progress on something all anew

months ago, i started a sketch for a wallhanging quilt.  it's for a show i want to try this year - gave me inspiration and that's part of the idea of the show.  a few weeks ago, i set out to actually start the piecing process.  i had all the fabrics gathered and it was time.

you can see the start...it was a great start...  i completed several sections and was loving the expanse.  the flow of fabrics.  the variety of prints.

until the size was updated.  smaller.

(insert freak out here)

well.... some ideas were tossed around and my parents came to my rescue.  they helped print out my design on a large format, and i was able to make an exact template instead of free-handing it to make sure i fit it *just* right. 

oh look... some of those same section.  MUCH smaller. (and i realized much later that i reversed that top piece, throwing off a bit of my design.  sigh)

i spent the entire weekend standing over my dining room table, taken over by a massive pile of fabric and my cutting mats.  i got in my daily steps going to my studio and back, and repeat.  my back and shoulders sore.  but oh so worth it!

i am so in love with this quilt.

postage stamps in blue.... so much blue!

it's nearly complete.... and it's so much blue!

my redhead turned 14 a few weeks ago and he has been asking for a new quilt for his bed.  specifically, a postage stamp quilt like i have on my bed.  originally, i was collecting various cool "boy" fabrics - you know.... dr who, marvel superheros, game stuff, scout fabrics, bacon.  and then he asked for all blue.  hmm....

so, blue it was.  and i added in some of those fun fabrics to the quilt.  the non-blue ones became larger blocks to break up the postage stamps (he approved).

but man.  i tell you, blue is not as easy as you think!  especially since his room is a bright bright shade of blue he picked out a few years back.  "little boy blue" was the paint color.  i had to mix in darks and lights just to get enough.  i've been piecing this thing together for a while and it's past his birthday unfortunately.

bacon!!

but i think it has all worked out in the end.  he was surprised happily with his bacon block, which i managed to keep secret until it was together and in the quilting process.  he could eat bacon every day, every meal.  along with peanut butter, but not at the same time.

now all that's left is the binding, also a blue in stripes.  i can finally get to more of my welding cap orders and get them out the door.  and back to my circle blocks, which have not made any progress since august.  :(  and then - the wall hanging quilt for the show!!  i cannot wait to work on that one.

happy friday everyone.  do something fun!

start of something new

this on the drawing table.... but soon to be on the cutting table.

postage stamps and circles galore

many years ago, ok - nearly a decade ago, i started collecting black and white fabrics before black and white quilts were as common and popular as they are now.  i remember how difficult it was to find nice quilting cottons in these combinations without other colors.  my quilting friend out of state posted on FB that she was participating in the quilt 365 challenge - all circles, all year.  i thought.... this would be a good way to get started after all these years.  i had the squares cut in two sizes and the pattern from the magazine still open to the appropriate page, along with scraps of the fabrics AND premade black print quilt binding.  oy vey.  not going to use that one now.

so, i started cutting my circles for the inside and outside, two at a time with freezer paper templates.  and i attempted curved circle piecing for the very first time.  i will admit i am now officially over my fear of curved piecing!!

if it were today, there would be a few prints i wouldn't include.  but i still love how this is turning out.  while the others playing along are doing one smaller sized block each day, i'm not exactly getting 30 in a month.  this picture was all of my blocks for july.  august is sad at four finished and two cut...

BUT, i have a good reason i've fallen behind:

i've been playing with 1,728 2 1/2 inch squares to form into a postage stamp quilt for my redhead's upcoming birthday.  i had planned one for him since he's asked for a postage stamp quilt like mine (but not so girly).  i was going to do bold colors and fun teen boy/geekery prints, but he requested all blue.  i do have five blocks of other patterns using some of those fun prints mixed with the blue backgrounds to break up the sea of blue.  his birthday is 18 days.  i can do it, right?  yikes.

the redhead got braces today.  a quilt is a nice thing to say sorry for all the pain while we make you more beautiful.  i mean, handsome.

a modern back.... finally!

for a couple years, on and off, i've been working on a free-pieced GIANT quilt for my mom.  all white kona and kaffe fasset super fun fabrics.  bright and bold.  it's awesome.  the top was finished last year and the backing has been put on hold for a little while.  life and health got in the way.

well....i started piecing it with vigor this summer.  and i finished it two weeks ago.

my living room wasn't big enough for this larger-than-king quilt back without moving furniture.  but you can get the idea.  she wanted bold and big expanses of color with the leftover fabrics.  i think i nailed it, and gave her a reversible quilt.

even the cat had to have her say and crazy-cat moments on the back when i stepped away long enough to eat dinner.  (i really need to organize all my books better... they've overflowed to boxes on the floor)

and now for other updates

as mentioned in the earlier post, time has really slipped away this year.  i can't believe it's about to be july already!  i'd like to say it's all "time flies when you're having fun" but unfortunately, it's a mixture of fun and stress.  my quilting, sewing and art slowed down considerably last year and i'm picking up speed in those departments again in the last month or so.  quilts and dresses are in progress... drawings planned....pieces just returned from a show in the outer banks, nc last week.... and welding caps being made every week.

in more exciting news, i just celebrated 4 months of marriage!  we had a surprise leap day wedding, just us, my son and parents, plus my friend who became ordained for us.

he surprised me with my parents actually.

i love my shoes.  i should have worn those to work today....

after 9 years, my boss finally sent me to one of our project sites.  he'd been telling me he'd send me out one of these days, tour the plants and visit with our teams.  not only did i finally get to travel for work outside of the greater houston area, but i got to go to ALASKA!! 

my guys have such a horrible view from their "office"

it was late march and first couple days of april.  it was cold, but was warm for anchorage.  the week before, there was a lot of snow on the ground in downtown anchorage, but rain and high temps in the low 40s cleared up most of that for us.  we managed to get south down the seward hwy into the chugach mountains and national forest our last full day.

on an observation desk on top of mt. alyeska (snowing and wearing fleece and two coats)

the deceiving "warm" temps we planned for didn't exactly cut it for the mountain tops.  and the wind. holy cow the wind.  but wow, is alaska beautiful.  every turn my coworker and i took was another breathtaking view.  i highly suggest eating at moose tooth pizzeria and pub and try some of their broken tooth brews.  yum.

so february and march were my highlights of 2016 thus far.  there are plans for some other good things to come - my best friend just moved back to town last week, my recently diagnosed hypothyroidism and some other health issues are being worked on and i am getting back in the swing of things.  i'll try to come here more often again as all the goodness comes to fruition.  

new in my etsy shop

oh my.  has it really been over a year since my last post?  time has slipped by this year for so many reasons.  i guess i'll catch you up some in another post.

first things first!!  i have ventured into something new:  welding caps.  personally, i'd love to see lots of women welders wearing them so i could do really fun and girly fabrics, but i know there are fewer women welders than men...

i *adore* this welders cap soooo much and i was so excited when i got to make it for a customer.

this is josh.  he requested the skulls and top hats welders cap and was pleasantly surprised that my cap fit him better than the ones he's purchased from stores.  makes my heart smile hearing that as well.

if you're interested or know someone who wears them (motorcycles, hard hats, welding, etc), send them my way.