OMG: July Goalsetting!

Selecting a goal for July has been heavy on my mind this week!
I think I choose the realistic option (let's face it, this month will not be longer than any other, not more than a day anyway).
I decided I will finish the MOD Winter piece that I made for The Crafted Applique Bloghop.

Pressed and ready, so it's been on the design wall all this time. It will be great to free up some space.

The finish was stalled a couple month's ago because I wasn't happy with my layout, perspectively, and couldn't work out my quilting plan the way I'd intended.

 hmm, maybe a big pillow instead?

Hopefully, this will get me revved up for all the Christmas in July events. Sarah, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, has a quick Christmas Quilt Along planned as part of the Twelve Days of Christmas in July, a fun bloghop she is hosting.

All this inspiration is sure to kick my butt into gift-making mode!

The best part is, it all coincides with:

Ho, Ho, Ho, and on We Sew! 

I'll be hosting the July linkup on the 18th!

If you are working on Christmas projects, I hope you will share them here!

Great news too, for OMG participants! Lara, from BuzznBumble, has very generously offered a copy of her book to the OMG prizepool this month! Thank you Lara, your book is amazing and I love the permanent link you set up so we can share our Crafted Applique projects!

And Thank YOU, Quilty friends, for linking up with One Monthly Goal! (party details HERE)

An InLinkz Link-up

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
 One Monthly Goal, JULY Sponsors:

 Fat Quarter Shop: $25 Gift Certificate (Flash Sale Link HERE!)

Bagmaker Supply: $20 Store Credit 

 A copy of Lara Buccella's new book, "Crafted Applique... New Possibilities"! 

I have not made time for stash-play this month and will not be adding a personal contribution to the Prize-pool this month!

Summer Gathering: Finished in Green!

Finally, I have pictures to share of Summer Gathering!
It was an overcast, and muggy day.

I love love love the green binding!
Whew, the decision was tough. Thank you to those who weighed in on that :)
Honestly, the color is a bit more yellow and brighter than the sage looking tone in the photos! I like the utility-looking character it adds, and as a frame, it did not distract from the big bloom.

How she came to be:
I came home from a local fabric swap in Fall 2014 with an old kit made up of 100's of pre-cut squares and HST's. There was no pattern included, but I figured I could just start sewing and come up with something. The price was right, basically thrown in with another purchase, and I get a real thrill using fabrics others may not. I pieced the HST's over a two or three month period, mostly as leaders and enders, and had still not considered layout when those were completed. I began to play with basket forms first, then Bear Paws, then expanded the Paws all around as you see in the end result. Unusual for me, I named the quilt almost immediately upon finishing the layout.

Gathering fabric:
I first posted about Summer Gathering in May 2015, and pictured on my design wall during construction. I wanted the quilt to be over 60", and I was running out of the background variety of neutrals. I also wanted to add that last border around the perimeter, another 124 squares. The post was a call-out to help "save the fabrics", and I received wonderful response. Several quilter's shared exactly what I needed, from their stash! In this respect, Summer Gathering was put into action, quite literally, and quilty friendships ensued as well!

 Thinking of Kristen :)

Her future home:
I have such a hard time sometimes, matching quilts to recipients! Throughout the process, I thought frequently of my niece, Kristen. I am fairly certain this is not what she would actually choose for color/style. Something modern and bright would have been fun to gift her, however she is a traditional woman at heart and I could never shake the feeling that this is her quilt. It is a modern and bright quilt after all, made with traditional technique and vintage style! I hope she enjoys it!

Backside Stash-buster

Kind of Swoon-like

Quilt Stats:
Finished Size: 63" Square
Pattern: Original Design. This is my second finish in this pattern, however it is the first one that I started! I photographed Winter in Bloom in the same location, on a sunny day!
Fabric: Unknown origin: vintage calico's
Backing Fabric: vintage from stash, used wrong-side-out.
Binding Fabric: Moda Marbles from stash
Batting: Warm & Natural
Quilting Thread: Aurifil 2021, 50wt
Free-Motion Quilted on my Juki TL 98E
Pieced and Bound on Old Bernie, a 1020

I'll be linking this finish with a few of my favorite Finish Parties!

 

Kelly's linkup has been postponed while her home recovers from lightening(!)

  Sarah is dancing a Christmas jig at Confessions of a Fabric Addict!

 

TGIFF is hosted today at Celtic Thistle!

This quilt was my June goal for OMG, and today is the last day to link up our finishes!

Thank you so much for reading today! 

OMG: Goal-setting for July begins tomorrow!

A Hint of Lime, Please

Rainbow Scrap Challenge took us oceanside with soothing sea colors in June! This was nice to imagine while stitching away, even though I am panting in the desert.

My adventures took me tropical, and a couple of fairly bright blocks resulted!

This next one represents the shoreline at dusk

That's two more Kite Tails! finished: 12 total now. July will be time to decide if I want to continue to make these slant in the same direction, or if I want to make the next 12 swing to the left.

I also finished another Courthouse block!

Ms. Henny is running from the waves rushing in, one of my favorite beach activities.
Although I love each of the six blocks I have completed so far, I am not sure I like how they look together. I will need to consider setting options when I have a couple more to play with.

This week I have planned a bit of blogger-catch-up and I am really looking forward to the time visiting!

Linking up today with:

OMG It's Finished: June Finishes Linkup!

Summer is in full swing here in Southern Nevada! It is hot and life is busy, but I was really motivated to conquer my June goal and I look forward to sharing that here in the next week. Just need some pictures!

I went a bit nuts making heart blocks for the #quiltsforpulse drive organized by The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild. I was so grateful to see the drive organized. I chose to do a night and day version of the blocks, made from a tutorial at Cluck Cluck Sew.

Quite a few favorite fabrics are included in there. Once I began, I just couldn't stop!

Time to link up and celebrate with your quilty achievement for June! Thank you all for sharing here, and taking some time to visit one another. I am looking forward to reading about your projects!

An InLinkz Link-up

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
 One Monthly Goal, June Sponsors:

 Fat Quarter Shop: $25 Gift Certificate (Flash Sale Link HERE!)

Bagmaker Supply: $20 Store Credit

Wanta Fanta, A Quilted Pillow

My sister is celebrating her birthday today!

Can you tell that she is amazing? 

Yep, she is tough, and strong, and brave. Cute, and super-smart too!

She's always been practical with money, and began saving energy at a very young age too...

Because if you really want a horse, you better keep your home cool and save those pennies lol

Growing up, I envied Julie her summertime birthdate, myself usually having to go to school.
Today though, she is demonstrating her dedication at work.
Nothing like a Hump Day Birthday.
Such a trooper.

Since I have not shipped the pillow sham I made for her, I told Julie she can preview her gift here!
I love how it turned out and sure hope she does too!

This make is a save, actually. A failed block saved from the Orphanage. Called Wanta Fanta Block, it was chosen as the June lotto block for Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. A free tutorial and PDF for the paper-piecing can be found HERE, at Blossom Heart Quilts. I failed to read the instructions though, and my block turned out completely off. I think I sewed on the center line instead of 1/4" away when I added the corners to the snowball blocks. Or vice-versa?

Once I realized the error, I knew I did not want to paper-piece another. I spent a fair amount of time selecting the fabrics from my scrap bin, and my flame was left with only a flicker. Instead, I sewed the blocks together, matching seams as well as I could, and ended up with a block much too small, and wompous, to contribute to lotto. Yes, that center seam is 1/2" off!

I whipped up a border,

Added the leftover triangles and a zipper for the backing,

Had some fun with the quilting, and finally,
machine-bound the edges for a scrappy finish!

Happy Birthday Dear Sister! I miss miss u.
Once I have shared this with Guild, I will pop this in the mail for you!  I hope it brings you cheer and comfort, and reminds you how very much you are admired and loved:)
umm, sorry bout this, but you will need a 16" pillow form!

Summer Gathering Progress, plus May Winners: OMG!

Have you noticed it has been a bit quiet around here?
I have actually finished free-motion quilting Summer Gathering!
Odd as it may sound, I often prefer FMQ over the walking foot, for gridlines and SID. The entire quilt was done on Mr. Juki, with a darning foot. A bit squiggly, but perfect for this quilt! I like that I can easily work in all directions this way; less maneuvering and no issues with the layers pulling.

Thank you all for encouraging me to stay focused and work toward my goal!   

Today I'll be making the binding decision.
I like all three of these options:

It feels so good to have saved these old fabrics and I am looking forward to sharing this as a real finish.  Thank you for all your positive comments, seriously, they have helped me move through this!

I have really avoided the computer in order to make time for this though, and I am sorry to neglect this month's OMG participant's! I tend to visit your posts with my phone, yet prefer to write comments from my PC.
Therefore, I have done a lot of reading this month, and cheering from the sidelines!

I hope everyone is making great headway on June goals!

Winners for May have been randomly drawn and notified. 

It is time at last to applaud the following One Monthly Goal participants:

Congratulations to Deb, who blogs at New Creative State! Deb finished a happy, scrappy quilt to brighten the winter days ahead, in Tasmania, Australia. 

$25.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop!

Congratulations to Julie, who blogs at Julie's Quilts and Costumes!
$20.00 Credit toward minimum purchase at Bag Maker Supply:

Receive coupons toward Bagmaker Supply purchases when you sign up for their newsletter!

Congratulations to Anja, who blogs at Anja Quilts!

Anja has won a custom fabric bundle by Blank Quilting.
These pretties are 5"x18", cut from the Fusion Illusion line from my stash:

Congratulations to Val, who blogs at Val's Quilting Studio! Val won this lovely charm pack of Fossil Fern, donated by Lara of BuzznBumble.

Thank you Lara!!

The Glass is Half Full: Quilty365 Report

Monday marked my 183rd Day of Quilty365, the half-way-finished-point of my daily circle-making experience that is consuming a large chunk of  serving as a journal of 2016. It is all down-hill from here, right?

This is the first time I have used the Quilt As You Go method to make a large quilt, and I love that it allows me to work on different stages at the same time. On the sofa, or on the go, I have the hand-quilting to do, while dots continue to multiply on my design wall. I am just a week or so behind with new dots, but have continued to prepare outer rings so catching up will be easy.

How nice to be organized enough to join the linkup this month and share progress with Audrey, our project Ringleader over at Quilty Folk ! I wonder now, that she did not ask us to sign a waiver of sanity before attempting Quilty365. Anyhoo, I will be heading over to check everyone's progress, and temperament..
My quilt is now large enough to sleep with a cot...

Or, take to the amphitheater!
I managed to piece the two Quarter-panels (6 QAYG panels) together over the holiday weekend.
We're at 41" x 82"!

There are 162 circles joined, so not quite halfway with this plan. To use all 366 squares, I will need to add one or two rows as a border with the circles I make in October. 

Aaah, looks like I am having a quilty moment ;)

One Monthly Goal June Linkup: Goalsetting

I hope everyone took some time to check out some of the amazing finishes in May! (In my case, it was nice to live vicariously, lol)
It seems I am not the only one who missed my goal. As tempted as I am to select a new goal, I am going to stick with Summer Gathering, otherwise I fear it will never be completed!

So, this afternoon, once I have worked my way toward my sewing room, I aim to put some real stitches in the sandwich. Today.
I will not be distracted by anything in my sewing room.

This is my plan:
I will set all small projects aside.
Cutting I-Spy squares will have to wait (Val's swap starts today!).
This one is hard: I will NOT begin pulling blue-aqua-lime scraps for RSC16!
Other than writing a progress report, I will NOT spend any time today making Daily Dots.

Sometimes it is hard to select one goal to prioritize, hopefully getting this started early in the month will motivate me to stay focused! Have you selected a priority? Any tips for staying on-track? I think I would like to try a retreat sometime. I'm amazed what can get done with a weekend power-sewing with friends.

Cheers Friends, to a fun and productive June!
Good Luck with all your goals this month, especially the quilty ones!

Thank you for linking up with One Monthly Goal! (party details HERE)

An InLinkz Link-up

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
 Please visit our May Sponsors for One Monthly Goal!

Bagmaker Supply $20 Store Credit

Fat Quarter Shop $25 Gift Certificate 

My personal contribution to the Prize-pool for June is a custom-cut charm pack of 50 x 5" squares. There are 25 prints included, from Daisy Chain and Midwest Modern:

BONUS: I made a sweet drawstring bag to ship them in!!