BluePip Designs

July was one of those months where it looked like I accomplished a lot, but in reality so much is close to being done that a little bit of work looks impressive!  Being so close to the end of projects certainly inspires me to get sewing and finish them, even as I look forward to officially starting my next quilt-along tomorrow. Quilt Tally WIP List at beginning of month: 13 WIP List at end of month: 12 Untouched in 2022: 5 Active QAL Projects: 2 Quilts Finished One, Two, Tree (January 2022) Meeple Pillowcase (April 2022) Quilts Started 100 Days 100 Blocks 2022 - This annual quilt-along starts tomorrow, but I like to sew the blocks a day in advance so block one is already done.  I'm looking forward to showing off this year's theme!  If you'd like to join in, you can buy the pattern here and use my coupon code BLUEPIP for 10% off! Quilt Progress (6 WIPs touched) Harry Potter QOD - Harry's Firebolt is done! I modified the pattern slightly, making th

My beautiful pink ombre forest is finished! This quilt is the result of a wonderful quilt-along hosted by Sugaridoo that combines two of my favorite quilting things: paper-piecing and free-motion quilting.  As soon as I saw the concept, I knew I was in.  I also immediately knew that I wanted to do a pink ombre forest, but decided to use the background and tree trunk colors recommended by Irene (Kona Ice Frappe and Kona Graphite). I ordered a variety of Kona pinks and ordered them from darkest to lightest. I purposely ordered an extra pink to make sure I would like the final ombre. The colors I had were Bright Pink, Cotton Candy, Dragon Fruit, Honeysuckle, Punch, Sassy Pink, Watermelon, and Valentine. They weren't labeled when I received them so I have them listed alphabetically here. I arranged them from darkest to lightest, labeled them A-G, and then assigned the colors to the trees on my coloring sheet.  From here it was super-easy to grab the correct colors

Hello!  I'm checking in with my mid-year progress for 2022 today.  It's summer, which means that I seem to be more of a taxi service than anything else these days.  I'm lucky if I get a full hour each day to sew, and I'm making the most of the time I do have! Midyear Observation #1 I haven't finished as many quilts as I expected to.  My output entering July is down compared to the last couple of years: July 2022: 6 quilts July 2021: 12 quilts July 2020: 10 quilts July 2019: 7 quilts July 2018: 8 quilts Looking at the numbers laid out like that, it seems like I'm back to my pre-pandemic levels and that makes sense.  I don't have as much time to sew because I'm not at home all the time, and I think that's an ok trade-off! Midyear Observation #2 Custom quilting is back!  This used to be something I really enjoyed, and over the last two years I've be

Today I can finally share the results of the challenge game that my guild played from September to June.  We called it the "Whisper Challenge", but really it was a big game of mini quilt telephone! Can you tell which quilt was mine?  Keep reading to find out! The rules were pretty simple.  The September quilter got to see the photograph and create a mini quilt based on it.  The October quilter only got to see the finished September quilt, not the photograph.  The November quilter only got to see the October quilt, etc, etc.  Then we all submitted photos to the challenge organizer and she put together a slide show to show off all the quilts in order.  There were four groups participating, each with a different starting photograph. Did you guess that this was my quilt?  I was very excited when I saw the November quilt had curves and blues, two of my quilty favorites!  I kept the white curves on the blue background, making six quarter circle blocks and rearranging them until I w

It's hard to believe that I haven't finished a quilt since April!  I started off this month strong, but once school ended it was all getting kids packed and unpacked, doing laundry, running them from place to place, and just general Mom time.  When I did have time to myself, I chose to bike, logging over 150 miles.  I will  have at least one finish next month - one quilt is quilted and just waiting for a binding! Quilt Tally WIP List at beginning of month: 13 WIP List at end of month: 13 Untouched in 2022: 5 Active QAL Projects: 1 Quilts Finished None! Quilts Started None!   Quilt Progress (6 WIPs touched) Just My Type - I'm caught up on all my letters and hope to finish the alphabet next month! One, Two, Tree - This is pretty much the only thing I worked on in the second half of the month. Despite running out of pink thread during the quilting of the final tree, I managed to finish all the quilting and it just needs a binding! Meeple Projects

Another fast month has gone by.  I didn't manage to finish anything, but I did publish a new pattern and matching tutorial , which meant I spent more time in front of my computer than in my sewing room.  I also got a nice long visit with my mom, whom I haven't seen since Christmas time, so overall the trade-offs were worth it!  Plus I have two projects that are almost done and should be easy June finishes, so I'll be back on track next month! Quilt Tally WIP List at beginning of month: 11 WIP List at end of month: 13 Untouched in 2022: 5 Active QAL Projects: 2 Quilts Finished None Quilts Started Just My Type  - I used my  Zephyr quilt pattern  to clear out my pink, blue, and Christmas novelty prints stash, and now my focus has switched to low-volume whites. This is the first of two quilt-along projects I am planning to take part in to use them up! Meeple Colorblock Quilt - A project with the larger size of my Meeple blocks.  I've wanted to

It's your turn at game night - are you ready??  Today I am introducing the newest BluePip Designs pattern, the Meeple quilt block ! Meeple is not a full quilt pattern; instead it is a quilt block that you can use in any project you'd like! It works great as a repeated motif in a big project or as a single block in a sampler of game-related quilt blocks. It's up to you!  The Meeple pattern is paper-pieced and includes templates for two finished sizes, a 6" block and a 12" block.  If you've never paper pieced before, don't be worried; this block is beginner-friendly and easy to put together.  It's the perfect paper-piecing starter block.  The pattern does not include instructions for how to paper piece, but I've written a free tutorial explaining exactly how I paper piece .  If you're an experienced paper-piecer, you'll have fun sewing together these fast, easy blocks that pack a big graphic punch! When I'm not quilting,

Paper piecing is one of my favorite ways to piece a quilt block. It lets me use crazy angles to create picture blocks, some of which are so intricate they don't even look like they were pieced from fabric. I paper-pieced my first quilt block almost 10 years ago and today I am sharing my method for paper piecing. These are things I've learned from both reading other tutorials and trial and error. I'll start with some general information to make your paper piecing successful. All of the tools shown in the first part of the tutorial will be used in the second part, but it's also possible to paper piece with whatever you have on hand. Throughout the entire tutorial, I use the term "blob" to refer to the fabric that is already sewn onto the paper pattern pieces; if anyone knows a more technical term I'd love to hear it! Rulers. You can paper-piece with your regular quilting rulers, but if you are planning on doing