Happy Blog Birthday to Quilt Paradigm!! Fabulous Fabric Giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed. Due to unforseen circumstances, the winner will be announced on Thursday, January, 8.

Queue the choir and the band, time to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little space on the internets! It seems like just yesterday I was contemplating a name, contemplating whether or not to even attempt it and generally questioning my sanity for the thought of starting a blog :) I'm SO glad I did!! I have made so many quilty friends all over the globe, who knew?!?! I definitely did not when I hit publish on my first post! It all started as a way to keep my mom up to date on what I was doing. It turned into a wonderful community of very supportive quilters! It's been an amazing year! Because it is the end of the year, and the blogs birthday, I am going to do a 2014 wrap up with the quilts I finished this year.

At the end of the picture show (if you want to read more about the quilt, just click on the picture) there will be pictures of the fabulous fabric I am giving away to not one, not two BUT THREE of my lucky followers! Yes, this giveaway is for my followers (current and new are always welcome!). I never imagined at the start that I would get comments much less followers!! LOL This birthday celebration is about you my dear friends and your support. Honestly, if I had not found such a wonderful community just waiting for me to join, I likely would not have continued blogging. So thank you for hanging with me through a few rants, many 'design elements' (those oops moments that sometimes turn into wonderful aha moments) and quilty math issues! :)

First, here is a recap of 2014. I was quite amazed at the number of finishes I accomplished this year! I had a pretty unproductive fall but obviously made up for that in the beginning half of the year :) A total of 17 completed quilts and one finished flimsy for the QOV block drive Kevin The Quilter ran at the beginning of the year. Enjoy the pictures and don't forget to check out the giveaway!

 

Whew! That was a busy year :) It's been fun looking back at my posts and revisiting the making of all of these quilts. I find that making a quilt is kind of like birthing. . . in about a week (longer for C-Section, I know this from personal experience) all the pain is forgotten ;)

On to the giveaway!! I am giving away the following fabric bundles to three people that will be randomly drawn.

First up, Legacy by Angela Walters for Art Gallery. This is a 9 piece fat quarter bundle in topaz, this is not my picture ;)


Next is a 15 piece fat quarter bundle from Free Spirit. The tag says "Annette Tatum - Assorted." This is my picture taken in the dark. . . I'll update this when it gets lighter outside ;)

And last, but certainly NOT least, a five piece fat quarter bundle of Citrus Tattersall from Another Point of View for Windham.
 

So here's the scoop. The giveaway is open to international entrants. The only 'condition' for entering is that you must be a follower of my blog. Leave a comment below indicating how you follow and consider yourself entered! :) If you have a preference of which bundle you most would love to have, let me know, maybe there will be three people drawn with three different choices. . . it could happen! The giveaway will close at midnight EST January 6, 2015 and I will announce the winners on January 7th!

Thank you, my friends, for a most wonderful first year in blogland! 

Linking up to DWM and Let's Bee Social and Finish it up Friday :) If you haven't been, go check out what everyone else is doing! :)

Until next time, keep on quilting!!

A Finish!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus grin or whatever else you may or may not celebrate this time of year! 

Remember this post? I said I was obsessed. . . and I was! Right up until yesterday afternoon when I crocheted the last border :) WOOHOO and if I can get my husband to unwrap himself from it so I can take pictures. . . there will be pictures in this post ;) I've been waiting all morning. . . still waiting. . . blog post is written and everything. . . I think he really, really likes his new blanket! :) That's all well and good but I need to take pictures so I can post! ;) Hmmm. . . might have to bake cookies or something. . . that will get him up and away from the blanket. . . If I'd known this was going to happen, I would have taken pictures before handing it over! Wow, that's a big lesson learned! He had to get up and go to the bathroom sooner or later right? LOL Here we go!

Yes, that is a hammock and yes, it is in our living room.

I am SO glad I had a good amount of each color left and decided to add a row of half double crochet of each color as the border. That last round is brown (to match the hammock) and is a double crochet.

Close up, love the texture!!

Close up of border. I've never done a border before. . . and I didn't have a pattern to follow. They are passable :)

This thing is HUGE (70" x 82")! I'm not very good at guesstimating how big crocheting will end up - it was all completely over my head when I started adding borders. Not that it really matters. The hubbins is a tall man, the longer the better! Here are the pictures. . . this is so big and HEAVY I was not really able to get a 'good' full picture. Add to that the fact that it is 100% wool and dry clean only, I was not going to take it outside and have it get dirty in the grass. . . No, I did not realize until most of the yarn was bought and the blanket was well under way that it would not be washable. . . who's fault was that? Ummm, mine. . . I was so excited about the colors, when the store person was telling me which yarns were washable and which were not, I was not listening. Hey, it happens sometimes a lot :) I used this free pattern (minus borders). There is a link to a great tutorial in the pattern.

OK, obsession OVER! Back to quilting!! I have started quilting the blocks for my sister's 20 year old UFO. It won't take long now that I have my priorities realigned ;) I'm expecting another finish very soon. . . 

Linking up with Lorna over at Sew Fresh Quilts for TGIFF and Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday.

Until next time, keep on quilting!

A 20 Year Old UFO. . . ME???

In my last post, I told you about a 20 year old UFO that is hanging out on one of the shelves of my fabric storage. . . How is that possible?? It's not mine!! You all know UFOs make me break out in a rash! ;) Here's the story. When I went to my parent's house for their anniversary, my sister was very excited to show me the quilt she finished. She had been working on it for 20 years. . . ??? The blocks were done with what I think is called Candle Wicking (I originally thought embroidery but I brought them to my LQS and one of the women told me it is called Candle Wicking). Anyway, the blocks were beautifully done. It is a baby quilt for her first yet to be born (or thought about LOL) grand child. I'm going to be honest here. . . I cringed! (sorry sis, I know you are probably reading this. . . ). She said she had no idea how to put the blocks together, had asked several people how to go about doing it and couldn't figure out exactly what they were telling her to do. So she winged it. To be honest, I'm not sure how she got those blocks together and I really wish I had taken a picture of it. . . She had sewed a piece of very long nap minkee to the back. But it wasn't tied or attached in any way and she wondered how she should finish it. . . I'm not sure how subtle I was but I told her to take the entire quilt apart and I would take the blocks and sashing pieces home with me and finish it 'right' . . . :)  That's what sisters are for right? She worked so hard on those blocks, and they truly are beautifully done - they deserve to be sewn together properly. Here are the blocks.

They really are adorable and so beautifully done.

The rest of the 12 blocks.

Close up of one of the blocks.

We all know I'm not a cutesy lover but these are just too darn adorable!

I'm thinking it would have taken me more than 20 years to finish these ;) haha

OK, the copyright says 1984.... I think this might be a little older than 20 years ;)

So what's the plan, you ask? I have a plan. I've been plotting and figuring things out in my head since I got home back in September. OK, not for three months solid but off and on, I'd look over at that shelf and those blocks would call out to me. . . we need to be a quilt! we need to be a quilt! haha First, I'm going to use solid flannel for the back. I'm going to finish these blocks QAYG. I'll quilt the individual blocks with the flannel on the back and then use a wide sashing to sew the blocks together. I've done a couple of quilts QAYG:

This was the first quilt I did QAYG. Really like this method. I used this tutorial on The Quilting Edge.

I used the same tutorial for this one.

These blocks will be put together using the wider sashing method. So that's my plan. I have the flannel and sashing fabric now so I can start. . . I'm a little nervous. . . hope I don't screw this up sis! ;)

I've also been working on my crocheted blanket. . . I am obsessed! I'm not sure why but I can't seem to put it down. I am on the home stretch! 

I have three colors left to do three rows, then all colors 2 rows, and all colors 1 row. These colors make me HAPPY! :)

Now you know my 20 year old UFO story. It won't be a UFO for long :) I'll be posting my progress. 

Linking up with Judy for DWM. If you haven't already, hop over and see what others are up to! 

Until next time, keep on quilting!

Twirling Aqua - Finished!

Despite running out of thread, Twirling Aqua is finished!! YAY! I cannot tell you how good it feels to have a finish and to feel like my sewing mojo is back with a vengeance! I loved every minute of making this quilt. This quilt is going to my niece. . . but my sister had better send me my niece's address soon. . . I might decide to keep this one too! . . . Wait, did you say too?? Yup. I did. When I made the Plus Quilt, I had intended to send it to her. . . and then I absolutely fell in love with it. . . and I kept it . . . I know! How selfish! ;)

OK, enough already! On to the pictures! More info on the quilting and quilt stats after the show :)

TA DA! :) Front. Just call me Captain Obvious. . .

TA DA! Back. . . Front? No Back. . . Might depend on the feeling of the day :)

Close up of middle. Honestly, if I were going to rip something, I would have ripped that spiral in the center. . . but I committed (and it wasn't hard LOL) to NO ripping on this quilt. Nothing, not in piecing, not in quilting, not in binding! I actually was able to follow through with that commitment.

Love the texture on this one and I am glad I used a high contrasting thread on the gray :) Please excuse that lose thread. . . I just noticed it and now I can't stop looking at it LOL

Another front close up.

Close up of back. I pieced together all of the scraps and sewed them together for that square in the middle and then just started sewing on large pieces.

And then I added the Kona Charcoal to both sides to contain the prints.

Another frontal. . . ;)

Another of the back. . . front. . .

I'm sorry, I had a hard time picking what pictures to put in. . . so I put most of them in ;)

The last one :)

Quilt Stats:
59.5" x 59.5" (before quilting and washing, it was 63" x 63")
Fabric: The prints are from a Friday Bundle Batch from Fortworth Fabric Studios. Have you checked out their Friday Bundle Batches? I'm not affiliated in any way - I just love looking at what they come up with for their Friday bundles! Always a mix of designers in the bundles and they do a beautiful job (this quilt is a pretty good example of how good they are!) of putting them together. The gray on the front is Peppered Cotton and the gray on the back is Kona Coal. I used the Kona Coal for the binding as well - I have to say, the color of the two grays match pretty darn closely. I was afraid it was going to look funky but it turned out well.
Thread: Pieced with Aurifil 50 wt in a dark gray and quilted with Aurifil 40 wt 2615 (I think it is simply gray... but that number is correct). LOVE the 40 wt and this color is spectacular! I'm thinking it would blend right in when quilted on most prints. 
Batting: Quilter's Dream Wool. . . of course ;) 

I had a blast quilting this quilt! It had been awhile since I quilted feathers. Now I'm wondering why. . . they are sooo much fun! As I said under the picture (do you read the remarks under pictures?), if I felt like I was loosing my 'curve' with the feather prongs, I threw in the spirals every now and then to start a new starting point. I learned that little tip from Cindy Needham's Craftsy class. Loved that class and she has a ton of great little tips like that. Again, not affiliated with Craftsy or Cindy :)

As for the spirals, I watched this video about a week before I started quilting this quilt. You might have noticed. . . I kinda dig spirals. They show up in A LOT of my quilts. I threw in some paisleys and sometimes I followed the outside quilting line instead of the inside one when coming back out of the spiral the first time - but it really didn't seem to matter. Did I do that on purpose? Nah, just got a little lost and went with it! LOL It's a pretty forgiving design. I loved quilting it.

One more thing. Thread. Don't you just hate running out??? UGH! There are not a lot of local sources for Aurifil here and the stores that do carry it have 50 wt and are limited in colors. SO, I order a lot of thread. I use Redrock Threads. Again, not affiliated. But I am a very happy customer! They ship FAST. When I order early in the morning, it is typically shipped the same day. I usually get the package in two days (NV to AZ so it isn't going far). It's almost as good as having a thread shop next door! They carry a lot of different brands, not just Aurifil. Check them out. You don't need to say I sent you - we aren't on first name basis. . . yet. . . it might happen with what has been a weekly order lately! LOL 

I am plotting my next quilt, I am going back to the snowflakes and I have a 20 yr old UFO sitting on my shelf that needs attention. . . wait, what?? a 20 yr old UFO? ME??? Yes. But it's not mine! I'll be posting on this later this week. Come back to see how I ended up with a 20 yr old UFO :)

Linking up with Design Wall Monday, Fabric Frenzy Friday (Fortworth Fabric's Friday linky party) and Finish it Up Friday. Check out the links for lots of inspiration!! 

A finish and not a finish. . .

You might recall that I was very confident that I would finish Twirling Aqua by today. . . So is the excuse a shoulda, woulda, or coulda? Well how about all three? Shoulda known from the start that one spool of thread was NOT going to be enough. . . Coulda ordered the thread as soon as I realized two things - first, I ended up quilting the snot out of it which was not the initial plan (I can't seem to help myself these days. . .) and second, I second guessed the need to order more thread until Tuesday afternoon. . . Woulda had the quilt done if I had gone with the original quilting plan and/or ordered more thread immediately :) See, all three! Here's a very sneak peak of the quilting.

Lots of feathers and spirals. . . although you can't see the spirals in the prints :) I'm using 40 wt Aurifil... I definitely miscalculated how far a spool would go ;) Thread should come today or tomorrow. . . 1/4 of the quilt left to quilt.

Let's not talk about running out of thread anymore. . . I don't like that topic :) Remember the Minni Mouse hat? Well, it turns out it really wasn't finished . . . haha When Lucy tried it on it was a little short, didn't quite cover her ears. So I added a couple rows of red and a couple of rows of black. It turned out soo cute! In the previous finish post, the hat did not have the red stripe. I think it looks pretty awesome :) I also added a row to the ears. They didn't seem quite big enough. So after a little customization, here's Lucy modeling her hat! :)

This was snapped a second before that hand went right to the hat and took it off :) Is she adorable or what?? :)

And finally, because Nugget has not made an appearance on the blog in a very long time and well, he is demanding attention!

Helllooooooooo!! So nice to see you again!

I almost forgot! I actually published this and am now adding. . . Off Course did not make the cut for QuiltCon. Lots has been said all over blog land about quilts that did and did not get into the show. I'm not going to add to it. Just know that I have entered Off Course in three additional shows and there is a possibility that it will hang in a vendor booth at Road to California. The 'rejection' has not crushed my spirit and has not made me question my worth as a quilter or the quality of my quilt. I have moved on :)

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts. Head over to see other people's finishes. And check out her pineapple quilt!! WOW!!