2015 Finish along - my finishes!

This was the status of the projects that I picked for the second quarter of the 2015 Finish-Along over at On the Windy side (link number 98, posted on my blog at the following link)!

My goal was actually to finish 3 of them and at least start putting together the forth project (for which I only picked the fabric and the pattern at that time).

I have to proudly report that I finished the 3 project I was planning, and I have about 80% of the forth project done as well!!

These are the finishes I will link in the finishes post:

- 1 -
Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM
Finished project shared on April 25, 2015
(but I am using the current post for the link party as the second project was shared the same day ;) )

- 2 -
Sewing machine cover
Finished project shared on April 25, 2015

- 3 -
SYS 2015 pixel project
Finished project shared on May 30, 2015

- 4 -
D wall hanging
This is not a finished project (it will roll over to the next quarter) but I will share it with you anyway ;)

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Small Quilt - Spring 2015

Dimensions: 30''x48''
(unnamed)

This is my first entry for the Blogger Quilt Festival, Small Quilts!

If you are new around here, WELCOME!

If you have been around for a while, THANKS AND WELCOME BACK! :)

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If you are new around here, let me just point you to my main addiction: designing and sharing for free tons of paper piecing patterns :)

As you can see from one of my old headers arrangement, I design patterns for Disney characters, Peanuts and Snoopy, Downton Abbey, Alice in Wonderland but I have many many more (Maleficent, The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Minions and more)!! Some of them have to be tested, some of there are tested. You can find them just navigating the different tabs or just typing the character name in the search box at the top of the page.

And my other recent endeavor is SYS 2015 (Stretch Your Skills): a monthly series of tutorials to practice in different crafts skills. Until now we had Foundation Paper Piecing, Quilting, Crochet and Pixel Quilt. 

If you want to know more about the series, check out the Series Page. Links to the tutorials are there... and did I mention that you can link projects for monthly prizes? Just saying... ;)

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And now, back on the project for the festival ;)

The whole project started as the "Tea Towel Challenge" (@ sophie junction).
So I got the tea towel and I used it as the center piece. Then I reproduced the motif in the main design as paper piecing border around it.
And then the amazing Jennifer (@sewhooked) started her BOM (Paper Piecing Vintage).
So I decided to merge the two and not following any of their rules I made my own ;)
So I didn't follow Sophie's deadline, nor Jen's layout, but I really love how it turned out!!

Few notes on the finishing touches:

• I was super afraid of quilting it. Because I decided to do something I never do: use all-over designs not connected to the piecing. I was afraid that my bad skills in quilting and in picking desings would have ruined the piecing. But overcoming my fears I did it anyway and I realized that even if I used cream thread, it doesn't stand out against the blue! It just give a different texture! So fear of all-over designs is over!! :)
• I tried a nice and simple motif shared by Susan a few weeks ago. I used a simplified version and tried it with two different scales. I used my walking foot to quilt this and I really like how it's soft and subtle, but interesting. This is definitely something I am going to use again!
  
• Confident about the previous design, I wanted to try a more complex one in free motion. So I picked Deco Leaves by Leah Day. I hated the entire process! The stitching was super hard, frustrating, nothing was working, I kept getting stuck because of bulky seams, the stitches were super inconsistent, I broke one needle, I hated quilting, I hated my life, I hated everything while I was doing that :) ok, once I stop stitching this section, I went back to my normal status of loving my life and sewing ;) but I guess you understand the spirit. Despite the messiness of the process and my opinion on the design (too dense for my taste), it didn't turn out too bad after washing... I can barely see it, so this is just a lesson for me: never ever ever ever again try to FMQ on a pieced  block :) if all the seams are open or on a blank piece of fabric, maybe...
  
• Because I didn't want to repeat the same design that gave me so much trouble, I started doing some tangles borders on my notepad and came up with this simple design which I absolutely love! I stitched it with my walking foot, so a lot of turning, but not too bad since the design is pretty small and I didn't need to turn the whole quilt most of the time. This is another design that I will definitely use again!!
  
• I absolutely love the 2 colors (piped) binding but I struggled joining the sections at the end. Again Susan came to the rescue with a great tutorial! Absolutely perfect joining, if I didn't know where it is I wouldn't even being able to tell (hint: it's in one of the picture, but not in this one)!! ;)
  
• Finally, since this is a wall hanging that I wanted to hang on the wall I tried to put a sleeve on! First sleeve ever and, guess where I find help for that: right, Susan again with a simple hanging sleeve tutorial!

This is one of my few finishes, and I am very happy I could share it with all of you today!!
If you want to check out more wonderful small quilts, check out the blogger's quilt festival!!

If you have any comment, I would love to hear!!!
If you want to suggest a name for it, that would be great ;)

Finishes, new projects (and a link party)

Finishes are rolling in, but the list doesn't get shorter because of new projects ;)

The Ongoing Project List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - dooooooone
   (this is my April project for a Lovely Year of Finishes)
3. SYS2015 future projects - blocks done, ready to be assembled in the object! cannot share
4. D wall hanging -  one little block done!
5. B quilt - no progress
6. Sewing machine cover -  doooooone!
7. Block Swap Adventure - nothing new for April
8. Spangled Stars Quilt-along - planned to join!

The EverythingElse List:

1. Embroidery calendar - no progress
2. Animal blocks for charity quilts - paused for a while
3. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
4. College Days Blog Hop blocks for tote/grocery bag -  no progress
5. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
6. As You Wish -  no progress
7. Happy Halloween wall hanging -  no progress
8. Crazy optical illusion -  no progress
9. Memory quilt 2 - no progress.

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The Voting for the Marsala Quilt Challenge is open over @ onthewindyside! You should go there and check all those entries!! Mine is in the Mini (number 8), just in case you want to give it some love ;)

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The whole project started as the "Tea Towel Challenge" (@ sophie junction).
So I got the tea towel and I used it as the center piece. Then I reproduced the motif in the main design as paper piecing border around it.
And then the amazing Jen started her BOM (Paper Piecing Vintage). So I decided to merge the two and not following any of their rules I made my own ;)
So I didn't follow Sophie's deadline, nor Jen layout, but I really love how it turned out!!

Few notes on the finishing touches:

• I was super afraid of quilting it. Because I decided to do something I never do: use all-over designs not connected to the piecing. I was afraid that my bad skills in quilting and in picking desings would have ruined the piecing. But overcoming my fears I did it anyway and I realized that even if I used cream thread, it doesn't stand out against the blue! It just give a different texture! So fear of all-over designs is over!! :)
• I tried a nice and simple motif shared by Susan a few weeks ago. I used a simplified version and tried it with two different scales. I used my walking foot to quilt this and I really like how it's soft and subtle, but interesting. This is definitely something I am going to use again!
  
• Confident about the previous design, I wanted to try a more complex one in free motion. So I picked Deco Leaves by Leah Day. I hated the entire process! The stitching was super hard, frustrating, nothing was working, I kept getting stuck because of bulky seams, the stitches were super inconsistent, I broke one needle, I hated quilting, I hated my life, I hated everything while I was doing that :) ok, once I stop stitching this section, I went back to my normal status of loving my life and sewing ;) but I guess you understand the spirit. Despite the messiness of the process and my opinion on the design (too dense for my taste), it didn't turn out too bad after washing... I can barely see it, so this is just a lesson for me: never ever ever ever again try to FMQ on a pieced  block :) if all the seams are open or on a blank piece of fabric, maybe...
  
• Because I didn't want to repeat the same design that gave me so much trouble, I started doing some tangles borders on my notepad and came up with this simple design which I absolutely love! I stitched it with my walking foot, so a lot of turning, but not too bad since the design is pretty small and I didn't need to turn the whole quilt most of the time. This is another design that I will definitely use again!!
  
• I absolutely love the 2 colors (piped) binding but I struggled joining the sections at the end. Again Susan came to the rescue with a great tutorial! Absolutely perfect joining, if I didn't know where it is I wouldn't even being able to tell (hint: it's in one of the picture, but not in this one)!! ;)
  
• Finally, since this is a wall hanging that I wanted to hang on the wall I tried to put a sleeve on! First sleeve ever and, guess where I find help for that: right, Susan again with a simple hanging sleeve tutorial!

This is my finish for April for a Lovely Year of Finishes and the FINISH #1 for Q2 of the Finish Along!!

Oh, and because Susan really seams to be perfectly in line with what I need and what I like, she is starting a great Quilt Along! The design is very beautiful, however I think I will need to change the colors, because despite white being a wonderful background for that design, it doesn't seem to be appropriate for a quilt that I may want to drag around for picnics or on the beach ;) but we'll see!

Click the button for more information!!

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And speaking about the Finish along... I also have FINISH #2!! (wow, 2 finishes in one week!!)

(Patterns by Susanne @ Quilt it out, Amy @ Badskirt,  Joanna @ Shape Moth and by HTaBQuilts)

So I had these blocks for quite a while and I made them with the idea of covering my previous sewing machine (which didn't have a hard cover). But now the new sewing machine has a hard cover that I really like, except that is white and plain! So I decided to use those blocks to make a snugly cover for the cover :)
Since this is a little smaller than the original cover, the blocks are not perfectly centered, but I really like the way it turned out anyway! I did some straight line quilting to mimic the lines on a notepad (since the fabric is graph paper with equations and geometric formulae) :)
It was a very quick project, and it has been sitting there for months! Thanks to the incentive of the Finish Along I actually finished it!!

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Finally, I made the second block for the D wall hanging for my dad: second part of the fence!

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What are YOU going to link?

An InLinkz Link-up

A lot done, but I can share just few things (and a link party)

Great progress in several secret projects :) but also in some that I can share!

The Ongoing List:

1. the SK project - 2 blocks done + several put into final book layout (see below)
2. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - top completely assembled (see below)
3. SYS2015 future projects - no progress
4. Embroidery calendar - no progress
5. Color of the Year challenge - quilting marked (cannot share)
   (this will be my March project for a Lovely Year of Finishes)
6. J wall hanging - half done (cannot share)
7. New project - HST pillow - top done (see below)

The EverythingElse List:

1. Animal blocks for charity quilts - printed new patterns
2. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - no progress
3. Reversible sewing machine cover - 4/8 blocks done
4. College Days Blog Hop blocks for tote/grocery bag - 1 block done
5. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
6. As You Wish - 8/16 blocks done
7. Happy Halloween wall hanging - 13/32 blocks done
8. Crazy optical illusion - 1 "row" done
9. D wall hanging - collected some fabric and some ideas
10. B quilt - to be designed
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress.

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Finally the Paper Piecing Vintage / Tea Towel Challenge wall-hanging top is dooooone!
I really like how it looks scrappy but with elements that connects.
I designed the top/bottom border to reproduce a motif in the central panel (the tea towel) and I used the same motif vertical and small around the panel itself, and then big and horizontal to frame the entire project.
The backing and batting are ready... now I have to think about how to quilt it... it's very busy so probably an all-over simple wavy line is the best choice, but I don't know...
Any suggestion is welcome!!

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Some family members saw the quilt that I made for my mom and now they asked for a pillow. They sent me the picture of the pillow they liked and some of their living room to understand what they want exactly... of course is one of my all time non-favorite shapes (half square triangles) and their current decor has colors that I don't have in my stash... but wait... I told myself: breathe :) sometimes I am worrying too much ;)

First: given the fact that I can see both TheDress in white/gold and blue/black (depending on the angle of my laptop screen), there is no way I can precisely tell which colors they have in their current decor ;) I had a rough idea and then I picked from my stash things that I like and may (or may not) match their living room... 

For what I know the black/dark red/cream of their decor could be bright yellow/green and purple in reality ;)

Second: HST are not that bad, if arranged in a "fun" way... to me they are just boring to make :) but I pushed myself to make few at the time and before I knew it I had this done! 

I like it because it's scrappy but coherent. As usual, I used my scraps (no new fabric for this project) and I actually finished all my blacks (except one). Linking up at Oh Scrap!.

And for the back of the pillow I have the perfect fabric, that I won in a giveaway for the Lovely Year of Finishes last month (3 yards from Thimblepie's Quilt Supplies)!

And if that was not enough, I won another giveaway!! A wooooonderful Bionic Gear Bag made by Jen @ Quilter In The Closet. You can see both of them below.

As you can see my sewing helper reeeeeally love the bag and the fabric...

and she is posing so that y'all can see how big that bag is!!

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And finally two new blocks for my SK project are done.

Opening line and cover of "Mr Mercedes"

*This is not the original complete first line because that was too long :) I edited while keeping its spirit (I hope)

new book cover and several blocks in final layout The brown lines marking the pages are for quilting.

You can find the patterns on my The SK Project page.

--

And now what are YOU going to link?

An InLinkz Link-up

Good progress (and a link party)

Another good week with good progress!!

The Ongoing List:

1. the SK project - 1 block done + several designed and ready to go (see below)
2. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - last block done! (see below)
3. SYS2015 future projects - a great finished object (see below)
4. Embroidery calendar - started cutting several scraps for the backs!
5. Color of the Year challenge - top done!
   (this will be my March project for a Lovely Year of Finishes)
6. New project - J wall hanging - gathered fabric

The EverythingElse List:

1. Animal blocks for charity quilts - more blocks done (see below)
2. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - 1 block done (see below)
3. Reversible sewing machine cover - 4/8 blocks done
4. College Days Blog Hop blocks for tote/grocery bag - 1 block done
5. Alice in Wonderland quilt - printed 1 pattern, picked fabric!
6. As You Wish - 8/16 blocks done
7. Happy Halloween wall hanging - 13/32 blocks done
8. Crazy optical illusion - 1 "row" done
9. D wall hanging - collected some fabric and some ideas
10. B quilt - to be designed
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress.

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I shared this fabric box made with Syndrome block earlier this week in this post.
But seriously, how can I not repost this fun sequence of picture I took of my sewing budding using the scraps box as new place to hide?? She is too cute, sorry for reposting!! ;)

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The variation of week 7 of Project of Doom 2015 was to cool to miss! So I had fun making this block with scraps of green for the plant, and fun prints for the book. The block will go to Jennifer for Linus.

Another block, designed by Jennifer, is my last block for my wall hanging Tea towel challenge/PPV!!

Now only two pieced border are missing and then it will be done!!

Pattern by Jennifer @ Sewhooked

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The top for my mini for the Color of the Year challenge is done. Cannot share yet, but this will be my March project for a Lovely Year of Finishes.

Sneak peek.

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Speaking about charity quilts, I am working on collecting animal blocks and while I was struggling finding patterns that I liked, a light bulb turned on in my brain: many Disney/Cartoon characters are animals and FiS is full of those patterns!! DUH :)

In my defense I should say that I consider cartoon characters just people of different sizes and colors ;) so that's why I didn't realize I could use some patterns from FiS for my animal quilts ;)

Anyway... these are the first two I picked: a fish (YES, I know!!! she is not just a fish!!! she is Dory!!) and a sheep (because the year of the sheep just started) :)

Pattern by Lilja

Pattern by Jessica

As usual, I was allowed to use only one main fabric and the rest had to be from my scraps bin... which is why the green background is variegated and pieced :) but it worked out great I think!!

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And finally a new block for my SK project is ready.

Opening line of "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon",

You can find the pattern on my The SK Project page.

--

And now what are YOU going to link?

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret sewing, Test sewing (and a link party)

Again significant progress this week! I am on a roll!! :)

The List:

1. Pumpkin's play mat - general layout planned with the fabric I have left from the Mickey Mouse quilt!
2. the SK project - 1 block done (see below)
3. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - 2 blocks done (see below) 
4. Color of the Year challenge- 16/36 border mini-blocks done (cannot share)
5. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - second block done (see below)
6. Black and White pillow - second half done (see below)
7. Secret projects - 3 big + 2 small blocks done, 1 traced (cannot share the main ones, but the additional ones are shown below!)

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These are the latest blocks for the Tea Towel challenge/PPV BOM. They are the December blocks.
3 more blocks are missing and then border and the wall hanging top will be done! Very excited!!

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As mentioned last week, I have a new sewing machine... so I wanted to test the free motion quilting features that I didn't have in the previous machine (dropping feed dogs, larger quilting table, speed control). Since I don't like to make "useless" practice projects, I decided to join a Free Motion Quilting Challenge @ QuiltShopGal :)
There were many things I wanted to test with this project, so I adapted the project to my needs:

1. I wanted it to be a match with the Yin Yang pattern so I can make a pillow with it!
2. I wanted to use the pattern how variegated red thread looks on black and white fabric (I never used variegated thread before)
3. I wanted to see if I can do some FMQ without tracing. So I traced only the half of the heart on the white part, then mirroring the marked shapes
4. I needed to test the new setup (speed control, new space, etc) so I decided not to care at all if the stitches are not consistent or ugly :) just going with the flow and trying to enjoy the process was my goal.

So this is the result of my test:

I used the design that I saw on Joan's blog for the heart, and the one presented of 2012 challenge on quiltshopgal for the background. I really like the effect of the variegated thread both on the white and on the black. And I also like that the same color thread for the rest of the space: it adds texture without drawing the attention away from the center heart.

My FMQ skills need a lot of work, but I think I like the speed control of this new machine... still don't know how to use it properly but I have the feeling that in the long run it is going to be helpful! :)

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This is the second block from the QAL Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches!

POD 2015, week 2 (in my house colors)

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I started working on a secret project... and since it's secret I cannot share the main part of the project. But I needed some additional blocks to complement the main one, so I made these scrappy blocks. You will see how they are combined with the main block to create a fun finished object ;)
(Linking up at Oh, Scrap!)

(r and s pattern available at Fandom in Stitches)

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And finally another block for my SK project is ready.
Opening line of "The Waste Lands"

You can find the pattern on my The SK Project page.

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And now what are YOU going to link?

An InLinkz Link-up