I have fallen into the trap that so many quilters do: I am forever working on quilts for someone else.  New babies, family members who need a special gift, a commissioned quilt for a friend, and not to mention the bee blocks.  All of the quilts that I have swimming around in my head that I simply want to do seem to get pushed to the back of the to-do list.  I’m trying to integrate some of those designs and colors and ideas into the “have-to” quilts.  And, of course, I only “have to” make them because I’ve said so. I do enjoy making them, otherwise I wouldn’t do it at all.

But there’s something refreshing about making something simply because I want to.  There is no intended recipient, no deadline.  I showed these blocks to my husband, and when he asked “so what are these for?”, I was pleased to reply “for fun!”

I’m making these along with the P.S. I Quilt Pinwheel Sampler Quilt-Along. What can I say? I can’t resist a good quilt-along.

I’m going with mostly stash fabrics (though I admit to buying a few more to add to said stash).  I’m using raspberry/fuchsia, orange, pink, and aqua, with gray (Kona Ash) as the background color.  So far, two weeks completed, I’m loving it.

Hopefully this will turn out as nice in reality as it looks in my head.

Well, OK, I made the last one at about 3PM on the 28th.  But hey, it was still February.

For One Block Over, Heather sent a handful of brown/green/teal fabrics and asked for big 16″ wonky log cabins. I added a bunch from my stash, and I think this is going to be a very pretty quilt.

For Bee Addicted 2, Teaginny had a lovely color palate of brown, tan, cream, and light blue.  She asked for square-in-a-square or rectangle-in-a-rectangle blocks.  These were surprisingly fun to make, and I think will be AMAZING when the whole thing comes together. In the meantime, I may have to steal this idea at some point…

For A Piece of Work B, Julie sent three blocks and asked for the Castle in the Air block from Quilter’s Cache, to make a quilt for her son. Cool, huh?

For Scraptastic, Heidi sent stripes and asked for Kaffe Fasset mitered squares. I loved the way a simple striped fabric turned into such a neat block, and how cutting the same fabric at different points in the pattern repeat could make such different blocks.

And finally, for Charming Robin, I had Rachel’s Eden charm pack and instructions to make Bento-style blocks. I added a little diamond in the middle to shake things up a little, and made the diagonal quarters identical to each other. Very yummy bright colors.

But I have been sewing. A lot of progress, and as of this weekend, I finally feel like I’m caught up and can breathe. The big finish to cross off the list is my swap quilt for DQS8.  For whatever reason, I had a really hard time settling on a design for this quilt. I considered what felt like a million different things. My swap partner has different likes than I do, as well as some fairly specific preferences for color. I’m not sure why, but it just really stumped me.  Eventually, though, I hit on string blocks and I’m really glad that I did.

My partner specifically requested black and red, with the possibility of some other colors, so I just ran with it.  I’m of two minds on the string blocks. I think they’re cool, a nice way to use up scraps, and all of that. But they’re kind of a pain to put together, I think especially when I was trying to do them all at once. Maybe I’d feel differently if I was doing at as a long-term scrapbusting project, but as this was all at once, it felt a little tedious.  That said, I liked the way they came together, and I actually really loved trimming them down after they were all done.  It went from this messy, chaotic pile of scraps, to a nice, neat stack of perfect blocks.  After that, of course, it was all super fast.

As I often do, I polled Twitter for suggestions on how to quilt it.  A friend suggested concentric squares and I immediately knew that was the right way to go. I marked them all out with washable pen, and they’re about an inch in between each one.

Anyways, I’m happy with it. I enjoyed making it, even if I had a bit of a hard time finding my way there. And I’m hoping I struck a good note between trying to make something that my partner would like, while also making something that I feel good about.  I know the latter is true, and the package is headed out in the mail in the morning, so hopefully the former will be true as well!

Not sure if I’ll do the next round of the swap. I like it, but I think I was a bit over-committed this past month or so, and should consider saying “no,” even though it sounds like fun…

I mentioned that one of my goals for this year was to branch out from quilting and sew some clothing.  Lots of people recommended Oliver + S, so a few weeks ago I ordered some patterns, including the Bedtime Story Pajamas. On a trip to Joann’s, I let the kids pick out their own fabric from the quilting cottons for their new pajamas.  Every time my daughter saw her choice folded up on my fabric shelves, she pointed to it and said “Mommy, there’s my new ‘jamas!”  Clearly, I had to get going on that.

I traced the pattern pieces onto some freezer paper, and started with my son’s fabric.  I managed to finish the top while the kids were napping, and when my daughter saw it, she was highly distressed that they weren’t hers. In fact, the only way I convinced her to go to bed that night was with the promise that, tomorrow, she could wear her new “fabric ‘jamas.”  I stayed true to my word and whipped hers up in time for the next bedtime.

This was a great first foray into the world of clothing patterns.  Simple and straightforward, no elaborate shaping, incredibly clear directions.  I had read them through a whole bunch of times before I got started, and then just took it one step at a time.  They aren’t perfect, but they fit the kids pretty darn well. And they came together very quickly.  I suspect there are a few more in my future…

For A Piece of Work B, Kyra sent batiks and white-on-white and asked for a Dutchman’s Puzzle block:

For the inaugural month of One Block Over, Michelle sent some Riley Blake fabrics and solids, as well as a pattern for a neat star block. I followed the directions very literally, though I rather like the blocks made by those who took more liberties with the instructions. Must remember not to always be so rigid…

It was also the first month for Scraptastic, which is my first time being the admin for a Bee. Jenna sent the pink Starling print and asked for improvisational log cabins. I wanted to make a second block, but just ran out of time. Would you believe EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the bee got their block done on time? So impressed!

And, finally, we also began our Charming Robin bee, which is a round-robin involving charm packs. The package was late in arriving, so I didn’t finish exactly on time, but it’s still early in February and it’s on its way to California for the next person. Sharon sent a charm pack of Clementine and a pattern for the “Basket of Flowers” block from Moda.

My nephew, Charlie. My very first nephew. My brother’s son.  He was born last Wednesday, about 10 days ahead of schedule. I was already working on the quilt when I got the call, but obviously his arrival sped things up a bit.  I hope they like his quilt. Because if they don’t, I’m taking it back. Because I am in love with it.  It feels so “boy” without beating you over the head with BLUE and TRUCKS and STEREOTYPES!

It all started with a fat quarter bundle of Robert Kaufmann’s Animal Party prints that I bought from an Etsy seller, ages ago. I bought it on a whim, thinking it would be great for a baby boy at some point. Lo and behold, the ultrasound revealed that my brother’s first child was, in fact, a boy. And my sister-in-law mentioned something about a jungle/animal/explorer theme.  Golden!

I was undecided on what to do with these prints for a long, long time. I toyed with a whole bunch of different ideas, and couldn’t settle on one that I liked. And then Ashley posted about the Spotted Squares quilt she’s working on, and I had my inspiration.

I felt compelled to be somewhat organized about it, not totally improvisational. (Because, seriously, improvising takes time! I like to chain-piece, people!)  They are all 8″ (finished) blocks. There are two different sized center squares (2″ and 4″, finished). There are two different layouts (centered and off-center). And there are two styles (print/color borders and white borders).  I picked fabrics from my stash to coordinate with the prints I already had, sticking mostly with brown, green, blue, and orange.

Oh, and the back. I kind of love the back. As much, if not more, than the front. I have to remember to do an actual quilt like this. Maybe for my kids…

I was also torn as to how to quilt it, as I seem to be on almost every quilt I make.  I didn’t want to quilt it too densely, that much I knew.  But I’m psyched with what I went with: straight horizontal and vertical lines at random intervals.  I love that it kind of works with the square-but-wonky style of the front. I marked the lines with a washable pen and my ruler to keep them as straight as I could.

Binding is from Connecting Threads, their Riviera line, which is now discontinued and on major clearance (those circle/dots are still available in three different colors).

Anyways, I’m thrilled that this one is done. And I can’t wait to deliver it in person on Saturday, when I fly to Chicago to meet my sweet new nephew. Hooray!

It was no secret I would be making a quilt for her, and I just waved goodbye to it on the mail truck. I was going to wait a couple of days to post about it, but someone decided she wanted to see pictures…

Once I found out this baby was to be a girl, I ordered a charm pack and a jelly roll of Hushabye.  I went through various thoughts on what I’d actually do with it, and eventually settled on this.  5″ (cut) centers, 2.5″ borders.  The solid is Kona Cotton in Bone, which wasn’t quite so stark as plain white.

The back is the bunny damask print from the same line, with a strip of squares.

Quilting is diagonal lines in pink thread. Binding is also from the same line. Yes, I said I was going to try to do fewer quilts using all fabrics from the same line, I know. But I bought this fabric last October, so I think I get a pass. And sometimes it just looks so nice, you can’t pass it up.

Anyways, it’s in the hands of the postal service, on its way to Manhattan.  I hope Lucy likes it! (And her mom, too, I suppose…)

It feels like I’m really struggling to find time for sewing right now.  As it is, my time is limited to when my kids are asleep, which basically means from about 1-3pm and after 8pm.  Trouble is, I need to do other things during that time, too.  Exercise, laundry, dinner prep… blah blah blah.  Plus, we took a last-minute trip to Florida to visit my husband’s ailing grandmother, so that threw me off, as well.

It could also be the fact that one of my closest friends and my younger brother are due to become first-time parents any second now, and I did not get a start on either quilt before the holidays.  Progress is being made, though.  My friend has the slightly earlier due date, so I worked on hers first.  It’s now just waiting for binding (which has been ordered) and the arrival of one awesome little girl (so I can put her name on the label, of course!).

My nephew-to-be is due February 6, and I finally got all of the fabric cut last night.  Now to assemble the blocks and get it all together. It’s a bit of organized chaos that I’m hoping will come together well.

In the meantime, I signed up for the eighth go-around of the Doll Quilt Swap on Flickr.  I arguably should have said no, but it’s just entirely too much fun to miss out on.  My partner for this round has a rather different style than I do, so I’m trying to come up with an idea that she’ll like, but that I’ll also like making and be proud of.  We’ll see…

When it comes right down to it, I feel like I have more ideas and things I want to make than I really have time to do.  Not a terrible problem to have, as it sure beats plodding through something you don’t feel inspired to do.  It’s just that it gives me that slightly panicked feeling all the time, because it never seems like enough time.  Ah well.

So, how is your new year shaping up?  Feeling fresh and renewed, or already dragging?

Now, tell me that’s not the happiest sight a sewing girl can see?

Let’s break it down, shall we?

From Fabric.com, some major stocking up on Amy Butler Lotus, mostly Full Moon Dots. You can never have too much of those dots, man.

Plus two other assorted cute prints that I believe were on sale.

Is it just me, or do you find Fabric.com sometimes sends VERY generous cuts of fabric? As in, I ordered one yard and they sent 1.5 or even more? Insane. Yay for me!  Plus there was a $10/off coupon and free shipping.

Then there was Fabric Shack and their 15% off everything sale.

Hellooooo, Hope Valley. You’ve been steadily growing on me. I’m having visions of blocks sashed in gray.

And, finally, I had a gift card AND a coupon to Pink Chalk Fabrics.

One Kona Cotton FQ starter set. Ooooh, solids.

And a few other assorted sale prints, because I don’t have a lot of orange in my stash. Yeah, that’s the reason…

All told, it’s over 16 yards of fabric, for less than $75 of my own money.  Averages to around $4.50/yard. Sounds good to me!

So, did you get some goodies recently?

First, a handful of specific projects I’d like to accomplish:

• Quilts or duvet covers for both kids – This is the year that my kids will move from cribs to big-kid beds, and I thought it only appropriate that they get a quilt upgrade (the first ones I made for them, while sentimental, are kind of crappy).  In my head, this is shaping up to be a many-faceted project, but I’ve got some time.
• Duvet cover for us – Ack! How on earth do you commit to a quilt for your own bed?! But it’s high time, if I really want to call myself a quilter, that I sleep under my own work.  Except, well, we like to sleep with a down comforter, so duvet cover it is.  We’ll see.
• Matching pillows – That’s right. Pillow shams. Decorative pillows. My husband is just shaking his head at the thought.
• Minimum 2 Project Linus donations – I would really like to make some quilts for Project Linus. My kids were the recipient of a PL blanket (knitted) when they were in the NICU, and my daughter still sleeps with hers. Seems only right to pay it back.
• A bag – There are so many cute bag patterns out there, I am dying to leave my comfort zone and make one.
• Clothing – I’m not sure whether it’ll be a skirt for me, a dress for my daughter, or what.  But again with the comfort zone, I want to try to make a piece of clothing.  Redeem myself for the disaster that was the formal dress my mom and I made when I was in high school.

Second, some more general, overarching goals:

• Name quilts – I’m sick of referring to my quilts in generic terms. They need names. Except, I kind of suck at creative names.  But, you know, I’ll try.  I might just give them people names, we’ll see.
• Say “no” more often – I’ve said “yes” a few too many times to people who want me to make a quilt for them.  I mean, I’m torn. I enjoy doing it for my friends, and hey, I like that they pay me for it.  But I find I’m spending so much time on those, that I don’t get to the other things on my list.
• Use scraps/stash more – Trying to use what I have and put things together in more interesting ways, instead of always buying new fabric for a new project.  Plus, scraps are cool!  If I learned anything from my retreat, it’s that you can do SO much with even the littlest pieces.
• Use all fabrics from one line less – Related to that last goal, I want to get away from using only a single line of fabric in a quilt.  I mean, sure, it looks great together. It’s supposed to.  But I want to do it a little less.
• Bigger quilts - I know, size doesn’t necessarily matter.  But I want to make more quilts for use on actual beds this year.  I will not fear quilting them.  I will not fear quilting them.

So, what are your sewing goals this year?  Similar to mine?  Totally different?  Any suggestions for me?