The History Quilter: WIP

Showing posts with label WIP. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Friendship Through Quilting and a Giveaway!

Over the past 2 1/2 years the online quilting community has opened up a whole new world to me. Fabric, texture, color, design and movement.... Flickr, pinterest, swaps, linkys, comments....I could go on. But the most important thing that it has opened up for me is friendship. Friendship through a shared craft/hobby/art although online should not be overlooked or undervalued - the access we now have to others across the globe to enhance/learn more about our love of quilting is real.

For example there is Debbie from A Quilter's Table - a perfect example of an online quilt blogging friend who has slowly crept into my daily consciousness with her witty prose and her amazing creations. Although we may never meet (I sure hope we do!) in person, I so enjoy the almost instant feed back if I have a question or a photo to share with her.

Then there is Zina who I met through the Goodie Swap 2011 - she made me these for the swap:

Just love that bag...I used it last night!

Well last Saturday Zina and I went to a local quilt show together and had a great time. Who knew there was another quilter approximately 1.4 miles away from me who is normal? I laugh at typing this as when I called her to set up what time I would pick her up I told her that I was "normal" and that she shouldn't worry...what a laugh we had in the car about that later. Thrilled to have a quilting friend so close! I see trips to M&L in our future, Zina.

My last example brings me to my best bud in my daily life. She is going through a divorce right now and one of the things she told me she wanted was a quilt for her bed as her soon to be ex never liked quilts. So now her mother and I are working on making her a quilt for her bed. Love the idea of making my best bud's life a little better with a quilt.

On to the WIP's - what I am no longer working on:

Supernova - finished

Supernova is done and folded up on my couch right now. Will probably wrap myself in it tonight after I return from Back to School night at the high school. The rain and (relative) cold we are experiencing right now make it a perfect night to wrap in a quilt.

What's next?
The T-Shirt Quilt - shirts sent to me by my cousin in Maryland. Shirts cut out and 1/2 are now backed by interfacing.
Quilt top for my Best Bud - I'm only doing 1/2 of the blocks for this quilt top and then will hand them off to her mother to finish.

Lastly, the Giveaway:
I've just hit 50 followers (actually 51 now!) so to celebrate I'm giving away a $50.00 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop for starting me down this wonderful quilting path that my life is now on. Their ad Martha Stewart Magazine 2 1/2 years ago began my now love of quilting so they deserve all the credit/blame. :)

To enter in the giveaway please leave a comment telling me what got you started down your crafty/quilting path. Was it a family member, a friend, a magazine, a blog? You know how I got started so tell me how you did. Make sure I can get in touch with you. *The Giveaway is now closed as of Thursday, October 13th at midnight.*

I'm linking up with Lee from Freshly Pieced so please go on over a check out what other's have on their WIP lists for today.

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday,
Susan

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

WIP Wednesday: Goodie Swap Mug Rug

Yesterday I posted photos of the two pouches I have made for my partners in the Goodie Swap 2011 and today I give you my first mug rug for Partner #1. Partner #1 was generous enough to request anything the maker wanted so I decided to go with some of my beloved Anna Maria Horner fabric in both quilting cotton and voile. Sure hope Partner #1 likes it.

Mug Rug for Partner #1

Next up is a mug rug for Partner #2 which I plan on working on tonight. These little mini quilts are so fun to work on as they give me instant gratification. In two hours I had this perfect little (almost) 8x8 mini quilt perfect for a cup of coffee or tea. One of these days I need to make one for myself.

Other WIP's:
Supernova hanging over my son's Papasan Chair. I ♥ maps.

Supernova ready to be basted

Backing fabric for Supernova

What's left:
Sliced Coins
School Yard
Italian Sorbetto

Lee is not hosting the WIP at Freshly Pieced this week as she is working on designing fabric for her Connecting Threads fabric collection. How exciting is that? Go by and give her some encouragement. :)

Happy Wednesday!
Susan

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

A New Semester and a WIP Wednesday

I'm back here again for another semester...

CSULB

and couldn't be happier.

On the schedule for this semester is Health Science for Teachers and my first methods class which covers Assessment, Curriculum and Classroom Management. (For new readers I am in college earning a Social Science Credential to teach History in High School.) The health class will be easy and will just require me to stay on top of the reading but the methods class is going to be a challenge. What impressed me most about the methods class teacher is that he is teaching us the same way we are learning to teach... which doesn't always happen. He's very dynamic and had us get up and move around the classroom to "teambuild or classbuild" which was super fun as I love meeting new people. With this activity we had to roam the classroom and ask questions that our teacher had provided us. Get this...one gal I met told me one of her hobbies is to make "poo" out of felt and embroider names on it and give it to her friends. Cracked me up and thought to myself that it had to go in the blog.

I finished up a project yesterday that has been on my WIP forever... The Essential A-Line Skirt from Jona at Stop Staring and Start Sewing. I used an Anna Maria Horner Little Folks Voile fabric called Baby Bouquet in Meadow - using a voile fabric for this skirt was the right idea as it is light and has a buttery feel to it - perfect for a summer day. I'm looking forward to wearing this skirt soon.

Essential A-Line Skirt

My current WIP list:

The Supernova quilt top is nearing completion...here's a peak:

Supernova

I ran out of the Kona Celery solid for the border so I need to stop by Joann's to pick up a tiny bit more. Once I have that in house I'll start sewing this baby together.

No Progress:

T-Shirt Quilt

School Yard

Italian Sorbetto

Sliced Coins

Please stop by Freshly Pieced with Lee to see what other's have on their WIP lists.

Have a healthy remainder of your Wednesday,

Susan

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

WIP Wednesday: As fast as I can

Another finish for the week :

Anna Maria Horner's Sidewalk Satchel

Seriously just finished this up about 10 minutes ago and now working as fast as I can to post this so I can get to Yoga class at 2pm! Just as with AMH's Multi-Tasker Tote I made in January, the pattern directions were very clear and fairly easy to follow. As with food recipes, I just read them over and over again to make sure I understood what was instructed before I proceeded.

Here's a photo to give you some perspective on how big it is.

Does the state of this room look familiar to any of you? I'm not embarrassed...it's not my room!

Quilts still working on:

Italian Sorbetto

School Yard

Sliced Coins

Please visit Lee at Freshly Pieced to see what other's are working in this week.

One more thing.......

For those food lovers out there...

Have a great rest of your Wednesday....I know I will.

Ciao,

Susan

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

WIP Wednesday: Flying Geese

I finished a quilt top last night.

Italian Sorbetto, a photo by thehistoryquilter on Flickr.

It's been ages since I finished a quilt top so I'm invigorated to keep sewing as much as possible this week. Supernova here I come! The above quilt was the Block-A-Palooza Quilt Along from QuiltDad.com which I have named Italian Sorbetto. When I began this QA I had no idea how many flying geese were involved in these blocks - I now detest flying geese. Seriously.

Other WIP's
Supernova - need to finish quilt top blocks
School Yard - needs to be basted, quilted and bound.
Sliced Coins - quilt top done, need to order binding and backing fabric

Please check out what others are working on at Freshly Pieced with Lee for WIP Wednesday #32.
Ciao~
Susan

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Wednesday WIP and how our fabric enters the United States

I'm moving right along with the Block-A-Pallooza blocks. I finished up blocks 13 & 15 on Monday afternoon. Only 2 1/2 more left and then I need to figure out how to piece the top together. I originally bought the fat eighth bundle of Sunkissed fabric and because there is a lot left, I am hoping that divine intervention will strike me with creativity on how to use that leftover fabric. Maybe a trip over the the Flickr group will help.

Block 13

Block 15

My UFO's

Sliced Coins - top completed.

Supernova - four blocks to go.

School Yard - need to baste/binding all ready

Sidewalk Satchel Bag - fabric cut

Do you know how our beloved quilting fabrics enter the United States?

When our favorite fabrics leave Asia (Moda fabrics are made in Korea, others are made in various other Asian countries), they travel by ship to various ports of call along the West Coast (Seattle, Oakland and Long Beach) and then turn back around toward Asia. It takes huge container ships roughly a week to cross the Pacific. I live in Long Beach, CA which is one of the biggest ports in the world and this morning I had the opportunity to chaperone 12th grade students on a Port of Long Beach tour by boat. (Thank goodness we did not go out of the break-wall - I get dreadfully seasick.)

Kind of a gloomy day weather wise but the two hour trip was informative and worth the $5 parking ($5? darn you City of Long Beach). The big container ships that bring us our fabrics dock here in Long Beach and offload their huge containers full of fabrics and other important quilting goodness (and lots of other things that we need, but this is a quilting blog) to rail cars and container trucks that move the fabrics across the Western and Central part of the United States.

Cosco Container Lines Americas

This ship was huge! Click on the photo and look at the size of those containers - the smallest are 20 feet long. Imagine the quilting goodness coming off that ship right now.

A few other notables about the tour:
Recognize that bridge? If you saw Inception then you should.

Commodore Schuyler F. Helms Draw Bridge

This one surprised me: This is the Mediterranean Shipping Company which is the only shipping line that travels through the Mediterranean Sea via La Spezia and Naples in Italy and Valencia in Spain before crossing the Atlantic and navigating the Panama Canal. I'm probably not wrong to assume that my Italian Olive Oil travels from Italy to me via MSC.

MSC Laussane

Sea Launch is a company that transports satellites out into the ocean somewhere along the equator to launch satellites. It's just cool.

Sea Launch

Last one: Sea Lions on a buoy.

Go check out what others are working on this week at Lee's Freshly Pieced.

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday,

Susan

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Open Windows Finish & a new WIP

Just out of the dryer is Open Windows:

Open Windows - finished March 2011

The above was my best attempt at "staging" this monster. Here is the gratuitous on-the-bench train wreck. Design is not my forte.

This is what my son will see when he gets home from school today. Hope he likes it!

While anxiously awaiting how this quilt did in the washer/dryer, I pulled out my Anna Maria Horner stash and decided on various Garden Party FQ's to use for the Supernova Quilt Along with Lee at Freshly Pieced. So excited!

My non crafty WIP: Made a run to my favorite nursery yesterday to load up on these:

Tomatoes (my attempt at growing seeds this year was dismal), Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Basil and Butternut Squash.

Go check out Lee at Freshly Pieced to see amazing things that people are posting today.

Off to the garden,
Ciao!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A very stylish WIP Wednesday

I received a very humbling e-mail on Sunday from Mary over at Piece Garden telling me that she had nominated me (along with two others) for the Stylish Blogger Award.

I almost don't know what to say about this..I'm just humbled. Before I tell you more about this award go to Mary's blog at Piece Garden and check out her Monochromatic Quilt she just finished. GO NOW!

Alright...you've seen how amazing she is, right? Did you see the Monochromatic Quilt, the Picnic Blanket, the pillow she made back on Feb 25th? What about that darling raincoat? Did you see the Hideaway?

Yes, Mary is the one who got me started on Hideaway! I just received some in the mail yesterday and it is even cuter in person that it is on my computer screen.

Here are the details about the Stylish Blogger Award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Award six recently discovered great bloggers.

Seven things: (in no particular order)
1. I'm starting to go grey but my husband hasn't noticed. LOL
2. I was adopted when I was three weeks old by the two best parents a girl could ever have.
3. Have been inside the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Would go back again in an instant.
4. My favorite sandwich is Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato and Spinach on a crusty roll.
5. I watch The Real Housewives of OC and NJ but none of the others. Can't help it - it's like junk food for my brain.
6. I subscribe to 179 different crafty/quilting and food blogs. I have 254 unread posts right now. Eeek!
7. Sometimes I think I'm a terrible example of being a girl...I look in the mirror maybe twice a day, wear my usual blue jeans/tshirt most of my waking hours (not the same jeans/shirt!) and don't wear any makeup.

My nominations for the Stylish Blogger Award:
I have 35 Google Friends and about six more if you count those who show up on Google Reader. I feel like those bloggers are "my people" as they (YOU) have taken the time to read what I have to say so I in turn do the same. My six choices from among those 35 are:

Jenniffier's Sometimes Creative Life. Jenniffier is a super cute fellow CA girl who makes some lovely quilts. I'm diggin her Posh Quilt Top right now and can't wait to see how it turns out.

Quilter in the Gap. Just found Rhonda last week and have already enjoyed a few e-mails back and forth. She's doing Lily's Quilts QA and her Dresden plate fabric choices are very informative for me as I can watch along and learn. Go check out her survey!

Fluffy Sheep Quilting. Cindy is blogging from Ireland and was nice enough to comment on my History Quilter podcast so I found her blog and began to follow. In her Year of the Craft post she shared with her readers a quilt she had made for her mother. It's gorgeous - go check it out.

The Rebel Homemaker. Seriously Shelley is my newest gardening guru and she quilts! Check out her Flickr page - amazing! Did you see that Star Wars pillow?

Marilyn's Maze. The lovely Marilyn Pond seriously lives within walking distance to me and I'm hoping in 2011 to get the chance to meet her at a Quilters by the Sea guild meeting. You might have seen her recently profiled by Sew Cal Gal with her Two Wacky Women quilt retreats she puts on with her friend Robin.

Becky's Blabber. Love this gal - would have loved to have a sister like her. She is doing her best to be crafty in a houseful of males, just like me. :) Love her Mardi Gras Quilt and don't miss her Medical Lab Quilt. So cool and so creative!

Now for the WIP:

Open Windows with machine binding attached

Only going to show one...the Open Windows quilt for my son is almost done. I attached the binding on the front by machine this morning and will begin the hand stitching of the back tonight. This quilt is so big I'll have to take it to the local Laundromat to wash and dry it.

Now I've got to run and study for an Economics exam at 2pm. Wish me luck calculating GDP, but first go check out the other WIP's at Lee's Freshly Pieced!

Ciao!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Work-In-Progress Wednesday & a finish

Work in Progress first:
#1 First is the Sliced Coins QA. Dreadful photo - I should have put these down on a sheet or something as my carpet is bluish/green (seriously - came with the house) but in person these coins look great! Didn't lay it out with the sashing yet.

Sliced Coins QA

#2 Working on something fun for a teacher friend of mine. I had a charm pack and honey bun of the American Jane Punctuation line and I am making a quilt using the Square One pattern from Camille Roskelley's Simplify book. It is coming along nicely but I forgot to take photos while I had it out.

#3 About to start a XL Twin sized quilt for my older son. We finally bought him a XL Twin bed (the boy is way too tall for a Twin sized) and he has requested a quilt made by me! I'm actually thrilled and can't wait to make it happen.

#4 Blockapalloza QA - completed block one, cut out fabric for block two and looked at block three. Hmm.

#5 Fat Quarter Shop BOM - behind by three/four months. Another hmm.

#6 - organizing all of the above into an area the size of a shoebox!

Had a pretty rotten couple of days last week. Last Thursday night was my first education class for the SS Teaching Credential and so during the day I was a bit nervous - I always get a little anxious before first classes but then it passes and all is fine. What then added to that minimal stress was a texting fight I got myself into with a family member at about 4pm - two hours before class time. Not enjoyable one bit. Do any of you have a sibling that you have practically no connection with, but have always wanted to? Have always tried to but whatever you do it seems to never be right?

Two hours later at approximately 6:30pm, as the teacher is telling us how MUCH work it is going to be not only this semester but the entire credential, I started having doubts. Doubts about whether I should go for it, whether I could do it, etc. When I got home from school that night I burst into tears on the couch with my husband and poured out all of my thoughts. How can I put this credential program before my family whom I've put #1 for almost 15 years? Most of the classes are at night - family hates that. I need new clothes for observing in the classroom and student teaching! (Stay at home mom uniform for almost 15 years - do I have any work clothes? No.)

My husband was very supportive and helped to calm me down. Had another good cry Friday morning after the children were off to school and then righted myself. It was hard to have both of those events mingle in my head - I'm very sure that if I had not already been stressed out by my sibling then what I learned in class would not have mattered so much. Almost a week later now and I'm full steam ahead with the credential program and no where with the relationship with my sibling.

If you read all of that, thank you. I appreciate it. Here is a bonus for you:

I finished the That Girl QA! Well, almost - I'm too scared to wash it! What if the Kona Red bleeds? Please any ideas on what kind of detergent I should use would be appreciated.

If any of you listed to my first History Quilter podcast, then Thank You! I am planning on recording another one this week and upload to iTunes.

Don't forget to check out what others are doing with their WIP's at Freshly Pieced. I know I will!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wednesday WIP and a Backache

Looking at fabric, fun

Dreaming up what to do with fabric, fun

Cutting up fabric, also fun

Backache from cutting up fabric, not so fun!

But I muddle on determined to ignore the pain and continue on with my busy life.

First on my WIP list:

I am participating in the Sliced Coins Quilt Along hosted by Elizabeth D. of Don't Call Me Betsy. I decided to go outside of my creative and rather comfortable box and use solids in order make a decorative quilt for the end of my bed. I am using Kona Champagne, Basil, Curry, Honey and Butterscotch. Having a Kona card has been such a big help as I was able to sit on my bed and match Kona colors to the colors around my room. I look forward to the outcome.

Various Kona Solids for Sliced Coins Quilt Along

Second on my WIP List:

I also started cutting into the Sunkissed by Sweetwater fabric that I received last week to make the first block in the Block-a-pallooza. I wish the directions could be a little more clear on what fabrics we should or could use. I ordered the entire Fat Eighth as recommended and don't know if I want to use exactly the same combinations that the block host designers illustrate in the directions. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Sunkissed fabric for Block #1

Third on my WIP list:

Last week my quilt using the That Girl Quilt Along came back from the long arm quilter. I am still blown away with what a great job she did with the quilting. I shared with you all before that I had such a tough time myself when I tried to quilt it so sending it out seemed the right choice, and boy was I right.

I was right, don't you think? I just love how Maria from Nena's Quilt Shack did her magic on my quilt. I'm working on the binding at night and should have that done within the next few days.

My remaining WIP: school!

I'm back in school this week working on my Teaching Credential. TB test, Fingerprint Scan, sign up for the CBEST test are just a few of the tasks I need to complete this week. I was warned that the first class of the teaching credential was the paper-pushing class and they weren't kidding. My other class is ECON 300 - Econ for non-majors and as usual I was the oldest person in the classroom of 100. In the introduction class yesterday the teacher kept talking about some kind of disgusting frozen pizza (sorry - admitted food snob here) to illustrate the labor supply, so I substituted that example with a quilt. Made me smile and worked very well.

Go check out Lee from Freshly Pieced to see what other creative people are working on this week!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Work-In-Progress Wednesday & Don't you forget about me.....

Kind of a catchy tune from a seminal movie from my teenage years. I was more of a Sixteen Candles/Jake Ryan fan than The Breakfast Club but I was humming this tune to myself last night while washing dishes and thinking about you all..

I'm still here!

I'm crazy busy with my research paper but I have had a few moments to come up to breathe and craft. Love those moments. So here is my current WIP. This is the MIL Christmas Gift Quilt Version II. Please go check out Lee at Freshly Pieced to check out more WIP Wednesday's.

Blocks laid out but not sewn together

Took these photos last night in the awful lighting...I'll have this pieced together by the weekend and get a photo outside. The fabrics are beautiful but I still don't know if they go together. Remember I'm color challenged!

Time to get back to research and writing. Eight more days until I can craft all day!