FMQ challenge april

The FMQ challenge at SewCalGal in April was by Don Linn. Lots of great tips, and a really easy way to mark your design on your quilt. I opted for another design than the one provided in the tutorial, because I had a few hexieflowers that needed to be turned into coin purses. It turns out though, that I´m really bad at stitching on a line...really bad... Sooo, I think the coin purses will have to wait until I´ve had some more practice.

I did like this way of marking a quilt, it can be ajusted to your specific quilt and reused over and over. Simple, cheap and convenient=) I´ll be using this method again, for sure.

Take care!

Åsa

Finish-A-Long Second Quarter

Time to get some more of those UFOs done! The second quarter of the FAL at Quilter in the Gap will be dedicated to babyquilts...I don´t know why I have so many started!? There are very few babies in my circle at the moment, so these will all be shipped of to Africa.

This one needs to get a little bit bigger, basted, quilted and bound. I´d guess it´s at least five years since I did the redwork...

The pieces are done, but I´ve lost the pattern, so I will have to draw a new layout. Piece, baste, quilt and bind is left to do on this. It´s been living in a bag for about 3-4 years.

This top is done, but a bit boring. I couldn´t decide wether to machine embroider something on it, or try to do some cute quilting, so it ended up in the same bag as the aeroplane pieces. Baste, quilt and bind on the to do list for this one.

Again a finished top from the same UFO bag as the previous. It just needs to be basted, quilted and bound. I would guess it´s been in this state for 4-5 years.

These next four pictures are an atempt I made about 3 years ago, to use up my scraps for charity quilts...I started quite a few, and then...nothing... I don´t know why I do that!!! Anyway, I think this was ment to be a railfence quilt.

A bunch of 4-patches...I´m sure I can find more of these if I just dig around a bit... just a feeling I have=)

Another railfence? That would be my guess, anyway=)

Could it be? Yes, I think it is...more railfence blocks... Maybe I´ll come up with an alternative plan here. Or I´ll just see them as a great canvas to practice my FMQ=) Anyway, it will be great to get them done and out the door!

So that´s my plan for the next quarter - 8 babyquilts for charity...I´m not too exited right now, to be honest, but it´ll be nice to get some extra space back.

Take care!

Åsa

Some fun sewing

After finishing the first quarter of the Finish-A-Long at Quilter in the Gap, it was nice to find some time to sew something new and fresh. I had some scraps left over from this

Sooo, I decided to make a few of these

Yes, I fell in love with the Granny Squares too=) They come together quilte fast, and are a great way to use up some of those scraps we tend to accumulate. The tutorial can be found here.

I got 16 blocks from my scraps, and I´ve ordered a bit of yardage to make a few borders to make it a bit bigger. I think I might keep this one for myself=)

Take care!

Åsa

Bullseye

Another bullseye babyquilt, blocks from a swap, FAL at Quilter in the Gap, quilt going to Africa. I just keep saying the same thing over and over aren´t I=)

This is going to be my last FAL finish for this quarter. I´ve got a massive cold, and I work all weekend, so I decided to cut myself some slack and skip the aprons. I´ll put them on the list for next quarter instead. I´m taking a few days of from UFOs now, maybe if I have the energy I´ll sew something new=)
I´m off to Quilter in the Gap to link up my finishes - I am sooo happy to see all these old projects finally finished=)

Take care!

Åsa

I´m finishing...

Another babyquilt finished. These bullseye blocks are from a swap I participated in years ago, that I lost interest in almost imediatly. I have a bit of a short attention span sometimes=) A perfect project for the Finish-A-Long at Quilter in the Gap.

I kept the quilting simple, and bound it with some leftover binding. I´m still not really in love with it, but it will keep a little baby in Africa warm and snug, and that´s a good thing, right=)

One more babyquilt and two aprons to go...

Take care!

Åsa

Third finish this week

I´ve had some time of work this week, and spent a bit of that time with my Pfaff. Since all I do nowdays is finishing UFOs, this too is part of the Finish-A-Long at Quilter in the Gap=) The pattern is Sweet Menagerie by Roslyn Mirrington, avalable at Moda Bake Shop. I used a jelly roll of Sunkissed by Sweetwater, and some white on white from my stash.
This is where I started...

Took a few weeks off around here...

And here is where I ended up...

This quilt was growing out of my piece of batting, so I decided to skip two of the borders, and I did a loopy all over quilting that I´m starting to feel comfortable with. It will be given to my cousin for her 50th birthday, so I hope she´ll like it.

Take care!

Åsa



Another FAL finish

I have a baby quilt finished. Another Finish-A-Long project done=) This top has been sitting around for a few years so it was a given on the FAL list.

The teddies were a free design set from Nita´s Place, and the fabric are scraps from a triple irish chain I made years ago...and forgot to take a picture of before sending it of.

I quilted it with the leafdesign that was the january challenge at SewCalGal´s FMQ challenge, so I got some more practice=)

This too is going to Africa.

Take care!

Åsa

First FAL finish and FMQ challenge

I´ve finally finished one of my UFOs in the FAL at Quilter in the Gap. These pinwheels had been stashed away for quite a while, but now this

has turned into this

I have a bunch of babyquilts to finish, and they will all be sent of to an African hospital. I really love this Finish-A-Long, it makes me exited about projects I´ve almost forgot I started=) And trust me, I start way more than I finish...

This is also SewCalGal´s Free-Motion Quilting Challenge for March, by Ann Fahl. I chose to do the loopy design, and I loved it! I think it´s the first time I felt a flow in my FMQ, the stitches are quite even, and there was no struggle. Ok, the quilt is only about a yard square, so it´s a comfortable size to work with, but I still did a little happy-dance all by my lonesome=) I´m loving this challenge too! I´m learning so much, and I´m pushing myself to try new things, and I acctually se an improvement in my FMQ already=) I can´t wait to see what we´re doing next!

Sorry about the really crappy picture, I would improve my photography skills but I´m busy finishing UFOs and practicing FMQ=)
Take care!

Åsa

FMQ Challenge February

Sooo, this months challenge is feathers! My initial thought? Are they crazy!!! I can´t do feathers!!! There is no way I can ever do feathers!!!
This challenge really scared the heck out of me, I have to admit that. But I took the pledge, so I have to try, right=) I really liked the tutorial by Diane Gaudynski, lots of pictures and really great explanations. She also gave some really good tips on how to solve common problems.

I started by drawing the design on paper. I always do that to get a feel for the design before I mess up my quilt...=)

This is NOT my first atempt...more like the 30th, and I still can´t get it to look the way I want it to. But sooner or later I had to get to the sewing. I was so intimidated by this design I forgot to pick up speed, so my stitches are about a mile long...

And it´s really wonky! An hour later it´s still wonky, but the stitches are better.

The echoing is really difficult to me, it gets wonky and uneven. And for some reason my feathers end up really long, when I want them to be compact and chubby. But I do see an improvement after just one hour, so I really feel that given enough practice I could master this too=) I´ll have to get back to this design when I have more time.

Take care,
Åsa

For charity

Last week I finally got around to donating a bunch of babyquilts to charity. They were all sewn last year, but they kind of got stuck in my closet for a while=) My plan is to donate 20 babyquilts this year, so these are the first ten.

I´m going to use this project to finish up my scraps and practice my freemotion quilting, and do some good in the process=)

Take care,

Åsa

2012 FMQ Challenge

I´ve decided to work on my FMQ skills this year, and will try to keep up with the challenge at Insights from SewCalGal. The januari challenge was a leaf design taught by Frances Moore. After practicing the design on paper a number of times, this is my first atempt at sewing:

I have to say I´m plesantly surprised! My FMQ has never looked this good on a first try...ever... There´s still the issue of stitchlength, I have a problem with speed/motion, but I feel it will work itself out given enough practice. I really enjoyed this design, and I would recomend this tutorial to anyone who wants to learn.

I decided not to do the sampler, but try to use the designs for things I´m sewing anyway. Sooo...in time this will become a couple of zippered puches...maybe I´ll find the time later this week=)



Anyway, I really enjoyed the first month of the FMQ Challenge, and I´m exited to see what February will bring=)

Take care,

Åsa

I´m joining a Finish-a-long

I´m joining the Finish-A-Long at Quilter in the Gap this quarter. What a great idea!!! Heaven knows I have enough UFOs piled around my home, so hopefully this will get me going on finishing a few=) Here is my ambition for the next quarter...

This quilt top has been waiting for 3-4 years to be finished. It needs to be basted, quilted and bound, and then it will be sent to a charity project in Africa.

Bullseye blocks from a swap - also years ago. Should make two babyquilts, and they will also find new homes in Africa.

Pinwheels - I honestly don´t remember making these at all, so either it´s a long time ago, or I´m getting old... Again for the African charity.

The fabrics for this quilt were cut about six months ago, and then I got distracted by something and didn´t get around to piecing it. I´m useing a free pattern from Moda Bake Shop, Sweet Menagerie by Roslyn Mirrington. I think it will make a great birthday present for my cousin.

Two aprons - all cut, only the sewing left=). The Emmeline Apron by Sew Liberated.

The list feels a bit overwhelming right now, but once I get started I think I can get it all done. The plan is to make a BIG dent in the UFO pile, right=)

Take care

Åsa

Starting up!

Hi!
I´m Åsa, from Linköping, Sweden. I´m honestly a bit intimidated by all the talent of the quilters out there in blogland, but I still decided to step out of my sewingnook and give bloging a go. I have a lot to learn and quite a few skills to improve, so I am taking on some challenges this year (bloging being one of them, actually=) ).
I´m taking on the FMQ Challenge at Insights from SewCalGal - I really suck at FMQ, so theres much improvement to be made. The only way is up, right=).

There´s also the Finish-A-Long at Quilter in the Gap - I have more than my share of UFOs, and I´m hoping to finish quite a few over the year.

Let´s see if I can manage to get a picture in here too...

This quilt was a christmas present for my cousin. It made a huge dent in my blue stash=). It is the Road to Tennessee, by Mary Lane Brown, a free pattern from Moda Bake Shop.

I also gifted a few potholders for christmas. Machine-embroidery on linnen.

That´s it for my very first blog post!

Take care

Åsa