Moon Shine

when Tula Pink's Moon Shine line came out (like most of her collections) i fell in love with it.  the bright colors, the large scale prints, the dots......  everything about the line makes me happy.  i have made a few bags from this line but i had a fat quarter set of it knowing that i wanted to make a quilt using it.

it's Tula and for some crazy/strange reason i have to have a quilt out of each of Tula's collections.  this self imposed rule started with Neptune.  i have yet to part with one of my Tula quilts so i have a collection going.

it took me a while to figure out which quilt pattern i wanted to use for Moon Shine.  i really didn't want to chop up the large scale prints into tiny pieces.  i was going through my patterns and came across this one.  its a pattern that a friend of mine gave me after she made it at a quilt camp years ago.  i remember her being frustrated with the pattern so that is probably why i kept skipping over it when looking for a pattern.

the pattern was a tad funky.  making various units and then following the layout.  it was one of the rare patterns that i actually read first several times before i even cut the fabric.  i think i even might have used a highlighter on the pattern.  probably why i passed it onto another quilter at camp.  lol.  i quilted it with a diamond pattern made from straight lines quilted diagonally across the quilt.  

the front of the quilt used all of the bright fabric so i used the remaining fat quarters as well as some additional Tula fabric for the pieced backing.  i had one unit left over that wasn't used on the front so i sewed it into the back.  just shaking it up a bit.

this is one of my favorite quilts right now.  i need to get it trimmed and bound.  also, this is my 6th quilt that i have quilted this year out of the 10 quilt tops that i started with.  i have 2 quilt tops that i didn't get finished at quilt camp last month that i am going to get put together then i will start quilting quilt #7.  it will be an adventure to say the least.  come back and see how i quilted it.

happy sewing

Prince Charming Dwell

another quilt that i finished the quilting on is my Prince Charming Dwell quilt.  the pattern is Dwell from Camille Roskelley and i used Tula Pink's Prince Charming fabric line for it.  i only made 9 houses so its a nice wall hanging size.

i had fun quilting this one with various quilting patterns and thread changes.  

here is the back of the quilt.  not a very good picture but you can kind of see the quilting that i did on the houses.  i did a stipple in the negative space and i also added some smoke waves coming out of each chimney.

i love this line of fabric.  it is one of my favorites from Tula.  it should look great in my future sewing area next to my Neptune sewing machine quilt wall hanging.

this is my 5th quilt that i have quilted this year out of the 10 quilt tops i started with.  i quilted this while i was at a friends house for a short weekend.  i also got my Moonshine quilt finished there too.  i will post about that one next.  that leaves me with 4 tops left to quilt and i have saved the larger ones for the end.  the next one i have ready to go is my Tula Pink log cabin Beads quilt.  i am going to be trying something new with that one.....  wish me luck.

i have also been to quilt camp since i last blogged so i will need to do a post on that trip as well.  

happy sewing

Ramblings and Such

things were going along well for me.  

i was making progress on getting my 10 quilt tops quilted.  2 finished and working on the quilting for top number 3 and thinking about the quilting for number 4 so i would be ready when its turn under the needle came.  i wasn't feeling the greatest but i pushed through like we all do.

i did a little custom quilting on this mini sewing machine quilt on the spools and the machines themselves.  i used some of my Tula Pink Neptune fabric for this quilt.

i quilted an over all stipple in the background on it and i added needles to each machine.

the back is fun to look at too.  makes me smile.  plus this was a quick one to get finished.

i was determined to get the 4th quilt top quilted by the start of the big football game a couple of Sundays ago.  despite how i was feeling i pulled the fabric for the backing of quilt top number 4 and went to work. 

i like how it turned out.  kind of it's own quilt.  i love making pieced backs because not only do you get to use up the fabric from that collection but it is also fun.

i quilted this quilt with double and single loops allover it.  more of a big open design so the quilt is nice to cuddle with.  i finished the quilting on this right before kick-off.  so 4 out of my 10 quilt tops are quilted.  yeah!

then the Monday after the big game it hit me.  

i had some extreme pain on my right back flank and it was swollen and a rash was forming.  i was scanning my memory to try and figure out what i had done to myself.  my mind was going crazy with what might be wrong with me.  since i was at work i had a co-worker look at it and she uttered the one word i never thought of 'shingles'.  denial was my first reaction.  there is no way i have that.  but i quick trip to the minor care clinic at the hospital confirmed it.  OMG  let me just say that shingles are horrible.  when the minor care doc told me that i would get worse before i got better she was right.  i got started on an anti-viral medication which helped prevent the blisters and they say reduce the pain but i am not sure about that.  i was home for 4 days straight and dang near went crazy.  i was in pain.  couldn't sleep much. and i don't do well sitting still.  the one thing that helped me the most was ice because it would numb the area.  

while home i would spend some time in my sewing area.  moving stuff around.  organizing.  trying to feel like i accomplished something.  i came across the boxcar tote pattern by Green Bee and decided that i could make that.  so i pulled the fabric and interfacing one time.  then another i cut everything.  then another i fused it all together.  little by little the tote came together.  

i finished it over the weekend and i really like it.  its a great size and very rigid.

i decided to use it to hold all of my hand sewing stuff.  i have several zip pouches that hold the stuff now.  i just put them all in the tote with plans to go back and organize it better.

i also got the binding for the 4 quilts cut and ready to be put on the quilts.  i use my other sewing machine for that so i think a marathon binding session will be in my future.

in other sewing related news i will be going to quilt camp the first week of March for 5 days.  i am really looking forward to this.  i need to make a list of projects i want to work on and start prepping them for camp.

happy sewing

&

i hope you never get shingles

What keeps you company....

what keeps you company when you sew?

of course people have various answers to this question.  from noisy to complete silence.  some like to have a tv show going.  some like to listen to music.  some have a movie playing.  some just enjoy the quiet.  i find that for myself it depends upon my mood as to what if anything keeps me company when i sew.  also it can depend upon what i am working on.  i prefer quiet when i am reading a pattern and figuring out cutting instructions.  once i have my list of what needs to be cut i am good but getting to that point can be messy if i have a distraction.

for me a few things keep me company when i sew and so i thought i would do a blog series on the topic.

first on my list would be Podcasts.

  i can't remember when i came across my first podcast but i have been hooked ever since.  there are podcasts for everything you can imagine.  i listen to sewing/quilting podcasts, NPR podcasts, a podcast from a mixed media artist, business podcasts...  the list is ever evolving and expanding.  here are a few.

Hip to be a Square

Pam hosts this podcast and she is also involved in The Stitch TV Show which is another thing i will listen to when i sew.  they also host a monthly virtual sew-in.  you should check them out.

Hobbies Up To Here

Katie and her mom Dori host this podcast and they are so fun to listen to.  they talk about lots of hobbies from sewing to food and just about everything in between.  

Crafty Planner Postcasts

Sandi hosts this podcast and i really like her style.  for each podcast Sandi has a guest from the crafting industry.  from sewers, authors, fabric designers and more i always enjoy her shows.

Modern Sewciety 

Stephanie hosts the Modern Sewciety podcast and every time i listen to one of her shows i find myself talking with a southern accent.  LOL  Stephanie is from/in the south and her southern charm comes through on her shows.

these are just 4 of the sewing/crafty podcasts that i listen too.  all can be found in iTunes or through their websites.  there are several other sewing/quilting podcasts that i listen to as well.  search iTunes or Google sewing/quilting podcasts and you will see options galore.

i also enjoy the NPR podcasts Serial, This American Life and Fresh Air.  mixed media artist Kelly Rae Roberts has a great podcast called The Possibilitarian Podcast.  i love Kelly's work and thought process.  its fun to hear her talk of her process, life and other things.  Tara Swiger is someone i recently came across through Periscope and her podcast Explore Your Enthusiasm is full of information for makers in business.  Tara gives great tips and ideas and also challenges her listeners. While She Naps is another great podcast that touches on business things as well as sewing things.

i highly recommend giving a listen to a podcast or 2 or 5 or 10. 

happy sewing

A Busy Week or Two

it has been a busy couple of weeks for me but not too busy for some sewing.  i finished up the year end commitments at work that i needed to which meant some long days and chaos in my mind at times.  it was worth it because i met my family at the famous little mouse's house in California for a little vacation.

have sewing will travel.  i did some sewing on my Tula Pink Salt Water Hex on the Beach quilt while i waited in the airport for the other's to arrive.  i think i was putting together row 18.  i am almost halfway there.  whoot whoot.

over the past couple weeks i have also made progress on the 10 quilt tops that i have that need to be quilted.  this is the 1st one and i had fun quilting it.  i did an overall loopy pattern.  

i made it to the 2nd quilt.  i did some echo quilting inside of each star with matching thread.  i also used the same thread for the center square of each log cabin and the pink border.  i did a larger overall stipple on the rest of the quilt with a light grey thread.

i have the scraps ready for both quilts to cut up and make the binding for each quilt.  since i sew my binding on with a different machine i will wait until i have a couple more quilts quilted and then bind them all at once.

this is the 3rd quilt that i will be quilting.  it is a mini but it is counted in my 10 tops that need quilted.  i will be using 5 different colors of thread on this one because its Tula and its NEPTUNE.  need i say more?

i have started on it......

i hope to finish the quilting on it this week.  i think that is a reasonable goal given the size of it.  LOL

this was the last day at Disneyland.  we were all tired but we all had a great time.  

i got row 18 together on the trip and so i have started sewing it to row 17.  

progress.

happy sewing

Progress

i have made a tiny bit of progress on my quilts to be quilted list.  

this is a super quick pattern that i got with a kit and i put it together at the November quilt camp that i went to.  i won't be adding the applique flowers to my quilt top.

this is a fun bright quilt top with some yellow and bright lime green.  i think it will be fun and easy to quilt.  i am thinking of doing an overall stipple in the middle and then something different in each border.  i plan on doing a scrappy binding with the leftover fabric.

i got the backing for it figured out and it is ready to go.  i just need to cut the batting and baste it.  i plan on doing that this evening during a virtual sew in.  if all goes well i will get some quilting done on it as well.

i also have dug back into my Tula Pink Saltwater EPP project.  i have it organized into a system that works well for me and i am currently working on row 17 or 18 - i can't remember.  anyways there are 40 rows total so i am almost to the half way point.  

thanks for stopping by and i hope that you are making progress on whatever it is that you are working on.

happy sewing

Quilt Tops Galore

wow.....  i am surprised that i even remember how to upload pictures or even do a blog post.  i guess its kind of like riding a bike.....  LOL  i looked and my last post was sometime in February of  last year.  so much has happened in that time frame.  a lifetime of challenges and i am pretty sure i have aged 10 years in the past year.  thank God for quilting.  it has been my escape from reality and always helps me find my center which is good.  i think i have said this about 5 times on here but i will say it again.  i am going to attempt to get back to blogging on a random basis.  i would like to blog a couple times a month which totally seems reasonable.  right?  i will see.....

i really thought i was doing a good job of keeping the number of quilt tops needing quilted in check.  i thought i had it under control and i was WRONG.  i have several quilt tops that need quilted and by several i mean 10!!!!  that might not be a lot for some quilters but for me it is.  i am mildly overwhelmed by that number and so i hope to reduce that number by getting them quilted.

above is a log cabin star quilt on top that i made with a Noteworthy jelly roll.  the middle quilt is a Strip Search quilt that i made with a Salt Air jelly roll.  the bottom quilt is my Single Girl quilt top which once it was put together i discovered a mistake.  i didn't read the instructions for sewing the blocks together and sewed them with a quarter inch seam allowance so my rings don't touch.  i was suppose to sew them together with a half inch seam allowance.  i am 99.8% sure that i will take the top apart and redo the seams so the rings touch.  its a quilt i am keeping and i know it will drive me nuts if i don't fix it.

the quilt on the top came in a kit that i got at a quilt camp a year or so ago.  it went together super quick and it is a throw size.  more then likely this will be a charity quilt.  the quilt on the bottom i just finished.  its my Aviatrix Medallion quilt made with Kona solids and Essex linen.  it will be an epic quilt for me to quilt.  lots of thread changes and custom quilting.  it might be on the 'to be quilted' list for awhile.

now we get to my obsession love of Tula Pink's fabric.  the top quilt is a fat quarter friendly quilt made from Moonshine.  i love the pattern that i used because it has big pieces in it and so it shows off the fabric really well.  the middle quilt is my 100 Good Wishes quilt that i made using Tula's City Sampler book.  the top has been together for some time i just need to get around to quilting it.  i really like this quilt because it uses most all of Tula's fabric lines in it.  on the bottom of the pile is what i am calling my Tula Pink log cabin Beads quilt.  it was a kit that i got from Stash in Walla Walla, WA.  they made the pattern for a magazine and it was on the cover.  

Neptune......

need i say more?  one of my all time favorite Tula lines of fabric.  i thought this mini sewing machine quilt would be a great use for Neptune.  once i get it quilted and finished i plan on hanging on a wall in my sewing room.

the 10th and final quilt that needs quilting is my Tula Pink Prince Charming Dwell quilt.  i have always wanted to do a house quilt and when i saw the Dwell pattern i knew that was it.  originally i was going to use a few of Tula's lines in it but i eventually settled on Prince Charming.  this quilt will join my mini sewing machine quilt in my sewing room when it is finished.

looks like i have better get busy quilting.

thanks for stopping by.

happy sewing