En Provence Quilt Top finish

                  (Click Here to go to the One Monthly Goal January Goal Finish Linkup Post)

While I shared a photo of my En Provence quilt top finish last week, I never really shared all the quilt related facts.  Since this blog serves as a way to record my quilt progress, I thought a second post was in order.

Isn't she lovely?

The quilt was design by Bonnie Hunter as part of her mystery QAL for 2016.  The pattern is available for free until midnight January 31.

I choose to make a smaller size quilt than her pattern called for.  My quilt top is 53 x 71''.  The large blocks are made up of 3'' (finished) smaller blocks that were assembled during each week's mystery clue.

I started January with all the pieces and then had a grand adventure assembling into a quilt top!

I just absolutely love the fabric I choose to use.  The teal and navy prints are part of the Moda Valley line.  The yellow/gold was from Moda Welcome Fall.  The red was Modern Textures (brick color). The blue was an interesting (for me) choice because it came from the 110'' wide backing fabric.  My LQS cut a 1/4 yard which was more than enough.  I am going to use this fabric as the backing fabric as well.

I will likely take this quilt to my LAQ to work her magic.

This is the fifth time I've participated in Bonnie's annual mystery QALs.  My favorite to date is Allietare from 2015, gifted to one of my sisters.  Once quilted, I suspect this years quilt could be a close second!

My quilt top will be linked up with  Main Crush Monday's, Sew Cute Tuesdays,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Fabric Frenzy Friday,  Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.   I will also be linking up with Mini's and More parade at Sherri's blog.

Linking up with Bonnie's Finish link-up.  (updated 2/13)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Slytherin hat

(Click Here to go to the One Monthly Goal January Goal Finish Linkup Post)

I have just fallen in love with this hat pattern Bankhead on Ravelry.  I recently finished my third hat about 8 hours before days of warmer weather arrived here in North Carolina.

My daughter is a big Harry Potter fan so I themed this with the green to align with the Slytherin house.

The first hat I made was a Christmas gift for my dad is a blue, almost teal color.

My second hat was one I made a blue one for myself (blog post).

It is such a fun knit that I want to cast on another just because!  Having some knitting at the ready is quite enjoyable.

Note - Slytherin Hat Yarn - Perfection by Kraemer Yarns in Spring Rhyme

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal - January Goal Finish Linkup

There were 115 projects shared in the January One Monthly Goal Link up post!

Isn't that fantastic?  I am looking forward to see photos of all the goals finishes that are linked up below.

The February One Monthly Goal link up will open on February 1.  Sign up to receive email notifications when each One Monthly Goal linkup is open.    (And as you start to think about February, remember a goal could be to finish a quilt but it could also be to attach a binding or make three blocks.  Whatever it takes to help you move forward and make progress on your projects!  And as long as the project involves a needle and/or fabric, you can link up!)

My goal for January was to finish my quilt top from Bonnie Hunter's 2016 mystery QAL En Provence.

I just love it!  After much consideration, I went with a 2 x 3 block layout which kept me within the fabric I had already purchased and produced a great sized quilt.    I'm not sure whether I'll quilt this myself or bring it to my LAQ - right now I'm just happy it is off my design floor!

Now it is your turn to link up - share your goal finish for January.   

Please only link up your goal finish if you also participated in the January Goal Setting Linkup.

There will be three winners this month - Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate, Bagmaker Supply is offering a $20 gift certificate and Juliet from The Tartankiwi is offering a $25 gift certificate to her shop.

Winners will be selected from valid entries on February 1 and notified by email.  Once confirmed, this post will be updated with the names of the lucky winners.

updated 2/1/17  ***  Congratulations to Lyndsey , Heidi & Connie who won prizes from the January linkup.  The winners have been notified by email and have accepted their prizes!!!  ****

Visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month.  (January Goal Setting Linkup)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can follow where you are linking.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal January Linkup .

An InLinkz Link-up

Sign up to receive email notifications when the One Monthly Goal linkup is open.  Think of it as a helpful reminder!


I'll be linking up my quilt top finish with  Main Crush Monday's, Sew Cute Tuesdays,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Fabric Frenzy Friday, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.  

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Basket of Hearts

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!  

I'm sharing several projects today in celebration of winter and Valentine's Day as part of the Fresh Snow blog hop.  The purpose of the hop is to make something in celebration of winter or a winter holiday and use materials beyond just quilting cotton.

My heart sachets are filled with lavender.  So nice!

My be my valentine mini was fun to put together.  I am just in love with the shade of pink thread I used on the mini which finishes 10'' square.

Have you made a rope bowl yet?  These are amazingly addictive to make.  I'd purchased 100 ft of clothesline rope at my LQS years and years ago with the intent of making one of these bowls.  I managed to make 4 bowls, all slightly different!  Not sure why I waited so long - a cleanup of my quilting studio gave me the incentive to try one.  (There are many rope bowl tutorials - this is the one I used.)

This oval shaped bowl is my favorite.  It fits nicely next to my sewing machine and is keeping my seam ripper and small scissors right where I need them!  I was fun switching out the thread color to add interest to the bowl.

For the heart filled basket, I wrapped some of the rope with fabric as I went.

Please enjoy the other quilters who are blogging today as part of the Fresh Snow blog hop -

                                                            Elm Street Quilts  (that's me!)
                                             Resourceful Mama 
                                             MooseStash Quilting
                                             Any Pattern
                                             SeaCoast Quilter

The overall schedule of Fresh Snow bloggers can be found here. Thanks, Marian for the work you do to run the hop and keep us organized!

Visit all of the bloggers as part of the hop and enter the giveaway - see Marion's blog for photos of wooly block prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

My finishes will also be linked up with  Main Crush Monday's, Sew Cute Tuesdays,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Fabric Frenzy Friday,  Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.   

(The be my valentine mini is finish #5 - all mini's so far - for 2017.)


Have a wonderful day! Patty

2017 - the quilt block

As my regular readers know, I am more then seriously addicted to long QALs.

(New visitor?  Please take a moment to check out One Monthly Goal, a monthly opportunity to set a quilting goal for that calendar month and link up with your goal and then your goal finish.  Great sponsors and such fun to see what others are doing.)  

I am about to start my own scrap quilt project for the year and thought it would be great fun to include a block with 2017 on it within that quilt.  This 2017 block would also work as a label for a quilt.

For my sample block, I used bits and pieces of fabric leftover from making the wedding quilt.   I turned this block into a mini quilt and took the opportunity to practice some fmq.

The numbers are paper pieced and each measures 3 ½ x 5 ½ '' unfinished.

Download a copy of the paper pieced pattern for 2017 here in my PayHip store.  This is available for free.

Elm Street Quilts Paper Pieced Pattern

If you make a block, I'd love to see it.  Please tag it as #2017quiltblock and @elmstreetquilts on Instagram!

Before you go off to make your block, take a minute to check out play, an improv QAL which kicks off in February!  Sign up for the Elm Street Quilts newsletter to get all the news on the QAL.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

January Block update

I've blocks in progress for several QALs (I am seriously addicted, what can I say!)

Here is an update of the two I am making with American Made Brand solids.  (Make sure you check out play - my new improv QAL announcement also made with American Made Brand solids.)


The first is one sponsored by American Made Brand called My Land.  Block 9 is called Lean Towards the Sun.

I've downsized the patterns to be 6 1/2'' unfinished and paper pieced most of the blocks.

I am just loving the way all my blocks look together.  A couple of the blocks use a different blue for the sky.  At one point I thought I would remake those two outsiders but now I don't think so.  Variety is a good thing!

Next up with the Meadow Mystery QAL from Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs.   For this mystery QAL, all I had to get started were really excellent directions on which fabric should be light / medium / dark and some advise on what fabrics would sit next to another fabric so you could validate contrast.

I've downsized such that these HST are 2 1/2 '' unfinished.  (The pattern calls for 4 1/2 ''.)   Here are all my blocks.  The quilt pattern reveal comes in February!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

A Podcast

Wow.

Many of you - if not all of you - know Leah Day from her wonderful free motion quilting tutorials. I first starting following Leah back in 2009 when she first started blogging.  At that time, she shared a video of a new fmq design ever single day for a year.  (All her designs are available in a book.)

Recently Leah started a podcast called 'Hello My Quilting Friends".  You can find it on iTunes or on her blog, The Free Motion Quilting Project.

Leah invited me to join her podcast to talk about the One Monthly Goal event.  I so very much appreciated the opportunity to spread the word about the event and encourage more quilters to participate in the months to come.

Talking with Leah was a blast.  She always brings so much enthusiasm to her quilting videos and now to her new podcast.  The experience of recording the podcast will surely be a highlight for 2017.  I really appreciated the opportunity to talk about One Monthly Goal, Bag It and the just announced improv QAL called play.

That said, I needed to draw on my word of the year - brave - to actually listen to myself. Those words are mine but whose voice was that anyway?  (Maybe I sounded younger than my age?  I can hope!)

You can find this podcast episode on Leah's blog, Free Motion Quilt Project.  Make sure you check out her Free Motion Block Party QAL

(This Brave mini quilt is my 3rd finish of 2017.  It is 7 x 6''.  You can read more about why I choose the word Brave on my Reflections post.)


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Introducing play - an improv QAL

Ready to play?

I am so very excited to announce my new QAL called play which is all about improv quilting.

Let's start with a base definition -

improv (noun),
short for improvisation.  (source)

the art or act of improvising, or of composing, uttering, executing, or arranging anything without previous preparation.

Translate that to quilting means:

• no pattern
• no rules
• take chances
• have fun
• free form piecing
• play with color
• embrace mistakes (or throw them away)
• scissors
• don't overthink it
• its not done until it is done

play with color, play with shapes, play with fabric.

For play, there will not be a pattern, or any step by step tutorials, or any information on fabric requirements.

For play, there will be weekly prompts that you can choose to embrace or ignore, social tags and linkups, a parade of finishes and wonderful sponsors with prizes (randomly awarded) to participants.

play will kick-off on February 13.  The prompts will run February through March with linkups of finishes through April.

We'll explore all kinds of improv prompts in play.  Put text in your quilt or don't.  Make wonky log cabins or don't.  (Get the idea?)

A parade of play finishes will be in early May.

We've two wonderful sponsors for the play QAL and prizes (randomly awarded) for those who play along -

American Made Brand    

(Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram)

Aurifil   

(Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram)

Excited to play along?  I hope so!  More information is available on the play event page.

Sign up for the Elm Street Quilts Newsletter to make sure you don't miss any information about the QAL.

Grab a button for your blog and help me spread the word!

Pick a small one

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.elmstreetquilts.com/p/play.html" rel="nofollow" title="Elm Street Quilts"><img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QFxjHgG8B8/WHlPR1cc3iI/AAAAAAAAf4Q/7S7F7-PDYOgzH6TmK7hgfri02uFPf73NwCLcB/s1600/ESQimprov%2Bsmall.jpg" alt="Elm Street Quilts" style="border: none;" /></a></div>
</pre>

or a large button

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.elmstreetquilts.com/p/play.html" rel="nofollow" title="Elm Street Quilts"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qc1LGNzW6tE/WHlL709khNI/AAAAAAAAf4A/nHPWvTY_0JgeHdJaykt-i467zoumafKBQCK4B/s1600/ESQimprov.jpg" alt="Elm Street Quilts" style="border: none;" /></a></div>
</pre>

My improv mini with wonky text is my 2nd finish of 2017.  I'll be linking up my finish with  Main Crush Monday's, Sew Cute Tuesdays,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Fabric Frenzy Friday,  Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.   


Have a wonderful day! Patty

A Bit of Knitting

I entered 2017 with a goal of always having a project ready for a needle so that I could take advantage of any time in the evenings watching tv or when I needed a few minutes to sit quietly.  I do need variety to keep me interested so I've prepped some applique as well as queued up some knitting projects.

I finished my hat on Saturday and took it out for a spin on Sunday when temperatures were in the low 20s.  The hat kept my ears nice and warm and happy.  (I made the same hat in a different shade of blue for my dad for Christmas.)

We anticipated a major snow storm for days leading up to a disappointing overnight downpour of rain and sleet followed by a bit more than an inch of snow Saturday morning.
The snow made things pretty but the ice left the roads treacherous. (Side roads rarely get plowed here in central NC.  We generally wait until temperatures climb above freezing and for things to melt.)

Now on the needles is the same hat pattern but in green.  This hat will have a Harry Potter color scheme in it.  I'll share more when I'm done.

Pattern: Bankhead on Ravelry
Yarn: Rowan pure wool

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Quilting Tip - Project Boxes

I love block of the month or block of the week QALs and generally work on several at once. There is no deadline for these projects and sometimes when inspiration isn't striking, sitting down and sewing a block that someone else told me to sew is just what I need.

Long term projects need long term storage options.  I've been working my way through the Splendid Sampler and just finished The Farmer's Wife.   Right now, I've close to 200 blocks (each 6 1/2 '') just for these two quilts.

I keep my completed blocks in a large plastic bin I bought at Target.  ( The block box is roughly 17 x 11 x 6'' .)

The blocks are secured in groups of 10 by the cheapest quilting notion you can find, the common clothespin!

Besides being seriously addicted to quilt alongs, I also like to have multiple projects underway at the same time.  (Right now, I have 7 and about to start the 8th.)

To keep myself organized, once I pull the fabric for a specific project, I keep everything together in a project box.  (My project boxes, also purchased at Target, are roughly 11 x 14 x 3 ''. )

Everything get tucked all nice inside and partial blocks are stored there.  I move the box to my work table when I'm ready to work on the project and then pack it all away when I'm done for the day.

I used my (fun) label maker to make up labels for the side so I can find what I need from the stack.  (These are my fabrics for my Bonnie Hunter QAL.)

I use the shoebox size boxes for fabric storage - I'll share more about that in another post.

How do you store your completed blocks and your projects?

I'll be linking up at tips and tutorials Tuesday @quiltingjetgirl








Have a wonderful day! Patty

Numbers

Numbers.

I made this wall hanging as a Christmas gift for my son to add some color to his apartment walls.  The fabrics are all American Made Brand solids, some of them snatched immediately from a fat quarter pack I won from the Clothworks blog.

The quilt is a Fibonacci quilt.  The dimensions of the blocks are part of the Fibonacci series (1, 1, 2, 3, 5 ...).    For the quilting, each block is quilted differently in matching thread.  The number of quilting lines crossing the block also mape to a number in the series.

Lots of quilts are fun to make.  If they aren't fun, we ought to put them aside.

But this one was loads of fun.

I so much enjoying inserting the pop of red into the quilt.  It is my favorite part.

My son is a math and computer geek and this quilt was perfect for him.  It finished at 40'' square and I know he was excited to hang it up in his apartment.

The binding was finished on Christmas Eve and was wrapped and ready under the tree Christmas morning.  It was my second to last finish of 2016.  Awesome was the last finish.

One more thing.  I have three kids and I always want to have something handmade for them under the tree.  I am lucky that they really appreciate anything that I make.  My son got this quilt, Numbers. One daughter got Awesome and the other got this pillow for her dorm. Everyone was happy, especially me.

I'll be linking up my finish with  Main Crush Monday's, Sew Cute Tuesdays,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Fabric Frenzy Friday, TGIFF, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.   

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Orphan stitching project = first 2017 finish!

I find hand stitching or knitting to be a great way to relax at the end of a day.  (In fact, one of my goals for 2017 (see goal post) was to always have a project needle ready.)

Often my embroidery projects become UFOs - all stitched up but nowhere to go.

This pear is something I made at least 6 months ago.  It sat lonely and unfinished at the bottom of my block basket until I decided to turn it into a mini quilt.  The pattern is a stitch sampler and very fun to stitch up.

Straight line matchstick quilting, a scrap of batik for backing and binding was all it took to dress this up and turn it into my first finish for 2017!  It is roughly 7'' square.

I wrapped it up and gifted it an aunt.  I hope she likes it.

I like the way this looks as it sits in front of the window on a gray day.  The background fabric is a light cream but looks darker in this picture.

The pear stitching pattern was sourced from Kathy Schmitz's site quite some time ago.  I don't have the direct link to the pattern anymore but there are plenty of other wonderful things on her site.

                                    (One Monthly Goal January Linkup can be found here.)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Everything is awesome

(One Monthly Goal January Linkup can be found here.)

I wanted my daughter to great each day with a strong encouraging word quilt so I selected Awesome!

This wall hanging measures roughly 30'' square and I used scraps of Moda Fig Tree to surround the awesome letters.

To quilt, I did FMQ loops all over the print fabric and outlined the letters.  I though about doing some echo quilting inside each letter, maybe even by hand, but the letters just pop without the extra quilting so I left it alone.

My daughter loves her quilt and I hung it right over her bed.  I used an enlarged version of my chunky alphabet pattern for the letters.  The rest of it just went together, making it up as I went along.

This was the last Christmas finish for 2016.  I put the final stitches in the binding about 6pm Christmas Eve.

I'll be linking up my finish with  Main Crush Monday's, Sew Cute Tuesdays,  Freemotion by the River,   WIP Wednesday's,  Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers.  Fabric Frenzy Friday, TGIFF, Finish it Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday.   

Have a wonderful day! Patty