Nearly There

I'm back from vacation now, and really trying to finish up my project for the Stitchcraft Challenge. I've been very distracted lately, but have to have this finished and dropped off by Saturday.

This is where I'm at this morning. Nearly there... and yes, I did do another spiral quilt. It's my favorite thing to do now.

 

I'm debating whether I want to do another spiral in another color from the other corner, or if that's just crazy talk. I could just bind it and have it finished tomorrow.

I also need a name for it. I'm stumped.

On another note, we got to see this little guy on No Name Key last week. I didn't know there were deer in the Florida Keys.

Linking with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday!

Around the World Blog Hop

Hello!

Happy Monday! Today it's my turn to share on the Around the World Blog Hop. Nini and the Sea have invited me to join the Hop last week. Every Monday, a new group of bloggers will share a little about themselves, and feature a few other bloggers who will post the following Monday.
Nini and the Sea are a mother/daughter team who write a blog about sewing, quilting, and other artistic things. Chelsey also hosts a Weekly Inspiration Linky Party--you should definitely check it out.

I'm on vacation this week, so I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

1. What am I working on? 
Right now my main project is my Hapi Hexi quilt. This is my first EPP project made from Amy Butler's Hapi fabric, and 1 inch hexies. My goal is to make this into a bed sized quilt-by adding massive borders. I don't think I can hand stitch 1,000 hexies together.


It was double extra super bright when I took this, so the fabric looks a little washed out.

 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 
I don't really know how to answer this one... hmmm.... I only just heard of modern quilting earlier this year, and I get inspiration from many different sources in this genre. What I really love are bright fabrics, simple patterns, and hand stitching.

 

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 
I love sewing and quilting because it gives me a good project to concentrate on when I get home from work. I like trying new things, doing design and quilty math. I usually find the process to be very methodical and relaxing (unless I'm having to pull the seam ripper out, over and over again).

4. How does my writing/creating process work?
I usually get inspiration from somewhere online--I just discovered pinterest a few weeks ago, and I can spend hours looking at quilts, fabric, and puppies. I don't follow directions, so I usually get a general idea of what I want to make, and then just start cutting.
I use a design wall, which helps a lot with my 'cut first, plan later' method.


 

Here is my latest Supernova Swap block. This one does require following some directions.





Before I go, I want to let you know of two other bloggers who will be sharing their posts next Monday. I met both of these quilters and bloggers during Plum and June's New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop.
Beth of Cooking up Quilts
Jenn of A Quarter Inch From the Edge

Now I'm off to enjoy a nice day (and a few cocktails :)) on the beach.
Happy Monday!

Halfway There - Supernova Swap

I finally had a chance to finish my Supernova Swap block for August, just in time! Where did the summer go? The last few months seem to have flown by.

For August, I decided to do my grey block:
 

It was very bright, so you can't really see the background fabric, which is a shame. We're using Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelet in Sandbox. I love how it looks against the bright green, orange and aqua.  

I also got out my July blocks, and finally took photos of them. Amy and I both did green blocks for July.
Here's Amy's block:

Should have pressed that one after I got it out of the envelope... oops!

And mine:

This month's theme was about sharing childhood memories, which is very fitting for the end of the summer. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from our summer road trips. We used to drive from Colorado to Michigan every summer. It usually took close to 20 hours, so we always had plenty of time to play games, listen to books on tape, and generally annoy each other. ahhhh, memories...  

I am leaving town today on my own summer road trip, sort of. I'm not sure a 1 1/2 hour drive counts as a road trip, but I'll take it.

Happy Friday!

Maintain Block Integrity # 1

I finally finished my first quilt with my Amy Butler Spots Jelly Roll. It has been sitting on my couch for a few weeks, I was waiting for the rain to stop so I could take it outside. I'm glad we finally had a chance to get some photos of it, it's officially finished now, which feels nice.

This one was inspired by Katie Pederson's Grape Crush. 
 

 

It's still very wrinkly, but I've enjoyed "testing it out" (cuddling with it) on my sofa on rainy afternoons. It's backed with flannel--I must make more quilts with flannel backing!

 



This was hand quilted, and it took about 3 weeks to finish the quilting.

 

I like how it turned out, but it took forever. I prefer the look of hand quilting, and I find it more enjoyable, but it takes ages to finish anything. Its finished size is around 64 x 64, so a decent sized lap quilt.

 

This one will go to my younger sister. I will call it Maintain Block Integrity, which is a family in-joke. We play a lot of card games, especially Skip-Bo, and it's very important to my dad and sister that we always keep the stacks of cards very tidy and maintain pile integrity at all times. 

 

My grandma is a quilter, so my sister already has a few quilts, but this will be her first modern one.

 

She loves bright colors, so I think this one will be perfect for her. 

 

 

Overall, I'm very happy with how this came together, and I'm looking forward to shipping it home with a few other goodies next month. I have a lot of family birthdays coming up this fall, and I have a feeling most of them will be getting quilty things for their birthdays.

In other news, in less than 10 days I have a mini summer vacation in the Keys! Keeping my fingers crossed that it stops raining before then.

Happy Wednesday!

Linking with NTT Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Crazy Mom Quilts