Finally Sewing

 I carved out some time to sew this past weekend. Besides stitching some bindings to the front of quilts, I haven't been in my sewing room since the first week of December. I really needed to start this quilt for a friend. I'm starting with the Branded collection from Sweetwater and pulled numerous prints from my stash to scrap things up a bit.

 I hemmed and hawed for weeks over a pattern. I wanted something masculine and simple and finally settled on a design. I've seen this called many things like Framed Squares or Square Dance. Here's a tutorial using a Layer Cake that I used as a starting point

                                                                        Square Dance

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to start a new project

Blocks come together fast

Then I pulled this pattern from my binder 

and thought it might be fun to pop in some hourglass blocks in the center of some of the squares. 

The blocks finish at 9" and I think I'll shoot for a 10 x 11 block layout. I made 42 blocks, using the Layer Cake I had and now I'm cutting into the FQ Bundle and the other fabrics I pulled from my stash.  I'm so glad I've finally settled on a plan. I think this might work! 

On Deck Baby Quilt

Probably 5 or 6 years ago, I bought this sailboat collection called On Deck from Craftsy on clearance:

I made this baby quilt a few years ago and finally finished it last year

I put the fabrics away when I originally pieced the top, but a couple years later, I decided it was time to clear out some bins. I pulled these out again and just cut everything into 5" squares. I still think these prints are so cute. I made 3 more quilts and this is one I just finished. I made HST's and set them in a herringbone layout that finishes at 40 x 48

I've always liked this simple design and I'd love to make a biggie-sized, super scrappy one at some point. I backed this one with a matching print that they sold with the fabric at the time

And bound it with a solid blue from from my stash

Sandy quilted it with an all over pattern called Surf's Up that fits it perfectly although it's hard to see:

I've stashed it away in my armoire for the time being. It's so nice to have a few extra quilts made up and ready to gift when a baby arrives. 

I'm currently binding the next little quilt made with these fabrics so that's up next. 

Plaid Tail Feathers Quilt

 A few years ago I bought a fat quarter bundle of Moda's Dad's Plaids

I knew I wanted to use it with this pattern

After making this quilt

And this quilt

I knew I wanted one dedicated to plaids. I redrafted the pattern to decrease the block size to 9" and pulled plaids from my stash to scrap things up a bit:

I ended up with 45 different plaids. 90 blocks later I had enough for a 9x10 layout. I handed it off to Jackie and Sandy to quilt some magic into it using a Modernish #4 pattern with a Baguette colored thread

I don't know what it is about plaid, but boy howdy, do I love this quilt!

I used plaid on the back too because if you're going to make a plaid quilt, you may as well go all in:

I think I had a big grin on my face the entire time I worked on the binding. 

I probably should have made it a little smaller because  at 83 x 92 it's almost too big for a cuddle quilt. But then it occurred to me that it would be perfect as quilt #1 for the friend of ours that asked me to make a few quilts for him. I'm pretty smitten with this quilt so I had better get it to him before I become even more attached to it. Good thing I've got leftovers because if one plaid quilt brings this much joy, just imagine what making another one will do!

Stacking Up

 January got busy, filled up fast and is whizzing by. It's already the 27th and I have yet to set foot in my sewing room. I did pick up a few quilts from Jackie that have been there for a long time. One of them isn't even on my 'to be finished' list I posted earlier this month because I had forgotten about it.

And I have 2 more waiting for binding as well (2 quilts - same fabric) - 1 is partially bound

I could have 5 finishes if I'd just make myself sit down and bind and I actually love binding, but I rarely take the time during the day to do that. However, this quilt is a commissioned quilt (my first) so I am telling myself that it's OK to work on it during the day

And once it's done I can start on the next quilt which is also a commissioned quilt. I have yet to make up my mind on a pattern. I have a few ideas, but I had better settle on something soon.

It's tempting to curl up and bind all day when it's 15° and looks like this outside

We just got a skiff, but we welcome any and all moisture

It doesn't last long around here, but it sure is pretty