Q4 Finish-A-Long List!

I promised myself I wouldn’t bewail the rapid passage of late Summer into Fall and Winter...it only took about 2 weeks in my neighborhood!

This is actually our second snowfall!

Sew! Onto the List...at this rate, 3 months will go by quickly, but it looks like I will get good sewing weather!

1. Mountain Reflections

This top has been finished since Spring! With batting ordered and backing/binding already on hand, my hopes are high for this one!

2. Baby Stars

For my sweet cousin, expecting her first, January 1st!!!

3.Simply Flying

Seriously, this one simply cannot be carried over into the next year!!!!
Polar fleece backing and a DS binding on hand...it may be the FMQ factor slowing this one down...time to grab it and growl!!!

4.  Simply Medallion

Contrary to this picture, this top is and has been finished for awhile now...and yes, backing is on hand...I finally know how I will quilt this one, which is destined for my bed, so it is game on!

5 & 6.  Prairie Rose Remix x 2

One large, one small, these were a fun Moda Bake Shop project earlier this year...I owe it to them and to Moda to finish these!  Again, backing is on hand! 

7. Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt

This is the oldest WIP on my admittedly ambitious list, started in 2016.
I chose these solids based on a couple beautiful hanging baskets of petunias given to me by a wonderful Amish family back in Indiana.
I ordered the fleece for the backing yesterday, and hope to give this to that family!

I think that is it for me this quarter!
 I hope you all have the opportunity to get a few more finishes out of the WIP pile!
The Q4 list linky is open through October 18th, so please join us!
Good Luck!!! 

2018 Q4 Finish Along List

Q4? What, already?!

Ready or not, here is my list of WIPs that I hope to finish this quarter!

I had a very good Q3, so I am pulling out a few of my oldest UFOs this quarter.

Putting them on the list renews my interest in them in a way that just knowing they are there does not!  Let's see how it goes!

1.  Scrappy Vortex

I am inspired to dig this out after Preeti's recent wonderful scrappy finish!

I may have made this as far back as 2014?

2. Front Yard Bundle Quilt

I love this design, but think it needs a bit more something to finish it up, which is why it has languished.  I used a bundle of Front Yard by Sandra Clemons that I won during Fall Market in 2016?

  

3.  Year of Fabric Quilt

A current darling!

4.  Tucker Prairie Medallion

This one has taken off rather suddenly, and I expect I will keep plugging away til it is completed!

I think this one may end up on our bed!

It will also be the third, and likely the last quilt made from the FQ bundle of  my beloved Tucker Prairie by 1Canoe2.

5.  Simply Flying

Outside chance with this one, but sometimes the spurts are sustained and a finish just may happen!

 Flying Geese made with Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

6.  The Sewcial Bee Sampler

This was a 2017 sew along with Sharon Holland and Maureen Cracknell.

I used my beloved Jeni Baker fabrics for the blocks and a Moda crossweave for the sashing.

 I picked up some yardage for the backing last week from my LQS, on sale, aaand it also gave me a great idea for how to quilt it!

Eh?  See what I mean?

The fabric is "Underground Blues" by Designs by jb, for Troy Corporation, part of the "Riverwoods Collection".  I thought the neutral gray/green with the blue stripe would compliment the colors on the front very nicely.  It is actually quite a bit lighter than the photo shows.

7.  Selvedge Color Block

Just carrying this one over because when it finally happens, it will happen fast, and this just could be the quarter!!! :)

8. "B is for Brenna"
A mini, in black with a pop of green for an IG friend, who is decorating a nursery!

You may see the inspiration original here on IG.  It is "b is for blue" by @ml_wilkie and is a featured pattern in the Minimalism issue of Curated Quilts.

I think 8 is enough!
Happy Finishing, friends!!!!
Of course, I am linking up with the Q4 linky party for the 2018 Finish Along!!!
The link up is open through the 18th of October!

Sweet 16 Medallion - February

I believe this was my January progress:

 Friendship Stars around the center Prairie Rose block, and some sawtooth corners...

I had supposed Court House steps next...

but as they accumulated, they seemed, I don't know, a bit dense for this go round...

So I got out these Sunnyside triangles...

Hmmm, I think I like that :) I have several more to make.

And maybe then the Court House Steps...

It is all quite busy business, I know that much! 

Quite a different process than my Simply Sawtooth BOM of last year.
But I am definitely enjoying it so far!

I am happy to be joining Carla aka GrannyMaud'sGirl and friends this year with my Sweet 16 Medallion progress :)

Some Solid Consideration, Among Other Things

First, among other things:

I have spent some pleasant time cutting 1" strips in prep for the next round of my Sweet '16 Medallion:  4" Court House Steps blocks. I have gotten many wonderful pieces of fabric lately, and it is fun to just cut a few strips to use randomly :)

And my little stack is growing :)

Then, on a trip to the city last week, I added a .50 cent coffee cup to my "rotation", not too big, not too little, just right! Which I have been lately discovering, can be the hardest size to find!

And I bought a new to me purse! It has a zipper. It is sturdy.  It is black. It was just time.

And I was getting a bit desperate.  This one had to go, sorry! It will do for awhile anyway :)

I was also able to squeeze in a visit to an LQS, Spring Blossom Sewing, in Billings.

"Mini Mikes" from Michael Miller, and a sweet dot from Maywood Studios :)

Now for some Solid Consideration:

I also picked up a few more 1/2 yards of solids, as per my deliberate "grow my solids" plan! The purple I hope to use as a binding on my Dresden quilt. More on that soon! 

These are pretty nice looking pieces, no?  That is a really light pink in the middle :)

Do you see that?  I bought them at...Wal-Mart!
1 1/2 yds for $4.47! You see, they have begun stocking Waverly Solids. Did you know that?
By the numbers at least, they are the same as Bellas and Konas, 60x60 thread count. They are $2.97/yard. So for the price of my gas station coffee, I can have a 1/2 yd of some random solid! Yes please, I'll take 3! If I gotta drive 4 hours one way to Billings, I am coming home with some fabric!

I don't know how well you are able to see this, but on the left is a stack of  Waverly solids. On the right, 2 Konas on the bottom, 2 Bellas on the top. 

Honestly, at least 90% of my fabric purchases are made online. 

There are so many online shops that I have real loyalty to because they are who I see regularly, while I may visit a physical fabric shop, including Joanns and WalMart all of once or twice a quarter, if I am lucky!

 It is a treat to be in  a fabric shop, but time and number of stops is always an issue when the whole fam is always in on these big city "expotitions"!  And I have to admit, in the back of my mind I am always comparing their prices to my online friends...even with shipping, many online shops can't be beat by "locals".

But that is not always the point, is it? I want to buy fabric everywhere I can, lol! 

Which brings me back to Waverly Solids at WalMart.  They work up nicely, they look as good as any Bellas or Konas I have.

But in the end, one of the biggest reasons I have been buying my solids at WalMart?  

The prospect of "solids acquisition" completely sweetens the inevitable trip to WalMart and the chore that it is!  

So I throw this 'Solid Consideration" out there for anyone whose pocketbook may need a little  extra TLC. 

You don't have to broadcast to all of blogland where you got them if you don't want to, but at least you have a bright spot to look forward to in those acres and acres of WalMart!

I am not dissing "designer solids" at all, because I love them too(Love love Moda! Love love AG, and Kona!) This is just my awkward version of a PSA.  Sew, for what it may be worth, you're welcome :)

I have just rediscovered "Really Random Thursday", over on Cindy's blog, Live A Colorful Life!

What better linky to share this Really Random post on :) Better late than never, eh?!

Sweet '16

Full of promise, like each new day, the new year is fresh upon us!

Rather than a list, which I feel like I may have already run into the ground lately, 

I begin with this!

Simply Medallion 2016!

This is but a rough sketch, a place to start!  A Medallion this year instead of a BOM!

I made a list of elements I hope to incorporate, not exhaustive, always flexible as we go along!

Top of the list: Orphans!

This Prairie Rose block is a leftover from my MBS tutorial, and a very suitable center, I think :)

These bright Sunnyside triangles will make a nice border somewhere in there too...

Additionally, I would like to include some of the things that have been floating around the peripherals of my radar, things I don't necessarily have in mind for a whole quilt:

friendship stars, plus blocks on low volume, 4-patches, economy blocks, mini courthouse steps ala Molly Flanders, checkerboards, hourglass, flying geese, HST(of course!), diamonds (maybe) or Half Rectangle Triangles, delectable mountains using the big HST method I've seen recently. 

I foresee scrappy and bright overall!

Happy New Year all!

See you down the road!!!!

Linking this crush up with Main Crush Monday@Cooking Up Quilts :)

And Let's Bee Social!