Lucky Stars Finish!

 I finally was able to get outside between rain showers and get some pictures. This was a commissioned quilt I made for my sister. She wants to give it to her friend for her birthday. She sent me a 18 pack of Up Parasol by Heather Bailey fat quarters. There were three solids in the pack and opted to leave them out. I was really stumped with these fabrics as they were not really my taste and there were lots of big prints. I decided to go with an older pattern, Lucky Stars by Terry Atkinson. I hit my LQS and found some more fat quarters that went with them. I also opted to use a slate grey Kona for the star background instead of a white. I think the grey really highlights the stars!

 I just quilted it up with a grey thread on my mom's long arm. It was washed and dried and crinkled up fairly nicely.

 I just did an all over loopy design. My free motion machine quilting skills are not impressive and loops are my go to. I prefer them much more than stippling. 

 Her friend's favorite color is orange and I considered an orange backing, but thought it might be too much. I found this perfect grey print for the backing. It is a wide fabric 108 inches, so no piecing needed and it has a darker grey swirly print, plus it was only $10 a yard and there was enough for binding.

 Little Letters G instructions posted on Sunday, so I dug into my scrap bins and came up with these two blocks.

 Here is my progress so far on all my Little Letters, brights and country colors. 

 I am using a scrappy background for both of mine and some reds and greens in my country version.

I think this bright version is incredible! I hope my scrappy background looks ok. Letter H should post tomorrow and I am so excited to add to my growing collection.

F is for Fall, Football, & Food

F is for fall, football, and food. I got my F blocks done when the Little Letters pattern posted on Wednesday at http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com

Here are all my blocks so far. The bright blocks and the country blocks are so much fun to make and a way to make a dent in my over flowing scrap bins. I look forward to Wednesdays and Sundays for the next letter's directions.

I finally was able to speak with someone at the quilt shop where I have been getting my Journey of a Quilter BOMs from and they posted pictures of the last three month's worth of blocks plus the block that has not even arrived yet. I pieced two already and need to work on this one. Then, I will trace them and add them to my handwork basket to embroider. 

I went to my mom's and used her long arm to quilt this Lucky Stars quilt today. I will put the binding on it in the morning and spend the day hand binding it for Slow Sunday Stitching as I enjoy football. See what everyone else is slow stitching here http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com 

Do you see our garden in the background? We have not had a freeze yet, so we are still picking tomatoes and other goodies. It was 80 degrees today, we don't usually make it this far into fall with our garden. It is supposed to rain between 1 and 3 inches tomorrow and I plan on making some comfort food and baking up something delicious between sewing and doing laundry. It sounds like a perfect way to spend a Sunday in the early fall.

What Is the Name of This Block?

 I got this top completely cut and assembled this week! I used fabrics from my scrap bins and stash fabrics for the sashing and border. I even have a similar fabric to the border for the backing.

I had inherited 4 of these blocks from my sister and made 26 more for this quit. I have yet to find the name of this quilt block...Can anyone help me out?

 I also made my E blocks for the Little Letters quilt along over at http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com

The cutting directions left out the measurements for the middle line of the E, but Debbie figured it out and posted the dimensions in the comments and it went together perfectly.

 As you can see, I am making two Little Letters quilts, one in bright colors and one in country colors.

I want to piece some of these Journey of a Quilter BOMs I started in April, but it is very difficult because the shop in South Jordan, Utah has not posted any pictures for the last three month's blocks. Needless to say, I have gotten behind and I am ticked. I have called twice, e-mailed three times, and posted comments twice on the shop's blog. It is the Material Girls Quilts in South Jordan and their customer service sucks!!!! If I had not already invested $115, I would just quit. Spread the word that they are unreliable and have terrible customer service. I will just have to wing it and piece one of these blocks to work on for Slow Sunday Stitching. Check out what everyone is up to for handwork here http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com

P.S. The quilt that I completed this week was supposed to be a wedding gift, and I was going to have a contest to name it. However, the wedding has been cancelled and this quilt will go into my UFO pile until I need it for something else. Sorry for any confusion!

FNSI September

 I was not sure I was going to be able to sew last night because I took a computer class at work from right after school until 7:30 pm. They provided a pizza dinner so when I got home late from work, I just headed straight into my sewing room. I am making these blocks for a quilt that will be a wedding gift.

I cut all the pieces on Sunday and have been working on the parts all week during the evenings. For Friday Night Sew In, I sewed all the nine patches for the middle of the blocks. 

I need to make 26 blocks.

 All the fabrics are from my scrap bins.

Today I will get all the blocks pieced together

 and hopefully find a good sashing in my stash

 and maybe a border fabric.

Then, I can hit the fabric store and/or the LQS for a cheap backing.

I also got my Little Letters D blocks made on Wednesday night. So far, I have been keeping up as the patterns are posted on Wednesdays and Sundays over at http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com

Here are my country colored blocks

and my bright, modern blocks. Check out what everyone else did for FNSI here http://sugarlanequilts.blogspot.com/2014/09/fnsi-sign-ups.html

Around the World Blog Hop

I have been reading these posts with great interest because it is great to gain insight from the process of others. A thank you to PugMom for inviting me to join. You can check out her post here http://pugmomquilts.blogspot.com/2014/09/around-world-blog-tour.html

I apologize ahead of time for how long and picture heavy this is, but I think the pictures show my quilting style.

My name is Tanya and I have been quilting for nearly 20 years. I started right after we got married when my hubby told me I needed a hobby. I had learned to sew as a child and decided to try quilting. I took a free adult continuing education class with Peggy Martin (she is a published quilt book author and did amazing things with color). I soon took over my hubby's garage as my sewing studio and have been totally obsessed with quilting ever since. There have been times when I toned it down (like when I had a newborn and when I got my masters), pretty much only when  life gets in the way. Quilting is my therapy and crucial to my mental health!

1. What am I working on? 
I always have multiple projects going on...Maybe it is ADD, but the variety helps anything from becoming monotonous!

 This is a sewing machine cover and mat that is a Lori Holt design from her book, Quilty Fun. I want to use it with my Singer Featherweight for a retreat I am going on next month.

 This is an "Angry Birds Square within Square" quilt I am making on commission for  a nine year old boy.

This is the base for a perpetual calendar that is embroidered. I need to quilt it and embroider all the designs for each holiday. It is a free pattern you can find here http://www.crabapplehillstudio.com/other-stuff/downloadables/how-time-flies-bom.html

This is called "Country Homecoming" and has been a quilt along over at  http://kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com I am supposed to have the border appliquéd by mid-September. I am going to use wool felt and hand appliqué it, so I better get a move on!

This is "Lucky Stars" from Terry Atkinson made with Parasol fabrics by Heather Bailey. My sister asked me to make it for one of her friends. I plan on quilting it with my mom's long arm when it gets back from being serviced next week.

I have many more UFOs, but these are my most current projects!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I am kind of all over the place with my quilting. I do not stick with one style...

I have made many country style and primitive quilts over the years. 

 These are companion quilts "My Country Week" and "My Country Seasons" designed by Cheri Saffiote-Payne. Here is a link to her site http://www.quiltsbycheri.com

I appliqué with wool felt and hand quilt with perle cotton, but I do not do much other appliqué- like needle turn or any hand piecing. I have not jumped on the hexagon bandwagon!

I love to embroider with perle cotton. This is "Journey of a Quilter," a BOM, I have been working on since April.  

I have always made bright quilts especially as baby quilts.

 Recently, I am more inclined to make more modern quilts. This is Pretty Posies.

3. Why do I write/create?

I can't imagine not creating! I find making quilts fulfilling for my soul and a way to relax after a long day at work.

4. How does my writing/creating process work? 

I am all over the place with my process. I rarely make a quilt from start to finish. I will start it, stop and do something else, and then come back to it. My biggest problem for finishing quilts is the quilting part...I am still learning to use my mom's long arm machine, but I lack confidence and often avoid it!

My favorite way to quilt is to dig in my scrap bins and stash and make a quilt from nothing.

I organize my scrap bins by color and they are directly under my cutting table for easy access.

 This is my "Bee in my Bonnet Row Along Quilt" featured in Lori Holt's Quilty Fun book. It is not finished because I cannot make a decision regarding borders, but it was made using up some scraps.

This is my "Farmer's Wife" quilt also made from my scraps.

Thank you for learning more about me! I have tagged

Narelle over at http://pinsandwhiskers.blogspot.com

Diann over at http://littlepenguinquilts.blogspot.com

and

Kim over at http://quiltingwithkim.blogspot.com

They will all be posting on Monday, 9/22.

Sunday Smorgasbord

 Letter C of the Little Letters alphabet quilt over at Temecula Quilt Co. posted this morning. Here is the link http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com/2014/09/little-letters-c.html

 Here are my more manly/country colored letters

 and my bright ABC's. I think these will be fabulous baby quilts! I know that Val is making these over at http://myplvl.blogspot.com and we would love to know who else is working on them. Maybe we can start a link up and encourage each other to stick with them...

It is Sunday, so it is time for Slow Sunday Stitching and football. I am working on hand quilting the background for a perpetual calendar with perle cotton.

I decided to use black perle cotton which is a risk for me because my sloppy stitches will show more, but all the numbers for the calendar are outlined with black perle cotton too. I think it will all tie together this way. See what everyone else in the slow stitching world is up to here http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com

 I am going to a wedding in a couple of weeks for one of the teacher's I work with, so I of course need to make a wedding quilt. I have been to her current home, but her fiancé has purchased them a different home that I have not seen. She revealed at her bridal shower last night that she moved the curtains from her current home to the new home. Her current home is country with blues, reds, greens, browns, etc. So, I started digging in my UFOs and found four blocks that I inherited from my sister. I have know idea the block's name, but it measures 10 inches and will go together fairly quickly.

I figure a decent size lap quilt will need a total of 30 blocks set 5 x 6 which means I need to make 26 more blocks. I started digging in my scrap bins and cutting away. If everything is cut, I should be able to make a few blocks every night this week and have a completed top next weekend. 

It truly is a Smorgasbord of quilting going on over here at my house. I will be participating in the Around the World Blog Hop tomorrow, and I have invited quilters from near and far to join me.