Finish-a- Long quarter 1

When I started this Finish-a-Long, I couldn't visualize how it would work, so I didn't exactly do it right throughout the quarter..

Anyway, this was one of my finishes

Keeping up with the SHG QAL!

I was able to finish the blocks and the completed top by the deadline :)

This was no. 5 on my list

Out of the initial 5 on my list..

I got 2 done.

Meh, better luck next quarter?

I'll show the other finish tomorrow, back to sewing!

:)

Retro Flowers QAL (Follower Friday)

This week instead of our usual one guest for Follower Friday, we have two! The lovely Megan from City Stitches and Bianca from Sweet Diesel Designs.

The reason for two followers this week is that these ladies are collaborating to host a QAL that starts in April. They're calling it the Retro Flowers QAL.

They will be using the Retro Flowers pattern by Christina from The Sometimes Crafter in the QAL. In order to participate you MUST purchase the pattern, they will not be providing templates or explicit pattern details in their posts. The pattern is $10 and can be found here

You can also get acrylic templates from Jill at Made on Main Street

Photo courtesy of Christina 

Schedule of posts

3/20: Welcome - Both

4/2: Templates/cutting - Bianca

4/9: Sewing curves - Megan

4/23: Piecing Blocks - Bianca

4/30: Piecing Quilt - Megan

5/7: Quilting by Machine - Bianca

5/14: Quilting by Hand - Megan

5/21: Thank you/Linky Party opens -Both

6/1: Deadline to link up

What's a QAL without some giveaways??

Our judges will be Rachel (Stitched in Color), Nova (A Cuppa and a Catch Up) and Christina (The Sometimes Crafter)

Prizes are sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop:

• There will be 2 giveaways each featuring a Jelly Roll of your choice! Both Bianca and Megan will be giving away one of these randomly at the end of April.
• Grand Prizes: To be eligible for one of the grand prizes, you must submit your finished quilt through the linky party by June 1. Here's the breakdown..
  
  
  One grand prize will be awarded by Christina (the pattern designer) to the quilt which most exemplifies her vision of the pattern (color, quilting, final product, act).
  
  
  Two grand prizes will be given out for best (and most modern) use of color and fabric. These will be judged by Rachel of Stitched in Color, Nova of A Cuppa and A Catch Up, Bianca of Sweet Diesel Designs, and myself. 

Now, from personal experience, I've tried this pattern and it is SO quilter friendly and easy to make, don't let the curves scare you off! Plus, check out the gorgeous work already happening in the Flickr Group 

I'm off to choose my fabrics and get things ready!

Enjoy the weekend :)

W.i.P.

I feel  like i'm lacking direction lately, so even though I don't have much in the way of progress, I decided to write a post to try and organize things..

Works in Progress
1. SHG QAL - top complete, need to make backing and quilt still

2. Granny Squares - Squares complete, needs sashing and backing still

3. do. good stitches - LOVE circle - No progress. BELIEVE circle - done. (Some of you may remember i'll be hosting the BELIEVE circle starting in April, but I need to finish my commitment for March to LOVE still..)

4. We Bee Modern Too - March block done.

New Projects
1. Surprise quilt

2. Retro Flowers QAL - More on that later :)

On Hold (but NEED to get finished)
1. Sew Cherry QAL - needs quilting
2. Swoon (both of them!)

I'm sure there's more than that but my brain seems to not be working.. notice the lack of finishes? Oy.

I'm attempting to "spring clean" my projects and i'm realizing I have a lot of quilt tops/blocks that need sashing that need to be finished. I'm hoping to get a lot of these done over my spring break (still 2 weeks away!) Hopefully more "real progress" to show soon :)

As always, I'm linking up with Lee

"No-Pin" option

I just found out a bit of news surrounding the Pinterest issues and copyright on pictures that I thought I might share. 

Flickr recently started allowing their members the option of "no-pin"

Which means people will not be allowed to pin your flickr pictures, they'll have to go to the original source/bog post, etc.

If you have any interest in this here's how to go about doing it

Go to the privacy setting on flickr

The 2nd one down that says "allow others to share your stuff" 

make sure that says "no"

Flickr will automatically put in their "no-pin" code on your pictures

You can still pin your own things if you should choose to

but other people will not be able to.

Update - The fabulous Hadley brought it to my attention that this may prohibit you from being allowed to use pictures in mosaics and adding as favorites -- then she tested it, happy to report its not the case. Even if you "no-pin" you will still be able to use the pictures in mosaics and as favorites!

Thanks Hadley!

Pretty simple

I've found that you can still pin from a persons photo stream, but not the specific picture.

Still a work in progress I guess

If you want more information about this "no-pin" option I found some information here, here and here.

I personally don't mind people pinning my things, but I'd prefer they did it from the specific blog post and link it back to me, which is why I decided to turn off the pinning on flickr.

Also, I personally hate it when I find a pin and it takes me to a flickr page haha

No post is complete without a bit of loveliness..

Cut these last night for my next project 

Happy Tuesday :)

Birthday Weekend

This weekend FLEW by,

I did get some fabulous loot to share though :)

Boyfriend found Fat Quarter Shop

and ordered me these two gorgeous bundles

Seriously, I was shocked.

Putting up with my obsession is one thing.. fueling it is another 

Thanks boyfriend :)

Oh, and I may have been hinting I wanted EQ7.. yep all mine!

Now comes his job of attempting to make it work on a mac

Anyone have any advice or experience with this???

I also managed to get some sewing done and finish up my granny squares

That makes 27 in all, time to start quilting :)

And lastly, 

We have our Birthday winner!

You know how no. 1 rarely gets picked.. well this time out of 47 entries

The last entry! Woohoo for Toni!

Toni is one of the sweetest people i've met in blogland, 

so if you haven't seen her blog, you MUST go check it out.

Toni, I've emailed you!

Thats all for today, have a great Monday everyone

I intend to get some SERIOUS sewing done this week, 

I've been slacking!

blogger bundles

I'm having so much fun making these!

I personally have a really hard time matching complimentary fabrics

so I decided to use a tertiary color wheel and make some bundles

"Primary Effect"

(read top to bottom L-R)

1. Closet Coat in Blue

2. Millie's Closet Solid in Ocean Blue

3. Metro Living Lattice in Dusty Blue

4. Truck Stop Dot in Blue

5. Circle Stripes in Poppy Red

6. Simple Dots in Poppy Red

7. Sundae Stripe in Ruby Red

8. Hello Pilgrim Butterfly Sky in Red

9 Haybale in Yellow

10. Circle in Daffodil

11. Fizz in Yellow

12. Metroliving Lattice in Marigold

"Secondary Effect"

1. Dotted Leaf in Green

2. Woodgrain in Green

3. Hideaway Green Folk Art Birds

4. Purses in Green

5. Meritza Dot in Periwinkle

6. Purple with Green Flowers 1974

7. 1001 Peeps Jewels in Purple

8. Outfoxed Confetti in Purple

9. 1001 Peeps Jewels in Orange

10. Seeds in Orange

11. Prairie Rose in Fiesta

12. Big Dot orange - Annie's Farm Stand

I found all of these on Pink Castle Fabrics

and i'll be linking them up at I'm a Ginger Monkey

:)

Maybe i'll actually have some sewing to show soon?

Follower Friday

No regular interview today..

Sorry to disappoint

Today I decided to make it about all the followers

and hold a giveaway for my birthday!

So, since i'm turning 24, the giveaway is open for 24 hours

oh,

and its for CURRENT followers as a "thanks for putting up with me"

The winner will receive 

a FQ bundle of Hello Pilgrim (blue color way)

I've set the giveaway up with Julie

so once a winner is determined and I have your snail mail

she will ship directly to you.

That's it, one comment per person

tell me anything you want, its friday, we're all tired 

no hoops to jump through

:)

Giveaway closes on Saturday March 24
11:30am EST

Giveaway is closed!

Tuesday Tidbit

If you haven't heard about the contest Katy is hosting you should check it out

Here's my FQ bundle mosaic

I think I have summer sunsets and ocean water on the brain :)

I'm calling it "Summer Breeze"

Row 1:  

Timeless Treasures Sketch Crosshatch in Yellow

 Metroliving Lattice in Marigold

Medallion in Red Gold

Row 2: 

Runabout Dots in Frothy Pink

Herringbone in Berry Pink

Dandelion in Coral

Row 3: 

Hello Pilgrim Stripe in Aqua

Pearl Bracelet in Turquoise

Ta Dot in Sea Aqua 

Row 4:

 Sea Garden in Ocean

 Waves in Ocean

Circle Stripes in Cloud Gray

Have a great day, be back tomorrow with some WIP

.com

Sooo, you may or may not have noticed but Knotted-Thread is officially a dot com!

Boyfriend and I went to DC this weekend to visit some friends and one just so happens to be a computer whiz, so he got me all set up!
(Thanks Kevin!!)
Should have no problem just redirecting you from the blogspot,
but you may want to update your reader/bloglovin/etc.

We also got to see the cherry blossoms in bloom, which, you may or may not know is happening about a MONTH early because of all the warm weather

Jefferson monument

boyfriend and I

MLK Jr. monument, new as of 2/2012

cherry blossoms!

It was unreal to be walking around in flip-flops in March!

Gorgeous day and fabulous weekend

I did manage to get some sewing done last night..

finished up some more granny squares

makes 16 all together!

Have a happy Monday!

:)

Follower Friday

We're back with a new follower!

This week we have 

Steph!

Specs: 

Name:  Stephanie 

Family:  Craig (husband) and Logan (5-year-old son) 

Location:  Omaha, Nebraska, USA 

Blog:  http://stephjacobson.blogspot.com  

Flickr:  stephjacobson  

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/stephjacobson/ 

Etsy:  http://stephjacobson.etsy.com (though my shop has been empty for awhile!) 

Day job:  retail pharmacist 

Dream job:  stay-at-home mom, full-time crafter, or elementary school teacher <--(this was my dream job in elementary school--some days I wish I had pursued this)  

What are you working on now? 

finishing up all those quilt tops I've made (making the tops is so much fun but finishing them not so much); fabric grocery bags (I just bought a Keyka Lou pattern); making baby stuff for my friend who is expecting her first child in August 

Favorites: 

Place:  Relaxing by a lake.  We took a family vacation to Lewis & Clark Lake in Yankton, SD last summer--I'd love to go back. 

Movies:  PS I Love You, Hot Tub Time Machine, Gone in 60 Seconds 

Food:  pasta 

Way to spend a Friday night:  at home with my family watching a movie 

Fabric line:  pretty much anything by Moda and Riley Blake--right now I want some Half Moon Modern by Moda--love those scissors prints! 

Color:  I love bright colors but also really like gray right now 

Designer:  Michael Miller 

Project completed by you:  I have lots of favorite projects but the one I'm most proud of is the baby blanket I made for a friend's baby girl 10 years ago.  It started my love of quilting.  At the time, I had no idea what I was doing.  It was before you could google something on the internet.  I used horrible polyester batting because I didn't know any better.  I hand-tied it because I had no clue how to machine quilt.  I didn't know how to bind it so I used some kind of ruffle trim that I didn't even attach correctly.  I was still so proud of it.  As the years passed and I learned more about quilting, I was kind of embarrassed by my gift.  I delivered another baby quilt last year to this same friend to celebrate the birth of her third child.  Her 10-year-old daughter still had her blanket which she kept in her memory box.  She brought it out to show me and it looked much better than I remembered.  I don't have a picture of that quilt, so I'll share my second favorite project, too.  It's my version of a $198 Anthropologie bag I made for a knock-off challenge.  It was my first attempt at piecing something other than squares (don't look too close--many of the points don't match up) and I was really happy with how it turned out.  I use it as my library bag and get a lot of compliments on it. 

Project when you need a quick finish:  Anna Maria Horner's quick change trousers, baby bibs or softies (for baby gifts) or fabric grocery bags (morsbags are my favorite) 

Least Favorites: 

Color:  purple 

Fabric line:  I like pretty much anything but Karavan by Free Spirit Fabrics is one I've seen recently that I don't really care for. 

Project completed by you:  A quilt intended as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law that is still sitting in my craft room unfinished.  It started off with so much promise.  I used a Moda Fresh Flowers charm pack to make a pretty disappearing nine patch panel.  Instead of just using this small panel for a baby quilt I decided to try and turn it into a larger quilt.  Instead of buying another charm pack to make the panel larger I decided to add odd borders and a weirdly-pieced backing.  Instead of using straight-line quilting which I'm able to do, I decided to give free-motion quilting a whirl.  (Don't they warn to you practice on a small project first?)  The result is a project I have no desire to finish yet have too much time and money invested so I really need to finish it.  And I'm sure my mother-in-law would love it but right now all I can see are the imperfections. 

OK--maybe it's not that bad?  Maybe I just needed a break from it.

Big plans for 2012? 

Spend less time on the computer and more time creating.  (I am not off to a good start with this goal!)   

Make my first I-spy quilt using the charms from my first fabric swap. 

Participate in more fabric swaps and host at least one more swap--they're so much fun! 

Make baby quilts and other baby items to donate to expectant mothers in need.  (I say this every year but if I can master machine binding my quilts I think I can make this happen.) 

Try a new quilting technique and use up my scraps--string quilt blocks are first on the list. 

Give my family mostly handmade gifts for birthdays/Christmas. 

Thanks Stephanie!

Personally, I think the quilt is very pretty, great colors!

Take a step back and give it some time, then come back to it -- happens to everyone

Thank you again for taking time out of your life to be a featured follower today!

As always, if you have any interest in being featured

email me at

knot.threads@gmail.com

We'll be taking a break from follower next week, 

but only because it's my birthday and I have a surprise for you all instead 

:)

Have a great weekend!

St. Patrick's Day

I had anticipated finishing this project sooner..

I had anticipated tutorials for these blocks..

I had anticipated so much more.. 

Life happened, 2nd job interfered and it just didn't happen.

But here's my finished product anyway :)

 festive holiday runner

this was (and still is in my opinion) looking like a pilgrim hat

maybe if it was green? the shamrock helps, but not much :)

back of the runner

So, any suggestions for the pilgrim leprechaun hat??

Maybe i'll alter it and have it ready for next St. Patricks day.. maybe?

Have a great day!

:)

W.i.P Wednesday

It's been a longgg time since I've posted one of these..

It's also been a longgg time since I had enough progress to do so!

Works in Progress

1. Granny Squares QAL - 

8 done, 12 more to go

2. Sew Happy Geek QAL - 

needs sashing..

3. do. good stitches (March) - no progress

4. We Bee Modern Too (March blocks)- done and mailed

5. Sew Cherry QAL- top finished, needs basting and quilting

6. Charity quilt - show piece finished (more on this in another post)
7. Paper Piecing for the Terrified - no progress

Finished Projects- 

1. St. Patricks Day Runner (more on this tomorrow)

New Projects

1. Wedding Quilt (for our friends) - fabric picked out

2. Baby quilt (for my mentor) - fabric picked out

As always, I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced

Block round-up

This past weekend I focused on tying up loose ends and finishing March commitments

I managed to get my We Bee Modern Too block done

with siggy block..

Then I also completed the remaining 3 blocks in the SewHappyGeek QAL!

My 1st attempt at paper piecing!! 

Loved it!

All of the completed blocks

Now, to get the sashing done and the quilt top pieced to add to the link-up

I think this quilt might be one of my favorites

:)

drinking the kool-aid

As most of you have seen, there is a new block sweeping the blogging world..

The granny square!

I of course, had to take part.

My mom's the crochet-er in the family, so this is destined for her

I'm using a charm pack of domestic bliss and the coordinating solids

from pink chalk fabrics

eight down, more to go 

I'm linking up with SHG Manic Monday and Sew Modern Monday

Have a great Monday everyone!

:)