Green Bananas

A friend of mine just got married and she needed a quilt! This is what she got:

I used this fabric as my jumping off point and gathered brown and green fabrics (including some linen, shot cotton, and quilting cotton) from my stash to fill it out.

The backing (that I didn't get any photos of...) is the Coterie print in dogwood. A friend told me that it looks like sliced bananas, thus the name for the quilt.

I wanted to keep it for myself, but I showed self-control and it is now living happily in my friend's new house.

Keep calm and carry on...

The original reason I started this blog was to have a record of my completed quilts and the process I went through to get there...you know, for posterity; however, because I have a somewhat short attention span, it's hard for me to focus on things for extended periods of time. In an effort to make this process easier for myself, I'm going to put out some guidelines for my blogging. Wednesdays are going to be devoted to works-in-progress. I will not be overwhelmed by the (overwhelming) list of quilts and projects that I have started and not finished, but instead, I'm going to, in the wise words of the notepad on my desk, keep calm and carry on. The unfinished projects will be finished. I just have to keep working! Today:

This quilt is farther along than the photo. The top has been pieced and squared up, so today I'll piece the back, iron it, and baste! Then it'll be ready for some simple straight line quilting. Sorry for the terrible photo. The sun hasn't been shining here in what feels like months...just thunderstorms over and over. This week should have some sunshine, so I promise some prettier photos soon!

Music Monday!

Well, glory hallelujah! I just bought the new (2 weeks old) Fleet Foxes album and I'm in love. New summer music? I think so!

 

The next exciting record? This one! May 31st! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Goldfish in Bags Strip Quilt

I've been neglecting the blog, but decided that the Blogger's Quilt Festival was a good reason to get back in the swing of things (or so I say right now...). While looking back at my finished quilts from the last 6 months, I think my favorite was this quilt that I made for a friend's baby:

I love the Goldfish in Bags print from Heather Ross but I have a limited supply and wanted to get the most bang for my buck, so I chose some blue, brown, and orange coordinating prints and made a strip quilt. Not the most original idea in my arsenal, but definitely cute enough that I wanted to keep it for myself! It measured around 36x42 (perfect for a non-pieced backing!).

On a side note, I found THE COOLEST gift today for a dear girl who's graduating from high school tomorrow! It's the My Future Listography journal. The tag-line of the journal is "All I hope to do in lists." There are over 70 lists paired with witty illustrations. A couple of my favorites:

• Things you would like to be fearless at
• Other lives you'd want to lead if you had 9 lives (one of mine would be white water rafting instructor...)
• Events to time travel to in the past or future
• Appealing qualities you'd like to cultivate in yourself
• Who to find in Heaven
• Things you'd like to learn how to make with your own two hands

And because I'm clever, on the "List people you should never lose touch with" list, I'm going to go ahead and pencil in my digits! I'm hilarious! Seriously, though, I would have LOVED a gift like this when I graduated from high school. I'm a list maker and it's taking all of my willpower to not get a pen out and start filling all of these lists in! She'd better like it!

Thanks for stopping in and be sure to check out the other entries in the Bloggers Quilt Festival! It's happening through May 20th.

In a bind...

Between road trips, funerals, and birthday parties, I've had very little time to devote to this little corner of the WWW...or quilting, for that matter. However, yesterday I was feeling particularly motivated, so I finished some projects to the point that I'm providing myself with hours of road trip entertainment...

Binding...

Binding...

And more binding...

No rest for the weary! And did you see the back of that pillow? That's right, you saw stippling. Not very good stippling, but stippling nonetheless. All I had to do to make my sewing machine like doing free-motion was to buy different thread! She's like a new machine! Now I just need to practice so it doesn't look like I'm having seizures while quilting.

Spiderweb update

The spiderweb top is complete! Not sure where to go with the quilting...Previously, I said I would probably do this and I still think that's where I'm going with it. I don't think I'd ever finish if I tried to do anything fancier...not to mention the fact that this quilt isn't what anyone would call subtle. Anything more than simple quilting would send this over the top.

I definitely love it and can't wait to be able to snuggle under it!

Sorry about the wrinkles...

Memorial Day Music Monday!

Welcome to a special Memorial Day edition of Music Monday! Today, in true High Fidelity fashion, my Top Five Summer Road Trip Albums for 2010. What will I (and should you) be listening to as I cross the country (and drive down the street to the grocery store)?

5. Jack Johnson -- Brushfire Fairytales. This one is on my list just for nostalgia's sake. The summer after my junior year of high school I got my first car...and it had a CD player! And this CD didn't leave that CD player for (guaranteed) 3 months. Anytime I hear a song from this album I automatically think "summer"...and also, "Dirt Colored Chevy Tracker"...but whatever. It was a good car!

4. Iron & Wine -- The Shepherd's Dog, because there had to be an album on the list that requires you to roll the windows down, turn the stereo up, and drive. And this is it.

3. The Music of Glee -- Vol. 1, 2, & 3 I know I've already shouted my love for Glee from the rooftops, but seriously. I LOVE GLEE and I will be singing along ALL SUMMER. Just try and stop me...

2. A throwback...The Doobie Brothers -- Best of the Doobies. Another nostalgia inspired pick. I was raised right, so I have a deep respect for all things 60's  & 70's rock related. Any road trip we took as kids included the Doobies, Dr. Hook, The Guess Who, Zeppelin, Tommy James & the Shondelles, and (admittedly, out of left field) The Drifters. I chose the Doobies because they're my favorite of the bunch. Plain and simple.

1. Ben Folds/BF5 -- Just make a playlist of all of his stuff because you can never go wrong listening to Ben. And because last summer I met him...in a restaurant before attending his show 2 hours later...the coolest day of my life...

And here's a peek at some new quilty fun that's going down this summer: