W.i.P. Wednesday: Waiting, waiting, waiting...

So all my plans for this week were shot when Audrey took a tumble at cheer practice.  It's a fairly minor injury but required multiple visits to doctors' offices to get things squared away.

The upside was I'd prepped plenty of La Passacaglia cogs, the perfect thing to work on while you're waiting for x-rays...

or hanging out in the school pickup line since crutches and the bus aren't a good match.

All those snippets of time have really add up!  So far I've added all the stars on to my Hushabye cog,

put together another ring of hexagons,

and I've got 4 more centers ready for the hexagon ring.  Time for another round of fabric selection and prep so I'm ready for the next wait:-)

What's your favorite way to fill those inevitable wait times?

Staying sane with this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)

A Walk in the Park

Another one from my Q3 list for the 2015 Finish Along hosted by On the Windy Side.  This one has been a long time coming! I started it on the 2014 BMQG retreat. Then I dragged it back to baste at this year's retreat.  The blocks were made from a Central Park layer cake using this awesome Garden Fence tutorial by Hyacinth Quilt Designs.

For the quilting I used loopy flowers in the centers of each green square.  I didn't do a very good job filling the space but I still love this pattern.  I wanted the yellow bricks to really pop so I filled the printed blocks with free-form feathers.  They're not perfect but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and will definitely use them again.  I must have got a magic spool of Aurifil for this one...  no thread emergencies, in fact I still had half a spool left after I quilted all the feathers.

I was angling for a trip to Central Park for the photo shoot a la Murray the Whale but had to settle for a visit to our local arboretum.  I'm always grateful for beautiful "summer" days like this.  Fall is NOT my season so I hang on to summer as long as I can.

A huge thank you to A Smidgen of Joy and A Quilting Jewel for sharing their stash where I was a bit low!!!  I truly couldn't have done this without you:-)

I don't usually get too fancy piecing my backs but in the interest of using what I have I made a couple extra blocks to stretch the zoo animal yardage I had in my stash.

I was so proud of myself for piecing the label in to the back when I made it.  Obviously I was a bit optimistic about the finish date... better late than never!

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 58" x 80"
Pattern: Garden Fence tutorial by Hyacinth Quilt Designs
Fabrics:  Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda,  FSDS Olive.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt. in Natural White (2021) and Light Leaf Green (1147)

Beatrix Potter Alphabet: Cross This One Off!

It's such a relief to finally cross this one off my list for the 2015 Finish Along hosted by On the Windy Side. 

Fun Facts:

This is actually the second time I've made this quilt.  I made the first version as a baby gift for my boss.  His daughter just left for her sophomore year of college.  The letters come from Sampler Wall Hanging that I split apart to make individual quilt blocks.  I liked it so much I immediately started working on another one for myself.

I started this in 1998.  This is NOT my oldest UFO.  I'd never make this quilt today...  the top has been finished for a really long time but I had zero motivation to quilt it.  I finally decided I had to finish it or get rid of it.  It probably deserves more quilting but in the end I'd really rather it just be done.

The first time this touched a machine was when I added the binding.  Obviously the counted cross-stitch blocks were all done by hand but I also hand pieced the blocks and borders...  another thing I would never do today.

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts and checking this off my list for the 2015 Finish Along with On the Windy Side.

W.i.P. Wednesday: Eat those Frogs!

Despite my slight detour to make a quick anniversary present, I had a fairly productive week.  Or maybe it just feels that way because I got one big check off my to do list.  I don't know why I make such a big deal about basting.  I finished my Out to Sea top a month ago, got the back pieced, ran to the store for batting, quilted another quilt so I'd have enough safety pins and then the excuses began...  it's too hot, I don't have time today, my back already hurts, I'm wearing white pants.  I was holding firm that I couldn't start anything new until it was basted and finally I ran out of excuses.  I timed it and 1 hour and 24 minutes later it was done.  I didn't even have time to watch a whole movie.

With the remaining time I finally sewed the buttons back on my favorite Lilly pants...  my second most dreaded sewing activity.  It's really pathetic how long it takes me to get around to doing any sort of "domestic" sewing!

Not that it's been nothing but drudgery around here...  I sewed the binding on my Beatrix Potter so now I need another movie to watch while tacking it down.

And since tonight brings the return of Hand Sewing Happy Hour at Quilter's Way I'm resurrecting my La Passacaglia prepping these centers.

What's your most dreaded quilting/sewing task?

Keeping motivated with this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)

That Means I Love You

Today is our 16th wedding anniversary and since I didn't have any creative ideas for our wax anniversary I decided to stick to my strengths.  Last year's XOXO table runner was such a hit I decided to  follow up with a quilted "secret message" pillow cover.  This has just enough geek chic to amuse Dave but still looks stylish and modern enough for our living room.  For those of you who aren't up on their code breaking, this says I Love You in Morse code.  

I got the idea from a series of quilts done by Thomas Knauer which translate his wedding values into various forms including Morse code.  It's basically constructed the same way as Follow Me!, just a series of squares and rectangles assembled into rows.  A bit tedious but it went together quickly.

I kept the quilting simple and just outlined the Morse code symbols to make them pop.

I thought this typewriter key print was fun for the back... and it spells out Love which gives a clue to the secret message.

Celebrating with Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 20" x 20"
Fabrics: Essex Linen in Flax.  Dining Car Coral from Mesa by Alexia Abegg for Cotton + Steel.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt. in Stone (2324)

W.i.P. Wednesday: A Fresh Start

September always feels like a fresh start.  I've still found time to fit in some sewing this summer but it's kind of been all over the place.  It feels like a good time to reassess and plan for the rest of the year so here's a round up of what I've got going...

I've actually may pull off a few finish from my Q3 list for the 2015 Finish Along.  Driving to Maine this weekend I quilted the last block on my Beatrix Potter quilt so it just needs a binding.

The binding is on A Walk in the Park.  Even with Labor Day traffic coming home I didn't finish tacking it down but I'm so close.

While I was at it I pulled all my scraps to make a coordinating pillow.  The top is together and ready to be quilted.

And since it's too hot to quilt when I spotted the new collection of low volume Modern BQ Paper at Quilter's Way I went back to work on my Sunkissed Strawberry Fields quilt.  The top is all together so I just need to piece a back and that will be another one for the TBQ pile.  It's getting a bit out of control so I'm thinking October should be all about quilting...

but that may have to take a back seat for this bundle of Cotton + Steel awesomeness.  I need another Halloween quilt like a hole in the head but I'm Spellbound;-)

Getting focused with this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)