Totally distracted !

I vaguely remembering saying early in January that I was determined to finish a few of the quilt tops and other projects that have been lying around my sewing room ...before I started anything new!
But then my son gave me a Jelly Roll for Christmas, so I really had to start with that....

.........and then I got distracted by all the summery colors of the Dream On Layer Cake that I had, especially because it has been cold and snowy here, and the fabric was so bright and cheery.....

But...before I actually finished either one of these, let alone any of the others......I decided this weekend to make an "I Spy" quilt for our grand-daughter who is turning 2 years old. I have never made one of these, but have seen pictures. So off I went, digging through all my fabric, and buying a bit of extra cartoon like pieces!  I decided to go with a very simple 4 patch square. I used 4 1/2 inch squares....for a very scientific reason.....I happened to have a 4 1/2 inch square ruler, which made the fussy cutting very easy.

I drew around the pictures that I wanted with a marker, and then cut them out.

I decided that it needed some solid borders....mostly to give the eye a rest from all the busy patterns, and also just to make it bright and colorful (and I love bright and colorful !!)

Then it was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, matching up different blocks, and different borders. It is all pretty random, and there are so many colors but I think it will be OK.

I hope to be able to post the FINISHED product soon !! LOL

Design Couch

Well, I must say, I do love these bright sunshiny (is that a word??) colors, especially when it is cold and snowy outside. They are so cheery.

This is "Dream On" by Moda purchased from my local quilt shop at Periwinkle Quilting. I just love wandering around in that store! So much fabric, so many pretty colors, so many beautiful quilts hanging all over, so many great ideas.  And you know, I never get out of there without a bag full of goodies, even though I was "just looking"!!

I haven't worked with the pre-cut Layer cakes or charm squares before, so wasn't quite sure where to start. I loved some pictures of quilts that used a lot of white, so thought that would be good to try with these colors. One of the first quilts, and blogs, that caught my eye, and actually inspired me to start making quilts, was by Faith at Fresh Lemon Quilts. I LOVED her "Lemon Squares" quilt, and in fact she has the free pattern on her blog here which is great!

Of course I did not get organized enough to actually follow the pattern, but wanted the same kind of look with lots of white, and the square within a square pattern. So off I went and started sewing! I think I will still have to actually make the Lemon Squares quilt someday...I still love it!!

I had a lot of  fun picking over the different colors and patterns to make the blocks. I don't have a design wall, but I do have a "design couch" in my sewing room !!

It is not very big, so I can't lay out the whole quilt at once, but it does give me an idea of how it will look when all put together. I am pretty happy with it so far.....and that is why I quilt.....to make me happy !! :)

Help from the Quilt Fairy?

Well, I really think that I was "cross-eyed" yesterday.....I must have been spending too much time working on the computer!!  Because.......when I went back and had a look at those strips that I had cut from the "Dream On" fabric, that I thought I had cut wrong....they really were the correct size!! Or maybe the Quilt Fairy came and fixed them up for me because I was so distressed ?????

WOW !!  I am just happy that I had not started trimming them down yet, or I would be doing some creative patchwork now!  They are such pretty bright colors !! I love this fabric!

So I happily cut a few more and did a bit of sewing.

I don't have many blocks done yet, so am not sure how it is going to look in the end.  And, I have to confess......I don't have  a pattern, just a picture in my head so I am just playing with them !! I know that is probably not the way to go, and a "REAL" quilter would have a much better idea of what they were doing !! But I wanted these bright colors set off with a lot of white, so we will just see how it turns out !! Don't you just love an adventure ????

Is this really progress??

I know this is "Work in Progress" Wed ......

and if you want to see some exciting work in progress check out Lee's blog at Freshly Pieced or lots of other blogs......not this blog though!! : (

I dont really feel like I am making any progress this week! I have been working pretty steadily on revisions to my journal article for publication, and apart from feeling a little cross-eyed  and also having  reached the point that I really dont think that I know what I am talking about anyway..... why am I doing this again ????... I am not feeling very productive.

Of course I do spend a bit of time browsing around in blogland, seeing what everybody else is creating !  And there is some really fun stuff going on ......in other people's sewing rooms......just not mine.

I did take a little break to cut into my "sunshine" fabric - it is Moda Dream On and is so bright and cheery that I thought it would cheer me up !  But of course, even though I am reasonably intelligent...I cant seem to count to 10 !!!  I was planning on 10 " blocks and cut the inner white blocks the wrong size ! YIKES!

 Oh well, at least I cut them too big and not too small, so I will just end up with a few more little bits for my scrap bin. Obviously math is not my strong suit ! And ....to top it all off it is minus 25 C. (about 10 below F.)here and a blizzard is moving in !!  I wonder if hibernation is an option ??

I've been TAGGED !! : )

This is such a fun surprise !!  I have been "tagged" by Diane and LaDonna from A Sisterly Connection.
This is fellow bloggers spreading the word about other smaller blogs!!! Thank you so much! I am honored and flattered ! Be sure to stop by their blog--A Sisterly Connection--besides quilting ideas and news there are great recipies....YUM!

I want to share this fun and name some fellow bloggers who would love your company and comments also.  If you choose to participate (and the more the merrier!), the rules are:
1) Tell your readers who tagged you.
2) Add a link to their blog.
3) Award 3-5 bloggers who you think deserve this award.

Inform them and post directions to your blogspot. Please don't tag people who already have 300 followers. The goal of this award is to get more publicity to blogs that are good, but not so well known.

So.... to follow the rules and join in the fun I want to TAG a few of my favorite blogs:
1)  A HUGE inspiration...and an amazing Fibre Artist, Photographer and Sewist!! Go visit Monika at My Sweet Prairie
2) One of my favourite blogs, with sew many great ideas and tips....and great pictures - stop by and visit Lee at Freshly Pieced. You will just LOVE her Dresden Plate pillow !!
3) and finally Jolene at Blue Elephant Stitches- not only do I love the blog name, but there is lots of great quilting going on here !!

Hope you have fun finding some new places to browse around !! Have a great day!

Check this out!

This looks like a lot of fun......and great give aways too!!

Be Mine Blog Tour

(OK, I dont know how to add a "button" so I just added the picture and a link !! But it is close....isn't it???)
It starts today, and you have to leave a message everyday to qualify for a great giveaway!

Baffled by Batting !

Well my goal this month is to finish a few of the quilts that are lying around my sewing room. So ...when there was a 50% off sale at the fabric store I thought it was a good time to stock up on batting.  As a beginner here, I was a bit unsure about what is the best kind of batting to use. I have used high loft polyester batting for most of the baby quilts, to give them a bit more cushion if they are used on the floor.

for tote bags and placemats I have used "warm and white" or "warm and natural" and that seemed to work out well.

For those quilt tops that have been patiently waiting I bought a cotton / poly blend - Warm Bond, made by the same company that makes Warm and Natural. This should keep me going for awhile ....ok a long long time!!

It states that it is an 80 cotton/20 polyester  Bonded quilt batting without any glues or resins, and it shrinks less  (only 3%) than the 100% cotton batting(5%), which I thought was probably a good thing for a larger quilt???
If anybody had any good advise I would appreciate it!
Maybe a good Tips on Tuesday topic....hint hint !! : )