WIP Wednesday - Finishing up Quilt Alongs

 This past week I have been working on some long overdue WIPs.  The Star Surround Quilt Along which I started almost a year ago and the Quilty Fun Sew Along which began back in November.

I have completed the top for the Quilty Fun Sew Along and am almost finished piecing the backing.

However, I am putting that aside today to work on my Star Surround.  I completed the backing already and just need to sew the rows of blocks together.  I would like to get it "sandwiched" today so I can begin quilting on Thursday.  We are going to a St. Louis Cardinals game on Sunday and if I can be done quilting on Saturday that gives me six hours to hand sew the binding in the car.  Off I go....

I will be linking up with:
Lee from Freshly Pieced
Esther from Esther's Blog
Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts

Friday Finish - Giraffe Crossing Tumbler

Well I finally did it!  I finished the "boy" quilt for my friend that had her baby June 1.  I call it Giraffe Crossing  Tumbler because I used the Giraffe Crossing line from Riley Blake.

This quilt has been a long time in the making.  I pieced it way back in April, but then stalled because I was afraid to try the applique.  I finally overcame my fear and I think it turned out beautifully.  I hope Rhys likes it...

Thanks for letting me share.  Linking up with:

My Quilt Infatuation
Pretty Bobbins

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Crazy Mom Quilts

SewCanShe

Stitch by Stitch

First Finish of the Month - Monster Polka

I am happy to report I finished my first quilt for the month.  I am hoping to complete at least 5 UFOs during June.  It's a lofty goal, but it's summer and I have 12 weeks looming in front of me before I have to "officially" go back to work.  I will do some work before then, however, I usually try to take the month of June off.

Anyway, back to my first June finish - Monster Polka.  This quilt is for some friends of ours that are having a baby boy in June.  I used the Monster Mash line from Michael Miller.

I love this quilt for two reasons:

1. Polka Dots!!!!!  I adore polka dots!

2. It was easy.  I adore easy!  

Thanks for letting me share.  Linking up with:

My Quilt Infatuation
Pretty Bobbins

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Crazy Mom Quilts

SewCanShe

Stitch by Stitch

June Goals

I have several goals for June.  However, I also have a lot of spare time.  I teach preschool and school is out!!!!  I also take online classes and the one I am currently taking only has two weeks left and I get the rest of the month off before starting the next one. That leaves a lot of hours to sew...

1. Finish my Monster Polka baby quilt - this is an easy finish, just a little bit of hand stitching to secure the binding and it will be done.

2.  Finish my Giraffe Crossing Tumbler - the giraffe appliques need to be blanket-stitched.  Then it needs to be sandwiched, quilted, and bound.

3.  Finish my Quilty Fun Sew Along sampler - the blocks for the top need sewn together.  The label block for the back needs to be made and it needs to be quilted and bound.

4.  Finish my Star Surround quilt - it is for my bedroom. It needs the bottom row sewn to the top and to be quilted and bound.

5. Make bedroom valances - I have the pattern and the fabric and would really like to get these done.

6.  Finish the Snug as a Bug Super-sized Nine Patch #3 - it needs to be quilted and bound.

Snug as a Bug Super-sized Nine Patch Quilts #1 and #2

I have set some lofty goals, but I really want to get all of these finished during the month of June.  Off I go to get started ...

Linking up with:
Fiber of All Sorts

350 Blocks Project - May Update

In March, I started participating in the 350 Blocks Project at Prairie Moon Quilts.  I completed a total of 60 blocks for March and 76 blocks for April.  Our May Goal is a total of 30 blocks.  Here's how I fared:

For the Great Granny Sew Along I completed 21 blocks.

I completed 1 block for Pat Sloan's Globetrotting BOM.

For my Monster Polka quilt I completed 6 blocks (I am counting each row as a block).

That gives me a grand total of 28 blocks for May.  I was 2 shy of the May goal.  Luckily, I should have time in June to make those up. 

May Goals Update

It is time to share the progress made or not made on my May Goals. Back at the beginning of the month I linked up with the Fiber of All Sort's A Lovely Year of Finishes.  I was #27 on the May Goal Setting list.

I did not have as much time to sew in May as I would have liked. My middle daughter graduated from high school and I always end up putting in more time into work at the end of the school year, which left me with very little sewing time.  In fact, I hardly got anything done until the very last week of May.

Anyway, I had three goals that I wanted to accomplish in May and I accomplished one, made quite a bit of progress on one, and barely touched the other.

1.   Finish Goldie's Fading Charms Memory quilt - DONE!

Blogged about here, here, here, and here.

2. Finish June baby boy quilt - ALMOST DONE
This quilt is now being called the Monster Polka.  It is literally less than an hour from being done.  I only have a little bit of binding left to hand sew in place.  

3. Finish the Giraffe Crossing Tumbler - NOT DONE

Blogged about here and here.

This is for my friend who is due to have a baby any day now.  As The Princess stated earlier today, "Mom, she is ready to pop!"  I think I am stuck on this one because I want to applique giraffes to it and applique is not something I have done much of.

Linking up with:
Fiber of All Sorts

Goldie's Memory Quilt

I have finally completed Goldie's Memory Quilt.  I wanted to have it finished for her high school graduation which was this past Sunday, but I didn't quite make it.  I was close though!   I started cutting the 2 1/2" squares last summer and the great majority of it was pieced throughout the year as leaders and enders.  All 846 squares were cut from leftover fabric I used to make her clothing over the years.

I got the pattern from Wedding Dress Blue. I used Free Spirit Designer Solids in Nugray as the background. I thought the gray background would be a good neutralizer (Is that a word?) for the busyness of all the uncoordinating fabrics. The back is pieced somewhat randomly. Either I didn't plan for enough fabric for the backing or I cut it wrong. Since I didn't have enough, I pieced together smaller pieces using leftover squares.

I quilted it with straight diagonal lines. I like straight lines in quilts. It might just be because I am afraid of free quilting, but I really did feel straight lines worked best with this quilt.

Anyway, it's done and I love it! Hopefully, Goldie will love it too!

Linking up with:

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Crazy Mom Quilts

SewCanShe

Stitch by Stitch
Sew Many Ways