Happy first day of Summer!

Hello Friends!

I have a finish to share!  I decided to do the off season Project Quilting Challenge.  For June the theme is 'June Buggy'.  A little back story for this.  My uncle had a yellow VW beetle and I thought it would be fitting to try and make one.  I am trying to get better with my applique and I think the more I do it the better it gets.  Here it is:

 

I wanted to keep the quilting simple so I just quilted lines out to make it look almost like a sunbeam.  Let's talk about the flower.  During the Madison Modern Quilt Guild meeting, I won a door prize.  If you really know me, you know that I love to make yo-yos and I have a few plastic forms to make them.  Well, I chose this Kanzashi flower maker:

I thought it would be fitting to have a flower on the car.  I used my rainbow batik fabric to make it.  This device was so easy to use and the flower was very simple to make. 

 

This little quilt is 12 x 12 and was made in Verona WI.  Here is the link if you would like to join in the fun.  You have until June 30 for this challenge. Project Quilting-June Buggy

 

Big shout out to Kim for organizing such a fun challenge!

 

 

Blessings,

Amy

Getting things done

Hello Friends!

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying summer.  It has been unbearably hot here.  I have a few top finishes to share and a picture of my winnings from the Modern Mini Quilt Challenge sponsored by Quilt Expo and Nancy Zieman.

First I will show you the sashiko piece I finished.  I am hoping to turn it into a tote bag.  I think I will put the iron on vinyl on it to protect the stitches.

This piece is a light teal color so I thought the orange would really pop on this.  I am going to look at batiks for the bag.

 

When I wasn't working on this I was working on English paper piecing.  This is called Daisy Chain and I followed Rita-Red Pepper Quilts.  I think I need 150 to make a decent size quilt but I only have 15 done.  May end up in something modern at this point.

 

My friend Gael has opened a quilt store not too far from me.  It is very modern and just a wonderful place to gather.  If you ever get to Middleton WI check out Blue Bar Quilts.

Make sure to tell them that the The Turquoise Button sent you.  There are a lot of Amys in my guild that go to the shop so this way they will know who you are talking about.

They are having a grand opening next weekend and I am going to help with a make and take.  I found a pile of button forms in a drawer and decided to use them.  Also, all this paper piecing and Sashiko has had me needing one.  I had seen a tutorial online a while back and decided to make my own needle minder.  Of course nobody can make just one, or maybe that is just me.  It was a great way to use up those small scraps.

 

I even made little cards to attach them to.  I have already sold one and I am sure I will sell more.  I will be adding them to my etsy store soon.  I will add the link here when I do get them on there.

 

I feel like I have been pretty productive lately.  Late last year I found this BOM (block of the month) and thought I would give it a try.  I have been using my scraps and stash for about 2 1/2 years now and thought that would be a great way to use things up.  You can find the pattern here-Moda Be My Neighbor-Bear Creek Quilting Company

I think I will embellish this quilt after it is quilted.  I think I will put curtains in the windows and use buttons of different themes throughout.  Stay tuned for that.

Also late last fall I decided to make a quilt using Bonnie K Hunter's phone book pages scrap quilt idea.  She uses the pages for stability.  I found an old phone book at work and cut it up into 7 1/2 inch squares.  This was a lot of fun digging into the scrap bin.  At one point I sorted all of my scraps by color and was able to mix up and use better color combinations.  I made 72 blocks.  Some days I would make 5 or more and some days I made just one.  I have had the stack de-papered for a while just waiting to sew them together.  That part took about an hour and a half.  I realized that having everything cut to the correct size and using the same seam allowance really does help. :)

 

I am not sure if many people know this about me but I love all thing nautical.  I should have been born by the ocean because I love it!  When Blue Bar Quilts opened they had this line from Cotton and Steel that I just fell in love with.  I just had to make a baby quilt with this line.  I just need to quilt this and then it is ready for gifting.  Or for sale on my etsy store.

That light blue colored dot fabric will be the back and the red will be the binding.

 

At the beginning I talked about my winnings from the Wisconsin Quilt Expo-Nancy Zieman Blog Modern Mini Quilt Challenge

You may remember my fingerprint quilt.  This is what I entered and I received an honorable mention.  It may be the last quilt listed but it's mine and I am super proud and excited!

 

 

And this is my prize.  I was not expecting anything but I just love this book.  You will see a quilt or two from this book soon!

 

 

So, I have been pretty busy lately.  Still have a list a mile long of things to do and finish.  Hoping to quilt some of these before I start something else.

 

What are you working on?  I would love to hear how you stay organized as I struggle to even keep my sewing table clean.

 

Blessings!

Amy