Virtual Quilting Bee - Graduation Quilt Finish!

This was graduation week.  My daughter, Cassidy, graduated on Wednesday.  I had two quilts to finish up for this event, one for Cassidy, and one for one of her best friends, Justin.

A few weeks ago, Cassidy asked me if I had a quilt top finished that would work for Justin.  We went through my (rather large) stack and she immediately said this is the one....

 

This is the quilt that I did for the Virtual Quilting Bee that was hosted by Diary of a Quilter a while back.  The blocks finished rather small for me so I marinated on it for a while and decided to add the star surround from another quilt along I'd been doing (Star Surround by Happy Quilting).

 

 

To make this quilt I used the fabrics (Strawberry Lemonade by Me and My Sisters) leftover from another quilt that Cassidy claimed, so she and Justin have matching quilts.

 

I backed it with this baby blue bubbles fabric that I have in the stash (yes, plenty more still in stash) and quilted it with a clover design for luck.  I had Cassidy decide what to put on the label and added it to the corner before binding.

 

 

And below is a not all that great pic of the girls graduation night, Cassidy on the left and Justin on the right.  So proud of these wonderful young women!!

 

 

I couldn't be prouder!  They both graduated with honors and head off to different sides of the state in the Fall (and being in Texas, that's saying something).  But they will always be close and I look forward to watching them succeed in the future.

Today I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday, Fabric Frenzy at Ft Worth Fabric Studio, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, WIP's Be Gone at A Quilting Readers Garden, TGIFF at Quilt Matters, and Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts.

 

Around the World Blog Hop!

Hi everyone and welcome to A Quilting Chick!  I was tagged in this fun blog hop by Erin over at Sew at Home Mummy (*waves* Hi Erin!).  Have y'all been following along on this one?  It has been so much fun to explore and meet so many new people and find so many new blogs!  So without further ado, let me tell you a bit about me!

I'm a single mom of three wonderful, almost fully grown children, the last of which hits 18 this week (how is that even possible???).  Quilting is my stress reliever which I'm sure many of you understand.  My kids get this and whenever I'm starting to flip out, they pour me a glass of sweet tea, and point me to my sewing machine.  Awesome kids, right?

I just finished up my Deep in the Heart of Texas Roadtrip QAL.  Here's a pic of the finished top...

 

Love that one!  And a few closeups of it...

I would say that my style is more traditional with a modern twist.  I much prefer the more traditional block, put together in a new, fun way or with some awesome modern fabric.  I love scrap quilts like this one...

This is my version of the Scrap Jar Star quilt.  To me, a scrap quilt doesn't have to look like a scrap quilt.  I pulled all of these fabrics form the scrap pile, but making sure they were from the same color family really made this one gorgeous.

I help test patterns for Persimmon Quilts who writes mysteries to help benefit the Quilt of Valor program.  Here is one I recently finished up testing...

I just finished up testing another for her and should be able to share a finish soon.  I love sampler quilts.  But again, I like to put my own twist on them, like on this one...

I combined the sampler blocks with a star block to make my one unique setting for the sampler.  One of my absolute favorites (click on the picture for details!).

Traditional doesn't have to mean boring and modern doesn't have to be, "out there!"  Take the elements of both, the ones you love, and make them your own!

I can't wait to see meet more people as we follow along on this blog hop!  I'm tagging:

Melissa - Tension Issues (she uses sewing to relax too!)

Sabrina - Sabie Sews (Love!  Awesome fabrics and tutes!)  and...

Anna - Mod Quilt Girl  (Another Texas Gal!)

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts:

Flimsy Finish Friday!

I'm so excited to share this one with you.  This is one I finished up while on my blogging hiatus and went out today to get some better pics to share with you!

Did any of y'all do the Virtual Quilting Bee over at Diary of a Quilter?  How about the Star Surround Quilt Along over at Happy Quilting?  If so, you may recognize parts of my version....

I made the Virtual Quilting Bee blocks and loved them but they were so small, and if anyone knows me, they know I "don't do" small quilts.  So the blocks sat around for months until inspiration struck...

I decided to take the lessons I learned from Melissa and her Star Surround Quilt Along and use the surrounds to frame out my Virtual Quilting Bee blocks.

PERFECT!!!!  Can you tell I'm in love with this quilt top??

There's a closer look at some of the blocks.  You can see where the VQB blocks are in the center of the surrounds. 

The fabrics are from a fat quarter tower I pulled out of my stash and finally put to a good use.  They are Strawberry Lemonade by Me and My Sister.  This is actually the second quilt I've gotten out of that fat quarter tower so I think I definitely got my money's worth!!!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Quilt Story and My Quilt Infatuation, and Val's Quilting Studio for her Tuesday Archive party.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathy

Design Wall Monday - 8/12/13

(Sorry for the delay!  Was having a ton of camera problems.  Which leads to....sorry for the blurry pics as well!)

Well, here’s my design wall this week. Boy have I been busy!! Just looking at it gets me itching to get back to my machine. But a girl’s gotta sleep sometime (at least that’s what I've been told).

Still have my UFO up on the wall. I love those polka dots. Got a few more blocks done during the last week so definitely making progress.

Next up are the completed blocks for the newest QOV Mystery quilt being hosted over at Persimmon Quilts. I’m already in love with this quilt and we've only gotten through the first week.

These are a sample of the HST’s that are the first step in the Road to Brenham being hosted at Patchwork Times. My daughter came out of her room tonight and squealed asking if they were for her new quilt. Guessing that was approval. :)  Made 72 of these tonight. Need to finish trimming them up tomorrow.

Now on to the first completed blocks for the new leaders and enders project that Bonnie started us on at Quiltville. I’m playing with the layout but really liking the flying geese. My daughter says to make diamonds. I’m getting more excited with this side project everyday.

And finally, we finished block 12 of the Virtual Quilting Bee on Friday at Diary of a Quilter. These colors look so pretty together. This is the second quilt top I've made out of this fat quarter tower and I’m still thinking I can get at least one more. Can’t wait to see how it finishes.

And last but not least, not represented on my quilt wall yet, I’m working on the Star Surround Quilt Along over at Happy Quilting. I really wanted to start putting those blocks together today but didn't want to fall behind on the new Road to Brenham quilt so I’ll work on it tomorrow. You should be able to see it next week.

What’s on your quilt wall?

Cathy

Weekend Update

This has been a really busy week! Not only has Cassidy started drill team practice at school each day, but we’re also in the middle of the tax-free back to school shopping weekend here in Texas and have been trying to take advantage of some of the sales. In between work and all of the above, I still managed to stay up-to-date on my quilt-alongs!

First up is the Star Surround Quilt-Along being hosted over at Happy Quilting. This week we assembled our flying geese using the no-waste method. I love this way of making flying geese. You basically have one large square and four small squares that when you are finished with the assembling and cutting makes 4 flying geese units. Since I’m making a rather large quilt with small blocks, I had to make a ton of flying geese. Luckily, I love them so the time flew by. I started these Monday evening after work and finished them by Thursday.

The timing of me finishing those up was perfect as the Quilt of Valor mystery quilt started Friday over at Persimmon Quilts. This is a very scrappy mystery and I am loving the way it is coming along. She recommends a ton of fat quarters but I pulled these fabrics from my scrap bin. Don’t the blocks look great!! Can’t wait to see how this quilt finishes.

Then Block 12 on The Virtual Quilting Bee hosted by Diary of a Quilter came out on Friday. I finished up with the first step of the mystery quilt this afternoon and was able to whip this block up in about an hour. Very simple, but very cute.

I love quilt-alongs. The timetable and the fact that other quilters are making theirs at the same time help me keep up. So I am always on the lookout for new quilt-alongs. But this next one is pretty special. There is a Fall 2013 Mystery Quilt designed by HeatherSpenceDesigns starting on October 4. This one is a little bit different as you pay to join the group. The cost is $5 but the proceeds are going to an excellent cause, Cancercare.org. Once you purchase the PDF, you are given a website and a password to the page that is hosting the mystery. It gives you the fabric requirements as well so you can start planning. This is going to be a lot of fun and the money is for a worthy cause so come on over and join the fun!

I’m caught up on my quilt alongs so tomorrow I’ll work a bit more on the Flying Geese UFO that’s on my wall. But Monday….Monday we get the next clue in the Star Surround Quilt Along and Monday is the first day of the Road to Brenham Quilt Along over at Patchwork Times. Hope yall join in!!

Cathy

Design Wall Monday

Here’s a shot of my design wall today (before sitting down to work on the Star Surround Quilt Along over at Happy Quilting). The blocks on the left are from a UFO that I’m bound and determined to finally finish (see post here), and the one on the right are the blocks I have completed for the Virtual Quilting Bee over at Diary of a Quilter.

Sometimes I think my quilt wall looks like I have ADD. Besides these two quilts, there is the aforementioned quilt along and the new Leaders and Enders project that Bonnie is hosting over at Quiltville. And I’m cutting fabric for the new Quilt of Valor Mystery quilt starting Friday over at Persimmon Quilts and the Road to Brenham project that is going to be starting over at Patchwork Times. I know!!! So much going on! But I just can’t resist! I mean, QOV is such a worthy cause and mystery quilts are so much fun and then the Road to Brenham!! Blue Bell is my favorite ice cream!!!! If you’re in Texas, you know what I mean and if you aren’t….well, I know they are starting to ship to other states so go try it!!!

What is on your design wall? Linking up to Patchwork Times.

Cathy

Quilt Alongs Caught Up!!

What a crazy week!! A good week, but really very busy. It was my birthday week so we had dinner out a few times to celebrate, a drive up toward the hill country to pick up a “new to me” sewing machine (birthday gift! I’ll introduce you to her soon.), and playing catch up on a couple of quilt alongs! Just thinking about everything this week makes me tired! But let’s start at the beginning.

First, a quilt top finish!! This one is for my mom. It’s an older quilt along that I bookmarked and finally got around to making. It’s called, “Seeing Stars,” and was designed by one of my favorites in blog land, Amandajean at Crazy Mom Quilts.

I love the one Amandajean did in pink, but I am a blue person. When I started picking out fabrics, Mom jumped in and claimed this quilt. Just means I’ll have to make another one! But then again, Cassidy wants one in purple so that probably means I’ll have to make two!

On Monday, the first step in the Star Surround Quilt Along by Melissa over at The Happy Quilter was posted. Now I’m not one for small quilts and wall hangings so when I start making one of these, I tend to need A LOT of fabric cut. The first step was to make half-square triangles and trim them to size. I feel like I spent all week at my cutting board! Almost felt like I should reintroduce myself to my sewing machine yesterday when I finally finished and got back to catching up on my other quilt along (more later on that one). But finished with all 256 HST’s I am! Below is a pic. It will also give you an idea on how the fabrics I chose are coming together. I’m loving the fabrics in this one. Cannot wait to see how they look when the quilt is done.

And last but not least, I am finally caught up with my blocks for the Virtual Quilting Bee, hosted by Amy over at Diary of a Quilter. I’m using an older fabric line by Moda called, “Strawberry Lemonade.” I just adore these fabrics. I picked up a fat quarter tower a few years ago at the quilt show in Houston and this is the second quilt I’ve made from it. Cassidy claimed the first one rather quickly when she saw it on my quilt wall. She tried to claim this one too but I put a stop to that. Really thinking I’ll hold onto this one but there are several babies that have been born into the family lately that really need quilts so we’ll see where this one is destined to go.

If you haven’t joined either of these quilt alongs, it really isn't too late. Feel free to join in! Okay, time to get ready to go “back to school” shopping. Y'all have a great Sunday!!

Cathy

Linking up with Val for "Share Your First Post."


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