Oh! That’s not a work-in-progress, because it’s complete! Here’s another thing I completed…a set of “Get Well” coasters for a family friend.

and here’s a sneak peek of one of my future blog posts…

Now, I’m just going to add a gallery, so you can see close-ups of all the different areas of the quilt. I don’t have much to say about my process, it kind of just happened! I tried out some new filler stitches from Leah Day and did some quilting that fit with the “blocks”. The last photo is just because I happened to hang it in the window and the quilting looked cool from the other side with the light shining through!

The “Reveal” at the March Des Moines Area Modern Quilt Guild meeting was really fun! There were some really amazing works done by our growing group! Crystal was taking photos, so I hope they will be posted on our website or Flickr page, then I’ll share the link so you can see the rest.  Oh! But you can see LOTS of other finished projects from the National Modern Quilt Guild’s challenge here on Flickr. Enjoy!

Oh but spring projects are soooo fun!!
Do you want to see what we made?

1. This is the first thing we had to do when we woke up…They are just a little cute, but were super fun to make! I must say, though, that sharpies are not permanent on plastic eggs. I should have known, but we didn’t have any paint pens in the house, so we tried this (Family Fun magazine said it would work!) The most fun part was that after decorating plastic eggs with cute faces, we stuck a blob of play dough in the bottom and shut the egg. When poked, they wobbled around really silly and popped right back up! Homemade “Mighty Beans”!!

2. This would have been better with bigger pom poms, because this guy is just about 1″ tall! But Brennan already took his away before I could get a photo. He played owl hatching with another plastic egg all morning!  Found on Pinterest, of course!  The instructions there were for if you purchased a kit. Brennan was quite proud that his mama made them…”You’re so amazing mom, you didn’t even have to buy a kit!”

3. Ok, this next photo shows the projects I did after Brennan left, as they are surprises for the Easter baskets!

Aren’t those peep bunnies adorable?!! Pinterest too, but here’s a direct link to the tutorial, from Dandelions and Lace.  And the fabric eggs are from Positively Splendid, although I also saw some at Retro Mama.

The peep bunnies were not complicated, but they were a little tricky. Look at all those pins!

4. Lastly, I assembled these cute little yo yo flowers while watching tv. I made the yo yos all in one evening this week and couldn’t decide what to do with them. I wanted to cover a foam easter egg, like I saw in Quilts and More magazine, but the foam eggs were ridiculously expensive, so I decided they make cuter flowers. I have four altogether, I might just sew the flowers together and make one table mat, or they might stay separate to be strewn around! Not sure yet.

The inspiration was mainly the technique. I improvisationally pieced a little quilt to start. I had some leftover flying geese, which became a tree; loved those stylized trees in the center fabric; and just pulled out springy fabrics that coordinated until I thought it was a pleasant size and composition.

Then I quilted the piece, straight lines around the main blocks to hold everything in place; around the motifs in the focus fabrics; and a few swirls for movement and interest. Part of the challenge was to include appliqué, so the broderie perse (fussy cut) flowers were machine quilted on next. Finally, I hand embroidered some details throughout the week, until I thought I was out of time and then called it done and bound it. I was even working on it during the Modern Quilt Guild meeting slide show, in the dark! I have so much fun with these improv pieces, just adding details as they pop into my head!  Good thing my mom had the perfect binding fabric (thanks Mom!) because I was at her house in Minnesota when I finished this. Also good thing that my ipad takes such good photos, because I had forgotten my camera cord!  But that’s part of the excitement of Project Quilting, one week is a short deadline and you do whatever you can do to get something done!

‘Til next season! Now I’m going to have start giving myself my own challenges….and deadlines!

And Happy Spring! I hope its starting to feel warm and springy in your part of the world, it is here!

p.s. Don’t forget you can visit the Flickr group to see the rest of the Project Quilting entries…http://www.flickr.com/groups/1401824@N21/ or visit PersimonDreams website to read more about Project Quilting

Available for sale here in my Etsy shop.

The team also makes Treasuries on Etsy to showcase quilts. It would be nice if one of those treasuries made it to the front page, but I don’t think it’s happened yet. Come on, Etsy, it’s Worldwide Quilting Day!!

Anyway, we can enjoy the treasuries of quilts…

It’s a Cat Tent!

Yes, that’s the kittie’s tail ABOVE the tent. She’s more interested in looking out the window than hiding in a tent. Actually, this was for my other kitty, to keep her out from under my bed causing nighttime allergies for me. BUT she is a very stubborn cat and hasn’t figured out that the tent is good for her.

Brennan may get it for his stuffed toys.

In case you’re wondering, I got the pattern from Sew, Mama, Sew. HERE Actually, all the instructions are from that tutorial, but I drew my own pattern to a good size for a cat. I used the size fabric I had and the size of a pillow I planned to put inside and just sketched to match the proportions of her little tent. I knew hers would be too small for a cat, it was meant for play…for stuffed toys and dolls. They were great instructions, I followed them almost to a tee. I did substitute plastic piping for the faucet connector poles though, since it was so much cheaper, but felt just as good. My poles are perfect! I have a lot of leftover pipe too, so if you live nearby and want to make one, just let me know!

Here is the page I turned to.

Here is the quilt I made:

I didn’t make an exact representation of the page, but I did make a lot of parallels to it. I loved the abundance of white space, so I used that. I also loved the black lines behind the bugs. That reminded me of writing and drawing in a gridded scientific notepad in college, so I continued gray lines going through the whole quilt…also serving to keep the quilting consistency even. Of course the bug is a dead-ringer for the middle ladybird beetle. It’s a native 7 spot. The story is about the other two bugs actually, they are invasive species that pose as the natives and cannibalize the harmless species’. Yikes! I wasn’t going to include those in this quilt!!! But I do love a little lady bug and remember my mom always saying that they are good bugs for your garden!

Hence the title of the piece, “Good Bug” and another parallel with the magazine page. Look at the little red text right in the center top, brilliant graphic design! I had to emphasize that. I embroidered it in simple block letters, just like on the page. To fit nicely with the Project Quilting challenge, I also included the page number on the bottom. That was my mom’s idea! Brilliant! I included a little garden theme into the mix too with the binding. The green frames it nicely and adds another spark of color.

I know you can’t really tell from the photos, but I did take the time to stuff the bug before quilting it. A little trapunto because I did the quilting lines first and didn’t want the bug to have little depressions running through him. I love the effect in real life. My husband was a little disturbed by how real and big the bug looked when I first showed him, and I think the three-dimensionality had a little to do with that reaction! Now, though, he and my son are fighting over who will get this quilt! I think I’ll have to keep it and hang it somewhere in our house for everyone to share. Pretty nice feeling, though, for everyone to want a piece that I made!

So glad to be back with another successful Project Quilting week! I still have to work on that star I started last challenge. I am excited about the potential there, I just didn’t want to rush into finishing it when I knew if I took more time it would turn out a better finished project.

Happy Quilting!

If you’re going to make one, I learned a few tricks along the way as well….
1. I separated my string diamonds into two sets (of four) and worked them in opposites warm and cool colors alternating. That way, when it was time to assemble them, I could alternate which diamond set I took from and be assured no two of the same colors would touch. I started with a purple strip that lined up with the middle points then added warm or cool colors to the top and bottom.

2. I didn’t use paper foundations, but lightweight white cotton fabric because I hate tearing off papers. It worked fine. There was more bulk, obviously, but it doesn’t bother me. Also, I trimmed out the white from the tips before assembling to keep the point less bulky and that worked great.

3. I laid out the whole block before assembling it and only stitched the whites to the diamonds in sets of two so that I wouldn’t get confused on how the pieces went back together. This tutorial had the best explanation for adding the whites. Starting with the small triangles and lining up the fabrics right was really easy following this order.

I had a pretty good time of matching things up! They aren’t perfect, but on the whole they lined up pretty well. I was working slowly and carefully. Not as concerned with getting it done quickly as being accurate. Actually, take that back, I was not very accurate or careful with my strings, but set to being accurate when assembling the star and background pieces. I like that the strings don’t quite line up, but I still wanted my block to turn out square with nice star points.

Pretty, huh? Now I’m dreaming up what I can do with this great block! Any ideas?

Upon receiving an email 10 days ago that my son’s school needed donations for the silent auction basket and our theme was “Family Fun in the Great Outdoors” I asked an innocent question, “did they have a picnic blanket yet?” It was on the list of suggested donations, so I couldn’t resist! I was thinking of a few great fabrics I had been saving for a picnic blanket (with ladybugs and watermelon…) Well, I probably should have thought that through a little more, because I really only had a week….but I managed to do it! In three days, actually!

The first photo shows that I had to use my back-up sewing machine because my Babylock is being serviced. It was fine except that I don’t have a walking foot for it anymore and it really needs one. I have quite a few puckers at the quilting intersections. But I don’t think that will matter for picnicking!

The orange and black stripe binding may look a little hideous, but the schools colors are black and orange, so I think it will go over quite well.

And yes, it really is as bright and colorful as it looks. Laying it out, I really thought it was almost too crazy colorful, but it really has grown on me. AND best of all my kindergartener is thrilled by it…which is the point since it will go in the Kindergarten auction basket with other colorful outdoor toys.

Yeah! I feel like a quilting superstar to have gotten that done so quickly!

Well, it is feeling the love again. I thought of Teresa because she recently moved to Florida and was missing her so badly that I dug out this project and finished it in a couple of satisfying evenings of hand-stitching. I made it into a pillow cover so that I can enjoy it on my couch every day. It fits in nicely with our color-scheme and is a perfect size for resting my head or tucking behind my back. Thank you so much Teresa, for the thoughtful gift and the friendship that I will treasure forever!  I hope you come visit Iowa often!

Oh, another cool thing about this project is that when Teresa moved, she had to get rid of a lot of her fabric and I was the lucky recipient of quite a bit of it. I bought some at her garage sale and then was given some at our last meeting with her. I used two of those fabrics to finish the pillow cover! They look perfect for the project and perfectly Teresa!

P.S. I finished a Project Quilting challenge this morning at 11:58 a.m. so I’ll have that to show you later. Or head on over to PersimonDreams flickr group to see all the entries now….mine is at the very top of the list because I was one of the last ones to finish!