Christmas and the holidays, part 1

I hope your Christmas was as merry as mine! Here's a snippet of my holiday season...

Homemade hot chocolate, decorations, and the Grinch - does it get any better?

Then we participated in the Vientiane 5k here in town. It's the first one we've gotten to run in in a while!

Look at my husband...SO happy to be up for a 6am run ;-) 

I finally quit procrastinating and got to my Christmas sewing. Here're the stockings I mentioned I needed a lot of...boy am I sick of stockings after that!

10 in one day was a bit too many! But they loved them!

I found this great fabric on clearance back in June and decided Hopscotch by Camille Roskelley would be perfect for it. It's even prettier in person!

Here's the layout phase. 

I also decided 2014 was a bit long to carry a 12 month block of the month into, so I finished the top for my 2014 block of the month by Fat Quarter Shop.

Just figuring out a backing now!

Wow, I'm starting to feel like this month is going to take more than one post! I have so many photos of fun things I did this last month that I can't possibly fit them all into one.

Missouri Star Quilt Company released this great tutorial a few months ago called Dresden Sunburst and I instantly bought the Wordsmith collection by Moda for it because I knew it would be perfect. Inspiration finally struck and I got to work!

I got it to this pretty, ready to complete the top phase...and my needle broke. 

No, like really broke. Snapped when I used the thread cutter on the last one. And now my wheel won't turn and I have to put her on a train to Bangkok for repairs 👎👎😰

So in the meantime, I'll be doing lots of cutting and playing with the lovely new gift from my husband....a light board!!!

It's like he knows me! (Or I hinted for months about how much better applique would be with a light board!)

I've got a loooooong journey on my Sue Garman Ladies of the Sea block of the month, month 2 is pictured there. After a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (literally, on all counts!) and a year of figuring it out I finally finished month 1...

What a relief!

I'll get to work on part 2 of the holiday season soon! It includes a trip to Thai fabric markets, temples, and more sewing of course!

What did you get that you were hoping for this holiday season? Did you give any homemade gifts? I'd love to see photos!

As the holidays approach I've been busy finishing quilts for Carolina fans. Somehow, Panthers or Tarheels, the state of North Carolina has a pretty devoted following.

These beauties are off to their homes now. They were a delight to finish and my clients love them!

I'm also busily working on stockings for some guys who are here without friends or family for the upcoming holiday season. The community plans to pitch in to help fill the finished stockings and help them feel like they have family here too.

There hasn't been a lot of time for sewing for me with all that, but I've made enough progress on my Surfside quilt that I basted it...a few weeks ago...and now it's waiting on me to clear some of my more urgent completions.

I finished quilting this yesterday, and it's got a few imperfections. Mainly that I didn't consider my rule of always starting a quilt with a fresh spool of thread. I ended up quilting the middle 3 rows with light blue and then switching back to yellow...only to run out of bobbin with 6 blocks left.

I could have squeezed one more partial bobbin out of the yellow, which I found out too late! So the last 6 blocks subsequently have yellow on top and blue on bottom. Luckily, it's for me.


I also tried a 2 inch binding on it instead of my normal 2.5, and I really like the way it turned out! The binding is tight and just feels secure.


I also recalled the Leah Day class I took on Craftsy and Pat's new Teach Me to Machine Quilt and tried out some new things while free-motion quilting. Here were some of my creative takes...

Triangles

Spirals

and a Circuit Board/Square design.

Today, however, I had a certain Puffball decide I had more important matters to attend to, i.e., him. Here's what thinking you're going to get some work done looks like!

I'm excited to have received one of my Christmas presents early from my husband...EQ7! Electric Quilt 7 is a great way to design your quilts before you ever cut, and I've been loving it! There's definitely a learning curve, but the pretty things I'm creating are worth it!

Here's a peek at an in-progress :-) 

So tell me...do you EQ?  Any WIP presents you're finishing off?

Pat Sloan and Baby Quilts

Or, to be more accurate, my week has been Pat Sloan, Camille Roskelley, and baby quilts. 

A dear friend asked me to make a baby quilt for a niece or nephew expected soon.

Here it is before quilting...can you tell mom & dad to be are Carolina fans?? The Tarheels fabric and argyle were her choosing, and she gave me a few liberties with the rest. I hope they love the end result!

The Fat Quarter Shop's Charm Pack Cherry is fun, easy, and free! (I may already have made 2 of my own...)

On to what else kept me busy...Pat Sloan really hit it out of the park with her Sweet Life collection - I had to use both prints and batiks, something I know she appreciates - and wanted more than a traditional white for the background, so enter Bella Sunshine yardage. 

A quick sidebar...here's when I was lucky enough to meet her in March (don't mind my jet lag)!  During this class Pat pointed out batiks and prints can look fantastic together, and I've been working on stepping out of my quilting comfort zone ever since.

Here's a preview of what we worked on...

But I'm not done with that, so that's for another day!

Back to the Sweet Life! I decided Camille Roskelley's Surfside pattern would be adorable in it and with Pat's bright colors I could keep the yellow from overpowering.  Here the yellow is overpowering, but keep going!

Look at all those bright yellow 4 patches! I took a slight shortcut and cut my 5 inch squares into strips and sewed them together instead of the method Camille recommended. Perhaps it was only in my mind, but I thought they went together a little faster that way.

Here are my center squares and the half square triangles I made using Pat's method in her book Teach Me to Sew Triangles. 

I like triangles so much more since I read that book, I can't recommend it enough. Easy size-up/down measurements, efficient ways to make more than one at once, and some cute patterns to boot!

 

Here's where I am so far. Not complete, but I think you can see the yellow is starting to wash out just the way I hoped. I expect to add more rows and do some rearranging before it's all done...and to test it with a photo to be sure.

Have you ever taken a risk on a bright color/bold combination that sounded crazy at first? How did it turn out? I'd love to see photos!

Today, my sewing room is clean(ish)! I'm sure all you quilters and sewers in general know what I mean when I say it's a rare occasion! 

It's nice to see my fabric on display, but it won't last long!! I've already started making a new mess...

Camille Roskelley's Surfside pattern from Pat Sloan's The Sweet Life + Bella Solids' Sunshine yardage

I just love the way the yellow looks so light and pastel with Pat's darker hues.

I've also been working on a cancer quilt for a loved one, and the backing just arrived today. I'm excited to get it finished, and the batting is relaxing right now. 

If you haven't heard of cancer quilts, they're designed to be warm and the length and width that will be most comfortable for cancer patients during chemotherapy. 

Suggested dimensions are 44-48" and 68-72" long so they can cover up completely while sitting in the chairs. Some people use minky or flannel to back the quilts to keep them warm during treatment.

I chose to use Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo batting, because no matter how cold I've ever been it keeps me warm.

Since this needed to be a quick quilt, I used Missouri Star Quilt Company's Double Slice video on YouTube, and luckily I had the layer cake on-hand! I spent probably 2-3 hours putting this pretty top together and adjusted the block positioning to what I needed.

I also chose light colors and Moda fabric because the quilt will need to frequently be washed in hot water. The collection I chose is Sandy Gervais' Chance of Flowers because I love its warm springy look. 

I'm planning on using a panel from the collection as part of the back, so that she has something to look at no matter which side she chooses. 

I think this quick, fun quilt and pretty fabric will be just what she needs.

One of my recent finishes was a hexie quilt I worked on for 3 years with Bonnie & Camille's April Showers collection. I ran into so many snags along the way, I was beginning to think I would never finish.

It took 3 years and 3 continents, but I finished!

Incidentally, this is also the first quilt I ever added a border to and tore off. I thought it would look great, but any border I added was just terrible. I ended up leaving it off altogether.

I made all my hexies in North Carolina and cut out all my fabric strips in Congo. Somehow in the move to Congo some of my hexies disappeared and I didn't realize it until we moved to Laos. So I had the "pleasure" of having to remake 60! out of 210 hexies. 

Not only did this make me sad, I had to use a charm pack I had stashed for accent pieces and some of the aforementioned terrible border/beautiful fabric for the hexies. As such, I didn't make them the exact same way, so they didn't fit together quite right.

The zigzag stitching around the hexie represents the hexie snag

While I still mourn my adorable stitching I had planned, I think the zigzags give it nice character. That said, my advice is to never start something this darn complicated after only quilting for 2 years! 

Last, but not least, with much sadness I report I seem to have had an issue with my photos. I promised you photos of quilt stores I had been to around the world, but the phone I took them on seems to have lost them. 

I will continue to see how I might find these photos for you, as I have been to some pretty great places! If I don't have any luck, rest assured, I promise to keep visiting places and will take new photos :-)

So tell me, have you ever made a quilt that was over your skill level at the time? How did you feel when you finally finished?

Hi everyone!

Let me introduce myself; I'm Heather, and I'm a globe-trotting, athlete, quilting extraordinaire who is owned by a couple dogs. 

I have lived in Illinois, California, North Carolina, Democratic Republic of Congo, and now I'm in the beautiful Laos. All of this is possible because my husband A and I have chosen a military life and we're (mostly) enjoying the adventure. 

Here's me, rockin' the KT tape after an outdoor run in Laos

Here's a plumeria, the Laos flower. They're beautiful, everywhere, and they come in many different colors. They have a sweet perfume-y smell and my favorite are the deep red ones.

A recent boat ride in Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River.

Here's one of my furry supervisors, the other one is currently being pampered by my in laws.

Now that those are out of the way, let's talk about sewing! 

I've been sewing for several years, after a close friend found out I was struggling with a project too difficult for me she took me in and taught me.

I mostly quilt, and I do it whether I'm happy, busy, tired, or bored. 

I consider myself a fabric-a-holic and I have quite a pretty collection, I think!

Here's a few things I've done so far: 

This is my first scrap/stash quilt and was also the first quilt I free-motion quilted. 

A quilt based on Vincent Van Gogh's Arles that I found on Craftsy. My obsession with Van Gogh will become apparent over time, dear readers...

A baby quilt for family.

And a kennel quilt for my little furball, Trier.

You'll find I don't really have a particular style, I like to experiment with everything quilty. Use of different color, space, pre-made quilt kits, if it's pretty and inspirational, I'm sewing it! 

I'm working on not having a million UFOs, my most recent 6 finishes together helped that number a lot.

It sounds spectacular, but when I tell you it's because I free-motion and the feed dogs in my Bernina have trouble going down it's less impressive ;-) I have to take a flight to Bangkok to get them repaired, but in the meantime, when I can get the feed dogs down I go quilt-crazy!

All but 2 of these are newly finished. Arles, which you can see above, and the Charm Pack with a pink binding were finished last month.

I've decided to start taking in a few quilts on commission, mostly because people keep asking. If you're interested in one, contact me. The quality and custom design make the time and cost involved worth it.

Next time I'll show you some more quilts I've made and give you a peek at what I'm working on, as well as show you a few photos of unique quilt shops I've visited around the world.

Anyway, enough about me! What are you working on?