WIP and Happy Fabric

Happy Friday everyone!!

This week I started on the quilting of my Target Practice quilt.  But more on that later. 

First off I wanted to talk about my next quilt.  The pattern is called Calling Card from Bluprint (Craftsy). It's sold as a kit but I was able to get the pattern for free through my Bluprint membership. Here is a picture of the fabric that I pulled for it.


                       








For the throw size, the pattern calls for a layer cake or 42 10" squares. I'm using my batik fat quarters that I brought a while back and also some stash batiks that I have. I cut more squares than called for so I can make it really scrappy. 

This pile of squares make me happy unlike my Target Practice quilt. Why you might ask?  Because the quilting on Target Practice did not go well.  As I said last post, quilting is not my favorite thing to do. I love picking out fabric. I love cutting fabric and sewing it back together. I love pressing fabric. I love putting the binding on quilts. But I hate the actual quilting of the quilt. Except for the plus quilts. I don't have to think too hard on how I"m going to quilt those. But all my other quilts...yeah, quilting is not what I look forward to. If I could afford it, I would send my quilts out to be quilted by a professional. 

So what happened? I wish I had thought to take a picture of what happened. But I didn't, so you'll have to use your imagination as I tell you about my quilting misadventures.

It started out fairly good. I got my bobbins threaded, changed needles, put on my walking foot, checked the tension on the machine and started the quilting. My quilting plan was to quilt a grid (vertical and horizontal parallel stitching lines) using my quilting guide bar because I didn't want to mark the quilt. But after 3 hours I was utterly frustrated and close to tears. My stitches were very crooked and uneven and too close together. (Have I mentioned that I don't like densely quilted lines?) So I decided to take a break. Two hours later I came back and spent the next 1 1/2 hours with my seam ripper taking all the stitches out.  And while doing that I realized that the seam on my backing didn't line up with the seam on the quilt top. Ugh!!!!!!

So I've decided to start all over. I'm going to take all the pins out and re-baste (?) it and then try the quilting again. This time I think I'm just going to quilt in the ditch all around the arrow blocks and then do something super simple in the borders. 

Anyway...that's it for now. It's time to watch the Colorado Avalanche (Second Round - Game 1) hockey game.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And I will see you all next week. Hopefully I'll  have finished quilting Target Practice by then.

Camille

Target Practice Quilt Top Done

Hi everyone!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week!

My week was good but today was awesome. I think I might have told you guys that my oldest son moved to Taos, NM with his girlfriend in January. Well, she is in town this week for a wedding and I got to spend the morning and afternoon with her. We did some shopping (yes we went thrifting) and then my husband took us out for sushi for lunch. And now I'm watching the Rockies play and waiting for  Game 5 of the NHL playoffs to start for Colorado Avalanche tonight. We're leading the series 3-1. So hopefully the day will continue to be awesome. (Fingers crossed 🤞)

Anyway, this is a quick post today. Just wanted to show you the quilt top that was finished this week. This quilt went together really quickly and I'm loving it. The scrappy colors really pop on the white background. I got it pin basted on Wednesday so all that's left (besides the binding) is the hardest part for me - the quilting. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to quilt it but I hope to have a plan by Wednesday which is when I'll have time to start on it.

So here are the pictures for your viewing pleasure.

That's it for now.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I will see you guys next week.

Camille

My Next Quilt - Target Practice

Hi everyone...

A second post.  Apparently, I have a lot to say today and didn't want to put it all in the first blog I posted earlier.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, the quilt that I'm now working on is from a pattern called Target Practice. Yesterday, I finished making up the log cabin units and I only have to add flip-and-sew white squares to each corner of the units to complete the arrow block. Here's a picture of what I have so far...

 

There are a total of 36 blocks and they will finish at 10". This is the first time I've made Log Cabin style blocks and these came together really quickly.  I'll have more to share next week when the quilt top should be finished.

While I was working on these yesterday it started snowing. Which is funny because the weather had been really nice. We were between 65-80 degrees the past few days and then snow. That's the thing about Colorado weather. The saying goes, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes because it'll change."  But we love it (mostly). 

Just a fair warning...if you plan on visiting Colorado don't be surprised to get snowed in. No matter when you come. 😄 

These were taken from my quilting loft out towards our back yard.

  

And here are a couple of pictures from this morning taken from my driveway.

 
Weather report says we'll be back in the 60's Sunday.

I also wanted to take a minute to say Hi to a couple of new followers...Theresa and Penny. And also Hi to Allison and Karen who have been following for a while. Thanks for sharing my quilting journey.

Have a great rest of your week and I will see you all soon. Not today...I promise.

Camille

The Paris Quilt

Hello everyone!

Today I'm sharing photos of the Paris quilt that I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. It actually went together fairly quickly and I'm very pleased with the outcome. So much so that I might be doing another one in the near future.  

I wish I could take better photos. I should have taken this outside but I was feeling lazy.

Anyway, the quilt finished at 60" x 68" (after washing and drying). There are a total of 99 total blocks (each block is 6" x 8"). And a total of 400 strip pieces. 

The fabrics used in the quilt are as follows:
Ink & Arrow Black Square Dot Blender, Ink & Arrow White Square Dot Blender, Brother Sister Design Studio Paris Writing 2012 (Made for Hobby Lobby), Joann's Jelly Rolls and 7 piece FQ Bundle Vintage Floral & Keys in pink, black and white, and stash fabrics. The backing is a white thrift store sheet and the binding is made from leftover jelly roll strips. 

The quilting for this is a diagonal grid or crosshatch and the lines are 4" apart. 

For more information on this quilt can be found in the previous blog post titled "What I'm Working on Now".

Here are a few more photos.

 

 

Well, that's it for now. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Camille

What I'm Working on Now

Hey there!

Just a quick post today...

I'm still working on the Paris quilt. Handsewing the binding on now but I'm almost done with it. If everything goes as planned it should be finished soon and I'll be sharing lots of photos with you next week.

In the meantime, I've started pulling fabrics for my next quilt.  The pattern is called Target Practice from Quilting Quickly Magazine in the July/August 2017 issue. It's also available for on The Quilting Company website.

Heres a few pictures of what I've got so far...

 






Before I go...Saturday is my 28th wedding anniversary and I just wanted to thank my husband Jason for the best 28 years of my life. Thank you for loving me, putting up with me and for giving me our two wonderful sons. I love you and look forward to many more years together.

That's it for now. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Camille

Fabric, WIP and Baseball

It's Opening Day (MLB)!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Best Day Ever!!! ⚾ 💖😀

Can you tell I love baseball?

Yes. Yes I do. It's a long love affair that started when I was probably 9 in California while visiting my grandparents. My grandfather would go to the fish market on Saturdays and get fried fish which he brought home and we would sit in front of the TV watching the Dodgers and eating fried fish (can't remember what kind), creamed corn and freshly baked bread. (My grandmother was an awesome baker and all-around great cook.) 

The love has waned at times but I always go back to it. And for the past few years, I have been an avid fan watching every Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals games.  My husband is awesome for many reasons but during baseball season we get the DirectTV MLB package so I can watch the Nationals since we live in Colorado and this is the only way I can watch every game. 

Anyway back to quilting...

Today I have lots of photos to share with you. I've been playing with a camera that I haven't used in a while and thought would take better photos than my phone. So some of the photos might not be perfect but it was fun.

The first is a photo of the Paris quilt. 

It's all quilted and waiting for binding. Hopefully, I'll have time to stitch the binding onto the front of the quilt on Sunday and then during the week I'll hand sew the binding to the back. (I find this very relaxing and look forward to this step.)

Next up are photos of the fabric that I've purchased in the past few weeks. You know how much I love a sale...well all of these were brought during sales or with awesome coupons. 

We'll start with the fabrics I brought on Craftsy (now Bluprint). All clearance priced. (Woo! Hoo!)

First up is a fat quarter bundle from Lily & Loom called Mystic Dawn. I haven't used purples in my quilts yet so I'm looking forward to using this bundle.

Next up is a Boundless Melrose and Vine Fat Quarter Stash Bundle.

And lastly Boundless 1930s Revival Fat Quarter Stash Bundle. 

      

And these are some that I got at JoAnn's. (These were on sale, special or with a coupon.)

All Batiks

 
 
 I fell in love with these when I saw them though I had gone into the store for 99¢ fat quarters. They also have these in a blue colorway that I might pick up soon.  with these and brought 1/2 yard cuts. The black with flowers is called Red Medallion on Black, the black is called Packed Leaves Black, Red Medallion on Gray, Diamond Vine Brown, Ditsy Floral on Red 2 and the gray I think is Yarn Dye High Rise. 

 


 

    

And finally a couple of Jelly rolls and a couple of fat quarters bundles, which I got as BOGO.

So yeah, I guess I've brought a lot of fabric lately and I can't wait to use them though I still need to work on depleting my stash. My next quilt is actually a scrap buster so that will help a little and I won't feel so guilty buying new fabric. It's funny as I'm typing this I just got another package from Craftsy with another fat quarter bundle that was on clearance. I'll post pictures of that next week.

I also went to the thrift store and found some sheets.

The first one is a funny story. A few days after wrapping a present for a friend, I found a gift bag sitting on the dining table and thought the color combination was interesting. A week or so later I was at the thrift store and found a sheet that I thought had an interesting color combination. I brought it home and laid it on the table where the gift bag was sitting and was totally surprised that matched. You be the judge.

              

 
And lastly...

Two sheets that just called out to me.

So yeah...that's what I've been doing today.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Opening Day and every day until I talk to you again.

Camille

WIP - Paris Quilt Top Finished

Hey everyone!

Just a quick post to show you the finished quilt top.

All that's left to do is the boring stuff...deciding on the quilt back, and then basting, quilting and sewing the border on.

As far as the backing goes I'm having a hard time deciding on a plain thrift store white sheet or actual quilting fabric. I'm leaning toward the white sheet but we'll see which way I decide to go. I guess you'll have to wait to see until it's finished. 😀

That's it for now. We're going to a Colorado Avalanche hockey game today and it's time to get ready to go!

Have a wonderful Saturday and I will see you sometime next week!!!

Camille