wip wednesday: zero progress

I have made zero progress on Christmas gifts since last WIP Wednesday. I've spent no time in my sewing room in the last week... sad. Christmas won't get done this way!

I did make a teeny, tiny bit of progress on my Modern Medallion quilt while we were at my mom's house for Thanksgiving. I finally finished embroidering all the running stitch HSTs and have moved on to the satin stitched jewels.

Here's a picture in awful light since I didn't realize it was WIP Wednesday until about an hour ago... I thought it was still Tuesday. :) And it gets dark early here in the late fall.

Definitely not perfect, but for my first one, it's better than I thought it would be. Luckily it doesn't bug me enough to want to take out all. those. stitches.

Stop by my destash post while you're here!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

wip wednesday: prepping for christmas!

I've got several Christmas projects in the works, all of which I can't share here for fear of ruining the surprise. So I'll show you the fabric I pulled instead!

I love these HR seahorses... they are my fave print from Mendocino... in all colorways!

A little Joel Dewberry playing nice with Lizzy House...

And this one might be my favorite! Happy, bright colors!

In addition to working on Christmas gifts, I'm also finishing up a sewing bag that I'm really excited to share about, hopefully next week. A friend designed the pattern and I know you'll love it as much as I do!

I'm also making a little something (actually, kind of a big something) with ruffles! I tried machine basting them, and broke the threads as I was gathering the ruffle. So I've been doing it by hand... ruffles are not my forte.

Don't forget to check out my destash post while you're here!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

destash!

I'm totally copying a friend and doing a little destashing! Gotta pay for the new fabric somehow, right?

If you see something you like, send your PayPal email to seaschell@gmail.com. I'll send you an invoice.

I'm listing shipping as a flat $5 rate but I'll ship it to you the cheapest way and refund the difference.

All fabrics are unwashed and come from a nonsmoking, pet free home (although the baby may have pulled it off the shelf a time or two)!

Photo of item is below the description.

Candy Bar: Fandango by Kate Spain for Moda................... $5  TAKEN
40 2.5 x 5 inch rectangles

Charm Pack: Eden by Lila Tueller for Moda........................$8
42 5 inch squares

Half Yard: Red Punctuation by American Jane for Moda................$4

One Yard: Green Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda..................$8

33 inch cut: Jovial by BasicGrey for Moda.............................$6

One Yard: Blue Picnic and Fairground by DS Quilts from JoAnn........$8  TAKEN

Fat Quarter: Sugar Creek and Winding Road by DS Quilts from JoAnn....$2

Fat Quarters: Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille for Moda................$4 for each set

 

Red

 

Pink

 

Gray

Fat Quarter: Turtle Bay Prince Charming by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit.....................$2 TAKEN

Fat Quarter: Taffy Prince Charming by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit..........................$2 TAKEN

Fat Quarter: California Girl by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda............................$2

Fat Quarter: Rose Bouquet, Heirloom, Joel Dewberry for FreeSpirit..........$2

Fat Quarter: Aqua Dot on Orange, Love by Amy Butler for Rowan...........$1.50

There is a square cut out of this one, slightly less than 9.5" square

11.5 inches by 42 inches: Paisley on White by Barn Dandys for Robert Kaufman..........$2

12.5 inches by 35 inches: Paisley on Red by Barn Dandys for Robert Kaufman..............$1.50

There is a 3.5 by 11 inch rectangle cut out of this.

 

Fat Quarter: White and yellow butterflies on light gray background.
No selvage, but it's from my LQS.... $2

17 inch by 18 inch rectangle: Wildflowers by Laurie Godin for Northcott.........$1.50

Fat Quarter: Happier by Deena Rutter for Riley Blake.........................$2

Fat Quarter: Wandering Words, Wordplay by Michele D'Amore for Benartex...................$2

Fat Quarter: Random Words, Wordplay by Michele D'Amore for Benartex.......................$2

34 inch cut: Cheater Print, Wordplay by Michele D'Amore for Benartex...........................$7

Fat Quarter: Black, White, and Red Flower/Paisley. No selvage, but it's from my LQS......$2

Fat Quarter: White, Yellow, and Dark Gray on Light Gray Background. Exclusively Quilters, from my LQS............$2 (I have two of these fq's)

Fat Quarter: Light Gray and Yellow on White Background. Exclusively Quilters, from my LQS............$2

Fat Quarter: White, Yellow, and Gray on Black Background. Exclusively Quilters, from my LQS............$2

As items are taken I'll update this post. Thanks for looking!

crazy mom quilts retreat 2012

For the third year in a row I was able to spend a weekend sewing with Amanda Jean of crazy mom quilts! She is the co-author of one of my favorite quilting books, Sunday Morning Quilts. I always enjoy hanging out with her and Tara at the fabulous B&B that Tara runs. There is always yummy food, plenty of laughter, and lots of sewing time!

As per usual, my camera stayed stuffed in the bottom of my purse, but I took some pictures of all my goodies as soon as I got home (after I kissed my baby, of course!).

Here's the adorable nametag that Tara made:

And some swag and prizes! I won a a set of Wonder Clips and a fat eighth bundle of Liberty, yay! Plus Amanda signed my copy of her book (which if you've been following Instagram, you'll know I found it just in the nick of time! I'm @seaschellquilts).

We also did a potholder swap... I got the awesome set that Tara made! And I snagged some great scraps out of the scrap bin. Not that I needed more scraps, but who can resist?

This great Liberty tote was part of my fat eighth bundle!

Hannah made this lovely Nicey Jane quilt top at the retreat. Nicey Jane is one of my favorite fabric collections and I reeeally loved this quilt!!! (So I guess I did bring my camera out after all, ha!)

This is what I worked on at the retreat... a curtain for our kitchen window. At night it was very creepy in the kitchen... anyone could see in, but I couldn't see out. Not that people were clamoring to see into my kitchen, lol.

I love that it just hangs on clips... no pocket for the rod needed... and I can just push it aside during the day to let in all that great natural light.

 

I didn't realize how satisfying it would be to have something I made be so functional in the house!



bee blocks

I'm taking part in the current round of the 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee on Flickr. This quarter, I'm in the Hexy Hive, which means that all blocks need to contain hexagons somehow.

I designed a simple block with an English paper pieced flower in the center and a patchwork border.

 

I like how the blocks look in this photo, taken on my design wall. I just might make a whole quilt of this block and sash each one in white. I put them right up next to each other at first, but decided I like the negative space that sashing offers.

I also like how each block has its own color scheme. It was a necessity as part of the Bee, but in a quilt it would make each block stand out on its own. Of course, scrappy is always good too!

I also made 4 blocks for the Hurricane Sandy Help group on Flickr. They are collecting blocks, made from this tutorial, to assemble into quilts for Hurricane Sandy victims. The group organizer is going to New Jersey in December and will deliver the quilts then. She has recruited several people to assemble quilts with her.

 

I appreciated that they chose a relatively simple block- I cranked these out in a very short time- and I think the resulting quilts will be lovely! I hope they bring comfort to people.

emma vs. the tp roll

Emma emerges victorious in her epic battle against the toilet paper roll! TP put up a great fight but in the end was no match for the tiny shredding terror.

She was a blur of motion! A force to be reckoned with!

She's so proud of her accomplishment! (I know she's blurry but I simply cannot get this child to sit still for pictures! Shocker, right?)

Luckily it wasn't a full roll. Otherwise she might look like she's sitting in a snowbank. :)

quilty love

I was so fortunate to be part of a group of women that made blocks and assembled a quilt for my sweet friend Penny. Every time I think about it I get overwhelmed at the vast amounts of love people put into these pieces of fabric and thread. It was an amazing international effort... the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia were all represented in a big quilty hug for Penny!

Kerry is the brains behind the whole thing; she got all of us together in one very secret Flickr group called Quilty Love and decided that we would use Penny's QAYG block tutorial.

I made three blocks:

 

 

 

 

I love how all three turned out, but the last one with the embroidered iron has a special place in my heart. I *really* love that one. :)

 

Tara generously agreed to assemble the quilt blocks. Michelle and I helped with pressing and sewing binding strips together.

We Skyped with Kerry last Saturday during our retreat and gave the quilt to Penny... everyone shed tears! It was wonderful. (Not the tear shedding part, although that was sweet, haha.) Penny was overwhelmed-- I think we all were-- and it was wonderful to let her know just how much we love her!

full quilt photos used courtesy of Penny!

 

The quilt is massive! Thirty-six blocks of quilt as you go goodness. I think Tara said it measured eighty-something square. And I love that the back is just as fun as the front!