Working on my PHD: Tumbler, Gypsy Girl, and Merry Go Round

I am happy to have been so productive over the last couple of weeks! I haven't been able to post really due to data/internet troubles, but I've got some fun quilty projects to show you today!

First I have a tumbler quilt that I put the finishing touches on. It's all in subtle country prints and I like its little country charm.

I've had a bundle of fat quarters that I've been hoarding for about 4 years. It's a Free Spirit line called Journeys from Kathy Davis. I just loved the prints and couldn't find a pattern that I though was worthy of my coveted bundle. I finally took the leap and cut into my bundle and I'm really happy with the results! I used the Gypsy Girl pattern from Heather Mulder Peterson's Fat Quarter Five book. It's so full of color and fun!

I've been rather disappointed with my free motion results lately. While I like the stitching that I'm putting in to the quilts, I haven't gotten a satisfactory backing lay out all summer. I don't have enough space in an RV and carpet just gives too much play in the backing for my liking. Each of the quilts I've done over the summer I've been so happy to have my completed quilt top and then once I've quilted it, my excitement dies and mixes with a bit of disappointment as I see a couple puckers and folds that cropped up while I was sewing. So, I've decided that I'm going to bring these two tops to a friend of mine for longarm quilting. She runs Quilt Squirrel and does excellent work. I am so excited to see what she can do with my quilts!

The last of my project for the last couple week has been whipping up a couple Merry Go Round toppers from Terry Atkinson. I used a couple prints from the Persimmon line as well as a couple Moda Grunge prints and a Bella solid for the background.

I still need to hand sew the binding to the backing. I'm planning on amassing a few of these small projects to take with me on a relaxing trip up north next week. So while I'm sitting by the lake with not a care in the world I can do a bit of hand stitching. That sounds so great right now, I can't wait!

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Long time comin'

I had hoped that I would have more energy to work while I have the house trailer to myself, but unfortunately that was not the case today. After a slow start to the day and still a much needed nap, I was able to muster some energy and get to work sewing. I am a quilter who always has a TON of UFO’s. Sifting through half-done projects, I decided to start yet another one. I decided to pull out a selection of fabric that I had purchased almost exactly a year ago and get to work on the quilt that I had designed with that line in mind. These fabrics and this quilt have been on my mind for quite some time, so this one has certainly been a long time coming. The fabrics are from the “Serenity” line by Heather Mulder Peterson. I absolutely love her designs! I have a good collection of her books and have really enjoyed every line of fabric she has put out for Henry Glass & Co. “Serenity” is by far my favorite of her fabric lines...

Creating a Blog Planner

I like to think I'm a pretty organized gal. But with a busy life and lots of work, my mental best laid plans for blogging are quickly falling through the cracks. I ran across this great blog planner through Pinterest and I'm getting ready to give it a whirl! The printables that Lamberts Lately developed here are absolutely adorable and I can't wait to put them to use! Another awesome Pinterest find was this great tutorial from Just A Beautiful Life on to-do's and best practices for creating your own blogging binder. Between the great advice from both of these sites, I've got a start on my own blogging binder. I did a little office supply shopping (honestly, I love shopping for office supplies!) and picked up a cute colorful binder, some tab dividers, sheet protectors, loose leaf lined paper, and post it notes to put together with my freshly printed blog planning sheets. I have a three hole punch and nice markers at home to use already...

Hand Sewn Binding Tutorial

The more professionally accepted way to finish your binding is to sew it by hand to the back of your quilt. For heirloom pieces I prefer this method, but for quick, functional quilt I use the machine sewn method. The directions are very similar, but I will list them out here separately so that the directions are clear. Creating your binding Measure around the entire outer edge of your quilt and then add 20 inches to this measurement. Divide this total by 40. This new number is the number of strips that you need to cut. If you came up with a decimal, round your number up to the next whole number. For example, if your result was 7.6, round up to 8. Cut that total number of strips measuring 2.5” wide x the width of fabric. To connect your strips together, make the seam on the diagonal. Lay the first strip right side up and the second strip on top with right sides together, perpendicular to the first strip. Sew on the diagonal from point to poin...

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