Celestial Star Quilt Along

I was so excited to get started on the QAL over at from blank pages I just dove right in! I spent so much time on the quilt that I neglected to blog. Quilting (even new quilting like this lovely paper piecing) is well within my comfort zone. Blogging not so much. So please bare with me. I know this is a bit clunky. But I will figure this out and get better.

 

The first thing I did was pick out my fabrics so that I could start coloring.

 

I decided my batik collection that I have been hoarding for the perfect project was, well, perfect.

Then I got out my markers. Yeah, I'm 51 and loving my Crayola markers. I bought them trying to convince myself they were for my granddaughter. But now the truth is out.

I tested all the markers to get the closest match to my batiks. I was lovin' it!

So I colored away and cut out the blocks I liked.

Then I took a photo and turned it to grey scale. Not the greatest contrast but was certain that the colors would still be what I was after. 

Then I started cutting out the fabrics! I was on a roll!

I think glue basting is the greatest! Take note: Don't use a pin to sop the glue.

Ick!

 Then I started running into troubles...

  ...and needing lots of tape.

 But was VERY happy when I got the first section done. Problem was the quadrants didn't line up real well. I hope to blog later on how I remedied that. But for now some more pics.

 I'm happy with my second block!

I'll let you know how my third block is doing. Eeee! I'm so excited! 

Summer In The Park

As I progressed through my quilting journey I got braver and more determined to follow directions. See, I tend to sew like I cook. I just can't quite follow the recipe. If you come to my house for dinner you won't get the exact same meal twice. Step by step instructions just don't seem to apply to me in crafty projects. Maybe it's because I'm so literal in other areas of my life. 

Online toots and You Tube videos became my source. I don't know exactly when I started watching Jenny Doan but I am sure glad I found her. She made me laugh and relax when it came to sewing. If she could lick her fingers on camera to make it easier to separate the fabric layers then she was my kinda gal!

 I learned to cut strips (because I was to cheep to purchase pre-cuts) and went at it with this quilt. It's called Summer In the Park.

 FMQ was becoming more and more enjoyable even though I had a long way to go before I was pleased with my work. This quilt was made for a precious baby in March 2013.

One of my favorite things with quilting is making an unexpected back AND using up all those orphan blocks!

Mom's Quilt

It's close to Mother's Day so I thought I would start my blog with this quilt- a gift of love for my mommy made in 2012. I was just starting to understand the world of blogging and learning new words like "piano keys", "free motion quilting" and "curved piecing" so I tried them all!

                                             

 I was so pleased with myself! Especially with my color choices. This is when I decided I could not get enough of color!

 Or enough of fabric! I'm known as a very frugal person... Okay... a tightwad.  But for some unknown reason when it comes to fabric it was hard to stop myself. With normal shopping, whether for groceries or shoes, I always have a pretty good idea as to what I am spending. But when I get to the counter at Joann's or a LQS and say, "How much?!" and then to my daughter's surprise SPEND THE MONEY we gotta figure something has changed.

 

 Another change since I started quilting is my lack of fear. I had no idea what I was doing when attempting this giant curve. I remember telling myself, "It will be okay. If I can't rip the stitches out to fix any mistakes I can just cut it all up into smaller pieces and make another quilt." So I just layered the fabric, grabbed my new rotary cutter and went at it!

Yeah, and then there is free motion quilting. Setting more fear aside I scribbled all over the quilt. I'm so very glad I've improved on this. HA!