Pinwheel Sampler Part 1

I am so pleased with

Alyssa's finished quilt top.

I wish I could say that my LQS had more of the white I need, but no such luck so I decided to stew a couple days on the borders before attaching them. I had envisioned a 2" white to continue to "float" the blocks, then either a blue or pink strip, finished with about 6" of the white. They had a pure white at the LQS that was close enough I could use for the thick outside strip, but it couldn't be used right next to the other soft white.

Before I send them both out to my quilter to do her magic, I thought it would be fun to have both girls pick something for her quilt onto the top. Katelyn doesn't even hesitate and and picks butterflies, they'll be perfect with the soft colors of the quilt. Alyssa pipes up after a minute and announces that she wants monkeys eating bananas. It is so her, I think I am going to find out if Amy could do it.

I had a few struggles with the oddly sized blocks, especially when attaching the final vertical strip, I had to rip out an inset seam not once, not twice but three times until the tiles fit together right.

This is one of my favorite blocks, I can't remember anymore if this was once of Rachel'spinwheels or one I choose from Quilter's Cache where many of my other pinwheel patterns came from. I just love the mix of stripes and floral fabric.

Unfortunately, I had other things going on today... buying new tomato plants for the garden being a important one, so I didn't get Katelyn's done. I have the strips ready to go together, but I was so disappointed that I couldn't get more of that white that I lost my drive when I got home to get hers assembled. I thought I would post my in progress picture. I think this one will be perfect too. I am still amazed that I was able to complete 2 quilt tops with 1 layer cake (well, and lots of background fabric--5 yrds!).

Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

Kami

An All-Nighter...

NOT.

I am giving up on finishing tonight. I have run out of my white background fabric, I'm making poor design decisions, and I desperately need sleep. I only have about 2-3 hours of work left, so I will be up early in the morning.

I think I will still be able to get them both finished I just won't be able to piece the white border all the way around until after the fabric store opens. Cross your fingers with me that they have the fabric. I am not holding my breath, the last time I was in there, I bought 3 yrds and that was everything left on the bolt. They were going to try to reorder since it had been so popular, but you never know.

I am off to dreamland. I will show off the finished tops in the morning.

Kami

Pinwheels

I have been up to my eyeballs in pinwheel blocks for the last 2 months. If you don't know, psiquilt has been hosting a pinwheel quilt along. I had a layer cake that I loved the fabrics but had been ignored for over a year. So I decided to join.

I started out as a perfectly happy follower, two each of 8 different 12" pinwheels. but I had these small scraps that I didn't want to throw away. At the same time, I realized that 4 rows of 4-12" blocks would not inspire me to finish.... I have two girls, so since we did 2 of each style I decided to split the blocks in half. Eight 12" blocks for each girls, but that would make a pretty small quilt not what I was envisioning them cuddling under watching movies. So I started using my scraps, and sewing various sized pinwheels. Last night I finished the last six for both quilts.

Each quilt has
eight-12" block
one-9" block
three-8" blocks
two-6 1/2" blocks
two-6" blocks
two-5" blocks
four-4" blocks

That is 22 blocks for each quilt, in 7 sizes so I sketched out a map of what I hope each quilt will look like. I want of the pinwheels to look like they are floating on a white background. So far I love it, but since the deadline is this Saturday, to have all the quilts quilted for a virtual parade, I am disappointed that mine will only be a top (or 2) to show off.

Here are my two quilts without any of the white background fabric "filler" Looks like I may be pulling an all-nighter tomorrow to get the two of them finished.

Is anyone else racing to get a project done? I would love to hear about it.

Kami

Hoppy Easter

We have been having a wonderful day, I hope your Easter is just as “Hoppy”.

National Quilting Day

Well, since it is National quilting Day, I thought it would be a great time to update my blog. I am sorry that I have been neglectful. I have thought of each of you daily, and kept meaning to share my progress on all my projects, but after I finally got my evening sewing done, I chose to immediately drift off to sleep instead of sharing what I have been creating. I promise to post more often, but will probably write a little less.

Here are some tips for Celebrating National Quilting Day

1. Step1

   To celebrate this age-old tradition of quilting, piece and quilt one quilt square. The quilt square could be made into a pillow, wall hanging, or added to other squares later on to make a complete quilt.

2. Step2

   Make National Quilting Day a special event. Gather your friends together to sew or hand quilt with you. Ask each friend to bring a finished project to share with the group.

3. Step3

   Consider combining all of the quilt blocks completed on that day into one quilt. Once the quilt was quilted and the binding completed, the quilt could be donated to a worthy cause.

4. Step4

   Visit quilt shops. Make the day a "quilt shop hop" all your own. Take a few friends along and make a day of it. Stop for lunch and then get lost in the next quilt shop!

5. Step5

   Sign up for a quilting class. Regardless if you are a beginner or an expert, there are quilting classes available. Take the day to learn a new technique.

6. Step6

   Wrap yourself up in your favorite quilt and watch a movie on National Quilting Day. This is a great way to celebrate if you're not a quilter. There's nothing like being wrapped up in a beautiful, cozy quilt.

   ___________________________

   I celebrated today by teaching the second part of a two part class. I only had 3 students, but they were all enthusiastic and ready to learn. Well, until we started paper piecing... then I mostly heard grumbling and slightly veiled comments that there needed to be an easier way. Thankfully, before I left, the ladies seemed to have a better grip on the paper piecing and were prepared to complete their quilts at home.

   
   Here is a picture of their quilts in progress. I forgot to take a picture of the ladies with their quilts, but I thought that they made great fabric choices. The one on the right, was photographed on a table instead of the design wall, causing the proportions to look a little bit strange.

   
   
   Also, I thought that today might be a great day to say a very long overdue thank you to Mary on Lake Pulaski. I was one of the recipients of her Pay It Forward Challenge. She made a beautiful table runner for each of us. I couldn't bear to put it away after Valentine's Day, But with the start of spring tomorrow it is time to decorate for Easter, and this will get lovingly stored away with some of my other quilts. Thank you so much Mary! Did I mention one of my favorite parts is the binding? I love all the fabrics being repeated around the edge.

   
   
   And because it is only 9pm, If I am lucky I will have just enough energy left tonight to sew a little something for me. I have been following the quilt-a-long hosted by Rachel at p.s. i quilt, and since it is Saturday, I am itching to make my next set of pinwheels. I love this week's block it is the most visually complex which usually increases my readiness to work on a project, but I think what I love the most these blocks is the simplicity. I can usually finish both color variations in a couple of hours, and that is with both the girls hanging around.

   I hope you got a chance to sew something. Leave me a comment and tell me about it. And if you want to enter a giveaway head over to Spun Sugar, and try and win a layer cake.

   Kami

   
   

The New Room

I am so excited about the newest addition to my craft room. When my hubby and I first went shopping for furniture for the room I expected a to have to take out a second morgage on the home to do what I wanted to. But I love my new table, and best of all-- so far the remodel has cost $115.

This is my new table, one of the one of those ultra trendy dining room tables that is a comfortable standing height. When we were shopping for a cabinet for the new big screen TV, we found this in the clearance section for $100. I will eventually get 2 backless barstools so that I can sit and work, and have a friend over to create also. Or a more likely scenario is both the girls can sit while I stand. And the table is so big if (when?) I loose the remote, I won't be able to turn on the TV anymore!

On the other side of the room is my new sewing space. Can you tell my design wall is exploding beyond the borders of the frame! I am hoping the new room will inspire me to finish some of these projects. A few of them are original patterns I need to finish so that mom and I can get them published, and I haven't made the time.

I also wanted to share the sweetest little boy quilts that I am working on. Both a cousin, and a friend from work are expecting boys, so I spent time this weekend working on quilts for both of them. I had the worst time picking out fabrics, but after an hour in my LQS I love what I came home with. The colors and style are exactly what I wanted.

That elusive quality of sophisticated and juvenile, romantic and boyish. The fabrics blend so well, it is hard to tell that there are really 4 different blues in this quilt from multiple fabric lines. This is another original pattern. Or I should correctly say this is an adaptation of an original pattern. I can't even follow my own patterns without adapting them to my current mood!

I chose to back the quilt with a soft microfiber? fabric. I wanted minki, but I was overwhelmed by how much I was already spending on fabric, and chose not to get it at the time. But, of course every LQS near me that sells minki was closed when I got off work tonight so I ended up at Babies-R-Us and found an appropriate soft backing that I could put on the one that gets delivered on Wed. The second quilt for my cousin I will probably go back to the LQS and get the minki I really want.

Have a great day,

Kami

Road to CA Part 2

I went to update my blog with pictures of my new craft room and a baby quilt I am making and realized that I still hadn't publised the rest of the pictures from Road to California. So I am posting these now and you will have to wait for this evening for all the skinny on my new room.

However, I have to say that the room is so awesome, that I want to be in there instead of in front of the big screen TV we just bought. Just don't tell that to my husband.

Kami

Road 2 California Quilt Show

I have come back from the Road 2 CA quilt show inspired to get started on the redesign my craft room. There were so many beautiful quilts on display. When I downloaded my camera tonight I was shocked to see that I had taken over 2oo pictures!

This first one is the Best of Show. The Faces were painted, but the most striking to me was the use of velvets for the blossoms (on the tree) roses, & pumpkin. If you click on the picture it should enlarge so that you can see it clearer.

I can honestly say that as beautiful as this one was it was not my favorite Best of Show. As part of the 15th anniversary celebration, Road 2 CA asked all the previous Best of Show winners to display their quilts again. So in no particular order, here are some of the other best of the best.

I didn't take full shots of many of them because I had already taken them, but I wish I could find in my old photos quickly the other pictures of this carousel horse. It was simply breathtaking, all of her curves lay perfectly flat with this stunning applique. Breathtaking.

To keep with the theme of "photo" pictures, here are some others I couldn't resist taking pictures of. The woman in the picture below is the quilter who

Most of the rest of these are traditional quilts, hopefully tomorrow after the Charger game I will get to post all of the more artist ones. That is if I am not to busy celebrating, I hope.

Enjoy, Kami

Makeover time!

I have been avoiding my craft room. It is hard to feel inspired when there are no clean surfaces on the tables, OR FLOORS! I spent 4 hours in there on Sat. and the room still qualifies as a landfill. Part of this is not my fault. (But, I am usually the one who just gives up and drops things in there to deal with later, thinking at least I can close the mess behind a door!)

My husband and I have spent the last 2 weeks redecorating the girls bedroom. Hmm, things needed to move out of there so we could paint, okay. Then after the furniture was rearranged, well we could finally move the desk which I used for scrapbooking into the girls room (it has been destined for there for years). Which meant I had to empty it. Uh oh, can you see where this is heading? Then the girls wanted their small table and chairs from the craft room back in their own room for tea parties with their dolls. Okay, but now what to do with their crayons, glues, stamps stickers... On top of all this, I volunteered to make some pillows for my office. All those supplies including big pillow forms are in there. Plus any quilts that I may have once upon a long long time ago been working on for me.

My solution is to walk in. Look around. Quickly shut the door again. And dream of little elves coming in while I sleep. So far it hasn't worked. So my question to you is now with 2 big pieces of furniture gone, and a desperate need for storage, what would you suggest for my craft room makeover?

I have considered a couple of kitchen cabinets, like these, with a workbench style table on top, (I thought I could make myself another desk, AND have more storage).

And/Or lots of wall shelves, for magazines, books, buttons....

hmm, but I have a lot of stuff, I might need baskets too.

How about a glass enclosed bookcase so that I could store fabric safely?

and it would be inspirational too.

Unfortunately, I really am not sure where to start and I am overwhelmed by the possibilities.

So back to my original question. What I would love to know from you is...

What do you love about the space you create in?

What can you not live without?

And what do you wish you could have?

Thanks for helping me get inspired

Kami