Another Quilts for Boston Finish!

After being separated from my Juki for two weeks, I finally got it back from it's tuneup!  So I immediately wanted to quilt something.  I got backing all pieced together for one of my Christmas gift quilts, but when I was laying it out to baste, not only was I out of 505 Basting Spray (the greatest product ever! For real) I was also two inches short on my batting!  Arg.

Luckily, I had this one all basted and ready to go for after I finished off my gifts.  It got booted to the front of the line, and I got all my productive energy out on this one!

I definitely didn't want to go completely all out on this Boston quilt like I had the last one.  Because I have a lot of holiday quilting, I didn't want to burn myself out on this one or get too sore (that FMQ is a workout!).  I also just didn't think this quilt would look as good if I quilted it like the last one.  

So I decided on an all over wave pattern.  I just picked a spot to start in the center(ish), and worked my way across the quilt, aiming for about a half block down from my starting point.  The blocks don't completely line up since they were pieced in columns instead of rows, so I just sort of winged it.  Then I echoed the line all the way down, shooting for about a half inch to an inch between my lines.

(I know, washed out picture, but I love the texture!)

I really love this style of quilting, and will be adding it to my (growing) list of favorite patterns.  The lines are just as dense as the straight line quilts that I love, but the wave is so much more forgiving and fun to do.

And it brings all these blocks together really well.  They were pretty similar in shades, but the blocks were all so different, I had a bit of work making my mind up about how to quilt them.  I think it worked out!

Linking up with Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday!

 

WIP Wednesday!

So much happening around here, but I think I'm on the home stretch of my crazy crafting!  I finished my knit-for-gifts projects, so I'm starting my second sock!  Can't wait to wear these.  After this I've got a cardigan lined up for the little girl.

Here are the two tops I've got waiting for quilting.  I'm delaying these since my Juki is getting clean, but I should get that back this week so I can knock these out quick.  I've also got another Boston quilt ready to be quilted, but I may just do that on my little machine so I can get it done by the end of the week.

And then there's the Pinkie Pie quilt I posted about yesterday.  That's my fallback project when I get bored of doing the rest of my projects, because there's always squares to sew together!

And these knits are ready to be turned into a shirt (dress if I have enough of the gray) for me, and the bottom will be a couple pairs of Parsley pants for a friend's son.  Luckily, the knit pants sew fast since you don't have to worry about ironing or doing the flat fell seams.

Linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday!

A Boston Quilt Finish!

Finished my Quilt for Boston!  I love getting these quilts because they're all ready to be quilted, and they're all different blocks.  The first one I did, I just quilted loops all over to get it done.

I had a little bit of a problem with this quilt.  I meant to just do a simple all over quilting pattern, but it just begged for something more awesome. And because I wanted to get it done for Friday (an entirely self-imposed deadline) that meant I needed to pull an all-day sew-a-thon!

I started around noon, and finished sewing the binding on at 1 a.m.  Then I hand stitched the binding down while dropping off the dude at school, during a playdate/lunch, and then while picking up the boy from school.  It was my own little sewing speed race.

This is the first block that I did.  So many little spaces for different designs!

I managed to use all the different spaces to practice some things I've never done before, like this pattern my friend Jess rocked in a quilt a while back.  I love all the wavy lines and the strings of pearls.  It really grew on me, and I may have to do this more and in bigger scale on another quilt.

Love this little goldfish.  He needed scales.

I LOVE doing those wavy, echoing lines.  They're so easy once you get the arm motion down, but they pack such a punch!

Here's another block with those wavy lines.  They're the best.  And the figure eights are another really easy, but beautiful pattern.  Love putting them in squares!

I loved this plus sign block.  I think I'm going to have to do a whole quilt of these, because I get a kick out of blocks that make designs when you put them all together.  See how the corner pieces will make more pluses?  Awesome.

And you may have noticed all the pebbles.  I kind of love the look, but hate quilting them because I don't think I'm really good at it yet.  My arms just don't move that way naturally.  So I decided to pebble all my backgrounds and teach myself some muscle memory!  Take that pebbles!  I win!

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish It Up Friday!

Late Night Quilting and Impossible Knitting

So I went to load the Boston quilt into my machine and do some easy and quick loops, and this was the first block to quilt. It just looked like it was asking for more than just loops!  So I ended up doing some crazy dense quilting, using all those different blocks to practice some patterns I don't quilt as often. 

I had a lot of fun and just didn't stop until the whole thing was quilted. (Thank goodness for caffeine and kids who don't mind watching tv all afternoon!). Today I'll get the binding sewn on and hopefully post it for Finish It Up Friday tomorrow. 

But before I get back to the sewing, I'm taking a break and working on this möbius cowl. It breaks my head, but is so fun. 

Linking up with Kelly for Needle and Thread Thursday!

WIP Wednesday!

So what am I up to on this WIP Wednesday?  Productivity!  Boo-Yeah!

I think the reality of the Christmas countdown really set in, and now I'm just churning out projects like there's no tomorrow!  My goal for the day is to get this quilt finished.  It's one of two Quilts for Boston that I've been pretty lazy about finishing because there's no solid deadline, but I'm going to get them off my stack!

There's also the last bit of knitting to get done before Thanksgiving, and I think I might be able to get that off my needles in the next few days!  Pictures after I give the gifts!

And I splurged (really, $3, woo!) and finally got a loop turner!  I was buying a pile of fabric to turn into pants and saw this next to the elastic.  There's really no excuse for not getting one until now, but I'm pretty excited to never have to fish 1/4" elastic through a waistband with a safety pin ever again!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

WIP Wednesday

Last week I realized that it was getting really close to Thanksgiving.  Not a big deal, but we do Christmas at Thanksgiving!  Panic!  

So I started busting out Christmas presents like whoa!  I knitted up the blue (or indigo, or purple, depending on your light) mittens over the weekend using a pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac.  It was pretty nice sitting around the house, watching football, drinking beer, and knitting.  I don't know why I don't do it more often. 

The first pair came out so nicely and quickly that I decided to make a second pair out of the seafoam green.  It's so satisfying to start crossing projects off the list.

And this beauty just needs a border or two, and then I can quilt and bind it.  I thought that it would be more difficult to piece all those triangles and have the points match, but it was no harder than squares.  Might be my go to patchwork shape from now on.

And I have a couple Quilts For Boston to quilt up.  I'm hoping to get this one done by the weekend and my second one done by the end of the month.  That's the goal, but who knows if I'll suddenly realize that I have four more projects to finish for Christmas.  

My favorite little piece on the Boston quilt.  I'm going to like quilting this one.

Linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday!