Last bits of sewing 2015 - Flying circle of geese wreath

Hello!

In an effort to dust off my sewing machine and get myself in the Christmas spirit early in Dec, I decided to try a circle of geese block from Piece by Number - something I've wanted to do for quite awhile!

This pattern was super easy to follow - even for a beginner like me and as a bonus, I was able to use up some Christmas charms from my stash.

I thought about some kind of table covering at first, but it seemed like such a cute little wreath, I went ahead and called it finished after adding some quilting and a printed ribbon.

This went to another friend (via a heated game of Dirty Santa) who has since moved back to America and I'm so glad she took a little something from me with her ;).

Incidentally, I found a really helpful tutorial for adding a hanging loop to a wall quilt. It's genius! Check it out at Winding Bobbins. It's perfect for using a lightweight ribbon to a small wall quilt.

FMT

3rd Quarter FAL results

Hi friends!

I tried to make a more manageable to-do list in Q3 and I enjoyed a few more finishes as a result! I'm sooo tempted to go crazy in Q4..
1. Finish flying geese improv quilt

 Status: finished!

2. Make 2 more pillows for family room couch

 Status: finished!

3.  Finish Garden Party quilt

 Status: Bordered added,back finished and quilting started

4. Downstairs sofa cushions

 Status: not started

5. Apron

 Status: finished!

6. Noodlehead divided basket

 Status: scared to start

7. Supernova friendship quilt
 Status: All blocks finished, time to put it together!

Next up: Q4!
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Catching up as usual

Geez! I don't know where I've been, but I feel like I've been sewing a-lot with nothing to show for it!

It's too bad there are no stats for how much time a person spends on Pinterest planning their next quilt, cause I have a feeling it would answer some questions.

Anyway, I had a finish a bit ago that I forgot to share. On my Q3 Finish Along list there is an apron. My genius girlfriend/soon-to-be-mommy then (and new mommy now - yay!) came up with a plan for us and we set off. We both chose fabrics from my stash and I'm puzzled as to how she came up with such a classy look and mine looks like a crayon box.  

FAL Q3 list

When we finished, we had the bright idea to let my husband snap our pic. Normally he takes a LONG time to get the perfect shot and we all end up annoyed and trying hard to smile so we gave him a good warning. His revenge? He quickly clicked 5 times and walked away. I guess I could be angry that he cut our heads off on most of the pictures, but I didn't actually comb my hair that day, so maybe he did us a favor. 

Luckily Beans came to the rescue a few days later and was happy to do some backyard modeling. I may have to recreate this sucker in her size cause she really loves it! 

I used two different main prints per side and did pockets in a bright fuchsia and the belt was the same for both sides.

Marking this one off my list! 

Also got my September and October blocks finished for the Supernova Swap! I just need to make 2 more for myself to get a total of 12 blocks and I can put it together. I'm so excited!

I also knocked out September Stash Bee blocks for Samantha today. She asked for flying geese in this dark red, gold, olive palette in any shape. So quick & fun,

Catch ya later
FMT

Celebrations!

Hello! I'm just back from an impromptu trip to Mallorca with my girlfriends and I'm feeling burnt but great! We decided that with 1 girlfriend moving back to the US in 2 weeks and my big 44th birthday approaching, a celebration was in order! The night before we left though, we celebrated a new baby coming this month! The new mommy is a FedEx pilot colleague of my husband's and a very good new friend to me! I have been working on this modern flying geese quilt since May and was happy to finish a whopping 2 days before the shower! It's quilted in a wavy grid pattern.

The top after a wash & crinkle

The back - a tag with the baby's name and dates will be added after he's born

Binding is a combo of the 2 striped FQs in the Saltwater bundle

A friend recently shared this cool pattern for baby bibs and I think I'm addicted! Amy even linked us to her gallery of bibs - so fun! I pulled out a huge pile of fabrics and got busy.

Quilted bibs with pockets from a Moda Lollipop charm pack. 

A necktie, a bicycle with large pocket and a linen & gingham bib.

A nod to our weekly movie club - the pocket is supposed to look like a tub of popcorn

I found this site and I think I will always buy baby gifts there - hilarious bib and how perfect is that onesie?! 

Added some flair to Ikea washcloths

The final package wrapped in a great basket that can be used later for a diaper/wipe station!

Quilt stats:
Size - 56" x 56" (hopefully enough room for mommy/baby snuggles)
Fabric - Kona Charcoal & Kona Steel with Saltwater by Tula Pink
Thread - Pieced with Aurifil #2605  & quilted with the same thread on top and #2630 in the bobbin.

The result? She loved all her goodies! Here's a sneak peek at the baby's nook

And there we have my 1st finish of Q3! FMT

Quarter 3 Finish Along

Well Quarter 2 was quite a failure! I looked back through my list and realized I didn't finish anything! I've been sewing doll quilts, bee blocks and other things,  but hadn't worked on anything from my list.  So I'm scrapping that list and making one that is hopefully MUCH more realistic!


1. Finish this Flying Geese Improv Quilt. I need to gift it very soon, so I am motivated to figure out the quilting and get this one done.

2. Make 2 more pillows for my family room. As predicted, the first 2 spend a great deal of time in places other than the couch, but for the few brief moments a day when the family room is clean and orderly, they'll look great.

I'm thinking the next 2 pillows will have triangles and I'll use the same FQ bundle.

3. Finish this Garden Party gift quilt. The recipient of this quilt has a birthday in September so I'd really like to get this to her on time! It's currently about 59" square so I'm thinking of adding a scrappy border in a combination of coordinating solids and the remaining fat quarters to get it up to 65". Plus I'm hoping it'll make me hate that white border a little less. What was I thinking?

4. Make pillows for downstairs sofa. I got some cool fabrics from Ikea lined up already

5. Make an apron and stop having to change clothes or (more realistically) wear dirty clothes the rest of the day every time I cook or bake something. This one will be reversible for extra effectiveness. I made my husband one for practice so now I'm ready!

6. Noodlehead Divided Basket - this is another gift needed very soon. I have most of what will fill the basket so I just need to get it made. Thanks to FairlyMerry for her encouragement and tips. She's made some really pretty ones and I hear they're addicting!

Kokka canvas options for divided basket

  

7. This one is a pipe dream, but as my partner and I have plans to share our Supernova Friendship Quilts at the next Patchwork in the Peaks (Oct 2 - 5th,) and Quarter 3 ends on the 6th, it would be great to have them complete. Otherwise, we'll be sharing just our quilt tops.