Poppies & Pinwheels

I’m working on a few projects going on around the house, but I finished the binding on this little jewel, Poppies & Pinwheels, and thought I would share.

It might have been sprinkling when I had the chance to run down the street and snap these pictures, but there’s no harm in getting a little wet 😉 .  Ever since I started this quilt I imagined this picture and I just could not wait!

 

And lastly, my favorite picture I took while finishing the binding on a road trip..

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

The Magic Ruler Strikes Again

Hello! Hello! How was your weekend?

We have been working through different blocks a ruler I was shown recently can make. I decided to use a charm pack and make a quilt using these blocks.

 

 

As you can see, this ruler really is magic.  Cindy Casciato is the master mind behind it and you can purchase it here in her shop.

I just love how this block comes together.  The squares always have a great point and making it with a stripe pattern really show it off.

 

To see the other blocks we have been creating, you can visit them here and here.

We almost have an entire quilt pieced.  Tomorrow I will share the last block and then how I put them together.  Check back soon to see a fun quilt using a charm pack and this magic ruler. It is pretty cute if I do say so myself. 🙂

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

 

 

 

Finish Line

We made it to Saturday; the end of our WIP Challenge.

Did you get your WIP finished? If not, we will have other WIP Challenges.  The point of this challenge was to get your wheels turning, to get your unfinished projects in the forefront of your mind, and to spark an interest in finishing them.  Even if you did not get to finish them; hopefully you will be able to pull them out the next time you have a couple “free” days.  (Do those exist anymore?)

 

I promised pictures today and here they are.  Enjoy!

If you like this pattern check back in the next couple weeks for a tutorial.

Tomorrow is a new day for more projects.  I think I will be binding.

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

 

A Race to the Finish Line

We made it to Friday! That means we only have ONE more day in our WIP Challenge.

Time to burn the midnight oil to finish up these WIPs before this challenge ends.

Are you close? Can you see the finish line?

I might be a little bit behind, but I will have this little quilt finished tomorrow.

Get those machines humming and lets cross the finish line together!

 

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

WIP Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Thursday.  There are TWO (and a half) days left in our WIP Challenge.  How are you doing? Is your project starting to look a little more finished? Mine is getting there… slowly. 

There have been many changes made to my pattern as different ideas pop into my mind.  I’m going to need an off button if I ever want to get this little gem finished by Saturday.  But, I can assure you that there will be a FINISHED quilt top soon.  Stay tuned, you won’t want to miss this one.

Now, how about your projects?  I know some of you are working on phenomenal quilts and crafts.  Don’t forget that we are in this together.  If you haven’t jumped in yet, there is still time to do so.  Grab one of those WIPs you are almost finished with and let’s get it complete.

See you at the machine,

•Care 

Pick a WIP, Get it DONE

Here we go, are you ready??

Walk in your closet of endless WIP’s {Work In Progress}, pick one and have it done by Saturday.

4 days.

We can do this! Surely we all have this kind of closet, place, or secret bed filled with projects.  If not, maybe you should let me continue believing thats the truth.

I came across this image last night and had quite the giggle thinking of how big my secret project bed would be.  King size maybe?… California King? This year I am going to try to get my WIP pile to Twin size.  Are you on board??

 

For this challenge, you can grab a WIP you are close to finishing, or one that will create a huge challenge for you. We will support one another, check in each day, and share finished photos.  I have my WIP in mind and will begin working on it just as soon as I click “PUBLISH”.

 

As you’ve been reading I am sure you have a specific project coming to mind.  Do you know where it is? Do you have all the fabric for it? This is exciting!  I know where mine is, but I’m not sure I have all the fabric I will need.  That means I might get to head to my favorite place – the fabric shop.

 

What are you waiting for!? We will cross the finish line together.

 

See you at the machine,

• Care

The J Quilt

Happy Monday!

Since it is Monday, let’s not focus on what needs done but what we have already finished.

Share your favorite finished quilt and a little back story about why you did it, how you came up with the idea (if it was an original design) and anything else.  Struggles and all- let’s keep it real.

Recently I had a friend get engaged.  When I asked what their future living room colors would be and what type of decorations they were going for she said NAVY, CREAM, & MODERN.

Navy, cream, and modern–that is what I had in mind as I started designing their wedding quilt.  I also knew her new last name would start with a “J”.  After spending several weeks looking online, sketching ideas, and crumbling up more than I care to share worth of quilt ideas, I settled on TheJQuilt.  Below is one of the first sketches of this quilt.

I had an idea without a plan. This is typically what happens but I was determined to make this quilt come to life.  At first, I thought I would sew the blue J into each strip.  I had calculated how long each strip needed to be, what portion to be navy (The “J” portion), and how many rows it would take.  The more I looked into this option, the more overwhelming it became.  Trying to plan how I would create the curves into each row and line them all up seemed daunting.  I wanted rows of different thicknesses and as scrappy as I could make it.   With this in mind I kept thinking.

Thankfully, I had just taken an applique class at a local quilt shop.  With the different techniques we had learned in mind, I was leaning towards appliqueing a huge J onto a background of sewn strips.  Was this even possible? Keeping the J straight without causing wrinkles or pulling the fabric in different ways, actually drawing the J out how I wanted and cutting without ruining the fabric, and then pinning and sewing down the J carefully and completely to make sure it was a quilt that could be loved on far into the future—yikes!

 And that my friends is a finished quilt. I hope you enjoyed your Monday. Tomorrow is a new day and another day to sneak in some sewing.

See you at the machine,

•Care

Ready for a PLUS?

A few weeks ago I created this tutorial for a lady wanting to sew her first quilt- a plus quilt for her daughter’s nursery. The room has a built in bed so we had to make the dimensions such that they would fit the bed’s space.

Follow along for a free tutorial on how to create this quilt.

 

The finished dimensions of this quilt will be 65″ x 101″.

The materials needed are:

Plus fabric {BLACK} 2 yards

Background fabric {WHITE} 5 yards

Binding fabric {black}

Backing fabric {blue}

 

 

Now that you have your fabric, let’s get to cutting

Strips are cut, moving on to squaring everything.

 

• Once you cut the 7   12.5” strips, unfold the fabric and cut 3 12.5” squares from each strip.
  You should end up with 21 12.5” squares. Set these aside

• Now take the 5 BLACK 4.5” strips and the 10 WHITE
  4.5” strips and lay them on the table as shown

(White- Black- White)                   

• Sew these together until you have 5 White-Black-White sets.   Press these.

 

• Now cut them every 4.5”. You should get 9 out of each
  set, 45 total. You only need 40 so the rest is extra

 

 

• With the remaining 7 4.5” strips, unfold them and cut every 12.5”.   You should get 21 and will have one extra.

Let’s start putting the blocks together!

 

Once the plus blocks are sewn they should measure 12.5″ x 12.5″, the same as the white blocks you cut earlier.

It is time to put the quilt together now. Alternate a plus block with a solid white, following the picture above.  Once the blocks are put together, you will add a 3 inch white border and you will have a finished quilt top!

 

 

Happy sewing!

•Care

 

Today is a great day to have a WIP day

WIP = Work In Progress

I know we all have them: those stacks and stacks of Work In Progress quilts.  Some quilts you’ve only gathered fabric for, others are cut & ready to sew, and yet others have two blocks left to sew together then it would be DONE! Why, oh why, can we not seem to get all of these amazing quilts finished in a timely manner?  If anyone knows the answer to that please share with me.

For now, I will have WIP days every so often, we will share what project we are working on and try to cheer each other on to the finish line.  I’ll bring the tambourines, you bring the finished quilt pictures- It will be a party.   Maybe one day I’ll even bring the needle and thread to help with binding 😉

Today’s WIP is a new pattern I have started and will be sharing with you shortly.  It involves pinwheels, flowers, panels, and wonderfully, bright colors.  Take a look for yourself.

Now, go dig out your WIP and let’s get to sewing.

•Care