Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Jingle All the Way Quilt - A new WIP

Hey quilty friends!

I just thought I'd share my newest WIP with you today. I'm calling it "Jingle All the Way."


Yes... It's a Christmas quilt. I know what ya'll are thinking. "It's January! Christmas was last month!" True. But I like to think that instead of being a month behind on this quilt, I'm actually a whole 11 months ahead of schedule! Lol! 

Okay, the real story is that I've been wanting to make a Christmas quilt for years. Every year though, I get bogged down with making homemade gifts or traveling and I never have the time to make one. So this year, the wonderful Mr. 123quilt got me a few charm packs of Jingle by Kate Spain for Moda for a Christmas present. 


He is so good at listening to me and getting me thoughtful gifts. Actually, I think he was tired of hearing me talk about wanting to make this quilt. Haha! Anyway, I wanted to capitalize on my momentum for making this quilt and get started now rather than wait to start in the Fall. And, let's be honest, there's a good chance I won't be interested in making it then. Better to make it now while it's on my mind. 

I'm sure you can tell from the first picture that this is going to be a simple HST quilt. 


That is one BIG stack of triangles that needs to be trimmed. I wouldn't even tackle this quilt if I didn't have a Bloc-Loc ruler. It makes trimming HSTs so quick and easy! Incidentally, the ruler was also a gift from Mr. 123quilt. I believe it was for my birthday last year. Like I said, he's a good one for getting me gifts I want! 

Anyway, I've spent the day chain-piecing (so relaxing for me!) and pressing my HSTs. I think I'll tackle the trimming tomorrow. 

Lots of chain-piecing

So, that's it for now. I'll keep you posted on the progress. 

========

Linking up with:


and



Friday, January 22, 2016

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.

========

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


Monday, November 2, 2015

Post-Surgery and Feeling Like Myself Again

I'm back!

Some of you may know that I've had a bit of a rough year with regards to my health. I don't think any of you know it was bad enough for me to undergo the knife a few weeks back. Without going into too many details, I will say that most days I was in a lot of pain. It took the better part of a year and nearly a dozen doctors to finally come to conclusion that I needed to have surgery. That was not the solution I was hoping for and honestly, I was a bit depressed about things pre-surgery. But I took a deep breath and went ahead with the surgery knowing it was for the best.

Then came the recovery. The first few weeks were really hazy because I was high as a kite on pain meds. Then came a few weeks where I could shuffle-walk around but I was still on doctor's orders to take it easy. I wasn't able to do much of anything. Sitting upright was too difficult which meant I couldn't spend time on the computer or at the sewing machine; and I was feeling so bad that I didn't even crochet or do any sort of hand-work. It was like there was a craft embargo in place.

I'm feeling better though. The last two weeks I have made great strides. I can do the dishes and laundry again, much to the relief of Mr.123quilt. Those chores are hard! *wink* I can even sit at a computer long enough to write a blog post! That's huge for me and I'm feeling very accomplished. Lol! I'm hoping to start physical therapy very soon. *fingers crossed*

I guess the point of all this is to say that I'm back from the far side of the moon. Radio silence on the blog has been broken. I won't be busting out a completed king-size quilt this week or anything like that. No. I'll be taking it slow.

Until next time,
- Sarah

Monday, August 31, 2015

Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop! Introducing Poseidon's Hall!

Welcome to Day Two of the 2015 Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop!

2015 Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop

I am so excited to be part of this wonderful blog hop sponsored by Fabri-Quilt and Inspired by Fabric and hosted by Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl, Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs, Stephanie of Late Night Quilter, and Teri Ann of Childlike Fascination. Over 60 bloggers are designing a new quilt block using the same Fat Eighth (F8) bundle of Prairie Cloth Cotton solids from Fabri-Quilt. So in just 4 days you get to see more than 60 new designs. How cool is that?! 

Fabri-Quilt graciously provided all the bloggers with a F8 bundle of Prairie Cloth Cotton solids that was curated just for this blog hop. The bundle has six fabrics - Chartreuse, Turquoise, Coral, Aqua, Lapis Blue, and White.


This bundle is being called "Watermelon Summer." I love watermelon and I love summer. So there you go! 

The only requirements for the blog hop were that the blocks must be 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" (unfinished) and that they had to use at least 3 of the 6 fabrics in the bundle. 

That being said, I present to you....

Poseidon’s Hall


A Quilt Block By: Sarah Smith from www.123quilt.blogspot.com

Featured in the 2015 Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop

General Notes:

·         Poseidon’s Hall is a 12” x 12" finished (12 ½” x 12 1/2" unfinished) quilt block. The block is made up of three units (Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3).
·         This block is made using Half-Square-Triangles (HST’s) and squares. The pattern uses the “2 at a time” method for making the HST’s.
·         ¼” seams are used throughout the construction of this block.


Materials Required:

·         1 – F8 (fat eighth) yard each, Fabri-Quilt Prairie Cloth Cotton Solid fabric in Lapis Blue, Chartreuse, Turquoise, Aqua, and White.
·         Basic sewing supplies (sewing machine, thread, scissors, cutting mat, ruler, rotary cutter, marking pen or pencil, etc.).
·         NOTE: A ruler with a 45° angle is needed for squaring up HST’s.


Cutting Instructions:

     From Lapis Blue:                   
          Cut 6 – 3” x 3” squares

     From Chartreuse:
          Cut 2 – 3” x 3” squares

     From Turquoise:
          Cut 4 – 3” x 3” squares
     
     From Aqua:
          Cut 1 – 4 ½” x 4 ½” square

     From White:
          Cut 8 – 2 ½” x 2 ½” squares
          Cut 12 – 3” x 3” squares


Half Square Triangle Assembly:

     Step 1:
Using a marking pen or pencil, draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of 12 white squares (3” x 3”).



     Step 2:
Pair a white square (3” x 3”) with each of the color squares (3” x 3”) right sides together for a total of 12 pairs.



     Step 3:
With the marked white square on top, sew ¼” away from the marked line on both sides.



Tip: Chain piece the fabric pairs for fast assembly.

Step 4:
Using scissors or a ruler and rotary cutter, cut the sewn pairs along the marked line and press the seams (either open or to the side) to reveal the HST block (24 total).



     Step 5:
Trim each HST block to 2 ½” x 2 ½”. Line up the 45° angle line on the ruler with the center line on the HST blocks to ensure accuracy when trimming.



  
Unit Assembly:

Unit 1
     Step 1:
Using 2 white squares (2 ½” x 2 ½”), 1 Lapis Blue HST, and 1 Chartreuse HST, assemble Unit 1 according to the picture.



     Step 2:
          Repeat 3 times for a total of 4 units.

Unit 2
     Step 1:
Using 2 Lapis Blue HST’s and 2 Turquoise HST’s, assemble Unit 2 according to the picture.



     Step 2:
          Repeat 3 times for a total of 4 units.

Unit 3
     Step 1:
          Unit 3 is the Aqua square (4 ½” x 4 ½”). Nothing to do here. Hooray!


Block Assembly:

     Step 1:
          Assemble the units as shown in the picture below.



     Step 2:
          Square up the block to 12 ½” x 12 ½”.



There you have it. One Poseidon’s Hall block.


I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Don’t forget to check out all the other amazing blocks debuting this week. You can find them by clicking on the button link at the top of this post or by clicking on the host links below.

Monday - 8/31 - Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl

Tuesday - 9/1 - Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs

Wednesday - 9/2 - Stephanie at Late Night Quilter

Thursday - 9/3 - Teri Ann at Childlike Fascination

Also, be sure to enter the giveaways! Fabri-Quilt will be giving away some half yard bundles of "Watermelon Summer." You can enter to win twice each day of the blog hop, once on the host of the day's blog and once on Inspired by Fabric. That's 8 chances to win! The giveaway is open through Friday, September 4th, at 11:59 pm (EST). Good Luck!

- Sarah

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday Stash: Dear Stella - Sunday Morning

Sometimes you see a pattern and you know exactly what fabric you want to use. Sometimes you just have a general idea. I know you know what I'm talking about.


Last month I won a giveaway of the Sea Star pattern by Meadow Mist Designs. (Big thanks to The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts and Meadow Mist Designs!) When I first saw the pattern I immediately thought of some purple-ish, watercolor-ish fabric I had seen a while back. I know, right? Great description of a fabric collection. Good luck finding it again. After a bit of searching I found this fabric.


This collection is called Sunday Morning by Dear Stella. I have no idea if it's the fabric I originally saw a few months ago but it's EXACTLY what I wanted for the Sea Star pattern. This fabric is not in my general aesthetic. It's not anything I would usually pick out. But oh how I love it!


I've been doing a lot of rainbow-y, color-wheel stuff lately and I'm excited to work on something that isn't basically ROYGBIV. Don't get me wrong, I love a good rainbow and there are still few more uber-colorful projects on the way.

Rather than believe I'm stuck in a color rut, I prefer to think I'm going through an artistic period. Like Picasso's "Blue Period." Yeah, really... that's what this is... :)

========================================================================

Linking up with Sunday Stash by Molli Sparkles

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

A New Baby Quilt for a New Baby!

I think I mentioned in my last post that I have a new niece! A new baby in the family means a new baby quilt is in order. Naturally.


This came together pretty fast. Which is a good thing because it needs to be done by Monday! As you can see I still need to sew my rows together. I'm hoping to do that as well as baste it this afternoon. I am not looking forward to basting because my back is still whack. This quilt is so small though that it shouldn't be too bad. It should end up about 30" x 40". 

I think this will turn out to be a pretty sweet baby blanket for a little girl. I hope she likes it.

This quilt needs a name. Any suggestions?

- Sarah

========================================================================

Linking up with:







Hug-a-Bit Quilts Cooking Up Quilts Sew Cute Tuesday Sew Fresh Quilts WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Playing Catch-Up... (With a Side of French Fries)

I've been MIA lately. I have a good reason though, I swear. When your family calls you up and begs you to go on an impromptu family vacation to SoCal and Disneyland, you drop everything and hop on a cross country flight. Right? So, yeah, this is where I've been.


If you know me, you know the beach is my happy place. After building a few sandcastles, lounging around, and squishing sand between my toes, I feel renewed and re-energized. Which is a good thing because I have a massive to-do list!


  • Make a baby quilt for my newest niece! (Yes, there has been a new, sweet addition to the family!)

  • Catch up on the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. Check out the list of this week's bloggers here.
2015 New Quilt Bloggers Group



  • Work on some secret sewing for the end of September.

  • Write up a new Sunday Stash post because (lo and behold!) I actually bought some new fabric!

  • Sew up a gagillion curves for a Drunkard's Path quilt I've been working on.

  • Write up a tutorial for another new quilt I'm working on.

I also have a ton of other, non-pressing, sewing/quilting/blogging things to do. Priorities though, right? Oh yeah, there's also all my regular life things that need to get done... dentist appointment, grocery shopping, laundry, going to the DMV, washing the car...

I think I need another vacation. Lol!

- Sarah