Tag Archives: diy

March Goal Progress Report

3 Replies

I feel I have made quite a bit of Progress on many of my goals this month. I still may have bitten of more than I can chew. Reminder for April – no more than 3 craft goals !!! Checking in with Lovely Year of Finishes.

A Lovely Year of Finishes

Before I move into where I am at for March, I have planned the new technique to try for June (how’s that for planning). For my birthday (June 8th), I booked a workshop with Lotta Jansdotter who does amazing fabric printing, and to top it all off, I can spend the weekend in NEW YORK!!! You can check out her website here. I am so excited.

Ok, back to the now!!!  I did finish a little hexie coffee cup sleeve for a custom order, in addition to my March goals. Here is where I am at for March:

  1. Bottom, Baste and Quilt, the “Four Seasons in one day” (named after a crowded house song).
    Back finish, Basted, and my first line of quilting done.
    IMG_6974 IMG_6980
  2. Finish 2 sets of chair bags.
    No Progress.
  3. Finish 1 set of pot holders (custom order)
    Fabric Ordered.
  4. Finish a E-reader case
    No Progress.
  5. Sew + Finish the Triple zip pouch
    Fabric Cut, ready to start sewing.
  6. Kiwi Paper Piecing Cushion Cover
    Completed on Friday. This by far has been my favorite project and I love how it turned out.
  7. Make 1-2 Blocks for our Madrona Road Challenge
    Design decided and first block complete

Continue with my more general goals

  1. Continue with Life Style Challenge with a focus on:
    – No Sugar or Processed Food
    I am doing ok on processed food but awful in avoiding sugar – need to work on that the next two weeks
    – Exercise 3 times a week
    I have executed a plan and suckered in a friend to walk with my twice a week – Thanks Su 🙂
  2. Post 3 times a week min.
    Definitely doing well on this one
  3. Post a new recipe each week
    Yes, at least one recipe a week

My kiwi cushion – first paper piecing project

8 Replies

I have wanted to try paper piecing for a while now. The results always look so precise and amazing. There are so many options but I decided I wanted to try this kiwi pattern by Juliet & Tartankiwi, as this was the design that inspired me to give paper piecing a try. It also brings memories of home. This is my work in progress this week….I am linking up with Freshly Pieced.

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

So the plan is to make another cushion for our grey sofa, that co-ordinates with my spoonflower cushion. I am using yellow and grey for my kiwi. I wanted to give a little more dimension to the kiwi itself, so I made patchwork blocks of yellow and grey to use like a piece of fabric. Here are the blocks.

This is for the body of the kiwi:
IMG_6944
The grey will be for the legs and beak:IMG_6949

I am 1/2 way through the block and I love paper-piecing. The pattern for a beginner has been relatively easy so far and I think it is turning out well. I am hoping to finish the cushion cover up by Friday.

IMG_6947 IMG_6948

Small weekend finishes

2 Replies

I managed to get a couple of small projects done this weekend in preparation for our modern quilt guild monthly meeting – nothing like having an incentive :-).  I showed my “four seasons in one day” quilt for the first time at our meeting.  It was funny how nervous I was, showing my quilt and other projects. I present on a daily basis and usually have no qualms…..but not this time – it was like the first time you ever present to a “large” audience. I got great feedback for my quilt though, its nice getting that validation.

The small projects I was able to complete include:

  • The second pot holder for our kitchen. This has been a fun project trying out different techniques and using new materials, for example, quilt as you go technique and using the insul-bright material.
  • A name tag for quilt guild meeting. This was the first time I have used hexagons which I can see can be addictive. I was able to sit down in front of the tv and hand-sew this together in an hour or so. I used leftovers scraps for the front and backed the name tag with felt, using fusible web for the adhesive (first time using fusible web as well), and then quilted on my sewing machine. For the name part, I followed the same process I use for my homemade labels. I thought it turned out cute 🙂
    IMG_6942 IMG_6940
  • I fixed my son’s monster I had made, some stitching had come loose and needed a quick fix (it only took me 4-6 weeks to get around to doing it)
  • Finally, quilted the first straight line for the “four seasons in one day quilt”.

I am hoping to start a couple of my other March goals this week – I think I am going to try the kiwi paper piecing from Tartankiwi and also cut the fabric for the triple zipper pouch.