Anyone for a Cuppa?

I stayed in my jammies all day yesterday and alternated between sewing, napping and watching tv... it was a thoroughly relaxing day.  All told, I got more done than I expected to.  I finished the Knight Bus block for the HP quilt, again making two, one for each of the quilts:

I also finished the last of the cutting for the teacup quilt I am making with my mini-group.  Since mine is the only one I actually have background fabric for, I could only actually make one block - my own.  The rest will have to wait til I have their background fabric.  Here is mine:

A little Tula Pink, a little Kaffe, one solid and a 30's kitty in the middle.  I'm happy with it... not my best piecing, I got a little sloppy, but it came out okay.  I have 11 more centers pieced, waiting for that background fabric.  Everyone else is using an off-white Shadowplay, but I am using White Paper Grunge because I have some teapot blocks to use with these and I want the backgrounds to be the same color (white). 

Today, I'll be cutting Dobby for the HP quilt and running errands... maybe a little sewing too, we'll see.  I am running to Costco to pick up my new glasses today, so maybe I'll actually be able to see what I'm doing clearly... it's not such a good thing to go 2 1/2 years between eye exams!

Hagrid and Other Progress

I got a little behind on projects while doing Hogwart's Castle.  That was sort of to be expected... it was a two-week project, and I had to make two of them... The paper piecing patterns weren't accurate (had to resize the printing, and redraw one of them completely in EQ8, and print out my own patterns.  So I got started cutting Hagrid on Thursday.  Easy cutting so I even did a little of the piecing as well.

Hagrid

Friday was a no-sew day, but that was fine... Two friends and I went to on the Central Coast Quilt Run... driving from Ventura County up north to Paso Robles.  Then we trekked back south with stops in Atascadero, Morrow Bay, San Luis Obispo, Orcutt, Buellton, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Ventura.  10 shops in 9 hours... lots of rushing about, but it was worth it... we had fun, won some little prizes, met friends along the way, and generally had a good time... I was so tired when we got home, that I crashed within 1/2 hour of getting home...

Slept late this morning and rushed out to class, where I finished up Hagrid, cut and sewed block 6 of the Out of This World block-of-the-month, and also cut some background pieces for a teacup block I'm making (different quilt - a mini-group exchange)..... Came home and just relaxed most of the rest of the day, just couldn't get any quilting mojo going.  Maybe still recuperating from the quilt run?

Out of this World, block 6

Just noticed, after initially posting this picture, that I made the block wrong.. it doesn't look horrible, so I'm not sure I'm gonna change change it, I might leave it as is... (the interior square-in-a-square should have had the aqua as the middle diamond, with the black as the four triangles around it).  I'll have to think about it.

Grew restless to DO something after dinner, so I crept into the studio and cut enough fabric to make 12 teacup blocks.  That done, I pulled all the fabrics I needed for my next Harry Potter block - the Knight's Bus.  After pulling all the fabric, I decided I was too tired to do any cutting - tired enough to make stupid mistakes, but not too tired to KNOW I might make stupid mistakes, so here I am typing instead.   Tomorrow is another day...

Hogwart's Castle

I spent all Memorial day weekend (4 days) at a gaming convention, playing Pathfinder (a D&D offshoot) all weekend. I had a ball, but came home feeling quilt-deprived.

I spent Tuesday cutting fabric, and finally finished my Hogwarts Castles (for both quilts, one solid, one Grunge) this evening. Glad to put these behind me.

Tomorrow I start cutting Hagrid... though not sure if I'll get to piece him til Saturday (Friday is the Central Coast Quilt Run and I'm going on a road trip with friends). Maybe I'll be caught up by mid-next-week.

Challenges

Wow... I attended my guild meeting last Wednesday... It was the day of the challenge reveal. I won first place!!!  This was my entry:

 I can't believe it, because there were some pretty awesome quilts!!! In fact, they were all wonderful! Anyway, since the theme was 'the beach', the prizes were some beach themed totebags... Since i won first place, I got first pick (each one was different)... love my new tote bag... Of course winning has a downside.. it means I have to run the next challenge in 2 years (we alternate years - one year is the challenge, the next year, we do a round robin, then back to challenge and so on)...

Last Wednesday, I took a little trip to a LQS that just happens to carry every color of Moda Grunge... dangerous!... I didn't go there for Grunge though... I picked up a few pieces of sale fabric and one other piece, and while just perusing the Grunge aisle casually, it occurred to me that the Harry Potter quilt would look awesome in Grunge, with a starry Grunge background. Sigh...  So, I got out my trusty phone (what we do without internet access on the go?!?) and looked up the fabric requirements for the HP quilt... I bought everything I'd need and walked out with 2 huge bags of fabric...

I waited til Saturday to start making the Grunge HP quilt, but since then, I've been making 2 blocks a day.  I'm doing last Saturday's block (#17) in both colorways today, so I'll be all caught up before the new block is released tomorrow.  Here is a pic of the first 12 blocks in Grunge (I didn't have room on the wall for the other four blocks that are done)

It frightens me a little that I can do THIS much sewing (normally I don't... it's not for lack of time (obviously). It's not for lack of projects to work on.... I've got a zillion (okay - about 60) UFOs, not to mention kits not even started yet... and fabric galore to choose from for non-kit projects. Where is my inspiration, my enthusiasm, my initiative??? Usually lost somewhere between TV, computer and napping... I've really gotta work on being a self-starter!!!

 (btw- If you're wondering why there is a gap between the blocks in that picture, that is our door to the backyard, so 1/3 of my design wall is on the left side of it, the other 2/3 is on the right side... We do have other doors to the outside, but they are less convenient (big sliders in the game room, but harder to unlock and use, and we DO try to keep the dogs out of there, so we don't want them using it as their path to the outside) - so I'm stuck with a door in my quilting room in the middle of my design wall.  Not ideal, but better than no design wall at all! 

BoM, BoW & Mysteries, Oh My

So I've been working on a lot of projects that are proceeding slowly because the blocks are only released weekly or monthly... I just completed Pat Sloan's free mystery block of the month (BoM) for May:

Also just completed is Fawkes from Kelli Fannin's (over at Seriously, I Think it Needs Stitches) Harry Potter quilt-a-long.

And I've finished the top I was making, mitered corners on the border and all... This one is just a simple friendship star pattern, but made using a method for making 8 HSTs at a time that I'd never tried before, making 8 at a time.  I combined a Tula Pink layer cake with some greys from my stash to make this.  This is for the 'Get To-Gather' at Quilt Emporium in Woodland Hills, CA.  I've decided I like this method, and will most likely use it again in the future.

May the Fifth

Today is Cinco de Mayo... a very sad and special day for me... it is the day of my mother's yahrtzeit (the anniversary of her death)... I miss her lots... We didn't always get along.. in fact, we clashed a lot, especially when I was younger, but we had our close moments too.  It's always a hard day for me.

Mom and Dad, miss you both

I got up early, and to distract myself from my personal feelings, I put borders on my friendship star quilt... Just need to make a back for it and it will be ready to go.  A task for another day.

Friendship Stars and Sample Blocks

Kind of busy quilting and other activities too since my retreat a few weeks ago. Saw this block on facebook, and figured out how to sew it... made a sample block from some dot pattern strips I had from an old exchange.  Haven't decided if I want to do more or not.. it's pretty, and an easy 4-patch block, but do I like it enough to repeat it?  A friend suggested putting it on point... maybe I should put it in EQ and find out of that works...

So that's what I did.. came up with three layouts... a straight set with no sashing... kind of blah... a straight set with sashing... a bit better, but I think would look even better with different fabrics in each block and just a constant background... and on point with sashing, I think my favorite of the three... Maybe I will make some more blocks... but I will play some more with it before I make a final decision.

Straight set, no sashing, my least favorite of the three:

Straight set with sashing... not bad, but not great:

My favorite of the three, on point with sashing and cornerstones:

 Then, started the friendship stars top, probably for a donation quilt, made from a Tula Pink layer cake and some greys from my stash. Today, I spent all morning sewing a grey piano key border for it... still have some piecing to do to make the strips long enough to miter the corners... Tomorrow, I'm headed off to see Fiddler so more sewing will mostly have to wait til Monday. Kinda tired now, but might do some sewing later today too.

As for finishes? not so much... sigh... procrastinating a lot lately, esp. on bindings and quilting... making tops is easier...