WIP Wednesday Week 25 6.20.12

This week has been so productive! I had lots of samples with deadlines to get done and I think I've met them all. Late last week a storm rolled through the area and I couldn't plug my machine in to sew, so I did some more cleaning and reorganizing. I cleaned out my ruler rack and got it down to under 30 rulers! Woohoo for me! This is a miracle since I had over 100+ on there and they are all in sale pile. I picked up some totes from Emilee and already have quite a few of them full. I got through a few more drawers and my pattern boxes. I took two full boxes down to a half of one box. I need to work on the books and shelf next. I'm hoping Paul will help me get in the crawl space this weekend and get more out. It's really starting to add up, but I feel great about what I have left.


I made this Classmate case by Atkinson Design. It had to be done by last weekend.
This is the inside of the case. It has a lot of vinyl, but even more pockets. It was really easy to put together, yet there was a lot of steps to it.
Then I quickly made this little Baguette from Atkinson Designs. It turned out super cute with mesh on the front and is made to hold a rotary cutter.


This is the Easy Hex Table Topper by GE Designs. It's out of a recent table topper book and I'll be teaching a class on it this summer. I love how it turned out and I think I'll make a smaller version of it with the leftover scraps. It's really a fun and easy one to make. I probably could have made it in an hour, minus the cutting, if I hadn't had any interruptions. I used mostly scraps with a purchase for backing and border. It uses the quilt as you go method and I finished up the hand work on the binding yesterday during lunch.

This is another of GE Designs quilt as you go patterns I'll be teaching. It's called Lickety Split baby quilt. The last one I made was personalized for Wyatt, but considering he just turned 3, it's been a while. I love how this one turned out and I can't wait to personalize it for a friends baby. It's one of the 5 I need to make this fall. I have the top of one done and this one just needs the binding done, so I'm well on my way.
 
This week I hope to get more packing of my sewing room done and maybe do a quilt or two on the frame. Quarter break is going by way too quickly!

Finished this week:
Classmate case
Baguette
Easy Hex Table Topper
Lickety Split baby quilt

Ongoing projects:  (and progress this week on them) 
Swoon - 2 Blocks done
Dilly Dally Baby Girl Quilt
Pink/Brown Friendship Quilts -Handwork on binding
Buggy Barn Pink/Brown Extra Blocks -Binding
Cre8tive Swap w/ Jen
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Blush Quilt 
Pink/Green Jungle Animal Baby Quilt
Confetti Top
Friendship Block Swap Top
Twisted Heart
Merry Go Round
Sign Language Baby Quilt 2
No progress:
Mocha Meringue Wonder Blocks- Together, needs 3 borders

Ed's Crown Royal Quilt - Started sashing
This week's stats:
Completed projects -4
New projects -0
Currently in progress -3
Finished this year - 39 , 11 Samples

I'm linking up for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Sewing for Fun!

I've been doing a lot of just fun sewing, just because I want to this week! On Tues. of last week, my co-worker/friend Pat was admiring the sunflower wall hanging/table runner that I made for Jody and Adam's wedding. She's taken classes from me before and enjoys my quilty projects. She was saying something about how she'd never get one of my quilts since she's never getting married, having kids, graduating or the likes of the reasons I might give a co-worker a quilt gift. She's such a kind hearted woman and I knew she'd appreciate a quilt, so I went to the store after work Wed. looking for something that would speak to me. I found this Maxine fabric panel and knew it was perfect! I showed it to her office mate Shannon and she thought it was perfect too!
Sun. night I put the borders on, quilted it, added a sleeve and attached the binding. It took me about an hour and a half. I sewed the binding on by hand Monday morning. She about fell over, she was so excited! She moved the pictures on her wall in her office so I could hang it up right above her desk. I called it, Just Because We're Friends! I love to give quilts to totally unexpecting people when I know they will truly appreciate it.

Before I started this on Sun. night, I ended up cleaning up my ruler rack. I have a lot of rulers and just had to get a handle on it. I wrote down all the sizes I had, by brand, so I would have a list to reference. I've been replacing some with Creative Grids, so I do have quite a few.

Anyone want to take a guess as to how many rulers I have? I will say I have 6 at work, so they aren't all on this holder. This is a holder my little bro got me for Christmas one year and I love it! Yes, the clock is right i was doing this around 9 Sun. night and then did the wall hanging afterward. My quilting time now is from about 9-midnight if I last that long! I'll send out a few fun fat quarters to the person who guesses closest to the correct number.

I used the other side of the panel and quilted it on Sun. after I got done. I cut it up into 9 squares for mug rugs. I used insulbrite as the batting, so it will keep cold things cold/hot things hot or not get it on the desk. I made this one for myself. I sewed the binding on by machine and oh my gosh, I'm in LOVE with the new Wonder Clips by Clover, I think it is. Nancy's Notions if I remember correctly. They have a lip that clips onto the binding, but a flat clear back that lies flat, so no pinning, yet they hold well and secure. I can't believe how much I love them, since I am not one to use clips when I do my hand binding.

Here's the look from the back. My corners turned out perfect without having to go back and redo them!

I made this one for my co-worker friend Shannon.

This one is for Pat, the same one I made the wall hanging for. They both loved them!

Yesterday I found out about a friends baby shower on Sat. I decided I could whip out a quilt, so I pulled out this kit I had made up of a charm pack and yardage. It's similar to a coin quilt, only not all the charms are cut in half. I cut it up and sewed the blocks last night in under 45 min. I have them in the rows ready to sew tonight and should be able to get it on the frame yet tonight. See... this friend is having a baby, but her sister, who is also a good friend just had a little girl, so I feel like I should make 2 quilts. I may just make another one for the other friend. I love this pattern! It's from Moda Bake Shop and goes together so quickly without a lot of fabric. We'll see how much I can get done in the next few days. This is Dilly Dally by Me and My Sisters for Moda.


My little sewing "helper" only had patience to sew the blocks. She was ready to go to bed, so I quit for the night too! So this is the FUN sewing I've been doing this week... totally not doing any of the goals I set for the month.

Ruler Rack and lots of rulers!

Today Jen and I were discussing rulers to take to retreat. I told her my most used one is a 6x12 and hers is the 4x12, neither of us own the one the other loves to use. I cleaned my ruler rack off tonight and made a list of the rulers I have. I know I'm still missing a few, but I have the ones I use most. One year I asked for several rulers for Christmas... I got 12! My little brother Ed gave me the ruler rack two years ago and I absolutely love it.

My rulers include:
4x36 lip
8.5x24
6x24
1.5x36
3x18
8x14
6x12 - 3
4x14

15 sq

12.5 sq

9.5 sq

8.5 sq

6.5 square - 2

6 sq
4.5 sq
4 sq
3.5 sq
2.5 sq
60 degree corner cuts
1x6
1x12
2x18
12 Add a quarter
6 Add a quarter
6 Add an Eighth
F&P Easy Diagonal Sets Ruler 12" block Triangle
Strip Tube Ruler 9.5 Triangle
60 degree 8.5 Triangle
45 degree 6 Triangle

I also included my Gypsy grippers which are fairly new. I haven't gotten the middle size yet, but someday I will get it too.

I layed them out on my rotary cutting mat. My standard size mat is a 24x36, which I have on a board of the same size. I have the first mat I owned, a Fiskers 18x24, which is a bit warped and only used for paper, an omnigrid 18x24, which I use for classes, a 12x18, and a 12 sq rotating mat. I also have the omnigrid mat/pressing combos in size 12x18 which I use for classes, the 8x11 and the 6 sq which are my paper piecing mats.

My two absolutely favorie rulers are the 8x14 which is new and the 6x12 which I have 3 of and use most of the time. These are the most used ones and I have already worn my first 6x12 out.

Thinking I could use this triangle for a strip club pattern, I bought it, but it didn't work the way I wanted, so it's hardly ever used. I'm wondering if anyone else uses it? It looks like I might be able to use it to get the corners right on my star block. Why did I buy a ruler for HST's?? I'm still wondering that!

I have the strip club ruler too and I have a project I would like to make with it in the future. It's more an idea in my head and we'll see if it ever develops.

The 60 degree ruler is one of my newer ones and also one of my favorites. I love using it to make the border tablerunners.

So I'm trying to think of what new rulers I would like to get. I would love a 6.5x24, a 4x12, 7x14, and 20 sq. I'm also going to get a new 24x36 rotary cutting mat. Mine is about warn out since I use it all the time. The green is starting to come off with the rotary cutter. Those will have to be another post. I still have my first one, but there have also been many in between.

So what's your favorite size of cutting mat and ruler? What do you usually use?