Heralding 2018 with a plan of a plan

Well 2017 ends here in less than 36 hours and it has been an interesting year with many new starts and not so many finishes on the quilting front. I thought I would set some goals for 2018 and hopefully make myself more accountable to myself.

 I have never really set myself specific goals previously but rather just coasted from day to day and project to project. Having a sticky beak around the online world I came across Quilting JETGirl's  2018 Planning Party which sent me off to complete an audit of my WIPs and have a think about what I would like to achieve in 2018. So here goes:

1. Quilting Goals

• Be more regular with my blogging - if for no other reason than accountability to myself.
• Take stock of what I have. I just counted 19 WIPs and there are probably a few more lurking. It would be good to halve this number.
•  Get on top of the scrap crates. They take up a lot of room and desperately need sorting and using.
• Save for a machine with a bigger throat space, I am looking at a Juki.     
  ( pushing those big quilts through a 5 inch harp space is a killer)
• Start my Christmas sewing earlier - I put myself under far too much pressure this year.
• Participate in #30minssewingdaily with @mellmeyer on Instagram.
• Complete the one QAL I am participating in (Playing with Triangles) possibly/hopefully in the QAL time frame.

2. Life in General

• Dance every day and find the fun.
• Streamline the way I keep on top of the all of life's necessary chores.

An accountability partner might not be a bad thing.

So that is it. A plan for 2018. I am linking up with Yvonne at Quilting JETgirl to make this all a little bit more real. My fingers are crossed for your plans. May you have a productive, bright and fun 2018.

Happy stitching 

Jenell

Finish Along Q4

Quarter 2 was a bust and Quarter 3... well I didn't even begin to think about participating. Quarter 4 - yes! It is time to give it a red hot go again! Aim high, that's what I am saying. No guarantees but worth a try. So here is my list; some returning and some new:

1. Swap Stars. Paper pieced stars from a block swap. Needs joining and then finishing. 

2.Jelly Roll Rain - a revisit. Still no progress beyond a top. The backing has been chosen and that is progress.

3. Circa 2016 - hopefully finished in 2017. Needs some panels completed and then onto quilting and binding.

4. All Linked up - another that has been here before. This one is almost quilted, the binding is made, the end is in sight.

5. Bright Birch - the top was completed at retreat in July.













These 5 quilts are more than enough for a quarters work. Good luck to everyone participating in the Q4 FAL.

Happy Stitching
Jenell

Carpenters Star

I love watching the Midnight Quilt Show episodes with Angela Walters. They are fun and I have learnt a lot.When Angela made the Carpenters Star quilt I thought I should also. Using bits and pieces from stash I made a blue version which came together very quickly. 

Apologies, some of the photos are a bit dark or yellow hued as they were taken indoors on my phone.

I thought would use the background fabrics the wrong around as that was my first preference, hence the two shades of grey in the photo above. The right side was settled on when it was all laid out.

I quilted it myself using my walking foot and a lot of shoving to get it through the machine. Backed it with a check I purchased for a different quilt (usually what happens) and bound it with the same fabric as the inner border.

At first I thought it would be a gift for a new baby but the feeling I got was that I should gift it to a friend. So I did. I loved making this quilt. It felt like a bright happy finish.

The final product all washed and crinkly!

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts.

Happy Stitching
Jenell

Triangle Block 1

Starting to cut pieces for the Bernina Zen Chic Quilt along has made me realise that I might need to add a few extra fabrics to have enough. There does not seem to be much left of what I started with.

Anyway. the first triangles have been completed. On to Block 2.

Happy Stitching
Jenell

Bernina Playing with Triangles Quilt Along

I have decided to participate in the Bernina and Zen Chic Quilt Along - Playing with Triangles. I am a month behind but will catch up. Below are the colours I have chosen for the Quilt Along. 

They are a made up of a few of Good Neighbours fabrics by Crazy Mom Quilts and others from stash. I need to get on with the initial cutting before I make the first month's triangles. The second month's triangles are already out there so I will be busy. I love the pop of colour the accent green will give to this quilt. it is all going on a white background (at least I think it will).

This will increase my works in progress list to at least 11. I've stopped counting. Happy stitching
Jenell

Scrap Table Runner

I have used my New Zealand Quilt scraps to make a table runner for mum. We live in different states so the time we had together on our holiday was special. She doesn't have room for the quilt I made but asked for something small. So here it is.

And the back.

The table runner measures 28 x 12 1/2 inches and it is nice to have a quick finish..

Happy stitching,

Jenell

New Zealand with mum

In 2014 I travelled to New Zealand with my elderly mother for a 2 week holiday. We had a great time exploring the South Island, the fabric shops and amazing scenery. We may have come back with a little bit of fabric. This fabric is now a quilt. (Forgive the photo quality please).

The fabrics purchased in NZ were supplemented with some of mum's hand dyed fabrics. 

This was the first time I tried spiral quilting and have to thank Jacquie Gering and her Crafsy class for getting me started. Slow and steady is all I can say about spiral quilting. 

The backing is from stash and shows of the spiral really well. The finished quilt measures 60 x 60 inches.

I love the colours in this quilt. It is on my Quarter 3 Finish Along List also. I will link up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.

Happy Stitching

Jenell

Pink Bears have a new home

 I finally finished the Pink Bear Quilt and passed it onto the the Grandma to be for her granddaughter due next month. These bears were great to make and I am very happy with the final quilt. The Bjorn the Bear pattern by Elizabeth Hartman was easy to follow and despite it feeling like there were a lot of pieces in each bear they came together fairly quickly.

All fabric came from my stash and given the request was for a more pastel quilt than I would usually make I enjoyed sorting through my fabrics to find them.



I love the Jelly Bean fabric.

The quilt measures approx 51 x 63 inches. I wavy line quilted it myself and the 2 fat quarters on the back were the fabric originally purchased by Grandma to meet the Woodland theme before baby's gender was known.

One last picture.

Happy stitching everyone.

Jenell

Finish Along or is it repeat again?

Quarter 2 was a bust! I was working on a Mystery Quilt Top swap and didn't really get anything else done. On the bright side my Mystery top is completed well before October. So here is my Quarter 3 list (looks very much like my Quarter 2 list).

1. All Linked Up -Slightly closer to finished. It is now basted and just needs more muscle built up to push it through my little old Bernina to bring it to a finish.

2. New Zealand Plus Quilt - This one needs labelling and binding. Hopefully it will be finished soon.

3. Bright Birch - I am taking this one on retreat at the end of July to get it put together.

4. Starry Night - I had to unpick a block due to a silly error. I need to put that block back together and get on with it. I also think I have the border sitting the wrong way in this photo.

5. Jelly Roll Rain - This is still waiting to be basted and then finished.

Good Luck to everyone participating. I love seeing what everyone else is making.

Happy stitching

Jenell

Surrounded by pink bears

I hope you have had a good week. I have as I have been surrounded by Pink Bears - lots of pieces of bear.

One of the ladies I work with is going to be a grandma for the second time and I am making a Bjorn the Bear quilt for the little one. I am surrounded by pink pieces for this quilt. Pink is not a colour that I usually work with. So far I have completed the all the units and now just need to piece them together.

I had to purchase a Craftsy class to get the pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

Linking up with Finish it up Friday .

Happy stitching
Jenell

Finish Along - or Along Time Finishing

Well it is time to register for the Finish Along Quarter 2 and I have to confess that Quarter 1 did not prove to be any where near as productive as I hoped. I did complete 2 items off the list and moved another one further along but had really hoped to achieve more.

So on to the Q2 list.
Items 1 to 4 carry over from Quarter 1 and possibly too far back to track. They do have updated photos.
Items 5 to 8 are me being ambitious or maybe ridiculous.

1. All Linked Up - a kit from Connecting Threads and pattern by Crazy Mom Quilts using her Good Neighbours fabric line- just quilting and binding to go. I will be quilting this myself... somehow! The label is already embroidered for this one.

2. Jelly Roll Rain - needs basting and quilting. This was a Group Challenge in 2014, definitely time to get it done.

3. Starry Night -the blocks have been completed they just need to be joined together and then the rest can be done. So far I have enjoyed making this quilt. The pattern can be found here.

4. PP Star Block Swap -  I have 11 blocks - make one more and put together.

5. NZ Plus Quilt - this quilt top is made from the fabrics I purchased while travelling in New Zealand with my mother. It just needs basting and then finishing.

6.. I Spy Squares 1 - blocks are all made.

7. I Spy Squares 2 - again the blocks are all made.

8. Modern Hex. - I had a completely different palette picked for this quilt but am now looking at the rainbow Kona Cottons and a silvery grey for the background. Getting to this is probably pushing it.

All the best for meeting your Quarter 2 goals.

Happy stitching

Jenell

Keeping Myself in Line

I have so many WIPS that I feel like I need to remind myself of this and to not go and cut out another quilt which is what I so desperately want to do. This All Linked Up quilt, which I bought as a kit from Connecting Threads and is a pattern by Crazy Mom Quilts as well as her fabric line, just needs to be basted quilted and bound but other fabric is calling. So I thought if I put it out there I just might make myself stay on the quilting straight and narrow and get this one done. Every time I look at another blog there is another project that I would like to have a go at

It is a simple and effective pattern that in this case should result in a really fresh quilt top. I have chosen to use the scraps to make the binding and am loving the pop of colour that I think it is going to add.

Linking up with Finish it Up Friday hoping it will be finished soon.

Happy Stitching
Jenell

No Longer Lost in Space

This finish has been named Deep Space after living in a quilting black hole for 8 1/2 years. I started this in 2008 when we first moved to Queensland. It kept me company and also kept my sanity. Then I started working full-time and it was pushed to the back burner. It took me a while to get back in the quilting swing. Once quilting again there were so many things I wanted to do that this quilt was not a priority. Now I can say that it has been feeling the love again, is no longer abandoned and is finished!

I hand basted this way back when and can safely say that I will, wherever possible, never do that again. Given that it sat bunched up for 8 years there is not too much puckering in the quilting.

I love the solid purple backing and white with black daisy binding. Now I try to piece my backings from all the left over pieces in each quilt so the solid was a trip down memory lane. 

Deep Space was on my Finish Along Q1 list. So also another tick that this quilt is finally finished.

I am linking up with Finish it up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.

Happy Stitching
Jenell