100 Blocks, 1 Million Tears

Sometimes being a newbie in this quilty world is a challenge. Most of the posts I see on blogs, Instagram, Facebook look nearly perfect all the time. Beautifully pressed fabric, perfect fabric selections and combinations, and professional looking pictures. It is hard not to compare what is happening in my sewing room to what I see others create. And in my sewing room it is definitely not perfection. I'm still learning. Try, fail, try, fail, try, fail. It is okay with me, but sometimes I do feel discouraged.

Today's example involves sewing 6.5" strips onto the edges of my 100 Days 100 Blocks Tula Pink City Sampler. Easy, right? Not for this gal. You would think making 100 6.5" blocks in 100 days would be the hard part. Nope, not for me. The boarder sashing really is giving me a run for my money.

Being that it is New Year's Eve, I'm going to try and keep my glass half full. Despite my frustration, mistakes always provide lessons!!! My sashing was bunching. A little google search informed me that I needed measure the sashing to the exact length of the quilt, pin, and then sew (not just sew a big strip with the intent of cutting off the excess like I did at first). I wanted to do this right so I removed all four boarders to start again. Try #1 with an exactly measured and pinned sashing piece was another fail. I sewed on the block side vs. the sashing side and I guess the seams stretched and the sashing ended up too short. Try #2 used a lot of pins and sewed on the sash side vs. the block side. Still not as perfect as I would like but I think it will do!!! 

And what do you know, they are all on now and it looks pretty darn good. My goal for New Year's Day is to baste it so I can start quilting on Monday. The 100 Blocks Finished deadline will be here soon. Happy New Year!!!

Quilty Dreams for 2017

I started quilting in early 2016 (total newbie!!!) so I completely missed purchasing the 2016 Quilter's Planner. Thankfully this summer I was lucky enough to win one for 2017 as part of the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Sewcial Network hosted by Yvonne AKA Quilting Jet Girl and graciously donated by Stephanie AKA Late Night Quilter owner of The Quilter's Planner. I was so excited to win and grateful for such an amazing prize!

My planner arrived a few weeks ago but I haven't had much time to look at it since I am feverishly working to finish up holiday gifts for my family and friends. Still, I can’t help thinking ahead to what I will sew in the new year. Thankfully Yvonne AKA Quilting Jet Girl is hosting the 2017 Planning Party, which gave me one more excuse to dream a little more deliberately!

As a new quilter I really have one goal: keep making and learn as I go. I really just want to piece, quilt, and connect with and be inspired by other makers. There just isn't enough time and I admittedly overcommitted to quilt alongs and samplers in 2016. I vowed to be less of a joiner in 2017. But I'm already on board with more than I probably should be. And it's okay, I'll do as much as I can manage and have fun as I go!

I just signed up for The Bee Hive Quilts hosted by Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts. This is my first ever sewing bee/swap. It just seemed like a fun way to ease into exchanging blocks with other quilters and the choice of blocks was just irresistible. I'm just now meeting my swarm and I think it is going to be a lot of fun!

And speaking of Blossom Heart Quilts, she also just announced her 2017 Sampler Quilt Along and it involves paper piecing, which I absolutely I love!!! So I might just need to do that one too. 

And Molli Sparkles is hosting The Honey Pot Bee where a group of wonderfully talented makers will be Queens and help people like me, a Princess, discover block tutorials and patterns. Molli said everyone gets a tiara, so I'm definitely in!

And last, but certainly not least, the 52 Weeks with the Quilter's Planner hosted by Gnome Angel. After completing the 100 Days 100 Blocks she hosted I'm hoping I can handle one block per week. And have you seen the blocks in the Quilter's Planner. They look amazing!

If that wasn't enough to keep me busy for awhile, my Mom has a birthday coming up and of course I want to make a quilt for her. And I want to continue and finish my 100 Days 100 Blocks Quilt. And finish the Summer Sampler. And keep sewing on my Modern Makers Club blocks. Along with a few (dozen) other quilts I have started, dreamed of starting, bought fabric for, etc. And I'm sure there are a bazillion other things I have yet to discover that I want to do. I am not even going to mention the dress/skirt/pants patterns I have and want to try. There will NEVER be enough time, but at least I will always have something to keep me busy!

And one more goal. I want to blog more. Maybe throw my name in for the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers? Guess we'll see....

What are your creative plans for 2017? I'd love to hear about them. Thanks for stopping by!

Spoiler Alert - September Stash Builder Box

Spoiler alert!!!

I've been getting the Stash Builder box since it started. I was impressed by the mission -- 20% of every box purchased is used to buy supplies for their Heart Builders program, which makes quilts for kids in need. I was also impressed by other "kind" things they have done. One month they were generous enough to give me one box for free so I could "pay it forward" to one of my friends. This company just embodies so many things that I value, especially you get what you give. 

I have been happy with all of the fabrics I have received so far. They even let subscribers help pick some of the prints which is fun! There is always a pencil with a fun saying, and accessories that are useful like thread. There are patterns too. All around it has been a great box and I'm glad to be a subscriber. 

I'm even more excited about an upcoming change: the boxes will now have a full three yards of fabric! I must say that I often wish I had more than a fat quarter. This will give you a lot of options to work with, especially if it is a fabric you really love. 

Now, here it is, the September box!

Can you see the aqua peeking out from the bottom. I have been using it in my 100 Days 100 Blocks and I'm thrilled to get more. Plus I have a few other fabrics that will blend in so well with this!

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2016 - Rebel Quilt

Because I've only finished a few quilts, my options for entries to the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side are limited. And let's be honest, there are some world class entries from some very well known quilters/bloggers. I'm brand new to this, so I'm not entering my quilts with the expectation of wining. I'm doing it to have fun and be part of the quilting community. So I decided I might as well enter a second quilt. 

This is my Rebel Quilt by from the pattern by Libs Elliot. I use it everyday and I love it. If you want to learn more about it you can take a look at my previous post here. This one fit in a few categories, so I'm just going to enter it into the decided to enter it into the Large Quilt Category. 

A little bit of a closer look (with feet of course). I quilted this on my domestic machine. I love the simple straight line quilting.

And here it is on a fence. 

I have really enjoyed looking at all of the entries and finding new inspiration! Thanks to Amy for hosting the festival, and thank you for stopping by to take a look!

Talk to me about: thread (with a mini finish!)

This weekend I finished basting this quilt top and I'm ready to get started on the quilting. Pattern is from Missouri Star Tutorial inspired by Amy Smart's version of the pattern. Fabric is Essex Yarn Dyed in Flax and Fruta y Flor by Verna-Mosquera.

The problem: what thread do I use on the back? I'm so new to sewing I don't have many different thread colors. And I live in a place where my options to buy thread are limited. With this particular backing, which is pink with strawberries, there is no way I can find a match to the pink without ordering online. And I'm just not willing to spend a bunch of money ordering different shades of pink hoping I'll find a match and never using the rest

I did find a red that matches the strawberries on the backing. I'm a little nervous about using it because let's be honest it will show all of my mistakes. And there will be many, because I'm still a total newbie and I think this quilt may be too much for my modest machine to handle. 

So last night I used some scraps left over from the top of the quilt and backing to make a mini. I thought this would be a great way to test the red thread on the back. Here is the front with a nice neutral thread that matches the linen: 

And here is the back, with the red thread.

So quilters, I think I'm just going to go for it and use the red. I love red, so why not? But what would you do in this situation? What color would you use? If you have limited options for buying thread where you live how do you manage it? 

Thanks so much for stopping by, can't wait to hear your input. Even if you think the red is an awful idea tell me, I can handle it!!!