2017 Q2 Finish-A-Long Projects

Whew, is it really already time to share my 2017 Q1
Finish-A-Long progress and set out my goals for Q2?! Gah, where has the time gone?!

Much has happened in the past 3 months and that included a
little quilting! Not as much as I would have liked, but enough to feel like I
have made some advancements on my Q1 Finish-A-Long list.
And some is better than none, right?! At least, that’s what I’m telling myself 😉

There was one project I absolutely had to get done and that
was this cute little Scandinavian Quilted Mug Rug that I made for my brother’s birthday. I just couldn’t allow his special day to
come and go without some form of quilty love to show him how much he means to
me.

And it just warmed my heart when he said he loved it!! How could he not…I
made it just for him, after all! But he is a guy’s guy who loves sports and I
wasn’t sure how much a modern quilted mug rug would really be a “yay” kind of
present to receive. But he seemed genuinely touched that I took the time to
make him a little handmade goodness.

This little improv mini received lots of love on Instagram
as well, and so many of you particularly loved the little owl peeking through
the curtains and the big stitch hand quilted details. Those were some of my
favourites too!! What is it about hand quilting that just elevates a project? And
I was just tickled pink when Pat Bravo,
the designer of the Heartland fabric line I used, shared a progress shot on her Instagram feed. What an awesome feeling! It’s love all around on this
one!!

So, that’s the good news! The bad news is that I’ve made
progress on several of my other works in progress but, sadly, no additional
finishes.

I am beyond happy that I have finally finished all the hand
needle turn appliqué on this Riley Blake Designs black and white table runner, featuring their Sashing Stash fabric! That was such a long process and not one I’m eager to do again. I quite
enjoy hand appliqué, but having to turn under the seam allowance as I go just
seemed unnecessarily fiddly. And I’m not one for fiddly. So, it’s a relief to
have that part come to an end!! I even managed to get her basted, quilted and
have made significant progress on the hand binding. Only to run out of black
thread halfway through the binding! Gah, how frustrating is that?! A little
trip to the fabric store is in order for a restock and this one should be done
in no time.

My improv Playground fabric scraps quilt was moving along
really nicely. I had the top all finished and was working up the oomph to baste
her. While the top was displayed on my design wall, my mother in law was over
and mentioned how much she loved it. Since I haven’t made a quilted project for
her yet, I thought this would be perfect to gift her for her birthday in April.
Only, at that time, the quilt top was a baby sized quilt and that just wouldn’t
do.

So, I dug through my stash and found some Essex Linen to border it with and
bring it up to a generous lap size – perfect for snuggles on the couch! The
borders have been added and now takes up a significant portion of my design
wall (lots of other quilt blocks had to be stored to make room!). As soon as I
piece the backing, I’ll be able to focus on working up the energy for the dreaded
basting stage. Wish me luck! 

The Mondrian Improv Quilt has also seen some progress. I
thought it would be an easy one to wrap up, but burying threads isn’t the most
fun! I believe I’m about halfway through that process. So, hopefully this one
should be done soon…ish 😉

My favourite quilt at the moment is my Pink Lemonade Quilt.
This one is bringing me so much joy and comfort that I just don’t want to see
the quilting journey come to an end! She’s been basted and machine quilted with
Aurifil 50wt white thread #2021 (my fave for piecing too). Since this one is a
baby size quilt, I figured it would get washed on many occasions and wanted
some nice foundation quilting to make her a little sturdier. I’ve shared a
sneak peak of the hand quilting I’m doing with 12wt Aurifil thread to add some
additional detail and quilty goodness. I got my first round done and thought it
needed a little more hand quilting in the white squares. There has been quite a
bit of hand sewing going on over these past few months and I don’t want my
tendinitis to flare up. So, it’s steady as she goes and not pushing it too
much.

In the end, I got one of my five projects finished. And the
one I did complete was a mini! Ugh, not the best, but I’m encouraged by the
progress I’ve made on the other 4. And progress is better than total
stagnation.

These 4 projects are being moved to my Q2 2017 Finish-A-Long list and I’m also adding a couple more.

First up is a little secret sewing. Since it’s a secret for the time being, I can’t really show much, but trust me when I say you’re going to love the bright cheerful colours I’m getting to play with. The new quilt pattern I’ve designed for this project has been finalized and the cutting is well underway. I’ve also got a small little scrappy project planned too! Here’s a shot of my favourite Omnigrip quilt rulers in the meantime 😉This one is due for sometime in May, so stay tuned for that!!

I’m also working on a custom quilt featuring these gorgeous neutral tones. The one pop of colour is Kona Solid in Robin Egg – gosh I love this colour! I’m really on a linen kick at the moment and see myself needing to order some more Essex Linen in Flax – a current fave. I’m using my Medallion Squared quilt block pattern (free pattern available here) for this one and loving how different the block looks with a softer colourway.

Be sure to stop by my lovely quilty friend Izzy’s blog over
at Dizzy Quilts to see all the Q1 finishes and proposed new projects for Q2. If you’re playing along with the 2017 Finish-A-Long I
would love to hear how you’ve made out this quarter and what you’ve got planned for next!

Happy quilting my friends.

xo

Shannon

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