WIP

HandiQuilter and AllPeopleQuilt are hosting a photo contest on APQ's Facebook page. The prize is a Handiquilter retreat to quilt your own quilts on Handiquilter machines. How awesome!

Here's my entry:

This picture perfectly summarizes nearly everything that I have worked on for the past 2+ years. UFOs galore. (Count them: 9 quilt tops ready to sandwich and quilt!)

And I sure could use a longarm or sit-down longarm.

A Week's Worth

Gee, it seems like I've barely been able to squeak a post a week lately, huh?

I've been busy, but with a lot of WIPs. I guess I haven't felt like I've made a lot of progress on my WIPs. I need to keep stopping to get supplies and wait for $ to get them.

Oh yeah, and my little guy is finally potty-training, and he's doing awesome! That's been taking quite a bit of my time, but he's managing to do most of it himself! He's the one with Autism.....just like so many other skills, it seems he takes forever to learn something or catch on, and then suddenly a switch is flipped, the lights come on, and he just does something!!!! So proud of him!

I kept myself busy while my hubby was in Vegas for the NASCAR race. I was busy making continuous bias strips and weaving knots for the Quilt U Be Mine borders.
Then it took me several days to fudge and fit my way through adding my final blocks, and also the background fabric to the quilt for those borders. I was so frustrated! I have decided that I'm not a modern quilter because my style is not helter-skelter, fit and fudge and tweak and throw it down. I hate all that. I like everything precise and balanced, and execution and good quality work is super-important to me! Even, balanced, and accurate seam allowances are a must. I might try new things, and learn some tips and tricks to help me, and I might incorporate some techniques or designs that are considered contemporary.

Anyway, when my hubby got home from Vegas, he took a look at the knots, and told me I needed fabric with more contrast for the corner knots. Grrrr. If thats the case, then more fabric needs to be bought (and more bias made!!!) since all the fabric I used for the Quilt U Be Mine was really close in tone and shade (medium reds and darker burgundy). He also told me I just should have used two alternating colors in very contrasting reds, so the knots would "pop" a bit more. Yeah, maybe he's right in all counts, but I'm doing my best to use fabric I have, and not buy more. Surely he appreciates that!

And then I was making continuous bias binding for the fire truck quilts.

Tonight, I got the back pieced together for the Starburst. Whew! That's all I got to, tonight.

I also made a little stencil with a firefighter Maltese cross, and I will hand-quilt the cross in the corner posts of the fire truck quilts. LOL to myself. I used the graphic from my hubby's department T-shirt to trace and copy, then traced it onto stencil plastic and cut out the stencil with my Fiskars craft knife. I call that being creative, because the graphic in the T-shirt was the perfect size for the posts!

Starburst Quilt-Along--Making Blocks

Hi!
The rest of this week, after the big Valentine's reveal, was a little bit calmer. Thursday and Friday:
1-- I started the continuous binding square for the fire truck quilts
2--I cut out and started piecing some more kisses and hugs blocks
3--finished cutting the continuous binding prep for applying/making fusible bias for the Celtic borders.
4--finished sewing the binding and label on the yellow and gray baby quilt, and took pictures!

I'm so proud of myself for a Sunday night!
I finished the center star for the Starburst Quilt-Along last week. So tonight, I put together the side burst units, and pieced and matched and pieced and matched, and Ta-Dah!
I finished the Starburst!
Now I just need to add some border and purchase some batting, and I will be prepared to make it a big block baby quilt!
Whee!