I Swear I've Been Sewing

Even though it has been crickets here on my blog, I have been steadily working on my mother-in-law's Pineapple Farm quilt and making real progress. After what seemed like forever I got all of the pineapples done:

I finished all the red pineapples first and then added in the orangey and yellow ones.

 I then had to add the sashing which was a little tricky at first. There are a LOT of bias seams which meant they were a bit rippled, so I followed the rules very carefully and pinned every 3" (which is ridiculous) and then sashing went on MUCH better.

My cat was his usual helpful self.

Smooth sashing. That's better.

This was when I had all the centre sashing done and just needed to add the borders, which are now done.

 I also went on a shop hop with friends on Tuesday (as we are all in education and this is our March Break) and I did a LOT of damage.

There were some awesome deals. I even have a plan for many of these.

And I completed some lined drawstring bags to gift to my nephews at Easter. They are filled with stickers and some treats.

Next up on my agenda is finishing this pineapple quilt and then on to finishing the next WIP. My goal, if you remember from my first January post, is to have no WIPs by the end of 2018. Wish me luck!

Pineapple Pergatory

When I saw Elizabeth Hartman's new pattern Pineapple Farm I immediately thought of my mother-in-law and sent her a picture. Her enthusiastic response had me delighted because she is usually quite reserved. I didn't pause to consider just how much work Elizabeth Hartman's patterns tend to be. This one is no exception.

After my mother-in-law directed me to a colour scheme- rusty reds and terracottas (so out of my own comfort zone) I got to work collecting a sufficient stack of fabrics. Then I started cutting. And cutting and cutting. 

Below is the cutting involved for three 10x10 squares that will make two pineapple bodies. It is painstakingly slow work with very precise tiny measurements (like one 7.5" x 1.5" piece and one 1.5" x 3.25" piece and...you get the idea).

These three cut pieces end up being arranged in a very specific and complicated arrangement (see below).

This is what the pieces look like when arranged just so. The diagram is quite complex and time consuming to make sure you do everything in just the right way.

There are a lot of pieces in this quilt. This was me cutting 400 tiny 1.5" x 3.5" rectangles.

When you rotate the block after it has been sewn together and trim it down to size, this is what you get on the right. I still need to add the corner pieces to make it more pineapple-shaped and make the green leafy top.

This was another block ready to sew together. I came up with a system

This is part of my system- I arrange the two layouts on the large square ruler and on my portable, turning cutting mat and then transfer them beside my sewing machine to carefully assemble before moving on to the next pair.

I have been making progress, but there will be 80 pineapples in the lap size and even after I trim them all I have to add tiny squares to the corners to give them the shape (4 squares per block for 320 squares worth) AND I still need to make all the tops of all the pineapples...so I have a long way to go. My deadline is April when my mother-in-law returns from six months in Florida. I should have plenty of time if I can keep up my motivation!

Sunshine Menagerie: A Finished Quilt

I have had a fat eighth bundle of Bungle Jungle sitting around for four years, since I made quilts for twins that were arriving for close friends. When I found out that my cousin was expecting a little boy  I thought it was a great opportunity to pull out the fat eighth, pull out the turquoise and yellow colour way and put together a sweet and simple baby quilt for her.

Here is Sunshine Menagerie:

The squares are 8x8 with some squares made of two pieces for some visual interest. I added one other yellow print from my stash because I didn't have quite enough from the fat eighth bundle.

The quilting is very simple straight-ish lines on either side of the seams, plus a double line down the centre (vertically not horizontally) because 8x8 blocks are quite large to leave without some additional quilting. I want this one to hold up in the wash! 

The back is a yellow I had in my stash with a strip of this Joel Dewberry print on the side. That same herringbone print is also the entire binding.

Simple and sweet and on the way to a new baby for tummy time and snuggles!

Festive Forest: A Finished Quilt

I am not one for seasonal quilts (I think they should be able to be used year round) and I am not one for traditional Christmas colours (our colours are dark blue, turquoise and silver) but when I saw that Violet Craft was releasing a green, red, white and gold version of Brambleberry Ridge it just spoke to me. I used a tutorial that was free (see my previous blog entry on the process). I ended up being quite delighted with the end result and my daughters were using it before I even finished the binding. Maybe it can spend the non-Christmas season in the basement?

I didn't finish until after Christmas (because who has time to sew down some binding in the middle of the chaos that is multiple Christmas events?) but it was still within the time my Christmas tree was up so I consider that a win!

Here is Festive Forest:

It sure looks pretty against the white snow! There are two blocks that are actually made up of four mini trees. I love the variation it adds.

My husband hates the wonky nature of the improv trees, but what does he know? ;)

I didn't have quite enough of this pretty red print from Brambleberry Ridge (I guessed on the yardage when I bought it which is typical me) so I put in a pit of this Laurie Wisbrun red fabric that I had in my stash.

I used this loopy pattern to quilt it because it was quite fast and because my initial plan did NOT work out. I just went with it. I quite like it!

And there is my first finish of 2018! Hopefully many more to go!

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts!

Quilty Goals for 2018

For my 2017 goals I vowed the following:
1. Finish my Aviatrix Medallion (I finished the quilt top but have not basted or quilted it).
2. Make an orange and turquoise quilt (Accomplished! Made and gifted!)
3. Make a quilt for my daughter's teacher (Accomplished! Another one will need to be made for her Grade 4 teacher this year).
4. Snail Along. (Accomplished! Finished, bound, being used!)

5. Ochre quilt for a friend (Not even touched. It remains a pretty stack on my shelf).
6. Improv Christmas Tree Quilt (Almost finished...just need to hand sew the binding!)
7. Pineapple Farm for my MIL (Nope. But I have to have it finished before she returns from Florida in April because I promised her I would).
8. Improv Scrap Rainbow Quilt (The top is finished and it is basted- with pins!- but I need to get it quilted).
9. Gamer Quilt for Hubby (I cut the letters but I haven't gotten any further than that).

Not too bad in terms of accomplishing the list, but obviously I fall off the wagon and do other things instead of the things I said I wanted to finish.

So, let 2018 be a year of finishes! The goal is to have NO WIPs by the end of 2018!

That means I will need to finish the following (all WIPs):
1. Turquoise and yellow quilt for my cousin's new baby that I made but have been avoiding basting.
2. Teal and grey baby quilt for a friend.

3. Finish binding my Christmas Improv Quilt.

4. Quilt the Rainbow picnic quilt.

5. Quilt my Aviatrix Medallion.
6. Finish a Knuffle Bunny quilt I have waiting.
7. Pineapple Farm Quilt (for April).
8. Gamer Quilt (for hubby...maybe March for his birthday?)
9. Finish the QB travelling quilt that I have been doing with friends...assuming C gets out of thumb jail after some minor surgery on her hand in the new year.

So, nine WIPs all in some stage of completion. I am shocked to reflect on having 9 WIPS as a couple of years ago it would be shocking for me to have even one WIP!

Plus add that I will need a teacher thank you quilt for June. It involves, at least to some degree, some bright pink Hello Kitty fabric. That should be interesting!

Something Non-Quilty

I made a poncho!

So, my daughter, a first year Girl Guide, saw my camping poncho which is quite heavily laden in patches and badges. She declared she wanted one.

Enter the ever-patient help of my skilled friend A. She not only bought the fabric for me when at a store that carried the fleece I needed but she talked me through every single stage.

This is A's kitchen floor, with A in the background.

She talked me through each step, making up most of it in her head thanks to her experience.  

I decided to vary the poncho from my own by adding contrasting binding. Isn't it cute?

On Christmas Day I gifted her the poncho (except that I still need a toggle for the string in the hood). She LOVED it. She wore it all day despite the fact that it is intentionally on the large side so she can grow into it. 

Now I just need a toggle and to add some of the badges that don't go on her sash (ones from camps, etc).

I absolutely could NOT have done this (with any measure of success, anyway) without patient friend A talking me through it! So thank you again, A!

2017 Year in Review: 16 Quilts

As 2017 winds down and I revisit what I finished this last year, I always find myself quite surprised because how DO I find the time on top of a full time job and two small kids (not to mention all that TV I watch- ha!).

I finished 14 quilts in 2017  (I just noticed I forgot Molasses! So,15 quilts! Oh my gosh, edit 3- Open Window got missed too! I suck!), but I will have probably 3 January finishes because I am so close with a few. Before I focus on my 2018 goals (in another post) here are my 2017 quilt finishes:

I also made a chubby charmer bag for my mom, a bunch of lined drawstring bags and worked on numerous other quilts. And I joined a quilt guild for the first time! Check out @wemqg on Instagram!

I don't know if I can pick a favourite for this year, but I know I love and use the (only) one I kept (upper left corner) which was a result of a mini charm swap done last year. I also love the triangles (bottom right) that I made for my goddaughter (and it is HUGE). Finally, the one done not only by me but by a collection of caring quilty people to send to Quebec after the horrific mosque shooting to remind the survivors they are home has such a lovely sentiment. 

I think I remembered them all! Can't wait to dive into dozens more next year!

Which of my 2017 quilts do you most feel drawn to?