Bee Inspired VQB Wrap Up

I finally finished my last block for the bee inspired Virtual Quilting Bee. It's a bit embarrassing to admit that this was supposed to be April's block, but I'm pulling out the "I just moved" excuse. 

Lisa sent a beautiful mix of prints and solids for her block and asked for something inspired by a quilt Tacha made for her daughter. Go check out Tacha's gorgeous quilt...don't worry, I'll wait...check this one out too...it is made with lovely Heather Ross horses (which I adore) and improv style piecing. Yum.

So, this is what I came up with. I'm annoyed that the yellow is touching in two of the corners, but I decided I can live with it. I'm really not a tear apart kind of girl.

As for my own bee inspired blocks. Do you remember this stack of fabric? Well, now it is a stunning stack of quilt blocks. I really need to move them out of the UFO pile and into the WIP pile. It would be a lovely complement to my new pillow in my living room.

Have you assembled any of your VQB quilts? Or are they like mine sitting in nicely organized piles? How do you get your inspiration to get them finished?

My Pillow

Okay, I promise this is the last post about Pillow Swap 3 over on Flickr. At least until round 4 rolls around. I really appreciate every one's helpful ideas and support when I was struggling with this one.

I really wanted this one to be perfect because it was for Marianne. Last summer she offered a free long-arm quilting for the ORBC Quilt Along, and I won. She did such an amazing job on my quilt that I wanted to make something that would be an adequate thank you.

But then I was paralyzed by that desire to make it perfect. When I was in university, one of my profs told me I was a "Procrastinating Perfectionist." It describes me perfectly. In the end I run out of time and just have to go for it, but all the way leading up to it I'm always questioning every step, every decision. So all I can say is "Thank You" to everyone who took the time to respond to my fear that it just wasn't good enough. You are all wonderful.

In the end, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I love the Nicey Jane fabric, and the mix of green, blue and grey. I added some buttons to hide some pretty serious imperfections in my quilting, but I'm okay with that. I know I'm not perfect, so my pillow doesn't have to be either. And Marianne has already told me she loves it. And that makes me happy. Very happy.

Pillow Swap 3 Complete!

My participation in Pillow Swap 3 is now complete. I received the most beautiful pillow from Linda a while back and I finally got some pictures to show you. I LOVE my pillow.

It has gorgeous paint-by-number birds, amazing curved piecing and a wonderful colour scheme. I feel like I won the pillow lottery. Thank you so much Linda, you made me the perfect pillow.

Here's a shot of the back. Isn't it lovely? 

 

Okay and one more photo of the little bird...I just can't resist that little bird

 

Thank you Linda, it is perfect in my new house. And thanks to Heather and Kerri for your amazing work organizing this swap. I show some photos of the pillow I made in the next post.

Oops I forgot a title...how about Hand Sewing Convert?!?

I decided to join the local Quilt Guild here in Prince George. Everyone was extremely welcoming at last month's meeting and there were even a couple of members close to my age with young(ish) kids.

The Guild has an Applique Social twice a month - but the nice ladies told me that any kind of hand sewing is just fine. I don't do much hand sewing (I actually have 2 quilts in my house that are currently being used on beds that have only about 75% of the binding sewn on). But I'm in desperate need of some social time.

So last week I printed out some of Melanie's 1" hexes and joined the group. It was fabulous. I got my much needed social time with other women who love fabric and sewing as much as I do. And I got to make some fun hexagons. I may become a hand-sewing convert. And I may have to join Melanie's Quilt Along too.

What about you? Do you like to hand sew? If so, what do you like to make?

Happy Friday!

Thanks for all of your kind words of support from my last post. It is wonderful to have such amazing, thoughtful comments to help me through a creative crisis. I think I've pushed through my indecision, and now I just have to add the binding. And maybe some buttons, to, er, um, hide some imperfections in my quilting. Oops. There is a reason that we are supposed to quilt from the inside towards the outer edges, isn't there? Let's just say that I had the lesson reinforced. I'll post a picture asap.

I also received the most amazing pillow yesterday for the same swap. But I need to run out and get a bigger insert before I post a picture because it is just too gorgeous to photograph without a proper insert.

And finally, the kids and I are really taking advantage of life in a big city. The other day we had an amazing picnic and play at the water park. My daughter was fearless...what a perfect day!

Have a great weekend!

Paralyzed by Indecision...

I signed up for the Pillow Talk Swap 3 on flickr awhile back. I was so excited to be part of this swap...there are some gorgeous pillows being swapped around blogland. But as the deadline to mail out approaches, I find I'm paralyzed by indecision. I want to make the perfect pillow for my partner. And I know that is impossible, but I at least want to make a pillow that she will love.

Since the move, I've been slow to get back to sewing. I just don't have the drive that I had before. My first attempt was a Wonky Bento Box a la Quilt Dad. I even dug into my precious FMF Green Seeds scrap. Yes, you read correctly, scrap, singular. I was lucky enough to have Rachel from 2nd Ave Studios send me a bit of the gorgeous green seeds for her block of Stash Busting International and I've been using little tiny pieces every since. But I really only have about a 5" square remaining. Anyway, I digress. Needless to say, my Wonky Bento Box was less than successful. I don't like my distribution of fabrics, how the blues are all clumped together and I hate the solid grey as it stands out way too much. And as my mom says, "It just isn't wonky enough." I think I'll make it into a table topper and stick a plant on top of it...

My second attempt was a Stashbuster Block #2 from Little Miss Shabby's tutorial.  I love Little Miss Shabby, don't you?!? I hope I can have her colour and design sense when I grow up. I just used 2" squares instead of 1.5" to make the pillow bigger.

Now I'm struggling with the quilting. What do you think? Should I pick out my lines and do something else? Or should I keep going? Do you think I should applique something in the middle? See...I am so indecisive.

Anyway, I hope you are making better progress than me! Happy Sewing!