WIP Wednesday: October bee blocks and fresh colors

As I mentioned a few days ago, my plans for sewing got sidetracked this weekend by a little illness, but I did manage to squeeze in some time on my handwork project, the Catenary mini quilt, over the weekend.

 

And I recovered enough on Monday to knock out my October blocks for the Emerge circle of do.Good Stitches. Betsy asked us to make two colorful Antique Tile blocks using the tutorial from Fresh Lemons Moderns Quilts. She wanted bright, cheerful colors with a low volume background. It was nice to dig into my scraps for these.

I also got started on a baby quilt that recently moved up in my to do queue. I pulled this fun color scheme based on the fabric I plan to use for the backing and cut out some large 9" squares that will soon be turned into HSTs. I'm using the Brass Ring pillow pattern (upsized for a baby quilt) from Sew Organized for the Busy Girl.

And at some point I have to take a break from all this fun to make B a Cat in the Hat costume for Halloween. Back to work! 

 

The neverending to do list:

Brass Ring baby quilt 
B's Halloween costume
QuiltCon triangle challenge quilt
QuiltCon bonus quilt
September Emerge Circle quilt
October Emerge Circle blocks
Vintage Quilt Revival mini sampler quilt
Catenary mini quilt
Jewelry travel pouch
Patchwork City sampler quilt 
Allie Owl quilt
Menagerie quilt
Hazel Hedgehog quilt
The Kittens quilt
Aviatrix Medallion quilt
Swoon quilt
Spiced Chai quilt (from Vintage Quilt Revival)
Sunset Tiles quilt (from Scraps Inc.)

T-shirt quilt
Sewing circle tote
Re-cover downstairs chair 
Clothing for me! (Washi Dress, Sailor Top Shirt, Sorbetto Top)

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

The best medicine

The hubby was out of town at a conference this weekend, so I had been looking forward to several nights of sewing -- greatly needed considering all the projects I want to tackle -- but, of course, fate stepped in with other plans, and I was promptly sidelined with a cold that left me with too little energy to head downstairs to my sewing space and actually do something productive. So, I once again found myself so happy to have my new hand-sewing project, the Catenary quilt I began a few weeks back.

 

I got the rest of my rows cut and laid out, and in a few nights on the couch, I managed to finish my first "arch" row and one and a half of the arch negative space rows (let's call them the "cave" rows).

Luckily, I'm starting to feel better now, so I have big plans for downstairs tonight.

Wild and free mug rug

I told you I'd been busy sewing, and I have another little project to share. My mom started a new job a few months ago, and I thought she might enjoy a little bit of cheeriness on her desktop, so I whipped up a little log cabin mug rug.

I love the sweetness of the colors in this little coaster, and it kind of makes me want to do a whole quilt in them (because I need another project, right?).

I used the cheater binding method from Made by Rae, and I think the flower fabric makes a pretty fun binding with its pops of color. The flower and arrow fabrics are from Wild and Free. The dot is Sprinkle in Kimberly Blue from Cotton + Steel, and the mint fabric is Dottie's Cousin in Mint, also from C+S. The navy is Figures in Graphite by Zen Chic, and the orangey fabric is Jewel in Coral by Lizzy House. I love how each of them pulls from the colors in the arrows. So happy.

VQR mini sampler quilt: A finish!

It only took eight months (yeesh), but I finally managed to do something with the Vintage Quilt Revival blocks I made in my QuiltCon class with Lee Heinrich: a mini sampler!

I loved making the blocks, but after I finished them, I couldn't quite decide what to do with them. Originally, I considered making them into a table runner, but the colors weren't quite right for our dining room, so the blocks sat unloved in my sewing space for months until I finally decided they would make a perfect little baby blanket.

I added in some coordinating solids to bring them up to baby-quilt size and then quilted them in a big radiating "X" design.

I brought in some coordinating prints for the backing and binding, and it turned into a really fun little quilt, perfect for a baby boy who will be joining the extended family soon.

WIP Wednesday: Just barely

Sew, sew, sew! That's what this week has been, and what fun! I finished my Vintage Quilt Revival mini sampler (more on that tomorrow), as well as this little dinosaur patchwork blanket for a baby who will be making his appearance very soon and whose mama loves dinos. The top fabrics are all from Ann Kelle's Remix and Urban Zoologie lines, and I used a lovely, soft flannel for the backing.

I also managed to squeeze in some time on my handwork project, the Catenary mini quilt I started in the amazing workshop I recently took with Carolyn Friedlander. I am loving this project, and it's nice to be able to spend some time with my hubby while I work on it (instead of stranded alone at my sewing space in the basement).

Finally, September was my first month as a quilter for the Emerge circle of do.Good Stitches, and I received the last few blocks from my beemates this week. It was fun to lay them all out and get a sense of how this quilt's going to come together. I asked for blocks in a range of sizes, and I'm planning to fill in the spaces with more low volume. It'll be fun to get to work on this one!

The neverending to do list:

QuiltCon triangle challenge quilt
QuiltCon bonus quilt
Dinosaur patchwork blanket
September Emerge Circle quilt
October Emerge Circle blocks
Vintage Quilt Revival mini sampler quilt
Catenary mini quilt
Jewelry travel pouch
Patchwork City sampler quilt 
Allie Owl quilt
Menagerie quilt
Hazel Hedgehog quilt
The Kittens quilt
Aviatrix Medallion quilt
Swoon quilt
Spiced Chai quilt (from Vintage Quilt Revival)
Sunset Tiles quilt (from Scraps Inc.)

T-shirt quilt
Sewing circle tote
Re-cover downstairs chair 
Clothing for me! (Washi Dress, Sailor Top Shirt, Sorbetto Top)

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Applique workshop with Carolyn Friedlander

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to participate in another great workshop opportunity, this time with Carolyn Friedlander, another one of my favorite designers. There was a meet and greet on Friday to kick off the weekend, but unfortunately, I sprained my ankle pretty badly earlier in the day and had to spend the night on the couch reading Carolyn's book instead.

Luckily, I was able to hobble to the workshop the next afternoon, which was for a hand sewing project, so that worked out well. I propped up my foot and started taking it all in.

I was so glad to see that Carolyn had also brought all of her quilts to the workshop space, so I was still able to see and touch them up close. Her workmanship and use of color are simply amazing. I think "Aerial Grove" (just below) may be my fave.

 

I had signed up for the Catenary workshop because it was all about learning needle-turn applique. I rarely hand sew and have no real confidence in my ability to do so, so I figured if I was ever going to learn, this was my chance. And I'm so glad I did!

Carolyn was a wonderful teacher and such a sweet person. She patiently showed each of us (sometimes multiple times) just what to do and then circulated, making sure to touch base with everyone to check in and provide encouragement. For perhaps the first time ever, I actually enjoyed hand sewing and can't wait to keep working on this project, which I plan to make into a mini quilt. And I couldn't resist picking up a few more of her paper-piecing projects while I was at it. Austin House was too fun to not try another one. Look at those shirts!