Adventures in Quilting

I have officially been bitten by the quilting bug (or is it stung by the quilting bee? =P). The finish-up to the class went rather rocky. we were in the middle of the store with two tables placed in the middle of an isle. We had 1 sewing machine between 3 people and very limited space. Also, since the finish-up class was scheduled on a Saturday, the store was busy and we were interrupted frequently by customers asking questions about where to find stuff in the store....sigh. I loved the teacher but the class did not seem well prepared at all. However, I was sufficiently struck by the fun and possibilities of quilting and am so excited working on these projects.

So, here is my lovely little messed up block from the class. I think its a variation on the Churn Dash Block. After everything was put together the block is about an inch smaller than it is supposed to be. So into the scrap pile it will most likely go. I do like the block alot and I definitely learned alot about the importance of being careful and precise.

The block is supposed to have a border but as you can see the border does not match up to my block. The border is supposed to be the same length as the sides of my block...oh well.

I have also started to make a bunting. Oooh it's just too cute and fun. I am getting married in October and am making this adorable bunting to hang on the cake table at our reception. This project is small enough that it lets me try different techniques and is super quick to make. I am using various designs and also decided to try my hand at English Paper Piecing with the hexagons. It is very interesting, but relatively easy. Especially with time saving techniques of using freezer paper and a washable glue stick.

My bunting template made out of template plastic.

While I've been cutting the fabric for the bunting I've also been making some extra hexagons to maybe make a table runner or pillow.

This is my latest project. Oh how I absolutely love it! I found this lovely little blog  that has a pinwheel sampler quilt and a link to a website of free quilt block patterns with more pinwheel blocks to expand on the pinwheel sampler. My mother is also making one and we are doing it in a Block of the Month manner so we can take a nice slow 2 blocks per month construction.

I am so pleased with these blocks. Especially after the issue with the class block. I've been extra careful on paying attention to my seam allowances. This is Block 2 and the one above it is Block 1. I was alot more adventurous with the colors on the 2nd one, but I love them both. It is so hard to stop at just 2 a month.

Busy, Busy Cleaning Days....

Oh blog, how I have neglected thee...This past week has had me feverishly cleaning my mom's house. She is wanting to move in the near future to be closer to me and my fiance, so the house must be cleaned! She has graciously offered to pay me since I am currently without a job and the cleaning/organizing is a huge undertaking.
2 years ago a flood hit Nashville. We count ourselves so lucky to have not had more damage than we did. My mom's house is situated on an incline in a subdivision with a basement/garage combo built into the incline. Ours is the only house in the subdivision like that and so was the only one in the subdivision with damage when the basement/garage was flooded with 3ft of water. I was living with my mom at the time while attending college full time. My studio was unfortunately located in the basement. So I lost nearly all of my supplies/artwork and my two cars that were parked in the garage and driveway. We didnt have flood insurance on the house but fortunately the cars did. But again, I count us so lucky to have such minor damage compared to others.
My mom is a keeper of all things memory related and a collector of craft supplies. half of the garage and basement was full of boxes of these two things. She was able to clear out alot while I was away at a work/study program that summer, but stopped when she started finding pictures and other things from when I was a baby. So, I am continuing the efforts now. I am also organizing the monumental collection of crafts, magazines, and books that are upstairs in the living room and a spare room. After a 1hr drive one way and 6-7hrs worth of work, I am sufficiently beat! So, my crafting has grinded to a complete halt as of late. /sigh
I am really interested in the one a day projects that I have spied on a few blogs and I think I am definitely in need of that little bit of time each day to craft. I will attempt to start this on Friday, as I am staying home for a much anticipated new washing machine. I am so excited to be getting a new one. We've been battling the old one for the past year.
So much to do, but I am looking forward to my little Friday craft break.  :)