Happy Holidays to all!

Have a Wonderful Christmas Season and a Happy Sew New Year!

I, for one, hope to find my sewing mojo under the tree this season!!

Finally a Finish...

...all wrapped and ready to be gifted!

Another yellow, black, grey and white Radio Way! Since I had leftovers from this quilt ~ I decided to break from the Christmas tradition of using scrap crumb blocks! (2012 quilt, 2011 quilt, 2010 quilt, 2009 quilt, 2008 quilt)  I must have been feeling sad as this Christmas quilt has quite a bit of yellow in it.  :)

pattern source: Radio Way by Jaybird Quilts

panto:  curly hearts ~ although hard to see!

A Little Sewing Time

Another friend from the Milwaukee Admirals' games Birthday Party is Sunday.  We won't be able to attend so I gave her her Birthday quilt last night.

She

LOVES.HELLO.KITTY!

The center panel with Curly Hearts panto.











Birthday Girl is the younger sister of the TINK Birthday Quilt from a few weeks back. :)

Here is the corresponding card that I made.

DD's hockey is keeping out of the sewing room and in the rink!  We are at practice three times a week and games are 3 on a weekend!  Busy but fun watching DD develop as a player...see you at the rink!!

WIP Wednesday (on Wednesday, *wink*!)

In honor of Veteran's Day last week, I decided to finish sewing on a QOV UFO.

I first posted about this quilt here, but then realized that I need to make more blue crumb blocks to bring it to size.  I went with option B and added an inner and outer border.

Wow ~ I just noticed this was my July QOV project!

Where did this year go?!


I made a few tall maverick stars to break up all the chaos from the crumb blocks.  Directions from Sophie can be found here.

I am way more busy with DD's hockey team, The Waukesha County Wolves than I originally thought so my time is limited in the sewing room.

I think this might be where my year of 2013 might have gone.  LOL!!!

Posts might be far and few between as we get into more games this season!



This is DD in her Away uniform.  :)

and check out this cute card DD made for her friend's birthday party last week!  Her friend is a huge fan of *Minions*!  DD still had the creative style!!

Goodbye...

...Tink, I barely knew you!

This has to be a record for me!  I purchased the fabric on Tuesday, pieced on Wednesday, quilted on Thursday, binding/ label on Friday and gifted Sunday!

and SHE LOVED IT!  Reactions like the Birthday Girl's are one of the reasons I quilt.  As soon as she opened the quilt she ran over to her Mom to show everyone at her table.  She was so excited!!

pattern source:  here   I adjusted the measurements to arrive at a slightly larger quilt.  The checker border finishes at 6 inches and I think I cut the inside panel at 40 x 58.  I knew I wanted the quilt to be close to 55 x 74 finished.  The Birthday Girl has a tall boyfriend!  :)

The Halcyon quilting.

Hello Tinker Bell!

For a quick quilt ~ a piece of Tinker Bell fabric surrounded by an asymmetrical checkerboard border.

Here's Tink!

WIP Wednesday

 I had the cruddy cough for a week followed by bronchitis for a week followed by a general feeling of *being off*.  Yuck ~ what a way to start the Fall season!

I'm happy to report that I made it back to the sewing room and this is what I found...

...the beginnings of my next t*shirt quilt.

So I rough cut the t*shirts after adding the fusible.

Then I cut them all the same.  I did try to sew the #peskyads t*shirt to make it fit better.  Not real sure that I like it but...it will work.  :)

Next I framed them out with the silver.  Not a great choice with the grey t*shirts but...it will work.  :) I also started to assemble the lettering.

When I arrived at this point, I took it off the design wall to make room for another quilt.  We are invited to a surprise birthday party for a hockey friend on Sunday.  She also likes Tinker Bell in addition to hockey, so there is a Tinker Bell quilt in my very near future!!

It's a Finish!

While I was feeling frustrated by this project,  I finished up the binding on DD's Shoe Quilt.

It sat downstairs for at least a week with the binding on ~ just waiting to be hand sewn!

pattern source:  Tile Tango by Terry Atkinson

panto source:  Halcyon by Lorien Quilting


I like it.  :) and it's another way to use 6.5 inch novelty squares!!

What I'm Working On...10.14.2013

....meetings, meetings and more meetings!  Throw in a few hockey practices for DD and that sums up last week!  Very little time spent in the sewing room and when I was in the sewing room...oh boy!  Frustration hit a new HIGH...  :(  What was so unsettling, you ask?!   :)  !!!

The beginning of a T Shirt Quilt.  I had this bright idea (ummm...not so bright now ~ lol)  that since I was running short on the tshirts that I would sub in a pieced banner for the first horizontal row... that way I only needed 9 shirts instead of 12.

This is as far as I have gotten.

Remind me that I have trouble with the whole concept of paper piecing!  My hats off to all who make wonderfully paper pieced works of quilt art!  I just struggle with the whole *bigger - than - flip - backwards - then - sew - and - it's - right* thing!  Mine are usually wrong!

even when I remember to flip then sew....  All I can say is *Oh Boy!*

and I haven't moved onto the tshirt preps yet ... Oh Boy!  I decided to let it stew a bit before I go back to it.  Those *2*'s were driving me batty. And I'm still not happy with them.  I think I *know* why I kept putting this project off all summer. wink.wink.  and I got two tshirt quilts to make.  OH BOY!

I paper pieced the letters than I was free piecing the numbers.  Under it all is the scroll that I had the players sign last week at the Meet 'n Greet for the Milwaukee Admirals.  The letters are a free download found here.  You'll need to click around as each letter is it's own page/download. I reduced the letters from 6 inch to 4 inch and tried to send the tracing paper through the printer.  yeah, that did not work well either.  :)   At least I am learning a lot from this project so far!  so it's all good!!!

Whoop! Whoop! 10.4.2013

Whoop! Whoop!

I finished Baby Evan's ISPY quilt!!!

pattern inspiration:  Storytime Squares by Rae

quilting panto:  halcyon by lorien quilting


Today I am linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

WIP Wednesday

I've been working on moving projects along to the flimsy stage.

DD's Tennis Shoe quilt was *flimsy-ized* first.

pattern source:  Tile Tango by Terry Atkinson

I dug into my box of 6.5 inch novelty lovies to create a ISPY type quilt for Baby Evan.

pattern inspiration:  Storytime Squares by Rae

Here is a bare bones write-up of how I made this quilt.

Even after using 70 ~yes 70!~ novelty squares ... my box is still bursting at the seams!

Last Day...

...today is the last day to join the Linky Party over at Katie's Swim, Bike Quilt 100 Quilts for Kids Challenge.

I pieced this quilt over the summer.  Another 2 yard fabric buy from the big box store that I cut down for the middle section. Even simpler borders brings the deer print to size in a hurry.












With this quilt, I reached my personal goal of 4 quilts to donate to Margaret's Hope Chest.  Sometimes, even the simplest quilts will work.  I'm hoping that a young male teen will like this quilt and choose it for his forever home.  I know, my DS ~ who is 22 and doesn't hunt ~ kept commenting that he really liked the deer print and the bear print quilts.

:)

pattern source:  unknown

panto source:  Inkblot (although the thread blends well with the mossy green colors in this quilt)

What I've Been Working On...

...DD asked for a tennis shoe quilt, just squares not the twirly squares.  :)  Gotcha...no 4 patch posie happening here.  Drats!  as I am seriously addicted to making that block...

In the end, she choose the Tile Tango pattern by Terry Atkinson with blue, green and black as the contrasts.  This is as far as I have gotten as of this morning.  Lucky this is a fast pattern as my niece had her baby ~Evan~ on Thursday and I haven't made him a quilt yet!!  I know, I know!!  5 days old and no quilt from his great-auntie Patti...  :)

pattern credit:  Tile Tango by Terry Atkinson

Look What I Found!

A panel quilt for Margaret's Hope Chest!

This was pieced and quilted over the summer and folded into a corner of the sewing room!  One never *knows* the treasures to be found.  :)  The big box store was clearancing out their 2 yard cuts of fabric so I brought a few of the larger prints.  A simple set of borders brings the large print focus fabric to size.

pattern source:  unknown

I quilted it with the Popcorn panto.













I'm linking up with Katie's 100 Quilts for Kids Challenge...linky party here.

Whoop! Whoop! 9.28.2013

I took the final stitches in the binding yesterday in my Tile Tango quilt!

The glamour pose.  :)

Up close ~ I quilted it with a modified Daisy Galore panto.  I left out the loops in between the daisies.  I like how they turned out rather whimsical.

I didn't have one continuous piece for the back so I pieced together two random fabrics that have been in the stash for a long time.  I think maybe even before Bell Creek Quilts blog!  :)












pattern source:  Tile Tango by Terry Atkinson

panto source:  Daisy Galore

back piecing tutorial:  Mollie at Making Scrap Quilts from Scraps.


This quilt will also be going to Margaret's Hope Chest as part of Katie's 100 Quilts for Kids Challenge. I'll be adding it to the Linky Party.

I'm also linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

WIP Wednesday 9.24.2013

....is actually a finish!

Another Four Patch Posie.

I pieced the back to use the last of the focus fabric.

This is the last quilt in the series to use the Puzzle Panto.  I've put it away ~ for now!  :)







I'm linking up with Katie at Swim, Bike Quilt for her  100 Quilts for Kids Drive.   This quilt will be going to Margaret's Hope Chest.

What I've Been Working On...

...another quilt for the 100 Quilts for Kids challenge.

This is the Tile Tango pattern by Terry Atkinson.  I decided to use the pinwheel fabric in place of the pieced blocks. Here is one source...I couldn't find it on Terry's site so maybe it is out of print now?!

Whoop! Whoop! 9.21.2013

Hard to believe that it has been a week since I last posted!

Not too much sewing has been happening here.   :(  

I did manage to sew my current Four Patch Posie to a flimsy...it seems way more pastel-y in the picture than in real life.  I should be able to get this bound in time for the 100 Quilts for Kids deadline of September 30, 2013...barring any extreme happenings here at Bell Creek Quilts!  ;0)

Whoop! Whoop! 9.13.2013

 I like to place a quilt on my half wall leading downstairs for a pop of color. So in between working on donation quilts, I made myself a autumn/fall quilt to drape over the wall.

I found a rather large print for fall and then made Four Patch Posie blocks.

Here is the print.















Here is the quilt.

I *knew* that I wanted to quilt with orange thread and I was happy that I had just enough orange for a pieced backing.  Use it up and move it out of the stash!  yeah!

I'm linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict today.

Whoop! Whoop!

WIP Wednesday

Today was a SEW AND REWARD Day here at Bell Creek Quilts.  Occasionally, I need to bribe myself to sew something I would rather not be sewing.  Today, it was hanging sleeves!  (I googled search 'how to make a hanging sleeve for a quilt', read a few then made and sewed the hanging sleeves onto the quilts. I used a blend of a few different tutorials plus what I remember from my sewing friends from the Bear Creek Quilt Guild.)

The Hanging Sleeves:

the back of the Bowtie Border Quilt  (found here)

the back of the Radio Wave  Quilt (found here)














The REWARD:

Sewing a new quilt!  I'm hoping to get this one finished in time to join the Linky Party at Swim Bike Quilt's 100 Quilts for Kids drive.  I'm just a tad late to the party, lol....

This is the original fabric and

these are The Four Patch Posie's blocks.

My friend Linda at Cats-n-Quilts just posted about making Four Patch Posie quilts.  Check out her post here.  Linda is awesome at finding links and helping!  You will need to scroll to the bottom of her post and be sure to click on all the links she has!

I learned the 'ins and outs' of this quilt pattern from her!

Thanks, FAB pal!! :)

pattern source:  Four Patch Posie

Late Tuesday Night Finish...

...well, late for me!  I took the final stitches in the binding about 10:30 pm central time.  I spent a little time searching the web for tutorials on hanging sleeves then went to bed about 11:30 pm.  I tell ya, 5:30 am arrives pretty darn early!  Guess I am not cut out to be a farmer, right?!!

This school bus fabric was the inspiration.  I volunteered to make a quilt using it that would hang in the Children's section of the 



Delafield (Wisconsin) Public Library.

I made the Radio Way quilt by Julie at Jaybird Quilts.  It is the first of Julie's patterns I have purchased and it was excellent.  Even if I deviated from the directions.  :)



I quilted it with the Puzzle panto (see picture in this post).  It gives texture but I wasn't able to get a decent photo of it on this quilt.

What I'm Working on...9.9.2013

I'm working on a Radio Way quilt in school bus colors, another quilt that will hang in the Delafield Library.  It's been a long time since I made a quilt so similiar to one in the pattern!

Here are the blocks.  I was a little worried as I opted to strip piece the blocks ~ thought there might be too much repetition since the quilt will only be 60 x 60 with borders.

Here is the layout of the blocks.  I shifted a few blocks around to spread out the strong yellow.

Whoop! Whoop! 9.6.2013

I'm making progress on the Library Quilt!  Today I was able to sew the binding down.  The next step will be to make and sew down the hanging sleeve.

I quilted it with a puzzle panto. The label on the panto says, 'LEQ 1/99'.  It was a panto my friend gifted to me when I first got my long arm.


I think it is an out of print Linda Taylor panto.

I especially like how the puzzle pieces frame out the children in the panel.

Here.

and here.

I had a slight miscalculation on the binding.  The math came out to exactly 7 strips but as you can see ~ 7 was a bit short.  An easy fix though!

I'm linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict today.

Whoop! Whoop!