This sweet pea joined our family in November. 

We love having her with us, but it has put a bit of a crimp on my sewing time.  I'm still adjusting to life as a mama first, a quilter (and everything else) second.  Thank you to the lovely ladies who were so patient on their blocks while I trained my new sewing assistant.

Can't wait to see Jessica's quilt for her son all finished!  What a great departure from our red and whites.  Here's my contribution to the cause.

Sewing snowballs was a perfect winter activity!  They're on their way Helen!

And finally....it looks like I'm the only one who is taking seriously Shelly's  generously extended timeline on your appliqué block.  It's up next!

Happy quilting in the new year all!

Leaves for Shelly

My fingers are a bit sore, but with Helen's encouragement (thanks for coming over to sew today!), I pushed myself to finish this block for Shelly tonight, so it can get in the mail before the new year. 
Sorry for the bad lighting in the pic, but I knew I should keep the momentum going and just get the blog post done now..

Shelly, please ignore my bloggy whining about this block, it really was a fun one to do, and I'm grateful for the challenge you gave us.  I had forgotten how much I like applique and was excited to rediscover the style and my water soluble marking pen (hope i got all the blue lines out, btw).  You have inspired me to add some applique to my current project, and if it turns out half as cute as your laurel leaf quilt will be, I'll be satisfied.

Can't wait to see all the blocks together.

Jessica's Blues and Browns

Hello again, all! I stayed up last night and worked on Jessica's blocks. I got half of the block sewn together before I went to bed. I got up this morning and finished it. I figured since I'm in "sunny" (not so much today--and brrrr, it's cold!) Florida, I would take the photo outside on a bush near our hotel.

This was a fun, quick and easy block to put together. (I just realized the block us upside down in this photo. Sorry!) I hope you like it, Jessica. Like I said, I went shopping for some fun blues yesterday to add into the block. I was SOOOO disappointed that I had to find a quilt shop here in Ft. Myers and had to fabric shop. I surfed on the net to see what was here and found a place called Quilt Lover's Hangout. When I got in there, I realized they were just featured in the most recent issue of Quilt Sampler's Ultimate Shop Hop, where they feature 10 of the best quilting stores in America. For good reason! It's a great shop! I was in a hurry to get back and sew, so I didn't spend too much time looking around. I'm planning to go back, though. :-) I'll do a review of the shop after that.

I also got to christen my new Featherweight on this block. That was really fun. So, this is the first block I've sewn on it. (I'll blog about that on my own blog shortly. I couldn't get the second photo to load properly here, so you'll have to check it out at www.peasinapod.typepad.com if you want to see it. Sorry!)

Anyway, thank you, too, Jessica for your patience, understanding, kindness, graciousness, etc. on my tardiness. You guys are great. I will look for a post office and get this in the mail to you!

Best,
Stephanie

Two Colors for Jessica

It was a treat to get to work with blue and brown this time.


It made me painfully aware that my stash is sorely lacking in bright blues. I have TWO entire bins of blues, but they're all dark, or tend toward green or purple. I had a hard time finding some that were just right. Does this mean I need to go blue shopping?

HSTs for Jessica

I also finished this in the actual month of November, just slow to take a picture of it. This quilt is going to be great! Luckily I'll get a sneak peak of some of them all together this weekend...

Just In Time For Jessica

Hello Everyone,

I finished it officially in November!  This little beauty will be on its way back to Jessica today.  It was fun to make.  I used my HST tutorial that you can find by clicking here.

If you would like to read more about the block you can click over to my blog, I have a few more photos and detail.  This will be a beautiful quilt, Jessica.  Enjoy!

Until Next Time...

jessica's block

I managed to finish Jessica's block right away. I loved working with these colors! Such a nice pairing. I loved working with the HST's. This quilt is going to look amazing!

Still chugging along with Shelly's block. I looked at all the other applique blocks posted here, I think I'm going to have to do some stitch ripping...

Jessica's blocks for November

I love all the red and white quilts we've been working on, but right now I just don't think I want to own one.  (that may change, as quilting tastes often do)So I'm going to switch it up a bit, this month we're going to sew with blue and brown.

I love love love half-square triangle quilts, but even though I've tried to make one in the past, I just couldn't stick with it.  I made 3 blocks (9 patches) and I was pooped.  I hope you have the energy to make me just one of these:

I am sending packages of brown solid and enough blue for 10-12 triangles, I'm asking that the blue for the remaining 4-6 blocks comes from your stash.  Please try to use medium bright blues that are similar to the ones I sent.  If anyone needs blue fabric, please let me know asap and I will mail it out to you.
My method for HSTs is similar to this tutorial, but you can use whichever technique you're comfortable with, as long as the blocks come out ok.  The cut squares measure 5", you'll trim to 4.5", and the finished HSTs will come to 4".  The entire block will be 16.5" unfinished.

some inspiration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66362701@N00/5001362909/ (my current favorite)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiamcdonald/3783247223/ (I was very close to choosing orange and white..)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98708600@N00/4762452258/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/claremansell/6042454692/

Thanks everybody, let me know if you have any questions.  If you're going to be at the NYC Metro Mod Guild meeting in December, I'll happily accept the blocks then.  Everybody else can mail them whenever you're finished.  I'll keep chugging along and make more blue & brown blocks, I think I'll need about 3-4 blocks' worth of triangles to add some rows and make it large enough for my son's bed.
Ok, now back to stitching Shelly's leaves...

Measuring

Now there's something I haven't done in a while, hehe.
I hope this block plays well with the others, it went in the mail to Bonnie today~

July & August blocks

I've been productive, though sadly, not in time for the July deadline.. But look, I made an asterisk for Tara!

and a wonky star for Amanda Jean!

You know, I wasn't really worried when I got Tara's package in the mail, but I should have been.  That asterisk kicked my butt.  If you look closely, you'll notice I added a few extra seams.  You don't have to look that closely to see that I didn't square it up, giving Tara a chance to fix it as much as she needs to.  I did my best, Tara, but this wasn't easy.

On the other hand, my maverick star (one of my all time fave block patterns) was a breeze.  I know we don't join bees just to make the blocks we like, but it sure does make me feel good to know I at least did something right..

These two were fun ladies, and I hope you both enjoy them.  Should arrive by the end of the week..
Thank you~~

Jessica of Life Under Quilts

Am I the last one to do an introduction? 
I was kind of putting it off because I'm away from home (and my home computer) and don't have any good quilt photos with me besides the ones I've taken on the trip.  Please check out my blog or flickr account if you want to see the kind of quilty-trouble I usually get into..

I'll be upfront and say that a quilt in two colors will be a challenge for me..  Like Bonnie, I tend to lean on the scrappy side.  This month I've been working on my 3rd english paper pieced stars quilt, using scrap fabric from EVERYWHERE:

but I'm so excited to get to sew with all of you ladies for the entire year!  Can't wait to see what you've got in mind..

Other stuff about me-- early 30s, mom to one energetic 2.5 yr old.  I've got a Greek husband who insists on vacations in Athens every summer (really, I shouldn't complain), quilting since 2002, MA in Applied Linguistics.  I've been a SAHM for 3 yrs, but I'm going back to work part time in July.. teaching English to international students.  Originally from Chicago, now settled outside of New York City.  I love to travel, eat well, and hang out with other quilters.  And I can't wait to get to know all of you better this year.