Library Quilt Along

Well, I'm totally late to this party.  (Mostly because I thought the link up was January 27, not the 17 - whoops!)   So I think I'm out of the running for any prizes (LOL, one week in and I'm DQed) BUT I'm still going to participate because I love the idea!  Adrienne at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts challenged readers to create at least 4 quilts from patterns they already had in their stash by December!  EASY . . . .  right?  Except I too am guilt of owning quite a few books and magazines from which no quilts have come forth.  Wah wah.  Okay, so without further ado, here are my choices:

1.  Becoming a Confident Quilter by Elizabeth Dackson. (side note - Elizabeth is leader of the Tampa Modern Quilt Guild, and she is AWESOME!!)

 

The quilt I've chosen to make is called "X Marks the Spot".  There are actually quite a few quilts in this book I'd like to make, but since I'm pretty sure I have the fabric I want to for this one, it's going to be first!

 

Next up is Simply Modern Christmas by Cindy Lammon.  As you can see from my awesome sideways picture, this book is from the library!!  I have checked it out on three different occasions (and of course it is currently overdue!) so it's time to commit.  Amazon - here I come!

 

I'm going to start with the argyle quilt.  It just looks fun.  But not in Christmas colors.

 

Then is Simply Retro by Camille Rosekelly.  I know what you're thinking - retro in the modern QAL???  Well, I LOVE Bonnie and Camille fabric and patterns, so too bad.

 

I'm making Swell - literally.  I started cutting on January 3rd and I have 7 blocks finished.  It's the first quilt in the book.  Not my favorite, but a good stash buster for all the fabric I thought I was in love with back in 2012.

 

I love Quilty magazine so much.  And I have all the issues.  And I've made one quilt from them.  (Offset by Jeni Baker)  And I like a lot of the quilts in the magazine.  And I'm pretty sure I've progressed to Beginner Level 3, by their standards.  And its time to stop rambling and say . . .

 

I'm going to make Play a Card.  Probably in these same colors as well.

 

So there are my choices.  And I'm marking my calendar for the next link up party.  Maybe I'll get it right this time!  Happy creating - xoxo, Em,

Hello 2014!!!!

Hello 2014! I'm so glad you're here!! I've got just a few of those resolutions that I'd like to guilt myself about for the next 363 days . . . . .

1. Take care of myself! Wow - hubs and I both realized that in the very short time we have been married we would no longer be able to outrun zombies, so it's time for that to change. It's going to mean some earlier mornings and better prioritizing, but I know we can do it!!

2. Make sewing friends! Yup, right now I have one. She doubles as my mom. She is an awesome sewing buddy but she goes to bed around 7:30 every night (EARLYBIRD to the extreme) so I'm going to try some new ventures that will seriously force me out of my comfort zone.

3. Finish 10 quilts. (I copied this from Sewing and Bacon. What a great idea, right??) I have two quilts almost finished so I'm not counting them, but I will count my Tula quilt if, no, WHEN I finish it!

4. Spend more time outside. (Perhaps this will help with #1.) I mean we live in Florida . . . . lots of opportunity here!


Okay so enough about how my fabulous self is going to become even better - let's talk about a few fun things that have been going on here at the Nest. First, my best sewing buddy and I participated in the Christmas Shop Hop the Orlando area quilt shops hosted. (Orlando area is a very broad term, my friends.) We drove to every one of those stores and got our passports stamped. This time, we did really well with not overspending at every store. And guess what??? WE WON!!! FORTY YARDS OF FABRIC!! (Ok, so technically sewing buddy won but we made a pact when we did not think we would win that we would split the prize. MUAHAHAHAHA!!!) So yes, I am set on fabric> not in desperate need of new fabric for a little while. I also discovered free motion quilting (right, like it was this hidden art form waiting for me) and am now obsessed. Bring on the negative space! Below are some pics to show that I haven't actually been sucked into the social media warp for all of my absence.

 

 

Working on my  Tula 100!  I even joined a Flickr group to track my progress.

 

 

 

First time free motion quilting - went a little crazy with this.  I used six different thread colors and it turned into a little more of an art piece than I had planned.

 

 

 

 

I am in love with machine quilting this.  :)   I will be sad when I finish . . . hopefully today!

 

 

This is my loot from the shop hop.  The stuff we bought.  Because we are legit shop hoppers.

 

 

I will become a confident quilter!!  HAHAHAHA . . . .  maybe . . .