Quilting...Almost

I turned on my quilting machine...first time since April. 

I've been bitten by the "bag making bug."

I really want to make a travel bag for my cutting mat and rulers for quilt retreats, and By Annie has one that looks just right.

 

I quilted my coordinating back and front fabrics with by Annie's Soft and Stable. 

It took me a few hours just to quilt a yard and half...I probably could have gone with a bigger motif but I just naturally quilt densely. I tried drawing bigger flowers on my plexiglass panel to practice but I kept doubting the spacing.

The last By Annie bag I made took me several weeks to construct so who knows how long this will take me. So far, two days into the process.

Despite not quilting or even piecing blocks since mid May, I still bought fabric. 

The internet is a big enabler for me.

So...I think I have a brilliant idea. 

Go ahead and kit up several quilt projects while I start getting back to quilting on my Nolting. 

Like most quilters...there is a big lag between when I finish a top and when it gets quilted. 

I've got over 30 tops needing to get quilted. 

And...I am always frantically kitting up projects days before a quilt retreat or just a project day when I meet with a group at our local quilt shop.

The first quilt kit is a freebie pattern, "Absolute Autumn," from the Fort Worth Fabric Studio. It is a mystery from last year. There are also videos to accompany the pattern but I haven't watched any of them yet. 

The second kit is also a freebie pattern, "Craft Buddy Quilt and Buddy," from Windham Fabrics.

I have a running gift theme with my granddaughter when it comes to llama. Her birthday is in January so it should be a project I can get done quickly.

I have a new website to me that has become another enabler for quilting ideas and fabric, Jordan Fabrics. They do a weekly video where they make a complete quilt. 

My third kit pattern is from one of their videos, "Slice of Cake, Slice 2" from Me and My Sister Designs. It includes two patterns, "Slice 1," and, "Slice 2." The construction method is vey fun and I immediately thought of  Fourth of July fireworks when I saw the quilt. 

Last winter I spent some of my time looking through all the quilt patterns I had saved from magazines. I had two copies of the pattern below. One from the original magazine and one I downloaded from the internet. I think that was a major indication I really like this pattern. It's, "Ice Castles," from the February 2009 issue of McCalls Quilting. I have always been drawn to the snowball block...it makes such a great secondary block in many designs.

I also just happened to have the dark snowflake print yardage used in the blue outer border. And one of my first purchases when the quilt stores opened back up was the background fabric that was just delivered to the store. I'm telling you...some major serendipitous moments have happened already with this quilt. I think it is going to bring me good luck to make it. And double awesome...all the patchwork fabrics are from my stash.

I have a lot more I would say about the, "Ice Castles," pattern but I will share that when I start sewing it...more to blog about later...I should write a note about that right now so I don't forget. 

The last quilt retreat I attend was the first week of May. 

Retreats are another major enabler event.

  One of the ladies had all these really cool quilting-themed batiks. I. Went. Nuts. Came right home and ordered them from Missouri Star Quilt Company. They commissioned this line of fabrics with Island Batik. Initially they were out of fat quarters so I ordered charms.

So...I'm making the pattern, "Chandelier," from one of my favorite charm-themed books, "Charm School," by Vanessa Geortzen. I'm going with a black background that has a faint stitching line running in curves which is tough to see in the photo.

A week or so after the batik charms arrived, fat quarters and yardage was back in stock. Yep...had to buy more.  I was able to get some light backgrounds with the sewing theme along with a set of fat quarters. I got a few other pieces of yardage in some of the colors. I'm planning to make Lori Holt's pattern, "Sew By Row."

Of course there are many more kits in my head I would like to make but I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I have a retreat in September, October, February and May. I'm almost ready!

I did it! Three days in a row of blogging. (The weather was absolutely awful)

Next goal - get a quilt top loaded on the quilting frame and finish making the sewing batik kits.