A Lovely Year of Finishes-January

I finished my January goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes with Melissa and Shanna. Tanner's Oz quilt is done! I gave it to her as a late 13th birthday present. She was very stoked! The fabric is Beth Bruske for David Textiles for the wonky log cabin blocks, Kona snow for the field and Simply Color Leafy Stripe in Eggplant for the binding. Here it is!
I'm linking up to Melissa's blog; hope I win some prizes!!:)

Waaaay to long and W.I.P.

Well, it's been a long time, blogg-o-sphere! It's a new year and I am pumped to get some things finished up! I've joined Shanna at Fiber of All Sorts and Melissa at Sew BitterSweet Designs for their A Lovely Year of Finishes linky! It's awesome! Check then out and join in the fun.
My first finish will be my niece's Oz quilt. I am almost finished with the quilting! It will be bound by next Wednesday!

I received a EPP kit featuring Tula Pink's Nightshade. I've been basting some hexies, y'all! Not sure what I'm gonna do with them, but I'll figure it out!
I'm also linking up with Lee over at Freshly Pieced!
What are you working on?

Giveaways!

Give away!
Head over to 1 Choice 4 Quilting for an awesome giveaway.  Hurry, it ends today!

Been awhile and WIP

It's been a few weeks since my last post.  Seems like this time of year, things really start happening.  You know, things you scheduled on your calendar, at a time when December was COMPLETELY wide open and now, hardly a minute to breathe!

I've been sewing, just not as much as I want to!  So, I thought I'd share what's up and W.I.P.

1.  Quilt School 1
As you'll recall, I'm taking quilt school 1 at my local sewing shop, Thimble Pleasures, in Chapel Hill, NC.  I've quilted the top and now have binding on, well at least partially on.  But this class will now let me complete my niece, Tanner's quilt.

Quilt School 1 top w/ borders

2.  Oz Quilt (for Tanner)
Now that I know how to properly put together a quilt sandwich, I need to re-baste this sucker, quilt and bind.  All this before 12/30, as this is her 13th birthday present!

3.  Sawyer's Quilt
I've cut everything, and am piecing.  Going to the Triangle Modern Quilt Guild's sew-in at Spoonflower on Sunday, so I hope to make some progress on this quilt.  This is due 1/5/13; another birthday present!

4.  Tea Towel Calendars
So, I bought a BUNCH of these from Spoonflower to give as gifts . . .I've got to bind them/finish up the edges.  Completed 1!  About 9 more to go . . .

5.  Janele's VW van pillow
Saw this pattern from Tula Pink and knew I HAD to make this for my friend, Janele, for Christmas.  She loves the VW van and IS going to have one someday.  Now she can have a pillow until . . .

Not started, but I've picked fabric!

6.  3x6 Sampler Mini Quilt Bee
I've made 4 of the 6 blocks for this bee.  Pictures to come.  Due 1/15/13, I think!

So, what are you working on?

W.I.P. Wednesday (or Friday)

I've been busy this week.  I'm taking a beginning quilting class at Thimble Pleasures, in Chapel Hill.  I figured I needed to learn some correct techniques for cutting and piecing, and I was right!  I have been cutting all wrong!  What I mean is that I've not been making the most of my fabric, not practicing good safety habits, and the like.  Now I know better.  Here's what I'm working on:

Beginning Quilting Class progress

I've also been working on my test block for the 3x6 Bee I signed up for over on Flickr.

3x6 Bee test block for me

It is the Ribbon Star and the tutorial can be found over at Freshly Pieced.  Lee does a great job of explaining how to do this block.  There is a lot of steps but I went really slow to make sure I got everything lined up and such.  I really want to do a good job for my beemates and this is good practice.

I'm also working on a quilt for my niece.  The top is assembled, sandwiched and basted, but I'm waiting to learn some quilting in my class before I attempt it on this project.

Oz quilt top

Oz quilt block

So to recap:

Beginning quilting class:  still working on

3x6 Bee:  1 block done, 6 more to go

Oz quilt for Tanner:  need to quilt

Sawyer's quilt:  cutting

Seth's quilt:  not started

Weekender bag:  waiting on pattern

Messenger bag:  not started

I'm linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced, you do to!  What are you working on?

Sew South

I did it!  Signed up for Sew South.  I've been devouring blogs and have been coveting the idea of actually going to a sewing conference.  Then, I stumbled upon Jennifer's blog at Ellison Lane Quilts, and saw the post for Sew South.  How awesome!  It is a sewing conference, organized by a very talented Jennifer, so you know there will be some great classes, plus, it's close to home.  Bonus!  I've talked my mom into going with me.  It's gonna be so much fun!  

So, my very first post is up.  This is great; I've finally taken the plunge into the blog-o-sphere.  I'll be posting what I'm working on, classes I'm taking, and of course, the fabric I'm collecting.  I'm a new quilter, though I've been sewing since I was a kid.  I hope you'll check back soon!
Nicole