Lame

What can I say?  It has been over two months since my last blog.  I am a lame blogger.  Does this mean I really do have a life?  Maybe.  Or maybe, I like IG better.  More pictures, less words.  Typing takes all of my fingers, an engaged brain, some grammar and spelling.  Snapping a pic on my iPhone with hashtag is much easier.

The up side is I have a few finishes to post.  The down side is taking the time and actually figuring out where they are on the hard drive, or phone, and getting the damn (yes damn) Blogger to post them.

So here is a picture of the finished baby quilt shown here in August:

The fabric is A Beautiful Thing by Riley Blake Designs.

The back:

Another Baby Girl Quilt finished:

And the back:

The fabric is Butterfly Dance by Riley Blake Designs.  What can I say?  It was a bright sunny day!

Perhaps this is what has kept me distracted and unblog worthy:

Yes, Space Dust.  There was a quilt along for that I just couldn't resist on IG.  I used my FQ bundle of Fox Field.  This quilt is mainly paper pieced and much harder than it looks.  I practiced my free motion swirls (thank Gawd I got the computer for that long arm) and did lots of ruler work.  And as you can see, it is a nice, big quilt.

An up closer shot:

Oh I do love me some Tula!

On that note, I will end this post with some more Tula eye candy.  At least, I think so!

Prince Charming!  I have been wanting to make this quilt for quite some time.  The backing has not been made yet as I have had other quilts ahead of this one to quilt.  After all, Christmas is only 51 days away.  

There are other things I can't quite post yet.  And the results of our local quilt show that I will post later.  And maybe a pattern for a HST Christmas quilt.  But don't hold your breath.

WIP Another Baby Girl Quilt

I am in the process of making another baby girl quilt!  Is this the year of the girls?   After all, girls rule!  ; )

With one layer cake of Riley Blake's A Beautiful Thing and about a yard of Bella Porcelain, this is what. I have so far.

I got 4 more rows sewn on before I had to go to work.  I hope to get this one finished by Friday and ready for the long arm.  The pattern is one I made up as I went along.  The finished size will be approximately 40" x 48".  

My other WIP will take a few months to finish. Part of my day has been spent stalking my IG mini quilt swap partner and planning on what to make with what fabrics.  The fabric part is fairly simple for this particular person.  I already have a rough (really rough) sketch of what to make.  There will be some quilt math involved.  I am a little intimidated, I admit.  But overall, I am so excited!  I cannot wait to see what others do!  And I know I will LOVE whatever my swap partner makes for me.  Just no plaids, Civil War fabrics or all dark colors, please.  

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Sunday Stash #21 with Space Dust

Over on InstaGram, there is a Space Dust QAL going on.  It is hosted by Paul Halliger and John Adams.  Here is a picture of the pattern by Tula Pink.

This is a paper piecing pattern.  I have been intimidated by it.  Until now.  Instead of using Birds and Bees, I am using Fox Field.

But this is about STASH, right?  Here is some beautiful fabric I already had in my stash; Tula Pink's Birds and Bees.

The original meteor space dust fabric.

And here is a pic of my first row done...

Linking up now with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash!

Sunday Stash #20 Pony Express Remix

Cotton + Steel has lived up to the hype in my estimation.  The basics are beyond just basics with the metallics.  They been done just right - not too much or too old school.  Connecting Threads is going to start carrying Cotton + Steel.  I think that is saying something!  Okay.  Seriously.

To brush up on my paper piecing for the Space Dust Quilt Along with Paul Hallinger and John Adams, I did this EQ7 Andrea Bishop block.  Of course, I used the Cotton + Steel basics.  I think they are showcased here pretty well.

Gorgeous, aren't they?

But when it came to getting August, Hat Box, Homebody, Moonlit, or Mustang, I was at a complete loss.  I love all of them!  But some fabrics in some of the lines more than others.  I was leaning towards getting Homebody (because I am a total homebody) until I saw the Pony Express Remix on Hawthorne Threads.  This is my Sunday Stash #20 - the Pony Express Remix.

(Please excuse my not so great pictures that do not do these fabrics justice.  It has been dark and rainy here all weekend long.)

I already have the quilt that I am going to make with these beauties.  It is from John Q. Adams book Beyond Neutral:Quilts Inspired by Nature's Elements.  I highly recommend this book.  There are several in it that I am dying to make.

This book gets me thinking about creating something different and my own.  That is the kind of book I thoroughly enjoy.

Going to link up with the very funny and talented Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash!  Show us yours!

Sunday Stash #19

This has been a happy mail week!  Oh yeah!  Lovelies to add to my stash.

For starters, some Tula Pink~

FQ's of Neptune and of Salt Water.  Love!

And more Tula Pink yardage~

Some Prince Charming, Salt Water and Birds and Bees.

More yardage from one of my other favorites, Anna Maria Horner~

True Colors!

Linking up now with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash!

A July Friday Finish!

I have been wanting to make Noodlehead's (Noodlehead?  A nickname?  Wha...?) Super Tote for a few months.  While waiting for fabric to arrive to start making two Frozen quilts (yes, 2), I decided that it was time.  So I pulled out my Melody Miller and Mochi dot fabrics, the pattern and went to work.  Of course, I HAD to do some fussy cutting with those wonderful fabrics!  

Here is the front with faux piping:

The back:

I took it outside for some shots but it was getting a little late in the day.  The inside (with key leash on the side):

The top zipped up:

The side complete with retro alarm clock:

As I was taking the pics, a bird flew out of the inside of the hanging lighthouse that you can kind of see in the photos.  I looked inside and there was a nest with 4 eggs!  How fun!

There is my Friday Finish!  My Noodlehead Super Tote!  Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday.  

Interrupted Finishes Done!

I wanted to post some of these finishes last Friday.  Arthur (the hurricane type), July 4th (my BDay), and family visiting for the weekend made it impossible for me to sit down and write a blog post.  Now I have a couple more finishes and am going to share all of them today!

First off, here are pictures of my Acacia Vintage Quilt Revival on our guest bed.  Family actually got to sleep under it!  It doesn't get much better than that!

With the matching pillows and shams that I made to go with it.

Without the pillows...

The borders, the binding and the quilting...

Before I took up quilting, instead of fabric, I pieced stained glass.  The above is one that I made about 12 plus years ago.  Quilting is a lot like working with stained glass; but there are no smelly fumes with quilting.

Another finish is the Tula Pink Craftsy Mystery Quilt!  Our A/C is not working upstairs, AGAIN, so no one got to sleep under this one.  Sigh.  Hope to have the A/C fixed next Tuesday.  I am going through long arm quilting withdrawal.

The bed frame is an antique family heirloom.

Another angle...

A close up of the quilting.  My DH let me know that this is one of his all time favorites.  

Another finish in time for Arthur's, the BDay fairy's, and family's visit was the April Showers Piece of Cake II quilt.  

I love the quilting pattern on this quilt!  Love!

Two other finishes since are:

A dress for my Granddaughter Stella!  This is Sarah Jane's Wee Wander fabric in Made by Rae's Geranium dress pattern.  I am a quilter.  Sewing clothing is not something I ordinarily enjoy, but this dress was easy to make.

Last but not least, a Saltwater fabric nursing cover for a Mom to be in the CCMQG.  The tutorial I used is this one from Craftaholics Anonymous. 

Even though I haven't been blogging, I have been posting to Instagram (JMylander on Instagram if you want to follow) and getting some quilts and projects finished.

Linking up now with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.  This whole Finish it up Friday motivates me to get some things done!

Layer Cake of April Showers for Finish it Up Friday

Friday!  What a day!  Today, it was a June Showers Downpour!  As my dear husband would say, "a frog strangler" kind of rainy day.  This finish is appropriate.  It is Bonnie and Camille April Showers fabric layer cake in the quilt pattern by Thimble Blossoms' - Piece of Cake 3.  The quilting is done in an E2E Modern Diamond Curve pattern by Wasatch Quilting.  I can't wait to see this one washed, dried and all crinkled!

This is my second quilt made with this pattern.  If you want a quilt pattern that is pretty quick and easy, this is a good one.  The raindrop patterned fabric is one of my favorites from this line.

Linking up with Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF!

WIP - Pretty Potent Meets Side Braid

This quilt is coming along nicely!  It is Anna Maria Horner's latest line of fabrics called Pretty Potent. The pattern is Jeni Baker's Side Braid.  Since the quilt is 109" x 114", I changed up the pattern a bit.  It was difficult to get the entire top in one shot, but here goes.

I have yet to make the backing for this but do have the fabric.  Not sure how to quilt this one yet.  This one will be for our bed and I am looking forward to having it on there!

My other WIP is our guest bedroom.  I have it just about ready to go.  Some shams are made, one pillow completely done, one pillow needs a back, and two shams have yet to be made.  I will def post a pic when it is all complete.  Looking forward to having this one done, too!

Here are some pictures of the quilt:

Up close of the quilting.  Modern hour glass E2E.

The quilt with quilting.  It is the Vintage Quilt Revival sampler quilt made with Tula Pink's Acacia fabric line plus matching solids.

Machine stitching on the binding.  LOTS of pixel binding!

Linking up now with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

Sunday Stash #18 Time to get More

This past week has been a good one for getting projects done.  Yay!  My stash is getting smaller as I use up a lot of it.  My Pretty Potent stash is almost gone.  Just a few scraps left.  My Acacia is gone and the scraps are going to go live at another home.

We all know what that means!  Time to get more stash!  No worries, I have a birthday coming up and you know what I have asked for.  Yes, I even sent links to my dear hubby.  You know, so there won't be any confusion...

I bought this fabric to make a dress for my Granddaughter who is not quite 2.  The pattern I will be using is this one by Made by Rae.  It doesn't look too difficult for this quilter.

After making the Out to Sea baby girl quilts, I am finding I really like Sarah Jane.  But no worries about me getting too carried away, at least not yet.

The other piece of fabric I added to my stash was this one by Anna Maria Horner.  It is from her Hand Drawn Garden line.

I got it for a very good price and thought it would make a nice quilt back. I LOVE it!  It is all I can do to resist buying a 1/2 bundle from Westwood Acres Fabric.  

And more added to my stash of Saltwater by Tula Pink.  These babies will actually become a nursing cover for a special soon to be Mom.  Our CCMQG is having a baby shower for her in July.

So that is it for now!  Next Saturday, is the Sewing Expo in Raleigh.  I am certain I will find LOTS to bring home from that trip!  (I have become my Mother.  I have.)

Linking up now with this week's host Handmade by Mary Emmens.  Come on, what's in your stash?

Three 2nd Quarter Finishes - Finally!

Yes, I finally finished up my Craftsy 2013 BOM quilt.  It is done!  Whooooohoooo!  It only took me a year and a half to get this one done, but it is done!  Two months of that were because I couldn't decide how to quilt it.  I bit the bullet and practiced my longarm free motion skills on this quilt.  It was perfect for doing just that.  It is impossible to get better without practicing, for me anyway.

I took this picture yesterday with the help of my dear husband and doggies as the sun was just beginning to set.   The orange that you see shining through is the backing.  I used a brand of batting I don't usually use anymore and am regretting that decision.  My favorite batting is Quilter's Dream.

A couple of close ups of the quilting.  Yes, I did a lot of quilting!  It has been washed and dried to a nice crinkle.  It has already been cat tested and approved.

My next 2nd Quarter finish is my Hop Skip and Jump BOM quilt.  The fabrics I went with are Bonnie and Camille Happy Go Lucky.  I had to get this one done as the Spinning in the Rain BOM with Sew Lux Fabric has started.

This picture just does not do this quilt justice!  All washed and dried as well as cat approved.  In the interest of time, both quilts had the binding machine stitched on. 

The third quilt is number two of two baby girl quilts.  Mom of the baby girl is a US Marine and Dad loves to sail.  So what better fabrics than these?

The binding still needs to be hand sewn down - no machine stitching for this one.  I LOVE the nautical quilting designs!  (Thanks Jessica for sending me here Designs by Deb.)

Here is a close up of the lighthouse and captain's wheel quilting.

And finally, a picture of the back of the quilt.  This back is pieced because I used every last bit of fabric to make it!

Linking up now with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday.