Happy New Year!

Magic Boxes

A few days into the new year and I'm thrilled to say... I've got two finishes down!  Curated Quilts is hosting a mini quilt challenge where you use the colors :leaf green, blue grey, black, orchid, light grey, and medium grey.  The deadline is January 10th (so I'm REALLY proud of my very early finish) so there's time left if you'd like to partake in the fun.  If you live on the east coast - you've probably got some extra time on your hands.  We got about 8-10 inches of snow yesterday and it was beautiful but simultaneously.... frustrating.  We lost power overnight but thankfully it was restored yesterday.  In enough time for me to complete both of these....

My hummingbird feeder looks like a Jiffy pop pan!

The snow that was blown under our carport!!

Because I'm an overachiever - I couldn't make just one.  Plus with a size of 10" square up to 16" square ---- it's small enough to be able to make that deadline.

My first entry is all about 3 dimensions.  My grandson saw it on my design board the other day and said - Nana - you're a magician!!  How did you make those boxes come off the wall?   So that one was a hit.  Anytime you can get an 8 year old boy to comment on a quilt - it's got to be good.  I named it Magic Boxes just for him.

My second entry was a result of looking at the fabric scraps and thread (sitting all over my workspace) while binding my first entry.  I couldn't resist - so as soon as I finished Magic Boxes .... I jumped right on to it.  It's a love note to my husband.  It's called I Could Never Untangle You From My Heart.

I Could Never Untangle You From My Heart

Doesn't the black thread look like it's just laying there?  I'm very happy with this one.  :)

Have yourself a great new year and let's all make some beautiful things!!

Rocks Optional

Apparently words are, too.  In a hurry to post this to Curated Quilts.  More later....

It's later now.

So this all started with a little peer pressure.  My dear friend and quilt enabler @Marymenzerdesigns posted a photo of what she was working on for the latest round of mini challenge by Curated Quilts.  I'd been seeing some of the entries -all little works of art but once I saw Mary's efforts- I knew I had to knuckle down and get to work.  And there was a full 24 hours left to make and complete the project.  All the time in the world, right?

They wanted us to use a certain palette.  Charcoal, chartreuse, pale pink, mango, and greyish beige.  Ok...not gonna lie here- these are not my colors.   Having said that- sure enough...there they were in my stash (snickering at me for poo-pooing them).  I needed reassurance about my fabric pull and of course, consulted Ping.   She confirmed my selection met the criteria.

 

Oops.  Here's the photo with the chartreuse.   Ping reminded me off camera I'd neglected to put it on the table. Hard to see it when she's positioned a big fluffy sprawled out body on top of it...

We were to incorporate a log cabin design or be inspired by a log cabin design.  It could range from 10 inches by 10 inches up to 16x16.  I love making mini's.  you get to be creative but not beat yourself up if you don't like the direction it took.  Nothing like making a twin-sized dud.  And all crafters have those hideous projects that we got so far into... and then realised ...yuck- what was I thinking- this stinks.  And then you can't stop making it because you've invested so much time and money so you finish it.  And then it's folded up and hidden away.  Yep- got a few of those.  

The wonk is my groove.  When I'm trying to be free from rulers and precision- go to the wonk.  Wonky log cabins are my favourite block so I knew I'd love the process if I could start from there.   I made three but only two made it into the final design.  

The heavy quilting is kind of an undercurrent to pull your eye away from the graphics of the piece...  I liked the way it turned out.

I added the rocks because it looked lonely when I was photographing it.  Which just helped me give it a name - Rocks Optional.  Silly name but it just seems to fit. Enjoy the eye candy and don't forget to check out Curated Quilts!

Roaring to the deadline

CherryWood Fabrics held a contest.  Need I say more.  Ummm...yes - sign me up.   Of course, there was a nice lengthy time to enter before the deadline (a few months, I believe).  Per usual, I chose the work under pressure manner of creating - so in about 36 hours before the deadline - I was in.

It started like this.   It even came with a permission slip to encourage me to cut into those GORGEOUS fabrics....

And like a fearless lioness - I did just that. 

The theme was Lion King, The Musical.  If you had a chance to see any of their challenge entries from last year, based on the musical Wicked - they were amazing.  If you didn't catch it - by all means take a look.  Spectacular work.  I put the link below but you can google it and get even more things to peruse.

I was going to use the circle of life reference as my inspiration.

Finding all things circular for tracing

Lots of good choices for color

I toyed with this design but it was far too simplistic.  Didn't have enough "oomph".

So I mulled it over a night (wasted hours....) and then I got really juiced up and figured out a more complex and interesting design.  Which required...

A nice 9 degree wedge

The wedge really started working for me and I wound up with this:

 

I harnessed my super power : "working really fast under pressure" and the design began to form:

And eventually became this:

I called upon my secondary super hero power: "quilting the snot of out of a quilt".

And thus:

Mufasa is raw edge appliquéd with lots of tiny, slow quilting moves.

Totally worth the time....

Of course, what kind of sewist would I be without a little thread controversy....  Also per usual, I goofed a little (a lot) and had to do some unsewing.  Which leads me to my next tidbit to share.... I'm making seam rippers!!

I have learned how to turn these on a lathe and polish them into beautiful sewing tools.  If you've ever  held one of these in your own hand - then you know how good they feel.  If you haven't - you should absolutely take one for a test drive.  They feel luxurious.  I hardly minded unsewing while using this!!  More on this later...

So while the Mission Impossible them music played loudly - and despite the temporary slow down for unsewing, I was able to enter the contest (and I still had and hour and a half before the actual deadline!!!).

I'm pleased with my result (although those toes need some polish....) ...  What are you working on???

Wicked Challenge:Cherrywood Wicked Challenge 2015

Roaring to the deadline

CherryWood Fabrics held a contest.  Need I say more.  Ummm...yes - sign me up.   Of course, there was a nice lengthy time to enter before the deadline (a few months, I believe).  Per usual, I chose the work under pressure manner of creating - so in about 36 hours before the deadline - I was in.

It started like this.   It even came with a permission slip to encourage me to cut into those GORGEOUS fabrics....

And like a fearless lioness - I did just that. 

The theme was Lion King, The Musical.  If you had a chance to see any of their challenge entries from last year, based on the musical Wicked - they were amazing.  If you didn't catch it - by all means take a look.  Spectacular work.  I put the link below but you can google it and get even more things to peruse.

I was going to use the circle of life reference as my inspiration.

Finding all things circular for tracing

Lots of good choices for color

I toyed with this design but it was far too simplistic.  Didn't have enough "oomph".

So I mulled it over a night (wasted hours....) and then I got really juiced up and figured out a more complex and interesting design.  Which required...

A nice 9 degree wedge

The wedge really started working for me and I wound up with this:

 

I harnessed my super power : "working really fast under pressure" and the design began to form:

And eventually became this:

I called upon my secondary super hero power: "quilting the snot of out of a quilt".

And thus:

Mufasa is raw edge appliquéd with lots of tiny, slow quilting moves.

Totally worth the time....

Of course, what kind of sewist would I be without a little thread controversy....  Also per usual, I goofed a little (a lot) and had to do some unsewing.  Which leads me to my next tidbit to share.... I'm making seam rippers!!

I have learned how to turn these on a lathe and polish them into beautiful sewing tools.  If you've ever  held one of these in your own hand - then you know how good they feel.  If you haven't - you should absolutely take one for a test drive.  They feel luxurious.  I hardly minded unsewing while using this!!  More on this later...

So while the Mission Impossible them music played loudly - and despite the temporary slow down for unsewing, I was able to enter the contest (and I still had and hour and a half before the actual deadline!!!).

I'm pleased with my result (although those toes need some polish....) ...  What are you working on???

Wicked Challenge:Cherrywood Wicked Challenge 2015

Teeny tiny quilt making - it takes just as long!

This was made with 3/4 inch blocks

Ladies and gentlemen, we must take a break at this point while we stop to add another unscheduled project of gigantic importance.  It's a mini quilt with a deadline...


As a heavy voyeur of Instagram (IG), I am constantly flooding my brain with ideas.  Like a rabid squirrel in a mirror tile factory ....I'm thinking...oh- got to make that, oooh - I love that..really need to make one of those, arghh - look at how cute that is...and on it goes.  Just like one of the popular kids, I'm hanging out with my head at the 90 degree tilt studying the world of quilting (and britishshorthair cats, knitters, tattoo artists, some painters, some surfers....I've got a pretty eclectic group of interests).

I was making my morning rounds on the old IG when - bam- there it was.  Make Modern Magazine had a teeny tiny quilt challenge.  What - a challenge of which I was not aware of (well...actually, kind of aware of the challenge just not the deadline)?  Ok yes - I did know about it but what hit my eye was the deadline.... the 20th!!!  And it was morning....  I had 16 hours left to make that quilt!!!  PPffhh  (close your eyes and tilt your head in a dismissive manor while saying that...) - 16 hours - heck I could make a normal size quilt and this is only a tiny one.  Challenge on!

I wanted to go really tiny...

My inspiration really came over the weekend when I was at my Virginia Beach Modern Quilt Guild meeting.  @Megmormel showed off her pineapple collection.  Made with 2.5,  2,  1.5,  1, and 3/4 inch blocks.  Look at that quilt in the center with the key - it's a real quilt!!  Batting and binding and all!  I was mesmerized...   So when I saw all those quilts on IG with the #mmminimini tag....I was really excited to try my hand at this....

I chose a strawberry design that I'd sketched up a few weeks ago (after seeing pineapples everywhere and it was Pungo Strawberry Festival time - I felt it was my civic duty to give a nod to our local produce celebrant).  Jana (Megmormel) said her tiniest was in 3/4 inch blocks so ....I had to use that size.

make tiny blocks - use tiny iron...

Once I got the blocks going I realized I'd need some HST.  Ahem - what???  Yikes... But - disaster averted when I made them via the Magic HST method and cut them down to size.  This method is SUPER easy and I love it.  And the only way to keep your sanity when making a 3/4 inch HST.

squaring up was a necessity...no fudging when it comes to this size

I got down to business....  Starting putting them together.

I soon discovered I needed that third finger - or as some call it, the stiletto.  With blocks so small, I also had to change my throat plate to avoid the dreaded sucking in of the fabric.

You may recall a few posts back where I waxed poetic about my seam ripper/stiletto.  It is a thing of beauty AND might.  In fact, I loved it so much...  I took a woodworking class on how to make them.  

I made this!!!!

I'll be selling them on Etsy - they are truly like jewelry for your sewing needs...  More about those later.  Once I got all the HST blocks sewn together, I played out my design and put that together.  GEEZZ - what tiny little pieces to deal with...

I'm a big believer in ironing the snot out of unruly blocks - and these were no exception.  Like tiny little school yard bullies- they taunted me.

Wait a minute - is this a strawberry or a turnip?

I goofed - and had to do some unseeing, resewing, then found another goof (ok, truth be told, I resewed it wrong....put it back like it was..ugh) and then got it all fixed.  I am not much of a thread snipper till the end but this became a hairy little beast really fast - so I had to break from tradition and snip a bit.

Hairy dog or quilt block?

I was so close....  This probably took me two hours from start to finish.  Longer than I thought it would take (why would I think that??) but not crazy long.  It was coming together so nicely.

I removed that bottom row - too turnipy for me

I added 2 inch borders (for my sanity)

Look at that tiny bee!!  I was so happy it was fairly visible and recognizable

On to the quilting.  I stitched in the ditch in green and red and cross hatched in green.

I don't hate hand binding, but I'm not the fan of it I used to be.  I knew this would need hand binding so ...I did.  I cut it down and put on 1.5 inch binding.  My corners were a little disappointing but the bulk really affected them (despite my trying to trim them down).  They turned out...ok. But the overall completed project - WAY TOO CUTE!!!   A lilliputian masterpiece!!

I like to take "glamour shots" of my quilts.  This just made me laugh.

I'm linking up with some GREAT linky parties found on my side bar.  Go check them out.  I am always inspired and in awe of the ideas and reasons people make beautiful things.  What are you making this week?

You can find our guild photos here:  VBMQG

Look at all of the mini's here:   #MMminimini    

Check out @Megmormel's photos here:  Megmormel

Magic HST method here: Magic HST method