A Close Call

I was all packed and ready to leave for Retreat on Monday morning.  I hadn't really taken as much time to plan projects as I normally do, but I was satisfied with the main idea -- a baby quilt made with really bright solids and a bright white background.  

I had this stack of half yards of Marcus Fabrics which I had purchased at a quilt show.......

.......and this stack of brights that my friend Rose Mary had given me when she was my Secret Quilter.

What gorgeous colors!  I was a happy girl!!

But not for long.  I am normally not a pre-washer, but I got to thinking about how this quilt would be totally ruined if these colors happen to bleed onto that white background.  I had to leave the house pretty soon so I didn't have enough time to properly test the fabrics.  I just chose one from each line, wet the ends with hot water, and laid them out on a paper towel.  

YIKES!

The aqua didn't bleed as badly as the pink, but it did bleed, and there was no time left to set the colors.  

I needed to leave the house in just a few minutes and I only had three pillowcases packed to work on.

I ran into my sewing room, grabbed a Moda Jelly Roll, a stack of muslin, and a box of 2" squares, then threw them into my tote bag with no plan whatsoever and hit the road!

Whew! 

(.......to be continued.......)

A NewFo Finish -- March Pillowcases Done!

I got into my sewing room this week and finished the ten pillowcases that I had cut out for my March NewFo.  I am back on track with my pillowcase project and almost caught up with my goal of making 50 for an early June deadline. 

 

Aren't these pretty fabrics?  I've been trying to make some of the pillowcases appropriate for teenagers since there are plenty of teen patients in childrens' hospitals.  I think someone will like these a lot.  

These are good for teens, too.  I especially like the blue one with the musical instruments.  

I hate to tell you how long ago I bought these florals.  I'm pretty sure it was around 2004.  I bought them from the famous "back room" at Hancocks of Paducah during Quilt Show Week.  I can't imagine how many pieces of bargain priced yard cuts are bought from that back room, thrown into stashes, and never looked at again.  Would you believe these three pieces are the only pieces I have done that exact thing with?  You're right.  Don't believe it!

My New Project for March -- Pillowcases

This whole "starting a new project every month" is NOT going as I planned!  I was certain I could start and finish a new project every month plus make progress on my UFO's.  What was I thinking?  I went into this 2013 NewFo Challenge with a pretty high opinion of myself, I guess.  Now.......not so much!  

So far, I have at least made a good start on New Projects.  In January I started and then made good progress on Gavin's Quilt.  In February I started and made some progress on my Neutrals Challenge.  

In March I cut out pillowcases.  Yup.  That's it.  I don't know if that even counts as starting a new project!

It really did take a lot of time to select and cut fabrics for all those pillowcases.  And, I did take them with me  on vacation just in case I needed something to do.  And, it was a real effort to unfold them and take photos for this blog entry.  That should count for something.  Do I get points because these pillowcases are eventually going to St. Louis Children's Hospital?  

I am linking up to Barbara's Linky Party.  Then I'm going to see if anyone else is doing as badly as I am!  

My New Project for February -- Neutrals Challenge

According to the 2013 NewFo Challenge it's time to tell you about the new project I started in February.  I was hoping that before I started another new quilt I would be able to report at least one finish for this year, but that's not going to happen today.  I could give you all my excuses, um I mean reasons, but I don't want to sound like I might have had the February blues or anything!

The challenge for a retreat I'm going to in June is "Neutrals with a Kick" and since I need a baby quilt that month I decided to make a neutral baby quilt with stars.   

I appliqued bright blue stars onto 6" neutral squares.  After I made eighteen of those I found out that this couple is not going to learn the gender of their baby, so I cut out eighteen bright pink stars for a second quilt.  

Here are some of the neutrals I pulled from my stash for the alternate blocks.

I want to point out the scissors in this photo.  They're cutwork scissors by Clover.  I especially like them for applique because they have finely serrated blades which grip the fabric,  keeping it from slipping and allowing you to cut cleanly. 

Having the right tools does make a big difference in the quality of one's work.


I am linking up to Barbara's Linky Party then I am going to look at everyone else's site to see what they started in February!

I See Hippogrifs!

It's time for an update on Gavin's Quilt.  I thought that by now I would be showing you the completed top, but all I have done is the four Hippogrifs for the corners.  Well, considering the fact that each paper-pieced block has 70 pieces in it, I guess that is really something! 

I mean, just look at these tiny little talons!  And this pattern is enlarged by 150%.  I have a great admiration for people who do a lot of paper piecing.

The Hippogrifs look great, I have to admit.  Gavin is really happy with them.

He has given me direction for the colors to be used in the final section - the Towers.  The goal is to have them finished within the next week.

Now, if I could just figure out a way to paper-piece without making such an enormous mess!!

My New Project for January -- Gavin's Quilt

You may remember that in this post I decided that I'm going to participate in the 2013 NewFO Challenge.  I'm not only planning to complete UFO's this year, but I'm also going to start (and hopefully, but not necessarily complete) twelve new projects this year - that's one a month.  

My January project is a quilt for grandson Gavin.  For years he has been completely into all things mythological.  I bought a book of paper-pieced mythology creatures, "Spellbinding Quilts" by Maaike Bakker. 

He studied it a while and then sketched out the quilt he wanted me to make.  He even told me what colors he would like used for each creature and the background.  

This isn't the first quilt Gavin has designed for me, but more about that another time!  

I had to get Hubby to help me with the math so I could get the pattern pieces enlarged.  This, in case you've wondered, is what $73 worth of enlarged paper-piecing patterns looks like!  

Oh!  I was shocked that I was required to sign a waiver before I could get these copies.  It seems I was violating the book's copyright by making more than one copy of each pattern.  The quilts in the book have multiple dragons and knights and castles, so you must have multiple copies to make any of the quilts.  Plus, the copies you make get stitched through and then torn off into tiny little pieces.  I am totally into obeying copyright laws.  I never knowingly violate them.  But I cannot figure this one out.

Well, then the fun began!  Manipulating fabric for normal paper piecing is bad enough, but when you enlarge the pattern 270%.....

 .....it makes for all kinds of wonderful wackiness!

The B I G Centaur came together well, but I have to admit that it took me two solid days of sewing to get that part finished.  

Thankfully, I noticed a couple of spots where I had used background fabric in the wrong place and was able to make corrections before stitching the components together. 

On to the owls.  They were even more work since each individual owl has 31 pieces in it.  Yikes!

I think it took a little more than another day of sewing to construct all four owls.  

So, this is what Gavin's new quilt is looking like so far.

He's pretty excited about it, and even though I absolutely HATE to paper-piece, I'm thrilled with how it looks so far.  I do have the four Hippogrifs for the corners almost ready, and I think the towers for the side panels should be a little more simple than the previous pieces.  I had hoped to have the entire top ready this month, but life (and being sick!) got in the way. 

I am linking up to Barbara's NewFO Linky party.  Can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to!