Sewing: August

I didn't sew as much in August since we started school.  I finished up the blocks I was working on for May's Mighty Lucky Challenge but really ran out of steam before getting to blocks made with printed fabric.

I finally got to fixing this t shirt quilt for my niece.  Her grandmother was so kind to make her this quilt, but had a bit of trouble.  So I took the quilt and corrected a couple of parts.  My niece was excited to have this back because I kept it for way too long!

After conquering my niece's t shirt quilt, I decided to start my own!  I have years (and 100s of dollars) worth of t shirts from concerts I went to see in high school and college.  Since they only sold Extra Large t shirts for most of that time, most of the shirts never fit me (though I wore them anyway).  I only wore one of the shirts for a short period of time when I was pregnant with Sophia and was too big to wear even normal maternity clothes!
I can't wait to see this quilt finish!

I didn't make much progress on Mercy's quilt.  I need to quilt two more sections, but I'm a bit stalled out trying to decide how to quilt them.

Sewing: July

I was looking back, and the last exclusively sewing post was for April!  I didn't do much sewing in May, with NO pictures of fabric.  I put together some fabric in June, but I didn't do much sewing.  July was the first month of more sewing!

I wanted to use the summer to get so sewing done, but until July, I didn't really get the chance to sew much.  That is fine, since family life is more important than any sewing project!  With the Mighty Lucky challenge, I worked on April's project.  It was interpreting a photograph into a quilt.  If you think that sounds challenging, in practice it is much harder!  It took between 12 and 15 hours of sewing to get my "block" which could really double as a small quilt.

I used a picture Adrian took of an orchid from our first trip to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  I never knew I liked orchids until that trip!  This is the picture I based my quilt block off of.

And this is my translation of that picture into a quilt block.  Every time I think about this particular challenge, I think of a quote from one of my favorite quilters Lynn at the Patchery Menagerie.  She says, that recreating pictures into quilts does not use the medium well.  She likes to use quilting to convey other ideas, not recreate pictures.  I tend to agree that the medium is not conducive to reproducing paintings or photographs, but I like the idea of interpretive or stylized pictures and may try this again some day.  In any case, it was an interesting challenge and definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Here are my first four blocks together.  April's block is almost as big as January's and Febrary's blocks put together! 

I started on the May challenge as well!  It is about color contrast.  The idea is to use one block and change the fabric choices for different components of the block to see how it changes the over all look.  I wanted to choose a simple block since I wasn't planning on making a whole quilt and wanted it to be small.  Then I chose my fabrics and got to it!  This is the first of many contrasting blocks!

Once I got started making these blocks, I just couldn't stop!  It was so much fun to see how each fabric choice changed the look of the block!  I went overboard and made more than I needed!

I kept everything organized by drawing out my plan and then stacking the fabric on top of each plan.  With that, I could chain piece several blocks at a time!

Not quite a complete set, but still a lot of blocks and many different looks!

I got to work on Mercy's quilt and actually finished the third color section!  Each section is quilted differently, with the light pink section quilted with "organic" lines and bubbles.  I really like the way it came out, and a bonus was that it didn't take very long to complete!

The blue name panel on the back shows the quilting very clearly.  I love seeing the different quilting styles next to each other!  I can't wait to see this quilt finished!

I wanted to use up some decor weight fabric I had, so I made Mors Bags!  I love how sturdy these bags are, and since making them, I have used them as library bags.  I made several so the kids could have some too.

Project 366: Week 38

September 18 - September 24

Sunday:  The Lord's Day is sweet!  I even captured a picture of the wonderful fudge my little boy enjoyed in celebration of the Lord's day.  I am thankful for the day of rest our Lord gives us each week!

Monday:  Talk like a Pirate Day!  Avalyn and Kyle dressed like pirates and each got a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme to share with our family!  I am thankful for the kids' enthusiam and desire to be a little goof for a good cause. :)

Tuesday: I got to work on Mercy's quilt again!  One of these days, I am going to finish the quilting.  I am excited about this quilt and seeing it completed!  I am thankful for the opportunity to make such special things for my family.

Wednesday:  Mr. Turtle loves carrying candy for all the little kids.  He loves hiding and waiting quietly for the kids to find him.  He loves the joy the kids have when they quietly find him and try to get his candy without their siblings seeing them.  I am thankful for this fun little game of hide and seek the kids and I enjoy!

Thursday:  Patrick tried to climb at the church's playground.  He did a good job, but got upset as soon as he saw his mama!  I am thankful to get to witness my children growing and learning new things.

Friday: Megan and I got together to sew a little bit on Friday afternoon.  We managed to finish this small quilt top!  I love making baby quilts because they go so quickly.  I am thankful to share this hobby with my sister.  It makes it so much more fun to get to sew with someone!

Saturday: At the last minute, our favorite friends invited us to spend a day at the lake.  We took advantage of the opportunity and had a great time!  Mercy got to ride in the tube for the first time and she absolutely LOVED it!  I am so grateful to God for giving us such good friends that even through the many moves and long distances, we are still friends and enjoy our precious time together.

Project 366: Week 36

September 4 - 10

Sunday: I didn't take a picture on Sunday, but this is from Saturday.  Patrick was playing with a ball almost as big as he is.  He loved throwing it and ten running after it.  I am thankful for soft balls!  This little guy loves to throw anything that is remotely round, so I am thankful for round objects that wouldn't break my windows! :)

Monday: I made some of Emeril's Beef Stroganoff!  It is so tasty, and it freezes well, so made enough of it to take on vacation. I am grateful that we have such variety in our food supply!  Imagine life with only one or two choices of food.  Many people in the world can't even imagine what we have.  God is good!

Tuesday: Patrick LOVES to help with the salad spinner.  Any time it comes out, he makes it known that he wants to help!  (This picture was taken on Monday.)  I am thankful for children who love to help even from an early age.

Wednesday: We gave the kids chex mud buddies for dessert.  Patrick loved it and made a glorious mess!  I am thankful for sweet treats to share with my children. 

Thursday: Even though it is a class day, it was very busy and I didn't get a picture.  I was running errands and children to and from the church all day in preparation for vacation. (This picture is of the binding for my Dr. Seuss Quilt that I took on Monday.)  I am grateful for Dr. Seuss and his wit!  I just love his books and really should read them more often to my kids.

Friday: Again, I didn't get a picture because of all the prep for vacation.  This picture was taken on Saturday while we were moving things up to our room.  I don't think the focus is write, but I love Patrick's smile!  Sometimes, seeing that little smile is enough to look past all the screaming fussing and crying.  The sun comes out even for a moment and gives me hope that we will move past the fussing.  I am thankful for this smile!  I need it!

Saturday: We took a quick walk on the beach after unpacking and dinner.  Even with all the seaweed in the water, it was still beautiful! I am thankful for vacation!  I am thankful to get a change of scenery and a chance to enjoy a different pace to our days. 

Project 366: Week 29

I spent more of this week sewing than was good for me and probably for my family!  I wanted to try to finish one of #MightyLuckQuiltingClub April challenge.  But we did other things this week, too.  This post is for July 17 - 23.

Sunday: Avalyn was disappointed that she didn't get to make a cake for Independence Day.  She also wanted to try a new technique, candy clay.  The whole cake was decorated while I was away, so was completely done without any assistance.  I am thankful for Avalyn's desire to create and try new things.

Monday: We have enjoyed cherries a couple of times this summer.  I am thankful for the varieties of food available so easily.  What a great blessing to get such opportunities to try such varied fruits and vegetables.

Tuesday: I started to put together the back for my Dr. Seuss quilt.  I haven't really been trying to take pictures, so I only may be taking one or two pictures a day!  I am thankful to have some time to sew!  I enjoy the creative outlet and I love making things that are pretty and useful.

Wednesday:  Keira and Sophia made a fort under a table.  Patrick decided to join them.  Just a moment before his little hand was reaching out from under the quilt  groping for the mac and cheese box.  He didn't really seem to care if he found it, though.  I am thankful for my kids' imaginations.  They love making and playing in forts.

Thursday: This crazy block is what I worked on most of the week!  The goal of the April challenge was to recreate a picture.  I chose a picture Adrian took of an orchid at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  I am thankful for the #MightyLucky quilting club challenge.  Each challenge has stretched my abilities and many of them have felt too difficult to even bother attempting.  Once I start on the challenge, I usually get excited about it and am glad for the new experience.

Friday:  The finished April Mighty Lucky challenge!  I really like this block!  It could be it's own mini quilt as it is 40 inches wide and 20 inches tall!  I am pleased with how it turned out.  I am thankful for God's beautiful creation!  I how that humans can never recreate his beauty and design, but I love trying to capture some essence of God's creation.

Saturday:  Kyle found instructions for making a bottle rocket.  He convinced Adrian to help him make it, and all the kids had a great time shooting it off!  I am thankful for the curiosity of this kid.  He loves to make things and discover how things work.

Sewing: April

I don't really feel like I did a lot of sewing in April.  With spring break, I had hoped to sew, but I ended up rearranging bed rooms!  I did make some progress on my projects though.  Some of the pictures were taken with my phone.

I completed two of the Mighty Lucky challenges, February's and March's.  February's was called One Wrong Color.  The idea was to pick our a set of fabric that you like, then add in one fabric that just looks or feels wrong.  And then you need to play with fabric until you can make it work!  I picked out these purples and yellows.  I REALLY like it!  I added the turquiose because I love the color, but I couldn't find a way to make it work.

Look at all the colors and fabrics I added trying to make it work.  The problem wasn't the number of fabrics I was adding, but that they all came from the same line of fabric.  I just never felt it coming together.

 So in the end I reverted back to the yellows and purples and tried adding another wrong color.  I added in brown.  Even though I wasn't as thrilled with the whole pile when I finished, I thought that the colors worked together.  I made a stacked coin block.

 And this is how it turned out!  I loved playing with colors and seeing how they work together.  I would like to read more on color theory if I ever find the time!

This is the finished result of my February challenge.  It was minimal improv and is supposed to represent a sunset over the ocean.  I think several of my family thought it was a truck, so now we know I'm not so good at minimal!

 I started quilting Mercy's quilt, it is going to take forever!  I am glad I have until next year to get it to her!  I decided to quilt each color section differently.  The purple got pebbles.  I really love the texture it creates!  I finished the purple section and started on the orange.  It is getting concentric arches that over lap with other arches.  It is taking even longer than the pebbles took, so I think this quilt really will take a year to complete.  That is ok, I am really excited about how it is coming along and I can't wait to see how it looks when it is finished.

Sewing: March

This month was full of lots of activity and a broken sewing machine.  With that said, I didn't get much sewing done!

Megan and I finished the two baby quilts that we made during our Thursday sewing sessions.  I quilted the improv cog quilt in a loop-de-loop all over pattern in a varigated yellow.  It makes the back of the quilt look awesome!  Now that it has been given, I can say that I hope baby Matthew will love it and get much use out of it.

Megan quilted the pink stripes quilt.  In the horizontal sections, she quilted horizontal organic lines.  In the vertical section, she quilted vertical organic lines.  The binding is incredibly scrappy and ended up making sewing it on more difficult.  It is fun to see all the little bits in the binding, but I don't think we will make such a scrappy binding again!  This little quilt has been given to baby Amy who is due any time now.

The only other sewing I did in March was the piano key border for my Dr. Seuss wonky star quilt.  The top is finished!  I absolutely love it!  I don't know what I want to do with the back, so the top has just been sitting.  Hopefully something wonderful will come to me soon!  I would love to see this top as a completed quilt.

I started quilting Mercy's Groove quilt, but the sewing machine broke again!  Adrian fixed it, again, but I am now really nervous about using it.  I will work up to it, and maybe I'll get caught up on my mighty luck challenges in the mean time.