Quilting | Quilting Helps you Quit Smoking!

I have finished the Wild Child quilt top.The others wait their turn in various locations around the quilt room where I hide out from sheer terror. I sandwich, I thread the machine, and go.

I am holding my breath, trying to breath through this underlying sense of panic because I quit smoking last Thursday.  The uncertainty of a new to me quilt pattern is edging up that panic.

I pieced a backing for this wild child quilt top that I designed during mmmquilts 30 quilt design challenge. I wanted an all over design and thought an all over wood grain pattern would match the feel of this quilt.

I used Angela Walters video below to get started then I was off, focusing on trying to keep the lines the same distance apart, not bunching up the backing, and making the motif smooth.





I put my head down and focused! the next time I looked up was an hour later! yes! I beat it that time, now I wait for the next wave of withdrawal to come.

My husband and I quit smoking two years ago and took the habit back up when we were selling, renovating, buying, moving, getting married and honeymooning this summer. We were super stressed and it was the only way we knew how to cope with that much stress.

I spent the entire weekend in my sewing room avoiding my dear husband as we were both on edge and felt like picking on each other. I survived by having the quilting challenges to work with.

The all over wood grain is starting to come together and I think it just might turn out great.


Until next time, stay resolute!

Sarah

Linking to  oh Scrap , Move it Forward Monday  , Monday Making  and Main Crush Monday 

Quilting | FAL Q4 - 10 Reasons to Order Pizza

I have posts in my drafts un published. They are perfectly good, they have pictures, they have a touch of humor, a story and even some quilting.  What more could I ask for? yet they go un-published. The psychology of my mind baffles me sometimes.


This time I am just pushing the publish button and hope you enjoy this list of what inspires me, stresses me, entertains me and distracts me in my sewing room on a daily basis.


1. Post Punk Circus

I am sooo looking forward to putting this one together! I give away most of the quilts I make, but once in a while one stays with me. All of the major pieces are complete and ready to assemble.

2. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

I need to choose a quilting pattern for it. Roll up my sleeves, switch feet and get to it.

3. Pink in the Series of Three

This is a client quilt that needs "backing quilting and binding" - (this is the song of my people, you know who you are)


4. Birds in the Series of Three

I haven't even started this one! eek! it is a client quilt too. The same client as above.


5. Swoon in the Series of Three

This one is getting good! I am resisting the urge to desperately want to keep this one. I keep encouraging myself that I can make another one if I really want one. 

6. Wild Child 

waiting for a good thing is hard and not every client can do it so now I get to gift this one or keep it all for myself. 

7. Superman Hooded Towel

My Dear Client has been waiting ever so long for this one. Perhaps I need to take a couple of days from everything shut the door order pizza for all meals and get this stuff done!


8. Kimono

Um, This one is super old and is starting to feel embarrassing.
Finish it Sarah! Finish it.

Maybe my list is too long... I am getting all angsty just writing about all these "loose ends" I am even starting to call them derogatory names! like loose ends (sob)

But I am stubborn and addicted, so I introduce to you,


9. Jeweled Box Stars

this is a leader and ender challenge with Bonnie Hunter. I am doing the traditional pattern instead of the flipped version that Bonnie created.

That's it for me today friends, Until next time, Stay angsty,

Sarah 

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilting | #30quiltdesignchallenge2018

Hi Everyone, I have been busy participating in the design challenge hosted on Instagram by Sandra at mmmquilts. 

This challenge is harder than I thought!  The challenge is to create 30 quilt designs in 90 days. It doesn't sound too bad right.

Here are my quilt designs 1-16 from the challenge.

I have learned so much about my style, pattern tools, color, not to mention the techniques that will be used to put together the quilt. I am a fairly new quilter 3 years? but I have been sewing since I was really little.

I am still trying to find my own style of quilting so, I tried using quilting apps for the pictures below that I call Double Irish Granny and Ohio Grannies, perhaps the name indicates how I felt about these patterns. lol. 

I have started making some of the designs. one of them I designed for a commission and the other I am making for a challenge. You could say that the need to create a particular quilt drives the quilt design. 

      

Because I wasn't enjoying the process of designing on the quilting apps I tried drawing a tile and using a collage maker to rotate and repeat the tiles to make the above and below patterns. I really enjoyed this process because It allowed me to use the Low Fi pen and paper coupled with the High Fi computer technology. 

      

I only have 15 more days for 14 more designs by April 30th. I know that by then I am going to wonder and perhaps hope that the deadline was an April Fools Day joke...

Wish me luck and let me know which one you like the best! and until next time friends, stay curious

Sarah 

If you want to follow my progress on Instagram here is the link

Linking with Off the Wall Friday 

Finish it up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts 

Finished or not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts 

Quilting | AHIQ Post Punk Circus

Hi! I have been waiting to show you all this! My progress on the Post Punk Circus. Last night I measured the horozantal strips of large diamonds and started taping paper together to draw the ballgown on. I wanted a bit of a pattern for the structure of the peiced hexagons so I could see where to add the next one. I dont have a design wall so I have to work on a flat surface and do the quilt in peices.

I usually only draw half of the pattern if the design is semetrical then fold over the paper to get an even shape. All of the hexagons are machine peiced because I can and I am pretty impatient. I think I have the knack of getting the Y seams down. It is pretty easy if you leave enough room in the joins.

Once I finished peicing all of the white and off white diamonds for the upper half of the background, I was not happy. Maybe I need to iorn them out, but being a newer quilter I went about putting them together a little willy-nilly and the peice did not come out straight. Iron, trim, iron, add more, iron, may be my process to fix them.





















I am holding myself back from the fussy cutting for the ginormus hair stack on this lady untuil the gown is done and I start working my way up this quilt.

I am so impatient with wanting this quilt to come together! aggh!

I cant wait to show you all the parts together.


Untuil next time friends, stay punk.



Sarah

Linking with Kaja's AHIQ Playing Wth Scale challange, Monday Making and Move it Forward Monday, and SillyMamaQuilts  , Esters blog WOW link up  , and Julie lou

Quilting | Designing Patterns

Have you ever tried collage quilting? I haven't, not yet.  I am going to try it with the number four design I made in the #30quiltdesigns2018 challenge being hosted by mmmquilts

Lady Luck Quilts is hosting a class on collage quilting in March, and I thought it would be an excellent place to start.



I was playing around with my scraps looking for ways to use them up and I combined them with a New York Beauty block by using foundation paper piecing. I sort of had a hard time finding a free pattern for this block. It probably shouldn't have been hard to find but, there it is.

I ended up copying this jpg. and pasting into word then dragging the corners until it was the size I wanted. I printed it on regular printer paper and watched a quick youtube tute on how to paper piece, and I was off to the races! 

The NY NY pieces turned into an inspiration for the #7 quilt design called NY Mandala 

I am learning so much through this design challenge about myself and how the art world works.

For example; A couple of days ago I was furious that someone "stole" one of my design elements. There are so many quilters and artists out there that there is a high degree of repetition that I need to chill out about. It is part of the learning process of getting your work out there. Don't get me wrong I am still going to do what feels right for me at the time, but I am going to sit back a little more, be a little more humble, and enjoy the process for myself.

If you want to watch follow me on Instagram or join in yourself! It is a really good challenge.


Untuil next time my friends, stay humble


Sarah

Linking with Off the Wall Friday, Can I get a Whoop Whoop, Finished or Not Friday