BOM 7, Sun is Setting

That's right, the sun is setting. The colors went orange, yellow and red this month. I will admit, these are not my favorite colors. It's a part of the spectrum I have never been thrilled about, which is totally obvious when you look at the colors in my stash.

That being said, I had fun with this block. It was bright and had lots of depth. I have gotten into the habit of cutting as I go rather than trying to plan anything out. It's a lot of fun but it comes with a little risk.

I used most of the fabric provided for this one, and after laying everything out I realized I should have flipped the color spectrum of the larger triangles with the smaller outside triangles. Oh well, too late now.

I'm still super happy with how it turned out. It will be a nice addition to the collection of blocks we have so far. I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. Come on by and see what everyone is working on.

Santa Fe Bags

A couple months ago a friend had some fabric donations to share with me. I wrote about them here. There were a lot of fun pieces, but the one I was most excited about was a santa fe panel in two different color schemes.

I quickly cut out the panels and then laid them out to see if there was a quilt setting that might work.

The problem? I prefer the ones with pinks and purples, but the majority of them had browns. I do like teal, but the different panels had different teals so I couldn't use those to tie them together. So... what to do, what to do...

I started thinking about ways I could make them useful. My Mom suggested I consider making them bags. Interesting thought, and I had a wonderful border fabric that I wanted to incorporate. I figured that would be perfect for the inside with some corresponding fabrics.

I was ready to get to work. Here's what I've come up with.

This one is made of the pinks and purples. I decided to match a solid navy for borders and bought strap ribbon rather than making straps. This is perfect for carrying 12 inch blocks and some sewing tools back and forth from various quilting bees.

Each side has a different panel, but in the same colors.

For the inside, I used the border fabric and the navy and sewed it in a way that allows it to be reversible. I actually think I prefer the inside better than the outside.

For the other fabric, I changed up my sewing technique a bit. Rather than sashing down the sides, I used the boxed corner technique making it useful for carrying groceries, school supplies, or pjs for an overnighter.

The inside is also reversible. I dropped the border fabric down a little bit so that it wasn't right on the straps. I really like the look.

Each bag has two different panels, one on each side. So far I've completed 3 of the 5 bags. I still have fabric for 2 more. I haven't decided whether I should try a different technique with the last 2 or stick to what I've already done.

At any rate, it was fun and now I have some bags. I might share them with the kiddos teachers for Christmas, but we'll see. I haven't gotten that far yet.

3rd Quarter Check Up

I almost forgot to check in on my goal list for this year, and when I look to see how I'm doing...well, let's just say it's been rough going. Though I've gotten the kids to school now and have more 'alone' time, I've also decided to take a class and it's taking up a lot of my free time. That being said, I'm starting to find some balance and carving out some time to get things done.

So, with that being said, let's take a look at my list:

10 Things I want to Accomplish in 2015:

1. Finish my Vintage Stars Quilt - quilting and binding 
***I am just struggling with this. I love the quilt and I'm not confident with my machine and it's quilting abilities. I'm so afraid of messing it up. I have it out as a constant reminder and keep hoping it will happen.

2. Finish my son's Pirate Quilt 
***Complete!! Yeah! I even got a wall hanging done to match.

3. Finish the Alaska Stars Quilt - order more fabric to accomplish this 
***I tried to shop for the fabric I wanted and am suffering the hard blow of procrastination. The fabric I wanted is gone and I need to re-think and get back to work on this.

4. Make at least one Alphabet Quilt 
***Complete!! Yes, finally!

5. Complete a quilt from something pinned on Pinterest 
***Not yet, but I've added more choices, so maybe soon?

6. Add at least one tutorial to the blog 
***Not yet. I feel hung up on this one because I don't like math so much and I keep thinking about the simplicity of using EQ7 software. I'm hoping I can get over that when school is back and I can concentrate.

7. Complete a quilt pattern to post on Etsy 
***Not yet, see #6

8. Complete the BOM quilt top 
***So close.I thought I found the sashing/border fabric, but I am struggling to commit. I need to do it, I want this one done.

9. Make a quilt for the sofa for hubby
***Not yet. I only had 25 minutes to look for fabric this summer at my fave quilt shop and had to focus. Browsing was not an option. I need to get back on this.

10. Minimize fabric purchases to only necessities/work thru stash 
***As previously mentioned, I only had 25 minutes in my fave shop to travel to, which has helped minimize purchases. I had a pretty long list. I did purchase a few yards of white to make a quilt with about a 1/2 yard of scraps I have in my stash. I don't know if that really counts, but I'm trying. 

I have started a couple projects that were not on this list. You know how things pop up or inspire you suddenly. I am so excited about a quilt I'm working on with some scraps and I'm trying to use some donation fabrics a friend gave me to make some shopping bags. Hopefully those will go together pretty quickly. 

Alright, it's back to work. Let's see if I can't get some of this done. 

Add Another to the List

Many years ago, I made a quilt for a friend who was expecting her first. It was a kit I purchased from my fave LQS and the fabrics were just to-die-for. They are bright and fun with small tone-on-tone prints, which are totally my favorite. After I finished the quilt, I still had scraps and set them aside for another project.

Fast-forward about 10 years and I finally found a project for these scraps. I just couldn't let them go into the color bins, I had to keep them together. While sifting thru my scrap bin, these came out. Stars popped into my head and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do with this fabric.

I found some white background fabric that has stars...perfect. I was so excited to get cutting.

Even though this is the second quilt I'm making with these fabrics, it still makes me sad to throw away even the smallest scrap. Aren't they so pretty?

I had to do a lot of math fudging to figure out the blocks, but I am really happy with the end result. I finished the large stars (don't be fooled, they only measure 6 1/2" square) and still had scraps, so I decided to make some smaller ones to mix it up a bit (they measure 4 1/2" square).

So silly, but I still had a few pieces left that weren't enough to make anymore stars, so I made some snowballs that range from 2" to 2 1/2" square. Those were interesting to do the math for. They're going to be my glitter orbs floating around with the stars.

Man I wish I could lay these out and see what it's going to look like, but it has gotten a little too late, and dark to keep going. I need to lay them out on a white background to really be able to see how it's going to work. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some time. I'm so excited to see this one finished!