BluePip Designs

It was one of those months where I know that I sewed, but can't really pin down what I worked on.  I finished a secret sewing project that I can't share yet as well as my Modern Fans test block pillow .  I also got the first half of my Modern Fans quilt put together - look for a post on that soon!  But I realized on Saturday that I'd been neglecting my October monthly goal - making a tote bag to bring on my retreat tomorrow!  So I kicked my butt into gear and started piecing panels together; this took much longer than I expected.  Everything is improv pieced and the only rule I had was "use fabric I love".  On the "A" side I built everything around my lightning bolt block and on the "B" side I started with the giant polka dots that are always too big to use, which is the spirit of this tote bag - using big motifs! I decided to go with straight-line quilting, but do diagonal lines.  Mine are slightly organic, but it doesn't bother

A few months ago, everyone was asked to bring an "ugly fabric" fat quarter to our monthly guild meeting.  All the fabrics were thrown into a bag and each person blindly drew one out.  Mine was a floral piece featuring brown, baby blue, and lime green - not something I would have picked for so many reasons!  I was stuck on what to make with it for a long time, but then the solution fell into my lap.  Suzy recommended making a test block before starting the Modern Fans Quilt Along and I decided I might as well combine the two exercises. I dug through my stash and was surprised to find that I actually had brown and lime solids that matched the floral.  I threw it in a bright blue for a little contrast and finished off the pillow with a brown stripe that was bought for a project I later abandoned.  The end result was surprisingly not ugly at all! The floral fabric fabric grew on me so much that I used the rest of the fat quarter to finish the back of the pillow.

Today was a sewing and laundry day, with a little time loped off to take advantage of actual fall-like weather (we've had way too much rain and cold and even a little SNOW this month) and go for a run - a very welcome addition to my lazy day! I had set quite the to-do list for myself, and I actually managed to get all of it done! First, I made the plaid blocks that I need for my newest quilt-along, Modern Fans .  I've been wanting to sew curves again so when this quilt-along popped up I was all in!  Here's the first of my big blocks - untrimmed because my laptop was upstairs and I couldn't remember how big it was supposed to be. I also caught up on my temperature quilt - we had company over the weekend and I didn't spend any time in my sewing room.  See all that purple?  I told you it's been cold!  Low 30s at night! Lastly, I started off my October goal project by making this lightning bolt block .  I'm aiming for an eclectic mix of fabrics

It's a big day today: the 100th day of the 100 Days 100 Blocks 2018 Quilt-Along !!  It wasn't all smooth sailing, but I successfully posted all 100 blocks on the correct days, ending with this sweet little panda block.  The panda butts are my favorites of all the pandas! My initial reason for joining this quilt-along was a vision in my head of two patchwork quilts, one in all blue and one in all green.  These tops have actually been sewn together and are ready for basting and quilting. The panda fabric was an impulse buy.  I wasn't sure how I would like the blocks, but I needed something to do with the other sixty blocks in the book.  And then I ended up liking them more than I liked my original vision.  Happy accidents are the best kinds!  I'm not 100% sure how these are going to get sewn together yet, but it will probably involve some sort of sashing so for now they are just going to hang out in my sewing room. I am so happy to have finished all of

I'm going on my first retreat next month and I really want to have a handmade bag to haul my stuff in.  So this month I want to make myself a quilted tote bag from the Totes Amazeballs pattern in the Fussy Cutter Club book .  This has been on my list forever and keeps getting pushed back, but now its day has come!  So far all I've got is the pattern and a pile of fabric - hopefully making this my goal will make this bag a reality! Wish me luck!  I'm linking up my goal at Elm Street Quilts .