Double Irish Chain Quilt -- Field of Dreams -- Complete!

Whohoo!  The Double Irish Chain quilt that I started a few weeks ago is now complete.  Just in time... my niece's baby is due any day now.  I wish I could be there when she opens the package.  I am very very pleased with it considering it is my first time doing any machine quilting on a quilt.  I love the way it feels so soft.  I doubled the batting.  I was a chicken and didn't do any fancy free-motion quilting.  I just echo stitched the blocks.  This is also my first time with machine applique.  The little flowers are so cute!  If I were to name the quilt I could call it "Field of Dreams" (I'm sure somebody already did a quilt like that.)  The quilt is so much better in person, but here it is:

The little white take to the right at the end of the name is my signature block.  It says "Double Irish Chain -- From Great Aunt Kathy -- 2011"

For a great scrap giveaway with the cutest scraps ever, go to:

http://fairyfacedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-big-scrappy-giveaway.html

 

Supernova Quilt Top Complete!

Whohoo!  Even though it was a rough week and I was missing my old Viking sewing machine (which is now retired), I managed to finish the Supernova quilt along quilt.  I did change the design a little and finished the blocks with star points instead of the straight line coming from the center of each block.  I just had to "make it my own" like they do on Idol and couldn't leave a star unfinished.  I like it; it is bright!  Luckily the sun came out long enough this morning so that I could snap a quick photo.  It started raining as I was trying to take a photo.  The clotheseline almost wasn't high enough for this one.

Just remember, when there's rain there's still room for fun.  Yesterday my son and I put on our Crocs and went outside and jumped in every puddle on our property.  What fun!

...and remember to take some time to smell the flowers along the way...

Have a great day!

Block Swap Adventure

Natalie in Austrailia received this block from me in the Block Swap Adventure.  It is the first block I ever made for the swap.  I got the block pattern from Quilt Dad's blog at:
http://www.quiltdad.com/p/bloggers-block-palooza-quilt-along.html
His step by step instructions are great.  He has a lot of stuff that is right up my alley on his blog.  Check it out if you get the chance.

My First Mystery Quilt

I love love love Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilts.  Unforunately she is not doing right now.  I know I could go back and do one of them, but my problem is that I can't wait to solve the mystery.  Now that all the directions and clues are posted I just can't stop clicking through them and getting to the end.  I will definitely be on board the next time she does one!  But for now I was told about a mystery quilt at
http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/erik_homemade/2011/04/our-susannah-quilt-page-1.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ErikHomemadeCoffee-breakWeblog+%28Erik+HOMEMADE+Coffee-Break+eZine%29
It's called Our Susannah at Erik Homemade Coffee Break. 

Funny I had an "inspriation" for the colors for this quilt.  First of all I was looking to use up scraps, scraps, remnants, and more remnants.  I have had boxes labeled "quilt jeans" for over ten years.  Well, today's the day.  My inspriation colors for this quilt is "My Husband's Laundry". 

Can you see the colors of my husband's work clothes in these fabrics?  There are five different denims.  Some of them have a little character with some concrete or white paint stains.  I also had some Keepsake Calico print that looked like the hankerchiefs (bandana type) that he uses.  The camel color looks just like his Carharts.  The navy reminds me of his sweatshirts and underwear.  Even though he doesn't wear floral prints, I put the beige and off white prints in to remind me of his new and older socks.  There is a white cloudy type swirl that was one of my grandma's fabrics.  I have been waiting to use some of her stash!  I LOVE these colors!!!  Since the first instruction that we got on Monday, 4/18, was to cut fabrics in 2" strips I thought this would be the perfect project for these fabrics.  I am supposed to have only ten strips of five fabrics.  But since my jeans didn't measure the full 44" like the other fabrics, I had to make due and just make more strips.  This should give me some additional color combo options.  I can't wait to see how this  mystery ends!  Stay tuned!  Since the first instruction was so easy, there's plenty of time for you to join me. 

Free Motion Quilting -- 1st Day

Well, it was time to retire my faithful Viking that was over 30 years old.  I got a new machine.  I knew there would be a learning curve.  But here's a few samples of my first day of free motion quilting.

Leah Day's site is a 365 Day experiment to come up with a new design each day.  Her tutorials make everthing look so easy.  I just need some practice, practice, and some more practice. 

For a great giveaway go to    http://straystitches1.blogspot.com/2011/04/help-me-celebrate-with-giveaway.html

Linda is always so sweet to leave a comment here and there on my blog.  Her quilting is so pretty too.  She is giving away some very springy quarters.  Cute cute cute!

Double Irish Chain Baby Quilt Progress

Thanks to the back-up sewing machine that my sister-in-laws gave me over a month ago I was able to make some progress on the Double Irish Chain baby quilt that I am making for my niece and her soon to be daughter, "Breanne".  I figured out the tension issue on the machine.  I am fairly happy with the back of the quilt.  It is my first time using Bonnie Hunter's book "Word Play Quilts". 

To the right of the name "Breanne" I added a signature block.  I'm not sure if that's the place I should have put it, but there it is.  Now that I look at the picture I should have probably put it below the name and running parrellel with it.  (I am going to have to change that today.

Kudo's to the back-up Kenmore Ultra Stitch 8 -- Which by my guess is from the 70's.  I don't think I will do my first machine quilting project with it.  I will wait until the Viking returns.

... Thanks, Johnna's mom!

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Jonquils & Ladybugs has a great giveaway going right now... she's offering up a completed quilt made from the fabulous Castle Peeps line!

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There is also a great giveaway with FIVE pattern prizes!!!  Check it out at
http://theconfusedquilter.blogspot.com/2011/04/blogaversary-giveaway.html?showComment=1303201775153#c6454930544932337623

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Out of commission

My beloved Viking from the 70's is out of time again due to a thread getting caught in the bobbin case.

My husband told me to just go buy a new one.  He has no idea which one I have been eyeing at the store...

you know, the one that does embroidery too?  I told him I would rather pay the $40 to get it repaired.

I will drop it off on Monday and hopefully get it back mid next week.  :(

I guess I should get cutting on the rest of some of the other things I have started.  Looks like my neice's baby

quilt will not be ready anytime soon.  I was hoping to attempt machine quilting on Monday. 

Double Irish Chain baby quilt

I'm really happy how this Double Irish Chain baby quilt is looking right now.  I started cutting the pieces yesterday morning and look, it's a quilt top!  I plan to do the back in the coordinating shasta daisy print that is in one my blog posts on 3/21/11.  I am still considering incorporating the baby's name in Word Play letters on the back as well.  I finished this top with only 9" of white thread left.  Whew!  Who runs out of white thread?  I also tried to finish it before the sun went down, but at 8:15pm I got a little darker picture than I wanted.  This will also be my first attempt at machine quilting.  Wish me luck!  I need to watch a few tutorials.

Here's a better shot of the strips to give you an idea of the colors...

It would have been a lot easier with the 2 1/2" die from Accuquilt GO baby! ... but until I win one I'll have to do it the old fashioned way with my rotory cutter.  For a great giveaway go to

http://justplainlaine.com/?p=998

Four in Nine Patch Quilt Complete!

Today I finished the Four in Nine Patch Quilt that I started in January.  I finished it by doing a pillowcase edge and then knotting the 4" squares in my mom's quilt frame.  It only took two days of my pre-schooler being in school for me to knot it.  I was motivated to finish knotting it once the quilt frame was set up in my kitchen because it took up so much room.  Ahhhhh.  A completed project.

I would also like to thank everybody that has stopped by the Supernova Flicker sight (and this blog) and made a comment about my Supernova quilt-along-quilt.  I really appreciate all of the encouragement since I am so new to quilting.  At first I hated the colors but decided that it will still be a warm quilt and will probably be one of the most used since I didn't like it as much because of my color choices.  I figured it would be the quilt that I took to a football game and/or picnic and I wouldn't be afraid to set it down.  Now it has really grown on me and I LOVE it!  I've got an idea on how to finish the borders.  Hopefully I'll have time to mess with that a little after I get my niece's baby quilt started and done.  (She is due in about three weeks.)  I really do like staying on a schedule of the supernova quilt-a-long and Lee did a great job of dividing the work and presenting the details.  I will be searching for another quilt-a-long in the near future.

McSupernova sees the sun

Ahhh.  My McSupernova finally gets sewn together and gets to see a glimpse of the sun.  There isn't much sun in Ohio yet, but good weather is on its way.  I do have to say that the colors look much much better in this picture.  Laugh or not, I did find some McDonalds fabric on eBay.  It's on it's way.  I have decided to go with a pieced back and try improvisational piecing.  I also hope to use some of the half square triangles in the back to make it interesting.  I got the idea from a finished quilt by Leanne called "Puppies, Boys & Monkeys Quilt" at  http://shecanquilt.blogspot.com/ .  I don't know how I will do the border just yet.  I really would like to use my picnic ants somewhere but I think they might be too busy on the front.  Some of the border will be the yellow background.  Stay tuned...

McSupernova

My "McSupernova blocks are done.  I'm not sure if I need sashing to break them up or if I will just put them together and put border around it.  Your comments and suggested are much welcome.  I call it "Mc" Supernova because of the red, yellow, black and whites...  A friend suggested I purchase a color wheel.  LOL.  It's on my list.  Now you can see why I like jelly rolls and red/white quilts.

I think I like it better with just the blocks sewn together as they are.  In this next picture I put some fabric between the bottom blocks to see what sashing would look like.  The very bottom row has sashing and a couple of 3x3's added.  I need to sit and think about this for a while.

In the mean time, here's some giveaways for you to think about:

http://oneygirl-myquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/2011/04/bloggy-giveaway-fabric-pattern-and-some.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LeonasQuiltingAdventure+%28LEONA%27S+QUILTING+ADVENTURE%29

The start of the Supernova blocks

Now that I have my other quilting obligations done for April I can concentrate on the Supernova quilt-along a little better.  I put together two of the groups today.  This is the one that I thought I would like... (and I like it).

Remember, these are the four points of the block and not the center.  The other instructions will come on Thursday of this week.

I'm not sure of how I like the yellow on yellow as my second color on this next one.

I'm going to let it ride for now.  I have 10 more sets to make (12 blocks vs. the 9 in the pattern).  I am learning new skills and techniques with this quilt-along.  It is time consuming to draw the line from corner to corner, but well worth it.  It is also something that I can't have "help" from my four-year-old, because I have to pay attention to what is going in which direction.  I'll have to do this one when he's sleeping.  I also can't bear to throw away the little half triangles that I cut from each of the eight rectangles... so I end up sewing them together for future scrap projects.

No more quilting for today.  An exciting evening is planned.  Yes, I used to go to a lot of hair band concerts in the 80's.  The best seats I ever had were four row tickets to see Twisted Sister.  Tonight I have tickets to see Elmo.  Boy, times have changed.

My 1st Block Swap Adventure Block Sent

Today was a much much better experience in quilting.  I finished a block for Natalie in Australia.  It measures 12.5"!!!  The colors in this photo don't do it justice.  Here's a sneak peek.

Nat should receive her block in 7 - 10 days.  After she receives it I'll post a copy of the whole block.  We don't want to spoil the surprise!

Frustrating day for the new quilter

Today was a little frustrating.  I realize that I am learning.  I am working on making a 12" block for the Block Swap Adventure.  That's a 12" finished block which should measure 12.5".  I can make this block 12"... I can make this block 13"... But 12.5 didn't happen.  I love t his double aster block!  Here's two blocks for the orphan block box.  I also bought a new special plastic box to store my orphan blocks... looks like I am going to need it.  Can you tell that I did one completely backwards from the pattern?  On the 12" block I then added a strip so that they were both the same...

Then I decided to switch patterns.  Again, this water wheel block measured 12"!  Dang.  A call to my friend (Brandy) and she shed some light in to what I was doing wrong.  Duh.  I need a 12.5" pattern until I can learn to convert the patterns that I have.  Next I stepped back to look at this block and I put a whole row on upside down!  Yikes.  Time to stop quilting for today and maybe tonight after work while the little one is in bed I'll be able to do some more...  Oh dear.

Don't worry, Nat, these aren't your blocks.  At this point they may not even be your colors.  But then again you wouldn't be able to tell because the black and the saffire in the photo don't really show as the colors they really are.  I'll have a nice 12.5" block for you before the end of the week!

But it is what it is.  I am new to quilting.  What you see with me is what you get and sometimes it's just not right.  Everything can be fixed or started over.

On a happy note I put my block lotto blocks in the mail today.  Congrats to all the March Block Lotto winners.  I got to mail my blocks to Kate in England, Kathie in Allentown, PA, and Cathy in Australia.

April Block Lotto

I'm way ahead of schedule for the April block lotto.  Yes, I did have a little trouble getting the stem right on these pieces, but after I did the maple leaf pattern method instead of the clover blossom pattern I was okay.  Quaint little blocks.  I still need to find a good spot in the house to take pictures.  I almost took them outside and hung them on the clothesline to get some April Ohio snow in the background.  Grrrr.  Some day the sun will shine and I will be able to take pics of them in natural sunlight.  Until then, here they are:

I also worked on my block swap adventure block for April.  No pics here for now.  I don't want to spoil the surprise for Nat! ;)