OMG January: Polaroid Greeting Swap

Met my goal for the month.  Made my 20 Polaroid blocks, and finally mailed them out yesterday.  Since the blocks were so easy to make, I actually made some extra for myself.  I don't have a lot of quilt-shop quality fabrics that work for fussy cutting, but I managed to pull together enough.  Here's a picture of the blocks I made to ship.

 I found some nice notecards to include a handwritten note with each pair of blocks I sent out.

 And found a reason to use these quilty address labels I had received in the mail.

I'm still waiting to receive a few sets of blocks, but it will probably take me some time until I decide what to actually make with all of them.  Now to think up a goal for next month!

http://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2017/01/one-monthly-goal-january-goal-finish.html

OMG January: Polaroid Greeting Swap

This month's goal is a pretty simple one: finish the 20 mini polaroid blocks for the Polaroid Greeting Swap 2.  I have fabrics cut, including the white strips for the frames.  Now I just need to take time to sew them up, write out the cards, and mail them.  I made myself a little frame out of cardboard so I could audition the fabrics and decide where to fussycut when I could.  Here are the fabrics I pulled and cut to make the blocks. (Pretty good winter natural light coming in the window today...)

I've actually received blocks from two ladies already.  Here they are:

This is going to be a fun little project.  I'm planning to make an extra block of each fabric I cut to keep for myself--because they're all just too darn cute!

OMG December: Library Book Quilt (update)

It's almost done!  My goal for December was to finish the lettering, and I just finished piecing it today!  Here's a combo-picture of the first two words completed earlier this month.

Today I made my lovely assistants hold up the completed words (before leaving for Grandma's house).  I also made them hold up the main part of the quilt, because I didn't have a picture of all the sections together.  It was very windy outside, so things are wavy.

Now I just need to measure and cut the border strips, and sew everything together.  Then it's on to basting and figuring out just how to quilt the giant thing.
Here's a close-up of the two sections:

OMG December: Library Book Quilt (again!)

I know I keep using this quilt as a goal, but it's been a year long project that I keep breaking down into smaller parts and returning to again and again.  I really only have one major part left (aside from the actual basting and quilting), and that is finishing the letters.  Now that I have all other sewing projects out of the way, and have organized my strips for the letters a little better, I'm ready to tackle the letters once and for all as my December project.  Hopefully I won't waste time remembering which size strips I have to use for what, now that I've labeled them.  And I updated my notes with what size strips to cut should I run out.  Here's what I have done so far.  Three letters. Out of 23 letters.  But I'm ready to be done!

[Update: I have started working on them already.  And I have the first word done, and three letters into the next!  Which means now only 13 more letters to go.  I messed up and glued fabric to the wrong side of one letter template, so I need to print out another "t" template.  And After trimming another letter, realized I had sewed the wrong side of the fabric up.  But I'm getting there.]

OMG November: Typography Hexie Swap (update)

With all the crazy stuff happening in November, I needed an easy goal.  Thankfully, I met it!  I signed up to do the Typography Hexie Swap--make 4 hexies for 4 different people.  I haven't done a swap in a year or so, so this was a nice, easy one to join in on.  I also made a fifth set of hexies for myself.  The hardest part was deciding which 4 fabrics to choose for the hexies.  I cut into my precious Elementary stash for one of them, and even fussy-cut the recipients initials from it.  Alas, there are no S's on the fabric, so my set has the fancy W below. (Why? Just because I like the fancy letter.)  I was happy when I found these pretty (and inexpensive) green floral, blank-on-the-inside cards at the store to mail my hexies in.

So far, I received three of the sets I should from the swap.  One of the sets came all the way from Australia!

Not sure what I will make with the hexies, yet.  I'll probably get around to cutting a bunch more out of the other text fabrics I have.  There definitely seems to be a gray/teal/green color scheme so far.

Now I've signed up for what I'm hoping is another easy swap--a Polaroid block swap.  Make 2 Polaroid blocks for 10 different people.  That will probably be January's goal.  For now, I think I'm back to focusing on the Library Quilt I've been working on all year.  I'm determined to at least get the top completed in December.  Hopefully, I can squeeze in enough sewing time around all the holiday preparations.

OMG November: Typography Hexie Swap

I haven't done a swap in a long time.  But when I saw the Typography Hexie Swap, I couldn't resist.  I also figured it was a pretty simple one.  Four different text hexies for four different people to be sent out by November 11.  Since I've spent the past year or two collecting text fabrics, that meant I didn't have to go out and buy anything.  And I think I can get 16 hexies made fairly quickly.  Even with all the sewing I'm doing for the middle school musical.

Here are the fabrics I've chosen, including some of my hoarded Elementary from Sweetwater and a little DaySail.  (Excuse the bad lighting--I took the photo late at night.)  The hexie papers are recycled from a project of my daughter's for school that didn't print correctly on the card stock--so I used my fancy hexie punch so at least the paper wasn't wasted.

I've already received my first batch from someone, taped inside a Kandinsky card!  Kandinsky is one of my favorite artists.  And now I feel the need to get some fancy cards for swaps.

Not sure what I'll make with the hexies I get.  I'm also planning to make an extra set for myself. ;-)  Either I'll add some more of my own, wait for another hexie swap, or just have a really mini mini in the end.

OMG October: Alina's Halloween Costume

I never think to take pictures while I'm working on things like costumes.  So I have nothing about the process I went through to make it.  I'm mostly happy with the outcome.
I used a basic costume pattern, but constructed it by piecing the different colors together.  I didn't think about how I was going to do the shoe covers until after I cut things out, so they came out a bit wonky.  I should have widened the bottom part of the legs to fit the shoe covers--I used the bottom part of a boot pattern from another costume, and didn't want to make separate boots because they never stay on.  And the wig/makeup plans didn't work, so she just wore a baseball cap she decorated and added a visor (made from a plastic two-liter bottle).  Here's the only picture I have of the finished costume, because she went to a friend's house to trick-or-treat and I never really got to see her in it.

OMG October: Alina's Halloween Costume

Keeping it realistic for October. I won't really have time for anything but costume sewing. Both for Halloween and the middle school musical. Although I keep hoping she decides she's too old to Trick-or-Treat (so I don't have to make a costume), my daughter says she wants a costume. And it can never be anything simple. Past costumes for my kids have included a glass of milk with an Oreo cookie hat (that was a fail), and a cyberman from Doctor Who (a little more successful). This year my daughter has decided she wants to be Peridot from Steven Universe. I have no idea what that really means because I haven't watched the show. But we have plans to head to Joann Fabrics this weekend and see what we can come up with. This is the picture she texted me to work from:

Simple enough, right? Except that headpiece is suppose to be hair. I have a feeling it's not exactly going to happen that way. At least Joann Fabrics has started carrying cosplay patterns and fabric, so I feel confident I might be able to pull the other part off. It's just going to be finding the time. 

OMG September: Library Quilt (update)

Well September went how I figured it would go. Busy, and sick kids/mom in the middle of it. Which meant very little sewing time. I managed to get three letters done. Better than nothing, I guess.

OMG September: Library Quilt (one more time!)

I already know that from now through Thanksgiving things are going to get pretty crazy around here.  School has started again, so my free time is gone!  Book Fair.  Marching Band.  Middle School Musical.  Cross Country.  Dance lessons.  At least we're not doing Fall Softball this year.  So my sewing time will be limited.  I've been trying to come up with a project for this month, and I keep coming back to my library quilt project.  I completed the "book" blocks, and then summer vacation and activities took over.  I still need to do the lettering and finish assembling the quilt top.  So for September, I'm planning to focus on the letter blocks that will spell out the Library's name.  I would like to get at least one of the three words done.  I might have time for more.  I might not.  So I'm trying to be realistic.  I have all of the letters copied onto vellum and I have the fabric.  I just need to get sewing.

The finished quilt will look something like this, but the letters will be different.  I just mocked those up in EQ7 to get an idea.  I'm actually using the patterns from Quilt Talk.

OMG August: Quilt Top for Quilts for Pulse (update)

I completed the quilt top and sent it on to Quilts for Pulse. Hopefully it wasn't too late to get quilted. Here's the finished top:

It came out pretty much the way that I planned. 

Here's a close-up of a few of the blocks:

I finally got my sewing machine back from repair, so I started putting the leftover/scrap bits together in a large mini quilt for myself. I had to make two more HST blocks to make it 7x6, instead of 8x5 blocks. Still not sure what I'm going to do with it when I'm done. 

OMG August: Quilt Top for Quilts for Pulse

Last week was a crazy busy week.  High School band camp started, and because things I volunteered for started to overlap, I was at school all day, and exhausted when I got home (and I wasn't outside like the poor kids)!  I normally help out with fitting kids in uniforms.  This year the band got new uniforms, which meant a whole new process for getting the kids fitted into uniforms on Thursday and Friday.  But earlier in the week I was helping out with a giant sewing project for the half-time show--two 40-yard by 20-yard banners.  Yes, YARDS!  Which means measuring out 40 yard panels and stitching them together.  After a day and a half of that, my sewing machine gave up!  It just seized up and would sew no more.  So I am without my trusty machine for the next 2.5 weeks while I wait for it to be serviced.
Thankfully I do have an older backup machine.  But it's just not the same.  I'm most stressed because I committed to sewing a quilt top for Quilts for Pulse, and was hoping to have it done by mid-month.  I know I could just mail off the blocks I've made so far, but I'd really like to finish what I've started.  I had 5 blocks done last week, and I sewed 7 more on my old machine today.  And then a slip of the scissors, and I cut into one of the blocks.  Argh!  Had to cut a new piece.  Maybe I'll sew some more tonight.  Maybe it will wait until tomorrow.  But tomorrow also means back to band camp and uniforms and giant banners and ...
My goal for August is to finish this quilt top:

Wish me luck!