Distractibility at its finest..

I've been trying to really focus on the projects i'm working on and to get as much done as I can... well.. it worked for a little while this weekend. I got my April bee blocks done as well as some necessary quilting one one of my UFO quilt tops.. but then.. Sunday rolled around and I just needed to do something different.

I've loved Jeni's tutorial at Moda BakeShop for the patchwork chevron since it was posted. But, her tutorial calls for 4 charm packs - I know for a fact I do not have 4 charm packs of any pattern laying around and i'm really trying to be good about using my stash.. so I decided to modify it a bit

I used 2 charm packs of Good Fortune I had and created this...

It uses exactly 2 charm packs (or 84 squares) plus approx. 1.5 yards of a solid
It measures approx. 54 x 70"

Where Jeni uses a 3x3 square of charms initially, I used a 2x2 

Followed the same way Jeni made her HST's

 Finished squares measured approx. 9"

Once they were all done, I decided on a layout and went about piecing

It came together very quickly, exactly what I needed

When you're pieced your patchwork piecing will not match up! 

It's the same as the original tutorial.

easy peasy and satisfied my itch to work on something new :)

It was actually a very windy day yesterday, but perseverance pays off

Okay, anyone else realize the this means I have ANOTHER unfinished quilt top to add to the list

whoops. haha

I'm linking up with Manic Monday, Sew What Monday

and Quilt Story

Sunday Sewing

I'm attempting to finish up my commitments for April today and get them in the post asap. So here's my April blocks for We Bee Modern Too - Caroline chose the blocks this month "Lemons and Limes"

Ironically, this block with the curves overlapped with the Retro Flowers QAL

I think i've reached my curves quota for a while..

I'm waiting on more white for my sashing before I show the completed Retro Flowers top

:)

Follower Friday - Shanna

We're back with a new follower today!

With us is..

Shanna!

 Specs:

Name: Shanna Ragan
Family: Husband of 14 years, 2 daughters ages 9 and 6, and a kitty almost 1 year old
Location: North Carolina
Blog: shopsweetandsassy.blogspot.com
Flickr: sqragan
Twitter: sqragan
Etsy: sweetandsassygifts.etsy.com

Day job: Clinical Research
Dream job: Quilt Shop owner and long arm quilter….might as well dream big!!

What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on making bed quilts for my 2 daughters, 2 quilts for Teacher appreciation week, and a whole lot of other WIPs!  I am also trying to branch out into more modern quilting.

 

Favorites:
Place:  I have travelled and lived in a lot of states and my favorite is my home state of CA.  I lived in southern CA, close to the beach.  Next year, my husband and I are planning a big trip to Europe, so this information may change!
Movie: Say Anything, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles….what can I say, I am a child of the 80s.
Food: chocolate
Way to spend a Friday night: Right now, our current Friday night ritual is a pizza picnic in the living room, watching a movie with my girlies!  

Fabric line: oh so many!!  Flea Market Fancy, Neptune, Good Folks

Color: purple and teal
Designer: Denyse Schmidt, Tula Pink, Joel Dewberry…all my favorites right now

Projects completed by you:
Project when you need a quick finish:  ruffled front zipper pouch.  These are super easy and always make the person receiving very happy!

Least Favorites:
Color: Peach…hands down
Fabric line: I can’t narrow down a line, but I am not a big fan of muted, large florals.  I like bright and/or modern prints!

Big plans for 2012?
I’d like to try my hand at pattern design.  I have already written my first pattern and it’s in the first round of editing.  My sister is a graphic designer and has done an AMAZING job with the layout.  I can’t wait to have it finalized!

Other big plans include just making memories with my sweet family.  I want my girlies to have the best childhood!  And they are at such a great age!

Thank you so much for letting me share about myself!

------------------------

Thank you Shanna for participating!

As always, if you'd be interested in being featured

please email me at

knot.threads@gmail.com

:)

W.i.P. Retro Flowers Style

Well, the only thing I've really been working on this week is my Retro Flowers so I think i'll just focus on that. I completed 9 more blocks bringing the grand total to 25! I decided to do a 5x5 blanket with a smaller white border, so this week i'll be working this week to put the quilt top together..

This is the last set of blocks..

And as I was trying to determine a layout.. my helper :)

Such a good puppy, doesn't walk on the blocks or quilts when i'm working and she lays under my machine when i'm sewing :)

As always, I'm linking up with Lee 

make sure you go check out how everyone else is doing!

Winter Stitching

Wayyyy back in October, I posted my Winter Stitching List led by Sarah

Though I updated a few times through Christmas, when I saw the posts starting to pop up in April.. I can honestly say I forgot about it! Whoops! Hopefully I subconsciously channeled this list and got some things done?? maybe? :)

1. Modern Christmas Table Runner Swap - done

2. Elf Wall Hanging -done

 

3. SewHappyGeek Wall Hanging/Table Runner Swap -done

4. Ruby, Pearl and Opal Quilt - blocks done but not completed

5. Swoon Quilt (8 done) - the never-ending W.I.P. 

I've decided on a "true blue" for the last block

just need to get around to making it :)

6. Houndstooth Quilt - on hold.

7. Finish quilt design - design is done, measurements are done, construction is not.

8. Christmas Surprise Quilt (Memory Quilt) - done

9. Crochet cowl scarf - done (no pictures, sorry!)

10. Sewing machine cover - nope.

11. Wall hanging (design i've been wanting to make foreverrrr) - nope.

12. Baprons (babies due before Christmas plus some extras to have on hand) - nope.

13. Participate in 2-3 more swaps (maybe host my own??) - participated in the Mouthy Stitches Swap, Rainbow Swap and hosted the Polka Dot Swap- done

14. Write some tutorials! - ehhh, i'm not feeling creative enough. I'm a great copycat but personally creative.. i'm lacking 

15. LEARN HOW TO FMQ! - continually practicing, i've been stippling so a W.I.P. 1/2 done

16. Finish my 2 P.I.F. projects - whoops! need to do these!

I did NOT realize how many things I had put on this list, or the amount of (or lack of) i'd have with a full time job. All in all, I'm alright with this list and i'm happy to report i've been producing more attainable lists since this one.. 

How'd you do on your list? Make sure to check out how everyone else did!

Retro Flowers finale? or not?

This weekend was wet.. and cold.. and more wet, and its looking like this week will be more of the same. That just means I have more reason to get some sewing done! :)

I basted and pinned both my SHG quilt top and my granny squares quilt top this weekend.. no quilting progress to show, though I did get some done.
I need thoughts and opinions.. for the Chasing Chevrons quilt top, how would you quilt it? I was thinking of dying some organic wavy lines, but then I really liked this chevron quilting (btw how amazing is that quilt).

So, thoughts and opinions would be GREATLY appreciated - I'm trying not to take away from the quilt top with the quilting - the backing is a solid piece of blue fabric and I'm planning to use gray thread to quilt it..

Okay, onto the actual sewing this weekend. I finished 5 more of my Retro Flowers blocks bringing the grand total to 16!

Excuse the lopsided pictures, it was starting to drizzle and I wanted to get the pictures taken during the brief pause in rain!

I put all the blocks together in Picasa to see what the layout could look like

When we laid it out on the floor I started thinking about how a 5x5 would look..

then I realized the Hope Valley line is 24 fabrics and I happen to have them all..

I'd only need to supplement one fabric to make my 5x5

I'll give you one guess as to what I did next..

:)

Follower Friday

It's that time of the week again!!

Woohoo, survived till Friday!

This week we have

Cherie!

Specs:

Name: Cheraldine

Family: I live with my 2 Giant brothers and crazy parents

Location: UK

Blog: http://ibescheraldine.blogspot.co.uk/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ibescheraldine/

Day job: Currently Unemployed,  but sewing like a crazed lunatic!

Dream job: To own my own business, which I’m currently working towards. It would be making and selling various fabric items. I love to sew and this would be just perfect!

What are you working on now? I’m in the process of making items to sell at a carnival coming up in my area. It’s not until July so I have a few months to sew like crazy!

I’m also in the Modern She made Swap and have been creating an item for my partner. These are just some ideas.

Favorites:

Place: I really love Poplars Garden Centre! During the seasons they have various displays and it always looks amazing 

Movie: I’ve watched a lot of movies in my time; my all time favourite has got to be A Goofy Movie!

Food:  I love shepards pie! I don’t know what It is about it, but it always tastes great!

Way to spend a Friday night: I usually have to cook dinner on a Friday. Before hand I get as much sewing done as possible and wind down the evening with some blog reading and commenting.

Fabric line: I love so many different fabrics from various lines. I tend to choose the ones I love the most when buying like shown here. I love the Echo prints and anything spotty and dotty.

Color: I have a range of favourite colours. I prefer the darker shade. Midnight blue, Plum purple, bottle green and I love burnt orange.

Designer: That is a tough choice! I must give credit to Patty Sloniger. I love the Backyard Baby fabrics and hunted down a bundle! I won’t be using that for a while. I also love the Lizzy House fabrics.

Project completed by you: I must admit I haven’t completed an awful lot of projects as I only really got into quilting late February. One quilt I have made and love is my MAM Quilt (mine all mine) - I have a tutorial - I Had just started buying fabrics and used the ones I loved to make this quilt.

Project when you need a quick finish: I like making pillows. To be honest it takes me a while to pick a backing fabric for them, but they are quick to make.

Least Favorites:

Color: I don’t like red or pink! Either hardly used on a fabric is fine, but solid based no way!

Fabric line: I’m not a fan of prints with sealife on them…..I’ve seen the Heather Ross Mendocino and I’m afraid to say I really don’t like the prints. I don’t like anything too floral either.

Project completed by you: I made baby quilts. The backing and binding went all wrong! I think I’ll eventually bind them properly and I may love them more…

Big plans for 2012?

As mentioned before the Carnival is coming up so I’ll be making a lot of things for that. Next year me and my best friend plan to open up an online business selling various handmade items! I guess buying as much fabric as possible is a big plan, since I’ll have to hunt for the best prices. USA seems to be the way to go, the exchange rate works out really well and I’ve bought some great fabrics!

I’m hoping to find another job soon, so I’ll have more money to buy all the fabric and sewing items I need to make my dream more of a reality.

I would also like to join more swaps and follow more blogs to learn more about the quilting world =D

Thank you for participating Cherie!

I really appreciate every follower that has volunteered to be featured!

I love learning more about each one of you and seeing your work

If you'd like to be featured

email me at

knot.threads@gmail.com

We'd love to have you!

Have a great weekend everyone, i'm off to quilt and bind

many quilts.. I hope!