take forever.

I think the texture is perfect! In hindsight, I likely could have quilted it all with the light gray thread I used for the background and the stars.

Now for some binding! The binding is made up of leftover dark orange and more than a few strips of the blue used for the stars.

I've named this one Royal Point. Quilted and bound! Just in time to go to the next meeting of the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. 

This quilt is number 12 on my Get It Done UFO Challenge 2018 list.

Mystery Quilt: On Ringo Lake

The progress report edition!

I've been working on the On Ringo Lake project as my leader and ender project while working on other projects. This is normal for me when a project is a huge Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt. Bonnie hosted Quilt Cam on the 27th and I joined in to work on some projects. A couple flying geese units and sashing units were put together while she shared her sewing time with the quilting community.

I have all the units pieced and it is time to make blocks.

I pieced the setting triangles and have them ready to go.

I'll work on these blocks between other projects. With all the units ready, I should be able to sneak in a couple blocks every evening. Slow and steady is how you make a Bonnie Hunter Quilt.

On Ringo Lake is now available as a a digital download. Check it out when you get a chance.

Royally Striped Finish!

It has been so long since my last update on my Royally Striped sweater.

That was December 2017! In case you haven't heard about this sweater, it is Stephen West design. You can find the pattern on Ravelry (link at the bottom of the post).

I finished this one up in January. Not a bad first knit-finish of the year. This sweater is so warm and squishy!

The construction is such that it didn't take long to weave in the ends.

One of my favorite things about this sweater? westknits liked it on Instagram! How cool is that? Totally check out his feed to see all the amazing things he creates.

Pattern: Royally Striped by Stephen West available for digital download on Ravelry
Needles: Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Nickel Plated Circular Knitting Needle Set
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted (available in over 40 colors)

Green Hour

This was my mashup of Bonnie Hunter's 2017 Leaders and Enders project. I wanted to use up a bunch of my 2.5" strips but I didn't want to make a bunch of tiny hourglass blocks. I decided to use the same fabric for the center strip of my strip unit and made hourglass blocks that way.

The result is an interesting effect. I pieced until I had used up most of my green 2.5" strips (almost all of those width of fabric) and had enough for a top.

The layout is 6 blocks by 7 blocks, each block finishes at 12" by 12".

I added a 3.5" wide border. The border was cut from leftover backing fabric. I used two different fabrics. I really like how it frames the blocks. The finished size will be around 78" by 90". That isn't bad from a bunch of leftover fabrics. This one is number 1 on my Get It Done UFO Challenge 2018 list.

Cutting tools:
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
EZ Quilting Easy Angle 6.5-inch
The Strip Tube Ruler
Tucker Trimmer III

Charity Quilting

Sometimes I have to pull out all the thread. Okay, not all the thread, but several different threads and then decide which color, or colors, I want to use. I narrowed it down to four colors for this quilt.

This is the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild's charity quilt. The blocks were made by the members of the guild. I volunteered to do the quilting.

I decided to quilt with swirls, waves and whatever else struck my fancy.

There are areas where the quilting is specific to the block.

And others where it is more like a background filler.

I quilted until I didn't think I could quilt it anymore.

I really like the effect. I hope this quilt brings someone happiness and warmth.