Another Quilt Finish--Eventide

the only place big enough to photograph this quilt is outside on my fence!

detail--I used the same plum solid for the binding. 

It has been too hot (everywhere) to do much of anything so S. and I have watched an unusual amount of DVDs lately (we finished both seasons of "Game of Thrones" in record time).

So I sewed lots of binding. Finishing both Morph's quilt and "Eventide".

I didn't realize it was only last year when Thelma had her quilt along.  Good thing I have a blog to go back and check these things.

I just love this quilt and wish it were cold enough to snuggle under it.  Maybe in October...

The fabric is a Fig Tree line called "Fig and Plum."  The pattern is by Miss Rosie.  I adore this quilt with all its soft yumminess.  My long-arm quilter did a great all over feather design (click the photos to enlarge).  Joanna's new fall line called Tapestry has a similar deep plum color.  I just *may* have to add this to my "gotta have" list.

This quilt is definitely one of my favorites. But don't just take my word for it; this quilt is also Edgar Poe approved.

King of the Quilts 

Saturday: More Catching Up, Le Petite for April, Worthy Cause

OK I am all caught up on sleep after traveling, storm watch, general insomnia, and a too busy partial week at work. Whew!  Hopefully life is back to its normal hecticness. 

I don't like to advocate for causes in this blog because that's not what you readers are here for so skip down to quilt photo if you want.

First up, now that the Royal Wedding is over with, please consider refocusing your attention to the storm victims in the Southeast.  The devastation is horrific and residents need help.  I humbly ask you to do what you can for the organization of your choosing and thank you for anything you do good thoughts, prayers, donations, quilts, whatever. Thank you.

There are too many worthy causes in this world and I am often overwhelmed by the great need out there and feel helpless with the inadequacy of my "discretionary" income each month (or lack thereof). But when I think that I have an extra $5, $10, or $20 when others do not, I know that every little bit helps.  My choice:  I follow @HomerBlindCat on Twitter.  Homer is the blind wonder-cat from the book Homer's Odyssey who has captured my heart.  Homer's mom and author Gwen Cooper has set up a donation account for Canat Veterinary Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL.  Read the blog post here. 
Many vet clinics and animal shelters in Alabama were damaged by the tornadoes and the heroic staff of Canat Veterinary Hospital is taking care of any and all animals hurt or lost by the storm. Donation page is here if you so choose.

OK onto Le Petite project for April. 

 I took my Le Petite project for April to Michigan with me and was able to complete it there during a couple of sewing days with my mom and SIL.  The pattern is a Schnibbles called Brocante by Miss Rosie and the fabric is Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda.  (I used leftover charm squares to make Mackenzie 2 bibs.)   The background fabric is from my mom's stash because I forgot to bring background fabric.  Thanks mom and I owe you some fabric!

The square-in-a-square pattern is more subtle in my version of Brocante. I'll be interested to see the other versions in the parade. 

 While I was gone my goodies from Fat Quarter Shop came.  I was so lucky to win a FQS gift certificate from the Eventide quilt along and here are the resulting goodies:  Fig Tree "Strawberry Fields" jelly roll, yardage of Christmas owls and sweet kitties on gray, and 2 patterns.  HUGE thanks to Thelma at Cupcakes n' Daisies and Kimberly at FQS!!!

Another package arrived while I was gone. Thelma who did such a wonderful job hosting the Eventide quilt along, made and sent mug rugs to all the participants.  How sweet is that???!!!??? I will send Thelma a proper thank you but I just want to say a public thanks for such sweetness.  Thelma--Really, the fun of the quilt along was more than enough and I will cherish this cute mug rug as well as the resulting quilt from the quilt along. You are too kind!

 As frequent readers of this blog know, I love to help out the Michigan economy when I visit and save up my fabric acquisition money especially for the trip.   Here's some goodies from my favorite quilt shops in Michigan:  Lake Street Mercantile, Guildcrafters, and Mabelena.  These are for my Civil War Block of the Week (that I am now behind on...)

Eventide: Parade Time

Whew!  My entry in the parade almost didn't get posted because we lost electricity in my neighborhood for about 5 hours!!!  Right when I was going to post this photo!!!

So here it is..quick before the electricity goes out again.

Edited (on 4/6/11) to add:  Sorry for the hasty post.  It really was a miracle that I got this posted on Monday night.  We had horrible storms in GA and sadly 6 people lost their lives in the weather.  Along with countless trees (including one somewhere in my neighborhood that caused our power outage before the storm even hit). 

I do want to say a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Thelma at Cupcakes n' Daisies for organizing and maintaining this quilt along.  It was so fun and supportive and I loved seeing everyone's progress on Tuesdays.  Tuesdays just won't be the same (until the next one??? hee hee). Thank you also for everyone who visited and commented during the quilt along.  Another reason why Tuesdays were so much fun--all the comments!

This is a big quilt and outside was the only place I had that was big enough to get a photo.  Really.  There isn't this much floor space in my little house.  I ordered some Moda wide backing and can't wait to get this to a long-arm quilter so I can use it this spring.  

Thanks again everyone!  To those who have asked the fabric line is Moda Fig & Plum, a line a few years ago from Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts.   I love Fig Tree fabric and I bet any of her lines would make a stunning quilt. Thank you Joanna for always designing beautiful fabric.  And a big thanks to Carrie of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. for always designing unique and challenging patterns.  Lots of pieces, but definitely worth it:)  

Eventide: Top Finished Sneak Peek

Oh how I love this quilt!!!

I love the wonderful Fig and Plum fabric by Fig Tree.  Thank you Joanna for always designing fabrics that I can't resist.

I love how the quilt is huge and is too big to get a good photo of without a quilt holder (I'll have a better photo next week for the parade).  In fact it completely covered my couch and will be perfect for my queen-size bed.

I love the colors that remind me of spring and Easter eggs and are soft colors that I don't usually use.

I love the pattern and all those Ohio stars with quarter-square triangles.  Thank you Carrie!  Although a break from quarter-square triangles for awhile would be great about now.

I'm sure S. didn't love the fact that dinner was late on Sunday until I finished sewing the last borders.  (He survived though and enjoyed homemade pizza.)

I love participating in this super-fun quilt along started by Thelma. 

I know I will love every single one of the Eventide quilts next Tuesday at the big parade!!

Eventide: Progress

Progress.  It's happening.  Hooray!!
I did get some sewing in this weekend on Eventide after having to work all day Saturday at a local event about old houses ("manning" or I guess "personing" a booth). 

All the blocks are squared up and ready to sew into rows.  I have 1/3 of the top sewn together.  Hope to get it all done soon. 


This week is my goal. 








I am having way too much fun with my iPhone  photograph apps.  Here is Stella in blurred sepia. 

Eventide: Update

What happened to last week? I can't believe it's been over a week since I've blogged. 
Slack-adasical blogger.  I am sewing sewing sewing on the Eventide quilt along...


and have the main portion of the Ohio star blocks all done. Now to make the ones with the half-square triangles in the corners.


And then square everything up and start sewing into rows.

Oh and that whole inner border thing too.

Oh my. I wonder if I will finish by the end of the month.

Not to mention that I am three months behind in Judy's UFO challenge....and we lost a hour of our weekend to daylight savings time...I really could have used that extra sewing hour...

On a much more serious note:  Sending a big hug to Japan and all the people with friends and family there.  Another unfathomable natural disaster that makes the global community feel very small and fragile. I just look at all the photos and satellite images and wonder where do you start?  Where do you start cleaning up and rebuilding and healing?  Along with the untold immediate disaster, the 9.0 earthquake moved the entire planet on its axis four inches. 

Four inches.

Four inches is sometimes too much to think about.  And sometimes having a Gomez to hug makes everything just a little bit better.

Blustery Weekend & Eventide Progress

After a very spring-like week, the weekend was rainy all day Saturday and windy and off-and-on cloudy on Sunday.  Made for great sewing weather.  Didn't feel like spring so....no spring cleaning haha!

First up was Civil War block of the week #10:  Lincoln's Platform.

 It took longer for me to pick out the fabrics for this block than to sew it together.

Also on Saturday, I worked all day on the Eventide quilt along.  I made all the large quarter-square triangles and about half of the smaller ones.    

 I did make one test Ohio star block. 

Love

This

Fabric!!

These smaller Ohio stars will be in the blues and purples with different centers and cream or taupey-gray backgrounds.

 Here's the giant quarter-square triangle block!

The large stars have green points and peach accents.

I hope to get more finished this week.

I went to Sweet Home Quilt Co. today and picked up the latest block of the month from there.  I came home and voila my blocks are made already.  Easy peasy.

Kristie was also at Sweet Home and we *may* have bought a little wool from Bad Melisa's new wool display.  There was some great plaid brown wool that would be perfect for Henrietta Whiskers.  We *may* have bought the last two pieces. But I'm not telling...

Eventide: Cutting and Sorting

As hard as it was, I did unwrap my fat quarter bundle of Fig Tree fabric and spent a good deal of time on Sunday ironing and cutting and more ironing and more cutting. 

Good thing I put a new blade in the rotary cutter. I love the colors in this line.  Peach, robin's egg blue, new leaf green, creamy white, a taupey gray, bright lilac, and a wine purple as a dark accent.

I always write all over my patterns with notes, check marks to show the steps I finished, and the colors for the different pieces. Do you?  










The next step after cutting was sorting all the pieces into block sets.  Voila!  Did that too. Now all of this fabric goodness is happy in its project bag waiting for some sewing time.   I bet lots of Eventiders out there have sewn blocks so this post is probably boring but it's progress!!!  Hooray for progress!!

Eventide: Fabric Choices

 Along with all the other BOMs, BOWs, UFO challenges, and whatever else I have going on (I really need to get this on a spreadsheet or all mapped out with my new personal assistant iVan), I am joining Thelma at Cupcakes 'n Daisies in a quilt along for the quilt Eventide. Call it Quilter's Optimism.

Quilter's Optimism:  the belief that you can accomplish many more quilting projects than are humanly possible in any given period of time.

I have successfully obtained the pattern from Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop and chose a bundle of Fig Tree fabrics from my stash (I had the choice of three...count them...three different Fig Tree bundles in my stash...oh my!)  I chose the bundle Fig & Plum from (I think) 2008.  I had another project in mind for this but have repurposed it for Eventide.

So that's my progress.  This week.  Come back next Tuesday and see if I've untied that uber-cute Moda twill trim yet.  Why is that always the hardest part??!!??  Unwrapping that nifty (and aging) bundle...