Virtual Quilting Bee – Purple Paradise

My Virtual Quilting Bee quilt is complete!!

I decided on an ‘outside of the box’ type of layout. I chose 15 of the blocks and grouped them in threes. I put my favorite ones a bit off center and moved out from there. I then created a bit of an asymmetrical design for the quilt top. I separated the groupings with some sashing that kind of looks like a diagonal hash tag.

And now for a few close-ups:

Channel quilting in the sashing really brought it to life. For the blocks I tried to quilt each block a little different than what the block would normally call for. I used a Gutterman variegated purple thread. It had just the perfect colors for this quilt.

The backing fabric is Belly Laugh Turquoise from the Ticklish line by Me & my Sister Designs. It’s perfect!!

I had no plan going in to the quilting. Isn’t that what they call ‘organic quilting’? So, I just did what came to mind as I got to different parts of the top. I love the end result.

Linking up with the Virtual Quilting Bee Link party. Be sure to stop by and check out all the wonderful creations. Amy has all the block tutorials available on her blog as well. Enjoy!

Christmas Cash funds Fabric Stash

This weekend I spent some of my Christmas Cash, which was in the form of JoAnn’s Fabric gift cards, on some fabric that I felt was necessary to fill out some fabric choices for a couple of upcoming block of the month projects.

Okay, I could have bought a cool new iron or some other necessary supplies. I sure didn’t need any more fabric especially based on my last post. Here’s where I was wrong. I have been craving some sort of text print to use for low volume backgrounds. I found a beige on ivory and a white on black. My mom talked me into the white/black one. Her budget-conscious wing-man skills need some work. :-). Anyway, I didn’t have a really cool background or a lower volume greenish fabric to use with the Joel Dewberry Notting Hill fat quarters that I received in the nice big Free Spirit mystery box. The others are fillers for fabric types/styles that I felt would be well used.
I’m going to use the Notting Hill color story for the 2014 Sugar Block Club. This picture is just a sample of what I have pulled to use. There is a bit of sparkle on the swirly ivory print that I think will look great with the Notting Hill prints. I also pulled some darker olive greens.

I’m also going to start the Lucky Stars Block of the Month paper pieced stars. They are just gorgeous. For that BOM, I am thinking about using this color grouping.

The maroonish floral fabric is an old one so I am not quite sure where I got it but that was my inspiration fabric for this project. The two shimmery ones are Fairy Frost by Michael Miller. I swear I’m done with stash building for a while. I can’t promise (I’m still looking for that perfect text print that I just have to have) but I will try.

Christmas Detox

I’ve barely touched my machine in 2 weeks. I did learn how to make some pillows and that was fun. It’s always good to have new skills in your arsenal. You never know what will come up. A cool pillow might just save the day or at least bring a smile to a friend. 🙂

A new ceiling light was installed in my sewing room and you can’t even imagine the HUGE difference it is going to make. The colors on the quilt tops that I have hanging up are so much more vibrant than what the construction grade light was showing. This picture shows the room just after the light was installed. I failed to take a before picture as I didn’t realize the difference was going to be so incredible.

In addition to the light I received a few gifts to keep my obsession going. They include a couple of quilt books, some fabric bundles, and a Joann’s gift card.

I’ve only briefly scanned through the 2 books and am starting to get inspired. I have a ton of fabric to work with so I should have a very productive year.

I started cutting into the Simply Style Charm Packs for the Simply Charmed quilt. I think the color combos with the sketch floral grey will work really well together.

I’m happy to be at my sewing machine again.

Sugar Block Club….so far

The Sugar Block Club by Amy Gibson has one more block left for this year. Back in January, I chose a red, white, and black theme. As the months went by the color play got more focused and more dramatic. I love how these blocks are coming out and they are working so well together.

I may decide to scrap the first ones, the ones with more orange-red and less white fabric, and re-do them with my updated palette. I’ll decide that after they are all complete. This is block #10:

I just love the whole thing and Amy’s instructions are so clear and easy to follow. I’ve learned quite a bit from this BOM and from her 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month class. I love that quilt top, too. I have yet to quilt it. It’s for me and on the back burner from my other projects. It does hang on a quilt rack behind where I sit and sew and I get to stare at it whenever I want.

This Christmas quilt, that I recently completed, is also an Amy Gibson pattern from Craftsy:

This one was so simple and created such dramatic results. I took it in to work this week and everyone just loved it.

Coming up, a Bloom, Bloom, Pow finish is just around the corner. It’s the last quilt I have to finish before Christmas.

Inspiration!

So, I’ve been working on way too many projects once again. My favorite, right now, is the Sugar Block Club by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock. It’s a subscription Block of the Month and I am loving it. I decided to run with red and black with some white accents. The more we get through the year the more I love how it’s coming together.

I’ve added more white as the year moves on and I really like the effect.

The blocks come out on the first of each month and I tend to complete them rather quickly. Ooh, the emails also come with a dessert recipe. That’s where the ‘Sugar’ part comes from. Yummy. Here are the rest of the blocks for the year through June. These are my 2 favorite blocks so far!!

I can’t wait for July to come and see where Amy takes us next…..

A lot of stitching to do…

Well, today I have in the works about 4 different quilt tops. I’m excited about each of them in their own way. One is for my mom, another for a wall hanging in my spare room, a third also for me – I think.

There is a quilt using Puppy Park by Riley Blake designs that I’m pretty close on finishing. But, I’m thinking of adding some interior diagonal sashing to bring in a bit more contrast. I’ll have post that once I decide.
The wall hanging will be using some blue and brown scraps and fat quarters that I have in my stash. I’m doing the Craftsy BOM for 2013 for that one.
The third is the Sugar Block Club by Amy Gibson. That one is in reds, blacks, and a tiny bit of white. I’m really enjoying working on it.

Next week, I will be starting the Virtual Quilting Bee by Amy Smart. I can’t wait to see what she has to show us! I still have to choose fabric. I guess it’s time to bring out my stash and see what I can come up with. Hmmmm….