One of my family members (well, my husbands family, but she's still like family to me) is participating in Relay For Life for the second year in a row. Last year she walked on another persons team, and this year she decided to form her own team. They have done really well with their fundraising, and have been working really hard to try to earn as much for the cause as they can. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer so it's a very important event for many people. When she asked me if I would be willing to make a quilt for them to raffle off, I didn't hesitate. I also wasn't aware that I would be moving though so that has been a bit of a hiccup in my plans to get it finished in time. Luckily, she gave me 3 months notice! I have a few more weeks to work on it and it is slowly but surely coming along.
This is where I was when I last took a photo. I now have sashing between the blocks on the four bottom rows and those rows are all sewn together. That means my top if halfway completed! The pattern I used for this quilt is called Pow - Wow by CluckCluckSew. All the fabrics are various lines (but all in the same color family) from Denyse Schmidt. I love how all her lines seem to play so well together. I wanted the quilt to appeal to a broad range of people. Not just women and not just people who love traditional quilt designs. I feel like younger people - and maybe even men - would be willing to buy a raffle ticket to win this quilt. People who are less likely to already own a handmade quilt, you know?
Now, if you are anything like me, you tend to get bored during a project that takes awhile. For me that is dangerous because I always decide to start something new in the middle of what I am already working on!
The other day I made this Sidekick Tote (yes, another Noodlehead pattern. I'm addicted.) I used a black and white stripe for the body of the bag, Constellations by Lizzy House for the pockets, and a bit of Amy Butler dots for some homemade bias tape. Y'all, that part was hard. I've never made bias tape before. And if I never do it again that would be just fine by me.
Another thing I have been itching to try - like, for a few YEARS now - is paper piecing. When the Summer Sampler Sew - Along by Ellison Lane Quilts started, I wanted to jump in SO bad! Those little popsicles! Anyway... I needed a bit of instruction since I had no clue how to even begin paper piecing (other than printing the pattern). I tried the quick paper piecing tutorial that Jennifer(aka Ellison Lane Quilts) put together and I made this:
I know it's just one tiny 6 inch block, but I did it! I was over the moon excited about this. Not because this little block is particularly striking and overly complicated, but because learning this new technique has opened up so many other possibilities for me in the things I can make. Now I never have to pass up a super cute pattern because it lists paper piecing as one of the techniques used in it's construction. Yay!
