From Scraps to something Pretty!

I can't imagine sticking to just one project at a time. Don't get me wrong, I love quilting, its my absolute most favorite pass time, but I am totally honest when I say, I get bored doing just one thing at a time.  Quilting or piecing a large quilt can take a few days of long hours to complete.  

So for me doing just one thing for days, can become a drag.  So when I got about half way quilting my Double Slice layer Cake Quilt I felt I needed a break and started working on some cute mini quilts / items to hang in my sewing room.   

I really like how the dresden plate turned out.  I pieced the petals together using the english paper piecing technique.  It was fun and quick to complete.  I was a bit undecided whether or not to quilt or hoop it.  But the hoop clearly won the battle.  I used selvage edges I started putting away for just something like this that I rolled around the outer frame of the hoop.  

Its fun making something that can be finished in a day.  I just know that this might become very addictive and it might be a new obsession brewing.

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Just a bit overwhelmed

I decided to take a week practicing some random free motion quilting that I'm comfortable with, thinking that once I have the baby quilt I'm working on sandwiched and ready for quilting that I'll know  exactly  what I want to quilt and where.  Now more than before I am at a loss, I just cant decide.  Hopefully once I have it tucked underneath my machine I'll know exactly what I want to do..

At least the practicing turned, what would have been just another sample ending up in my drawer, into something pretty.  During the week I showed you how this little Dresden Plate was 'born' out of some scraps my Mom gave me from a quilt she made a few years ago.  The finished Dresden Plate sampler measures 20 x 17 inches.  

It is filled with lost of different fmq, I even tried to be creative with one of the feathers.  Admittedly I enjoy quilting feathers but I guess I should stick to what I know instead of trying to be fancy.  It came out fine I guess, but I prefer it being simple and curvy and not so dramatic.

I did have fun making this, my oldest Son even suggested I make another to hang beside it, we'll see, for now I have to get busy binding the baby quilt and seriously start planning out what I want to quilt.  Any suggestions?

Linking up to:  

Needle and Thread Thursday with My Quilt Infatuation.

FMQ Fridays with The Free Motion Quilting Project

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop with Confessions of a fabric addict

Happy quilting.

My Favorite Pass-time

Its no surprise that I enjoy free motion quilting.  To me its the most enjoyable part of making a quilt.  So yesterday afternoon I had a sudden urge to quilt something, so I cut a fat quarter large enough to get some decent practice.  

That's when my eye caught some dresden plate pieces that was between some of the fabrics my Mom gave me.  She had them left over from a quilt she made a few years ago.

So I quickly pieced half a dresden and placed it on the side and then added another piece of dresden in the one corner.  I wanted to have a large area of negative space to practice some free motion quilting.  So this is what I ended up with.

Just to add a bit more to the 'dresden' design I quilted a dresden on the opposite corner.  It also adds a bit of symmetry to the design.  Sure I had enough fabrics to make another piece of dresden, but I wanted to try something completely different.

I quilted whatever came to mind, I did not want to use the same design all over, so I varied between swirls, paisley, pebbles, a few echoing lines and of course some feathers. 

What was just going to be a practice sample will now be a small wall hanging with colour, texture and some dresden design.  I'm sure to finish it up tomorrow...

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Happy quilting.

Looking back @ 2012...

This year has been pretty exciting for me when it comes to my quilting.  I made my 1st quilt, learned to free motion quilt (still a lot to learn), and my piecing has definitely improved too.  

I discovered Leah Day's FMQ Blog soon after, and it opened up so many possibilities.  

Below are some of the quilts I made, I added dates to some of them, just to show you how much I have learned.  Looking at my very 1st try at stippling, I have to smile and blush a little.  Practice.. practice.. practice.......

My very 1st attempt at Free Motion Quilting - I looked up the date, March 16, 2012

March 23, 2012 - Only ONE week after discovering Leah Day's Blog  

Strips & Stripes (Various types of FMQ) - May 10, 2012

Hearts & Feather Whole Cloth - April 11, 2012

Jelly Sandwich - 29 May 2012

Dresden Plate Wall Hanging - September 12, 2012

Tree Wall Hanging - October 3, 2012

Purple Diamond/Pers Diamant - November 19, 2012

Looking forward to next year and to see what it will bring....  

Happy quilting.

Back at it... high time!

These past few months have been a huge test and struggle.  Things was so out of my control and I had no sense of what I needed to do, to make my life worth while again.  Its amazing how when you're at your lowest how your people can help you on your way, and show you life does go on.  You just have to pick yourself up and try and move away from that which hurt the most, to see that every dark cloud DOES have a silver lining...

So I got back into my sewing room.  Since I have not sewn a single stitch in over 4 months I realized how much I missed it, and how much I enjoy it!

I made this dresden plate wall hanging using Moda's Autumn Breeze and sewn the plates to a plain white background... Not sure how it happened, I cut the 'petals' all the same size, but one plate has 19 and the other 2 has 20 petals... weird :-)

But it all worked out fine...

I can't wait to start something new.
Happy quilting.