Pantone Quilt Challenge 2014: Radiant Orchid

I don't know what it is with me and the word "challenge".  I take it very seriously and find myself finding the hardest thing I can think of and attempting it.  I usually end up a mad woman crying every step of the way, i.e. the mini quilt challenge last year.

 

For this challenge I thought I would go the complete opposite direction and keep it simple.  I wanted to let the color shine and show how something as simple as repeating simple square blocks could make something beautiful.  I feel that I accomplished that while making the top, it was only when deciding how to quilt it that it turned into a pain.

I'm a straight lines kind of girl but one of my goals this year was to try more free motion quilting techniques and just as you have it Amy Free Motion Quilting Adventures is hosting a McTavishing Along. That was the start to the "challenge". I watched videos, practiced on paper, watched more video (Leah Day was a life safer), made a test block, and then I went for it. 

I wanted to bring more of the Radiant Orchid to the quilt so I used a variegated purple on top of the white areas.  That was one of the problems, as a beginner to see every single mistake made me a wreck.  Every time I started to sew I cringed.  I had to walk away many times very upset of how it was turning out and couldn't wait for it to be all over.  I decided that I was going to try something different for the other areas.  It turned into a fmq sampler piece.

Let me tell you every time I started to quilt I wanted to cry.  I felt like I was just making it worse and worse but it was too late to stop.  I got it done and honestly I love it so much.  I can't stop looking at it.  I think that for me, free motion quilting really freaks me out while I'm sewing and being hypercritical but when its all done there's nothing more beautiful.  You don't see all the weird things you see while you're working on it.

The quilt finishes at 37" x 37".  It was made completely from my stash.  The solids for the top are Kona. The back fabric was a random yard of something I got from Joann about a year ago.  The binding was left over from another project.  Overall I love how everything turned out and feel like I've learned a lot.  I will probably continue to struggle with fmq but next time hopefully I will be using a thread that doesn't stand out as much. 


Thanks for stopping by to check out my entry for the Pantone Quilt Challenge.  You can vote for your favorite for the Viewers Choice Award. 
TGIFF! and Saturday Sewjo.

This WIP is close to Finished

This morning I started off chugging away FMQ the last couple of white areas that I needed to finish and then what do you know by lunch the binding is picked out and sewn on.  Now for some hand stitching and this beauty is as good as done.  Can't wait to reveal the whole thing soon. 

 

Thanks for stopping by linking up over at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

 

 

A Proud Finish

I am happy to announce that I have finally completed all of my swaps including my Stash Bee block for the March.  The only thing left on my short list is the Pantone Radiant Orchid Quilt Challenge.  Today I want to show you one of my fondest sewing project that I finished a couple weeks back.  Like I mentioned in my last post, when my project has more than one purpose it tends to get done faster.  This finish has 3 purposes. 

1. It's the bag I've been wanting to make since I saw this one on flickr.  It's from Lisa Lam's book A Book for All Reason.  It's the 3 in 1 convertible bag.

2.  It's made from Aneela Hoey's new line Hello Petal.  She's holding a little contest for things made from this line.

3. It's a birthday present for my older one.  It's not until June but glad that the pressure is off.

This project really did need all of these reasons to get done because this was a tough nugget and is definitely not a one day kind of thing.  Overall I couldn't be happier with the results and feel that this is a huge accomplishment for my sewing belt. 

TGIFF over at Quilt Matters.

Same old Same old...

Always waiting last minute to finish everything.  This week I'm working on finishing my items for the Sewing Room Swap.  I already finished my big item here's a peak of it:

For the second item I'm using the Scrappy Pineapple paper piecing pattern from Red Pepper Quilts to make a pillow.  Of course I had to make this a two for one deal, I seem to be doing that quite a bit as if the project is more likely to get finished if I have two purposes for it :), it's going to be a pillow for my partner but I'm also writing my Stash Bee tutorial as I go because this is the block I want when it my turn in November.  See two birds with one stone!

Another two for one deal is this quilt.  It's for the Pantone Radiant Orchid Quilt Challenge as well as the McTavishing Along over at Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures.  I did try to practice with drawing and even on a test block but in the end I went straight for it and now I'm regretting it a bit.  I'm going to finish off the center the best I can but I've got a different idea for the outer white sections.  More on this once it's finished. 

So what are you up to this week?  Join me over at Freshly Pieced to link up your WIPs. 

What else is new?

While I was procrastinating on writing a post for my own blog I couldn't stay away from reading all my favorite blogs.  I came across a post over at Christa Quilts! sharing all the current quilt alongs going on and of course I've had my eye out for all of them but I did come across one that I haven't seen and is quit different from what I am use to doing.  It's called the McTavishing-along and it's going on this month.  It's a free motion quilting adventure featuring the unique designs made famous by Karen McTavish, a wonderfully talented quilter that I'm ashamed to not know of until just a few days ago. 

I have decided to give it a try and so far I've only gotten the nerves to do it on paper and pencil and I love it.  I will be doing a test block very soon and once I get the hang of it I have a special project in mind to use it on.   I will be linking over at Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures as I progress through this new skill I am hoping to acquire.  Wish me luck!

Where has the time gone?

It's March, maybe Spring is around corner?   Okay lets get down to business since I seemed to have abandoned my blogging for far too long again. 


First up I am proud to say I have finished 2 of the 3 swaps I'm in and my Stash Bee block for February. 

This block is for Limbania Osredker and the tutorial can be found here.

My Denyse Schmidt Charm Swap Fabric are all cut up and sorted.

Finally my second round of the Triple Zipper Pouch Swap.  I love making these and they get easier and easier every time.  For this one I added a little extra snap pocket on the back. 

I started sewing for the Sewing Room Swap and here is where I am so far with my first project.

This is all I will share today and wish me luck in posting another post before the next month:)
You can definitely count on it I've got my hands on a few project at the moment that I can't wait to share.  I'm linking up over at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.