WIP Wednesday No. 11

My mum was hospitalised on Friday so, between work and running backwards and forwards to the hospital, I haven't had much time for sewing. I was determined to make some progress this week so here's the little I managed to do.

Hexalong
So far, I have been picking out my favourite spots and favourite solids to make the hexagons but I started to worry that I would be left with the yucky colours and no way to brighten them up. The new plan is to take the spots I'm not keen on and find some way to make me fall in love with them.

This was the first challenge. I really didn't like the diarrhoea coloured mustardy brown spots with the violet but, when paired with a brighter yellow, the whole thing looks a lot more palatable to me.

Double Wedding Ring
I pieced another couple of curves which makes enough curves to piece my first full ring. I also traced out the templates for the "melon" (the tutorials term, not mine - I've never seen a melon that shape!) and the centres using template plastic. Using my new templates I cut 4 melons and 1 centre.

That's when the panic set in. Should I piece them together or should I make all the curves and play around with them first. I have a fear of getting the balance of colours wrong. A paralysing fear.

I'm learning that my brain does not do scrappy, it craves order and symmetry. It's an engineering brain and scrappy is hurting it. I will not be defeated! I will, however, chicken out of sewing them together until I have them all pieced and can spend hours and hours rearranging them.

New projects

They're running a competition over at Missouri Star Quilt Company called the iron quilter. Take up to three charm packs and create anything you want. The finished quilts will be judged in January and the winner gets $150 to spend in the shop.

Can I resist the chance to win $150 of fabric loveliness? - nope. Do I have time to design a quilt, make a quilt and post it to America by December 31st? - Do I ****!

I guess I'll have to make time because I've ordered the charm packs so now it would be rude not to.

No progress projects

• Strawberry Patch 
• Neutral jelly roll bear paws
• It's a hoot 
• Antique quilt repair

Finishes

• None :(

Why not pop over to Freshly pieced to see what everyone else is up to this Wednesday. It's the one year anniversary of Lee's Linky party and to celebrate she's featuring the original linkers and a giveaway.

I want to play!

Well, I am half way through my final exams and I think I'm going through sewing withdrawal. I simply don't have the time at the moment but it doesn't stop me from buying fabric or browsing blogs. My first new purchase is a layer cake of the new Fig Tree Quilts line, Strawberry Fields. I was given a gift certificate by the lovely people at the Missouri Star Quilt Company for helping out on their forum and I couldn't resist it.

The colours are really bright and summery and I love the strawberries, they make my mouth water just to look at them. There are also lots of dots and checks which contrast brilliantly with the busier prints. I couldn't help myself and had to play around with them (on my computer at least).

I recently stumbled upon a website with a list of traditional geometric patterns and fell in love with a pattern called Arabic lattice. It's traditionally made in two colours but I thought I could adapt it to be used with this lovely range of fabrics. What do you think?

The second splurge was on some Parisville fabric I found in a sale. I was mesmerised by these ladies when I first saw them on the Tula Pink blog. I have no idea what I'll do with it, the prints are large so it will have to be something to showcase them. I just couldn't resist those hairstyles!

I think I could definitely pull off the ship look. I bought some coordinating prints as well so I'll have a play with them when the dreaded exams are over.

Bye Bye lovely fabrics, see you in a couple of weeks.

Snow day! (or possibly week)

It's snowed heavily here for 4 days so far which means that I can't work on my research project. In hindsight doing a project on soil treatment over the winter in the North of England may not have been the best plan.

It's left me with a lot of time on my hands which has been spent on my laptop in the college bar. I check the Daily Deal on the Missouri Star Quilt Company's site regularly and the other day they had an offer I couldn't turn down:

It's a Jelly roll of It's a Hoot fabrics by MoMo for Moda. The colours are so fun, they really cheered up my grey miserable snow day so I had a play around with my coloured pencils...

...and ordered it, along with a solid white jelly roll. I think it will make a really great quilt! My coloured scribbles attracted a bit of attention in the bar (the American Football players were particularly nosy) and when I explained what I was doing they all wanted a go. This was Ryan's design

Apparently the red block at the bottom has to have pictures of all of us. Not sure he's quite got the hang of quilt design.

Christmas block swap

The strip twist quilt is halfway through the binding process and I think I'll take it to work to finish off in my lunch break.  Next project is my second block swap from the Missouri Star Quilt forum.  I finished all my cutting out this evening and I am ready to piece:

As you can probably tell the swap is Christmas themed this time using white or cream fabrics and contrasting coloured fabrics. We're going to be making simple star blocks using Jenny's fantastic jelly roll tutorial:

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If you want to join us you can sign up until September15th on the forum and then you have until November 1st to get your blocks done.  We have an international bunch of people joining in this time with large chunks of the US covered, Australia, Canada and me flying the flag for the UK.  I'm excited to see what I get!

USPS excitement

I came home from work to a big pile of USPS flat rate envelopes.  They're fairly hefty when they're stuffed to the gills - I could barely get through the door!

After some frantic ripping and excited bobbing around (I can't sit still when I'm excited) I discovered my lovely fabric purchases from Missouri Star Quilt Company and Fat Quarter Shop.

This is what happens when you're bored at work and have an active internet connection!  First up is the lovely yardage from Fat Quarter Shop.

The top two are from the Rural Jardin range by French General and the bottom is a Bella Solid in Stone (both from Moda).  I bought the jelly roll at my LQS a couple of weeks ago but I was too late to get enough yardage for backing and she doesn't stock any of the plains which is why I went on an internet spree.  

I came up with an idea and - with some fancy photoshop jiggery pokery - this is what my quilt will look like:

Well, at least this is what it SHOULD look like.  There's no way my points will line up that cleanly!  Next was the package from the Missouri Star girls.  I love their packages because they always have handwritten notes in them.

It's a layer cake of Bella solid in Snow which is going to be put with a Verna layer cake that I've had sitting around for ages.  I'll wave my photoshop wand and try and give you a preview of that quilt too.

My first Block Swap

I'm very excited to be taking part in my first block swap through the Missouri Star Quilter's Forum.  The instructions were very simple (a must for a first timer) - make 12 12" finished blocks in a summery floral fabric, keep 1 and post the other 11 over to America.  I think I can handle that.

After months of sitting in a corner hand quilting it felt good to get cutting again.  300 2" squares, 96 2"x3.5" rectangles, 48 2"x5" rectangles.  I feel ridiculously excited, too excited to sleep, so I started sewing.  My lovely neat piles became this:

Not so neat.  I can't leave them like that or it'll probably become a kitty nest over night so more work before I can sleep.

That's better, sleepy time now zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wedding quilt finish

I made it!  The quilt got finished, the dress got finished and they both made it the 350 miles to the wedding without being lost, damaged or stolen.  I managed to take some pictures of it before I handed it over to the bride and groom.

By the way, I don't live in a castle and sleep in a four-poster bed every night.  That's just the hotel room but maybe some day ........  

Don't the bride and groom look happy.  You can see where I got my colour inspiration from - I was there when the bride bought the fabric for her dress.

 

Oh well, on to the next project, a block swap on the Missouri Star Quilt Forum.

A distraction before I go entirely insane

I've been hand quilting this wedding quilt for so long I've completely forgotten what it's like to cut and piece!  I come in form work everyday, I plonk myself down in my little corner and I sew:

Look at that vain kitty.  Always doing her hair!

It's come to the point when I just can't face sitting in that seat a night longer so I signed up for my very first  block swap at the Missouri Star Quilt forum.  The theme is very loose but it has to be summery and it has to use floral fabrics.  I had a spare hour so I drove up to The Fat Quarters and bought some gorgeous Tilda fabrics.

I chose them because they aren't available in America so it'll be a nice treat for the other ladies (I hope).  Now if I can just finish the block I'm hand quilting I can start cutting!  (I feel like a surgeon who's been denied time in the OR).