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16 January 2014

first quarter list!

so I've had a few comments about all the things I want to do that I listed in my last post - that certainly wasn't a list of things for this year - unless I can stop working :)

I'm just going to plod along and see what I can get done - the thing that's different this year is that I should be able to quilt a top when I finish it instead of putting it away in the cupboard - thanks to mum and dad and the new bernina :)

so onto my first quarter list for the 2014 finish-along and I'm hoping to quilt a couple of already finished tops before I make anymore this year !

Marney's quilt - I made this for a girl I used to work with - she has now left work but thankfully is still living close by - I'm going to do loops and hearts all over !  Its her birthday in early April so getting a finish this quarter will be fab :)


through the trees - this is another quilt that I made in 2011 but its been sitting waiting for quilting - originally I was going to hand quilt it but I've now decided to straight line quilt it - not sure if its a quicker method though !


Pink spiderweb quilt - it was my month in October for the care at do.good stitches group and all the members made a couple of spiderweb blocks - in pink of course!  I put the top together in the christmas break and I really want to get it finished this quarter.


I also made the Catvent quilt in December - it was a quilt along by Elizabeth Hartman making one block a day from the 1st to 25th December - I didn't have any background fabric to start on time so its another one I finished over christmas.  It just needs some simple diagonal quilting.


so onto the tops I'd love to get done !

I started the double wedding ring quilt in late October as I'd won the templates in a blog hop for the NYC Metro Mod Quilter's Challenge - the challenge finished on 1st December but I was happy with my progress - I now have all the rows done and they just need to be sewn together.  I'm not sure this will be a finish this quarter as I've decided to hand quilt it but if its all together with the quilting started then I'll be happy !


The other quilt I'd love to get done this quarter is the single girl quilt - as I mentioned in my last post I'd decided that it would be one of my passion 48 quilts - working on it for one hour a week - well of course as soon as I started cutting I couldn't really stop and I've now cut out half of the pieces.


I think I might do better if I just concentrate on one project at a time rather than switching over as I currently do !

so I'll see how I go - no pressure - just one stitch at a time as this is something I love doing not something I have to do !

linking up to the 1st quarter of the 2014 finish-along with Katy over at the littlest thistle 

13 January 2014

2014 - a sort of plan !

so I've been thinking about all the quilts that I want to make and all the tops that I want to quilt and wondering when I'll get them done!

I'm joining up with the 2014 Finish-Along again this year (which is being hosted by Katy at The Littlest Thistle) and I really hope to do way better than last year - I only got one finish done last year - having said that I did get a few tops done !  I'm also going to try and join up each month to the 2014 A Lovely Year of Finishes to try and get a few smaller projects done.

I also read on Carrie's lavieenrosie blog the other day about Passion 48 - it was something that was started by the staff of American Patchwork and Quilting last year and it involves working on one project for one hour per week (with four weeks off for holidays etc - hence 48 !)  I have a few quilts that I want to make that will take a while to do and I thought that concept was a great idea - slowly but surely they will get done !

So the projects that are going into my Passion 48 list are...

the Single Girl Quilt...

the Polka Dot Dresden...

and the HexyMF quilt...


I'm in no rush but I'd like to get them done !

I also cleaned out my linen press over Christmas - its where I keep my finished and almost finished quilt tops as well as backings for quilts yet to be made.  I counted 15 tops finished and ready for quilting, 2 tops that need borders, and 10 backing and binding fabric sets for quilts that are waiting to be made - that's not including the three mentioned above !

I'm a third of the way through straight line quilting this one - "through the trees" so that leaves only 14 still in the cupboard !


I also have other fabrics put away in plastic tubs waiting to be made into quilts but they will have to wait until later (much later) !  there are two exceptions - the Spinning Stars quilt and the keep calm quilt, both of which I'd like to get done this year.

of course, today I just discovered the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge and having quite a few purple fabrics it does sound interesting ! 
2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Radiant Orchid

I'm also currently doing a weekly sew along (Quilty Fun) that finishes in March, and a continuing bom (Modern Blocks QAL) that will finish mid way through the year.  I've also decided to do four other boms (including a paper pieced bom by my friend Kristy at Quiet Play) - its a good way to get some of my fabrics off the shelf and into a quilt !  I also think that doing boms are a bit like the Passion 48 project - you just work on one block a month. Of course I'll still be doing blocks and quilts for the Care circle at do.good stitches.

I made two of the January blocks this month - the first one is the large centre block for the Globetrotting mystery block of the month by Pat Sloan.  I'm using some yellow and grey floral fabrics I bought in a bundle from Spotlight a while ago that I really wanted to get rid of use up and pulled some coordinating fabrics from my stash !


I also made the January block for the 2014 Aurifil Designer Block of the Month - I am using fabrics from some blogger's bundles that I get each month from the Fat Quarter Shop - I find that a lot of the bundles play so well together !


It was also handy to get these blocks done so I could use them for blog buttons - I find it so much easier to have the links on my blog so that I don't have to remember website addresses each month - I just link direct from the buttons on my sidebar !

so my plan is just to plod along and try and get as many projects done as I can !  I've got a long list for the 2014 Finish-Along already but I think I'll try and keep it to only a few projects a quarter and try and get them done - I really got sick of seeing the same projects in each quarter last year.

actually, I was rushing to get a quilt bound in time for the link-up for the last quarter and discovered that I hadn't even put it on the list - I had listed it for Q1, 2, and 3 so I'd obviously decided to forget it !!

I have to put this cute little quilt on the first quarter list - I made it over the christmas break - the catvent quilt along by Elizabeth Hartman !


but for the next little while I'll be finishing the Doll Quilt Swap 14 quilt that is due to be posted in 11 days - as I'm wanting to get so many of my ufos and other projects done this year I've decided not to take part in any more swaps!

hope you have your plans for 2014 sorted !

07 January 2014

happy new year !

hope you all had a really fabulous Christmas and new year :)

one of my new year resolutions was to blog more and its now 7 days into the new year and this is my first one !

I do have a lot to catch up on but my biggest news in the past month has been the arrival of a new sewing machine.


my mum and dad are my biggest fans and supporters of my quilting - my mum is also a quilter and its so great to be able to talk with her - in fact sometimes dad doesn't get a word in on our hour or so long telephone conversations as we're too busy talking quilting !

Anyway, I'd been dreaming about a buying a Bernina 550QE for a little while and in early December I sent mum an email that I'd received from a friend who recently purchased one.  Bernina has big sales in December and May so I said to mum that I might look at buying one but probably in the May sales.

a couple of days later I received an email from Mum telling me that she and dad had decided to buy me the sewing machine for christmas - you can imagine my shock and surprise to get that email.

I think it might just be the best christmas present I've ever received - at least on par with my pushbike when I was 7 !

and my mum not being one to dilly dally it arrived a week later !



I was a little bit intimidated by it and it took me about 3 days to even turn it on - normally when you buy a machine from a dealer you get at least minimum instruction but as I didn't have that I didn't even know how to thread it !

but once I got going I haven't stopped - I thought I might use this machine for free motion quilting and still use my old Elna for normal sewing but the old Elna is packed up - there is just no comparison - this machine is a dream !

I've already straight line quilted two quilts on her - the walking foot is fabulous !


one of the main features of the 550QE is the BSR - bernina stitch regulator - which is used for free motion quilting and makes your stitch length the same no matter how slow or fast you go !  I think its a fabulous foot for beginner free motion quilters and as I've now got nearly 24 quilt tops to quilt its going to be fabulous for me :)

I free motion quilted my first quilt over the christmas break and as I'm just finishing the binding I'll do a post very soon!



thanks again mum and dad - love you both :)