Updates and One Monthly Goal

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been over 5 months since I posted anything! My only excuse is that I’ve been really busy with my business and the kids. I spent a lot of time in November and December working to get my new website up and running. Check it out Grace Embroidery & Quilts. I’m still selling on etsy, planning on using them both. I don’t think I made any Christmas presents this past year, although I did give my sister my blue and white quilt that was in the quilt show. She saw it and loved it, and since I really didn’t have any plans for it myself, decided to gift it to her.

The picture is from our guild quilt show, and the only picture I got of it finished before I gave it to her. I don’t know why it’s turned wrong, it was the right way when I uploaded it. I’m still getting used to this new way of working in wordpress. I’ll figure it out someday! 🙂

So last month as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed I saw a really cute pattern called All the Hugs and Kisses quilt (#allthehugsandkissesquilt on instagram)  and  there was a giveaway. So I entered like I always do and promptly forgot all about it. About a week later as I’m scrolling I see there’s another post with winners. Lo and behold my instagram name was listed! Katrina had decided to give each of us that entered a free digital copy of the pattern! My plan was to make the quilt for Cassie for her big girl bed that I need to get from my sister’s house. I’m just not ready for her to be needing it! So I showed Cassie the quilt and she wanted to know if it was going to be ready the next day. My little one has no patience! So we pulled some pink fabrics, because that is her favorite color and last night I started cutting them into the pieces needed for EPP. That’s one of the reasons I entered the giveaway, it’s an EPP pattern and these days it’s almost all i have time for. Today we stopped and got background fabric at Joann’s and some heavy card stock at Staples for the EPP papers. They are all printed and I’m going to start working on cutting them out tonight during the Super Bowl.

So, my One Monthly Goal this month is to get all of the 20 X’s done for this quilt. If I can get started on the O’s that’d be great, but I at least want all the X’s completed by month end. Linking up to Elm Street Quilts.

I’m hoping to be around more this year, I’ve picked up my Dear Jane quilt again and will be joining a SAL (sew along) so I hope to have some progress on that quilt this year. And since I’m running the UFO challenge for guild I need to get some of my UFO’s done too!

Dear Jane Status Update

Rows A-C

I have been busy working on Dear Jane EPP blocks, and I’ve officially finished the first 3 rows. I’m trying to spread the colors out and I’m not 100% sure that I’ve accomplished that, but I like how it looks and it’s fun picking out the colors for each row. I am working on Row D now and I’m hoping to get Row E prepped before we leave on vacation at the end of the month. We have a LONG plane ride ahead of us!

Past Due Updates

Cassie 3 years old*sigh* This is not my year. I’ve been sick since the beginning of the year and as soon as I think I’m starting to get better I get worse again. I’m almost at the end of another bout of bronchitis and after a pulmonary function test my doctor told me I have asthma. Most likely it was brought on by all the bronchitis episodes this year! Needless to say, since I’ve been sick the last week or 2 I haven’t worked on too much. PLUS we had a birthday to celebrate this last week. My little princess is now 3 years old and I can’t believe how quickly the last year has passed. My sister and I took her for her first hair cut and then took her 3-year-old pictures. This is one of my favorites, although there aren’t that many bad pictures of her (yeah I know I’m biased)! We had a wonderful party and she gets upset when I start to take the decorations down now that celebrations are over.

I did get some work on done on other projects, I’ve been working on and off on Dear Jane EPP blocks and I have 6 of the Row C blocks finished. I had hoped to be working on Row D by now, but it just wasn’t meant to be this month. I will continue on and it will get done when it gets done. I’m in absolutely no hurry on these blocks and I’m enjoying working on them. Getting tired of working on the curved blocks, they are harder to work on than the straight pieces.

xoxohexieswap block 032417I’ve been doing hexie swaps for the last few months and I’ve finally decided what I am going to do with mine. Each swap will be made into a block, about 60 hexies makes a 12.5″ square block. Once I have enough blocks sewn together I’ll sash them and put them together. All of the swap information will be put on the label so I’ll remember where the hexies came from. I just finished the first block last night, these are from the #xoxohexieswap. There weren’t enough to do the whole block, as we only swapped 30, so I pulled from my Valentine’s bag of squares to get enough to finish it. I have the next block planned and ready to start, but I wanted to work on Dear Jane a little before I started putting the next one together. I’m waiting on more hexies to arrive, but some of the swaps aren’t finished yet – I got mine sent in right away and now I have to wait for everyone else to finish and send theirs in. I’m pretty sure I can make 2 blocks from the typography hexies, at least one with the St. Patrick’s Day hexies and I have a few signature hexie flowers that I think I’ll figure out how to put into a block. PLENTY of work to do around here!

I guess my break time is over, time to go work on pinning the second commission quilt so I can start quilting them in the next day or so.

Dear Jane Update and March OMG

B6
B6

I finished the last block in Row B!! This one too awhile, so many tiny pieces! I spent a lot of time this week working on prepping Row C, picking the colors is fun, I’m trying to spread them out in the rows. Once I finished B6, I finished putting together Row B with the sashing and then I put Rows A and B together. OMG I am loving how it looks! I started piecing the first block of Row C yesterday while I was waiting for Alex’s bus and I would have worked on it more last night, but by the time we got home from Mother/Son night at his school I was exhausted!

Row A-B

Good Night Irene 071015I did a good job on my February OMG, now it’s time to chose March’s goal(s). This is a busy month for us, every weekend is booked – out of town guest next weekend, Cassie’s birthday party the following weekend. I think I’ve decided that my goals this month are to finish the border on my Good Night Irene quilt (started in 2014, centered completed July 2015) and to get Hexagon Diamonds basted. I really want to start quilting it and get it finished this year, it’s been sitting here waiting since July 2014! I have the backing and black batting, I just need to baste! I should be able to do it during the day on guild day, since we have the building all day and there are lots of large tables. I’m pretty sure I can work on Good Night Irene border blocks while I work on the last 2 commission quilts that need to be done in the next month or so (still waiting for a due date). Hexie Diamonds 123115

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts and Crazy Mom Quilts.

OMG and Dear Jane

Circle Table Runner 022617I’m not sure how, but I managed to finish the 2 items I wanted to for my One Monthly Goal!

So last year I made the Circle Table Runner for the kitchen island. I didn’t have time to get it quilted before Alex’s birthday so I just threw it on the island for the party. Of course it got food and icing from the cake on it. Now that it’s finally quilted I can throw it in the wash tomorrow when I do laundry. I decided to try stippling, each block was done before moving on to the next one. It’s not all good looking or perfect, but it’s not straight line quilting! I’ll keep practicing on some of my other quilts that need to get done this year!

Pinwheel Table Topper 0226172008. That’s when the pinwheel topper was pieced and set aside. I have another in red, white and blue that is in our half bathroom on a corner table, I think I found the pattern in a Fons and Porter magazine. It’s simply quilted, but again nothing straight line. lots of curves in the black areas. It’s hard to see in the picture since I used black thread. I have no clue what I’m going to do with it, but I’m sure I’ll find a place for it eventually.

I’m really happy that I not only managed to finish the 2 items that I set as goal for the month, but they both are also on my 2017 UFO Challenge list. I showed the pinwheel quilt at guild in February because I finished it early in the month, the runner will go for show and tell in March. I have a few days (I hope!) to figure out what my March goal(s) will be, little girl has a birthday and we have plans almost every weekend.

B11
B11

I just finished B11 and I only have 1 more block in Row B to finish. I’ve been prepping Row C on and off all day today, hoping I have enough glue in the pen to get it done since my order with refills won’t arrive until the end of the week. I think Row D will be shipping soon, I’m almost caught up! Planning on vegging in front of the tv tonight after the kids go to bed, maybe I can get the hubby to start me another fire and get to working on B6.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts and Slow Stitching Sunday

Latest Dear Jane Update

I’ve gotten 5 more blocks done this week! I have 2 blocks left to finish, I wasn’t feeling well a few days this week so I didn’t finish them, but I did get the next one started last night. I was having problems getting all the pieces to fit on B7, so I had to put the sashing on and then finish putting the last 2 pieces on. For some reason I had problems with B12 as well and just turned that center square so it would fit.

I’m trying to work on my 2nd OMG project for the month, I got one finished pretty quickly early in the month. I had about 7 blocks quilted and realized I didn’t like the design I had chosen and needed to take it all out and do something different. I just started requilting it before I got Alex from the bus and I like the new design I’ve chosen. Hoping to get it finished this weekend, I have a project for my dad I need to work on too!

Slow Stitching Sunday

I plan on doing some machine quilting today, but later tonight while the kids play and after they go to bed I will be relaxing in my chair working on more Dear Jane EPP blocks. Yesterday I finished up all the basting on Row B (except for the missing pieces on B6 that are being mailed) and I managed to finish 2 blocks last night while I caught up on shows with the hubby. I enjoy watching tv with him and being able to work on a project that means something to me. Right now it’s either Dear Jane EPP, hexie insanity or knitting – although I haven’t worked on any knitting in awhile!

I have a table runner to quilt, and I’m thinking of trying to stipple or meander – I did a little of it yesterday when I made a zipper pouch for Alex and I think I can make it look halfway decent. I also have to finish unpinning and rebasting a charity quilt that I started last week. I had it all the way basted and realized that it wasn’t lined up properly, the backing just wasn’t right. I’ll quilt that one with all straight lines because it doesn’t need anything more, it’s just a simple top!

Linking up to Slow Stitching Sunday.


Updates!

Rainbow hexie swap 021717I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was participating in some hexie swaps on Instagram. The other night I finished basting the Rainbow Swap hexies and I’m just waiting for all the information for shipping (swap hasn’t actually closed yet!). I can’t wait to see what’s coming back to me, I actually have some ideas for a project for these hexies, but nothing is firm yet. I really didn’t need another swap, BUT it’s an addiction and I signed up for another one. Fabrics have been pulled and approved, cut up and pinned to the papers and are ready to be basted as time permits. 80 more hexies that will be added to my collection!

Hexie Insanity 021717Since I was already prepping hexies for the swap I decided to get some more ready for basting for Hexie Insanity, which hasn’t been touched in awhile. I pulled all the completed diamonds out and made sure my spreadsheet was correct as to how many of each color I have completed. I need to make 5 of each color to have enough for the project. I love how this is going to look when it’s all sewn together!

I’m moving along on Dear Jane EPP, Row B has been started and 4 blocks are now completed. I’m working on pulling the fabrics and prepping pieces for the rest of the row today, I found some papers missing for B6 and paperpieces.com is going to be sending me replacements. I like working with companies like this, they are SO helpful!!

Cassie fabrics 021717Last week I ordered some neutral Moda Marbles for the Dear Jane quilt backgrounds. I already had some that I’ve been using and wasn’t sure which color it was so I ordered 2 that looked pretty close. Turns out I actually ordered the 2 colors that I have and I’m going to be mixing between the 2 as backgrounds for the blocks. Anyway, Cassie wanted to play with the brand new fabrics that came Wednesday and I didn’t want her messing with them, but I said she could play with my 2.5″ square bin. She loved it! She was sorting colors, picking colors out and showing me what it was in sign language (she’s learning it in day care) and just plain having fun. Hopefully one day she’ll be a quilter like mommy, but it’s totally up to her!

Linking up to Sarah Did it! and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Design Wall Monday – February 13, 2017

A12
A12

So last night I finished the last block in Row A, A12. I was quite happy with how it turned out and it went really fast. So I started right in and worked on adding the sashing and cornerstones and attaching it to the rest of the row. I’m happy to say that Row A is completely done! I need to start taking the papers out and I want to label each piece as I take them out in case I decide to make another one of these in the future! Since I figured I’d finish the row last night I spent a little bit of time yesterday afternoon working on prepping the next 2 blocks of Row B. They both look to be easy blocks, in fact the first one is applique and should go pretty fast. I’ll have to see if I can prep the sashing and cornerstones today so that it’s all ready for the blocks. I like putting them all on as I go, so I don’t have to do it all at the end. Looking at the rest of Row B, I hope I can get them done quickly and get started on Row C so I can catch up before the next row gets here. I think the hardest part is picking out the fabrics for the blocks! I have so many Moda Marbles to use that it’s hard to decide what I want to use for each block. I just started signups for the Fat Quarter Exchange at guild and I have requested Moda Marbles, so maybe I can get some more colors to use! I now have 2 quilts that I’m using these fabrics for, the Dear Jane EPP and my hexagon insanity quilt. I’ve been so busy with Dear Jane that I haven’t worked on hexie insanity in awhile. If I can get caught up then I’ll have time to work on that again.

Row A

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Dear Jane EPP Update

I have more blocks done!! 🙂 I’ve been working hard this last week to get Row A finished and I’m happy to say I have only 1 block left to do. It’s all prepped, I just need to sit down and work on it. I finished up A9 last night and I LOVE how it looks! In fact I’m loving the whole row! Looking forward to moving on to Row B, I’m behind since Row C just got here this week. But that’s ok, I’m just having fun picking out the fabric for each block as I go. I hope to have another update in the next day or so with the entire row put together.

Linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching over at Kathy’s Quilts.