Sneak Peek

My body aches! My shoulder in particular. I never realized quilting could be so physically grinding. Someday when I win the lottery, I'm buying an ergonomically correct sewing table! Oh, and installing it in a room dedicated solely to sewing. :)

Here's a peek of what I've been working on this weekend.



I finished the top last weekend, and spent yesterday basting and quilting (into the wee hours). This afternoon, I attached the binding to the front. Now all I have to do is sew it to the back, which I always enjoy doing by hand. It's a nice respite from the "sewing shoulder" I developed.

All in all, it's been a good and productive sewing weekend.

-k

A Year Later...

Oh boy! It only took a year to finish this top.



Actually, it took about a month to finish the top which I made at The Workshop (taught by the amazing and inspiring Johanna of Seams Likely), and another 11 months to get around to adding the border. I'd like to take that as a sign I'm becoming a *real* quilter. That is, I'm steadily building up a pile of WIPs in varying states.

This past weekend, I put a push on finishing this top along with prepping two other quilts to send to R. Not only is she the mother of one of my best friends, R is a very accomplished and talented quilter. I am beyond lucky because as well as being an amazing teacher, she also has large quilt frame & sewing machine (not a long-arm, but one that is dedicated to quilting), and offered to quilt the tops at a family discount.

While my Double Wedding Ring is riddled with mistakes and slightly off seams, it is my first (and maybe only) Double Wedding Ring and I know I can trust R to quilt something special. And also hopefully something that hides my mistakes.

It feels great to have three quilts off my WIP pile! Guess that just means I have to start a few more projects.

-k

I Heart Hex's

I Heart Hex's
Originally uploaded by Confessions of a Quiltaholic

It's official. I am addicted to English Paper Piecing. I LOVE making these hexagons!

Hex Love seems to be in the air because I've run across a fair number of other quilt-blogs where hexagons are the current rage. Perhaps it's because of how easy and versatile the hand-piecing can be? Especially with the warmer weather. Who wants to think about sitting inside quilting on a gorgeous, sunny day? Not me.

My plan for these hexagons is pretty ambitious. In my dream world, I want to make 270 of these 2" babies for a double-size quilt for my bedroom. If I get on a roll, I'll more so I can have a true queen-size quilt. About twenty down and only 250 to go!



Now I have something to do on the many baseball-centered road trips The Man is threatening to take me on. ;-)

-k

Spring Jump Start

Karen's Double Wedding Ring quilt top
Originally uploaded by the workroom

Ack! Can you believe it's coming up on a year since I finished this quilt top and I still have to finish it nevermind quilt it?!! With spring around the corner, I'm feeling motivated again to git 'er done. The fabric in this quilt is mainly Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope against Kona Snow.

My year has been off to a busy start. Feels like every time I glance at a calendar, a new month is coming to an end. In mid-December, I moved into my long-awaited loft (LOVE IT!!!) and since then have been settling in, taking my time to feel out the new space and sizing up where and how I want to arrange my things. I forgot how long the process of settling into a new space can take and I'm still waging a battle against the boxes. However, this week I saw the light on the horizon and how I'll conquer the last frontier (read: the den). Now that I have my plan in place, my goal is to have all the boxes fully unpacked and everything in its place by Easter (which sounds far away but isn't given my various work and travel commitments in the meantime).

On the quilt front, I finished basting a quilt for a very special man. Now I need to sew like the wind to finish quilting and binding before his birthday this weekend.

Hope 2010 is being good to you and yours.

-k

Cathedral quilt in the making

Cathedral quilt in the making
Originally uploaded by Confessions of a Quiltaholic

Now that I'm done my Scrappy Christmas Hedgerow blocks, I can get back to work on this.

-k

Scrappy Hedgerow Christmas Quilt

I had so much fun making my blocks for the Scrappy Hedgerow Christmas Block Swap, that I made a few (ahem) extra for me to make a second quilt.

This week, I took advantage of having an extra day off and finished the candy cane blocks. Then, as you know, one thing lead to another and I started - and finished - sashing the blocks too.



This is one of my favourite blocks:



It brings back memories of playing with Barbies and colouring in "Gibson Girls" colouring books on family trips to Florida. I so love this quilt top and can't wait to get on with the next steps! Now the *only* thing I need to do is the backing, quilting and binding.

I certainly don't want to hurry winter along, but I am going to enjoy cuddling under this quilt come Christmas time.

- k

Sanctuary Pinwheels

Photos of quilt in progress to go here.

Katie Jump Rope Double Wedding Ring Quilt

The photo quality is terrible (but actually kinda good when you consider it was snapped on a cell phone...), but this is the start of my Double Wedding Ring Quilt using mostly Denyse Schmidt's "Katie Jump Rope" line. I have a few prints from other lines, like Lecien and I think, maybe, Aunt Grace.

The wedding ring is raw-edge applique. I have the blocks all finished and now *all* I have to do is add the border (plain white), sandwich, baste, quilt and bind.

I'm thinking that this is a quilt I will send out for quilting - mostly because I don't trust my skill-level yet on a quilt this time-consuming to put together.

-k