Grinch Christmas Quilt - Quilt Festival

I am so happy to be able to post this quilt in the Fall 2012 Blogger's Quilt Festival. Thanks to Amy for all of her hard work putting this together!

The quilt I am showing today is my Grinch Christmas Quilt. I loved putting this together and creating my first wonky blocks. I loved the improv part of this quilt, even though I did have a system set up at the outset with the checkerboard layout.

I have three boys, who have always loved the Grinch Christmas special as much as I did as a kid. OK, let's face it - I still love the Grinch!

My favorite characters are of course Max and Cindy Lou Who.

I had this quilted by Kathy of Stitch by Stitch. She did an awesome job, and I love the curvy pattern which reminds me of the Grinch's eyes.

Finished quilt measures : 60″x 60″

Special techniques used : improv

Quilted by : Kathy Olkowski of Stitch by Stitch

Best Category : Throw Quilt, Professionally Quilted

I am so excited to be able to look at all of the inspiring work that will be entered into the Festival! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Kathy

Anticipation

I was anticipating that this month's Liberty and Justice bee block might be challenging, and so I kept putting it off. I finally just decided I needed to sit down and try it. Guess what? It was simple and fun. Here are the results:

This is a block chosen by Cindy at Spin the Bobbin. It came from the book "Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt blocks from favorite designers" Page 164.

More anticipation (the good kind) this week comes from waiting for my Grinch quilt to arrive. It is scheduled to be delivered today, and I have been stalking the USPS tracking system since longarmer Kathy of Stitch by Stitch let me know it had been shipped! I can't wait to see how it came out. I went ahead and prepared a scrappy binding that uses a lot of the fabrics from the blocks. Here it is, ready and waiting to be sew on to the quilt!

I am looking forward to posting a finished photo since I neglected to take a photo of the finished top before I sent it off.

I feel like I am stalled on a bunch of projects, and so I need a jump start! I think another finish may just help me out in that department since it always feels so good to get something done and checked off the list.

My Mouthy Stitches 2 Finish

We are getting some nice fall color this week here. I love driving around and basking in the warm colors of fall knowing that dreary winter is not far behind.

This week I finished up my tote and the key fob for Mouthy Stitches 2. This swap has really been impressive. Trying to keep up with responding to so many pictures of great totes in progress is daunting. You want your secret partner to comment so you see if you're headed in the right direction! I definitely was happy when I got some feedback to what I was working on. But with so many participants, it means a lot of commenting!

The work in this group is extremely inspiring - I mean, really WHATEVER tote and keyring ends up in my mailbox, I have no doubt will be nice. And some of them are truly spectacular. (I do have a favorite, so my fingers are crossed that it's for me.) Here's what I ended up putting together...

I like a bag with at least a couple of pockets, so I made one large one on the exterior, and one small one on the inside. I really hope my partner is happy! 

Not much else has been moving on my sewing list. I have to get into the swing this week and move something along! I have been struggling with a lot of sinus/face/mouth pain this past week. So much so that I actually went to the dentist to get the teeth checked out. That goodness it was not a tooth. 

Now I need to move on and get my bee blocks done for the month! Happy fall!

Hexies AND applique...

Well - here it is... my first try at hexagons! And they're appliqued on too!

I am working on my key fob idea for the Mouthy Stitches Swap on Flickr. The fob is going along with the tote bag we're making, so I picked up the fabrics and used them in a different way. My thought is to make the key fob a hexagon shape and use the text fabric from the lining of the bag as the backing.  it would have a tab on one edge that the actual key ring part would attach to - kind of like this one...

Those little hexagons (and I do mean little - they finish at about 1") were a little bit of a challenge, but not as bad as I thought. I might even try them again sometime. MIGHT. Hand sewing makes my hand numb, which is not a fun thing so I have to definitely limit it.

WIP Wednesday

I initially got on today to write a post for Work-in-Progress Wednesday and to link up with Lee from Freshly Pieced.

I've had this quilt up on my design board ever since I got the blocks back from the Bow tie Swap I participated in this August.

I sent in and received back 60 blocks, and saved a bunch that matched the ones I sent in too. I only need to complete one MEASLY bow tie and sew them all together! I had originally thought that I would complete this quilt and then donate it to some wonderful organization for a child in need. There was no rush on this since I had not looked into a particular place to donate it or anything.

Then came the news that my sister-in-law has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Blew our doors off. I am thinking maybe this will be a perfect thing to send to let her know we're thing about her and supporting her from afar? I'd love to make something specifically for her, but maybe fast is best right now? Not sure. She is still getting the final testing done this week so that they can determine a treatment plan, but my guess is that she will start as soon as those results are in. Thoughts anyone? Wait and make it more custom, or just finish and send this bright and colorful quilt?

I guess you really know when you're bitten by the quilting bug when pretty much your first thought is.... "How fast can I make a quilt?"

Scatterbrained September!

Boy these last couple of weeks have been very unfocused for me! I have 2 projects up on the design wall that I just seem to keep moving around and around, and at least 2 others that are in the cut but need to be sewn stage.

I did send out the Grinch quilt to be long-armed. I decided to try someone new, and so I packed up the flimsy and the backing and off it went to Montana to Kathy of Stitch by Stitch. I can't remember which blog I read that recommended her, but I am very excited to see how it turns out. Kathy offers your first quilt at 20% off, which is a nice incentive to give her a try. And, with three week turnaround right now, I should have plenty of time to get this one bound before the holidays.

I did get my Liberty and Justice bee blocks done pretty early in September, and we're awaiting the new block instructions for October. I will be the queen in November and I keep changing my mind on which block to use. More indecisiveness! Perhaps this one?

I was lucky enough to get into the Mouthy Stitches 2 Swap on Flickr. We are swapping tote bags and key fobs, and I'm so impressed with what the ladies are showing already as their progress. Here is what I have done so far.

I am debating about making the straps black, or making them the gray with a strip of color down the middle. I would probably use the teal or maybe the black as the strip. The lining will most likely be the text print shown here, but if my partner says she wants more color then color it will be! The front pieced section of the bag is also a large pocket, and I have a small open pocket planned for inside the bag. I love to have a specific place for my cell phone so I don't have to dig for it too much. Hopefully my partner feels the same way!

It seems that the kids have settled in to school nicely this fall. I guess that's why September always feels so crazy to me. I love it, but October should be much smoother. Now to make some decisions and finish up another top or two!

Happy October!