Lucky 21 -- Lucky Lady

My niece Ireland graduated high school in just 3 years while doing all kinds of awesome extravehicular activities along the way and now she's off to college -- so you all know what that means -- it's time she gets a quilt. 

To be honest this did not start out with the intention of being her quilt -- it was a fun fabric that I loved and wanted to make as the color pallet for an unknown project. I love it when that happens -- but more when the actual project comes together and in the end everything seems just right. It all started with this very pretty art gallery fabric 

and pulled most of the coordinating fabrics from my stash.

I came across the pattern in a stash box and knew this would be a fun and simple project to put together. I actually started on this quilt back at the 2016 stash bash and it sat for a while as components waiting to be randomly put together -- there really is limited planning on this pattern. I got the blocks assembled at Stash Bash earlier this year and really loved all the bright pastels I was finally getting to use. 

I made the backing shortly after I got home and it was in the pile waiting for quilting. It was really supposed to be waiting for me to longarm it but when I decided to send 2 others out I threw this one in as well. Charlene @thecottonfarmfabrics did a simple panto on this one and it looks great. 

I used more of the backing for the binding. 

and once it was complete I knew this quilt should go to Ireland. Now the quilt lives with her at college and I hope she knows how much I love her and how proud I am of the awesome young lady that she has become. 

Was a finish in the 3rd quarter. 

3rd Quarter Accomplishments

At the beginning of this quarter I linked up with 25 ambitious goals for the quarterly finish a long. I completed 4 and made some progress on 7 others. 

Completed

Patchwork Swoon -- Complete 

Guild mini quilt swap with Houston guild -- Complete 

Lucky 21 -- Complete

3-6 more scrap bins --  blue complete

Progress
Plus Side quilt for Granny -- assembled, needs quilting, her birthday is next month so I really need to get this one finished. 

Tessellations Quilt -- needs binding finished

Spiderwebs quilt -- needs binding

Pattern testing for Karie Jewell -- one top complete and one half complete

Botanics Pendant Quilt -- needs quilting

Migration Quilt -- top completed

Double Star Quilt -- Waiting on the blocks to come in I am the Queen Bee in September -- I made 4 blocks so far and have received a few more 

There were plenty of other things that didn't get touched this quarter but here's hoping that next quarter will be more productive.

When your Friends design patterns.....

Many of my friends know that I sew almost daily and because of my husband's work schedule I sew most evenings. I'm not a 30 minute per day sewer, it's more like 3-4 hours per day and 6 on Fridays when I don't have other things going on. 

This leaves plenty of time to try new things and sometimes those things include pattern testing. When my friend Karie asked if I'd be willing to test out some of her new patters I was beyond happy to give them a go. She sent me 6 that would be coming out soon and I was able to squeeze in time to test out 2 of them. 

The first one went quickly and is a great one to really showcase the fabrics in a layer cake, here's my smaller version of  Kwik Evening Star. 

The second one was a bit more labor intensive and I really only finished the first half before she shared the pattern -- I did a reverse coloration of Kwik Misaic Tiles. I hope to be able to get some more cream scraps so that I will be able to finish up the other half of these blocks because it's looking great so far.

Big thanks to Karie for asking me to be a part of this awesome set of patterns to test. I have another that I am hoping to put together soon and look forward to sharing it as well. 

August -- was kind of a blur

August started out with the 9th anniversary to my husband. We usually take some time off to celebrate and this year we just decided to do some local things and a day trip to Asheville. I also made a trip to Pineapple fabrics -- they are only open to the public a few times a year and this was a great trip for me to get backings and a fill in things. 

Sewing this month consisted of bee blocks 

A traveling quilt for the awesome @Seydonamade -- I added the heart and geese section at the bottom

Getting 3 of my quilts back from Charlene @thecottonfarmfabrics , means that soon I will have some finishes to share. 

a Pattern test of Boba Fett for @radioactive_Squirrel

and a wonderful girls weekend that consisted of much sewing, laughter and good food. 

July was full of blues

July marked the use of blues from my scraps -- I made my colored strips that i am getting ever so close to having the major 6 colors all finished so I will be able to make an awesome rainbow quilt once I make the orange ones. 

I got the scrap bin made early on in the month as well. 

I got my green string blocks put into a future charity or baby quilt 

and then I whipped up a blue charity / baby quilt. 

I spent a great deal of the month putting together some patters that I am testing for a friend so I can't show you guys 2 quilt tops I did manage to put together but here's a preview of the fabrics i used -- all from stash. 

instead I will show off this rascal of a cat that is making sewing extra challenging lately. She steals my layout spot, my chair and here lately she tries to reach for the rotary cutter or whatever project I am sewing on.

I did buy some fabric this month for a mini quilt that I will be making for a guild swap with the Houston guilt coming up in September -- I love these fabrics and am pretty sure my partner does too, especially since I know her in real life.

I was queen bee in one of my hives this month and choose migration blocks. I love the ones that I made, 

and as more are coming in they are all looking so great together, still waiting on 2 ladies to arrive but I know one is in the mail. 

For my other hives I made a hidden gems block (this one took me 3 tries to get the colors in the right place even with marking them),

and a fun variation of a 9 patch -- mine are on the bottom row.

For the traveling quilts i added mountain's majesty blocks for Becky's quilt but she wan't things to be a surprise for her so I can't share that either but they were pretty awesome. 

I finished my Tessellations quilt top and got it shipped off to the longarmer for her magic. 

I showed you guys my completed swoon already in it's own post.

My Feather weight project is nearly complete and she's a fun candy purple now -- the bobbin case just needs a little tweeking on the reassembly and i am sure that she will be sewing in no time. This machine was found in an outdoor junk pile by a friend a few years ago and wasn't 100% then so even if it becomes just for display I love it. Her name is Bridgett -- my mother's nickname when she was being stubborn. 

and managed to make a bunch of frankien batting for most of my charity quilts. These will be great practice pieces for the longarm some time soon. 

Wow July was busier than I remembered and I know August will be as well since it's vacation time and my aspirations are high. The end of August is also a fun girls weekend in the mountains and many things need to get under way before then to have a super pruductive time. 

Savings Challenge time

It's time to link back up with Val and join in on the savings challenge that I have been a part of for the last 4 years, 

Per usual I will be saving my loose change and some bills for the next year with the hopes of a slush fund for fabric shopping and the excitement of something bigger after the year. This year I will be storing my bills under the watchful eye of Darth Vader. 

My real goal is to beat my small total from this past year but I'm also hoping that my savings this year will go toward a quilt retreat next year or a fun trip somewhere. 

Swooning -- a completion

I've been a fan of Thimble Blossom's Swoon pattern for some time but never seemed to get around to making it. 

I bought Pat Bravo's Rock N Romance line with the intention of making a queen size quilt for my bed out of it but put it off. 

Earlier this year swoon came around again in a quilt along and I joined up. Now by this time my love of doing a huge quilt from the line had wained and we have a bed quilt that my husband loves so I regrouped on the design and narrowed things down to a patchwork version of swoon. 

I made a few modifications to be easier on the math with these prints and have had the top completed since March, when I sent it to the The Green Apricot for quilting. 

Angela (and Juan) did a great job with it and all I had left was to bind it. Truth be told i got the binding attached right after stash bash but then never got around to turning it. 

I am happy to report that it is now complete and all ready for display in my bedroom. 

This is my 1st finish for the 3rd quarter finish a long.