ALYOF September: 2 backs done

My goal for this month was to make a back for my economy block quilt.

Here is the back ~ (This isn’t the best picture. I don’t have large areas to lay things out).

I used 2 prints I had a lot of yardage for. One is the carnival print from Asbury. The other is the monochromatic clock print from Storybook Lane. I also (after much soul searching) sacrificed my precious Celebration fabric. This quilt is, in part, a graduation gift for my cousin (a little late lol) and she seemed appropriate, as did the fun carnival print.

I also finished the back for my Tula houndstooth quilt

Here is the back ~ (Again, I did the best I could. I actually hung it over my balcony and knelt outside my front door to get this picture.)

I soured the web for the Prince Charming raindrops last year when I started making this quilt. I was so scared I wasn’t going to have enough, but I have over a yard to spare plus some good sized scraps. The blocks are made from leftover blocks from the front. The layers are from the layer swap I was in last year. This is huge. It is 98×108. I have no idea how I am going to quilt it.

Here is my goal post.

Sunday Stash

In keeping with yesterday’s post, I am sharing more pearl bracelets today! I got in on a massdrop bundle of tonal pearl bracelets. I was very excited to grab these.

Pearl bracelet is such a classic and versatile pattern and I think I like the tonal even better than the original.

It also included a set of the metallic prints.I think there were 15 prints included, so a couple must be hiding in this picture.

Saturday Swap

This month our f8 group swapped Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets. Any of the pearl bracelets were fair game. Surprisingly, we had quite a few duplicates. We try to avoid that in general, but for whatever reason it did happen this time. We still got a nice assortment, and just a bit extra of a few of them.

What are you swapping?

Here are the link up rules:

1. Link up a post about a recent fabric, block or hand made item swap. You may share both what you sent and received. You may also post about an upcoming swap you are hosting.

2. In the post, link up back here to my blog.

3. Comment on a few other links!

Sunday Stash: Far Far Away overdose

So, back when I was just getting back into sewing, and expecting my son, I hated all the sport/vehicle/tool stereotypical themes.  I was determined to do a fantasy theme nursery. After not finding anything suitable for purchase, I set out to make my own. This is when I first discovered some of my favorite designers. It was not an easy search finding what I wanted – sadly, in part because I didn’t know how to go about looking. It should have been an easier search than it was… I first came across Lizzy House’s Castle Peeps, which were just perfect for what I wanted. But it was missing two things- Dragons and Unicorns. I wanted a very specific kind of dragon – not a scary one, more fat and friendly, and one that would go well with Castle Peeps. I finally came across Timeless Treasures Happy Dragons. All that was left was the unicorn. This proved to be quite difficult. Especially since once I found exactly what I wanted, nothing else would do. Heather Ross’s Far Far Away. Which at that point was already extremely hard to find and expensive. I think I paid $30 for the yard I secured and it took me a long time to convince myself I should. (Some day I’ll learn I never regret buying fabric. Well, almost.) I also did end up with another 3/4 yard piece as well.

With these fabrics, I created my first complete quilt since I was 14 (and that was a mini). I chose a rag quilt because I was so insecure about quilting and binding. It looks a mess to me now, but I cover my son every night with it. I also made a bedskirt, sheets, curtains, and decorations. Some of it wasn’t done til well after he was born (I was wide as I was tall, and standing to work got very uncomfortable).

So, now that I’ve gone on and on about this, it is probably no surprise how psyched I was to learn FFA was being rereleased. First, Heather Ross offered a preorder on her site that I got in on (I got the Briar Rose preorder pack last year too).

It is a full half yard pack with a print and pattern.

Then I used a frequent shopper coupon to snatch up some yardage at my LQS

And I also have a massdrop fat quarter pack coming my way.

A little overboard? Hmmm…..

Here are some more pictures of my son’s nursery… Though it’s evolved a bit in 3+ years…

(It was a race to get that embroidery done by his first birthday. I worked on it for months and was up all night the night before.)

Saturday Swap

Our July fat 8 swap was “Holidays in July”. It was open to all holidays. We got an interesting assortment of fabrics. Christmas and Halloween were favorites, but there were several others in the mix.

We have a couple spots left in this month’s swap, which is Kaffe Fassett shot cottons. Join us!

There are also several spots open in my Starbucks Mug Swap.

What are you swapping this week?

Here are the link up rules:

1. Link up a post about a recent fabric, block or hand made item swap. You may share both what you sent and received. You may also post about an upcoming swap you are hosting.

2. In the post, link up back here to my blog.

3. Comment on a few other links!

Saturday Swap: You are here mugs

I’ve been out of town most of the month, so I haven’t been getting my Saturday Swaps up. 😦 I should have them back on track now!

During my travels, I accumulated many Starbucks mugs. I am not a coffee drinker, but I love hot tea or chocolate in the mornings in the winter or when I am ill. I love the designs of the mugs and I know they are quite popular on the internet.

So I have opened a swap for them. It is open to US/Canada with a mail date of 10/10. I am limiting this one to 20 participants to keep it manageable. Assuming all goes well, I will run again in the future. Handmade or other accessories are encouraged!

To sign up and for more information, you can check here.

What have you guys been swapping while I’ve been gone?

Here are the link up rules:

1. Link up a post about a recent fabric, block or hand made item swap. You may share both what you sent and received. You may also post about an upcoming swap you are hosting.

2. In the post, link up back here to my blog.

3. (Assuming there are multiple linkups, as this is the first one) Comment on a few other links!

ALYOF September: I need backs!

So, I know this isn’t sexy, but what I really need to be getting done are backs for all the quilt tops I have piling up, so that I can then finish the quilts! I do piece my backs, so it is a tiny bit of work, but I still tend to push them aside for all the other sewing I want to do. I need to focus on them.

I know I am only supposed to pick one item, so the most important back I need to make is the back for my econoblock:

I also would like to work on the back for my chevron:

And my Tula: