Urban Jungle Looking Glass - A Quilt Top Finish

I don't know how this keeps happening. I think I'm keeping up with blogging and then WHAM! A whole month goes by and I haven't posted a thing. Well, okay... I do know how it happens. Life gets busy, chores and "adulting" needs to happen, and blah blah blah. Also, I rarely do any blogging or sewing/crafting in the evenings and on weekends because I like to spend that time Mr.123quilt. Awwww.....

Okay, let's get to the real reason I'm posting today. I have a another flimsy finish to share!!!

approx. 54" x 64"

This is a fun pattern called Looking Glass by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs. Does that name sound familiar? I blogged a few weeks ago about my finished top for her Midnight Mystery Quilt Along. 

(SIDE NOTE: This week Cheryl posted a parade of quilts from the QAL. Go check it out!)

I actually won this pattern in a giveaway back in 2014! It's always been on my to-do list (you know, the long-term one) but I just never found any fabric that I wanted to use in this pattern. Until a few weeks ago that is.

I was browsing around Tuesday Morning and found this great charm pack and I immediately thought of the Looking Glass pattern. I knew I had finally found the perfect fabric for the pattern. Also, $1.99 for a pack of 32 charms? Yes, please! Girl is on a budget!

The brand is Creative Cuts which is manufactured by Fabric Editions. I think this is the same manufacturer that provides the fabric for Target and maybe the roll-up fat quarters at Jo-Ann's. I had never used this brand before so I wasn't sure about the quality. But at that price I had to give it a go. Worst case scenario - I could sew it up as a charity quilt. Nope. That's not going to happen. As it turns out, I really love this quilt. Like all the hearty eyes and exploding heart emojis LOVE. Selfish Sarah strikes again. This one is mine. No relatives are going to snatch it. Mine, I tell you!

The fabrics give me a funky urban jungle vibe. Does anyone else get that? Normally I don't go for animal prints but I love that neon green leopard print. And the blue zebra print! Again with the hearty eyes. So, the biggest drawback to these charms was that they were all about 1/8" to 1/4" larger than a standard 5" charm square. I had to trim them all down. Bummer. That added a few extra hours to my total time.

This quilt was actually really fast to put together. I think it took about four days of slow, distracted sewing. If you hustled I think you could make this pattern in one day. Which is pretty cool. Great for beginners and experienced quilters who fun something quick and fun.

Until next time!
- Sarah

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Linking up with:

Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts
Whoop Whoop Fridays At Confessions of a Fabric Addict
TGIFF at Dizzy Quilts
Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Jingle All the Way Quilt - Friday Finish!

I have another "flimsy" finish to share with you this week. A "flimsy" is a quilt top that hasn't been quilted yet. I'm calling this one "Jingle All the Way."

Why yes, that is my Christmas tree. But the real question is did I leave it up all this time just to take a picture of it with my Christmas quilt or did I go through the motions and set up my tree again in a (poor) attempt at a photo shoot? I'll never tell!

I made this simple HST (Half Square Triangle) quilt using three charms packs of Jingle by Kate Spain for Moda.

I also used my Bloc-Loc ruler to make trimming all those HST's a breeze. Seriously, I love this ruler and I use it all the time! I never want to make HST's and other way.

Also, I have to say, look at those perfect points! I'm in love.

There's something at perfect points and matching seams that just makes me do a little happy dance inside. Okay, sometimes I do it on the outside too!

Here is a full picture of the quilt top. I believe it finishes out at 56" x 72". So it's a good size throw blanket.

I'll have to take a better picture when I quilt and finish it. For now though, I just have to make do with the crappy interior lighting. Did I mention it's snowing? Again! No outdoor shots for me in this cold winter weather. Nope. Just lots of hot chocolate. I'd say that's a fair trade-off.

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Linking up with:

Finish it Up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Whoop Whoop Fridays with Confessions of a Fabric Addict

A Friday Finish!

I'm so happy to be blogging again! And also to share my latest finish with you all!

This is my version of the "Midnight Mystery Quilt" QAL from Meadow Mist Designs. I just love it!

This was my first time participating in a QAL (quilt along) and I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. I have to be totally honest though and let you all know that I didn't really follow along like I was supposed to. All of my sewing got sort of derailed last summer because of being sick and I didn't get to participate every month, which is kind of the point. So now that I'm feeling better and starting to get my sewing mojo (my sew-jo?) back I decided to jump right in and finish up with everybody else. I think I starting cutting my fabrics a little over a week ago.



Proof positive that there is still time to join in! Lol. I'm amazed how quickly this top came together. I think it's because of the clever way of constructing the blocks, and the block size of course. These babies were massive!



I don't normally work with blocks this large but that was part of the fun; part of the mystery. I think these blocks finish at about 24" square! I was a little concerned about using a directional print (the navy print) for a mystery quilt but I really love the effect it created in these blocks. Oh, I have another confession... I didn't follow the instructions about pressing seams and some of mine ended up a teensy bit bulky. Whoops! I plan to quilt the heck out of it to even things out a bit. I can't wait to see how other people will quilt theirs.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll try to get a better picture of the full top when it's not snowing and sleeting outside.

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Linking up with:
Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts
and
Whoop Whoop Fridays at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Friday Finish #2 - Simple Celestial Mini

Here's a little mini to brighten up your day.

I blogged about this little guy here, so I'll keep this post on the short side. Or perhaps it'll be a "mini" post...? Lol, I crack myself up.

I mentioned before that I loved this block so much that I was going to turn it into a wall-hanging. Enter some FMQ, some quick binding and BAM! A finished project!

For the FMQ, I did a micro (a mini? Lol, again) stipple in the white fabric to really make the prints pop.

Stats:
Name: Simple Celestial Mini
Pattern: Simple Celestial by Diane Bohn of  FromBlankPages
Materials: Unknown print, white solid, Warm and Natural batting, Essential Thread by Connecting Threads in White.
Date: Started/Finished - May 2015
Size: 9"x9"

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Linking up to:
- Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Fridays
- Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?