It's starting to get cold!

I guess it's officially summer still, but last night I had to get an extra quilt to put on top of my summer comforter. I think it's abnormal September weather for California, but oh well. We got a new king sized bed this past weekend, and it's fantastic! Unfortunately all my quilts are now tiny. I think I'll be requesting big blocks from my quilting bees!

I have finished a few more blocks for my quilting bees for this month. Here is the second block for September for Around the Block:

Unfortunately I ran out of blue, so the block is rushing back to Australia to be finished by a very nice and very understanding Helen. You should check out some of the other houses that are showing up in the pool... they are AMAZING.

For bee inspired, here are my blocks for Karla. This was my first try at disappearing nine patches, and they're pretty fun! I think I prefer regular nine patches, but these were fun anyway. I think they are very striking with the fabric and Karla is going to have a fantastic quilt.



And sadly, my last set of blocks for Chaletgirl Blockswap! It's strange to see that I'm done... now I just have to put my own quilt together. Sheridan, thank you thank you thank you for organizing this swap, it has been so fun!



So lets see, that brings me down to 2 quilting bees and one block of the month (post to come soon!)

Swaps for July

I'm all caught up on my swaps!

These blocks are for the Chaletgirl Blockswap:

Love Lara's fabric. Very easy to match, and so happy to use my Kaffe to match hers!

Blocks for Loulou. I'm not so good with pink, mostly because my stash doesn't have too much of it. But I think these worked out ok.

These blocks are for bee inspired. I can't believe we've already completed 5 months!

Blocks for Barb. I LOVE the fabrics she chose. She's planning on doing a wonky bento box quilt.

Blocks for John. Made from this pattern. It's going to be GORGEOUS!

Lastly, my blocks for the Three by Three swap:

Not sure how much I like these. I tried to keep with my theme of aqua and another color (seen here for May and June), but these were a bit off. At least they're the correct size! I measured each and every one.

And here are the blocks I received for June. I am getting excited to put this quilt together. It's going to be all sorts of random and crazy!

Mendocino Dress... at last!

Everyone on alert? A finished project!

I have seen this dress around the blog world, and I am so happy I am finally done. I confess, this dress gave me fits at first. It was my first time working with elastic thread. I got the thread to scrunch up, but not nearly enough. I was so frustrated that I put the dress aside for months (10, actually). In the super hot weather, I decided I wanted to finish it. I have been reading tips online so I was ready. My problem? It might have been the actual thread (I switched brands), but the main culprit was definitely that I was using too small a stitch. I had used the smallest stitch, but all the tips say use the longest stitch! It worked like a charm. Also, Heather Ross notes that it shrinks even more when you pass a steam iron over it because the elastic thread shrinks. In any case, it works now!

I need to add straps, but I already wore it for a bbq last weekend. It's fun, fast, comfortable... I didn't actually use Heather's pattern, I just took a rectangle and shirred the top. I'm sure her pattern would have helped with the pregnant look. The fabric is a sarong from Indonesia.


I also finished up my nine-block swaps, both for the Chaletgirl Block Swap and Three by Three. I think after I'm done with these my nine block obsession will be satiated.

Please notice that Nerdy Lucy has no ears!

Mmmm... ninepatches...

Here are my first set of nine patches for Chaletgirl's Block Swap. It was fun to try to match fabric from my stash to these. Hope they like them!! They seem huge after the Dear Jane blocks, 9.5 x 9.5 unfinished.

More photos of blocks (separated by owners) here.

Quilting Bee Updates

I made another block for the Bee Inspired Quilting Bee. This one is for Dianah, who is making a quilt of vacation homes. This one was different from the rest of the blocks I've made because she supplied us with a pattern and the fabric. I think the houses will be cute together. She sent me a striped brown fabric and a leafy fabric, so I imagine this vacation home is a log cabin with a thatched roof.

Also, I am going to be sending out my fabric for Chaletgirl's Block Swap today. This is the nine patch swap that I mentioned before. I am using Anna Maria Horner's Fortune in Sea, from her Good Folks line. There is something that I really like about this line of fabric. I think it will make interesting nine-patches, as it is a pretty large print.

I am so excited for these swaps! Hurray!