Taking Stock

Posted in Project Linus, Quilts, WIP Wednesday by wombatquilts

WIP Wednesday seemed like a good time to take stock of what I have “in progress” at the moment. So here goes…

1. Blocks almost ready to be made into a top…

Paper Piecing Monday blocks… one block to go!

Granny squares ready to go

2. Quilt top needing the paper pattern removed…

3. Quilt tops waiting to be basted and quilted….

Sunburnt Country top

paper pieced square in square modern scrap quilt

Square in square quilt top

1001 Peeps square in square quilt top

4. Quilts ready to go to Project Linus…

7. Ongoing project that may take me years….

Hexagon flowers… all hand done!

6.. Very old quilts that have been sitting in my cupboard (or in storage in Australia) for YEARS…

My first ever quilt top… circa 1997

1930’s Star quilt… circa 2000

Kaffe Fassett floral quilt top… circa 2008

Novelty rainbow quilt top… circa 2009

So where do I start…. It is all so overwhelming!

6May2013

Paper Piecing Monday

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

I am running a little behind today… but I have finally got today’s block done and ready to post.

With this block I am only one block away from finishing up my red/aqua star blocks. I am going to lay out all the blocks this week and see what I am missing, so that the last block is a perfect fit! Now for today’s star…

Another fabulous star from Carol Doak’s “50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars”, this time I used the Maine Star pattern. A simple 56 piece star that has a lot of impact. As I am nearing the end of this project I used more of the scraps I have accumulated over the last couple of months.

Now I am off to enjoy this glorious day. The sun is shinning and the weather is warm. In Portland you have to make the most of these days when they come!

3May2013

An abundancy of turquioise

Posted in Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

This month there are a couple of resolutions in our house, that may or may not work. Firstly my husband thought it would be a good idea if we did not eat any processed sugar during May. I do not remember agreeing to this at all, but it seems that sugar is off the menu. If the posts get erratic, the colours get to bright or I stop making sense, it is because I am suffering withdrawals.

The second resolution for May was to finish up more of the quilt tops I have floating around. This resolution came about as I finished another two quilt tops this week and the pile of UFOs grew to an embarrassing level. More quilting less piecing. Combine this resolution with the other one and it could be an interesting month!

Anyway the two tops I finished up this week are both from the same pattern…. I blogged them originally here. I used this pattern…

..to make this quilt.

This was a fun scrap quilt to make – lots of turquoise, navy (my favorite colour) and pink/purple. I really like this colour combination, which I stumbled across while playing with my piles of fabric.

The other quilt top I finished was my 1001 Peeps top.

I was battling the wind when I was taking these photos. It is the problem of photographing tops as opposed to full quilts – there is no weight to hold them in place in even a gentle breeze.

It is another reason why I have to quilt these suckers before I post. I see a lot of basting in my near future!

29Apr2013

Paper Piecing Monday Boston Edition

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday, Quilt patterns, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

This week’s paper piecing blocks are in destined for the Quilts for Boston project. Last week the Boston Modern Quilt Guild put out a call for blocks, in the Boston Marathon colours, that will be made into quilts that will be “distributed those who would benefit from a show of support”.

So I grabbed some fabric…..

And went in search of some paper piecing patterns. I eventually decided to use two of the fabulous Lucky Star Block of the Month (BOM) patterns from Elizabeth at Don’t Call me Betsy. I signed up at the beginning of the year for the monthly paper piecing fix and I have been thoroughly enjoying making the patterns each month. I picked two of my favorite stars so far to make this week.

Block 1 is test block that we got in January, when the program started.

The block is made up of 8 triangle sections which give you a lot of options for playing with fabric and colour.

The second block I did was a simpler pattern from the series, but still lots of fun.

This blocks is made up of four sections and was really quick and easy to pull together.

I am hoping to get some more blocks done this week, and I will post as I finish them.

26Apr2013

A Trip around

Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

Like a lot of quilters out there, I have been seeing Trip Around quilts and blocks on-line for ages and ages. I had seen some amazing versions but I had never really thought about making one myself… then the Portland Modern Quilting Guild set it as one of their charity blocks. That is when the trouble started.

First I checked out the pattern instructions from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltsville. Looked easy enough. My initial intention was to make just on block for the charity quilt so I cut 6 strips of fabric and made this.

What was not included in the instructions was how addictive this process was. My one block very quickly and easily grew to be this.

Lots of black & whites mixed with loud obnoxious colours makes for a fun quilt.

I backed the quilt with some Ikea fabric, did some diagonal quilting and machine bound it. I had never bound anything with solid black before but I think it works well with this quilt.

I am digitally adding my Trip to the growing collection out there on the web and then sending the real thing off to Project Linus for some one to snuggle under.

And in the spirit of Trip Around… here is visual trip around my quilting space (also known as our Living Room) as it looks this morning.

That is… wip on the floor… fabric on the table waiting to be cut…. batting waiting to be used…. and my hexies work station on the couch/sofa arm. Yes I am a messy quilter.