A Very Colorful Quilt

Summer is HERE!!! 

Pretty much only pool days are in our foreseeable future. 

Houston got more than its fair share of the water in this country for the last month and a half. 

It's made life just that much crazier with four little kids that get SERIOUS cabin fever. 

And it just keeps raining and raining and raining. 

Even more showers are expected today. 

But you know what happens to a quilter that can't leave home? 

They sew and sew and sew some more.

Quilting makes such a great hobby. 

But all us quilters already know that. :) 

The mushrooms are popping out everywhere from all the moisture. 
The orange ones are my favorite. 
Or course. 

And my little project during the last few weeks of storms was this half square triangle quilt in about an hundred kona cotton colors. 

I used an orange striped binding.
Because if you can pick any color, it should be orange. :)
The backing circles fabric I found was a perfect geometric juxtaposition and compliment to the front - Juggling Summer by Zen Chic for Moda. 

To give this quilt the right balance of all the crazy colors, I actually laid out half of the blocks to my liking, then used rotational symmetry to make the second half feel balanced but not mirrored. 
And I'd be surprised if anyone even notices it.
I mean, I can't and I made it.

I'm calling it my "Stairway to HST (Half Square Triangle) Heaven" and it finished at 64.5" x 64.5." 

This one's going in the shop.

New year, old projects.

It seems that each new year we take stock of life and evaluate our accomplishments and failures. Some decide to try to make changes with lists of resolutions. And the crafters? We have piles of unfinished projects that we look around at and realize it's been another YEAR and we still haven't gotten them out of the UFO pile. STILL!

Well, that list seems to be ever evolving but some of my projects have been on it for multiple years. Don't worry, I won't list them for you. Or even show them to you. That would take a LOT of photos.

So I'll start this year's blogging by sharing one project that I've been working on for the better part of a year already that hopefully will see a completion in the next few months. 

Hopefully. 

At this point in life you'd think I'd know better than to be hopeful about quilting projects getting finished. 

But I thought it deserved a share at the completion of over 200 blocks. 201 to be exact. Just need 41 more and I'll have enough for a king size quilt. It's all scrappy and happy and is the "rainbow rows" from the #apqquiltalong2015 pattern. So close to finishing. 

So close. So far. Still a lot of work before this one is ON MY BED! Can you imagine? I've never made myself a bed quilt. My kids all have quilts. But a king still seemed like a lot of work and time and commitment. Good thing I picked a super quick project. HA! not. 

Wish me luck finding some time to finish this one! 
I love it even from this picture. :) 

Texas Hill Country Quilt

One jelly roll of Cotton and Steel Basics, a bit of yardage, some time, a lot of deliberation, and a "few" stitches later...

You get a quilt that belongs in the Texas Hill Country! 

This one is being gifted to a wonderful family we have been friends with for a long time. And they just bought a "ranchette" a few minutes west of Austin. We just spent the weekend out there with them and seriously, "Ahhh, beautiful." is all that I can say.

The shadows highlighting the quilting from the back.  

Rattlesnake print backing. Appropriate, no? Stitches, and more stitches.

I opted for a medallion like quilt again on this one. 

One more picture.

Daydream

The only goal for most people in doing anything is to find more time to spend doing things that make them happy. Quilters neeeeeeed more time to quilt. There will never be enough hours in the day or years in a life for most of us fabric addicts. Maybe some people have their addictions under control. 

I do not. 

I like diet coke. 

And fabric. 

And apparently books and gardening and volleyball and piano and kids. 

Oh and science. ANYTHING nerdy and genetics/physics/chemistry related totally gets me going. 

I fully admit it. I'm an addict of MANY things. 

But if I could combine enough of them together and multitask my enjoyment I could create the most productive and efficient enjoyment machine for my life. I could sit in a garden drawing molecular models in my quilt designs sipping diet coke watching volleyball on television (no volume) while the children frolic through the plants nibbling berries and licking popsicles to classical music. It'd be awesome. And then maybe I could find time for the mundane cleaning and laundry type activities that seem to fill up entirely too much of my life at present. Hello sippee cups. And trips to the potty (Potty-training twins is a blast... said no one ever.). And endless dishes full of food that wasn't even touched. (No wonder my parents just took us to McDonald's.)

But constantly trying to whittle a little time from each of the necessary activities of life to make a little time for a hobby has kind of turned into a game. For instance, if I can get these dishes done while making dinner, flipping a load of laundry, and helping a kid get their homework done, I can free up at least 30-60 min that night for something else. If I do them sequentially I won't even finish today. One day when the kids are all grown I will probably find myself multitasking my hobbies. And then I'll miss the sippee cups and everything else. :)

So I'm sure a few loads of laundry and dishes have had to sit a few extra hours so that I would even have quilts to share on my blog. 

How do you find time for quilting? 

This little baby quilt is in Kate Spain's Daydream fabric line for Moda. 

I quilted a different texture pattern in each of the continuous negative space sections. Quilting multiple designs in a single quilt is so much more entertaining. I highly recommend you try it. You could get a new addiction! 

It could really use a name. I was thinking something along the lines of "party streamers." Any thoughts?

It measures 32" x 36" and is in the shop. 

Pink Lemonade

My newest creation in Pink Lemonade by Tonga Treats.

My little who wanted to help... so I let her be Icarus. It looks like she's already too close and her wings are just starting to burn. 

And really, these batiks are BRILLIANT. 

I see lots of things when I look at these colors. 

Fire, sunsets, but mostly... 

Starburst candies? Seriously, reminds me of the Starbursts color combination. So much so that I had to go eat some. Thank goodness Halloween just happened and I had plenty of selection to rifle through for just the right thing. 

It ended up about 64" x 64" and it's in the shop. 

Hello Fall

HELLO fall! 

Even in Houston we've been enjoying some cooler (not exactly cool) temperatures and subsequently the great outdoors. 

But I have squeezed in a little stitching time. 

As everyone should.

Seriously lovely fabrics that NEED to be decorating someone's house this fall... 

Super skinny strip coasters.

Random echo straight line quilting.

A few gorgeous gourds. 

Autumnal awesomeness. 

Actually my house has been decorated for fall/halloween/thanksgiving for weeks. 

Might have jumped the gun a little on that one.

And my first rag wreath!

These could be a very addictive thing.

Like possibly more addictive than Candy Crush...

Possibly.

I hope you are enjoying the season too! 

Both are in the shop. 

Courtyard Batik Quilt

Hello and good morning sunshine! 

Have I got a new quilt to share.

Picture me sitting here lightly clapping my hands together really fast with a big cheese on my face. 

There is something about color order that appeals to people (not just me, whew).

And a good strong graphic design. 

And a perfectly sunny day without a cloud in the sky to snap some quilt-y goodness.

See?

Ahh, happy.

  

Pattern available here and here.

All things matching...

As they should be.

So I thought I'd share a little Moda love that made our 4th of July even more memorable. 

Coordinating "scarppy" bottoms in Minick and Simpson's American Banner Rose woven cottons. I've been hoarding this fat quarter bundle long enough. Seriously heavenly and lightweight for the summer months.

The best way to celebrate? Go stitch something patriotic!
Happy 4th everyone!

Happy go lucky

For me, baby showers = excuse to make cute baby things. 

Let be honest here... I don't need more excuses. 

Sew, sew, sew... a little Happy Go Lucky fabric and a few stitches later, voila! 

And for your sewing pleasure try the little dress found HERE and the moccasins found HERE. Also, grab a charm pack, a fat quarter (binding), and a yard of fabric (borders [2.5" x 36" strips] and backing) to make this quilt in a snap! And you can use the time savings to finish the dress and shoes. 

Summersville

This finish was a LONG time coming. 

I remember working on this one about two years ago and getting all the way to completed quilt top and then we moved. 

And it lost its momentum and sat.

Once a quilting project gets put on the back burner it's really hard to pull it back out because the ideas and projects keep piling up on top of it.

This one is a whopping twin sized quilt in almost all red and cream from the Summersville fabric line - there's a hint of black in the binding for contrast. 

In the shop.

Modern Patchwork Christmas Tree Quilt Pattern

Sometimes I get so lucky.

Like today when the babies slept synchronously all day and I actually had time to do something. 

Like this.

Now available here. and here. 

Merry Christmas!! 

You're a grand old flag

My daughter has been singing and humming that song for hours on end these last few weeks... 

It's driving me a little nuts.

On to important things...  

I have a new project to show you in time for you to make one for your 4th of July "table-scape" if you so chose. :) 

Easy peasy and festive stars and stripes from charms or scraps.

Available here and here.