In love...

I think yellow and blue is my all-time favorite color combination, and I am absolutely in love with this little quilt.

At 40" square, it's a good little lap or baby size. I'm not sure if it's the off-centeredness of it or what -- I made this quilt out of many of the same fabrics three years ago and wasn't half as enthralled -- but there's just something about it that's making me want one for my bed. Note the wall color -- wouldn't it be great?

I used a rose print for the backing that I originally bought to use for the bedroom curtains. The striped binding, a much less bold choice than what I had planned, is perfect.

And of course, what's a photo shoot without the cat? I swear, he can hear the shutter click from the other end of the condo and comes running.

This one is definitely going on my wish list.

And on Day Seven...

...I rested. Six WIP's is enough.

And since I was already on my way to sorting through the blues, greens and aquas in the scrap box, I decided to go all out and get better organized -- with a little help from Archie, of course.

For much of the day, it looked like a rainbow exploded in my kitchen.

Many of those scraps were gifted from Jacquie as she was packing up to leave me Chicago last spring (can you tell from all the orange?)  I had sorted through them a while ago, but not by prints/solids and not by specific shade, which would have been more helpful in pulling colors for Saturday's project.

 He lost steam fairly early on.

As I organized the scraps a second time this weekend, I found some Bruno hairs and got all nostalgic.  Jacquie wasn't here for very long, but we developed a friendship -- first through blogging, then explorations of  Chicago, lots of lunches, and quilting -- that (I hope) will last a long time. I'd never had a close friend before who understood or shared my love of quilting and fabric. She didn't raise an eyebrow at the stash overwhelming the corner of my kitchen or question my rationale for the bolts in the back closet (freedom to experiment!).  I had a boyfriend once who said "I don't understand it, but I respect it," which is the closest I've gotten to acceptance of my hobby among my circle of friends. I feel honored to have been witness to the growth and demonstration of Jacquie's talent (our first sew day together saw the beginnings of this quilt), benefitted from her experience, and been a recipient of her generosity. I miss being able to swap fabric in an emergency, or just coordinate a play day for a run to Vogue Fabrics or PetSmart. We still keep in touch pretty regularly as she jets around the country teaching, but you gotta admit, having a quilty friend within walking distance is pretty darn special.

A week of WIP's, Day Six...

And yet another project. Where are all these babies coming from?

This one should go pretty quickly now that all the squares are cut and the layout is (relatively) final.

I'm not sure the same can be said for the cleanup.

A week of WIP's, Day Five...

Don't think I forgot about my Fern quilt!

These triangles are still in the works -- it's just one of those projects that I should have thought through a little more carefully before I decided to add quarter-inch strips between each piece. I have a hard enough time keeping my triangle rows straight as it is, and I guess it's pretty typical that I decided to complicate things.

That being said, the white brings a much-needed lightness to it. Even with so much yellow, it felt too serious to be a baby quilt. Good decision, but maybe wider strips would have made it easier to work with. For me, anyway.

My progress with this is slower than normal, but as you've seen all week I have plenty of other things to work on when/if my momentum slows.

A week of WIP's, Day Four...

These little strings measure 8.5" x 4.5", which means they're going pretty fast, and provide a quick break from all the other projects.

My new favorite Kona is Nightfall. It's a beautiful shade of navy, with a depth to it that lets the other colors shine. I think I'll be using it a lot more in the future.

The juggling continues!

A week of WIP's, Day Three...

This was a design that had been in my head for months -- one of those things that wouldn't let go until I turned it into a top. I'm mid-quilt on it, so the jury is still out on whether it was successful or not.

I seem to be stuck in a straight-line quilting rut. It's not that dislike free motion, I just like straight lines better. I'm just not sure if it works here -- but it's too late to turn back now.

And now I have that song stuck in my head.

 I'm proclaiming this "Ear Worm Wednesday." Won't you join me?

A week of WIP's, Day Two...

This one was originally intended as a Christmas gift, but I ran out of steam during the holidays and gave up on it. It wasn't worth the stress it was going to cause to get it done in time, and I'm happy that I had the sense to realize that.  Pulling all-nighters to finish anything just isn't in my makeup any more. Is it possible I'm becoming wiser in my old(ish) age?

The binding I had in mind just isn't going to work, so today's goal is to dig back into the stash and see if any of the existing fabrics will pull it together. And hope I have enough of it left.

Feeling productive, and moving things forward. Spring cleaning continues.

A week of WIP's...

Well hello, Blogosphere, it's been a while, hasn't it?

Last time I posted there was a threat of snow, and now my daffodils have already come and gone. April is a blur, mostly because of a couple big work projects (a very good thing), and also due to several babies (both newly-arrived and impending), special occasions, and an unexpected frenzy of spring cleaning that overtook me and unearthed some long-forgotten tops that just need to get out of my house. It got me juggling again, which, given my limited attention span, is my only hope of finishing anything.

First WIP of the week: a piece made several years ago from an Urban Indigo charm pack.

I rediscovered the beginnings of a top, along with a yard of coordinating yellow print and a half-yard of blue. Rather than use the prints as backing as I originally intended (I think -- who knows what I was planning, I think it was made during GeorgeW's first term), I repurposed the yellow for a border and used a cozy flannel on the back. Now it's a cute little lap quilt, ready to be bound.

It will soon find its way to a new home on my next trip back to Michigan.

So what's better than converting a UFO into a WIP and actually finishing it?  Being able to give it away!