Cascadia Complete!

As predicted, January has been a busy month - I chose Binding Cascadia as a very realistic goal, and it is time to link my finish with A lovely Year of Finishes. The pink stripe is machine finished, and the green ends are hand-finished, after carefully wrapping around the pink and securing with teeny stitches!

I chose a breezy day for photographing..

We are enjoying an unusually rainy day in Vegas today, and since I have no crib or cutesy backdrop, I'm quite happy to share these pics!  Since the photo session, it has been rolled up for storage, to eliminate the fold creases. These will do, though I  had thought better photos would be snapped for Friday Linkups:

TGIFF (hosted by Leanne/Devoted Quilter this week!)
Finish-it-Friday
Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!
Link a Finish Friday

Quilt Stats:
Size: 24" x 25.5"
Design: Modified setting from the recent Cascadia Quilt Along by Humble Quilts
Fabric: Stash & Scraps - only a few repeats!
Machine Quilted: Bernina 1020 with walking foot - Mr. Juki is all tied up!
Aurifil 50wt Thread
Quilter's Dream cotton batting. Yum.
Previously blogged about quilting and blocking in my January Goal Post.

I owe a big THANK YOU to Kathy who informed me yesterday that my blogger settings had changed, requiring CAPTCHA to any friendly folks who tried to leave a comment here! The same thing had happened to her, and she encouraged those using the Blogger platform to check their sites, as well as informing us how to resolve it - without headaches! Thank you Kathy, you provide such Kwilty Pleasure and I love following you!

FMQ Progress - WIP Wednesday

After exhausting all possible excuses, I am finally quilting Donna's Star Quilt! This quilt was given first priority on the list that I created for 2015 Finish-Along, hosted by Adrianne this year, from On the Windy Side.

Unfortunately, I was not able to meet the deadline to link up, but I did spend a lot of time sorting UFO's & I still plan to knuckle down on finishes with the best of you this year ;-)

So, this one is coming along with three outta nine stars now quilted.

 I look forward to a time when selecting and beginning a FMQ plan does not give me anxiety.

Choosing the threads was a struggle as well. I think this is the first time I have used different color top and bottom threads and it made me very nervous since the back is mostly white. The variegated threads help to cover the little nubs that show on top, and I guess I will learn to live with the nubs that show on the back. The back thread is Wonderfil, much thinner thread than the 40wt on top. I thought this way the nubs showing on top would not be as apparent, and I could set the tension to mostly hide nubs on the back. So, here is a shot of the back. There are a couple areas where the purple nubs are more visible than what I captured here, but I am pretty happy with the results thus far.

I am pretty slow though! My minimum goal is to complete two stars per week. This way I can still work on another big goal I am working on; to clear my cluttered design wall. Thankfully, that is another post, for another day...

Linking up today with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday . Thank you Lee!

 

Thank you for reading today, I would so love to hear any tricks you may have for quilting with different thread colors!

 

I have a sweet little finish to share this week as well

(yes, that'll be two posts in one week, what a groove I am on!)

 

Piecing blocks has become my guilty pleasure

I finished up two blocks for the Sew Sweet Simplicity BOM. This is block #3...

I also did the Bonus Block...

I finished more than half this one before I realized my needle was positioned one notch to the left. The resulting block is barely over 12" and my setting will need to compensate...
oops.

I may do another of this block anyway - I love the version by Bejeweled Quilts. Looks like a completely different block with her value choices! Jacquelynne set up a Pinterest board if you are interested in seeing the different versions so far.

I am really trying to avoid temptation to make new blocks this year; hence the guilty pleasure reference ;-)

I hope your week is off to a great start. I am still thinking about 1st quarter goals. Thankfully Adrienne allows time for indecisive folk like me to link up - we have until the 17th. Today, I am linking up with Lyn for BOM's Away. She has attached the piano key swag border to Ruffled Roses, a quilt I have enjoyed watching her piece this past year. It is going to be a beaut!

January Goal ALYoF

I was not able to achieve my goal in December, to complete the little scrap quilt I made while quilting along with Lori, from Humble Quilts. This was a double-disappointment for me since I therefore missed out on the finishing party she held. Of course, I still enjoyed seeing all the different versions of the Cascadia Quilt-a-Long!

My version is very scrappy with not many repeats - I love all the little prints :-)

It was not my intention to heavily quilt it, it just sorta happened!

I still regret my background color, but somehow the extra quilting has helped.
Of course, it also made the edges a bit wonky...
Which made blocking necessary...

Here it is today drying on my (pink!) kitchen counter.

Finishing this little Pup is my official goal this month! It has been three months since I met a goal with ALYoF, and I reckon binding this is a very DOABLE one!

The bigger challenge for me right now is organizing my UFO's and creating a plan to finish a bunch of them this year. Pulling out old projects and sharing them online will feel a bit like airing undies I am afraid - it seems they are hiding in every crevice of the house.

 

2015 Goal Number One.

Set.

 

Hope your goals are off to a great start this year!

NINE outta 12 ain't bad! A Lovely Year of Finishes - 2014 Finale

Goal setting has always been a bit tough for me when it comes to quilting. I like to enter my creative space with the freedom to do "whatever, whenever". I thought I might get more done if I began thinking ahead though, so last year I joined the monthly goal-setting linkup co-run by Melissa of Sew Bittersweet Designs, & Fiber of all Sorts.

I tried to set realistic, yet challenging goals and it worked - I achieved nine of my goals in 2014! I was not able to meet my goals for November or December because life has been a bit nuts here, but I am happy with the results for the year, and very thankful to our hosts ;-)

You may notice I have a thing for baby quilts!
They are so sweet to make, and they provide opportunities to try new methods and products.

Finish Links:
Purple Kisses, Hello Moon, Railway Baby, Scrambled Nines, Flight Plan, Baby Bubble Wrap, Time Flies, Christmas Flimsy, Saturday Morning Cartoons

I am linking up today with other ALYOF FINALE posts over at Fiber of all Sorts!