Finished! Tim & Nichole's baby quilt

My cousin Tim and his awesome wife Nichole are expecting their first child, a baby girl, any day now.  A baby quilt for the new baby was my November goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes (goal setting post #43).

I wanted something I Spy, and something I hadn't done before.  I settled on the Moda Bake Shop pattern Charming Stars.  Someone in a swap group I was in did this pattern and I really liked how hers looked and have planned on using that pattern when I make myself an I Spy quilt, but I'd been wanting to test it out.  This has 72 different things to spy. The solid purple is Kona Morning Glory and the sashing is a polka dot that I bought at recent quilt show.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

The back is an animal striped print that my mom bought like 5 yards of for $1 at a yard sale.  It's Northcott, so it's high quality, and though I initially thought it too busy for a fairly busy top, I'm pleased with it now.

My son (age 2) was outside with me when I was taking pictures, and he loved ducking underneath when the quilt was on the clothesline.

I like to think he is looking intently, playing I Spy!
One more picture, because I like looking at both quilt and Munchkin!

In addition to A Lovely Year of Finishes, this was on my list of Q4 goals for the finish along hosted by Adrianne.  (Please note that my blog changed names, so my post in the goal setting linky will no longer be active.)

A Mini A Month: November

So in October, I set the personal goal of A Mini A Month, I clearly meant to start in November :)

I call it "Singing and Dancing in the Rain" from the last line of the song from the musical.  The pattern is by The Tartan Kiwi. I was inspired by this version I stumbled across, but my paper piecing skills are not advanced enough for something obviously directional.

I quilted in straight lines and varied the stitch length to try to imitate rain.  This is more obvious from the back.

I'm quite pleased with it!  This was on my Q4 list of goals for the finish along hosted by Adrianne. (Please note that my blog changed names, so my post in the goal setting linky will no longer be active.)

November Goal

My cousin Tim and his awesome wife Nichole are expecting a baby girl at the end of November.  Nichole is a quilter, so I thought especially hard about what pattern to use for the baby's quilt.  I picked one that I had seen on Flickr from someone who swaps I Spys with me and had been wanting to try.

I've got all 9 blocks pieced.  I like the design without sashing, but think I am going to add sashing this time around and save this layout for the next time I use this pattern--which will be an I Spy for me!

My goal is to finish the quilt by the end of the month. Linking up to A Lovely Year of Finishes.

Finished: Business Card Holder

I went to a work conference at the end of October and wanted a business card holder to take with me.  I found The Crafty Gemini's tutorial for exactly that, and I had all the materials already.  Sold!

Fancy it isn't, but it works, and was nice and easy to make.  And did I mention I already had everything I needed?

It's a good size, fits a lot of cards, and was easy to find in the purse/briefcase hybrid I had with me at the conference. I'll keep it in my purse now that I'm back.

This was on my Q4 list of goals for the finish along hosted by Adrianne. (Please note that my blog changed names, so my post in the goal setting linky will no longer be active.)

Finished! Scrap Dance

A mystery quilt has been on my quilting bucket list long before I knew such a thing existed, and definitely longer than mine has actually been written down.  I stumbled on to a quilt-along that was a mystery hosted by Carole at From My Carolina Home.  She started in March and I found it in April, so I wasn't that behind, and best of all, it used scraps!  Even better, the needed scraps matched sizes I had already cut in my last big scrap management push.  And I had enough of a light background fabric that I didn't need to shop for anything!

I am so pleased with the finished quilt!  I would not likely have chosen this pattern on my own, but I like it more every time I look at it.

Final size was 50 x 60.  I did the lap size (she offered multiple sizes) and I added a 5" border of the background fabric, plus scrappy binding.  Hooray for using binding leftovers!  I did straight-line quilting on the diagonal as a way to emphasize the design and keep it simple.

This was my October goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes (goal setter #33) and was on my Q4 goal list for the Finish Along hosted by Adrianne. (Please note that my blog changed names, so my post in the goal setting linky will no longer be active.)

Q4 Goals

I have been LOVING the finish along hosted by Adrianne.  It has been really motivating, and I've gotten more aware of the online quilting community.

I've decided to structure my goals for Q4 a little differently.  I've broken things into 3 categories: general quilts and gifts, kids quilts for Project Linus, and mini quilts for my A Mini A Month personal challenge.  I don't have pictures of everything, but I've got pictures of most.

General Quilts & Gifts

1. Verona's Quilt
This will be a twin-size quilt for my niece. I asked my brother and sister-in-law if I could make the quilt for when V is ready for a big-girl bed.

2. Car trash bag for Mom
When my mom was here, she saw the trash bags in my car and in A's car, and she said she wanted one for Christmas.  I asked for fabric suggestions, she said she wanted covered wagons, of course!  She gave me absolutely yards of this a while ago and I've been slowly using it up. (You can even see some in Verona's quilt, above!)

3. Sewing Machine Cover
I'm going to use batik scraps and a tutorial by the Crafty Gemini

4. Business Card Holder
Another tutorial by the Crafty Gemini.  I hope to do this one before going to a work conference next week.

5. Tim & Nichole's baby quilt
My cousin and his wife are expecting, and I finaly picked out a pattern!  This will be I Spy, of course.

6. Scrap Dance
I've been doing the mystery quilt hosted by Carole at From My Carolina Home.  The big reveal was mid-September, so I'm finally assembled and I just need to finish it!

7. Car carrier for Munchkin
My kid is crazy about trucks, and he just got a small fleet of matchbox-style cars from his Abuela for his birthday.  I'm planning on making him some sort of carrier and/or play mat for Christmas.  I've seen a variety of patterns, included those recapped here.

A Mini A Month

8. Batik Hexies
I have a plan for a batik hexie mini, and I plan to take this to my work conference next week.  I figure if people can knit during conference sessions, I should be able to do a little EPP.

9. Vintage Holiday
I want to have some hand projects to work on, and this felt embroidery project that I found in a magazine looks like a scene out of my childhood.

10. Singing in the Rain
I just made a mini of this fantastic Tartan Kiwi pattern for someone else, and I want one of my own!

11. Trip Around the World (kit)
I was given this kit ages ago!

12. Alaska Cutout Quilt
I bought this pattern on my honeymoon to Alaska and have been working on it for about a year.  It is very slow going, as I started by hand quilting.  I'm considering switching to machine stitching.  We'll see.

13. Puffin (kit)
Another Alaska honeymoon purchase.

14. Dandelion (embroidery)
I already said I wanted to have some hand projects prepped to work on, and one will be an embroidery project, though it will likely end up in a quilt once it's done.  I plan to adapt this pattern from a magazine.

Kids Quilts for Project Linus

15. Dinosaur
I found this great fabric in the craft bin at my (now former) library.  I plan to do some machine blanket stitch now that I have a machine that can do that!

16. Circus
This was a fabric donated to my local Project Linus chapter, and the other ladies decided that I needed it.  I plan to pair it with some circus-themed I Spy squares.

17. Jelly Roll Race: Moon & Stars
My friend Snow recently gave me a big bag of 2 1/2 inch strip scraps, and I sorted them into 2 Jelly Roll Race quilts.  This is the first one.

18. Jelly Roll Race: Purple Sparkly
And this is the second.

19. Pink & Gray Strips
I am really into strips right now, and I just hosted an I Spy swap for 2 1/2 inch strips. I plan to take all the pink & gray strips and use a pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop's online tutorials.

20. Blue & White Strips
I'm pulling the blue and white strips from the aforementioned strip swap for this Blueberry Hill pattern--the name is a fantastic coincidence!

21. Lexington
I came across a great sale and bought this mini jelly roll that will be perfect for a pattern I got from a local quilt shop hop over the summer.

22. Green, white, & brown mini jelly roll
Did I mention that I'm into strips right now?  Another great mini jelly roll deal, and I plan to use an online tutorial I recently found.

23. Girly with Pink Butterflies
This pink butterfly & flowers fabric was another donation to the local Project Linus chapter.  I've pulled some of my more girly I Spy squares to pair with it

24. Snow's blocks
My friend Snow started a BOM and is now bored with it, so her finished blocks (but unfinished project) has been passed on to me.

25. Wizards & Stars
My mom gave me this wizard fabric, and I bought some batik fabrics with stars to go with it.

I have no illusions that I will finish all of this, but I never know what I am going to be in the mood to work on, so I like to cast a wide net of project possibilities.  Thanks, Finish Along, for being such great motivation!

Personal Challenge: A Mini A Month

I think I've fallen hard for mini quilts.  For someone who doesn't have as much time to sew as I'd like, they seem great.  And I've been trying really hard lately learn new things and try new techniques, and minis are a good way to do that without the frustration of a full sized quilt, and with less investment of time and resources.  I've done a few minis this year, and I have a whole mental list of patterns I want to do and new things I want to try.

I also have a very, very blank office wall.  So I have decided to attempt "a mini a month" for the next 12 months.  No pressure, really, but an attempt to focus on some smaller, achievable projects and expand my quilting horizons.