Leftover Lighthouses

If you remember a couple of weeks ago I shared a Lighthouse Wall hanging that I had made based on our Quilt Guild's logo.  I had some extra pieces from that experiment as I had tried to get the size of the lighthouse right, and then also the "negative" of the Lighthouse.  I turned them all into mini quilts.

The back of each one is the same.  I added the little hanging triangles on the back -  you insert a dowel across and then a loop to hang on a nail.

These will all be going for sale in our quilt show "boutique" this fall.

Really Random Thursday 1.12.17

Quick!  A blog post, while I have a few minutes.  Crazy that I can blog 6 times last week and barely get to it this week.  Part of it is that I don't have a lot of sewing that I can share right now.

I spent all day sewing Saturday at studio sewing time with other quilters.  9:30-8:30, stopping a bit for eating.  But I can't really show you any of it.  SECRET SEWING (not the kind that gets published, the kind that gets gifted) The above picture is the best I can share.  Overall there will be 30 blocks - all fusible applique - stitched down.  It takes a while!

In other sewing news, I did make my first ever New York Beauty block.  Practice for our new Gridster Bee (I may have shared this already)  I also made the bee blocks.  I'll share them soon.

And also for sewing, I made my first week of the Temperature Quilt 2017.  We had temps ranging from 43 to -2 Fahrenheit.  I think this week will be just as diverse.

 On the kitten front, they are more adorable everyday.  They are starting to explore outside of their "nest", but are still confined to the bathroom for safety.

 They are also rather camera shy, and I don't want to blind them with the flash, so somewhat hard to photograph.  The above is two shots each of two of the kittens.  One wouldn't look at me. They are already developing personalities, which is interesting to see.

 I shared my new plan for meals on IG.  The kids drive me crazy asking (5 times) everyday.  It is also good because it helps me plan my weekly meals - no last minute "What am I going to make today?"  Someone suggested a kid might take over and write in McDonald's (Culvers in our case)  but instead, this happened:

Burritos is definitely a favorite around here.

 At work Mr. Riley always has flavored water in the cafeteria - and the kids always want to know the weird combinations of the day.  I opened this at Christmas and initially thought I wouldn't do anything with it.  But it is rather fun to try out different infusions.  So far my favorite is strawberry.  I suppose it gets me drinking more water, too.

One last sewing thing.  I'm trying to do something with these extra lighthouse pieces.  They are all set to be quilted into minis.  Perhaps I'll push on tonight.

Lady of the Lake Lighthouse Quilt

 My first quilt finish of 2017! 

 A Lady of the Lake Lighthouse Quilt.  Why this image, you ask? 

Because it's my local quilt guild's logo.  Cool, huh?  We are right on Lake Michigan, with Wind Point Lighthouse being a bit of a destination.  

This is very much a just for me quilt.  The quilting isn't perfect, neither are my points.  I just really wanted to try making it.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the lighthouse, which was nice, but tracing would have worked, too.

 A quilting close up. I really wish I had done the center stipple denser (more dense?)  The fabrics are Kona White and the blue is from IKEA - almost a canvas weight, but not quite.  It doesn't have the give that regular quilting cottons have.  I actually would have preferred a darker blue - but I as I'm trying not to buy more fabric, I used what I had enough  of.

 Obviously a pieced back - happy to be sewing for fun and using stuff up.  As you can see - I hung it up right away.  Finished size is about 29" square.  Batting was some left over 80/20 franken-stitched and Aurifil thread for quilting.
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In other news - I'm working on a little quilt along for a 2017 Temperature Quilt.  I have at least three others making one along with me, so I though I'd do something official!  Check back Monday for details.

 Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday Woot!

My Creative Space

The jewelry obsession has waned, and I'm back to quilting.  (although I've got one more tutorial to post)  Here are a couple of pictures of what's in the works.

 You'll remember the background from here.  I was going to do a miniature version of my challenge quilt for the show, but the idea of doing two of the same quilt didn't sound particularly fun, so this is the direction I'm going.  A light house.  The Au Sable Lighthouse in Grand Marais, MI to be exact.  I have big plans.  Embroidery, Beading. Crayons.

And here's an update on the hexes.  275 done.  They've even earned their own box.