2012 Aurifil quilt top completed!

It took me a few months to assemble the quilt top for the 2012 Aurifil designer of the month , stitcheries from 12 different designers; one block released each month last year.

I really enjoyed making these blocks, and I am very pleased with the resulting quilt top. Here are some pictures showing off detailed stitcheries, and the complete quilt top. The final assembling and quilting is standing next in line.

Here the top is in all its glory, with a kind of wild "wooden" fabric as the surrounding frame.

Happy Birthday, Norway!

Today, May 17, it is 199 years since the Norwegian Constitution was signed. We celebrate this as our National Day.

Piecing away

During the last few days I have made a lot of progress in my piecing. Two quilt tops are completed, but I will only show one off in this post. The top is sort of a secret, but now is the right time for revealing the design. I had all the approx. 100 blocks made earlier, and sewed them together last Thursday. That was a marathon; I felt exhausted when it was completed! But it was all worth it, the resulting quilt top is good-looking!

Here it is on my porch early Sunday morning. I am sure DS2 will be happy to receive this when the quilting is done.

The quilt is twin size, approx. 64" x 92". I used scraps for the 16-patches, trying to keep them in a masculine color way. It consist of a lot of old shirts, but also some brighter squares. I even found room for leftover backing fabric from Easy Street.

I used dark grey and white as the solids. I love the way the secondary design of the stars stands out! You may have to look close to see that. The backing and batting is ready, and quilting will start as soon as possible.

I am really happy with how it turned out, and I hope the recipient will enjoy it as much as I do.

Here is a picture taken inside, but I really prefer the first one. An outdoor picture taken on an overcast day justifies the colors and design in a much better way.

Now I can relax and wait for my sons to come home for summer vacation. But, knowing myself, I will not be able to stay away from the sewing machine for a very long time!

The barns are multiplying

Lori Holt's Quilty Barn Along is on it's steady way to completion. So far I have made three blocks, here is Barn #3:

I have not yet decided if I will make another one, or be happy with three. The row of barns will be a wall hanging on a 3/4 high wall we have between the living room and the kitchen. I think the quilty barns will look good in that space.

Here the row is spread out on the floor. Eventually, there will be sahsing and border around when the quilt is completed. I am looking forward to the final result!

Aurifil May block

The May block in 2013 Aurifil Designer of the Month was a simple one to make. It reminds me of the pinwheels the kids carry in the May parades; bright and cheerful.

Celebrating a day off work

1st of May is a National Holiday in Norway. It is nice to get a day off work in the middle of the week. What else to celebrate the day with, but to do some quilting?! The result is a quite big mug rug in red, white and blue in the center panel; the colors of the Norwegian flag.

We are celebrating our National Day May 17, and this mug rug will fit in perfectly. I worked on my FMQ skills, and made a few flowers, and a swirly border around the white fabric with musical notes. Musical notes are just perfect for the backgroud of the hexagons, since May 17 is just filled with music from school bands in the parade in each city or little town in Norway. The black fabric in the outer border may illustrate all the balloons that are up in the air this day. I like the effect in the binding; small pink sunrises on red bottom.

The center panel is made using my Hex N More ruler. This is my first attempt using this one. I guess I will use it more soon, but this time on a bigger scale. (The hexagons are 2", and the mug rug is approx. 6" x 10").

Earlier this morning I would not have been able to take this picture on my porch, because when I looked out the entrance door it looked like this:

Snow in May! A thin layer, though.
My lawn looked like this:

I am sick and tired of the snow. Fortunately, it was all gone in a couple of hours. I want spring to come right now!

Colorful bag

Last monthly meeting my guild had received some fabric from a lady who had shut down her store. A few big boxes of fabric were on display, and the best was that it was free for the guild members! Who can say no to free fabric? At least not me!

The boxes contained mostly curtain fabrics, but also a few good cottons. I brought home a few items, with the intention of making bags. I was in a bright color mood, and soon I had picked out a design for a big bag that is perfect for class-projects. There is a lot of room in this one, for cutting board, big square ruler, project box, and probably more. The size is approximately 18" square.

Here it is on display in my old, dead plum tree in the yard. As you can see, the spring has not come very far, yet. The snow just left a week ago, and we have had fairly cold weather. Since there are no flowers or green grass around in my yard, the bag really cheers the place up.

We have put out one chair on the porch, that is where my cat takes a nap in sunny, warm weather. Since the temperature is just a few centigrades, the chair is available for picture taking of quilt projects. Here is the other side of the bag, plus a peek of the lining.

To sum up, the outside of the bag is a compilation of curtain fabrics, and the lining is an old IKEA fabric from my stash.

I am pleased with the result, and looking forward to start using it!