My Entry in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival: A Veggie Fruitalicious Mini Quilt

Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Bloggers' Quilt Festival and this is my quilt entry and it's story... 

I'm a member of an online group that meets yearly for a quilt retreat in Indiana.  This year I couldn't travel to be there, but I still wanted to play along in the mini quilt challenge.  

The only parameters:  

1.  measure less than  20" x 20" size

2.  it had to be quilted in some form or fashion

3.  the material had to be quilt shop quality.  

4.  embellish it, do embroidery, use wool, etc.  

So I set out to accomplish this challenge by first seeking inspiration online...my inspiration came when I found this free pattern for "Fruit Slice" at Anthology Fabrics.  

Then it was just a matter of going through my fabric stash to discover some orphan blocks and strips I had cut for another project a couple years back.  

And so the creative process began and ended in the fruition of this mini quilt...HA!

 

From my stash: Farmer's Market by RJR Fabrics (2008) & Farmer John's Marketplace by Paintbrush Studios

One of several settings I auditioned, eventually eliminating the lime green HSTs...however I didn't totally eliminate all of the pinwheel blocks which I now have a new love/hate relationship with!

Cherries for the back proved to be a delicious choice!

  I added a white border of Kona cotton to make the jelly bean binding pop!  

And everything would have been all hunky-dory except...
So what do you suppose happened here??? 

Yep, I made my binding too narrow and I didn't have enough width to fold it over to the back! 

So a brilliant solution occurred to me after doing a google search of quilt bindings and I got inspired with the idea to finish my mini quilt with ribbon!  

You can see my progression in the photos...hopefully it's self-explanatory!

 

The finished size was 18" x 13" and it only took me about 5 weeks working off and on with it.  And every aspect came from my stash...something that made my husband happy! 

Oh, and I decided to keep my mini quilt instead of sending it to Indiana for exchange at the retreat... 

The overall finish using the ribbon, caused the mini quilt to not lay flat, but besides that, I am really pleased with the outcome and gained some improvisational experience...

and my very own mini quilt!

This is my post for my entry in the

 Bloggers' Quilt Festival, 

please visit and enjoy the quilt show,

leave comments for a chance to win in the giveaways,

vote for your favorites...also, thank you in advance for voting for me!!!

Sewing Machine whoas!!!

What do you do when your sewing machine is out of commission?

Well, you can't sew!!!  With moving across country, the service on my machine had to be put on hold.  It has to go back to the Pfaff factory to get a new circuit board installed...and it's under warranty, thank the Lord!  

So for now I'm organizing my new sew/craft/quilt room and get projects lined up and ready to go when my sewing machine comes back home...she just hasn't left home yet :-(  I have to find a Pfaff dealer in my new town first.

 In the meantime, in the midst of unpacking my house and getting settled in, I've been getting my craft on... by doing some hand applique on wool penny patches for an exchange with some friends.    

2.5 inch pennies that I'm going to embroider:

'Shrums are fun guys

And while watching TV, I've been crocheting Granny Squares with yarn leftovers.

Then since it's so warm here in Georgia, I've started garden preparations!  Today I started herb (chamomile, sweet basil, dill, chives) and flower seeds (marigolds, sunflowers, morning glories and zinnias) in 100 peet pots.  And transplanted strawberry seedlings, Greek oregano and peppermint into flowerpots. 

 I didn't have pics of all my garden goodies...so this is the next best green thing I had a pick of!

One of my 2012 goals

Just a quick post to share a link for a Free BOM on Craftsy.
It's basically video tutorials on basic blocks and at the end of 2012, you have enough blocks for a cuddle-up-quilt!

My goal is to attempt to follow along and make the blocks and probably learn some tips for the correct way to sew blocks that You-Tube failed to show me! lol  Because I've never actually been to a quilt class...just learned from other girlies, books, blogs, or watched a You-Tube video to supplement my sewing/quilting education!

A quilter card!

"Kentucky Cross Roads Quiltscape"

greeting card #47 by Rebecca Barker

A greeting card I gave to a friend, I took a pic of it because it was my last one...but I found the website and thought I'd share a treat with y'all!!!

Marvelous Monday

I decided to update my blog with some lovely oldie-but-goodie projects I created about 2 years ago with some black and white fat quarters i got in an online swap.

 A couple of little makeup bags utilizing my newly acquired skill of zippers!

Although the bags are pieced with different patterns, I think it has a nifty Bohemian look!  What do you think?

Wool Crazy

I'm doing a "Wool Crazy" Pincushion Round Robin with my Backporch Friends Retreat group. This is my first attempt to play with wool...so I had to arm myself with some necessary essentials!  I got 10 different wool cuts in an array of colors and patterns,  and also Joann Mulally's book, "Wool Crazy," of which I finally found on Amazon, but had there been a LQS, I could have picked it up there and not paid for shipping! 

(My personal rant: El Paso, Texas is a metropolitan city of over 700,000 people, which makes it the fourth most populous city in Texas.  However combined with Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, the two cities create the largest population center on any international border in the world...2.2 million people live and work here!)  

So why don't we have a dedicated quilt shop here???

I decided to go with a beachy theme and made my base to look like a clam shell.

My base measures 8" x 11" and is a sandwich of the following materials:

muslin

warm-n-white cotton batting

muslin

For a couple of weeks, I played with the design and placement of several different wools before deciding upon this fan-shaped look with the directional pattern as if you are looking from the ocean toward the beach.

I'm excited to see what everyone will contribute!

Recent giftings from various friends near and far!

My friend Imelda has a thing for ebay...and she thought of me when she bid on this gem! It's a sewing machine figurine music box!  I use the guitar to accompany it...lol

Celebrating our "Half Birthdays", I got Little Leprechaun gifties, 2 FQ's and an handmade card from Laura.

And this little weiner doggie went wee wee wee all the way home!!! Yee haw!  A gift from a recent house guest who thought this was a fun hostess gift...my husband helped pick it out...ahhh!

Wordless Wednesday

My first Gathered Clutch

 

"seams" like there's enough red in the focus fabric so the accent fabric will work...

 Got this nifty idea for a gathered clutch from a loverly tutorial from Noodlehead's blog. And also, I had sew envy because I had admired numerous creations produced by my Crafternoon buddy, Karen.

The Fabric Audition
This duo made the "cut" after a text consultation with Karen and this is what I sewed up!

the end result...and did the focus fabric really have that much green?!!!

polka dots...just for fun!

You can see the gathers a little better here.

The interior fabric doesn't always have to mirror the theme on the exterior fabric, but I do have a penchant for being matchy-matchy with my colors--don't hold it against me, that's just the way it is!
;-) Right Karen?


One of the things I really liked about this tutorial is that I learned how to hide my zipper with end tabs!  The tabs are a little tricky, and I had a slight gap that I used to my advantage and created a place for the wristlet.
Sorry I didn't capture this wristlet feature on film because I know my description does not do justice to my sewing genius that allows me to finesse an ooops into a wowzers!  Take my word for it...it was pretty phenominal and besides I can't provide photographic proof because i mailed it to a friend who needed a lift of the gathered clutch kind!

I also boxed the bottom of my clutch and didn't attempt the interior card holder as in the 'tute.

Fresh Flower Friday

Hubs gave flowers yesterday...not something that happens often enough!

So of course, I had to celebrate it here!

Springtime Sewing

I have really been itching to stitch...but why does my sewing machine sit there taunting me to come hither?

I want to sew, but...

Wow, I'm really in a slump all around, in my training and in my sewing...and they're both things I want to do!  Argh!

So thank the good Lord for a friend like Laura who has challenged me to join her in a monthly BOM (Block of the Month) in the "Things We Love" BOM from Among The Gum Trees.

Guess I had better start on the February BOM, so I can eventually finish the March BOM before the end of this month!

We are supposed to do this together, every month.  Well, one of the two of us is an over acheiver and one of is a slacker...there's a blog title in there somewhere!  I'm going to quit beating myself up and be more self-loving rather than self-loathing in my future posts, I promise to do better...to do it for me and for the good of my blogging fan club.

Couch to 5K and other "Juicy" adventures!

Yep, 2011 is starting to "shape up" to be a year of new beginnings for me...I even created a blog to document my progress!

Another area of new beginning has been in the way of nutrition.  Robino and I embarked on the idea to begin juicing...since mid January, I've lost 14 pounds without trying and with no excercise, until now...

I got the idea for juicing when I came across this website, Juicing for Health because I was looking for recipes to utilize my $15 yard sale find.  Plus, we started buying our fruits and veggies in bulk at Costco and this was a way for us to use up the produce before it went bad. 

We also finally bit the bullet and upgraded to a better quality juicer...after much research, we ordered a Hurom H-100 from Amazon.  It will help us get more juice than the Hamilton Beach centrifugal juicer that had begun to show signs of use from daily juicing. 

I'm really hoping to improve my health further and not only see weight loss results, but eliminate lethargy, mind fog, and just have more energy.  I haven't given up coffee or tea, but have stopped using refined sugar and Splenda, opting for sugar in the raw and honey instead.

Random pictures saved on my laptop with no title

Scary, huh?

vacay for 30 days

So I'm getting settled back in at home in our little desert casita, after being gone on "vacation" for the last 30 days.

We visited Robino's family in Puerto Rico, and then in Massachusetts...

2 climates
(from the tropics to a blizzard)

4 timezones
(Atlantic,Eastern,Central, and back home to Mountain)

and 5 plane rides...oh my!

2011, I'm looking to the future

Wordless Wednesday

40 years and 1 month

40 years and 1 month...that's how old I am today.
On August 8th, I turned 40 years old.
On August 7th, my husband came home from Iraq...my birthday present from God as an answer to prayer!
I hadn't seen Robino since October 20, 2009.

The last 10 months of my life as an Army wife have been some of the most heart-wrenching times of my life. We hadn't gotten to skype, phone calls were spaced weeks at a time, and email didn't happen for us until the last 3 months of this deployment...needless to say, I've cried too many tears during the lonely times, especially when our communication was one way...I couldn't call him and so I resorted to being "one of those Army wives" who gripped her cell phone like a lifeline, waiting for his call.
However, this time apart hasn't been a negative experience. I discovered that I'm pretty resourceful and independent...I've moved to Kentucky from Texas, rented our house out in Kentucky, moved back to Texas and this time pulling a U-haul trailor, then rented a house in Texas and moved our remaining household items from storage to our new casa...all by myself, with Betty and Beulah, the Darling Doxies by my side through it all!

So, here I am now, 40 years and 1 month old...and the honeymoon phase is just about over and I've decided to resume my life...so what to do with myself? Well, I received a guitar last Friday from Robino as a birthday gift. It has always been a desire of mine to put music to the numerous songs I've written over the years and guitar is my instrument of choice...especially because I want to learn how to play Flamenco and Rumba style.
Other pursuits in my future are to ride a bike, play tennis, and maybe take up golf...and live to be 120 years old!!!

Bravo for Fabric Giveaways!!!

Pat Bravo is doing a fabric giveaway on her blog!!!

She's a fabric designer and the giveaway is for her Art Gallery fabric line Paradise that hasn't been released yet! EXCITING stuff!

Curtain Call!!!

So I've been MIA on the blog for the past few months...I have a fairly good excuse though. I moved across country back to El Paso...just me and Betty and Beulah! I moved into the cutest little bungalow and have set about to create a cozy little home for Robin to return to.

Below I created 3 sets of curtains to adorn my windows and bring a tropical cheer to mi casa! I had to find something that would work with these YELLOW countertops! I believe I succeeded with these lovely darlings, which by the way, were 40% off home dec fabric at Joann Fabric's.

I just fell in love with this print and color combo and so I finished the bolt of this lovely Anna Maria Horner home dec fabric...a steal at $6 per yard at a local fabric warehouse. This is in my sewing/office/guest room...now to just coordinate a bedcovering with it!

And for the grand finale...my elegant living room curtains...another lovely Anna Maria Horner fabric and it goes great with my furniture too!!!

Now that I'm pretty well settled in, you can look forward to regular posts from now on. However, you may not see as much sewing as you will home improvement projects.

What I did on my vacation in El Paso

Imelda & me...one of my dearest chicas! She played hooky from work to spend the day with me while in EP! We had spent the day shopping at the outlet mall, then she took me to an authentic Mexican dive for the most amazing lunch! We also went to the spa and had body massages...that was a different day, but I think we still had the glow going on.

Eli, Karen, Lindsay & I took the Wyler Tram to the top of the Franklin Mountains, behind us is the metropolis of El Paso and beyond that in the distance is Juarez, Mexico! It was 70 degrees that day, but the wind at the top of the mountain made it feel much chillier.

One of the things I really enjoy about my El Paso peeps is that we are a bunch of crafty chicas! Here we are at one of our sewing parties...I like to think they threw this bash just on the occasion of my visit!!!

Here is a project that Lindsay completed...finally! She had bought about 20 different 1/2 yard cuts of some Amy Butler fabric and cut these up months ago, but with a little push, she made it happen into a quilt!!! I'm so proud of her and how it turned out!

Here is my quilt that I completed while in EP...I bought a jelly roll of Simple Abundance by Moda and made the Garden Tellis pattern from The Jelly Roll book. This is the layout of all the blocks before attaching them together...this quilt now has 2 outer borders and is queen sized. I hope to find a long arm quilter to send it to...any suggestions?

So I found this little panel for $6 and decided to quilt it...I wish you could see the backing fabric...soooo cute! Maybe I should think about taking pictures of the front AND the back of things before I post it, but I wanted to show off since it has been over a month since my last post!

I also completed 3 other projects while in El Paso: a baby blanket, a quilted zipper pouch and a quilted Vera Bradley look alike purse for my mom's upcoming 60th birthday...a photo of her sporting the bag will show up here in the future!