Friday, September 28, 2012

Hexies!

 Well I did it.  I made my first hexie.  Now I'm addicted!!!  I took two mini charm packs (Odds & Ends by Julie Comstock) that I had gotten with some fabric orders, some teeny 1.5" hexie papers and got to work.

Yay my first little hexie!!

I followed the basic directions from the Hexa Go-Go book which I can't recommend highly enough!  I'm using these as my "can I make hexies" test run before I tackle the American Flag quilt from the book.  Looks like I need to start collecting my red, blue and aqua fabrics!

Linking up for the first time over at Parade Day at There and Back!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

WIP Wednesday 9-26-12





First of all, I love you guys!! When the idea for The 100 Day Hustle popped into my head I was really nervous about putting it out there.  What if no one joined in?  One of my personal goals is to put myself out there a bit more in the quilty/blog world so I went for it.  I told my husband that if 5 people wanted to play along with me and linked up I would be ecstatic.  You guys, there are 93 wonderful lovely bloggers who are playing along! NINETY THREE!!  That's 88 more than I had hoped for!  I really appreciate all of you who joined in.  It means so much to me and I've loved reading all of your lists and finding loads of new blogs to follow :)  Now I need to start planning prizes!!

Now on to the WIP Wednesday portion of the post.  I worked on  two new projects from my Hustle list!

First up, the dreaded  t-shirt quilt.  I'm just going to be honest and say that these are not my favorite thing.  But it's a surprise for my husband's cousin and she's awesome so I'm going for it.  I decided it had to be jazzed up so all the blocks are getting framed in punchy colors and then sashed together with a dark gray print...I love it so far! Never thought I'd say that about this quilt!!  Here's a bit of the progress.

Loving how this is turning out so far!! Nice to see that what I pictured in my mind works out!
Seriously love this tshirt quilt so far :)
 
 Then last night I started on the Sparkling Cider quilt.  I got two blocks done and am very excited about this one too!  I just love hometown :)


So happy this one is going to be staying at our house :)



 I'm hoping to finish the top of the t-shirt quilt tonight and then I have to figure out how to quilt this giant (it's 92x92) - any suggestions?  What are you working on?

Linking up over at Freshly Pieced.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The 100 Day Hustle - Link Up!

 Thank you so much to all who are joining in with me!

Kelsey Sews


Here's a refresher of the details and the schedule.

Did you know today, Saturday the 22nd, the first day of fall, marks that there are only 100 days remaining in 2012?  Yep, only 100!  Where did this year go?!  Let's take those last 100 days and finish the year with a bang!  Let's hustle through our to-do lists and start the new year with a clean slate!
Would you like to join in and work-along?  Please do!  Your list can be long or your list can be short.  You don't have to finish everything - heck your goal can just be to start some projects!  Let's commiserate collaborate together and enjoy the rest of the year.

September 22 - 25 - Join In Link- Up Open
  • Please create a post on your blog about your to-do list!  No project is too big or too small!  I posted mine yesterday as a bit of an example if you're having trouble - but there is no wrong way to do this.  Then come back here and link-up your post!  In order to be eligible for prizes (oh yes there are prizes) you must have a link in the Join in link-up.
October  25 - Feature Post
  • We've made it 1/3 of the way!!  Heidi from Fabric Mutt will be sharing with everyone today!
November 9 - 11 - Half Way Point Link-up Open
  • November 11th marks 50 days down and 50 more to go!  If you want, create a post sharing your progress and link-up here!  All of the half way link-ups will get tossed in a hat and I'll choose two people for prizes! 
November 27Feature Post
  • 2/3 of the way done!  Marit from Sy, Elsk, Lev will be sharing with everyone today!
December 6 - Feature Post
  • Can you believe it - 3/4 of the way done!  Shelley from Courtepointe Amour is going to be sharing with us!
December 28 - 31 - Final Report Link-up Open
  • Write a post and share what you accomplished.  Only finished one thing?  Share it!  Karate chopped that to-do list and finished everything?  Share it!  Then come back and link-up your post here.   
 January 1 or 2 -  Winners Announced!!
  • You don't need to finish your list to win - just participate!  All of the people who post in both the Join-In link-up and the Final Report link-up will be entered to win.  I'll randomly pick the prize winners from those participants and will post them here.
I hope that you'll consider joining me for this adventure!  Grab that button above, add it to your blog and get working on that list! I set up a Flickr group so we can share throughout the 100 days not just at the end, as well as ask for help, share tips and get to know everyone!

Please link up your to-do list below.  Be sure to check out the other links and encourage each other!  I'll leave the link open until Tuesday evening.



Do The Hustle!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Do The Hustle!

I am so excited that so many of you have expressed interest in hustling along with me!  Thank you!  I have a few featured posters lined up but would love to add more - let me know if you're interested.


As promised here is my to-do list.

1. Finish my leaf quilt - I have most of the blocks done so it just needs put together, backing bought, quilted and bound!


2. Start & Finish the t-shirt quilt for my husband's cousin. I am SO behind on this but I do have all of my materials.  This will be my project on Sunday.

3. Start & Finish the quilt I'd like to give to my husband for Christmas.  I'm using a Hometown FQ bundle and making him a Sparkling Cider quilt!  I'm trying to keep this one a secret so I have to work on it the few hours a week he is in class. 

4. Finish my On a Whim quilt.  I'm almost done with all the blocks.  I have all the pieces together now I just need to assemble them into the big blocks and then put them together.

5. Finally quilt and bind my Sew.Happy.Quilt. QAL Quilt



6. Start & Finish a baby quilt for my cousin who is due in January.  I think I want to use this new fabric line, Soaked, from Connecting Threads - go look at it - it's adorable!

7. Finish my Swoon top.  I have 5 blocks done and I would like to knock out the remaining four!  I'm thinking I'll  send this one out to be quilted since we're going to use it as our bed quilt so I'm not sure it will be done by the end of the year but at least the top can get done!


8. Finish my Double Wedding Ring Quilt.  I'm working along with Rebecca and Jennifer on this one and with our little schedule I should get at least the top done by the end of the year.


 9. Make a Christmas Quilt.  This is a low priority but I'd really like to make one!  I'm thinking something out of the Dear Mr. Claus line - it's adorable :) 

10. Make some small homemade gifts for the holidays.  I'm thinking a few pot holders, coaster sets or wine bags etc.  They're just good to have on hand to add to gifts or take as hostess gifts!


Now obviously it would be an amazing miracle if I finished all of this in the next 100 days!  I'm definitely going to have to prioritize - my leaf quilt, the t-shirt quilt and the quilt for my husband must get finished!!

Get thinking about your to-do lists!  I'll open up the linky tomorrow morning and leave it open until Tuesday evening.



Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The 100 Day Hustle

Earlier this week I decided to make a list of all of the projects that I either need to, or want to, finish before the end of they year.  It's long.  Really long.  And that made it a bit intimidating.  I like to make lists as much as the next gal but the best part is crossing things off!  How am I going to get all these things done?!

I kept looking at it and thinking about all of the projects and how I should attack my list.  Then it hit me!  Working through a list is always more fun when you have friends going through the same thing.  Misery loves company!  We need a work-along group...

Welcome to The 100 Day Hustle!

Kelsey Sews


Did you know that this Saturday, the 22nd, the first day of fall, marks that there are only 100 days remaining in 2012?  Yep, only 100!  Where did this year go?!  Let's take those last 100 days and finish the year with a bang!  Let's hustle through our to-do lists and start the new year with a clean slate!

Would you like to join in and work-along?  Please do!  Your list can be long or your list can be short.  You don't have to finish everything - heck your goal can just be to start some projects!  Let's commiserate collaborate together and enjoy the rest of the year.

Here are the details:

September 22 - 25 - Join In Link- Up Open
  • Please create a post on your blog about your to-do list!  No project is too big or too small!  I'll post mine on the 21st as a bit of an example if you're having trouble - but there is no wrong way to do this.  Then come back here and link-up your post!  In order to be eligible for prizes (oh yes there are prizes) you must have a link in the Join in link-up.
November 9 - 11 - Half Way Point Link-up Open
  • November 11th marks 50 days down and 50 more to go!  If you want, create a post sharing your progress and link-up here!  All of the half way link-ups will get tossed in a hat and I'll choose two people for prizes!
December 28 - 31 - Final Report Link-up Open
  • Write a post and share what you accomplished.  Only finished one thing?  Share it!  Karate chopped that to-do list and finished everything?  Share it!  Then come back and link-up your post here.   
 January 1 or 2 -  Winners Announced!!
  • You don't need to finish your list to win - just participate!  All of the people who post in both the Join-In link-up and the Final Report link-up will be entered to win.  I'll randomly pick the prize winners from those participants and will post them here.
I hope that you'll consider joining me for this adventure!  Grab that button above, add it to your blog and get working on that list!  There will also be a Flickr group so we can share throughout the 100 days not just at the end, as well as ask for help, share tips and get to know everyone!
I'd also like to add some blog features to the schedule.  If you have a project that is going to be on your to-do list and you would like to write a post specifically about it in any form and be featured sometime during the 100 days please let me know!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Dots on Dots Hop - Rainbow Dots Block



Hi!  If you're stopping over for the Dots on Dots, welcome!  I'm so happy to be sharing my block with all of you today.




When I decided to join in this hop I knew exactly what fabrics I wanted to use.  I have  had a rainbow polka dot charm pack from Connecting Threads for a while which was perfect for this block.  



I pulled out the primary rainbow colors, Red, Orange Yellow, Green, Blue and Violet, paired them with some crisp Kona White and then turned them into cute little half square triangles.  I pieced them in opposite directions for each row and added some white border to frame the block and finish it out at 12.5".  I think I'm going to turn this into a mini table topper for my nightstand!

A very big Thank You to Corrie from Quilt Taffy and Madame Samm from Sew WE Quilt for putting together this month's great blog hop!  Head over to Quilt Taffy to see the entire hop schedule. 

See who else is posting today below.  Be sure to stop by and see their dotty blocks!



Thursday, September 13, 2012

Friendship Quilts Blog Hop

Welcome!  Diane asked me to join her in the Friendship Quilt Blog Hop and I couldn't refuse.



We are all designing a little project that resembles those fun string friendship bracelets we used to make back in the 80s (or 90s!). 

For my project I combined two tutorials.  The first was Diane's for the friendship bracelet piecing and the second was for a cute medium sized pouch by Noodlehead.  I pulled out a red, aqua and grey fat eighth bundle and got to work.  Here's the pouch I made!!





I'm sending this off to my wonderful friend and cousin Libby!  She is such a smart awesome girl who just started a graduate program at Wake Forest.  Who doesn't need a new pouch for a new school year?! We used to spend a week together every summer and were pen pals too!  I'm so happy to be sharing this with her!

Lastly, since friendship bracelets were so popular in the 80s Diane asked us to share a picture of ourselves from the 80s.  I'm not positive the year but I do believe this is circa summer of '89 or 90'. 




A big thank you to Diane for organizing this fun hop and to everyone else who is sharing!  Be sure to follow along and start getting ready for the link-up later on!

 September
3: Friendship Quilts Kick Off! at from blank pages...,
4: Diane of from blank pages...
5: Whitney of The Peacock Tree
6: January T of Sew Sew Go
7: Melinda of Quirky Granola Girl

10: Courtney of Mon Petit Lyons
11: Jill of Made with Moxie
12: Danielle of Fresh off the Spool
13: Kelsey of Kelsey Sews
14: Kristy of Quiet Play

17: Marika of Live, Laugh, Love... Sew
18: Karen of Sew Well Maid
19: Rachael of imagine gnats
20: Katie of There & Back
21: Lori of Lori H. Designs
- LINKY FOR YOUR PROJECTS OPENS

24: 80's Pictures Link Up Opens @ from blank pages...
25: TBA
26: TBA
27: TBA
28: Link up closes for projects
30: 80's Pictures link up closes

October
1st: at from blank pages... Judges Picks announced, along with a random drawing for the rest of the prizes.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Giant Granny!

A new quilty finish!  My sister-in-law was planning to get married in the spring next year so in the back of my mind I decided I'd make them a quilt as a shower gift.  Fast forward a month or so and they decided to get married this month and I was hosting the shower at my house last weekend!  I still wanted to make them a quilt but I needed to use fabrics from my stash and something that could come together relatively quick.

Ignore the feet and the dead bush!

I pulled out my Hello Pilgrim FQ bundles, tossed in a few other prints and decided to make a granny square quilt.  I used Katy's awesome strip piecing tutorial to make 64 granny blocks, pieced them together without sashing (which was a nightmare) and used the leftovers of the FQs to make a scrappy border.  This put the finished size right around 75" Square.  A quick loopy quilting session and a sunny yellow binding and we were in business.  Except that it took me forever and I  was stitching the binding on at the last minute and pulling it out of the dryer hours before the shower.  Oh and it was pouring rain all morning so this was the best picture I could snap - I promise it's awesome in person!  One day I'll make her bring it over when it's sunny so I can take some more pictures.






Monday, September 10, 2012

Super Sunday!

So remember on Thursday when I posted my list of things to get done - Knocked. It. Out!!
  1. August & September do.Good Stitches blocks   Done!
  2. September Stash Bee blocks   Done!
  3. Finish my Friendship Quilts Blog Hop Project  Done!
  4. Make my Polka Dot Block Done!
It was such a nice day out on Sunday and I wanted to enjoy the sunshine so I set up a little sewing station in the family room, instead of the basement where I usually sew, and got to work!

Here are all the bee blocks:

Stash Bee September Block

Heal @ do.Good Stitches - August Blocks Top Row, September Blocks

I'll be sharing my Friendship Quilt project on Thursday and my Polka Dot block on 9/17 so check back then.

Now as soon as my Connecting Threads order is delivered I can start my Leaf Quilt!!! SO EXCITED!

Did you get anything accomplished this weekend?  Watch any Football?  The Browns and the Bills were a let down :(

PS. Linking up at Manic Monday!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

I Need a New Project...

...Like I need a hole in my head!  So what did I do?  Decided to start (another) new project!!

First let me explain something.  Once I get an idea in my head it isn't humanly possible for me to get it out of there.  Occasionally I may let it fall to wayside - or I come to my senses in some cases - but it's usually there to stay. 

So a few weeks ago on Instagram Lindsey posted pictures of a leaf quilt she made - it.was.awesome!  Once I laid eyes on it I just knew that I had to make one.  I went through the usual rundown - I have too many other projects, what about all the other quilts I have started, I'd need to buy all the fabric for it but it'd be so pretty, I LOVE Fall so I must have a Fall quilt and I really need more Fall decorations.

Tuesday morning rolls around and I just couldn't shake the idea.  I did some quick calculations and then proceeded to buy all the fabric I'd need!  I just couldn't help myself!!! 

Here is what I ordered along with some cream for the background.  I am also planning to add another gold/yellow from my stash.

These three are from The Intrepid Thread.  The first two Lizzy House prints are for blocks and a scrappy binding of the two.

The next four are from Sew Lux.  All four are for blocks.


The last batch is from Connecting Threads.  All are for blocks except for the leaf print which is going to be my border.


I'm going to be using this tutorial for a Maple Leaf Block.



I'm going to do 6 rows of 6 blocks but one of the blocks from each row is going to be solid cream.  Then when I quilt it I'm planning to use orange thread and quilt a leaf onto each blank block - fancy right?!  With that layout plus a three inch finished border I should end up with a nice, snugly 75inch square quilt!

All of this sounds so great right?  There's a catch.  I HAVE to finish the following before I can start - hold me to it!
  1. August & September do.Good Stitches blocks
  2. September Stash Bee blocks
  3. Finish my Friendship Quilts Blog Hop Project
  4. Make my Polka Dot Block
 I'm going to share with Diane's from blank pages link-up - have you started planning any new projects?!

PS - I gave the blog a bit of a face lift and made it a Facebook page










Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Winner & A Newish Project

First things first - congrats to Lyn on winning the 100 follower giveaway!!  I just sent you an email about it :)


Thank you to all who entered!  It really meant a lot to me that so many of you entered and left such nice comments.  Plus, I learned about a bunch of patterns and fabric lines that are new-to-me!

The "newish" project?  A double wedding ring quilt!!  I started it months ago (I may have made a quick mention of it here on the blog), made a bunch of the arcs and then got sidetracked and it's been sitting neglected.  Then I saw that Jennifer and Rebecca are each working on one as well and are going through it together and they were kind enough to let me join them!

Mine is a scrappy version with everything  for the arcs coming from my scrap bins.  So far I have 60 of them pieced - Only 20 more to go!


I have a print from Terrain and a print from Flora for the corner squares and another Flora print for the background. I'm still not sure what I'm going to use for a background.  I was originally thinking a white with light polka dots but now I'm wondering if that will be too busy....

Are you working on any new projects?!

PS - Linking up at Manic Monday!!