Finish for Mom

A year ago I made and gave my mom this pillow.

Then sometime last fall I used the same fabric
to experiment with two different patterns.
I promised my mom I'd make her
more pillows to complete a set.

SO...on saturday I sewed and sewed...

and surprised my mom for Mother's Day,
with the Circle of Geese above
and the Dresden Plate below.

And now she can complete her
newly decorated guest/sitting room.

So mom,

Whirling Star for Wintermint

I'm so happy I got to spend time in my sewing room yesterday. 

Sometimes, life is like a whirlwind and I get so caught up

in taking care of business, I just can't squeeze in time for fun.

BUT yesterday I just decided to put away my cares and dig into...

my Bliss fabric and work on my Wintermint.

I SO wanted to just cut enough to make one block.  

Do you get that way too, anxious to see the finished product?

Let's face it, these photos show the WORK part of quilting.

But I have to say, cutting and organizing 

make the fun go faster in the long run!

And this block came together quickly.

I admit, I'm cutting the white one block at a time...no patience for that.

This block is a cross between a star and pinwheel, I think.

Finally a finish...Whirling Star!

Now add that to my circle of geese,

and the first two blocks of WINTERMINT are done!

Makin' time for more sewing fun this week!

Macro Monday and More...

I had a creative breakthrough Sunday and 

finally got some serious sewing done.

I'll start with a close up (since it IS macro monday).

Here's the blurred idea in my imagination...

becoming a reality.

I am awed by Flying Geese...

as well as this Bliss fabric.

Creating the block

that will soon become...

WinterMint

More to follow...eventually.

Happy Monday!

P.S. The Circle of Geese block is not my original, of course.

But it takes a little concentration, and that's been

a long time coming for me.

P.P.S.  Linking up with Macro Monday.

No Trick Photography This Time

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday over at QuiltStory:
Last weekend I decided to try my hand at foundation paper piecing and started this Circle of Geese.

As you can see I finished it...this is not the trick photography of my last post.  ; )

But I did enjoy photographing from different angles.

Right in the CENTER.

Backing out.

And further out.

I just love the kaleidoscope effect of this block 

and can't wait to try other fabric combinations!

If you're interested in trying, go here for the pattern and here for some inspiration.

Oh and just one more shot...

Okay, okay just a little more trick photography.  ; )

Geeses in Paper Pieces

I'm in between large projects right now and decided, with a little inspiration from Sheila's recent post, to, yet again, try foundation paper piecing. Previous futile attempts won't stop me because I see so many great patterns out there that use this technique. 

So last night...I started with this...

And after much flipping & flopping and snipping

and a tiny bit of cursing I got this...

...which may not look like much yet...

but with this stash (same fabric I used for my

Cathedral Windows back in April) it should end up

looking like a "Circle of Geese" like this one.

Since I didn't have time to finish the other 3 quarters

in my haste to see what the end result would be

I did a little trick photography & created this mosaic...

 a great visual of what is to come!

Yet as I was getting these photos ready for my blog,

then I started noticing my "mistakes".

(Don't you hate that?)

As you can see, I somehow snipped a corner or

didn't have enough fabric to cover that piece (ugh!)

and

that huge chunk of white shouldn't be showing like that.

Guess I forgot to trim a seam.  : /

Of course, I stopped in the middle of posting to go

do that trimming...it looks better now but I didn't

take another photo.

But, I learned from it all and can't wait to finish my

paper pieced Circle of Geese.
 

You can go here to see where I got
my inspiration for this pattern!  They are awesome!

Now I'm off to more sewing...

So. Sweet. Sophie.

No sweeter finish for me than this...

Sophia Annabelle

Born: June 1, 2011

7lb. 2oz, 19in.

When my neice, Erica, first told me the name she and Brian had chosen for their little baby girl was Sophia, I thought it was so pretty, so original, so vintage.  I decided the quilt I would make for Sophie should reflect that vintage feel.  I found this pattern, called Baby's Little Goslings, in a book I'd picked up a while ago knowing someday it would be perfect for a very special baby. 

Instead of more contemporary pastels, I decided to go with the dotted fabric from Fig Tree I'd been holding onto for just the right moment.  The soft creamy, peachy, orange florals surrounding the dotted flying geese was also used for the backing.

Since I always name my quilts, this one became "So Sweet Sophie" and I created a label (that was not yet sewn on during my photo shoot) in keeping with the vintage theme. You can click the pic for a close up.

But my very favorite part of this quilt is the prairie point border.  Partly because I've been wanting to try something with prairie points, but mostly because I think it's the perfect finish as a reflection of the larger flying geese blocks.

For my non-quilting friends, prairie points are those little folded triangles around the edge. 

(I like folding fabric just as much as folding paper...fabric origami.)

I had such a fun time photographing the final project, hence

 the So Sweet Sophie parade that follows:

Now it's all washed, warm and comfy...ready to be delivered this weekend to

So Sweet Sophie

Thanks for all your interest and comments throughout this process.

It's so nice to be able to share such sweetness.

Almost One Flower Wednesday

And by almost, I don't mean wednesday.  I mean I ALMOST FINISHED ONE flower.  Got the border on but never got back to attaching it.  When I do, it's the start of row 3!

Last week I claimed I was on a roll, but these other projects (priorities) got in the way.

My little goslings are basted and ready for quilting.  YaY!

And here's a sneak peek at the block I did for Let's Bee Together.

The fabric was chosen by Mollie and she left the block pattern up to us.

I'll show the whole thing after she receives it.

And so goes another One Flower Wednesday. Thanks for stopping in!