Sticks and Stones

Before I left for Costa Rica, I put the finishing touches on my Lowell Quilt Festival Challenge Quilt - Sticks and stones.

This quilt was inspired by Jackie Gering's Craftsy class. I've enjoyed making more improvisational quilts these days, although I'll never shy away from designing my own paper pieced patterns.

I don't know what it is about this quilt, but it was very difficult to photograph. I tried a whole bunch of locations, but so many of the photos turned out blue, even when I used my really nice SLR. It's a reminder that I really need to invest in some editing software. I just always prefer to spend my money on fabric.

This block was made as four different blocks. I started with a bunch of strips of fabrics based on the inspirational color palette.

I quilted this, offsetting a handful of straight lines, horizontal and vertical. Once I had a handful of straight lines, I quilted out from the intersection.

Here you can really see what I did for the quilting. I think it gave the quilt a really cool effect.

Quilt Stats:
Sticks & Stones
20" x 20"
Fabric: STASH!!!
Thread: Aurifil #50 #2610

A Lovely Year of Finishes - August

So lat month I completely forgot all about A Lovely Year of Finishes. I was so crazy with work and life that I never set a goal. This month, I am. This month, I want to finish the dreaded Amy Butler Weekender bag.

The Boston MQG is hosting a Weekender Sew Along, and I've decided to participate. I have had the pattern for a while and really wanted to make it before I jet off to the SewDown in Philly next month.

I've cut out everything except the lining. Pretty soon I'll be ready to assemble. Wish me luck on this one! I have a feeling I might need it.

Hola Friends

I've been silent for a week and a half, and for a very good reason.

I managed to escape work and life for a little bit and take a little trip to Costa Rica with my sister.

I had no access to the internet, which means no access to email or anything else going on in the world. It was weird yet liberating.

It's so hard to pick a few pictures to share with you from my trip, so I'm just going to pick a few at random until I have time to go through the 1000+ pictures I have and really pick my favorites.

No, that sunset picture is not edited in any way. This is directly from my camera. It was absolutely stunning, breathtaking and unbelievably moving.

Okay, now that I'm nice and refreshed, I'm ready to start sewing again. 

WIP Wednesday: LQF Challenge Quilt

Over the past few weeks, I've been slowly working on my challenge quilt for the Lowell Quilt Festival (LQF) coming up in a few weeks.

I started with this bundle based on the color scheme for this year's challenge.

After a lot of debate on what to do, I just cut a whole bunch of strips in different sizes and decided to play.

I came up with something fun (at least I think so) and am in the process of quilting it. I can't wait to share the finished project with everyone soon.

What I've Been Working On

I've been pretty busy lately with work, having just taken on a new role. I have managed to steal a few hours here and there to work on a couple of things. Just not as much time as I would like.

I finished making all nine blocks, now I'm playing with layouts. The version above is what I'm leaning towards, but I'm still not positive. (Please look past the crappy photos, these blocks are HUGE, measuring about 26" square, so they won't all fit up on my design wall. I have been laying them out on my living room floor, making it hard to photograph the full quilt. I'm standing on my couch to take these pictures, and I can't even get the whole quilt in.)

This was the first layout I tried. I wasn't crazy about it because although you get the rainbow gradation, the balance of color value wasn't working for me. I'm all about balance.

I might take these blocks outside this weekend when I have some time to play around with the layout a bit more. Hopefully I'll settle on a layout soon.