Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2013: "Short Circuit"

For this season's Blogger's Quilt Festival, I'm entering "Short Circuit" in the Group/Bee Quilts category:

The design is inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's "Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow Tutorial." One of the mosaic blocks was made by me, and the other ten were made via a block exchange with some ladies in my quilt guild. (If you want to learn a little more about how the exchange worked, you can read about it here.)

The blocks were all completed a couple of years ago. It took me awhile to get around to putting them all together, but once I got going, I looked to Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial for making a floating blocks quilt. I also have to give thanks to Carrie P. and her Nothing But UFOs Challenge. The challenge really got inspired to work on this and get it done. The final stitches in the binding were finally completed last week. Yay!

The fabrics are a mix of solids along with prints primarily from Michael Miller's Bot Camp collection. With that in mind, I decided on quilting inspired by a design in the book Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters, "Geometric Allover." The design made me think of circuit boards, which seemed like a good fit with all the robots. It is quilted using Aurifil 50/2 thread in Light Robin's Egg blue (#2710) over the whole quilt. You can't really tell in the pictures, but I actually quilted the design in a larger scale over the mosaic blocks and then more densely over the solid background (which, if you are curious, is a Kona solid, Ocean).

I really like how the pieced back worked out as well! It was a nice way to use up some of the extra bits from the front. The finished size of the quilt is 58" x 70".

The label includes the name of each of the ladies who made a block for the quilt. But I've gone ahead and blurred all their names, just in case they don't want to be floating around on the interwebs.

And now it is all ready for some snuggling!

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out "Short Circuit" and I hope you have a great time as you continue to check out other entries on display in Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2013! There is no shortage of inspiration and eye candy. And many thanks to Amy's Creative Side for hosting this fabulous event!

August accomplishments

It has been a busy month full of fun family adventure (vacations, outings, and activities galore), but not a whole lot of crafting (and even less blogging). However, I did manage to complete my August goals for Carrie P.'s Nothing but UFOs Challenge. It took me until the last day of the month, but I did it. Woo hoo!

1. Baby Bot quilt:
   
   
   
   
   Done!
   
   
2. Mod Mosaic quilt:
   
   
   
   
   Quilting is complete and the binding is now in progress (2 sides to go!). I'm really pleased with this one. Crossing my fingers that it will join the finished pile very soon!
   
   
3. Vogue 1224:
   
   
   
   
   I completed it this morning! Woo! But then I spent the day doing yard work and was too gross to put it on for a picture, so the slightly blurry hanger shot will have to do for now.

Yay for progress! And, as always, many thanks to the fabulous and inspiring Carrie P. for hosting the challenge (and helping me get my bum in gear!).

I plan to do separate write-ups so I can share more details about each of these projects (and more pictures!) very soon. Hmmm... maybe I should try making some blogging-oriented goals for September? I've got some catch-up to do!

UFO Challenge Win!

As if I wasn't a winner enough just for successfully doing the challenge, I also won Carrie P.'s "Nothing But UFOs" July drawing! Yesterday afternoon, I received my prize...

It was wrapped so prettily!

And inside was a wonderful array of treats-- some handmade, some vintage, and lots of happy.

Even the little pouch was full of goodies! (Look at those trims! And that lovely handkerchief!)

And the block is gorgeous... it needs a picture all its own:

I'm kind of thinking it would make a lovely quilted pillow cover. I've not made one before. But Carrie P. has made quite a few-- so it just kind of feels right, you know?

Meanwhile, I am plugging along with my August challenge. I'm binding up the baby quilt, and I've started quilting my Mod Mosaic.

Progress!

Many thanks to Carrie P. and her monthly motivational challenge. It feels good to work on these UFOs and even better to be finishing them!

UFO Challenge - August

Woo!!! I can hardly believe it-- I was the winner in July's Nothing but UFOs Challenge hosted by Carrie P. at A Passion for Applique! What a treat!

Since I seem to be on a bit of a roll still, joining the challenge for August will be a good motivator for me and help keep me on track. (One can always hope!) So here are my three goals for August:

1. Baby Bot quilt:
   
   
   
   
   Baby is due any day now, so I want to get this one DONE! Still to do: binding and label.
   
   
2. Mod Mosaic quilt:
   
   
   
   
   This one is basted. I'd really like to get it quilted. Even better would be finished-- but that might be stretching it a bit considering how much time I have available in August... it is a busy month!
   
   
3. Vogue 1224:
   
   
   
   
   It has been cut out for three months now. I would really like to get this sewn so I can actually wear it at least one time before summer is over.
   
   

Meanwhile, I am still feeling the itch to work on other things... new things... I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to stay UFO-focused. But I'm gonna give it a go!

A not-quite-successful challenge...

It is true. I did not manage to finish a single one of my three challenge projects. Heck, I didn't even manage to do any blogging! But you know what? I'm still feeling like a winner, because I made progress on each of the three projects I chose.

1. Fall Mystery Quilt:

It is now quilted (with some feathers, even!), I'm about 2/3 through the binding, and the label is made. Not done, but very close!

2. Bot Camp Disappearing 9-Patch:

All quilted up and ready for binding (I'm going to use that happy Kona Peacock pictured above). I've also designed the label, but am waiting for our friend's baby to be born so I can personalize it (he's due this week!).

3. Mod Mosaic Quilt:

Once I get the binding on the baby quilt, this one is next in the queue for quilting. But I consider this definite progress. Basting is half the battle, right?

Nothing finished, but a good amount of progress. And if it weren't for the challenge, there is no way I would have gotten this much accomplished. As far as I'm concerned, this challenge has definitely been a success. Thanks, Carrie P.!

Here's hopin' I have some finished quilts to share soon!

Setting goals: July

Back in January, the fabulous Carrie P. of A Passion for Applique issued a challenge: Nothing But UFOs in 2013! Now I'm definitely not that hard core, but I have been spending time this year working on my UFO situation some. So this month, I'm taking the big step and am actually participating in the challenge. Woo!

The idea is to pick three UFOs and show and tell what you need to do to get them finished (quilted, bound and done). At the end of the month, we all share our successes and if you finish at least one of your chosen UFOs, then you are entered into a drawing for fun prizes.

Here are my focus UFOs for the month:

1. Fall Mystery Quilt:
   
   
   
   
   This one has been basted and ready for quilting since April. It is time to get it done!
2. Bot Camp Disappearing 9-Patch:
   
   
   
   
   The top and back are ready and the next step is basting. This is a smaller quilt, so hopefully it will quilt up pretty quickly.
3. Mod Mosaic Quilt:
   
   
   
   
   Again, I have the top and back all set, so the next step is basting. This is a bigger one, but I have a plan in mind for quilting, so I'm hopeful I can get something accomplished with this one as well.

Here's hoping that setting the goals will get me on the path to some finishes!

Attacking UFOs!

Consumed by UFO guilt, I have spent the last week focusing on those unfinished projects. And I've been productive!

I got the borders on my Spring Mystery Quilt:

The backing has also been made and now it is ready for basting.

Still in the UFO spirit, I pulled out my guild block exchange from 2011. For that I had requested everyone make "Mod Mosaic" blocks following Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial. I ended up with 11 bright and happy blocks.

I started by framing each block with a white border. Then my husband helped me tape a footprint on the wall of the intended size of the quilt.

I placed my blocks in the footprint and then started filling in the background (forgive the blurry cell phone picture). Many thanks to Elizabeth Hartman for the tutorial on making a floating blocks quilt!

Woo! Another finished top! I also completed the backing for this, so it too is ready for basting.

Finally, I went ahead and cut 5" squares from the fabric remaining from that project.

I made 9-patches and then did some slicing and dicing.

And now I have a completed disappearing 9-patch baby quilt top! I've also finished the backing for this one, so it is also ready for basting.

Phew!

What to tackle next? More UFOs? Or maybe I should baste 'em up and quilt some of these? Or is my guilt assuaged enough that I can finally start something new? Hmmm....

Bear Paw!

What with Halloween and preparing for Quilt Festival, I managed to completely forget about completing my guild block exchange block. Doh! Yesterday, I took some time to get it done.


It is gorgeous! But, wow, she really made an interesting choice... all those pieces and points definitely made for difficulty far beyond any other block I've done in this group so far. A good part of the challenge was in the directions themselves-- they were nearly all written, with just a couple of small illustrations penciled in (I'm not even sure she drew them... I think someone else may have added them later).

Even though the putting-together of the block wasn't tough for me, following along with the instructions was, particularly when it came to the "paws" of the block. She explained a technique that was new to me, and that I found really interesting. So I took some pictures as I went along, and thought I'd share them here. I have no idea if they will be useful to anyone, but, as I said, the technique was interesting to me.


For a pair of "paws" cut (1) rectangle 5-1/2" x 4-1/2", (2) rectangles 3-1/2" x 2-1/2", and (2) squares 2-1/2" x 2-1/2". You will need two identical small rectangles and two different squares for each unit.


Pair a 2 ½” square with a 2 ½” x 3 ½” rectangle.


You will need to sew 2 sets of these pairs.


Put the units together with the rectangles on the opposite ends and sew on the long edge.


After sewing, fold the unit along the inside edge of one of the 2 ½” squares and clip the seam allowance to the seam at the fold.


Press the seams to the rectangles. This step re-distributes the bulk of the seam so the piece lays flatter and gives better visibility for the next step.


Position the piece so that the squares are in the lower left and upper right corners when the wrong side is facing up. Draw a line from the outer corner of the rectangle through the stitching line of the square at a 45 degree angle. Use a 45 degree angle; otherwise you will get a “kite” shape.


Draw a second line from the opposite corner.


These lines should be approximately ½” apart.


Pair each of these units with a 5 ½” x 4 ½” rectangle.


Sew with right sides together along the drawn lines.


These lines should be approximately ½” to 5/8" apart.


Cut down the center between the two lines.


Now you have two pieces.


Press to the large triangles.


Trim the block to 4 ½”.

And now you have two paws!

Maybe I thought this was interesting only because I so rarely ever use the degree lines on my ruler? I dunno. But I thought it was a pretty neat technique!