a new quilt for teddy and friends

I was pretty excited this month; time permitted me to sew a few blocks for the Block Lotto. Depending on how difficult the blocks are and what colors are being used, I might or might not participate. In the end, I want to receive the blocks I will be making. And if I have a difficult time making them, everyone else probably will too.

This month's block is a Triangle in a Square. Yahoo...an easy block. I can do this one and my daughter can help. (That was one of the reasons of joining the group - that my daughter was going to sew along with me.) We followed the directions and cut everything out just as described in Method Two: making eight blocks at once. I like making more at a time. Es rendiert sich! Silly me, I picked up the smaller squares to make the smaller triangles. (I really should read more carefully and not sew in the evenings. This always seems to cause a problem.) I sewed according to the next section and voila! My inner blocks were 1/2 inch smaller than they should be. Huh?? I remember reading on the website that someone else had also sewn the blocks together, and they were smaller. Where's the problem? Oh course, I got confused and picked up the wrong square. I needed the larger square for the smaller triangle and the smaller square for the larger triangle. Sound logical. At that moment, no.

Well, I trimmed them down and found a great use for them - a new quilt for teddy and friends! I let my daugter arrange them. Pink had to go in the center; it is a girly color. And even though teddy is a boy, he has to share with the girls as well. It will get quilted within the next couple of days with a really nice flannel backing so teddy and friends stay nice and cozy. I don't know if there is a block name for this layout. If there is not, we're going to call this teddy's block.

The next morning, I was on a mission to get it right. After re-reading the directions, everything seemed logical to me. I cut new colored patches slightly larger than the directions as before, because when I am sewing on the bias and cutting, I always like to have a little extra. That works for me. Everything went easy cheesy, except my daughter didn't want to help anymore.

This time I eliminated the red and substituted a light pink. The red was probably better, a little brighter. These are getting thrown into the lotto pot. Maybe I will win a collection? If not, it was fun working with my bright colors again --- so nice and cheery.

Thanks to a mix up of the mind, my daughter has a new quilt for her teddy and friends. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever made teddy bear quilts? What do you like about making them? If you have, I would love to hear about it. Please post in the comments section. I love to receive your comments! Until next time, happy patching.

my projects to finish in 2014

Are you getting organized in 2014? I am trying too. I photographed some of my projects to show myself what I need to finish up. If I have a list, I might actually start checking things off. I like to have all of my projects tucked away neatly in the drawers - out of site. But, out of site means out of mind. Here are most of my projects that I want to finish this year.

1.  My easypatchwork Sampler: it consists of twelve different more difficult blocks. I started this in one of quilting groups. Most of the blocks are spin-offs of theirs but are 12" instead of 40cm. That was just going to be too big of a quilt for me. And since I am not a quilter, I didn't want to take it on. I think I have six blocks finished. I really want to get this one finished this year. I will probably simplify some of the blocks. The sashing and sashing blocks are already cut. The binding already made.

2.  Helga's Cathedral Window Pillowcase and Table Runner: Somehow I don't even want to start this one knowing that it is going to challenge me. I have very little experience with cathedral windows and have no great desire to make a pillow full nor a matching table runner full of them using just two colors. I like it bright. Oh, this is for my mother-in-law; a special request.

3. Hospice Quilt - Rainbow over the Pacific:I started this quilt after my dad died. I had a jelly roll of rainbow batiks and wanted it to go quickly. I just had to sew to make myself feel better. I still have a lot of days like this. Sabine Feldmann helped me pick out the turquoise fabric to make it bright and cheery. It will be donated to the Hospice Facility of Winston-Salem, N.C. It is going to be so pretty in the end and comfort many people there.

4. The Dotty Nine Patch: Can you see a recurring color here? Turquoise? I loved the color over the last two years. I can't stop of using it. I originally started making this one for a magazine, but I highly doubt it will ever get published. I am such a procrastinator and I don't know if I would sew the pattern together again. It will make a nice wall hanging one day.

5. Chevron Color: Oh, and another project I started and lost interest. Sometimes I like to sew on foundation papers and sometimes not. When it becomes fiddle "Arbeit", I just don't want to anymore! One day I will get back to it. It really isn't very big; I think finished size should be around a sheet of office paper. This would have been a good one for the Kona Cotton Challenge.

6. Block Lotto QAL 2014: This one is going to be very pretty. This is one that my daughter and I are making together. It is going to be very bright and cheery and around for many days to come. I picked up the fabric fall of 2013 at a quilt shop when I was visited my mother in Asheville. The yellow and turquoise are gradients.

7. Nina's Choice: these very lovely fabrics I picked out with my niece, Nina. She really liked them and asked me to make a quilt from them. I am still thinking about a pattern. I found the matching owl fabric and thought it could go with the other three. My niece is still in elementary school, so it also has to grow with her yet be appropriate for her age.

8. Retro Table Runner with Curves: I started this one to learn a new technique. There are a lot of rounded curves which are made by sewing an additional piece of fabric into the block. Why did I never finish this one? The colors are great and the quilting was easy!

9. The Mariner's Compass: this was started two or three years ago when I wanted to learn how to make a mariner's compass. I had these really bright fabrics that I wanted to use. I managed to finish the foundation piecing...yeah!!! just not the quilting. I could jump on a long arm (rent) and practice a little. Oh, that sounds like a really good idea. Get some practice quilting.

10. A Cardinal in Winter: Oh, how I love cardinals. This one is also really, really old. I miss seeing the cardinals in winter, so I had to make this one. I thought it would look good with the blue framing, but I don't agree with that idea today. It is missing a cute little eye as well. This could be a quick finish and a pretty wall hanging for winter.

11. The Underground Railroad Sampler: has everyone made one of these?? I think this was one of my first samplers. It is using the smaller sized blocks too. This could have been sewn onto foundation paper, but it probably wouldn't have gotten finished. It just needs to be quilted and I bought all of the coordinating threads to do it. Again, in the to-do-drawer.

 

12. My hubby's Anniversary Plaid: This one is fairly new!! It has to get done the beginning of this year, before our terrific ten! It is not made from old shirts but from homespun plaids. I want to use a flannel for the backing and it has to be big enough to cover his from head to toe.

13. 3xo: I practiced this shape before I sewed OHO together. There is actually a technique where you don't have to pin the fabrics together when you sew the curves. This only works when you have non-stretchy good quality quilting fabric. This would make a nice table runner for anyone. Maybe I will finish and give away. Sounds great to me!

14. Sew Kitschy! A new project that will finish in the year 2014!

And there are a couple other projects, but I haven't even started them, so they are not going here until I at least have the fabric picked out. I hope you enjoyed my little show and tell. If you have project to-do-list yourself, I would love to hear about it. Maybe you can help me get more organized!! Please leave a tip or trick behind which can help all of us. Enjoy your weekend. No more blogging for me next week. I want to sew!

Sewingly yours,
Karen

new challenges for 2014

Wow! What a response to my Linear Refraction 60° Triangle and Parallelogram Quilt. Thank you so much for your support and warm comments. It really made my day and felt wonderful! I think everyone knows just how much it means when you receive a little recognition every so often. And with that in mind, I have joined several BOM (Block of the Month) programs and a block lottery. I was so inspired by reading all of your comments and visiting YOUR websites, I didn't want to miss out on all of the fun!

My first new program for this year is Cattinkas Hasenbach Challenge. I wanted to participate last year, but it filled up before the first week of enrollment was over! (or so I have it in my memories) Katrin organizes this program every year! I now her in real life as well, and she is really nice and has a great sense of humor! We are going on a weekend quilting retreat at the end of the month together with our patchwork group.

In this program, it is not set in stone what you have to make each month; it just has to be from one of Claudia Hasenbach's foundation pieced patterns, basically. I used to do a lot of foundation piecing in the past, but got a little bored with it after a while. We will see how long it keeps my interest. You can learn more about the challenge by clicking the picture below.

My second new challenge is a program with a lottery!! Yeahh! I might actually win something...lots and lots of blocks...the next best thing to winning fabric. ;-) This caught my attention, because there is no obligation. You can participate one month or not. You may donate blocks if you want and just watch the lottery. There are some regulations such as a particular color scheme to keep all of the blocks unified. That's clever! I not only will make blocks for the lottery, I decided I would make one block in the colorway of my choice to keep and make a BOM as suggested by Jean-sophie. My six year old daughter and I sewed together the first blocks on the weekend. She did a really good job!

You can read more about the block lottery by clicking on the picture below. Here are my first blocks for the Lotto!

Next up is the North Pole QAL (Quilt a Long) with Val Spiers. This actually started last year, but Katrin twisted my arm and is making participate in this one since I already had the book and all. ;.) I saw this pattern several years ago (when I was in my foundation craze) and bought it. Everything in the book is appliqué though. So it got put on hold. I worked out a version that was horizontal rather than vertical. We'll see how it goes. I am excited about those Christmas colors again. You can learn more about it by clicking the picture below.

And last but definitely not least, the Sew Kitschy BOM!! I think there are quite a few of you out there that are extremely excited about this one! I am not sure what turned me on so much the simplicity or the kitsch! I love retro! I think that's what did it. You can even purchase the entire pattern collection via Craftsy if you want in advance and skip the BOM. I am going for the monthly free foundation patterns. I am going to let the others sew first to see exactly how I want my blocks with beautiful retro fabrics. Oh, and if you were wondering what the fabric were at the top of the post, they are more than likely going to be my pick for Sew Kitschy!

You can learn more about the BOM by clicking the picture below.

That is it. Four new programs for 2014!! I have made the commitments. It is time to get down to business. In the next couple of weeks, I hope to have my list of WIPs (Work in Progress) that I would like to complete this year. I am a bit of a slacker and envy my colleagues who are soooo organized. I generally just jump in with arms and feet swinging everywhere!

Stay tuned and thanks again for all of your support and wonderful comments!!

Yours sewingly
Karen