Monday, August 30, 2010

One Thing, One Week Challenge :: 2 Success!

Last night I (finally!) basted my Pinwheel Party quilt, thus meeting the goal I set for myself in Amy's latest One Week, One Thing Challenge.


This is something I've been meaning to do for weeks (since the last challenge, in fact), and this challenge really provided the nudge I needed to get it done. So thank you, Amy!

Now it's time to get quilting!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

One Thing, One Week Challenge :: 2

Yesterday, Amy over at Amy's Creative Side posted her second One Thing, One Week Challenge.
Amy's Creative Side

Ever hopeful, I once again signed up. This week my goal is to get that dang Pinwheel Party top basted. For reals this time!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Jane Stickle Quilt: G-13

Jane Stickle block G-13Block number/name: G-13 “Molly’s Muffins”

Date completed: August 20, 2010

Number of pieces: 13

Notes on block: I’ve been struggling with motivation—not just with this project, but with all of them. This block took me nearly 3 weeks to finish. Usually when I finish a block, I’m chompin’ at the bit to start the next one. However I’m just not feeling it this time. So I guess I’m taking a little mini-break. Maybe I’ll be able to get motivated and make some progress on another project?

One thing I love about this block is the fabric. It is from one of my Snip.Sew.Send. friends, Lula Dahl. So pretty!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Greenpiece applique complete!

I can hardly believe it, but all of the applique blocks for my Moda Greenpiece BOM are now done!

Block 19:

Greenpiece applique block 19
The bird in this one was challenging, but I think it worked out alright.

Block 20:

Greenpiece applique block 20
I do love leaves. I really need to learn how to center my blocks better. But trimming it to size will help (I hope!).

I still have two pieced blocks left to do, and then I can start putting together the quilt and working on the borders. So exciting!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A little bit of applique

I've been working on catching up in my Moda Greenpiece BOM.

Block 16:

Greenpiece applique block 16
A happy little flower.

Block 17:

Greenpiece applique block 17
The fruit blocks are some of my favorites in this quilt (watermelon, pear, apple, and now a peach). I'm not crazy about the colors in this peach (a little over-ripe maybe). But, my palette is pretty limited, and these colors seemed to work the best.

Block 18:

Greenpiece applique block 18
I used the freezer-paper starch technique I've been playing with recently to create the moon-shape and I'm pleased with how well it worked. But I'm not sure what I was thinking when I did the stem. I really should have embroidered it. I guess I just wanted to see if I could actually needleturn that super-narrow stem. And I did it, but it probably would have looked better to just embroider it. There was also little bit of freak-out when I went to put on the petals and they were falling off the edge of the moon, but I made it work. Overall, I really like this block. It is just so serene looking.

These were the "June" blocks (in quotes because, though I received them in June, I didn't actually start them until a few days ago). Tomorrow, I'll show you the ones from July. This week there has been an applique frenzy!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Not a lot of craftin' goin' on

I'm still here! But busyness and low mojo have gotten the better of me lately, so I haven't been doing much in the way of crafting. Alas, I did not even make my goal last week (though I at least have the backing stitched together now).

On the bright side, I have been getting a lot of reading done and have read some fabulous books lately (you can check out my list over in the sidebar here or my goodreads shelf to see what I've been reading). I recently bought an amazon.com Kindle. In fact, I got it exactly 2 weeks before they announced the third generation version. Though I love my Kindle (so much so that I had to put that in bold font!), the new features/improvements are significant. Since they have a 30-day return policy, I've returned mine and have pre-ordered the new version. But now I'm Kindle-less until September. Boo!

One thing I have been taking time to work on is setting my completed Stickle blocks together. I'm a little behind That Quilt in terms of getting new blocks done, but (for once!) I don't feel bad about it since I am working on the project in some way.

Here's my latest chunk:

Stickle blocks D-7, D-8, D-9, E-7, E-8, E-9, F-7, F-8, F-9 all put together
Here's hopin' for the return of my mojo!