Blogger's Quilt Festival - Fall 2013

It's that wonderful time of the year - yes, its time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  So much quilty inspiration!

 

My entry for this fall is my Spider Web quilt.

It was very easy to make using a tutorial at Quiltville, and best of all - it made a major dent in my scrap boxes!  If you have an overflowing scrap pile, then I suggest this pattern.

 

I hand quilted this in about 2 weeks which is kinda fast for me, but I set a goal that I wanted to see this quilt done and on my bed.  The spider webs are quilted with white thread and the red areas are quilted with red thread.

 

(Thanks Little Guy, for adding a set of little paws to the photo.  Its good to know that my quilts are protected from attack squirrels and ninja cats.)

I think you can tell that I have made a lot of kid quilts by looking at all the pinks and bright colored scraps.  It is rare for me to keep a quilt.  The few that I have are put away and not used.

At first, I really didn't like the look of it on my bed.  It was so bold and bright!  But then, it really grew on me and I get a smile every morning waking up to my bright quilt.  I love the feeling of actually using my quilts.

 

Please check out all the other quilts during the Blogger's Quilt Festival and I hope that you join us in all this fun.

 

Le Challenge - Thriller

Hello all.  This month's theme for the Le Challenge craft challenge is - Thriller.  I knew that I had a project that I was making as part of a Craftsy course that would work great.

 

 

 

This is "Love Bug" and it is a baby quilt or small lap quilt at 53 X 53 made as part of the Pattern Free Quilt Making course.  I was in a mood to just sew with no goal in mind.  I used a stack of 5 inch blocks that were left over from a project (please do not ask me how, because I do not know how I managed to cut SO many extra squares).  I searched my scrap box and pulled all the pink strings. 

 

My thought was that I would create pink sticks and form some kind of circle to create a love nest.  I replaced the middle white squares with a solid pink square and turned the pink sticks a bit.  So my "love nest" became a "love bug" (although I guess it could also be a piñata).

 

I had no idea when I started out sewing and playing that this would become a project.  I only stopped because I ran out of fabric and I thought a bug would work with a "thriller" theme.

 

Please check out all of the other entries at this month's Le Challenge.  The next month's theme will be announced tomorrow.

 

 

WIP Wednesday - Marcelle Medallion QAL

I just found that a quilt along has started at Penny Poppleton for the Marcelle Medallion Quilt.  This is such great timing because mine has been on my WIP list for long enough.

 



It has been sitting on my sewing table with the 60 degree triangles cut and needing to be sewn into a row.  For someone who hates (I mean - hates) working with triangles, I am proud of the way they came out so far.

 

I suppose I better give this WIP a fresh press with the iron and then get to work so I can catch up to the QAL.  Please check out the other Marcelle Medallions.  I find it so interesting to see other quilter's colors and fabric choices.

 

Also linking today to WIP Wednesday.

Craft Book Month

With September being Craft Book month, I thought I would link up my latest finish.

Do Good Anyway was inspired by the poem of the same name and created using the book Word Play Quilts.  It was very easy to make using some red scraps.  Next time, I will pay more attention to adding the seam allowance to my letters.  When I put the words together, the seams cut into the letters a bit.

 

 

 Please check out all of the projects created from craft books at Craft Buds.

Also, linking today to Finish it Friday and Whoop Whoop Friday.

Le Challenge - Heroes

The Le Challenge theme for September is "Heroes" and I found that there were many ways I could work with this theme. 

 

I wanted to use my red scraps to make poppies, but I couldn't quite get them to work like I imagined.  So, I was staring at the scraps and wondering what else I could do when I saw my book "Word Play Quilts".  I then got an idea that I would create some words.

 

I chose "Do Good Anyway" taken from a poem that I keep with me.  The poem was made famous by Mother Theresa, a great hero, and written by Kent M Keith.  The mini measures 15x17 and went together easier than I thought.  But next time, I will add more seam allowance to the letters.

 

Do Good Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Please check out all the other Heroes themed entries this month.  Next month's challenge theme is - "Thriller".

9/11/13

This past weekend, my family and I participated in the 9/11 Heroes Run at Ellington Field in Houston.  I jogged and walked the 5K (OK, mostly walked).

Two years ago at this run it was very hot.  This time, it rained on us about half way through the race.
 

 

It stopped raining briefly, and I was able to take a nice flag photo while walking under the American flag.



 

 

 We made it to the finish line before the rain returned and we hope to be back next year.

 

Work in Progress - Broken Herringbone QAL

I guess I have been silent lately as I sorted my stash and WIPs, and rearranged my sewing area.  I know I said I would focus more on the stack of WIPs but I got tired bored with machine quilting and decided to join in the Molli Sparkles Broken Herringbone QAL party.

 

This is my first block made in aqua.  I used the excellent tutorial at Play Crafts.  There are step by step pictures to create the block and I even learned to use the 45 degree angle on my ruler.  It looks much more complicated that it is and I thought that the hardest part was choosing fabric.  I will definitely be making more of these!

 

Linking up today to WIP Wednesday.