June 11, 2013

how kara got her groove back

I've finally got my sewing mojo back and I couldn't be happier!!! Do you ever just feel SO unmotivated to sew? I've definitely been like that lately which, of course, then has me questioning the meaning of life and all that other good stuff. But that's a post for another day. ;)
 
I joined Canoe Ridge Creations' Fresh Mini Quilt Club this year and I'm so glad that I did!
 
CanoeRidgeCreations

From March- August, on the first of the month, Megan emails out a new pattern on how to make an 18"x18" mini quilt. I had never made a mini quilt before and had always wanted to so I thought this would be a great introduction!

The first pattern that she sent out is the star design that is in her graphic above. As you can see from that, she used five different solids- yellow, turquoise, pink and grey for the outside bits and white in the center and just a bit on the edges. I too was going to use five different fabrics but decided for my first mini attempt that I would stick to just two- a solid white as she did in the center and one of my favorite prints from Ellen Luckett Baker's "Quilt Blocks" line for the rest.

source
I love this line so much!!! I have quite a bit of other bits of it squirreled away for other projects. :)

Anywho, several months ago I started cutting out the pieces for this mini and soon realized that I was missing two 4" squares to finish with the "Quilt Blocks" fabric I was using. Oh, the humanity! Luckily my homegirl Jessica from A Little Gray came to my rescue and gave me a 10" square from a layer cake that she wasn't using. Thanks, Jessica! :) Imagine me doing your famous Senior Picture Pose in appreciation. ;)

I finished cutting all the pieces for it on Friday- here it is on my design wall with a little moonlit embellishment. :)


After I pieced it all together, I thought it would be really fun to do straight line quilting throughout the mini. So that's what I did.

This mini is going to be for decoration only (IE, I'm not going to turn it into a pillow or use it as a square for another quilt) so I debated washing it or not. See how smooth it looks in the picture above? I knew all that smoothness would be replaced with crinkly goodness if I washed and dried it. Then I came to my senses and remembered that I loooooooooooove quilted crinkly goodness. So, I washed and dried it. :) Here she is, all gussied up after her first bath!



Do you like it?! I'm super pleased with it and love how the printed blocks around the outside look like bits of confetti. :) I will definitely make more mini quilts in my future- they're great for learning new techniques!

Last weekend I also pulled out some of my most favorite scraps to do some improv patchwork with.


My initial plan was to make a mat for my sewing machine but I love these all too much to have Elna sitting on them! So, this will become something different-  maybe a cover for my Nook? I do need to make a mat for Elna though but I've decided I'll use just one big piece of rectangular cut fabric for where she actually sits and then put patchwork around the edges. No need to put good fabric where you can't see it. :)

So, that's what I've been up to! I think what I really needed to do to get my sewing mojo back was just a minute to BREATHE. And now that I have that, I won't be stopped I tell you! Next: catch up on my bee blocks and pray that the gals who will be receiving them haven't put out a hit on me...

xo, Kara

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love the crinkly goodness, too. :)

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  2. Great job grooving! :) Love the finished quilt!

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  3. So happy to see you sewing! Glad I could be of service :)

    -Jessica

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  4. Welcome back friend. Love the mini. I have been thinking I need to make a few minis to practice techniques - my binding skills are pretty average. I've lost a bit of sew-jo lately but the kiddos have been sick. Next week I'll get back into it! x

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