April Block Swap Adventure Block

Here's the block that I made for my April partner, Helen from England, for the Block Swap Adventure.

This block makes me happy!  Nothing but blue skies in the background too.

It is called the Ribbon Star block.  Lee at Freshly Pieced did a great tutorial here.

http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/2012/01/ribbon-star-block-tutorial.html

We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler - Block 29

Block #29 of the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler is Apple Core.  Here's my version.  It goes to show that with enough starch and some maticulous ironing that it WILL go flat.

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WIP Wednesday 4.25.12

It's been a busy week here.  Here's what's happening this week.
I happily completed the April choice for Twelve UFO Challenge for 2012. 

This quilt measures 42" x 54"

The crumb blocks were given to me from Kate North's blog:

http://katesquilting.blogspot.com/search?q=crumb+blocks

She sent them to me a YEAR ago! Thanks, Kate!

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Do YOU want some fabric?

Check out this swap (challenge!)

http://inthebaguglyfabricquiltchallenge.blogspot.com/

Enter by May 1, 2012

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Completed the FMQ Challenge with Sew Cal Gal in which we transferred a picture to fabric.

Completed a pillowcase for charity during the FNSI with Heidi.  (Mailed it on Monday, 4/23)


Completed and mailed the April block for the Block Swap Adventure to my partner, Helen, in England. Here's a sneak peek. I'll post a full pic next week after she receives it.

Finished and mailed my block for my swap partner for the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin.  Sorry I can't post a picture of it.  It needs to be a surprise for the recipient around Christmas.  All I can say is that I am verry happy with my little 1" to 2" border that I added. 

Completed Block #28 (Tumbler Block) for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler

Completed Block #30 (Equilateral Triangles) for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler

Completed Projects -- 4

Completed Block #28 for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
Completed Block #30 for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
Made a pillowcase for charity for the FNSI
Completed and mailed my block for the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin (April)
Completed and mailed by block for the April Block Swap Adventure
Completed the April task for the FMQ Challenge with SewCalGal
Completed April's 12 UFO's for 2012 goal (Used all crumb blocks)

Currently and SLOWLY in Progress: 8

Chasing Chevrons

Dutchman's Puzzle (changed mind on border and need to think about this one some more.)

Orca Bay (piecing together the last step) (I'm getting tired of moving these bins around.)

Bluepatch Quilter Mystery Quiltalong (need two stars and one braid)

Victorianna Fabric Party Quiltalong (need five rows to catch up)

Summer Series Quiltalong (stilll need more random blocks)

We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler (caught up!)

30"x30" Quilt for the June 2012 quilt show-- slowly working on this...

Quilt Tops to be quilted: 4

Oh Susannah! Mystery QA -- California King

Kaleidoscope QA

May 2011 Pineapple Blossom Block Lotto quilt (on the kitchen table in process TODAY!)

Jelly Roll Race - Lap quilt

Projects on Hold: 3

Flower Basket Quilt
August Block Lotto African Violets baby quilt to be put together
Drunkard's Path Quiltalong

Stop by and see who else has what else going on with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

April UFO Complete!

Yeah! Another UFO can be crossed off my list thanks to the Twelve UFO Challenge for 2012.  This month really was a challenge for me because I wasn't really happy with the way the colors are looking.  But I broke my blocks in half and made a baby quilt and some doll quilts.  Here they are:

This quilt measures 42" x 54"

The crumb blocks were given to me from Kate North's blog:

http://katesquilting.blogspot.com/search?q=crumb+blocks

She sent them to me a YEAR ago!  Thanks, Kate!

Finished four doll quilts for the 2012 Get Your Mrs. Claus On. These are the other crumb blocks that I made that I didn't think that the colors matched those from Kate.

Here are the backs. I like the little Accuquilt GO! Baby die that helped me make these. It's in the "Die to Try" section on the Accuquilt page.

These little doll quilts will be shipped to Debbie later this year for charity.

http://stitchintherapy.blogspot.com/p/get-your-mrs-claus-on-project.html

Twelve UFO Challege for 2012 Check out the rest of the completed projects with Judy at Patchwork Times http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012-ufo-challenge/

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Win a Kitchenaid mixer!  Check it out at:  http://www.thethriftythings.com/2012/04/need-help-with-cooking-win-kitchen-aid.html

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We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler - Block 28

Here's Block #28 for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler.  It's the Tumbler Block.

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We Can Do It Skill Builder Block #30

Equilateral triangles were used to make this block.  I thought this block would be easy... It took a little more planning than what I thought to get my triangles going the right way when I put them together.  I was able to use a lot of scraps for these little 2" triangles.  I like it enough that I would consider doing something larger with this type of block again.

Here's We Can Do It Skill Builder Block #30 - Equilateral Triangles

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April FNSI Results

For the April FNSI results, I did get my pillowcase done.  It will be in the mail on Monday to Arrow Cabinets.  Here it is:



  I only did a little FMQ on my April 12 UFO's for 2012.  My FMQ just wasn't flowing like it should and I decided to call it a night.  Tomorrow is another day.  Check out what Heidi and the others did.  http://handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/2012/03/april-20th-friday-night-sew-in-big.html

By now, I’m sure you have heard about the organization called Conkerr Cancer.  “Giving sick kids a reason to smile.. one pillowcase at a time.”

What does that have to do with Friday Night Sew In you ask? Well, for the month of April, FNSI has partnered with Arrow Sewing Cabinets and Conkerr Cancer.  Check it out!

 

April FMQ Challenge with SewCalGal

For the April FMQ Challenge with SewCalGal, Don Linn taught us how to transfer an image to fabric.  http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-2012-fmq-challenge-tutorial-by.html

I put this off and put this off.  When I finally tried it I LOVED it!  Look at what I can do now?  It was easy.  I just scanned the printed fabric, blew up the pic, transferred it, and viola!  See how it matches the little planes in the block below it?  I will definitely use this method again.

Still contemplating filling in the area outside of the airplane with a tight stipple like we learned in Leah Day's blogs.  I haven't practiced enough to feel confident in that yet.  Sometimes less is more.

For the FNSI I plan to make a pillow case (a theme for April to go to kids with cancer).  This FNSI is sponsored by Arrow Cabinets in Elkhorn, WI.

I also plan on working on my April 12 UFO's for 2012 crumb quilt.  Check out what Heidi and the others are doing!  http://handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/2012/03/april-20th-friday-night-sew-in-big.html

April Block Swap Adventure

Here's a sneak peek for Helen in England. I put the block in the mail from Ohio, USA, today.

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WIP Wednesday 4.18.12

Here's what I did this week:

I'm still working on my Twelve UFO Challenge for 2012 for April with all these crumb pieces.  I'm getting closer!  These are the last of the crumbs.  Now I need to finish the back (fabrics selected and cut), sandwich it, quilt it...

I completed Part 2 of the Phantastic Quilt.

Here's my fabric selection from my stash for the Yahoo Groups 2012 Spring Mystery QA:

Finished four doll quilts for the 2012 Get Your Mrs. Claus On.  These are the other crumb blocks that go with the first picture in this post.

Here are the backs. I like the little Accuquilt GO! Baby die that helped me make these. It's in the "Die to Try" section on the Accuquilt page.

Are you wondering what I will do with these? Sometime closer to the end of the year I will send them to my bloggy friend, Debbie, in South Carolina. Debbie and her elf husband are major contributors to help kids get Christmas presents in their area. I know Debbie follows my blog. I hope she is pleasantly surprised. SURPRISE! I'm not going to send them just yet. I'll wait to closer to the time in the late fall. You can read more about this cute charity by visiting Debbie's Blog, Stitchin' Therapy. It's at a tab at that top that says, "Get Your Mrs. Claus On". Here's the link:

http://stitchintherapy.blogspot.com/p/get-your-mrs-claus-on-project.html

So if you are reading this, Debbie, count me in for four finished quilts so far.

Completed Projects -- 4

Completed Part 2 of the Phantastic Quilt
Completed the quilt top for the Twelve UFO Challenge for 2012 for April
Selected fabrics for the Yahoo Groups 2012 Spring Mystery quilt
Finished four doll quilts for the Get Your Mrs. Claus On charity (from my crumb-a-long blocks)

Currently and SLOWLY in Progress: 8

Chasing Chevrons

Dutchman's Puzzle (changed mind on border and need to think about this one some more.)

Orca Bay (piecing together the last step) (I'm getting tired of moving these bins around.)

Bluepatch Quilter Mystery Quiltalong (need two stars and one braid)

Victorianna Fabric Party Quiltalong (need four rows to catch up)

Summer Series Quiltalong (stilll need more random blocks)

We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler (need to complete the tumbler and apple core blocks)

30"x30" Quilt for the June 2012 quilt show-- slowly working on this...

Quilt Tops to be quilted: 4

Oh Susannah! Mystery QA -- California King

Kaleidoscope QA

May 2011 Pineapple Blossom Block Lotto quilt (sandwiched and waiting on me)

Jelly Roll Race - Lap quilt

Projects on Hold: 3

Flower Basket Quilt
August Block Lotto African Violets baby quilt to be put together
Drunkard's Path Quiltalong

Stop by and see who else has what else going on with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

Yahoo Groups 2012 Spring Mystery Fabric Choices

Here's a pic of my fabric choices for the Yahoo Groups 2012 Spring Mystery quilt with Cal.  I like that it's bright and springy.  Best of all, it's from my stash!

If you love paper piecing, check out the giveaway at Bubblestitch Quilts.  Thirteen paper-pieced patterns are being given away in her Etsy shop!  Check it out at:
<center><a href="http://www.bubblestitchquilts.blogspot.ca/2012/03/giveaway-3-good-reasons-to-run-it.html" target="_blank"><img alt="322774058" src=" http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.322774058.jpg"/></a></center>

I'm working on my 2012 UFO project of the month.  This month I am trying to finish up those pesky Crumb-A-Long Blocks.  I liked my blocks, but I think they were poor color choices for a whole quilt.  So here's what happened to the 24 original crumb-a-long that I did:



I pulled them out and made four doll quilts.  These measure 12" x 18".  I tried different types of quilting on each.  One has my first attempt at straight-line quilting (it looks great).  Another has my first attempt of rocking the right angle (I like it a lot too).  Another was echo quilted.  And the last was FMQ flowers like the ones we did in SewCalGal's 2012 Challenge (it's okay).

Here are the fronts:

Here are the backs.  I like the little Accuquilt GO! Baby die that helped me make these.  It's in the "Die to Try" section on the Accuquilt page.

Are you wondering what I will do with these?  Sometime closer to the end of the year I will send them to my bloggy friend, Debbie, in South Carolina.  Debbie and her elf husband are major contributors to help kids get Christmas presents in their area.  I know Debbie follows my blog.  I hope she is pleasantly surprised.  SURPRISE!  I'm not going to send them just yet.  I'll wait to closer to the time in the late fall.  You can read more about this cute charity by visiting  Debbie's Blog, Stitchin' Therapy.  It's at a tab at that top that says, "Get Your Mrs. Claus On".  Here's the link:

http://stitchintherapy.blogspot.com/p/get-your-mrs-claus-on-project.html

So if you are reading this, Debbie, count me in for four finished quilts so far.

That Phantastic Quilt - Part 2

All caught up with my That Phantastic Quilt QA with Susan Claire for Gourmet Quilter.  Here's Part 2.  This one was a doozy with the measuring each piece to make sure it went in the right spot.  Again, I chose different fabrics for each block.  For this clue I went with greens and oranges.  So far, this has been a great scrap buster.

WIP Wednesday 4.11.12

Here's a re-cap on this week:

I completed Part 1 of the Phantastic Quilt (a mystery QA) by Susan Claire for Gormet Quilter.

I finished the Wonky Fan block for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler.

I made this bag from an 18 pound bag of birdseed.

Here's the crafty thing I did with our deviled eggs for Easter.  The eyes are black olive pieces, and the beaks are slivers of carrot.  They didn't stand up very good.  There's room for improvement next year.

Completed Projects -- 4

Completed the Wonky Fan Block for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler.

Mailed March Block Lotto blocks to the winners
Completed Part 1 of the Phantastic Quilt
Birdseed bag

Currently in Progress: 8

Chasing Chevrons (need to sandwich next)

Dutchman's Puzzle (changed mind on border and need to think about this one some more.)

Orca Bay (piecing together the last step) (I'm getting tired of moving these bins around.)

Bluepatch Quilter Mystery Quiltalong (need two stars and one braid)

Victorianna Fabric Party Quiltalong (need four rows to catch up)

Summer Series Quiltalong (stilll need more random blocks)

We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler (currently caught up!)

30"x30" Quilt for the June 2012 quilt show-- slowly working on this...

Making 4 doll quilts with the Crumb Along blocks

Quilt Tops to be quilted: 4

Oh Susannah! Mystery QA -- California King

Kaleidoscope QA

May 2011 Pineapple Blossom Block Lotto quilt (sandwiched and waiting on me)

Jelly Roll Race - Lap quilt

Projects on Hold: 3

Flower Basket Quilt
August Block Lotto African Violets baby quilt to be put together
Drunkard's Path Quiltalong

Stop by and see who else has what else going on with Lee at Freshly Pieced!