Finish A Long :: First Quarter Linky!

Woah.  Time flies when you're having fun!  Can you believe the first quarter of 2016 has drawn to a close?  You know what that means, right?  Time to show off your finishes!

As you know, the 2016 FAL is a global phenomenon hosted by a community of international bloggers.  If you do not already know these amazing quilters, take some time to pop over to their blogs and say hello!

Debbie - A Quilter's Table - USA

Jess - Elven Garden Quilts - Australia

Stacey - SLO Studio - Canada

Jennie - Clover & Violet - USA

Helen - Archie the Wonder Dog - UK

Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow -UK

Cindy (me!) - Fluffy Sheep Quilting - Ireland

Rhonda - Rhonda's Ramblings - USA

Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

As you know, for each and every finish that you link up you will be eligible to win a prize from one of these fantastic sponsors.  There are some amazing offers here!  Holy.  Moly.

Oakshott Fabrics - £75 (75 Pounds) gift certificate	The Tartankiwi - choice of 3 patterns
The Intrepid Thread - $50 gift certificate	Happy Quilting - choice of 3 patterns
Green Fairy Quilts - $25 gift certificate	Blossom Heart Quilts - copy of DIY Block Design
Mad About Patchwork - $40 gift certificate	Clover & Violet LLC - choice of 3 patterns
Fluffy Sheep Quilting - �25 (25 Euro) gift certificate	Christa Quilts, copy of Machine Quilting With Style
7 Acres Cleared Fabric Shop, $50 gift certificate	Make Modern Magazine - 6 month subscription
Porch Swing Quilts, 2 winners, 3 patterns each	Sunny Day Supply - $30 gift certificate
Sew Sweetness, copy of Windy City Bags	Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, $25 gift certificate
On the Windy Side, pattern pack	Mariners Compass Quilt Shop, $50 gift certificate
Fat Quarter Shop, $50 gift certificate	Laurel Bee Designs, 2 pin bowls for 1 winner
Imagine Gnats, $40 gift certificate	Sew me a Song, $20 gift certificate
Simply Solids, £40 (40 Pound) gift certificate	Knotted Thread, $30 gift certificate
The Quilt Ranch, $25 gift certificate

InLinkz.com

All week long, there will be tutorials posted as part of the FAL celebration. Here is the schedule so you can visit them all.  Look!  Mine is on the 2nd, so check back!

• April 1 - Leanne - She Can Quilt - Improv Herring Bone Table Runner
• April 2 - Cindy - Fluffy Sheep Quilting - Quick & Easy Napkins
• April 3 - Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow - Quilt as You Go Technique
• April 4 - Jennie - Clover & Violet - TBD
• April 5 - Rhonda - Rhonda's Ramblings - Enhancement to Pillowcases
• April 6 - Stacey - SLO Studio - Canada - Fabric Printing

The 2016 Q1 linky is open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs.  We are all sharing the same linky, so you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on each blog.  As a refresher, the link-up "rules" are as folows:

• Add one link for each Q1 finish. If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately. Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws.
• Please use the 2016 FAL button or the hashtag #2016FAL
• Please ensure that the photo or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original Q1 list so that we can verify your entry.
• Please become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others and comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other. The 2016 FAL Facebook page is here and follow us on Instagram @finishlong and tag your photos #2106FAL.
• Our hosts will also link their finishes to share in the community, but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.

This linky party will stay open from now thru April 7 - link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out. The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings. Give us a few days to dig through it all.  We are expecting LOTS of finishes, but we will absolutely let you know when we have it all sorted out. While you wait, start making your Q2 FAL list as you'll find that linky opening right here on April 8.

An InLinkz Link-up

String Stars Baby Quilt

There is a new small person joining my world in the next few months.  (Before you get excited, it's not me expecting!)  I want to make a baby quilt to be ready for their arrival.  Now, I do not know if we are expecting a small boy or girl, so this will have to be a unisex quilt.   In my head, you can never go wrong with scrappy stars - they're unisex, right?  This time around I am going to give string stars a go.

Using the tutorial by Corey on Coriander Quilts, I printed out 72 templates and started stitching.   I had cut a whole pile of 1 inch strings to stitch onto the paper templates, so these came together quite quickly.  It was very meditative and I loved seeing the fabrics I loved finding a space next to one another.  It is like being reunited with old friends.

After an IG poll, I have decided to use Essex Linen Medium Aqua as the background fabric.  The lavender cross hatch did indeed win the popular vote, but when I had a good look at it in real life I did not like it nearly as much as I did the linen.  You have to go with your gut, right? 

This will be the last I show you of this quilt until the baby arrives.  I need to keep a bit of surprise for when it is gifted.  Until then, know I am quietly stitching away, loving every bit of it.  

Fat Quarter Scarves

I wear a lot of scarves.  You see, my wardrobe is mostly block colored basics (tank, cardigan, jeans) so a scarf adds pattern, color variety and texture.  I have tried to make an infinity scarf in the past, but I always feel like it's too tight/choking me/eating my head.  Recently, Anna pointed out the Tea Rose Home tutorial where you can make a patchwork scarf of five fat quarters of quilting cotton.  I had to try it. 

When you look at the Tea Rose Home post, you'll see that her scarf is a bit shorter than one I would normally wear.  I tend to wrap it fully around my neck so the two ends dangle in front.  I decided, then to use six fat quarters to increase the length.  In the first scarf, I combined Mon Ami, Hearty Good Wishes and Reel Time (from the shop), focusing on bringing together mustard yellows and navy blues.  This seems to be a constant go-to color combo in my wardrobe.

I am quite pleased with how it came together.  It's very quick, very easy to stitch together and doesn't look too patchworky when you're wearing it in a twisted ring around your neck.  The length is good for me, so I am glad to have added that extra fat quarter.  

Feeling optimistic, I pulled whites, creams and grey fat quarters from Reel Time, Mon Ami and Modern Background Paper to compliment my ever growing grey cardigan collection.  Again, I was completely pleased with the result!  Love how the fabrics give color variety/values, but do not stand out individually.

Both scarves are a bit thick, bulky and warm as compared to a voile scarf.  In the Galway weather, that is entirely fine with me.  I don't see these as an addition to my summer holiday wardrobe.  (I don't really have one anyway, living in Ireland!)  I imagine that they will become softer with washing.

My only regret with these scarves is that I didn't have the little pom pom edges as described in the Tea Room tutorial.  They are completely fine as they are and I never would have thought of it until I saw that "extra" on her website.  Next time, my friends.  

Retreat Sewing

To the retreat, I brought two projects that were small to me but would be big accomplishments if I could start (and finish!) either one of them.  Both projects have been sitting in little zip lock baggies on my quilting frame, waiting for me to have the time or interest to pick them up and get sewing.  To be honest, I liked them too much to just throw them out or give them away, but not enough to dedicate precious sewing time.  It was a sad state of affairs for these WIPs.  They were the first things into my suitcase...well before my toiletry bag!

First, my Swoon flying geese scraps.  I collected these little triangular cut offs as I made my Swoon quilt and had decided to create a coordinating cushion.  So, to get used to my featherweight I started chain stitching them together.  After trimming them to 2.5 inch HSTs, I stitched this scrappy star together.  It's quite large at 20 inches square, but I do really like it.  I like that it will compliment the Swoon, but isn't a replicate block.  Now to quilt her, make a back and finish her off!  

The second project was a massive bag of selvages that was taking up space in my sewing cabinet.  I have always liked the look of selvage projects, so I started collecting them.  However, I had not worked with selvages before, so I didn't have a great idea of how many I'd need to collect to make a block or two.  Well, my one zip lock bag made these pretty 10 inch square blocks.  I have about 1/2 of a bag left plus I was lucky enough to inherit another bag from my friend Fiona, so I will easily have near enough to make a quilt top, using this and this as my inspiration.  Making these blocks was so easy and immediately rewarding - a nice trip down memory lane revisiting my favorite prints.  Happy days!

Brit Bee Weekender 2016

What took me so long to tell you about our awesome Brit Bee Weekender?  Who knows.  Life gets in the way.  It has been wonderful re-living it all as I write this post :)  Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start: 

I was incredibly lucky to join the Brit Bee weekend hosted Feb 19-21!   Super Susan was kind enough to pick me up from Birmingham airport and bring me to her home on Thursday night.  On Friday morning as she made cake and lasagne (I drank tea) and then pre-cut her projects and packed her stash (I chattered away).  We popped in the car and arrived at our retreat house by early Friday afternoon.  There would be 8 other lovely ladies joining us that evening for a weekend of sewing, chatter, encouragement, a baby shower, a birthday celebration and delicious food.  I was so lucky to be able to join in.  

The house was lovely with one massive living room with dining room and kitchen.  The dining table fit all 10 sewing machines.  They were total work horses...except for my little featherweight.  She stuck out, but sewed like a champ all weekend long.

Joining me were some of my favorite sewing people - Di and Trudi, who make such a wonderful team....

Hadley, Laura and Fiona who were total pros at organizing everyone's quilt top to be balanced with the colors evenly distributed....

and then many other wonderfully funny, smart ladies like Susan, Ceri, Liz, and Ange.   We quickly settled in, threw fabric over every surface and started cutting/sewing.  Thank goodness there was plenty of kitchen counter space for trimming and three or four ironing boards set up through the living space.  We all had plenty of floor room, too, to set out our blocks before piecing tops together.

The total added bonus for me, but not Hadley, was Murphy.  He was a curious, kind, playful one year old pup who was MASSIVE, fluffy and friendly.  When I was missing my own Molly through the weekend, he was happy to have my attention and scratches.

Stay tuned this week and I will tell you about the pretties I made! 

Big Stitch Swap Round 2 - Sign Ups Are Open!

I am incredibly excited to announce that the wonderful Sarah and I are hosting a second round of  The Big Stitch Swap.  We are hoping each and every one of you joins in the fun!  The theme of the swap is to include hand stitching of some variety as a significant contribution to the swapped item.  It can be embroidery, hand quilting, appliqué, cross stitch...what ever you like.

What to make, what to make?  Well, our suggestions would be something along the scale of a doll quilt, tablet cover, messenger bag, zippy pouch, notebook cover, cushion/pillow cover or a tote bag.  You get the idea, something that allows enough space to incorporate a stitched motif, or hand quilting design. But not too big.  The only guideline is that your hand stitching has to be a significant portion and focal point of the item's design.  

The mini I made last round for Leanne - cross stitching and all.

Want to join in?  The swap is open to 50 people including myself and Cindy. It will be hosted on Instagram, so you will need to have a public account there - sadly, we cannot accept quilters with private profiles as we will not be able to see your progress pics etc. If you want to join, hop over and fill out the entry form here.  We will then secretly assign partners.  Know that your partner is not necessarily making an item for you. While you are waiting for your partner assignment,  start thinking about an inspiration mosaic, which you will need to post on Instagram.

The STUNNER of a pouch that I received from the amazing Ali in the first round.

The swap timeline is as follows:

- Signups open today (24nd Febrary) and will close on 1st March or when we reach 50 participants.

- Partner assignments will be distributed by 9th March
- If you haven't already done your inspiration mosaic, you will need to have it posted by 11th March
- Posting dates are from 24th - 28th April, giving you 6 weeks to stalk your partner, make something lovely and parcel it up ready to send off.
- Swap extras are limited to cards/postcards and a small selection of scraps and/or notions (eg. buttons, zippers, beads etc) 

A hoop might work for your partner.

As usual, we ask that everyone actively participate on Instagram by posting inspiration mosaic, commenting on photos and posting WIP pics etc.   If you have any questions before you sign up, please do ask!  Better to ask before you sign up than after...it only makes our lives more difficult to find a substitute if you drop out.We are asking people to indicate what level of sewing skills they have so that we can match people as best as possible to someone of a similar level.

Very few things make me happier....

As always, can we ask you to please only sign up if you can commit to the swap deadlines. There is nothing more disappointing in a swap than your partner going awol and not receiving anything after you putting your heart and soul into making your item for someone else.

We do hope you join us!  This will be so very fun!

Progress!

I think we are finally nearing the end!  I have added onto the medallion the latest border of flying geese with pretty star corner blocks.  I found making that last border quite meditative - pretty fabrics, a perfect pattern to follow and it fit precisely on the existing medallion (thank goodness!).  Paper piecing is so rewarding.   

I think you can also see that I started to add on the skinny scrap border.  I have it attached to three sides, but ran short on the last edge.  Grrrr....   

Here's the question, folks.  There will be one more border added of a singular fabric, like the navy, green or red you see already.  What fabric would you go with?  I was thinking orange, but orange is a strong color in the center on point block.  Yellow?  Suggestions absolutely welcome, folks!  

Coming Soon: Big Stitch Swap Round 2

That's right!  Keep your eyes open.  A second round of the Big Stitch Swap will be starting before the end of the month.  Organized by the wonderful Sarah and I, there will be spaces available for another 48 people to join in.  The idea is that each participant will make something small (think mini quilt, zippy pouch, iPad cover) that involves hand stitching as a significant contribution to the swapped item.  It can be embroidery, hand quilting, cross stitch...what ever floats your boat!  Get your thinking caps on and we'll be back shortly with details on dates and a registration form.  Woo hoo!

Sew Portable Travel Set

Although I had clear plans in mind of what I wanted to do this weekend to prep for a sewing retreat (pull fabric, download patterns, cut a bit...)  it was all thrown out the window Friday afternoon when I found this pattern: Sew Portable Travel Set by Jeni Barker.  Stop. The. Press.  

You know how it is when the perfect pattern finds you at the perfect time?  It is hard to do anything other than sew.  You see, this sewing retreat will be the first adventure for my new Singer Featherweight.  Meet Thimbelina.  She is a special girl who is up there in age, but sews like a mouse's heart.  She needs to travel in style and here was the perfect travel set for her.   I downloaded the pattern, drove home and dove into the shop's stock of Purebred.  I was only waiting for an excuse, really.  

The bag is a sturdy one, with reinforced corners, layers of batting and heavy weight (hidden) canvas and a solid wood bottom to take her weight.  The straps are belting prettied-up with coordinating strips of Purebred.  Quite straight forward, really.  This portion of the pattern was beautifully written with very clear instructions and super photos.  It was a joy to make.

Little Thimbelina fits inside perfectly with a little room to spare.  Jeni B is using her bag alone to carry her machine, but I am hoping that I can still fit the machine in her little case (to protect her in travel) and then inside the bag. The bag will offer a welcome set of handles when I really do not trust the one on the ancient case that came with her.  

Also included in the pattern is a draw string bag that perfectly fits the foot pedal and cords.  It is super.  Until now, mine have lived next to Thimbelina in the base of the case.  I have worried they will scrape the paint, but now they are safe and sound.  If you do buy this pattern, pay attention to the instructions making this bag.  Although Jeni B clearly states how to orient your directional fabrics to ensure the lining is right side up, I (being a picture girl) followed the diagram and now have upside down lining.  It is only me that will see it and I do not mind enough to rip it apart and fix it.  Just wanted to give you a heads up to follow the text and not the figure.

Finally, there are instructions to make a little quilted cover to protect the folding extension table from the metal screw on the front of the machine.   This is a wonderful solution.  I was quite jazzed when I read about it in Jeni's blog post.  

The only problem is that it does not fit my machine!  I guess Jeni's does not have a wedge support on the bottom.  With luck there was a tutorial posted today on IG to create this exact cover with a wedge/triangular side.  I will pop that on my do-do list for the retreat.  I am not sure what I will do with the little pouch I have now, though.  Pop a button hole in there and use it for the manuals?  I would need to install a zip to hold thread and bobbins.   I'll keep thinking.  

All in all it was a super pattern.  I am delighted with what I have made and can not wait to take it all with me next weekend.   I will leave you with a photo of Miss Molly, my photographic assistant.  She has just turned three and is looking all grown up to me....the little cutie.

Time To Stop Faffing....

 ....and get serious about sewing the goose border for my medallion quilt.  I had all of my focus fabric and most of my LV charms cut out last week.  I have my paper piecing templates printed and ready to roll.  I just needed a bit of time to dust off my reversed-piecing-guided-by-sunlight skills.   Time to settle in mentally.

This past weekend I dove in and pieced geese like a maniac.  I had a small bit of help...or distraction...or spot quality inspections.  It's good he's cute.

After a day and a half I had 19 of my templates finished and five remaining.  Now that's real progress - enough to keep me motivated to finish off those last few in no time at all.

I am 100% jazzed about they are coming together.  Paper piecing makes those points extra pointy, which I love.  The color in this photo doesn't do the focus fabric justice - stinkin' winter sun.  They are bright, saturated and shine with the LV background.  De-lighted. 

Although I am not looking forward to pulling the paper out of the back, I can not wait to stitch these together into rows.   Do you think we'll have a finished medallion top next week?  Here's hoping!

Sewin' Scraps

It is so satisfying, isn't it?  Digging though your scrap bin, finding little tiny scraps and chain piecing them together willy nilly.  I love it.  It's quite peaceful.

I have three borders remaining in my medallion quilt.  The flying geese (which are coming along!), followed by a thin 3/4 inch scrappy border and then a wider (2-3 inch) border in block color.  The scrappy border seemed like a quick and easy project to take on in evenings after work last week.

I stitched together anything 1 inch - 3 inches long by 1.5 - 2 inches wide until I had a chain 240+ inches long.  I trimmed the whole thing to 1 1/4 inches wide to finish at 3/4 inches in the quilt.  There are some of my absolute favorite fabrics included in this border by using scraps that would be too small for me to use in any other project.  They make me so happy popping up like little pieces of confetti.

One of three remaining borders finished and ready to assemble.  Check!  Now back to focusing on those geese....

Medallion Corner Blocks

I have found my sewing mojo!  Woo hoo!  It took me a little while there to figure out what I was doing before the Christmas market mania, but now that I have dusted off my old projects and figured out where I left off (and where I need to go) I am back in the saddle.

This past weekend I focused mainly on the medallion quilt.  We had lots of visitors, so there was little time to sew with all of that sheet and towel washing between groups!  But I did find time to do a little foundation paper piecing to create the corner blocks for my flying geese border. 

I used a free downloadable template from Wombat Quilts to create these little stars.  She is my go-to girl for anything paper piecing with such an amazing variety of templates to choose from.  I originally wanted to do a scrappy orange center with navy shading on an LV background, but that would look a little funky with the rest of the medallion that is full on scrappy and in no way color coordinated.  I choose then to go with a warm center and cool shading.  I do not know if that idea carries through, but really I do not care one way or the other.

I have pieced all 16 sections now and just need to stitch them together and rip out the paper.  I find the stitching of sections together WAY more difficult than stitching the fabrics on the template.  It gets awfully bulky, so I need to take my time and be sure seams are aligned, etc.  It’s a job for a quiet night this week when I have some energy and an attention span.  

It is small progress, but progress none the less.  I will take it.