Project Quilting 9.2

Hello Friends

Thank you for stopping by.  This weeks Project Quilting challenge was Triangulation.  I was motivated and drew up a pattern and was excited to get started.  As I fell asleep on Monday night it came to me that I should use my new Tomte pattern.  I just love little gnomes.  Probably because I am half Norwegian. I just love their pointy hats.  And bonus, they are triangular.  I decided to make a couple of the patterns.  If you love paper piecing as much as I do, you will love this pattern.  I was very intimidated by the very small pieces, but I am glad I stuck it out and kept going.  A little tip, have multiple pages printed in case you need to start over.  And here it is-my little Tomte village.

I only had a fat quarter of the snowflake fabric so I was concerned I would not have enough.  What is great about paper piecing these is that you can use up the smallest of scraps.  I even have a little of that fat quarter left.  This quilt measures 9 1/2 x 18.  Voting opens this weekend and I would appreciate your vote.

Blessings

Amy

Mystery Quilt 2017-2018

Hello Friends

I took another picture of my Hometown Proud quilt at the actual monument this weekend.  It's hard to see my quilt but you can check out the detail in my last post.  Thank you to all who voted.  I did not win anything this time.  The challenge this week is Triangulation.  I have a few ideas and hope to start on Wednesday.

 

On Black Friday, Bonnie K Hunter-Quiltville sends out a Mystery Quilt Challenge.  She tells you the color pallet and how much of each color you will need about a month before the mystery.  Then every Friday for about 6 weeks she gives you another part of the quilt to make.  The colors this time were brown, cream, coral and teal.  I love these colors and decided to try it out.  Here are some pictures of the different steps.  You can find all of the steps on her blog under the tab On Ringo Lake.   

 

Then right after Christmas she released hints every day.  I have probably 30+ hours into this quilt.  Lots of pieces.  Over 3000.  Here is the finished top:

 

This quilt is 75x90.  I will keep this one for myself.  I may even put borders on to give it drop on my bed.  Now to find the perfect backing.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I have a couple quilt challenges I am working on so stay tuned.

 

Blessings

Amy

 

 

Project Quilting 9.1

Hello Friends

Project Quilting started Sunday.  The theme this week is Hometown Proud.  I am from a small town in Wisconsin called Monticello.  We have a monument at our in town lake.  This is my inspiration:

I went right to my local quilt store and purchased some batiks.  I thought that would give my quilt some depth and texture.  Here is the finished quilt:

It measures about 12x19.

I used different techniques to make this quilt. There is applique and free motion quilting.  And the whole quilt is patchwork.  I cut all of my squares at 2 1/2.  The hardest part was cutting out the name.  I secured them with clear thread.

Here is another picture of the detail on the monument:

I am linking up to PQ 9.1.  Voting starts after 12 noon on Sunday.  Wish me luck!

Blessings 

Amy

Happy New Year!

Hello Friends!

It's been a while.  I can't wait to dig into this new year and start some new projects.  Of course I still have a pile of unfinished to do, but that is not going to stop me.  I have been feverishly working on the Bonnie Hunter-Quiltville-Mystery Quilt-On Ringo Lake. I am almost done with part 5.  I tried to count and there are over 3200 pieces in this quilt.  I will show you pictures as soon as I take some.  It's going to be so pretty.  I think I will keep this one for me.

The reason I am working so hard to finish that quilt is because Project Quilting Season 9 has started.  The theme for this week is Hometown Proud.  I am going to start mine by Wednesday if not sooner.  Pics to come.

Other than that, we had a really nice Christmas and New Year's with the family.  My father was ill again before Christmas and we have since entered him into the Hospice program at the nursing home.  He is currently doing well but prayers are always appreciated.

My son will turn 21 a month from tomorrow.  I am not sure how that happened but I am so proud of the young man he has become.  My sister and her husband are taking him and his girlfriend to a comedy club on his birthday.  They will have a blast.  He only has 3 semesters of college left.  He will then go into the Master's and PhD program for Film Studies.  Again, so proud.

I will leave you today with a picture of the zipper bag I made for the swap at my local guild meeting.

 

 

More to come, thanks for sticking with me!

 

Blessings

Amy

Happy Fall!

Hello Friends

Sorry for the delay.  Blogging has not been a priority this summer.  My son was home and working a lot and I was running for family.  I did manage to sew a few things though.

First I have to introduce you to my puppy niece.  Her name is Ruby and my sister and brother-in-law got her in April.  She is the sweetest puppy ever!  She just turned 1 in July.  She loves her Auntie too!

 

I like to make gifts for my coworkers for their birthdays.  We have a big Badger fan in our group so I thought this mug rug would be appropriate.  I added vinyl to the front because I was afraid the red would bleed if it got wet.

 

 

I also made this fox mug rug for a friend.  I usually don't make commission pieces but this was fun to figure out.  I did not use a pattern but I have since bought the pattern Fancy Fox by Elizabeth Hartman.  I will be posting more foxes soon.  I just think they are so cute!

 

The first Thursday-Saturday in September is the Wisconsin Quilt Expo.  I tried to enter a quilt this year but was rejected.  And, I am ok with that.  I will try again if I have another quilt to enter next year.  This year I wore a t-shirt and was free advertising for my friends shop, Blue Bar Quilts.  I ran errands for them and brought people to the booth who stopped me when they saw my shirt.  I only went on Friday because I discovered that Tula Pink was coming to give a talk.  I usually don't buy fabric based solely on the designer, but during one of the big Quilt Markets, I heart Tula had a sale on her fabric.  They had a kit for hexies and you received a sampling of her new line Spirit Animal.  I like to make hexies so I ordered the kit.  Then it sat for a few months.  When I found out she was coming to Madison I had to do something with that fabric. 
Many years ago when my son was very young, he bought me a white denim jacket.  I wore it a few times but hanging in the closet caused it to get dingy.  I decided to make a bunch of the hexies and add them to my jacket.  But first I thought I needed to dye it.  I have never done that before and I usually don't work with clothing at all.  This was actually fun.  Changing the color to the right shade made me a little nervous.  But I think it came out great!
When the doors opened to the event, Tula was front and center and graciously signed autographs and took pictures.  She talked for the whole 2 hours and then took more pictures.  She is very funny and I suggest you all go and see her if you get the chance.

 

September is also Ovarian Cancer Awareness month.  My friend Trish is a survivor and talks about the Teal Mini Swap each year at our guild meetings.  This year I decided to join.  It was $15.  $10 of that was donated and the other $5 went to admin costs.  This wonderful woman Beth is in charge of it all.  You are given a swap partner from somewhere in the country and you either make a mug rug or mini quilt.  My partner was Jeanne and she was from Virginia.  We agreed on a mini no larger than 20x20.  This is what I sent her.

 

We are sent a swatch of teal fabric and need to include at least a small piece of it in the quilt.  I tried to do a lighthouse paper pieced pattern but it was in Dutch and I could not figure it out.  Then I found my No Scrap Left Behind book from Amanda Jean Nyberg and knew I had found my pattern.

I had loaned my Pfaff machine to a friend who was trying to finish a birthday gift so I had to bring out my old Singer.  She did an okay job.  I did discover that she needs a good cleaning and oiling.  But the tension was easier to fix on her than on the Pfaff.

 

This is the quilt I was sent.  She did such an amazing job.  I just love it!!

 

Very modern and just the perfect addition to my collection.

 

Not much else going on right now in my sewing world.  I am going to Denver this month to see my Bestie who moved there in March.  I can't wait to see her.  I haven't flown in over 10 years or had a vacation either.  Looking forward to seeing some family and old friends while I am there too.

 

My current goal is trying to finish things before I start anything new.  I am doing pretty good so far.  Just sent two quilts to the longarmer and should have them back this week.  Trying to get tops quilted so I have bindings to do this winter.  Stay tuned for pictures of the finished quilts. :)

 

Blessings

Amy

 

 

 

 

 

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