WINNER of the Quilt Giveaway

It's FRIDAY!  

That means it's laundry day!  

That means it's pizza night!  

That means it's time to pick a winner!

The monster helped me choose randomly, and the winner is......

Melissa C!

I'll get the quilt in the mail tomorrow lady!

My sewing room is on a break since we are having some company but I wanted to update my freaking wips list.

1. Birthday gift for my sister- DONE
2. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- DONE
3. Happy Go Lucky- DONE
4. Cuzco- DONE
5. Economy Block I-spy- Being quilted
6. Marmalade- Quilted
7. Blueberry Patch Sampler- top is done
8. Scrumptious- basted
9. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- Quilted
10. Mod Pop Quilt Along- top is done
11. Mystery BOM - up to date 
12. Plums- I'm leaving it
13. Postage Stamp- I'm leaving it

Hot Dog!

I finished quilting this baby.  I quilted the 4 inch grid in the ditch, then did three diagonal lines along the four patch pathways.  I'm very pleased.

I'm going to eenie- meanie the two basted quilts to decide which will be next.  The monster has been obsessed with this method of decision making lately.  Apparently it has rubbed off on me. 

I've been thinking lately, maybe after the wips are cleaned up, I might get after my scrap project.  I really think I've accumulated enough strips for the string quilt I want to make.  

How quilt responsible of me would that be?!  And economical!  

And my bin is getting full.  I can barely hide crap in there anymore.  

Don't forget I'm drawing a winner tomorrow!  

Working my WIPs

I feel productive.  

These UFOs are really taking a beating.  

I basted four quilt tops this past weekend. 

 Quilted one, then started on my marmalade. 

I also finished my Mod Pop top.

My list is much improved!

1. Birthday gift for my sister- just needs the binding hand sewn
2. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring-  DONE
3. Happy Go Lucky- DONE
4. Cuzco- DONE
5. Economy Block I-spy- Basted
6. Marmalade- Being quilted
7. Blueberry Patch Sampler- top is done, no backing yet(next month maybe)
8. Scrumptious- Basted
9. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- Quilted. Needs binding attached
10. Mod Pop Quilt Along- Top is done
11. Mystery BOM - Up to Date 
12. Plums- I'm leaving it
13. Postage Stamp- I'm leaving it

What if I really end up clearing out this list?  

I mean besides number 12 & 13.... 

A Quilt Giveaway

Here is the other quilt I finished recently.  I just grabbed it from the dryer and snapped a few photos.  This quilt is pretty and bright and I looooove the fabrics. I pretty much love anything Kate Spain makes.  Anyhow, this quilt may be coming to live with YOU!  I'm going to give it away.  I really love it, but I literally have stuffed my quilt storage full, and I have two other quilts I must keep that are on my quilting to do list.  So you may benefit from my storage woes.

I have been on a straight line quilting kick lately, but I think it really suits this quilt. 

I found a print for the backing at HoLo that looks like it was made for this line.  Just sooooo pretty.   

SO!  To enter to win just leave a comment.  That's all. I will draw a winner next Friday! 

(make sure if you don't have a google account that you leave your name in the comment)

 Speaking of my quilting to do list... I have a big ol pile to baste again.  How does this happen to me?!  Friday night in the McMath household will be super exciting since I have four quilts to baste, and the hubs has grout to seal.  For real we used to go out to dinner, movies, bowling, and stuff... eons ago.

Check back soon, I've been working on my Mod Pop! 

A Happy Guest Room

 I finished my Happy Go Lucky quilt last night.  It was beyond rewarding, and I came in just under my self imposed deadline.  This quilt is for our guest room.  And we have company coming next week, then more company the following week!

I am very pleased with the way this quilt came out.  I used a Moda Bake Shop pattern.  It was Trish Poolson's pattern and I love seeing her on Moda Bake Shop.  I met her at the Sewing Summit and she is such a nice person. 

 I straight line stitched this one in the ditch and I like how simple it is.  

I was going to make this quilt another row longer but I was getting concerned with the size and quilting it myself.  I have enough leftover HSTs to make two pillow shams.  Although I have no clue when that will happen.(possibly never) 

The backing is from HoLo  and I like this polka-dot.  Lately unless I find an awesome stripe I pretty much go for a solid binding.  I'm just not feeling very creative lately as far as finding an awesome or interesting binding fabric.  Oh well, there are worse things to be lazy about... like showering or paying bills.  I machine closed the binding which I really dig sometimes.  On this quilt I used different colored top and bobbin threads so it would look nicer.  I feel like such a rule breaker, but if my tension is good there really isn't any issue.

By the way, I finished two quilts last night so now I'm down to 11 wips!  Here is my list.    

1. Birthday gift for my sister- just needs the binding hand sewn
2. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- just needs the binding hand sewn
3. Happy Go Lucky- I need to buy the binding and attach it
4. Cuzco- I need to quilt (I need gray thread) and bind it, I haven't picked out the fabric for the binding
5. Economy Block I-spy- I have it ready to baste anytime I decide to mop
6. Marmalade- quilt top is done, backing is ordered and on it's way
7. Blueberry Patch Sampler- top is done, no backing yet(next month maybe)
8. Scrumptious- Top is done, backing is ordered and on it's way
9. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- top is done, backing is ordered and on it's way
10. Mod Pop Quilt Along- I'm ahead, sewing blocks together
11. Mystery BOM - Waiting for the January block to arrive 
12. Plums- I'm leaving it
13. Postage Stamp- I'm leaving it

The Challenge

I'm not sure if you remember but last July I started a little quilt challenge for myself and some of my friends.  Instead of making the same pattern with different fabrics, like a normal quilt along, we started out with the same fabrics and had to find a fun pattern to try out.  The deadline passed at the end of 2013 and we had just a couple of stragglers. Darn life getting in the way of quilting.  Obviously the offenders were shamed and mocked.  Just kidding. I was drowning in projects and barely noticed the deadline.

Now that they are all finished I am excited to show off how well they turned out.  

 This is Miranda's finished quilt. 

 This is Amber's finished quilt.

 This is my finished quilt.

 This is Kristen's finished quilt.

 This is Jamie's finished quilt.... and I think those are her husband's feet.

This is Julie's finished quilt.  

I just love how this little experiment turned out.  Aren't these ladies amazing?!  I wish each of these ladies blogged their quilting adventures, because you would love watching their creativity and talent.  I'm lucky to have such awesome peeps.

WIPs

 Last night I finished my economy block top.  I added it to my stack of quilts hanging around.  Not willing to mop the floor to baste the economy quilt I went to my cabinet to root around for something else.

  

I found some blocks for a gift that I needed to set in sashing and add borders too.  I did that last night and this morning.  

Right now I'm very pleased with my wips.  Here is how they are going....

1. Birthday gift for my sister- just needs the binding hand sewn
2. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- just needs the binding hand sewn
3. Happy Go Lucky- I need to buy the binding and attach it
4. Cuzco- I need to quilt (I need gray thread) and bind it, I haven't picked out the fabric for the binding
5. Economy Block I-spy- I have it ready to baste anytime I decide to mop
6. Marmalade- quilt top is done, backing is ordered and on it's way
7. Blueberry Patch Sampler- top is done, no backing yet(next month maybe)
8. Scrumptious- Top is done, backing is ordered and on it's way
9. Baby gift for a friend due in late spring- top is done, backing is ordered and on it's way
10. Mod Pop Quilt Along- I'm ahead a week or so.
11. Mystery BOM - Waiting for the January block to arrive 
12. Plums- I'm leaving it
13. Postage Stamp- I'm leaving it

So you see I have 13 Wips.  Super eh?  But, I feel okay about it because I feel like 3-5 of them are really nearing completion, and nine of them aren't even in patchwork.  We are having company in the beginning of February so I'm saving the hand sewing for that week.  AND more importantly I don't have anything new on the horizon so if I can not add to the list I'll be pleased.  

Good Economical Sense

 Have you seen the many many many economy blocks lately?  They are pretty cute and hard to resist.

 I decided to take one of the i-spy quilts I had on my to do list and get some of these economy blocks going.  I used stash and scraps and I love how bright and cheerful it is.  

Some of these cute blocks just kill me... like this bicycle...

... and these whales!

And these owls!

Really I could probably go on about my love for each of the 24 blocks.  

I'm going to play around with the layout for a while, then I'll sew the top together.  I already have the backing for this quilt I think... so I'll just need to dig it up.  

Mod Pop and an Old WIP

 My facebook group of quilting friends just started a new quilt along.  Using Distant Pickle's pattern we are making Mod Pops this round.  I really wasn't looking forward to it.  I had done four curved seams once, and I had pretty much sworn off them.  

However, the Mod Pop is super cute and I changed my mind... with this huge cloud tiniest bit of dread still looming.  Well, as I began cutting I just wanted to try the curved cutting.... then I just wanted to try sewing the curves.... then I ended up wanting so badly to get all of the curved piecing done.  So last night with an audio-book in my ear, I plugged away and got it done.  Except....

 ... around 11:30 pm last night I was done and it was obvious that I had screwed up.  I was thinking that I cut too many of template b from my focal fabric.  As I went to my pattern to look and see I couldn't find the page I needed.  One page...the cutting list page is somewhere in my newly "cleaned and organized" sewing room.  Perfect right? So I cussed, and went to bed.(had a nightmare that the roof was blown off our house, and we were going to slowly replace it while we lived in our house)

This morning with a little assistance from someone who hadn't misplaced page 1/2 of their pattern I figured out indeed I was missing 20 mint template A pieces.  Luckily it was my focal fabric that I messed up because I had just enough to re-cut 20 squares and use the correct template.  If it had been my background fabrics I woulda been up a creek. So I fixed my error and tried out one of the blocks.  I have seven more to make, but I'm going to shelve this project for a week or two.  

Now that I have the curved piecing and pressing done I feel 100% sure that I won't quit and give up on this pattern.  That's good, I was worried.  Plus, isn't this fabric adorable?!  It kills me.  My fabrics are made up of mostly blenders, but I have this cute bunny print and an adorable squirrel print sprinkled in there and I just love it.  

Besides my Mod Pop fiasco I have been really making progress!

I finished the quilting on my Happy Go Lucky quilt.  And thankfully the audio-book I was listening to is over also.... I don't know if someone with my anxiety level should read conspiracy theory books.  

I pulled out my year old Marmalade quilt.  I started these blocks last winter using the Charm Pack Quilt Along.  I had the sections done but needed to assemble the remaining 22 blocks.  That happened this morning after I set the Mod Pop away.  

These fabrics are really pretty.  

Now with the blocks finished I am excited to get this top assembled.  A gremlin moved into my forehead this afternoon after I snapped these photos, so I had to set it aside until my Motrin kicked in...then dinner duties trumped returning. Hopefully after supper I can get back to this one.  

I'm not sure how it happened but I currently have THREE projects going, made with Bonnie & Camille fabrics.  The Happy Go Lucky, this Marmalade, and my Scrumptious quilts.  Guess it's time to order some April Showers then eh? I think so!

Quilting and Listening

I cannot remember if I have mentioned this... but my whole quilting life has been changed by audio-books.  Free audio-books that I get via Overdrive through my library.  If your library has the overdrive system available you MUST download the app and get borrowing.  Listening to books got me though all of my Christmas sewing, and I ended up exceeding my reading goal last year.  

I went through a serious sewing slump after we ditched cable and my sewing room TV didn't have a digital converter. I could hardly get myself to sit down and work.  The hubs offered to buy me a new TV but that seemed silly.  Once I discovered the audio-book app the hubs bought me Bluetooth headphones.  Now I can hop up to iron, dash over to cut, and  go back to sewing without worrying about cords or needing to tuck my phone in my pocket...or bra.  So things have been delightful with these new headphones.

Right now I'm listening to 1984 which is loooong, and super crazy.  However it makes the stitching go quicker.  Yesterday I was able to get more than half of the quilting done on my Happy Go Lucky quilt.  Not in one sitting but in at least 5 or 6 chapters.  

Anywho... I just wanted to pop in and mention that I'm quilting away over here...(while Winston has been tortured and brain washed)

For My Friend

I have lots of friends currently gestating.  I've been trying to make baby quilts in order for these impending bundles of joy.  Here is my most recent baby quilt. (And my first finish for 2014 by the way!)

Miranda is my sewing friend here in South Dakota.  She is due in a month or so with a baby boy.  

I recently went up to a new quilt shop in Hill City, and while I was there I picked out fabrics for a boy quilt.  I am happy it turned out orange instead of the normal blue.  The block centers have a pirate scene or fish...and I love the simplicity of it.  I hope her new little boy will drag it around and enjoy it. 

I usually try to keep myself from sounding like a nut job on this blog (but I don't bother on my other blog), but whenever I make a baby quilt, as I stitch and press.... I think and wonder about the life the quilt may or may-not have with the new baby it's intended for.  I wonder if it will be used in a fort, cuddled up with during movies, sat on during a fireworks display, barfed on, or maybe double as a super hero cape from time to time.... my hopes for each quilt that its used.  

 Recently I saw a photo of a quilt recipient riding with the quilt I made her in a wagon.  It warmed my heart. 

 My new niece had photos taken in the summer sun with the quilt I made for her.

I love that!

Starting This New Year

I am feeling pretty good so far about these silly UFOs.  

 I organized my stash, UFOs, and other stuff.... now this cabinet basically holds my to do list. The bottom box having the project I'm least likely to get to anytime soon(if ever), with the top having the easiest/ most likely to be grabbed an finished.  

 I finished the top of my scrumptious rail fence.  This quilt was an impulsive project I started after I finished my Christmas gifts.  It's made from one layer cake and it was a breeze and SUPER fast to whip together.  I'm not sure how long it will be until I will budget the backing though.  

 My virtual quilting bee sampler top is done!  I need to purchase a backing for this one also.  

But I'm mostly pleased that the hubs and I basted three quilts this past weekend.  One being this biggie, which will be the guest room quilt once it's done.  We have company coming in twenty five days.... so I think this one will be quilted asap. I'm going to straight stitch this quilt, then I'll have to hunt for a nice binding.

  

One of the other quilts from our Saturday night basting party was quilted and finished yesterday!  It's a gift though, so I won't be able to share for a few days.  But I feel great to have the first quilt of the year finished!