WIP Wednesday

One WIP and one finish!

First, the WIP.  I'm just giving a teaser of this one because it's a gift for someone and I'm not sure if she reads my blog or not.  Plus I kind of like teasers - makes you come back to see the final product.

Kona turquoise, chartreuse, and white 

I'll hopefully be able to finish this up over the long weekend.

I'm also testing a pattern (first time ever! beyond excited!), but more on that at a later date...


Now, for the finish!

 

I made this pillow for my amazing friend Sabrina (of guest post fame). In addition to being a great person and a fun, reliable friend, she serves as our go-to cat sitter.  Though Sab and I only live a block apart, this requires her to get up at the break of dawn to come feed the cats before work, and then come over again when she gets home - which for Sab usually isn't until 9 or 10 at night.  Even this late, she usually stays a few extra minutes to keep the cats company and play with them.  Mr. T and I wanted to take her out to dinner to thank her, but instead she requested that Mr. T cook for her (yes, he's much better than a restaurant).  We finally got around to finding a time last weekend that worked for all of us.  As an extra surprise, I made Sab this pillow.  She kept saying how much she liked the zig zag pattern I used in my Zig Zag ROAR quilt (and zig zag/chevron is all the rage right now), so I figured I'd make something similar for her.

After a couple hours going through my stash, I finally settled on seven fabrics, plus some Kona Navy for the back:

Color Basic Minnie Dots in Chocolate on Mint by Lecien Fabrics
Bespoken Woven Dreams by Art Gallery Fabrics
Mod Basics Abacus in Green by Birch Fabrics
Stitch Orange by Betz White
Critter Community Trees in Retro by Suzy Ultman
Chelsea Stripe in Green by Whistler Studio
Chelsea Leaves in Purple by Whistler Studio

Please excuse the dust- I didn't have a chance to wash this and I our lint roller is MIA.

My original layout was a basic zig zag alternating each fabric per color in the line (if that makes sense), but after sewing all the HSTs together and laying it out, I really didn't like the way it looked.  I played around a bit, and decided on this up and down design.  In the end, Sab is lucky I actually handed this pillow over.  I really like it, especially the critter communities fabric (the orange with the trees).  You can't really tell because of how I ended up cutting and piecing that bit, but it has these great little snails and owls on it!  Next time I make something with it, I'll be sure to pay more attention when cutting so those will be featured.

These photos also show some of my perfect seams!!!  They're not all perfect, but I did a much better job than any of my previous projects.  I love seeing these clear signs of improvement.

Also, this was the first project for which I've had a real date with my seam ripper!  Thankfully it was a pretty easy fix - the equivalent of a cheap date if you will....

And lastly, because the purpose of this project was to thank Sabrina for watching our cats, I had to include a few photos of them enjoying her pillow:

Mitchell claiming his throne.

One of Cashmere's favorite toys is Mitchell's tail!

Linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Four Square

My four square quilt is complete!  This is the second of my donation quilts for 100 Quilts for Kids, sponsored by Katie from Swim, Bike, Quilt and the DC Modern Quilt Guild.

For the front I used several fat quarters from my stash, as well as some blue fabric I had leftover from a previous project.

I pieced the back with more of the blue fabric, plus this great orange print I had used to make a scarf for my mom.

I used the blues again for a semi-scrappy binding.  (Side note - I HATE this light blue fabric. It's something I purchased from JoAnns before I knew about variations in fabric quality.  It wasn't so bad to work with on my previous project, but for this quilt it was kind of a pain.  I think the difficulty was a result of the way the fabric is printed paired with my beginners knowledge on appropriate thread and needle size.  Needless to say, I've removed it from my stash...).

As for the quilting, I'm kind of in love.  I did straight-line quilting at various widths in each quadrant.  I didn't draw out the lines before I started quilting, so they're not exactly straight, but I still like the effect. My favorite part is the corner pictured in the bottom left of the first photo here - I didn't get a good picture of just that section.  I did very dense quilting for most of the square and really like the final effect.

Since this is a donation quilt, I'm linking to 100 Quilts for Kids!

Fat Quarter Shop Build a Bundle

The Fat Quarter Shop just started a new weekly contest, Build a Bundle.  They provide readers of their blog with one fabric, and then readers get to pick two more to create a mini bundle.  Then they pick their favorite, and that person receives ONE YARD of each of the three fabrics.  How awesome!  Now, I never win.  There are always a million entries.  But it's still fun to play around and try my hand at making bundles.  I think it helps with fabric selection when I'm putting together fabrics to make a project.

Here's the bundle I submitted for this week (you can view the competition here):

1. Girl Small Chevron - Riley Blake
2. Millie's Closet Green Dresses - Riley Blake
3. J'Adore Stella Pink Lips - Dear Stella

FQS provided the chevron fabric, and I added the green dresses and the pink lips.  I think together it's a fun, flirty mix that would work for a child, a teen, or a young adult.  And I'm IN LOVE with those dresses.  I didn't like them the first time I saw them, but every time I've come across them since I like them more and more.  I think FQS had them on sale a few weeks ago, but that was during the time when I wasn't so enthused.  Missed my chance on that one....

Anyway, I think I'll keep updating about what I enter.  Just for something to do.  And an added post since my crafting progress is quite slow these days.

UPDATE: I didn't win : (

Zig Zag ROAR!

Whew, two posts in one day!  Exciting stuff!

Anywho, I originally posted about this quilt here.  I've decided to call it Zig Zag ROAR! because the dinosaur print is by far my favorite.  I wish I had more of it so I could have featured it.  It also would have made for a fantastic backing.

I made this quilt almost entirely from the scraps and extra fabric from Sam's Quilt.  The only fabric I purchased was the Kona White, which needed to be added to my stash anyway, so win-win.

For the backing I used some of the fabric I had leftover from the napkins I made my brother and sister-in-law.

I really like the effect of the echo quilting on the back. The white thread blends in pretty well on the front, and then makes a nice, bold statement on the back.  My lines are a bit wonky, though I'd say not too bad for my second quilt.  And I kind of like the effect of the wonkiness...

I made a scrappy binding using all the fabrics from the front.  I was originally planning on spacing each pattern randomly so the binding would be a bit of a hodge-podge, but after laying it out I decided I liked a more organized look better, so I grouped all like patterns together.

I machine bound it (the correct way, this time) using tutorials from Diary of a Quilter and Crazy Mom Quilts.  I found I preferred the no-pinning method when sewing the binding to the front, as suggested in the second tutorial.  I did secure the binding in place with binding clips (no pin pricks, thank you!), but I ended up removing them well before I actually got to that section and pulling the binding around tighter by hand.

I clearly still need to work on precise seams, matched corners and straight lines, but I'd say this is a vast improvement from my first attempt.

I'll be throwing this in the wash tonight and then handing it in to the DC Modern Quilt Guild this weekend for the 100 Quilts for Kids drive.  Word on the street is they're doing a group donation to an outreach center for pregnant women and teens in SE.  This quilt is a bit small - only 34" x 27.5" - but I think it will be a perfect security blanket for some little boy.

(Sidenote: This will be my first Guild meeting and I'm a bit nervous...  I feel too young and inexperienced to be eligible).

Materials: Green with white polka dots, white with green polka dots and solid green Birch Organic Fabrics  mod basics; all other prints JoAnns; white is Kona White

Action Kivu

For those of you who know me (which, let's face it, is all of you because I know only family and a select handful of friends read my blog), you know that I have two main passions - public health and crafting.  So when I stumbled upon this post during my regular blog perusing, I was immediately inspired to donate.

Action Kivu is a nonprofit organization that assists women who are victims of the conflict in Eastern Congo. The organization runs a sewing workshop and also pays for children to go to school.

This is a small organization that makes a big difference in the lives of the people it helps. Nzigira (pictured above) is a graduate of the sewing workshop and is now supporting her family as a seamstress. The sewing machine she’s using was purchased with funds from last year's fundraiser. She is just one example of the many women and children who have been directly helped by this fundraiser.  

Please go visit Handmade by Alissa and the Action Kivu website to learn more and hopefully you'll feel inclined to give a little as well.

Photo and language from Handmade by Alissa

Guest Post - Guernsey Wrap

I've been meaning to post this one for awhile, but kept neglecting to do it.  Since I have nothing for WIP Wednesday, I figured today is the perfect day.

My friend Sabrina made this awesome shawl for her grandmother in India using the Guernsey Wrap pattern by Jared Flood (available for purchase on Ravelry).

Sab and I both learned to knit at the same time last summer - well, technically Sab already knew the basics, but a refresher course never hurts when your needles have been inactive for awhile.  Plus, she was able to add knitting in the round to her repertoire.



It was really exciting for me to watch this shawl grow.  Neither Sab nor I had ever knit from a chart before, so we spent a good 30 minutes deciphering it together and writing out a key to ensure that she knew which stitches to knit and which to purl, and of course to do the opposite on the wrong side.  I feel like charts in the round are probably a bit easier because you don't have to worry about right and wrong sides...

Anyway, after a few months of work, slipping in a few minutes of knitting time here and there when her busy schedule allowed, this beautiful creation was born.  It then made its world journey, first to California to spend a few nights with Sab's mom, and then off to its permanent home in India.  I unfortunately wasn't able to get a photo of the entire thing before it was sent off, but hopefully next time she goes, Sabrina will get an action shot of her grandmother with the shawl draped round her shoulders (I also hope her grandmother is wearing a brightly colored sari, because I think the neutral colored shawl will be a nice complement).

For now, enjoy these great detail shots of the shawl, and check out the photos on ravelry to imagine the entire thing.  And stay tuned for more guest posts from Sabrina.  I know she has a couple good projects in the works right now.

Materials: TBD - I still need to get this information from Sabrina.

WIP Wednesday

Here is my second installment of WIP Wednesday.  I alluded to this quilt top in my first WIP post.  I actually finished it a couple weeks ago, but I haven't had time to take pictures.  As previously mentioned, I followed this pattern from Confessions of a Fabric Addict.



I wasn't so precise about my measurements, so my top isn't a perfect square (I'll get actually measurements when it's complete).  I made most of the top with fat quarters I had in my stash.  Only the blue in the corners are not FQs, though the fabric is from my stash.  I used it to make these napkins last November.  I also didn't have enough fabric to make the strips on the sides different widths, so I did them all the same.  And I didn't have enough of the purple fabric for all 4 sides, so I used some yellow from my stash to set off the fourth edge.

The backing is made.  Now I just need to bast, quilt, and bind.  I think for this one I'm going to try a self-binding.  We shall see...

My only other update is that my zig zag quilt is almost complete!  It's quilted and the binding is  ready - now I just have to get it sewn on and my first donation for 100 Quilts for Kids will be ready!