Follow me. . good will follow

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I'm joining in the love. . since Google Reader is dying.

I promise it will be awesome ♥

March: A Lovely Year of Finishes ~ Finishes Party

Hello A Lovely Year of Finishes peeps! 

It's that time again to see how we all did on our monthly goal!

I choose a project that's been hanging around way way way too long. 

Here's my goal...

here was my mid-month check-in

And just like that the quilt top is done

I'm glad to have the top done. . now for another goal to finish the back of this beauty.
One goal at a time to get a finish!

~~~

Now it's your turn!

Please link up your finished it project below. 

Oh and grab a button for your blog post

<a href="http://fiberofallsorts.blogspot.com/p/lovely-year-of-finishes.html" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvBE7uofUE15qEda8ii_lCUv9l9ajbjKBxw5xuQHlMIkMtwM_aDuyXvP350NArINiIsI944NN1d1nnvh4WUKQcPN01tr519Pg9cNPbImu-G1P-vihiQu88UZr7jpHTG7HCO5NHNnKSAj4/s400/2013btn600.gif" width="180" height="180" alt="A Lovely Year of Finishes" style="border:none;" /></a>

No worries if you aren't a blogger, you can link up your finished project from a photo you've added to our  flickr group.

Melissa and I are excited to host this monthly link with tons of prizes!

To be eligible for March prizes:
1. you must have entered into the goal setting party.
2. you must enter below {we don't roll over any finishes from mid-month check-in}

**Please note, this is the same linky on both Melissa's blog and here, so no need to enter twice ***

And let's not forget the prizes from our amazing sponsors:

March Prizes Include:

1. A Fat Quarter Bundle from Moda United Notions
*US winner only*

This is the bundle I'll send to one winner.

It's called Lario by 3 Sisters

2. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitch n’ Giggles

3. All Dolled Up from Paper Pieces

4. $20.00 Gift Certificate from the Quilting Lodge

5. $15.00 Gift Certificate from Contemporary Cloth

6, 7, & 8 Will get one thread pack of Auriful Thread donated from Aurifil

Here's a photo of the 3 random thread packages

8 winners will be chosen by Mr. Random for those that post here and the wrap-up linky at the end of the month with a completed finish.

Winners will be chosen early April, emailed, then posted here and with the lovely Melissa here.

March ALYoF ~ mid-month check-in linky party

Oh March how lovely! At least her in Oregon the sun is shining!

So we're doing a mid-month check-in for A Lovely Year of Finishes.
#ALYoF on twitter and instagram

This is a reminder to keep working towards your goal :)

Ra-ra!  You can do it!  

Even with my busy schedule I'm way closer to my goal than I thought I would be!
Here's a photo of my progress

{yes I'm lazy and just grabbed my instagram photo}

My partner in crime,  Melissa,  is doing way better on her March #ALYoF goal, go check out her awesomeness here!

This mid-month linky will be open for 7 days.

Melissa and I would love to see how you're all doing.

And this is not mandatory linky just a fun encouragement along the way! And if you go check out this post and Melissa's we share the same linky - we're just sneaky that way.
Oh and remember to go check out the flickr group there are super fun things and TON of photos there too.  

And remember to visit some of these lovely people and grab a button for your blog posts.

<a href="http://fiberofallsorts.blogspot.com/p/lovely-year-of-finishes.html" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvBE7uofUE15qEda8ii_lCUv9l9ajbjKBxw5xuQHlMIkMtwM_aDuyXvP350NArINiIsI944NN1d1nnvh4WUKQcPN01tr519Pg9cNPbImu-G1P-vihiQu88UZr7jpHTG7HCO5NHNnKSAj4/s400/2013btn600.gif" width="180" height="180" alt="A Lovely Year of Finishes" style="border:none;" /></a>

You can do it!

February Winners ~ A Lovely Year of Finishes

You all are so fantastic!  

128 of you finished your February projects!  I know there are a few more than were close to finishing - completely awesome.  I hope this group is inspiring you in someway.  There are now 400 people in the flickr group. This is for sure keeping me honest! 

So on to last month's winners!  

YIPPEE

~~~

1. $20.00 Gift Certificate from the Quilting Lodge

The winner is Mary from by Mary

~~~

2. $15.00 Gift Certificate from Contemporary Cloth

The winner is Beth from Plum and June

~~~

3. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitch n' Giggles

The winner is Mara from Greco Mara

~~~

4. $15.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop

The winner is Jenniffier from Jennifier's Sometimes Creative Life

~~~

5. Hex-A-Holic Handbook from Paper Pieces

The winner is Vicki from Quilting Lodge

~~~~

6. Riley Blake Designs - fat quarter bundle {one of their latest lines}

The winner is Lisaleh from Modern Balabusta

~~~

Love the sponsors of A Lovely Year of Finishes  we appreciate the love you're helping Melissa and I spread!

Make sure you are visiting them and watching for their wonderful sales and events!

This month's goal setting party is open til the 7th.  So please make sure to add your link here with me or here with Melissa. You only have to link-in once as we share the linky party.  It's crazy how these things work. 

At the finish line there are triangles

Finishing up this beauty was part of an inspiration for
'A Lovely Year of Finishes' for 2013

Oh triangles make me smile! 

Triangle projects that I've seen around the web just look so easy - but yeah it's not. 
This was my first projects like this. . and let me just say that I'm way better at these near the end than the beginning! I LOVE learning :)

This is for my bff's beautiful toddler.



I used many pieces from the line Cameo by Amy Butler
I also used voile for the back that I purchased from Julie at Interpid Thread. 

I'm not happy that the voile didn't "stick" to my 505 Spray. I tried a few different things but overall just powered through. A few puckers on the back but I'm super PROUD it's done!  I'm not too concerned as it's busy enough and a toddler won't be inspecting my stitches. 

I can't wait to get through a few more finishes in my pile of WIP's so I can get to another project like this.

Yeah for finishes!

For those that are participating in our 'A Lovely Year of Finishes' post your photo loves on twitter and instagram with the #ALYoF

The March linky is open till the 7th found here.

March: A Lovely Year of Finishes ~ Goal Setting Party

Hello March!

It's time to think about another month of 'A Lovely Year of Finishes'

One month, one project, one finish for 12-months. 2013 a year of lovely finishes.

Do you need a primer of what 'A Lovely Year of Finishes' actually is?

Here is my reference page

and my awesome partner on this project

Melissa of Sew Bittersweet Designs has a reference page found here.

~~~

So I have to actually choose a project too? Pshaw!

I actually visited most of the finish link-up's from last month and my brain is on overload it could also be the fact that I've been able to watch some of the QuiltCon lectures over at Craftsy.

I have such a pile of WIP's that choosing a project shouldn't be that hard.

So here's what I want to get done.  This lovely pile of clothing came from a high school girlfriends.  It's taken a million hours to deconstruct these pieces, and then testing stabilizing requirements. Oh the challenge of doing something like this.

I'm going to finish the quilt top (just the quilt top) by the end of this month.  It's going to be a stretch as I have two weeks of work travel - but I know that I can get it done! 

~~~

What do you have planned for your March Finish?

Remember you get to choose what you consider a project and a finish.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.  Make sure you also link back here so other people can join in the fun!

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Melissa, so there is no need to enter twice **

For those unsure of how to link up go check out our Q&A Page for A Lovely Year of Finishes - there are instructions on how to link up from a blog and from Flickr.

Grab a button!  Spread the LOVE

<a href="http://fiberofallsorts.blogspot.com/p/lovely-year-of-finishes.html" title="A Lovely Year of Finishes"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvBE7uofUE15qEda8ii_lCUv9l9ajbjKBxw5xuQHlMIkMtwM_aDuyXvP350NArINiIsI944NN1d1nnvh4WUKQcPN01tr519Pg9cNPbImu-G1P-vihiQu88UZr7jpHTG7HCO5NHNnKSAj4/s400/2013btn600.gif" width="180" height="180" alt="A Lovely Year of Finishes" style="border:none;" /></a>

And let's not forget the awesome prizes from our fantastic sponsors:

March Prizes Include:

1. A Fat Quarter Bundle from Moda United Notions

2. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitch n’ Giggles

3. All Dolled Up from Paper Pieces

4. $20.00 Gift Certificate from the Quilting Lodge

5. $15.00 Gift Certificate from Contemporary Cloth

6, 7, & 8 Will get one thread pack of Auriful Thread donated from Aurifil

8 winners will be chosen by Mr. Random for those that post here and the wrap-up linky at the end of the month with a completed finish.

Happy March!

My Favorite Quilt Block - Wonky Star

Welcome to my little part of the crafty blog world. 

I'm super excited to be a part of 'My Favorite Block Quilt Along'. The awesome host, Kim, has short interview with me over at  Persimmon Dreams.

Trying to choose one favorite quilt block proved to be harder than I anticipated.  I finally landed on the Wonky Star. 

My personality leans towards straight, symmetrical, and perfect blocks but this layout gets me to step out of my comfort zone and create something on the fly!  All in all, this block is good for me.

Here's my little tutorial :)

Wonky Star

Materials:

For a 12” finished block (12.5” unfinished block)

Cut 8 – 4.5” x 4.5” background fabric(s)

Cut 1 – 4.5” x 4.5” center fabric

Cut 4 - 4.5” x 4.5” star point fabric(s) *

For a 6” finished block (6.5” unfinished block)

Cut 8 – 2.5” x 2.5” background fabric(s)

Cut 1 – 2.5” x 2.5” center fabric

Cut 4 - 2.5” x 2.5” star point fabric(s) *

*If you want a little extra leeway make these 0.5” larger (especially on the smaller blocks)

Above photo is for reference. This is the layout of the all your pieces, with the star point fabrics on the outside of the background fabrics they will be sewed on

Construction:

1/4" seams throughout

1. Cut your 4 star point fabrics and cut them in half.

2. On one background fabric place one star point.  I usually test how wonky I want my points to be. Make sure the star point fabric covers the background fabric.  The background fabric is your reference.

Below is what NOT to do.  This is easy to do on the smaller blocks so check, check, and double check.

3. Sew, trim background fabric, press.

4. Repeat for 2nd star point. Sew, trim background fabric, press.

5. Now trim block to original background size (on all sides).

6. Repeat steps 2 – 5 for all four star points.

7. Assemble your 9-patch.

Suggestions on pressing: I’m a press to the side kind of gal because I feel it gives more stability in the finished product and my mother taught me to do this. I do highly suggest nesting your seams.  I’ve added a photo as examples of how I’ve put together my blocks. 

Finished blocks:

                12.5” unfinished block                                                  

6.5” unfinished block

Other examples of wonky stars I’ve made:

You can mix it up with tons of combinations of background, star, and center points.  I love gathering my inner wonk!

 

This beauty was entirely from scraps.  I starched each piece and cut 1" strips and went to town.  The seams are bulky but - ohhhh soo cute!

So for a handy reference, you can download this tutorial available here.

Remember to check out the other 20 designers over at Persimon Dreams main page for this QAL. Make sure to check out Karen over at Little Birdie Quilting with her fantastic strippy leaf block from Tuesday - it's fantastic!

Oh and there's a super active flickr group where you can find some great color choices.

I can't wait to see what people make.

~~~

Thanks for stopping by!  Please feel free to check out my other blog posts. And a monthly linky party, hosted by Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs and myself,  'A Lovely Year of Finishes' where you finish up your projects and you can enter to win prizes.