Gonna make it...

Miss me? This is how I have felt this semester:

(If you can't see the embedded video...watch here.)

But the last exam is written, the grading is all caught up, estoy lista para my Spanish test, and so I have a few moments for some stitchery. I chopped up all the little bitty pieces for a Pixel Pop quilt, using some periwinkle fabrics that have been canoodling in my Strategic Fabric Reserves for quite some time. I guess it's time for their love to be out in the open.

Pixel Pop -- neat name for a fun modern design

I'm making the smaller (45 x 55") version with pops of the little Tula Pink charm packs that I got when I sewed the shirt for Ms. Pink's brother.

The sewing for this quilt is simple, but the challenge is keeping the bits organized -- I'll see how well I did as I work through each block. The accent fabric is just slightly darker than the main background, with a little shimmer that doesn't photograph well but looks really fun in the sunlight.

Block A, Pixel Pop

Fairy Tale Lane top

January thunderstorms? This weird day is perfect for sewing. (What weather would NOT be, you might wonder. Answer: None.) The Neutral Territory/Fairy Tale Lane top is together.

My urban version of Fairy Tale Lane pattern by Tula Pink

Neutral Territory

I've had the Fairy Tale Lane quilt by Tula Pink floating around in my head for a while; the quilt as shown in her book is really bright and youthful:

"Fairy Tale Lane" quilt by Tula Pink

What I like most about "modern" quilt designs, including this one, is that they are really showcases for gorgeous modern fabrics. Bonnie Hunter says, "If it's still ugly, you just haven't cut it small enough." In my mind, the flip side of that is true for contemporary fabrics -- if you cut it too small, why bother buying it in the first place?

I like this particular quilt's concept of a village map, so I decided to use the Neutral Territory fabrics -- which I love love love -- to give it a more gritty urban look as opposed to the storybook village. I bought some quarter-yard cuts and added a few Stonehenge prints and some other odds and ends from the Strategic Fabric Reserves to build the blocks. I still have to choose a fabric for the dotted lines in the sashing, but I got the blocks all pieced last night while we watched The Core. NB: I'm a big fan of disaster movies, even bad disaster movies, but this one ... well, suffice it to say I won't be buying the Blu-Ray.

First blocks from my Fairy Tale Lane quilt.

Today is the boys' last day off of school, so I'll use my free time to make the sashing and see how much assembly I can accomplish. I'm sure the top will be finished by the end of the fourth playoff game of the weekend. My other weekend goals include binding the Nevermore runner, finishing another little hex project (photos to follow), and plugging away at the Tangerine Tango quilting.

Tula Pink Quilt Along

Last week I found a notice about a Tula Pink sew along...so while my parents were visiting this weekend I dug out a stack of lovely oceany batiks (thanks, Deb!) and started cutting the pieces for the quilt called "Fade to Pink" in the Quilts from the House of Tula Pink book. I couldn't find an online image of the quilt in the book, but this one from the sew along is incomparably lovely. I do love the full spectrum.

I had some nearly solid bright purple fabric that I decided to use as the sashing/borders, chosen largely because I had enough of it (and the contrast is brilliant!). I think the pattern called for 4.5 yards, but I'm pretty sure I didn't even use a full 4...which means I have several other possibilities if I decide to make another of these. This is an incredibly fast pattern; I spent half of Saturday monkeying around with the order of the fabrics and had everything cut before I went to bed that night. The 2-piece blocks took just a few hours during Sunday football, although keeping track of which went where took a little organizing. I'll probably have this top finished tomorrow evening after my class.

Ocean-y fade quilt top, still in progress

Too hot to hoot

Despite this horrific weather, I managed to do a little sewing today, almost finishing the nine blocks for my full-size Metropolis quilt (from -- you guessed it -- Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman). I gave up because I didn't want to plug in the iron to press the progress that I did make.

I haven't decided whether to go with turquoise or royal blue for the final strip. I'll have to look in the full light tomorrow morning to make up my mind. The blocks look good so far though, although I can't get my camera connection to work, so for all you know they could look absolutely terrible. Perhaps I am a compulsive liar. I'll monkey with the camera tomorrow -- the cords are probably melted.

Another iron-free job that I managed today was to measure all of the picture-frame pieces for my in-progress quilt based on Tula Pink's Grand Salon pattern. That one should go together pretty quickly now.

Mega colors

I got a terrific book by Tula Pink from the Newington Library and whipped up this lovely little top in no time flat. Start to finish, this top took less than 24 hours: cutting one evening, rows at the shop the next day, sashing strips in the evening. I am in love with this trend of contemporary/modern quilting that uses huge chunks of gorgeous fabrics. Every single one of these fabrics was already in my stash, even the sashing (which I bought for something else, but it wasn't the right shade of lime). I was originally planning to use plain white as the sashing, but somebody suggested lime and I remembered that I had six yards of this - perfect! I'll use most of the rest on the back, which I'll piece soon so I know what's left for other projects.

Napping size (64 x 80") version of Tula Pink's Dreamweaver pattern. This is the top only - not yet quilted.