Tripping along on another project

Back in January there was a cult-like quilt along to make a Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt. It was probably the second fastest quilt I’ve ever made.  And it gave me a chance to dive into some of my scraps.  I only wish  that these things would use up more scraps! Because the border, binding & backing just create more scraps!

There are a couple of progress shots over on my Flickr account.  I bought the border fabric & the backing fabric.  And some of the purples were from my stash.  And the rest of the fabric was dug out of my scrap bins. There are some real uglies in there. But the beauty of these quilts is that the uglies get lost in the quilt and no one notices.

~ Tutorial can be found here.

~ Finished dimensions approximately 82″ x 82″. I wanted it to be big enough for at least a couple of adults to snuggle under, or multiple smaller children.

~ I’m giving it to a friend who loves purple and has a large family.  I can imagine her snuggling under it with a couple of kiddos.

To tie or NOT to tie, that is the question

While my hubby worked ALL WEEK breaking his back to lay bamboo flooring in the living room I holed up in my sewing room and worked on putting these bee blocks from 2011 together.  I think I had the easier job this week.

He used glue (to continue how the contractor did the kitchen) to put down the floor and it was MESSY!  We used a different kind of glue that wasn’t so smelly, but it made up for the lack of smell by being a hundred times more messy.  We should have hired flooring professionals to finish the job.  He was a good sport and saw it through to the end in spite of all of the back breaking frustration.

I’m still debating about tying this quilt.  Part of me wants to see pink felted nubs all over the quilt.  But the more practical side of me thinks that it is going to need some machine quilting for better wear & tear on those seams.  I did do a little search on the internet for tied quilts and I almost think it would be better to make a quilt specifically to be tied.  Who knows which way I will go….  to be continued.

Sparkle No. 2

This is Sparkle No. 2 quilt for my charity bee Do.Good.Stitches.  If you missed Sparkle No. 1, it’s over here.  We are donating quilts to Restore Innocence, a much needed organization that rescues girls from human trafficking.

This one is my favorite version.  I am a huge lover of lime green.  The backing fabric is Heather Bailey’s Dandelion print from the Nicey Jane collection. I found it discounted at a local fabric shop.  It reminds me SO much of my bedroom when I was in Jr. High and High School.  My favorite colors back then were yellow & spring green and it was all ruffly & girly.  I still love the green even though I don’t decorate like that any more.  The quilt is finished with the same wavy zig zag stitch as in the first Sparkle quilt.  A huge thank you to the ladies in my sewing circle for the lovely blocks!!

And I just had to throw in a pic of the cute wee plants that are living near our sink.  They are making me happy.

Sparkle

The sun is sparkling today and Sparkle No. 1 quilt is done.  Sparkle No. 2 quilt is pinned and ready for quilting.

Let me back up.  Last November I joined a charity sewing group on Flickr called Do.Good.Stitches.  There are many sub-groups within the larger group and I joined the Faith group.  There are ten ladies who sew blocks every month while one person organizes, collects & assembles that month’s blocks. Our charity that we are donating quilts to is Restore Innocence, an organization that rescues girls from human trafficking.  This is a tragic issue that is finally getting more exposure & help through organizations like Restore Innocence.

January was my month to organize and assemble.  These are the blocks that I asked everyone to make.  We used the Sparkle tutorial to make the blocks.  And with each of us making 2 blocks I had enough to make two quilts. This is the first one. The second one is pinned and ready for quilting.  I was inspired by Amanda’s honeycomb quilting but used a slightly different stitch.  It’s stitch number 19 on my Janome 7700.  It’s more curvy than zig zaggy.  I love the ripply effect after washing!   I’m definitely going to use this stitch again for more quilting. I just love it.  The finished size of the quilt is approximately 60″ x 69″.

Links to the Sparkle tutorial:
Cutting
Sewing
Flickr group

I’m linking up to Amanda’s Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts

Finished

I have been fighting off some virus this week. It actually started at the beginning of January with an off & on scratchy throat, headache & dizziness.  This week I started feeling worse and went to the doctor. Some unidentified virus. She gave me an herbal anti-virus remedy & I’ve been taking it easy and not doing a whole lot. I finally started feeling better at the end of the week.

But I did finally get around to putting the zippers in these scrappy cat beds. I started quilting them back in December near the beginning of our kitchen remodel.  Before the kitchen remodel the cats would sleep all over the furniture. There was constant cat hair everywhere.  Now they are sleeping under the bed and inside my scrap basket to get away from the noise.  I’m hoping they will come back and sleep on these cat beds once the construction is done.  The pet beds inside have this thermal feature that is supposed to radiate their body heat & keep them warm.

Sorry this is such a boring post.  All of us, humans & animals, are anxious for the house to get back in order. (It shouldn’t be too much longer!)

Details:

• Made from all scraps
• Finished size approximately 18″ x 22″
• Purchased pet beds inside from Amazon.com

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish-it-up Friday. One more thing on my list can be checked off!