Q3 FAL Hopes and Dreams list

Q3 in the FAL is always my hardest to decide on the list. I am going to be at the beach for a good chunk of it (leaving soon I hope) and there is just less time and inclination to sew there. So in many respects, work on the list may be pushed in September, but who knows what one wants to work on then??

I hope you are making your list too, it is time to link it up over at Katy's blog, the Littlest Thistle. You can jump into the FAL now, no need to have been part of it up to now, but you only have till July 14 at midnight, Scotland time to get your Q3 list linked, so time to get to it.

So here is my list for Q3:



1. The No quilt is a project near to my heart, and has sat mostly stalled. I am putting it on the list because I really, really want this quilt finished. I have sent this project out to the beach ahead of me, so maybe it will come together.



2. Mystery quilt - This is the most beautiful quilt top I have made - Sheila's pattern and teaching have a lot to do with that. I have been too scared to quilt it, but now I have the long arm. I have had a fair bit of practice.  I am hoping this will be a September quilting project and finish.



3. Ocean Waves - these are the blocks are from my bee mates in Always Bee Learning. I'm going to cut the fabrics for six more blocks so I can finish off those open "circles" at the top that have been bugging me. If I can get the blocks done this summer, I can quilt the top in September and have it ready for the holiday. You might not see it well but these are lovely winter, holiday fabrics.

4. Modern Quilt Guild Michael Miller Fabric Challenge quilt - clearly it needs a better name. This is due soon, and needs a binding and a wash, so I am hopeful it will for sure be done. A project with an impending deadline will ensure I have at least one finish to report later, right?

5. Quilt this mod 70's style Canvas pillow top and make a back and install the zip. It's going in my suitcase, finished or not. I wanted it for the sofa at the coast, I best get it done.



6. The other mod 70's Canvas pillow: ditto.



7. Patchwork-like knitted scarf: I started this last summer at the coast, so it is fitting that I finish it this summer. I have a dream of wearing it in November with a new fall jacket. Maybe a cool leather jacker? I have about half finished now, so totally possible, another for the suitcase.

8. Two bindings - It seems like a cheat to list these separately as they have always been a pair in progress. The Canvas baby quilt on the left needs to be trimmed and bound, the one on the right needs a binding removal and replacement. Why has this been stalled for a couple of months now, it is a project that takes no time at all? Putting it on the list may get it done.

It's a beautiful day and besides this list, my yard needs my attention and I need new running shoes. Enjoy your Saturday, link up your Q3 lists. 

Best,

Leanne

AYOLF July Goal

A quick stop today to name my July goal for A Year of Lovely Finishes. I am doing well with these monthly goals - it helps to pick things that have deadlines in the month. My goal is to finish this improv diamond quilt and get it linked up for the Modern Quilt Guild Michael Miller fabric challenge in time.



Since my last post about this project, I puzzled it together, Y seams and all. It is good to remember that even improv has its technically challenging parts. I added a 3" border to the sides of the top last night and spent some time trying to find a suitable backing fabric. I am finding that this quilt feels very halloween-y to me, with the black, orange and grey even though it has no halloween parts really. So I have settled on a backing that will complement that and maybe I will end up with a lap quilt to bring out in the fall.

You can join in with AYOLF each month, its not too late yet - link your goal by July 7.

Don't forget to get your FAL Q2 links up, you have until the end of July 6 in Scotland (dinner time on July 6 at my house.) There are already 341 finishes linked up, Katy is a fantastic motivator.

Enjoy your weekend!

Best,

Leanne

Q2 FAL Report

The Q2 FAL link to post your finishes is open over at Katy's blog, The Littlest Thistle and it will be open until July 6, 2014 at midnight in Scotland - which means at my house I have until 5 pm July 6 to post any last minute finishes.  I'll be scrambling to try for one more finish this week, but I'm posting one link for each of the three projects I already finished now in case things get busy. There are wonderful prizes from the sponsors, thank you, and I don't want to miss out.



I finished three of the projects on my Q2 list - which is here. These Canvas Pillows now live on my bed and make me smile every day. I am linking this wrap up post to link these pillows.  You can read more about their finish is here.

By the way, if you want to buy my pattern, Canvas, which includes the instructions not only for quilts, but also for piecing pillows and other smaller projects (and there my tutorial for constructing pillows here) you can shop at any of the stores listed here.



Friends, made from the blocks sent by my friends in the Modern Stitching Bee, was really fun to finish and now to use. The Ta Da post for Friends is here.



And rebel - well this quilt belongs to my dear spouse now. You can read more about rebel here. I so love the edgy urban feeling of this version of my Canvas pattern - this is one of my very favourite quilts ever. I might be collecting more similar fabrics for another quilt, I am not done exploring them yet.

Well, that's it, 3 finishes off my 12 project list. And I have to confess that I have not touched any of the others on the list all quarter. But hey, 3 finished project is not too shabby at all. I'm going to have to give some serious thought to my Q3 list, which will be due next week. Remember, everyone is invited to join in for Q3 of the FAL, if you have not been finishing along with us so far.

If you have not yet checked out the FAL finishes posted so far, head over to Katy's blog, The Littlest Thistle, here. There are a lot of beautiful and inspiring links already up, with more to come as the week progresses. And over this week the FAL tutorial series is also running over at The Littlest Thistle - I am looking forward to seeing those too.

Best,

Leanne

Breathe - just enough to show she's done

There are no quilt holders about tonight, and there were two rainstorms already too, which meant terrible light (and as I write this the third storm is starting. I love the sound of the heavy rain, in part because we don't have rain that often, instead we have snow but rain means clouds). So I am stopping in here with this iPhone photo of Breathe to show she is all done - bound, ends mended, washed and dried. In time to claim her as my June finish for A Year of Lovely Finishes.

But you shall have to wait a day or two for the proper Ta Da post, until I can get the photos this quilt deserves. I am quite smitten with her.

 

 I'm off to link up with Shanna and Melissa before it's too late. Oh and don't forget it is the end of Q2 of the FAL too, I think that you have a week to get your last minute finish in for that too - I don't want to be the only one rushing to finish one more on the list.

Best,

Leanne

More on Canvas, and a little quilting

My friend Cindy, made these wonderful picnic napkins with my Canvas pattern and these colours and prints are so exactly Cindy's style. I can just see her using them when she is off in her camper in the wilds of Ireland. It's time, I think, for me to make some Canvas napkins too.

Cindy showed her napkins off today on her blog as she officially announces that Canvas is available in her shop, Fluffy Sheep Quilting. Thank you Cindy for supporting my pattern, I am starting to feel like a "real" designer. Canvas is the first available pdf pattern in Cindy's shop, I am betting there will be more patterns from others there soon.

Edited:  I am dawdling over my breakfast and just saw this beautiful Canvas mini on Mary's blog, Fairly Merry, so I thought I would share it today too. I love the colours and the quilting, it sort of sums up how summer feels to me.



Over the weekend I spent a lot of time working on quilting but only have little to show off today. I did pull out and pre-wash the Michael Miller fabrics that I received from the Modern Quilt Guild for the Michael Miller fabric challenge. My EMQG is participating in this challenge, and I might just make it to the next meeting so I wanted to have my project to show. Oh, and it is due to be posted at the MQG website a week or so before the end of this month.



I wanted to do something improv again for this fabric challenge. And everywhere I looked on the internet, folks were making diamonds. So improv diamonds it is. These are fast and fun to put together.



This is where I ended up at the end of my sewing time yesterday. I have since rearranged them several times but the overall plan is to arrange them in a sort of diamond shape. I think this may be enough diamonds and now the process of puzzling them together will begin.

I will spare you yet another in progress photo of Breathe but I did spend a few hours hand stitching her binding down. Now all that is left is mending in the thread ends, of which there are a lot more than I had hoped for. If I finish her off later today she will be ready to claim as a finish for A Year of Lovely Finishes, but it will be touch and go - if I do you will see another post saying so tonight before the midnight deadline. Today is one of those days that should be a holiday, as tomorrow is Canada Day which is a day off, but I have to pop into the office and then I have lunch planned with Marianne from The Quilting Edge.

The other thing I did this weekend was finish a pattern for submission to Fat Quarterly for its next issue. I battled Adobe Illustrator and wrote and re-wrote the pattern to meet the clear guidelines provided, but the writing and illustrating took several hours of what would have been sewing time. I truly need to invest my time in a proper Illustrator course - as I read somewhere this weekend as I was searching for specific tutorials on what I was trying to do, one should not expect to be proficient with a full vector graphic design program by just poking around in it (which is my usual MO for learning computer stuff). Anyway, my pattern has been submitted, cross your fingers that they like it.

Off to get ready for work now. Luckily, it will be time for lunch before I know it.

Best,

Leanne