Q2 - Triangle quilt finished

I have something else to tick off my Q2 list. Yay! The triangle quilt is finished! I also put it as my April's goal of ALYoF. I was not sure if I'll be able to finish it since I was about to quilt with polar fleece.

I wanted to do diagonal lines only but as the quilting was going well I went with every second line and created big triangles. As you can see I started with batting only. Once I was done I added the fleece. I was expecting I get the same triangles once I quilt the fleece but no. Surprise! I ended with hexagons and small triangles instead. I do like it though. 

This was not my first time quilting with fleece hence the little fear :-) We like our quilts to be cozy and warm so I prefer this material over pieced design. The quilting went fine. Instead of doing two straight lines which could end up in mess and puckers I went with simple single rib stitch. My tip for working with fleece is to not square up your sandwich. Keep the exceeding fabric there it makes it much more easier to work with.

In my previous attempt I had so many little puckers while sewing the binding on. They eventually got hidden in binding which I hand stitched over it. As the fleece stretched I also had to cut quite a bit at the corner section. This time no puckers and no stretch. The corners were just fine.

I made this quilt during the Triangle QAL and it was an easy and simple to put together. I'm really happy with the layout I came with and the whole process went smoothly without any hiccups. There are many possibilities to play with triangles so this might not be the last triangle quilt. Check out what others have created HERE. 

I couldn't use the same field over again so today we dropped by train station nearby. We like to go there with my girls and just watch the trains pass by. High five for another finish! I'm at 2/6 which sounds pretty promising for this quarter. 

No hand stitched binding. I used the same rip stitch as I used for quilting. This might be my favorite quilt ever! Seriously :-) Don't you have the same feeling with the latest thing you finish? I do.
Do you remember I wanted to name my quilts after songs? The name of this one would be: Under control. I was not able to go random hence the name plus it is pretty catchy tune as well.

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Q2 - Color wheel finished

I wanted to finish the color wheel so I can have picture taken on the field, lol. It is my first finish of the Q2 list which can be found HERE.

It was a big FMQ practice. Next time I might even attempt some FMQ pattern. It measures 37" and it's square. It'll become bookshelft cover.

There are many imperfect places but looking at it from a distance it makes pretty fun color wheel quilt. Plus the main goal of getting confidence while FMQ was achieved. Yes I still have tons to learn. I was so happy to read that my WIP posts encouraged some of you to do FMQ yourself.

I used pattern by Rachel called Wheel quilt. I added my own twist to it. I was after vortex look but I don't think there is much. Maybe on the back side.

I haven't always used the same thread for front and back side but it's not noticeable. Surprisingly I had no tension issues. Once I set the machine for the first log I kept the same setting for the rest. The main problem for me is to hold the quilt properly. I still sort of drag it rather than move smoothly. It would be better if I was covering the whole width of each log rather than going back and forth in lines.

My sewing corner will become really colorful with this pretty addition. Give me five! :-)
Linking up with TGIFF and Crazy mom quilts.

Looping

I keep on looping :-) I was bit worried about getting a lot of puckers as those unquilted parts seems more loose but it's going all right. Sure I made some puckers but I can live with that.

My quilting is getting better but it still needs a lot of practice. This is about gaining confidence and "I can do it" attitude rather than perfection. That first try quilting is still making me smile. I think it's totally ridiculous.

This is where I'm at. I had to go and buy some thread as I didn't have all those colors. Some of the thread I used turned out to be really shitty and after number of breakages I fully understand the importance of a good quality thread. Sure I read it many times but I always need to try for myself anyway. Not the best way to live by but yes I have a bit doubting Thomas personality.

The thread either broke completely or I ended up with messy thing around the needle so I couldn't move with it any further.

This is really a good learning experience and yes next time I FMQ I'll take matching thread with the background and I won't play brave enough to tackle contrasting thread on white background, lol.

Plus I'll be watching the fabric ends. I think I made it on both sides of the quilt. It'll be trimmed out later on so not a big deal but good learning experience.

The end is near and I really would like to finish it. At least the quilting part before moving on to something else. I bought batting for my triangle quilt so I'm all set to start on that one too. As I choose some infantile super cute polar fleece for backing the quilting will be really simple. Probably just diagonal lines only.

You might have read the post by sparkly Molli so I'm adding the button to my blog as well. I do appreciate all the lovely comments you usually leave but if you don't like something you have the permission to tell me. Doesn't have to be quilting related. You can tell me that my English is crappy but please point me to the mistakes I make otherwise I won't learn anything.

You can be sure that if I make a comment on your blog stating "I love it" I truly mean it. I try to always come up with something positive and if I can't I pass. I probably keep on doing that. There are also days when I don't feel like commenting at all. There are few bloggers to whom I'm able to tell my opinion even if it's not on sweet tune but I "know" them for a while and we usually exchange few emails afterwards. It is not about going around the blogland and telling people mean comments. Just keep it real.

Not my idea

I made one of these earlier this week for Le Challenge. I made few more 2 years ago. It is not my idea. I got the pattern locally. It's no longer available and I should have mentioned it. So I just want to make it clear the credit for this idea is not mine. 

So only a little finish this week as I'm working on other projects that requires time and the right mood :-) 

Linking up with Crazy mom quilts. 

Ballerinas back on scene

Hey Sandra, your cheering up about Ballerinas paid off. They are out of the drawer and I added chimneys!

Some of you might also remember this project. Ballerinas quilt for my girl. It was meant to be for her 7th Bday. She is going to turn 8 in September so I better work on it since I don't have fabrics for another house. The pattern is from Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman. I made it charm pack friendly and added chimney. I want to add some pinwheels and flowers to create little gardens next to the houses.

Now there is something to smile about. My FMQ. You don't get to see this type of FMQ very often. So very amateur. I know I was suppose to practice, practice and practice on squares and then take it to the quilt but I was so tired of moving around my color wheel I told myself I'll do it no matter what. I started. It was so hard to move. Few second later I realized I left the cutting mat on my table so I couldn't slide on the surface. Geeez! Problem solved. I showed it to my husband and he told me I ruined the whole thing. That couldn't stop me. I showed it to my friend. She told me that it is exactly my style. I agreed, lol.

Should I get the supreme slider? It's not cheap and not easy to get here. I saw a picture of such slider taped to the table for security reasons. That made me think. I taped piece of vinyl on my table to try it out.

I cut the hole for needle just like it is on the slider and taped to the machine. The vinyl actually sticks to the machine and on the table surface as well.

My second attemp ended up looking better.

I'm not up to some patterns yet. I just need to get comfortable with moving the quilt and finding the right speed and all that.

My color wheel is going to be my practice piece. I'm not going to unpick my first attempt. It makes me smile every time I look at it. I'm not giving up and I'm going to loop this away.

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Le Challenge - Bright

Do I have some bright fabrics for April's Le Challenge? I have some scraps from my triangle quilt I'm making. Is there something I can do with them?

I haven't found matching zipper so I made something small. Something really small :-)

It's not a purse for dwarf and it is not for keeping my souvenir coins either. It is to hold coin which you need to put into shopping cart when you go grocery shopping. You never heard of that? Well that's how we do it here :-)

My indoor pictures really don't show the fabric so bright especially compared to the field outside. I wish I had some quilt finished so I can use is as a background. Maybe the quilt would fly away since it was really windy but perfect for flying a kite.

You saw that thunder coming on the first pic, didn't you? Those colors are just yummy. I really need to take pictures of my quilts right before thunder strikes, lol. Well we didn't really expect some hailstones. The weather is really crazy these days.

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