Work In Progress Week #6

So it has been my week off. You would think that would mean that I have had a lot of time to work on my projects. HA! Not, so much so. I have done a lot of shopping. I was going to make my sister-in-law travel bags for our cruise in April and work on cleaning up the house. However, finding just the right fabric didn't seemed to cause some difficulties and the bag... oh the bag. The bag is why I am up this late. Anyhow, on to the week in review. Sorry no new pictures, just too late!

Completed Projects:

Scrappy Bee block

New Projects:

A Twist on Tradition Bee Block (Still just looking at the fabric and directions for that one)

Paris Bag from hell

Ongoing Projects:

I am still working on the Posh Quilt. I have all the A blocks done and 1/2 of the B blocks. I worked on these during the Sacramento Modern Quilt Guild sew day. I have new pictures, but they are on my camera and it is about midnight, so you will just have to wait.  

Hexagon Christmas Table Runner/Hexagon Christmas Pillows

My mom gave me a new thimble for these. I also worked on them at the end of last week. I have less than two flowers to go.  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Loves Road

I didn't do anything with these:
Halloween Quilt
Peace Purse

UFOs -
Scrappy Bear

This week's stats:

New projects: 2
Completed projects : 1

Currently in progress - 8

Linking up to

Work In Progress Week #5

Completed Projects:
Two Blocks for the Sacramento Modern Quilt Guild January Challenge.

This one is more traditional-ish,  And I know it is missing contrast in the pinwheel. My original plan was the green, but I decided against it because I wanted the challenge fabric to stand out. Looking at it now, I am not so happy with that choice. Oh well.

The second one was more improvisation.

New Projects:

Scrappy Bee block
A Twist on Tradition Bee Block


Ongoing Projects:
I started working on the Posh Quilt again. I have 12 out of 18 blocks done for block A.

I still have this huge stack left for block A and block B

Hexagon Christmas Table Runner/Hexagon Christmas Pillows
I worked on getting some more hexagons together.
 Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Loves Road

I didn't do anything with these:
Halloween Quilt
Peace Purse

UFOs -
Scrappy Bear

This week's stats:

New projects: 2
Completed projects : 1

Currently in progress - 8

I finally started working on two of my quilts I had in progress. Pretty good for not really doing much.

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Circle quilt revealed

So, when I first started blogging in January I said that this would be done later in the month and you all could see. However, I missed the baby shower and had to wait until the mommy to be could see it. So with out any further delay... (insert drum roll)

Here is the circle quilt!

I love the bright blue background. It is Kona cotton lagoon. It is so bright and boy! All those circles are raw edge applique and I made many different sizes.

See this little sun. He is the where all the colors came from in this quilt. That was my jumping off fabric.

I have had it in my stash since I first started quilting over ten years ago. He may be in a little girls quilt too. I just have to track down that picture :)

And here is the back. Aren't those just perfect. It is a Riley Blake print. I really like Riley Blake fabrics :)

Oh yeah and I did machine binding on this one too. I am not too happy with it. I like binding by hand better. 

Linking to:

A Finished Quilt (at last)

I spent most of Saturday quilting, while my brother and my husband put together my brothers new computer. Which by the way can give you a really good laugh from another room. Even if you know what they are doing it is still quite humorous.

Sorry I get side tracked easily. Back to my quilting story. I sewed most of Saturday afternoon and into the evening. There was the most beautiful sunset to help give me inspiration.

Well, that and the fact that the baby shower was the next day. My little helper even helped me baste it.

In the morning, I drew out my quilting design.

Then, I quilted. And I quilted. And I quilted. Finally at about 11 am I had this all done. The peaceful green baby quilt.

The mommy to be loved it. These colors are very much what her and her hubby like. I over heard her one day talking about pale green being good for the baby for some reason. Her hubby is a graphic artist who studied color theory. See I listen, to most everything :).

See loved the back too! A pieced back was something new to me, but I love the way it turned out.

*Note to self - When using a pieced back you may want to find some way to make sure that it all stays in line.


Stats - The quilt is from the pattern pattern home coming from the book Simplify with Camille Roskelley. There is some fresh fig fabric in there and that bright coral is from moda also but I can't think of the name right now. All the greens are from a sweet treat fat quarter pack I got about 10 years ago at a quilt show.


If you enjoyed this post please go visit me at my new blog Jenniffier's Sometimes Creative Life  where you will find more projects just like this.



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Mood Decreasing

I was making some wonderful progress on the baby quilt I have been working on. I am free motion quilting, and all is good. I only have 5 more little medallions and the boarders to go. Then my sewing machine and I got into a little disagreement. It seems to think that my tension/speed is off, and did that horrible loopy thing on the back. So after picking out the last little bit of quilting I am going to bed! We will see if we can solve our problems in the morning.

WIP #2

On to week two of work in progress report. I did do a lot of cutting of fabric this week, but I haven't had time to do much sewing. The end of last week was pretty busy and the beginning of this one was too. I only had a one day off this weekend due to the tech conference. I usually get most my sewing done on the weekends so that kind of put me back a bit.

New Projects:

 No new projects this week. 


Ongoing Projects:

Donkey block

This block is for scappy bee blocks. I will finish this tonight or tomorrow. It must go in the mail really really soon.

Peaceful Green Quilt

I have all the fabric cut. I am hoping to get the top done this weekend. This one will be for a friend that is having a baby really soon. I can't show to much yet, but it should be really cute. I am using the pattern home coming from the book Simplify with Camille Roskelley.

Hexagon Christmas Table Runner/Hexagon Christmas Pillows

During the tech conference I did get a chance to work on the hexagons for these. I also work on them some today. It was a rough day. Hand peicing always seems to help me with that. One of my students really wants me to teach her how to do it. Everytime I pull it out at recess, she comes to talk to me about it. I keep telling her when I finish this project I will teacher. Now I guess I really have to finish the project. :)

Completed tops awaiting quilting:

I didn't do anything with these:
Halloween Quilt
Peace Purse
Posh Quilt Loves Road

UFOs -

Scrappy Bear - However, I am thinking of pulling this one out this weekend we will see how it goes.

This week's stats:
New projects:  0
Completed projects : 0
Currently in progress - 9

Linking up to

 

Right about now...

I wish I had a design wall.

Or at least a door to my office/ sewing room to protect my work from someone.

Mainly this guy. The dog who thinks quilting stuff is yummy! Doesn't he just look so innocent there, sleeping next to my ironing board. Like he would never eat a pressing mat or a spool of thread. Or anything else he can get his big mouth on.

Oh well. I will just have to try again tomorrow.

21st century learning and an age old craft

Today was a very busy day. I attended a teaching conference on 21st Century learning, put on by the Placer County of Education. It was wonderful that my district paid for me and some other tech-ex teachers to go and that PCOE invited teachers from outside their district to join the conference. BTW Tech-ex is a stipend position where teachers in my distrct train other teachers on technology for our district. At least that is the easiest way I can explain it.

It was a great conference. I really learned a lot. There are lots of free and great web 2.0 apps out there for students/teachers to use that are free. I am going to have to find some ways to integrate these into my teaching. I think it may help get my students focus back on learning.

However, I found it quite humorous that while I was waiting for a tech conference to begin I choose to work on my hexagons.

I did get 2 more hexagon flowers made during the being session and keynote speaker.  Don't judge. I just don't stay focus when I have to listen unless I am doing something else, like playing on computer/cell phone, hand quilting, or doodling. Often during lectures/staff meetings I practice free motion quilting designs. One of my partner teachers this year handed me a piece of paper and a pencil to doodle on when I started spacing during a staff meeting.  Amazing how quickly I become more focused. Much like the students of today.

The only thing I didn't like about this conference is that they stated that my birth year is part of the gen x generation. I just don't feel like I am part of that generation. The presentation had gen x followed by gen y. I think there is a middle generation. When I got home I did a little research this. Yes I had to. I found that some sources say that there is a middle generation between those too. I really believe that is true, because sorry to say but I don't think that my brothers and I are in the same generation. We just think differently and our prospectives are different. That may sound strange by my brothers are 11 and 12 years older than I am and they grew up in a different time.

Sorry for the side track there. As you can tell that really bothered me.

As to an age old craft, I also spent a lot of time cutting fabric this evening. I have two projects cut out.

The baby quilt is all cut out.

I am loving the colors. I just added one new fabric in today. I am really liking it. The colors are a little off here. I trid to fix it in lightbox (21st Century again), but it was the middle ofthe night.

All the fabric for the donkey block is also cut.

I think he is going to be a china blue donkey, because hat is what he is reminding me of. I wish I could find the book my mom used to read me that had a china cat, the blue and white flower fabric is reminding me of the picture of that cat.

Now, tomorrow I get to sew. I love weekends. Especially weekends where I get to play on the computer and make quilts.

My day off

Done cleaning for the day. Although, the house is not ready for a white glove inspection, I am hoping it is clean enough to leave the dogs out without any worry of them destroying anything. Well at least it better be, because I am getting dressed, taking them for a walk and going shopping/returning.

I mean just look at these faces. How could they ever do anything bad.  :)



Then hopefully I will still have time for quilting. I have two projects I really want to work on today. One is for my Scrap-bee Blocks.

Dustin is asking for a donkey block. They ones that have been finished are looking pretty cute.

Then I have a choice to make. I have four quilts on my to do list. One has a deadline so I will probably work on that, but I kind of want to make a quilt for myself.


Another goal I have right now is to quilt my love road quilt before Valentine's Day. I just need some batting, too bad I already used up my quilting budget for the month.

Have a wonderful day!

Jenn

Yippy and OMG

Recentally I recieved my prize that I won from the sew mama sew giveaway. It was from http://ducksandrabbits.blogspot.com/ and it the cutest fabric. Red Letter day by Lizzy House.

Just look at the little ducks. How can one resist it?

The best part is my giveaway buddy is a teacher too. Thanks again for the giveaway.

I also am excited because I got a new camera. Compare these to picture of the new fabric.

With point and shoot

With DSLR

So much better with my nikon dslr then my little sony point and shoot. Now I just have to get back into practice with photograph.

Plus my rotary even foot that my mom got me for Christmas just came in. It is such a nifty little foot, it hems, it sews on bias tape, and it does rolled hems. Can wait to try it out.

But here is the real OMG moment for tonight. I almost screwed up my first block for my first quilting bee ( a twist on tradition). I was cutting half square triangles and the ruler slipped. I was just a little short of 3 inches. I thought I was going to have to write my bee buddy and tell them how I failed. However, I made it all work on with some scant 1/4 seams. Look how pretty the pinwheels turned out.

Now I just need to add on the log cabin part. However, it is time for bed. Night all.

Late Night

Been up all night quilting. Working on the circle quilt.

Circle Quilt in progress

I decided to go with raw edged applique. Circles are a task in themselves.

I actually have it all quilted, but I am waiting to upload it until I give it to my friend at her baby shower tomorrow. I do still need to put on the binding. I will be trying Charlotte's Fusible Web by Superior Threads since I will be machine binding this quilt. I will let you all know how it goes.

Circle Quilt

My first quilt of 2011 will be a circle quilt. Here are some of my inspirations from flickr. I also saw some in a couple magazines but I can't remember where.

1. Bubbles 2.0, 2. Paige's Quilt 2010, 3. Crop Circle Quilt, 4. Block for Katharina, 5. birdy circles quilt, 6. Circle Quilt, 7. Circles Baby Quilt, 8. Circles and Waves quilt, 9. Circle Quilt

For my version I will be using some of these fabrics.

BTW most of this fabric came from my stash or my mom's so I have no idea what fabric it is.

Here are some circles cut and waiting to be pressed.

Luckily I was able to go down to my mom's house and steal borrow some circle cutting tools.

Now I have less than a week to get this ready for a baby shower. Eek I better get to work. That means I better go back to figuring out how to machine applique.