80 Percent!

I've had my needle to the grindstone trying to make progress on the Funky Boxes. The official count is 82% of the blocks are done. According to the pattern, there are 157 blocks total. I'm starting to doubt the accuracy of the pattern, because I think it calls for more of the individual blocks than what I see that are left to do. But trying to count the blocks on the wall is dizzying! Thank goodness I've been keeping a running tally.

Block A measures 2": I have 60 done and need 8 more.
Block B measures 3.5": I have 48 done and need 10 more.
Block C measures 5": I have 14 done and need 4 more.
Block D measures 6.5": I have 6 done and need 3 more.
Block E measures 8": I have 2 done and need NO more!
Block F measures ?": I have 0 done and need 2 more.

Jessica's shower is on October 19th and it would be fantastic if I had the top put together, but right now, I'd be ok with a shoebox full of all the blocks. =)

Star BOM #5

I finished my fifth Star Block of the Month today. It's a perfect day for sewing: rainy and cold! Overall, the block turned out great. I would have liked a different inner background color, but everything I auditioned didn't look right and I figured that it wouldn't hurt to use this fabric here, because it was in Block #1. It'll probably be fine when the entire quilt is done and I'm just being a little to picky right now.

Here is a picture of the corner trimmer that I've been using on this project. It has been a fantastic help lining the pieces up. Also in the picture is a little cutter tool that I got a few weeks ago at a fabric estate sale. It was brand new/in package and was only a quarter! It cuts the little snips off the corners a lot easier than the rotary cutter and I'm thrilled to have it in my toolbox.

Caturday!

In the spirit of LOLcats, I'm posting a cat on Saturday = Caturday!

Here is my cat, Putty, helping out with the Funky Boxes. He's very paws on with sewing.

Enjoy!

Super-Duper, Awesome News!

I won a giveaway on Bumble Beans blog today! Woo-hoo! What a fantastic way for me to start the morning.

Bumble Beans is written by V, who lives in Manhattan, but is originally from Minnesota-- not too far from me. Be sure to check out her blog, because she has all kinds of great stuff on it. She's awesome-- from quilting to tae kwon do to cooking to costume/garment sewing to raising a very cute daughter, she does it all. I wish I could wiggle my nose and spend the afternoon shopping for fabrics with her in the garment district. That would be phenomenal!

My treat includes super-cool, funky fabric that might make it's way into the Funky Boxes that I'm working on right now, adorable buttons, homemade soap (LOVE!), a book about The Tenney Quilt (coincidence that I live 1 block from Tenney Park?) and lots more fun things!

Thank you, V. You rock! =)

40%

I've been chugging along on the Funky Boxes. One day last week, I completed 20 boxes (my record!). Right now I have 66 of the 157 blocks complete and I'm trying to keep the momentum going. Unfortunately work got in the way this weekend. Today I have another 20 lined up and ready to sew.

Here is the pile of blocks and trimmings from last week:

And here are today's little soldiers all lined up, waiting to be sewn:

New Addiction!

This week I started on a baby quilt for my friend Jessica. They are having their first child (a girl) in December. I had bought a half yard of fun big polka dots on a brown background last spring at the Sun Prairie quilt show. When I started to brainstorm about what to make for Jessica, I thought this fabric matched her sense of style. It's bold and funky and a little bit mod/retro. When I asked her what colors or themes she was going to use in the baby's room, she said "no real theme" and mentioned some colors. I knew this fabric was right in line with what she was talking about and showed it to her. She agreed and the next step was a pattern.


Earlier I posted about the book Glorious Patchwork by Kaffe Fassett and how I was "gathering" fabrics at the Quilt Expo. Here is the book and my collection of fabrics that I'm going to use:




I started this week on the blocks and have found it EXTREMELY difficult to stop. They are super addictive. I've found myself saying, "I'll stop after this one. Just one more. One more piece." and on and on.

So far, I'm 25% done with the blocks and am have tons of fun doing them.

Star BOM #4

This block went together nicely. The hardest part was which fabric to use in the checkerboard. I wanted to use the gold fabric and the ovally print, but the gold doesn't have enough contrast with the background for my taste.

And here are my first 4 Star Blocks. =)