Technicolor Galaxy progress - WIP Wednesday

This weekend I made some serious progress on block one of the Technicolor Galaxy quilt.

I made enough bias tape to place on block one.



I secured it, and started quilting!



Started quilting?  Yep!  This skill builder pattern is a Quilt-as-you-Go; my first quilt done this way!  I think it will be exciting to know that with each group of blocks completed, they are done.  I am still a little uncertain how they will all be joined together at the end, but will cross that bridge when I get to it.



That lime green section gave me the hardest time trying to decide what to quilt.  I knew I wanted to carry over the swirls and beads from the other sections, but what to put on the rest of the piece??  I drew out several plans, even stitched one completely, but hated it.  I spent a huge chuck of time unpicking my dense quilting!  I eventually ended up with those arrowhead and diamond shapes, which I hope will tie in nicely with a future block featuring arrowheads.

I have several more sections like the lime green to quilt, and the inner and outer sections too.  I won't be able to be at my machine for several days, so I might not have much progress to report on next week.

But it feels good to say...work continues on my 100 Day Challenge item!

As always, thanks for reading,

Jen

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Final Geese in the Forest blocks - Building Blocks Tuesday

I have finished up all the Geese in the Forest blocks for the Lazy Bums and shipped them off!



These were for Laurie who wanted bright colors with light grey backgrounds.




And these are for May, who had some specific colors she wanted to see and with scrappy solid neutrals for the skies.

I must say that I am intrigued to see all the geese quilts put together, especially these Geese in the Forest quilts.  I think they will be stunning.

I have actually finished and shipped all of the Lazy Bum Flying Geese blocks that I owed.  I will share the rest of the blocks next week.  This means that my first challenge for the 100 Days Challenge has been completed!  However, I think these blocks were the easiest of my challenge items.  Still, it feels good to have one item checked off the list.  Now to get to work on that Technicolor Galaxy quilt.  Whew, it has already been tough and I'm not even done with block one!

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Little news, big news

As this week comes to an end, I thought I would write a short post about some goings on around here.

First, I have pulled out my templates for the Technicolor Galaxy quilt and gotten organized to work on the first block!




It looks like I had only pulled fabrics and cut half of the applique pieces before we moved.  I recall that I was trying to only use stash a year ago, and since I've added a few things to my stash since last January, I made a couple of minor changes.




This is as far as I got on Wednesday.  I spent a HUGE chunk of time on Thursday making the bias tape that will be going on top of these applique pieces.  It really took a long time to follow Alyssa's instructions (or maybe I was doing it wrong).  Since I am doing this QAL a year past due, I found it hard to find some of the tips posted by others in the Facebook group regarding the making of the tape.  I vaguely remember several people posting alternative methods, etc.  But it was taking too much time to try to scroll through a years worth of posts on the group page.  I only have so much time to sew after all.  I have made bias tape using a different method, but it wasn't as thin as this pattern calls for, so I wanted to follow the directions.  I wish now that I had used the other method.  I also discovered that I made about twice as much tape as it calls for in the block one instructions.  Hopefully, we will be using this tape elsewhere.

So that is the little news - progress on one of my 100 Days Challenge items.  Now for the big news....

I, well really my husband, bought a longarm today!  Thanks Honey!

I cannot tell you how excited I am!  The Road to California quilt show is going on right now about an hour away, and they usually have pretty great deals on some of the machines used in the classes they offer for the week.  With this in mind, I test drove several today and decided to go with a HandiQuilter Avante.   While the machine itself will be ready after classes end on Sunday, it will actually take them over a week to ship me a new frame.  I cannot wait!!!  I am already making a mental list of all the "practice quilts" that I can pull out of my UFO bin and use to learn the ins and outs of the new machine.

Now some of you long time readers might be thinking, "Didn't you say that you weren't interested in a longarm? and were so vehement that you could do everything you wanted on your domestic??".  Yep!  That was me, and is me.  I do still think you can do so much on a domestic machine.  The machine itself is not the hindrance, it is the excuses of user.  My excuses have recently started piling up.

The biggest excuse is that I need more time.  I just want to quilt faster, and I am hoping that a longarm will help me do that.  The last time I quilted a bed size quilt, I did a simple all over design (barely more intricate than a stipple).  It took me about 6 days to do it.  I am the slowest quilter out there, but still!   I have at least 2 more bed size quilts waiting for quilting that I have continued to put aside because I don't have 6 days to string together to get them each done.  I even recently had two quilts sent out to a local longarmer because I just knew I would never get them done.

I am trying not to delude myself into thinking that the longarm will make every quilt faster.  I seriously doubt it would have saved me any days on Deb's NY Beauty Circle of Flying Geese quilt.  With all the small details on that mini and its small size, I was probably better off sitting at my Janome.  However, I want to make more bed-sized quilts in the future.  Mini's are great, but they don't really cover your body to keep you warm.  Which leads me to my second excuse....

I am starting to feel the effects of wrestling those big quilts under my domestic.  I can do it, I can!  But I don't always enjoy it, and usually need a massage and certainly some ibuprofen when I finish a quilt.  I am hoping that having the quilt on the frame will help in the sore shoulders department.  Perhaps it will only lead to other ailments (slouchy back, carpal tunnel, who knows).  I will find out soon enough.

So that is my news for the week.  Please don't expect every news break to be so exciting.

Thanks for reading,



Jen

More Lazy Bum Flying Geese and the no waste method - Building Blocks Tuesday

More Lazy Bum flying geese blocks are finished!  These are for Celine over at Esprit Patch.  She has a lovely blog and frequently links up to Building Blocks Tuesday, so go check out what she has finished up this week.




Celine's instructions for these blocks involved the No Waste Method of making flying geese.  I've tried out this method before.  Who can resist no waste?  Last time I used this method, my geese didn't turn out very accurate.  I assumed at the time that it was because I insisted on pressing my seams open even though the instructions said not to; however, this time I pressed toward the dark, and still had a similar problem.   The "sky" part of my geese are the right length, but the geese side of the rectangle is a tiny bit short.  I was still able to make the blocks and they are within my usual parameters for accuracy, but aren't perfect.  I have far better accuracy when I use the usual rectangle and 2 squares method for making geese.  Sure, there is waste (you get 2 HST's to use later) but at least my geese are the proper size all around.  There is also no trimming in my usual method whereas in the no waste method, you trim up the sky side.  "Trim" is a four letter word, you know.  I suppose it is an inevitable action though.

In other news, it looks like I will not be "bee-less" this year after all!  Even though my We Bee With It group has decided not to renew for the first 6 months of this year, I was made an honorary Canadian in the We Bee Canadian group.  I look forward to seeing what these ladies have me make during the next few months.

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Stormy Blue Geese in the Forest blocks - Building Blocks Tuesday

Ahh, the first official blocks of 2016.  These Geese in the Forest blocks are for Lizzie in my Lazy Bum Flying Geese bee.  Lizzie wanted to create the feeling of "stormy blues" with low volume backgrounds.  I hope she likes what I did here.

These are some of the blocks that I was supposed to finish by October of last year, and are part of my 100 Day Challenge.  I was only supposed to complete 4 of these small 6 inch blocks, but I felt like adding an extra to say "sorry for my tardiness".

You will be seeing more of these Geese in the Forest blocks.  Three of the ladies in the bee chose this particular pattern for their Flying Geese project.  So, you will be seeing them again, but in different colors and soon!  As I mentioned in my 100 Day Challenge post, I really want to get these blocks done FIRST and then I can move on to my next challenge guilt free.

Choosing one goal to do this month fits in nicely with another challenge going on over at Red Letter Quilts.  The OMG, or One Monthly Goal, Challenge was cooked up by Heidi for the new year.  I guess shorter time frames was on everyone's mind!  I missed the cut off for adding my flying geese blocks to her link ups for January, but it is my goal to complete by the end of the month.  If you like the idea of breaking your 3 goals up into monthly challenges, please go visit Heidi and join in on her fun too.  My group was meant to be more of a support group, but having twice the support isn't a bad thing!  There is no reason you can't do both, and she even has prizes!  Just sayin!

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

And don't forget!  The 100 Day Challenge Kick Off post was last Wednesday!  There is still another day to link up, though you will have less than 100 days until the finale, so don't wait!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Deb's NY Beauty Circle of Geese - a Finish Friday

Ladies and Gentlemen.....this mini quilt has been 9 months in the making, which is about how long since I have had a finish Friday!



Deb's NY Beauty Circle of Geese mini is finally finished!  I completed the last few inches of binding up over the weekend.  I am completely ashamed that it took me so long to finish this one up.  Rather than rehash the excuses, I can only ask, and hope that Deb forgives me.



This Beauty is already on its way to her.  Pray that it doesn't get lost on the way!  I'm not sure how long it will take me to make a replacement, LOL.

Thanks for reading today,


Jen




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100 Day Challenge Quilt Edition - Kick Off post!

Welcome to the kick off of the 100 Day Challenge!  I am so excited that you are here!  I hope you have thought long and hard about which 3 things you are going to complete in the next 100 days.

Just stumbled upon this today?  To recap, we are shortening up the timetable for those New Year's Resolutions so we don't conveniently forget about them over the course of the year.  100 days is just long enough to accomplish something BIG and short enough that keeping the momentum/motivation going should be easier.

1) Pick 3 specific Quilty/Craft goals - finish some UFO's?  try something new?  make that baby quilt?  declutter/destash?  easy/hard?  Doesn't matter, just be specific.  Specificity helps so we don't justify changing our goals midyear or rationalizing that we generally completed them when we only tried.
2) Today, leave your 3 goals in a comment below, or write your own blog post with your intentions and link them up to the linky below.  Writing them down and posting them on the interwebs will give you a feeling of accountability to the universe.
3) Cheer each other on!  I've even created a hashtag for those of you on Twitter and Instagram: #100daychallengequilts
4) Get to work - this part is all up to you!  Did I mention that I hope we will all cheer each other on?!?!!!  Support is so nice.
5) Check in linky's will be posted at Day 30, Day 60, and Day 85.  (You can also tell us your progress in the comments section of the post that day if you don't want to link up).
6) Finale will be April 15th (easy to remember as it is tax day in the US), when you will tell us how you did on your goals.
7) Celebrate!!  Perhaps pick 3 more things to do next??

Kick off Link up:



Don't forget, you may also just leave your 3 things in a comment on this post.

My 3 things:

1) Finish Lazy Bums blocks - 15 in total
2) Blog - get back to blogging twice a week
3) Finish (including starting) Technicolor Galaxy


Thanks for reading,

Jen

Just when you thought the holidays were over - Building Blocks Tuesday

Who said Christmas was over?



I made these two blocks for Anita in the We Bee With It Bee.   They are the last blocks for this round of the bee, and it doesn't look like we be doing a Spring round.  I may be bee-less next year!!  The HORROR!

The block is called the Christmas Star, and the instructions were shared on the Blossom Heart Quilts blog for the Bee Hive series.  Here is the second one I made for Anita.



I actually ran out of holiday scraps in the colors she wanted, so this was as close as I could get.  I think it will play nicely with the others that the group made for her.

What blocks have you working on this week?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

And don't forget!  The 100 Day Challenge Kick Off post is coming up tomorrow!  I hope you have all your challenge items picked out!

Thanks for reading,

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

New Year's Intentions and the 100 day challenge

While trying to come up with my New Year's Resolutions or "Intentions" this year, I came to realize something about myself:  I do much better with a shorter deadline.  There is something about having the WHOLE year to get something done that is practically a green light for procrastination.  So instead of year long intentions, this year I am challenging myself to do 3 things in 100 days.  100 days is short enough to hold my attention and long enough to actually accomplish something bigger.   AND....I want to invite you to do the same in the 100 day challenge.

Think about it.  Let me use a non-quilty example from my list last year: train for a 5K.  Yeah, OK.  January starts off great, I am usually really proud of myself at the end of the month and feeling good having done my training runs 3 times a week on schedule.  Somewhere in the middle of February, I falter.  Perhaps, take a week off, followed by only 1 training run a week for the rest of the month.  By the middle of March, I am off the wagon and usually telling myself that I have all year to do this silly 5K and I will resume training when: it's nicer weather, not too hot, not too cold, not birthday season (too much cake to run), the kids are back in school, the kids are out of school.....you get the idea.

If I had set my goal to only be 100 days, by the middle of February, I am almost half way there.  It is too late to go back; my stubbornness kicks in.  With a year long goal, I can usually talk myself out of it at this stage, but if I've made it half way, I am more likely to talk myself into NOT QUITTING!  Ready to put it to the test?

How does the 100 Day Challenge work?

1) Pick 3 specific Quilty/Craft goals - finish something old?  try something new?  declutter/destash?  easy/hard?  Doesn't matter, just be specific.
2) On Wednesday, January 6th, either leave your 3 goals in a comment in that day's Kick Off post, or write your own blog post with your intentions and link them up to the linky posted that day.
3) Get to work
4) Check in linky's will be posted at Day 30, Day 60, and Day 85.  (You can also tell us your progress in the comments section of the post that day if you don't want to link up).
5) Finale will be April 15th (easy to remember as it is tax day in the US), when you will tell us how you did on your goals.

What to you think?  Want to join in?

I am picking three specific things to accomplish in 100 days.  Why so specific?  That's another thing I've learned about myself: if I let myself generalize too much, I often can rationalize that I accomplished something when I have not.  Like the time I wanted to "smile more".  Yeah, well I got it up to a couple times a year which IS more!

My specific goals:

1) Finish my Lazy Bum Flying Geese bee blocks.  This might not seem like a big deal, but I have several (or 14) left and they are mostly paper pieced (easy but time consuming).  Unfortunately for the Lazy Bums, having an 11 month deadline to finish everyone's blocks was just too easy to ignore.  I started off well and finished several blocks in the first month, but then took 10 months off before I even thought about doing another.  It's high time I wrap this obligation up!

2) Get back to blogging!  I mentioned this one in a previous post.  I wish I could say that I was just Instagramming everything, but that isn't really true.  I got majorly burnt out on quilting right before we moved.  Unfortunate timing!  True, the move caused a huge disruption in routine, and my physical sewing space; but, when you are already trying to muster the motivation to get out of a rut AND you have to overcome the chaos of a move, it just doesn't happen.  It was depressing.  I could barely summon the energy to complete the blocks from the two monthly bees I was obligated to.  But, I think I am out of my funk and I'm ready to get back to quilting and communicating with others who share my passion.  So, please look for TWO posts a week from me.  I am continuing Building Blocks Tuesday, and I want to post at least one other time during the week.  It might be a finish (please Lord, please be a finish), or it might be a WIP Wednesday post, or perhaps I will be linking up to Fiona's (at Celtic Thistle Stitches) monthly "New to Me" linky for when I try something new.  Who knows?   But, I will have something to say twice a week for 100 days.

3) Finish Technicolor Galaxy - this goal is HUGE!  I mean, not only is it a complicated quilt, but I haven't really even started it.  This QAL class started last January and finished up recently and I have barely cut the pieces for the first section.   I paid for this class, I like this quilt, I just need to do it!  I don't want to chalk this up as another instance of me wasting money.   This is not a goal I take lightly.  Essentially, I am turning a year long QAL into 3 months.  Time to put on my big girl pants and get to work!



So?  Who's In?  Great!  See you Wednesday!

Jen

2015 in review

I can't wait to share my intentions for the New Year, but before I do, it only seems proper to review the past year first.

Well, we moved!




and started to remodel.





We got a new dog.




I spent the first part of the year doing a bunch of swaps, but I also finished up a few other things.  Here are my finishes for the year:

1. Fancy Fox Mini for Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap, 2. Feather Quilt Finished!, 3. Bionic Gear Bag for Hubby, 4. Tula Pink Mini Quilt Swap item (back), 5. Bionic Gear Bag (giveaway), 6. Tula Pink Mini Quilt Swap item - front, 7. Rainbow Mini Swap item, 8. Butterfly Mini Quilt, 9. 8 Carat Star block, 10. Spring Fling Mini Swap item, 11. Finished tote for Outlander craft swap, 12. Untitled, 13. RW&B New York Beauty Quilt, 14. Cotton and Steel Mini Swap item, 15. Untitled


I also made a LOT of blocks for others:





1. Untitled, 2. Velvet star, 3. 8 Carat Star, 4. Alpine block for Janice, 5. Tic Tac Toe block for Janet, 6. Bee block for Katie, 7. for Anneliese, 8. bee block for Katie 2, 9. We bee with it September, 10. Autumn chain block for Janice, 11. We Bee With it September, 12. Kaleidoscope blocks for Katie, 13. Mineral block for Ella, 14. We Bee With It July for Celeste, 15. Untitled, 16. Bunting Block, 17. We Bee With it July for Celeste, 18. 8 Carat Star, 19. Velvet Star, 20. Untitled, 21. Untitled, 22. Autumn Chain block for Jennifer in Bee Hive Joy, 23. Untitled, 24. Itty Bitty Houses, 25. Untitled, 26. Tic Tac Toe blocks for April, 27. 16 patch with wonky star, 28. 16 patch with wonky star (blue), 29. Wanta Fanta block in jewel tones for Joy, 30. Rainbow Star, 31. Wheel of Fortune Block, 32. Tilted Star block, 33. Itty Bitty Modern Maples, 34. Star Plus block for Erin in the Bee Hive, 35. Remixed Geese for Kathinca, 36. Rachel's block #2

Whew! that is a bunch of blocks, and that mosaic only held 36 pics!

I actually spent a good amount of time thinking I didn't get anything done all year, and I did.  I think I felt that way because there were so many other things I wanted to get done, that didn't.  I also wrapped up 2015 working on a mini quilt that is 9 months overdue, which had me feeling ashamed and defeated.  But, looking at these mosaics, I can see that I did quite a lot actually.  Which makes me think that 2016 will even be a better year if I can avoid the 5 month slump that accompanied moving this year.

So, how did I do with regard to my resolutions that I intended for 2015.  Well.......as usual, it is a mixed bag.

I wanted to: "Sew as much as possible".  Well that was stupid.  I clearly had months where I accomplished that, and at least 5 months when sewing was clearly possible and it did not happen.  

I also wanted to "Participate".  I feel I did a fair amount of that.  Although looking at the list of things I signed up for at the beginning of the year, there are several that I never even got started on: Technicolor Galaxy, Arcadia BOM.  The Sew My Stash and Scrappy Log Cabin QAL had minimal involvement.  So, I didn't participate as much as I planned, yet my participation in swaps nearly burnt me out on quilting all together.   As often as I think I have balance, there is always a tipping point that I clearly ignore.

I also wanted to try sewing a garment in 2015.  THAT never happened.

All in all, 2015 was a good year.  I am very happy in my new house.  Thanks to the dog, I am getting up and exercising.  Even if that means time out of my sewing room, I usually spend time on my hikes thinking of projects or listening to quilt podcasts.  And the exercise is clearly not killing me.

What will 2016 bring?  Stay tuned for my next post and a bit of a challenge too.


As always, thanks for reading!


Jen