Vice Versa, First Block Finished

I only have three days left in January to quilt and bind my Round and Round quilt for the Lovely Year of Finishes goal.  So what did I do today?  I had many errands to run, so I put together the first two blocks for the Vice Versa BOM by Gen X Quilters.

This is the first block.  Now look what happens when you switch the colors around. Completely different look!

Here they are side by side.

I love it!  Already it's fun, right out of the gate, to get a chance to piece new blocks, and to understand the difference in perspective that color plays in our quiltmaking.  Can't wait for the next one!

Keeping this short today.

Remember to quilt with a smile!
Barb

Scrappy Quilt Ready For Quilting!

I'm feeling quite accomplished this month.  I have this lap quilt all put together, and I really like the way it has turned out!

I am making this as part of Scrap-A-Palooza hosted by Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

I just pulled a bunch of colorful fabrics from my stash, made five-inch blocks of varying widths, and stitched them all together.  The sashing is a batik, though, and I am nearly afraid it will bleed because I was in such a hurry to get it done, I didn't prewash it.  Didn't even think to pre-wash it.  I know better than that. 

I think I will just get it quilted, bound, and then wash it with that Synthropol and hope for the best.  I'd really like this one for a cozy quilt to watch tv, read a book, or check up on my bloggy friends!

It was a really fast, quick, easy project.  January is my month to get caught up on my own personal projects. February I'll be out of town for a couple of weeks, and by April, I get swamped with my Day Job activities.  So January is my time!

What are you working on this fine January weekend?

Always quilting with a smile,
Barb

I'm Getting There

Quilt top is finished - whew!

Now I just need to finish up the quilt I have on my frame and get this one quilted.

I had set a goal to have it done by the end of January for The Lovely Year of Finishes.  But, now I'm thinking that I'd like to work on it 'after' I take classes by Judi Madsen and Lisa Sipes in Phoenix the first week of February.

Camber is wondering what the heck I'm doing!

I don't know, though. I hate to not make a goal.  And I did say I'd get it pieced, quilted and bound by January 31. What the heck was I thinking?

It feels good to make progress like this.  If I can truly finish up a project of my own, once a month, during 2014, I will be feeling quite accomplished!

And wait until you see my scrappy block quilt called Freedom Quilt.  It's all together and is waiting in line to be quilted.

Remember to quilt with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish It Up Friday.

Scrap-A-Palooza Freedom Quilt

I'm having fun today!  Last night I pulled my stash out and cut out 5" fabric rectangles of various sizes, sorted them out into a fairly attractive layout and called it a night.

Today, I stitched them all together!  What a colorful quilt this will be!!!

It's part of the Scrap-A-Palooza Scrappy QAL hosted by Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  I joined in because a large part of my hesitance at tackling new projects is that I just don't know where to start.  I have a ton of patterns that I would love to make some day. But when it comes time to actually sit down and begin a new project, I get very indecisive and take too much time trying to figure out which will be the very best thing to make. In the end, I usually don't start anything new!  How lame is that? Wait - I don't really want an answer!

We were supposed to give our quilt a name. Stumped to come up with a good name, I decided I'd call this my Freedom Quilt. There is a snippet of fabric from Art Gallery that has the words 'Freedom' and 'Trust'.  Perfect for the liberty I feel just throwing a quilt together like this, and for the trust I have in following my fearless leader!

So, I'm feeling quite pleased with myself that I have a good start on this.  I need to even up the rows, and then figure out what color I want to use for the sashings.

That's where I need your help.  What color do you think I should use in between all the rows?  The photo shows the strips lying atop one another because I didn't have enough space to lay them all out evenly. But I thought you'd get the idea.

Let me know what's your solid color choice for this quilt.

Oh - here's a fun photo.  It's the shavings I accumulated after squaring up the half square triangles for my Round and Round Quilt.  Any mouse would be honored to have such a nice little nest, don't ya think?

Remember to always quilt with a smile,
Barb

First Quarter Goals for Finish Along 2014

January is seriously a time to take stock of many aspects of my life. So what better way to do this than participate in another challenge that will help me organize my time and energy!

With the help of Katy from The Littlest Thistle, I'm going to outline the projects which I want to complete by the end of March.  I'm really trying to be realistic here, but I suspect I am biting off more than I can chew. Oh, well. Such is my life!

1.  Round and Round Quilt

First Block Completed - Six More To Go!

2. Quilt and bind my Christmas Tree Quilt

I've been waiting and waiting to get this quilted. If I do it now, it will be ready for next Christmas!

3. Scrappy Bar Quilt

Somewhere in the midst of this stash is the beginnings of a Scrappy Bar Quilt!

4. Chevron Quilt

These fabrics are just for me! It will be a cozy chevron quilt before you know it!

If, or rather, when I finish these, I will feel quite accomplished! Because I have a slew of other projects waiting in the wings for me.  It seems that fabric calls my name and I probably have enough to last my lifetime. A good problem to have, I do believe :)

If you'd like to set some goals for your Finishes, now is the time to Link Up with Katy over at Finish Along 2014.  You have just until January 17 to link up your goals. Join the fun!




And remember to quilt with a smile!
Barb
Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday

January Goal Setting

With a new year it seems only appropriate to take time to clear the dust and cobwebs away and begin fresh and new!  I'll do that when I put away my Christmas decorations, but for now, I'm doing that in my sewing room.

I have so many ideas and so much fabric to put into those ideas. Having access to so many blogs and seeing all you wonderful people making gorgeous quilts in every color and design leaves my mind, well, simply put - boggled!  Which quilt to do? Where to start? "Oh, oh, oh! I like that one. Wait! No - I love that one."  My tendency is to have the My-Eyes-Are-Bigger-Than-My-Stomach Syndrome.  You know the one - I bite off more than I can chew.

So, once again I am thankful for my bloggy friends to have challenges in place to keep me on task and moving forward! This year I am going to participate in A Lovely Year of Finishes by Fiber of All Sorts and Sew BitterSweet Designs.  Also, Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework Scrap-A-Palooza (don't ya just love that name!) will be hosting a Scrappy Quilt Along this year and I'm jumping in on that one, too.





Just these two things. That's all I can put on my plate this year.  I'd love to do a BOM, QAL or some swaps, but realistically, I don't have time. I would start out fine and then fail by not following through and then feel bad. So I'm not going there.  If I can get 12 projects of my own finished this year, I will give myself a hardy Pat On The Back!

So to start off, my January Finish will be getting this quilt top pieced together, quilted and bound. I've got most of the pieces cut out already. I'm using a pattern that I won in December from Michelle who blogs as Mrs. Sew And Sew.  It's called Round & Round by Camille Roskelley.  So far, I'm liking the overall design.  I'm not sure about the gray background fabric that I chose. Gray is just not my color, but when it comes all together, it will probably work just fine.

Since I began my longarm quilting business, the time I have to make things 'just because' is very limited. So I'm excited to have these goals in place for this year.  It will be fun to hear what your quilty goals are for 2014!

Quilt with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River!
and Needle and Thread Thursday