Summer WIP

Technically, Summer doesn't start for a couple more weeks, but since school is out we are very much in Summer mode around here.  I finished up a backlog of projects, and now I'm free to work on the things I want to (gasp).  I know, when does that ever happen?

Basics Quilt Along:  I finished up the quilting for the May blocks and pieced together the June blocks.  Pinwheels are simple and quick, so during one nap time I whipped up all four in quick succession.  I love when that happens.  It makes me feel so productive.  :)

I started a brand new project that I've been wanting to start for a year now - a wholecloth of the Madrid LDS Temple.  I borrowed a light box from a friend and marked the whole thing yesterday.  The next step is to layer it and start quilting the outline. 

Other projects

do.Good Stitches- up to date

Christmas quilt - maybe I'll do that whole Christmas in July thing to force me to work on this...

Stats for the Week:
New projects - 1
Completed projects - 0
WIP- 3

Linkin' up to WIP Wednesday.

New Horizons

It's the last day of the month, so I suppose that means I should probably finish up my May Basics blocks.  :)  Here's the last one:

In the mean time I'm starting a project I've wanted to do for a very long time.  About a year ago I found the patterns for every LDS Temple here.  I was so excited to do a wholecloth mini quilt of the Madrid Temple (where I served an 18 month LDS mission), but other projects kept taking precedence and it kept getting put on the back burner.  I finally resurrected the pattern and printed it out this morning.

I'm so excited to try something like this I can't even tell you.  It's just the outline, so I get to choose thread colors, quilting designs, and basically everything on my own.  I may add a tree or two with some clouds as well.  It's 2 x 2 feet in size, so it's going to take me a while to complete this. My first step is to borrow a light box to mark the entire outline on the fabric.  Hopefully I'll have some progress to show you soon!

Close up view of the top of the temple

Quilting Along

It's the end of the month and I still hadn't quilted any of my May Basics Blocks, so I decided to rectify that today.  I got 2 of them done.  I'm starting to realize that the set up for these blocks is what I keep putting off - marking and layering each one.  I marked these two blocks a couple of days ago, so it was nice to just sit down and quilt them.
1-

 2-

 It's a bit easier to see from the back:

Prepping

June is my month to choose the block for the Wish Sewing Circle of do.Good Stitches.  I chose the Bell Wave Quilt.   I think I'm going to make it a ROYGBIV quilt.  Each person in the sewing circle will make 2 blocks in the rainbow color of their choice in two different shades (light, medium, or dark).  I chose purple in light and dark as my test blocks.

Weighing Options

This month's block in the Basics quilt along was the Drunkard's Path, but pieced together in a "cheating" sort of way.

Pro: No curved piecing.  I try to avoid curved piecing when possible.
Con: Raw edges.  I also try to not have raw edges, because I don't particularly like the frayed edges.
Pro: Way less time consuming, and I've never tried it before which is always fun.

The pros won.  I don't have the time to fuss with curved edges, and technically I'm trying to stick with the techniques she's sharing, so I went with the cheating method.

I had some tension issues with my thread around the first curve, so I re-thread everything and then I was good to go, but you can see the difference in tension between the 2 circles prior to cutting.  This is what the three blocks ended up looking like:

Wedding Bells

My baby brother is getting married today.  He's not so little or so much a baby anymore.  To amuse myself, here are a few favorites of how I remember my brother.

 Some of the pictures have exposure issues - we're pre-digital cameras here, folks!

This picture may just be how he got his nickname "The Panty Man"

Starry Matter

Have you ever made something with one person in mind, but when you finished it, you wanted to give it to someone else?  That happened with this quilt.  After putting together the quilt top, I really wanted to give it to a different friend who is having a little girl, so that's what I'm going to do.

This is a smaller version of Jeni Baker's Scrappy Star Quilt.  I made the triangles about half the recommended size in order to make it a better size for a tummy-time quilt.

 I kept the quilting in the star theme.  Within the star is loopy lines with stars and in the background is Starry Mess.  Here's a view from the back:

 I was using the very last of my purple polka dot fabric for the binding.  I was really nervous that I wasn't going to have enough and that I'd have to go out looking for some way to match it.  Luckily, it made it all the way around with an inch and a half to spare!  Phew!  That's what I call a quilting success!!

Connecting to TGIFF and Free Motion Quilting.

Playing With Scale

I'm catching up on April's Basic blocks.  I got 2 done and have one more to go.  These are fun, because it's all about changing the scale of the quilting.  I decided to do these completely freehand, because I really wanted the practice. 
#1- Stippling:

#2- Circuit Board:  Straight lines are a bit more challenging for me, but it turned out better than I thought it would. 

Linkin up to BOMs Away.