Graduation Quilt

The second great accomplishment of the summer!

My brother graduated from high school this past June and I am so happy to finally give him the gift he wanted: a quilt in his school colors.

I started this queen-sized quilt last June. I knew I wanted a scrappy, strip block, but the layout went through many incarnations before I settled on these giant criss-cross blocks. I never get tired of them - this is one of my favorite blocks. And I love them even more when they are HUGE.

These long-suffering gentleman were so patient with the wind, and all my directions to hold this corner higher, etc. Thanks to Mr Awesome (hand at top left!) and our kind neighbor for their quilt holding services! They're going to start to run the other way when they see me coming.

I pieced the backing "blind," putting together any and all scraps I had on hand without looking at the final layout until it was done. Then I folded the backing over the top in a self-binding method.

Mr Awesome acquired this piece of fabric during a trip to the Pacific Islands years ago. (Little did he know he was picking up material for his quilt-obsessed future wife!) It was the perfect thing to complete the backing.

Cool stuff like this happened spontaneously.

My amazing long-arm quilter friend, Kristin, designed and executed the quilting. As with Mumu, I gave her totally free reign, and the final result is as lovely to look at as it is to feel that quilty texture. I love how she chose a Polynesian-inspired pattern.

Top and bottom border

All wrapped up and ready to go off to college...here's hoping it survives :o)

In baby sewing progress...
I've been way more tired lately (as in, take a shower, then lie down to recover from over-exertion), so I'm logging a lot of couch time. This is not always awesome for my sanity, but it's been really good for the little ball on my to-do list. Thank God for hand-sewing. I'm surprised at how quickly it's coming together.

Sorry, no pic. There was about an hour of sun today and I was too tired to find the camera.

I'm striving to be very zen about quieting my inner self so I can channel my limited energy where it is most needed, but some days are much harder than others. I like to be doing things, making plans, crossing items off lists. As my ability to do stuff diminishes, I get more controlling about the tasks I can do. This is why I haven't started the cloth book yet. In my mind, a 6-page book meant to be chewed on has morphed into a visual-tactile encyclopedia for infants. I want it to be PERFECT, to have text pages and picture pages and textural pages, and to be just the right colors, and and and.

A working title: As I Lay Planning, by Your Mother, Crazypants.

Back in real life, the clock is ticking on this pregnancy, so I'm going to finish the book by next week. At 34 weeks, both babies are head down again (yay!) and everything is looking good. The docs tell me they can safely be born at any time (what the what?!) - I'm hoping for at least 4 more weeks though.

Other projects I haven't started yet:
1. Gobbi mobile (this is super quick, no sewing involved)

I've let go of the idea of making another quilt/play mat. Nesting aside, I have to know my limits. I'm a little sad about it, but it is possible to sew once you have kids, right? Right??

Enjoy more stories about progress at Lee's:

Mumu

Get your parade caps ready, everyone! I finished a queen-sized quilt!!

Thanks to Mr Awesome (left) and our wonderful neighbor for holding up the quilt on a very windy day.

I started Mumu in October of last year. This quilt has been a joy from start to finish, really.

It was so windy, as usual. Check out the chair blown over in the background.

Back - thanks again, guys!

It was all smooth sailing until I got to the binding and realized 3 things. I didn't make the backing large enough to fold over on one side; I cut a sizable gash in the exact place the binding edge folds while trimming the batting; I pulled on the voile from the backing to make it fit and ended up shredding the fabric slightly.

What can I tell you. I'm 32 weeks pregnant, 50 pounds heavier (read: hungry), and the WIP list is a mile long. Without the luxury of time, corners are - sometimes literally - being cut. I hate to admit it, but that is the truth. Maybe I am overcoming my perfectionism at last - thanks, babies!

I managed to mend the gash by making a patch. The too-small backing was solved with an add-on piece that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking (and I'm not going to show you, ha!). I think I salvaged the voile with some clever folding and zigzag stitching. In summation: who cares. It's warm, it's quilty, and I love love love it. Oh yeah, and it's DONE!

Now, let's oohh and aaww over the quilting, shall we?

There was no way this monster was fitting into my little Bernina (her knees were quaking at the very idea). Luckily, a friend and quilty angel, Kristin, offered her services on a long-arm. She asked what pattern I wanted, and quilt friends, I was at such a loss. I usually keep it very simple. All-over meander? Echo around each criss-cross?

Sensing the boring-ness of my ideas, Kristin kindly asked if she could have free reign. I gave her the green light, and I am so glad I did. Her work enhances the blocks, compliment the fabrics, and helps fill in the space without overwhelming the pattern. And the texture is divine!

Border on top and bottom

This is one area in which I want to become more adventuresome. I wonder if any quilters plan a top with the quilting already in mind? I usually just choose a pattern after piecing that won't obscure the look of the blocks. Kristin's example is inspiring me to step out of that comfort zone.

Look how the quilting shows off my "perfect" piecing (smug pat on own back).

From the back

You can see here how using the same fabric from different dye lots can look quite different (on the binding vs the quilt top). Both are Kona Snow, but one piece is much brighter.

Mumu finds a home at last!

 

Baby Sewing Progress:
Finished:
1. Receiving blankets! Finally! Our kids only have about 10,000 blankets now.

In Progress:
2. Ball
3. Wall-hanging

Not Started:
4. Books

New Schemes:
5. Gobbi Mobile
6. Montessori fabric balls (2)

I also washed the little play mat. It came out so nice and soft! (My belly somehow found its way into the photo...it has a way of turning up in unexpected places at 32 weeks along.)

But aw, look:

It's hard to see, because my camera has suddenly lost it's ability to focus on details close up (grr...maybe it needs glasses?), but there is damage to one corner. It got stuck on some velcro in the wash and came out all mangled. It may just be the hormones, but I'm heart-broken. My sweet babies are going to come out all perfect and I have to give them something already a little wrecked. :o(

Since we're already a week into August, here's my updated list of quilting goals to meet before September:
1. Quilt Bee
2. Brother Quilt Finished! Post coming soon!
3. Mumu Finished!
4. Scrappy Mumu Pillows Finished!
5. Scrappy Sampler - Not much progress. Some blocks have been siphoned off into other projects. Not sure what to do with this one.
6. Emma's Trip Around the World - No progress.
7. Paisley Sunrise - Progress is sloooow and steady.
8. New Projects - Most definitely. Details here, here, and here.

Thanks for visiting, quilt friends! See more progress at Lee's:

New Year's Resolutions

I know.

It's cliche.

But bear with me here. There are a few things I'm determined to re-solve for the last time in 2012, and my blog-dignity is going to hold me to them. 

1. I will get up at 6am everyday.

Like a typical Gemini, I have a significant struggle with time. I'd rather be in the moment than in the minute. Currently, I wake up about 5am, go back to bed, and engage in a perfectly pointless lolling for another 2-3 hours before eventually rising in a panic of lateness and rushing to work. It does not a lovely morning make. This habit is too pervasive to dislodge with pure willpower (believe me, I've tried). Since my attempts to convince the Rest of the World to share my 10am-2am working hours have miserably failed, I have developed A Plan.

Yesterday (at 11:30am, when I got up), I found this Pavlovian article. It is refreshingly unlike the usual drivel about going to bed earlier, so I'm giving it a try - a real, no-excuses, 30-day commitment. Even on weekends.

In the evening I actually practiced seven reps of waking up to an alarm. My husband supportively smothered his laughter. Then I was up until 2am. I did pop out of bed at 6am to my alarm (victory!), but it was cold, dark, and pointless-- no work today, and nothing much to do. I climbed back in til 9:30. Let's hope for greater success tomorrow.

2. Each day, I will spend at least 15 minutes sewing. 

Good for the blog, good for the soul. 

3. Each day, I will spend 15 minutes stretching.

Sewing can be hard on the body, not to mention all the other craziness we put our physical selves through. I'm going to help undo the tension with some simple stretches.

Time is precious. In 2012, I want to get more out of my time, using it more wisely and naturally. Hopefully these little adjustments will do the trick.

Speaking of which, let's get to the quilting already:

I completed my blocks for the 4x5 Bee. This was my first round, and honestly I found it rather stressful. Everything from choosing a pattern to figuring out measurements to selecting fabrics caused me anxiety. Maybe it was just the crush of the holidays, but I was totally intimidated by this bee.

I don't feel awesome about the blocks. Which sucks, because everyone in my hive is really nice, and I'm sure they are doing super-impeccable work.

If you choose such a simple block, you should do it perfectly, right? None of my blocks finished right at 12.5". Somehow I cut this one too small and had to add a border. Does it look ultra-lame?

(It's tough to see in the photo, but each of those blues is a different shade.)

The others were all a bit too big. I'm not sure if this is kosher, but I'm going to leave the trimming to my hive-mates. Does that make me a jerk?

See what I mean about the stress??

You've been warned...don't get into a Bee with me!












On a happier note, I've finished the blocks for Mumu, yay!

Each block measures 27" square.

I end up making a lot of square quilts.

Somehow.

But I think this one will be large enough that it doesn't matter (about 93" square).

It's been a bit cold and cloudy here - not too much sunlight in the sewing area.

But you get the idea. I can't wait to show you the quilt top soon!

The Cure for Stress

...is clearly to start more projects.

Example of shock

Lately I've been stressing a bit over my WIPs. My friends will be shocked by this confession, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

So I had this awesome idea.






Maybe if I have more works in progress, I won't be compelled to obsess my way into artistic paralysis over each tiny design decision. Because I'll be distracted. Right?

Right???

To the Stash Cave! What am I hoarding it for? Let's cut into the prized pieces!

Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks in voile on Kona Snow

As I'm fondling this supersoft voile, Mr Awesome glances over (unperturbed by the weird quilting behavior) and says, "What are you making with those? A mumu?"


Quilt friends, my next project had a name.

The grand plan for Mumu

Cut, cut, cut...

...sew, sew, sew...  with the help of my 1/4 inch foot (now that I finally figured out what it was)...

 ...and voila! Or should I say, voile!

I love it!

The blocks are huge! Which means I only have to make 9 of them!

Unfortunately, no staging was required for this photo.

Maybe the next WIP should be a new storage system (unlikely).