Sent with Santa

Now that my gifts have been delivered by Santa, I can show a few items that I did finish just before christmas.  My sister Tracy wanted a couple of table runners for her home so I did finish this holiday one in time to get to her.  The rest of them will have to wait a bit as I try and finish up some projects around here before I start something new.

And I made my neighbor whose kitchen is decorated in apples these simple potholders and cloth napkins.  Her dishes are a brown and green stoneware so these worked perfectly!

And my friend Penny gave me the perfect tin sign!  It captures my quilting philosophy wonderfully!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying leftovers, new toys and finding time to get back into your sewing rooms and play with fabric!

Eighteen...

Every year I try and take note of all the projects I have started and make a resolution to focus on finishing them.  So today I took the day off and organized the quilting studio, fabric closet and sewing room.  I spent hours going through bags, projects boxes and various piles of fabric and tallied up where I am.

Eighteen!  I currently have 18 projects in process - there are 6 just up on my designs walls.  And this isn't the whole picture.  I also have 8 more that are ready for that first cut and another 10 that just need to be quilted.  I knew things had gotten out of hand but this is crazy!

So I have told myself that I REALLY have to focus on some finishes.  I have scheduled time to quilt some of my own tops over the holidays and I identified those that I can easily finish with just a little focus.

Rather than move this little table runner around my sewing room, I sat down and sewed the final outside border, prepared the binding and sewed the backing.  In a matter of minutes, I moved it from the "WIP" to the "Needs Quilting" pile.

This quilt top just needs the outside border cut and sewn.  I already have the binding and the back prepared....Why is it borders always seem to hold up a project?

I will complete on my next sew day with friends scheduled later this week!

And this one is taking up space on the design wall.  All the blocks are sewn and laid out.  It just needs to be pieced together.  I vow to work on it and finish it over the holidays.

Sadly, the rest on my list are a little more involved.  Many have been stashed away because of fabric shortages, fit issues, and dislike.  I have others that need some redesigning and others that are just plain time consuming.  But my intentions are good and my determination to whittle these numbers down is strong.  I'm hoping you'll see a number of finishes soon.

...for those who know me, I'm sure you noticed I didn't promise not to start anything else.  Even as I was breaking down the projects I have chosen not to finish, I found myself pairing up fabric for new projects.  I just can't help myself!

 Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Quiltsy today.

Holiday Swap Project

Rather than a quilt activity, my Project:Quilt group decided to have a small party with a handmade gift exchange for our December get-together.  This meant I needed a quick project.

After looking through a number of patterns, books and blogs, I decided to make something out of Kumiko Sudo's Omiyage book.  The project I had in mind needed no sewing and only required a few pieces of fabric and some cardboard.  It was a little smaller than I wanted but I knew I could easily resize it.  I had some lovely fabrics that I thought would work nicely so I started in one evening.

After MANY more evenings of cutting, glueing, clamping, recutting, bending, resizing, trimming and reglueing, I ended up with this cute little box....

with a very fun surprise inside.  It has a pincushion for the lid and is filled with little sewing notions (many of which are also handmade.)

This little item can inconspicuously reside in a living space and be opened up when a little mending is needed and you don't want to go into your sewing room.  I thought it was very clever and I was quite pleased with the final product.

Finishing UFOs

This time of year, about the only UFOs I get to work on are the quilts of others.  Thankfully, I do know to plan ahead and complete any of my own holiday projects in the early fall so I can work like an elf and get as many of my customer's holidays gifts done as possible.





This quilt for Julie is not a holiday gift but I couldn't wait to work on it as I was really taken with it.  Love the colors, the pattern and had some great fun with the quilting.

The piecing pattern is Ballerina by Jaybird Quilts.   It might be one I will have to make in the future when I can get back to my own projects.

 

 Luckily the sun popped out from behind the clouds for a minute and I was able to snap this photo of the entire quilt.  Great job Julie!

Leftovers

I love leftovers!

One of my favorite activities is to use scraps and leftover fabric or blocks from a project and see what I can make from them.  Sometimes, I challenge myself to come up with designs using the pieces as they are cut.  Or I will try to use up all the fabric in a pile.  I can spend hours coming up with various ideas and layouts.

A good friend of mine made the quilt top shown on the left (lovely huh!) and gave me all of her scraps from the project thinking I might be able to get a baby quilt out of it.

 I started with some various widths of fabrics and made this little quilt.  Liked the idea but I think I would make additional cuts and break up the pattern more next time. 

With the generous gift of fabrics, I was also able to use leftovers to complete the entire back.

 ...but there was more.  So I made this quilt using pieces that were already cut into the big blocks that are pieced down the center.  I did pull a small amount of white from my stash but from the leftovers, I was able to both border and back this charming baby quilt.

  ...and to use up the last little bits, I made this sweet quilt which is my favorite.  I love how the fabric direction and placement add to the level of playfulness.  I did have to use some of my own white fabric for the sashing and most of the backing but I more than met my objectives.

...and I am so pleased to say there was very little fabric left.  I'm sure these will find their way into a string quilt in the future.  Thanks for the fun my friend!

A Finish!

Yippee - I was finally able to finish this twin size quilt and get it listed on my Etsy site. With the holidays hurtling towards us, I have been so busy quilting up everyone else's projects, I haven't been able to get many of mine done.

I truly love the bright colors in this!






I really had to stretch the fabrics to get a back that would be large enough but I was determined not to buy any fabric for this quilt!

This project was a whole lot of fun to work on and it really used up a number of odd bits of fabrics from my stash.

Hmmm....Maybe there can be some fabric purchases in my future now that I've made some space.

Cut Twice - Sew Once

 I have always wanted to try a project that has been in my head for quite some time.  My curiosity finally got the best of me and I decided to give it a try.  It was new and different and definitely something I will be doing again in the future.

 

I collected up my supplies (3/8" bias tape maker, Best Press, and lightweight double sided fusible web).  For fabrics, I grabbed some orange and gray out of my stash and some white for an accent.  For this project, I cut the white fabric into 1" strips to run through the bias tape maker (apply Best Press to the fabric before making into the bias tape so it will hold its shape) and I cut the gray and orange fabric into 7" x 14" rectangles.  I then cut 1/4" wide strips of the fusible and ironed it onto the back of the assembled bias tape.

Once I decided on the fabric order, I overlapped two adjoining fabrics about 2" on my cutting board and made a single slice with a rotary cutter so each piece was cut at the same angle. 

Once all the pieces were cut, I layered the project onto the backing and the batting.  I overlapped the cut wedges about 1/2".  I then took the entire piece to the ironing board.

I trimmed my bias tape slightly longer than the width of the runner and pressed it over the raw edges of the wedges with an iron, adhering the fusible to the project.  I also kept applying alot of heat to warm the entire project all the way through the batting and backing.  The heat will cause all of the layers to somewhat stick together so you don't have to pin the project to quilt.

Once I had everything in place, I carefully moved the project to my sewing machine.  With a walking foot, I stitched down both sides of the bias tape, which also quilts the project as you go.

I added a few more quilted lines and a binding and the project was completed.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  I'm thinking this would be a great process for some simple placemats or super fast potholders - both of which are in my very near future.

If you really like this table runner, it is for sale at a very affordable price.  I also have another example here where I cut the pieces in a curve.  To see some examples of projects made by others, click here.  I hope you give this a try and see how easy it can be.

Project:Quilt

Early last spring I started toying with the idea of leading a sewing group.  I wanted to create an opportunity for members to learn new piecing techniques, try out various aspects of quilting (like applique, paper-piecing, etc.) and challenge themselves with occasionally working outside their box.  I wanted a venue where creativity could occur without creating a situation where a bunch of UFOs were started to clutter everyone's sewing rooms.  The idea of giving was important to me so Project:Quilt was founded.

There are 12 women who meet once a month at Our Sewing Room.  Each month, a member of the group agrees to sponsor the project.  This sponsor then gets to choose the activity, they choose the organization that receives the finished project, they are responsible for getting the project to a finished form and they get to choose how much control they have in the materials that get used for their project.  After a few initial projects that focused on some basic sewing, cutting and pressing skills, we were ready to spread our wings...

So far the quilts have been amazing!  Here are just a few...





This wall hanging was made for Reaching Out Mentoring Program.  The sponsor supplied the black fabric to unify the quilt and everyone else provided the solid colors for their block.  I love the personality each word projects.  It is hanging in their Mentor Center at Lincoln Middle School for both the students and the mentors to enjoy.





This fun lap quilt was made for a fundraiser supporting the Lane County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit.  The sponsor supplied the unifying navy blue fabric and everyone else brought dog themed fabrics for their blocks.  We used Kate Conklin's fussy frames tutorial (found here) as a guide to make the blocks (we did make a slight change to her pattern to make the blocks square).

The fundraising event has not been scheduled yet so this quilt could still be yours...






In this activity, we learned how to make 3D geese and pinwheels.  As the sponsor was donating this to a fundraising auction for Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble, she donated her vast collection of music themed fabrics.  Rather than a large quilt, a striking bed runner was made.

You can follow all of our projects on our Flickr site - just follow the widget on the right.  Each monthly activity is organized and captured through its completion.

If you are interested in starting a group of your own, feel free to contact me.  I am more then happy to assist you with the details.

Bits and Pieces

Just like most quilters, I always end up with odds and ends of fabric in my stash.  These consist of tiny bits left over from previous projects and other stray pieces that never seem to find a home.  On a regular basis, I try and pull some of these fabrics and make something only using what I have and not purchasing too much to complete an entire quilt.  

 

For October, I decided to address the odd bits of fabric I had that were bright colors on a black background.  Many of these fabrics I have had for years and it was time they went.  I chose to also take this opportunity to clean out my solids and move out some of the smaller pieces.

 

 

 For the block, I decided to pair up alike solids and sew a simple square in a square (in a square) block. 

 You know, for someone who doesn't like pink, I always seem to have alot of it.

 

 The amount of fabric on hand dictated how many blocks of each color I could make.  As I ran out of a solid, I mixed up the combinations to get enough blocks for a twin size quilt.

I needed a few little blocks as fillers for the design I had in mind and...

 I really like how the top turned out.  I designed it so there was virtually no matching of seams, so it went together very quickly and easily.  Now I just have to piece the back - which may turn out to be an engineering marvel as I am really short on fabric so it will need to be highly planned and pieced.  

Then onto the quilting....

Stay tuned for pictures of the finished project.

Jumping in...

After years of gentle prodding from customers and friends, I am finally working on expanding my audience and sharing my quilting experiences, tips and patterns.  Hopefully you will have patience with me as I learn the ins and outs of blogging and stick with me on this adventure.  I thought I would start with some simple introductions.

I'm Cynthia or Cyndy - I answer to both.  I feel quite blessed that I am able to immerse myself into my love of quilting and because of that, I love to share what I learn along the way.  I am a longarm quilter and have a lot of great customers.  I am thankful for each and every one of them and hopefully they will allow me to share some of their beautiful quilts with you.  I am also an avid piecer and usually have multiple projects going at a time, many of which are original.  While I use all genres of fabric, I like bold prints and strong colors. These many creations will also be shared.

You should also meet the rest of the team.  First there is Pete.  I pretty much put him to work every day.  Like in any relationship, he brings me great joy and immense frustration.

Then there is (from left to right) Willie, Sparky and Lucy.  I love these older Bernina machines and really don't think you can have too many.  Aren't they cute!?!

I did just recently finish a couple of quilts.  This one I started about 5 years ago.  I am a big Martha Negley fan and use her fabrics often.  When I realized it wasn't going to go together easily it was put to the back of the closet and just recently pulled out to finish.  I will admit it is alot smaller than was orignially planned.

Each of those tiny squares finish up at 3/4" and I fussy cut each tiny piece so the design was centered....What was I thinking!

And because I had so much fabric left over, to really show these fabrics off, I cut big pieces and created this large quilt.

I am now ready for winter with these wonderfully colorful quilts.  And with the cooler weather, I will be busy creating more.  Hopefully you'll return to see what I'm working on next.