What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

No change in the numbers.

Life got in the way this week, and I didn’t finish Mosaic.  I did finish quilting it though.

I’ve also worked on Christmas Cottage.  It’s tiny – maybe 2.5 x 3 inches here. The fabric is 18 count.

The goal this week is to finish Mosaic for the Guild meeting Saturday.  I also want to start the pants.  I washed the fabric, but I still need to buy elastic.

Fabric Added: 17.875

Fabric Used:  6.625 yards

Net Fabric Added:  11.25 yards

How did you do this week?

I’m still wrapping my head around the fact it’s September, and we’re already a week in.  Time flies.

Working on a focus project makes choosing my OMG simple.  My goal is to finish Mosaic.

I started quilting it today, and it’s going fast.  I think I’ll finish it this week.

I feel a bit like a slacker with such an easy goal.  I also plan to start the yoga pants using the fabric I bought a couple weeks ago.  I pulled two pant patterns from my stash.  The one with leggings is quite old, the ...

No change in the numbers.  Maybe next week.

Because it goes better for me, I’ve switched to working on fewer projects at once.  The paint chip challenge, which I’ve named Mosaic, is the new focus.  I finished adding designs to all the squares.

I’ve also pulled batting and backing fabric.  I have a general idea of how I want to quilt it.  The goal is to get it done before the Guild meeting on the 19th.

Fabric Added: 17.875

Fabric Used:  6.625 yards

Net Fabric Added:  11.25 yards

How did you do this week ...

No change in the numbers.

I think I touched everything I have in progress this week.  I sewed the next sashing block and added to the row on Moondance.

I added crayon over rubbing plate and paint to the Paint Chip Challenge.  I think I added five blocks.  I’d really like this quilt done and out of the way. 

I also spent a lot of time on Fairy Tales, another project I’m ready to finish.  In hindsight, this project would have been easier if I used Pattern Keeper or something similar.  Live and learn.

Fabric Added: 13.625 ...

No change in the numbers.

I finished two more squares of the Paint Chip Challenge, paint stik and oil pastel over rubbing plates.

Both squares will fade a little when I heat set them.

With all the painting and stitching, I haven’t had time with my sewing machine lately.  I miss it and may need to shift to a different project later this month.  Summers are so short and incredibly busy.  It’s hard to fit everything in. 

Fabric Added: 13.125

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  6.625 yards

How did you do this week ...

Welcome to Summer!  We’ve had unusually hot weather for the past week, the same as many of you.  Nothing to do for it but stay inside where it’s cool.

On the sewing and stitching front, July will be a tricky month.  We have a lot going on, and I know my creative time will be limited.  Given everything on the calendar, the best I can do is move something forward.

My current focus quilt is the Paint Chip Challenge.  I filled 8 of the 24 blocks.

I only worked on one this week.

The Challenge is due on ...

No change in the numbers.

I spent some time on the paint chip challenge this week.  I added embroidery to block 4 and stamped with the larger bubble wrap in block 5.  The bubble wrap was older and the bubbles had deflated a bit.  That resulted in great texture. 

I created a freezer paper stencil for block 7.  I wanted thicker stripes and a stencil big enough to cover the whole square.

In addition to having fun, I’m learning a lot revisiting so many surface design techniques.  I’d forgotten how much I enjoy it.

Fabric Added: 13.125 ...

No change in the numbers.  I only wish I had enough sewing time to finish something.

I worked some on the Paint Chip Challenge this week.  Block 2 is oil pastel over a rubbing plate.  Block 3 is stamped.

I skipped blocks 4 and 5 because I wanted to continue with painted blocks.  Block 6 is stenciled.

I will go back and pick up blocks 4 and 5 this week.

Fabric Added: 13.125

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  6.625 yards

How did you do this week?

I’ve been plugging away on the Paint Chip Challenge. 

In a prior post I showed the gridded fabric.  I decided to add boro-like stitching to the first block.  My thread of choice for that is pearl cotton. 

All the surface design will be black, grey, and possible white.  I didn’t have any black or gray pearl cotton, but I did have white.

I decided to paint it.  I didn’t have any black fabric paint, using acrylic instead.  It came out a little stiff for my taste.  I combined it with gray fabric paint, and lightened some of ...

No change in the numbers.

I finally started the paint chip challenge project.  I found fabric that comes as close to the paint chip as I’m going to get.  I masked the outside border with painter’s tape and gridded the center.  The paint chip is in the upper right corner.

My first love in quilting is surface design.  That’s the place where I lose myself, where time passes unnoticed.  If you are a regular reader, you’d be hard pressed to know that based on recent projects.  It’s time to fix that.

I have a sketch ...

I apologize for combining everything in one post.  An internet outage prevented a separate OMG/PhD post.

No fabric in this week.  I had another finish for one yard out.

My May goal was to finish K’s quilt and possibly finish the beach runner.  I’m pleased to have finished both.  K’s quilt has been gifted.

The background fabric is one of my hand dyes.  When I cut the pieces, I made a huge effort to have the pink areas flow into one another.

The beach runner will go in the dining room until Fall.

I’m also ...

I’ve been reading the magazines I got at the bookshop at the show, and many of them are Quilting Arts. I signed up for their emails, and recently they had a reader challenge. It was called Into Nature. Here is the challenge “Create a small art quilt (6” x 9”, vertical orientation) that reflects your personal connection to the natural world. Explore nature-related themes—leaves, stems, roots, flowers, spores, seeds, or growth cycles—as inspiration for this challenge. Your ideas might come from a specific place, a fleeting moment outdoors, a beloved garden, or abstract responses to nature’s ...

Happy Mother’s Day!  Do something nice for yourself today.

No change in the numbers.

I finally came up with a quilting plan for K’s quilt.  I’m about half way through the quilting.  I’d love to get the quilt finished this week.  I don’t like that I have to keep it a secret. 

I’m also looking forward to working on other projects and starting the paint chip challenge.  As a reminder, this is my paint chip.

In addition to the beach runner, I also started working on this UFO from a class several years ago ...

Another month done and dusted.  I didn’t post an April OMG update, but I did finish K’s top.  It’s a group challenge with the reveal at the end of May, so no pictures.

My May goal will include finishing K’s quilt, but I also want to finish the beach runner.

I’m about 20% through the quilting.  I haven’t free motion quilted in a long time.  The runner gives me some practice before I start quilting on K’s quilt.  I’d hate to make a mess of the quilting on her project, although I ...

No change in the numbers.

Work continues on K’s quilt.  All the components are made, and I am sewing the top together.

I also basted the beach runner and REALLY want to start quilting it.  I pulled some coordinating threads.

I hesitate to start quilting because I won’t want to stop until it’s done.  The other quilt has a deadline.  I sometimes struggle with finishing projects on time and don’t want to get in a crunch situation.  My work days don’t always go as planned and evenings can be a bad time for sewing.

We ...

No change in the numbers.

I have no idea where the week went, but I don’t think I spent much time in the sewing room.

When I did, I worked on K’s quilt.  A few people in the group look at the blog, and I don’t want to spoil the reveal with pictures.  I admit using some of those tiny HSTs.  That surprised even me.

I also pulled backing and binding for the beach runner.  The backing is a nice pale blue floral.  It’s rainy and overcast outside, making the fabric look gray.

Fabric Added: 1 ...

It’s that time to pick a new goal for the new month.  Time passes so quickly….not sure where the days go.

I’m moving on to a new project for April.  I pulled out all the pieces for my Art Quilt Group challenge, which I refer to as K’s quilt.  The challenge is to complete a small project out of another group member’s UFO.  As a reminder, I’m starting with this.

And this.

I haven’t quite figured out what I’m making.  Regardless, my April OMG will be to put the top together, whatever ...

At Art Quilt Group this week we started a new challenge.  Everyone brought a small unfinished item in a paper bag, which we traded.  We have two months to turn the contents into a finished project.

This is what I put in my bag for someone else to finish.  I made it in a class many years ago with no real plans for it. The fabric is painted with leaves stamped on it. The circles are Shiva paintstik over rubbing plates.

This is what I received.

There are three blocks, some random fabric pieces, and 2/3 of a gift ...

Last Saturday was our local guild show for Worldwide Quilting Day at our small shopping mall. The stands and black drapes were set up along a wall, and the entries were pinned to them. The show was set up and ready to view before the mall opened. There were 31 entries, and visitors in the mall were encouraged to vote for their three favorites.

As usual, the creativity and imagination of our members is amazing. This challenge was all about imagination, so even more so this year. In most of the entries, the challenge fabric was easy to see, which ...

The third Saturday in March is Worldwide Quilting Day, and our local guild always celebrates it with a challenge show. Our members are given a challenge theme and purchase a fat quarter of the challenge fabric we have to use. This year, the challenge was “Looking Out My Back Door”, and we were admonished not to take it literally. It is taken from the Creedence Clearwater Revival song about imagination. Some of the lyrics were given to us at a meeting last fall. Like these:

There’s a giant doing cartwheels, a statue wearin’ high heels
Look at all the ...