Progress

I have been busy quilting and have made some real progress on my current projects.  I finished quilting my flying geese quilt.  All I need to do is figure out the binding color/fabric and I'll be all set.  Anyone have any suggestions?

I also started working on the quilting for the Sunrise quilt.  I started with the pillow shams and was able to finish one last night.  I finished the quilting and piecing of it right before Downton Abbey and Sherlock and spent my time during the shows hand-stitching the binding.  I have one more sham to go and basting/quilting/binding of the full-size quilt.

 

Here is the back of the sham.

Time well spent

Well, this past 3-day weekend was put to good use.  Not only did I get to quilt, but I got to hang out with my husband and kids and help a friend unpack boxes at her new house.  It was a great weekend. 

I was able to finish a baby quilt that I can only show you teaser photos of.  When I gift it, you will see the whole thing.

Even though I like the look of multicolored threads in the quilting, I kept having issues with the tension on my machine.  I used 100% cotton threads from 3 different brands, but they all felt a little different to the touch.   It gave me a bit of trouble having to adjust the tension every time I changed out the thread to a different brand.  I have a Juki 2010.  Does anyone else have this problem?  I just hate having to experiment with tension while I'm quilting a quilt.  The seam ripper and I were well acquainted during this one.

I also started quilting my flying geese quilt.  I wanted to do more than straight lines, so I did some echo quilting, stitch in the ditch and point-to-point quilting.  I have a feeling this will be a lot easier once I get brave enough to use my FMQ foot, but that will have to wait for another time.  Until then, I will keep stopping with my needle down and turning the quilt.

I decided to go with Anna Maria Horner's Hand Drawn Garden Rose print for the back.

It's just too large of a print to cut it up, but as a backing it should look amazing...at least I hope so.

  

I still have 2/3 of the quilt to go, but I'm hoping to have it done by Friday.  Wish me luck!

Just Keep Quilting...

I have Dory from Finding Nemo in my head singing, "Just keep quilting, just keep quilting..."

I'm currently quilting a baby quilt that is a gift, so I can't show it off just yet.  I'll start posting pictures once I start quilting the flying geese quilt top, which should be this weekend.  I can't wait to get started!  I also have the Sunrise Quilt to quilt as well and it's the biggest quilt I've ever tackled.

On a side note, I had a fun surprise yesterday while helping a friend unpack after she spent a long day moving into their new house.  I was helping her get her daughter's room set up for bedtime and she pulled out this quilt from a bag that her daughter sleeps with.  I stopped and immediately recognized it.  It was a quilt made by Kelly Young at My Quilt Infatuation for a local silent auction back in the fall.   It made me smile to see it.  Kelly, the quilt is well loved and cared for!

Flying Geese

I spent some time this past weekend learning how to piece together some flying geese using some pre-cut charm squares I had at home.  As much as I like the idea of pre-cut fabrics, I'm learning that the edges of the pre-cuts are not my favorite to deal with.  I guess it can't always be perfect when you have the convenience of having the fabric cut for you.  Here are some pictures of what I came up with for this baby quilt. 

Here is my sketch of the quilt.  I've been sitting on this for several months now.

Here is the finished top.

I'm getting ready to baste this quilt and it shouldn't take me long to have it quilted. 

Home away from Home

I lived in Austin, TX  for 8 years before my husband and I moved to Memphis, TN.  I love Austin and it's always fun to go back and visit.  We spent our holidays here with my family.

Like most Texans, I love Whataburger.  I'll be honest in saying that the food is not extraordinary, but I have been eating at a Whataburger since I a little girl and it holds lots of memories for me.  I love Rudy's BBQ.  We served this at my wedding's rehearsal dinner...it's yummy.  I love HEB.  I really took for granted this wonderful grocery store when I lived there, but now I miss it terribly.  A GREAT grocery store is hard to find in Tennessee.  I love the state capital building.  I took my bridal pictures here and they turned out great.  I LOVE Chuy's.  It's my favorite place to eat and it's starting to pop up in different cities around the US.  Come to Memphis...PLEASE!!!!!  I love the University of Texas.  Hook'em!  I love that sock monkeys are appropriate characters for a nativity scene.  Keep Austin Weird!

I also love some of the new things I've discovered about Austin.

 The food truck stops are AMAZING!!!

Now that I'm into quilting and fun local fabric stores, the Stitch Lab on South 1st Street has gone towards the top of one of my new favorite places to shop.  Don't worry Memphis, I still love Sew Memphis and Bumbletees.  

While we were at Stitch Lab, my niece and I bought some fabric to make a fun pillow together.  She got a sewing machine for Christmas and we sat down together to figure out how to use it. 

 

I also got to give some other Christmas gifts this holiday season that were handmade, but not quilts.  I think the girls really liked them.

All in all, the holidays were lots of fun and I enjoyed hanging out with family, seeing old friends, and enjoying the memories from a different chapter in my life.

Happy New Year!

To kick off the new year, here is a quilt I pieced New Years Eve. 

Don't mind the wrinkles in the last pic.  It was at the end of taking pics after the quilt top had been transported around to several places.  Proper folding went out the window as I was simultaneously chasing two small children and take pictures at the same time.

My quilt is a reproduction of a quilt called Sunset Strip my friend Erika found at Garnet Hill. 

She was so looking forward to purchasing this quilt when she moved into her new home, but it sold out before she was able to buy it.  So, she begged and pleaded to help her out if I could.  Obviously my quilt is not an exact reproduction due to the fabric selection and the simple fact that I'm a single quilter and not a national chain doing mass reproduction of an item.  With that being said, I think my quilt top came out really well.  I still need to piece the back and quilt it...oh, and make 2 shams.  That will be a first for me, but I think I can handle it.

Another thing I did to kick off the new year was purchase a few good books.  I'm looking forward to diving into them and learning from those who have been doing this a lot longer than I have.