Modern HST Sampler

I didn't plan to join any BOMs this year, but I couldn't stand the temptation. The Aurifil Designer of the Month hosted by Pat Sloan, had a way too good January block to be overlooked. Now I am hooked, and I know the 12" blocks will look good together with all these talented designers!

In addition, Alyce over at Blossom Heart Quilts is hosting The Modern HST Sampler. Every second week we get a new tutorial for a HST block, and there will be 24  12" blocks when the QAL is done.

I have chosen to use the Good Neighbors fabric designed by Amanda Jean Nyberg for Connecting Threads for the QAL. I am using a light aqua solid for the background. The two first blocks are now completed, and I am really pleased with the result. Looking forward to the rest of the blocks!

Candy block

Ninja block

Keep on quilting!

2016 Aurifil January Block

Pat Sloan has yet again started the designer of the month block program; for 2016 there are 12 talented designers that will present 12 1/2" blocks in blue and white.

For January the designer is Heather Valentine. Her block is called Swirl Away, and you can find the pattern HERE. My version is shown above.

I am not sure whether I will make all my blocks in blue and white, as you can see here I also added in some grey in addition to red stars. Let's just see where this is heading.

Keep on quilting!

First Finish in 2016

Winter has finally come full blast with lots of snow. The blue light in the short days of winter is a good backdrop for my Color Me Happy quilt, all in a cold palette.

The quilt is made from a stack of 40 so-called Turnovers, or triangles. I can understand why this pre-cut has not gained any widespread popularity, since I had this stack in my shelves for a couple of years before I got inspired to use it.

I added solid stripes of 1 1/2" width in a contrasting color in between the triangles, sewed it together and squared it up to 10". Then I cut 10" squares in grey, light blue and white. I love the colors, they fit so well together!

The arrangement of the blocks are kind of random, and I like the way the contrasting stripes makes a kind of zig-zag path across the quilt.

I have not photo-shopped the pictures, because I like the natural light an overcast day has in the middle of a snow filled winter. An indoor shot of the quilt and more quilting details can be found in this post.

I used a leftover piece of Britten Nummer (from Ikea) for the back. This quilt will be donated to the children's ward of my local hospital, and I like that the children can learn to count in English when they use the quilt.

This is my 11th charity quilt for the hospital. I hope it will bring some comfort to a sick child.

Here the quilt is spread out on a huge pile of snow outside my house. I can hardly imagine that there was no snow here two weeks ago!

The snow was nice and dry, so after the photo shoot I just just gave the quilt a nice shake, and all the snow came off.

The quilt will be washed and dried before it is donated.

This is my first finish for the 2016 Finish-A-Long. My original goal list is here.

This is also my first finish of a UFO in 2016. I had the stack of triangles for approximately two years until I got the courage to make something out of it. It is never too late!

Keep on quilting!

Linked up to Let's Bee Social, Linky Tuesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.

Progress on my Color Me Happy Quilt

This indoor picture of a quilted Color Me Happy quilt is the best I can do right now. It is late in the evening, a lot of snow outside, and the binding is not yet on.

The starting point of this quilt is described in this post. A couple of years ago I won a stack of "Turnovers" (or 10" triangles) of Color Me Happy by V & Co. I have never seen this pre-cut before or after. What should I make from these 40 triangles?

I added a stripe of contrasting solids in between the triangles, made twenty 10" blocks, and added 15 solid blocks in grey, light blue and white. The layout of the quilt is kind of random/modern. I will show better pictures of the quilt when I have put binding on it and manage to get home when there is still daylight.

This will become a charity quilt for the children's ward at my local hospital. It is approximately 47" x  66" before washing and drying. It was quilted with an all-over swirls&loops design. I think I will put a navy binding on it, and then it will fit both boys and girls.

I am thereby close to finishing my first goal for the 2016 Finish-A-Long!

My 2016 Finish-A-Long list for Q1

A new year, with new opportunities! This will be the year when I finish a lot of UFOs (or WIPs as I like to call them). I have joined the 2016 Finish-A-Long to help me focus on unfinished projects, and get an incentive and push to complete them in this Quarter.

My first goal is to hand quilt and finish this Baby Quilt.

 Last year I started making the QM Bitty Blocks, along with many others. But, I have not seen very many completed projects on blogs!

I did the Bow Ties, Baskets and Log Cabins before it stopped, or paused. My Goal #2 is to make more of these super cute blocks made of scraps, and to complete a quilt, most likely a small one, but even though!

My third goal is to turn this stack of triangles, or Turnovers as they are called, into a quilt of some kind. I won the stack of 40 triangles in a giveaway a year or two ago. I haven't seen this pre-cut around a lot, and it will be interesting to start working with it!

My fourth and last goal for this quarter is to complete the quilt top for the quilt Love Squared. This has been a goal in last year's FAL, but I never managed to start making it. I hope I will manage it this time!

See the lists for the other participants here.

Keep on quilting!

The Start of a New Year

2016 is in its new beginning and plans are starting to emerge. This year I have joined one quilting bee, and will also join the Modern HST Sampler QAL by Blossom Heart Quilts.

This is my January bee block, and it will be sent off in the mail in a couple of days.

I don't have many definite plans for quilts in 2016, but I know there will be made a few charity quilts, and I will try hard to finish some of my UFOs (or WIPs as I like to call them).

In the mean time I am hand quilting my First Love quilt, that's a very relaxing and rewarding project!

Keep on quilting!