Wednesday, March 08, 2017

WIP Wednesday-only 6 to go!

I don't know about you, but I keep a close eye on my WIPs (works in progress). For awhile I went without a list, but that drove me absolutely crazy, so I went back to my list-making ways. I have been sitting at only 6 WIPs (!!!) the past few weeks. Since there are so few, I thought it would be fun to round them up and show them all today.
1. This quilt, called "dot your i's" is soooooo close to being finished....I have less than 2 rows of squircles to go! Hand quilting this has been a lovely way to recuperate from all of the busyness, deadlines and traveling that I've done in the past few weeks. (The details of the quilt can be found here.) I added the binding to the quilt after I quilted the background, but before I quilted the squircles, in order to prevent the edges from fraying as I worked on it. The beautiful thing is that once I'm done quilting that last squircle, I'm DONE! It will be a happy day!
2. My kaleidoscope quilt has been a WIP off and on (mostly off) for the past few years. I'm excited to get back to it, though. I LOVE the scrappiness and the bright colors. Many thanks to my friends in my Sew Sisters quilting bee for making me such beautiful blocks! (The free templates are available here and here.) I have a long way to go on this one.
3. I'm calling this one "need more coffee" and it will be a lap size quilt... someday. I think I only have 34 blocks to go! I'm glad that I kept the colors mainly red and white, although a full on scrappy version of this would be lots of fun, too! (The pattern is the same as my mini coffee cups, I'm just making 100+ blocks!)
4. This log cabin quilt is only 25% done. I'm itching to get back at it! I've considered challenging myself to make one block a day, to motivate me to jump back in. Maybe I'll start that next week. Ha! I want this to be a KING size quilt for my bed. It would be nice to get it finished in time for summer, although that doesn't seem too likely. (The measurements for this block can be found here.)
5. These are my waiting blocks. I only have 8 more to go to make a lap size quilt. (Pattern is here.)  I'm pretty sure that this is my oldest WIP. I still love them quite a lot, which is a good thing after 2+ years!
6. And this one....I'm in the process of quilting my BBT 3! I hope to finish it SOON! (The pattern is available here.)

My plan is to finish up one or two of the projects shown above, then I believe that I will let loose and start ALL THE THINGS. I can't wait! :)

18 comments:

Gretchen Weaver said...

I love all your projects. I've saved the Kaleidoscope patterns for a future quilt. I have several projects going right now that I need to finish first. Thanks for the inspiration!

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Great job only having 6 WIPS and keeping them on track! Thanks for sharing them today. It's fun to see all the colorful fabrics going on in your studio!

CherylB said...

Ohhh so excited for you! So funny you are quilting your BBT I too am about to start quilting my first BBT! I've never done meandering but would love too. Probably not the best quilt to start that on but I will one day! Probably stick to a large spiral

Katherine said...

Woohoo! Good for you in determining to whittle that WIP list down before busting out with some new projects! Those are 6 very fun projects you're getting close to finishes, my friend. Happy stitching!

ConGhin said...

Your WIPs are so inspiring. Each is unique but all look like your projects. I have a question I hope you will address. On the last project where you are meander quilting it on your home sewing machine, I noticed you started on one side rather than in the center and worked out. Does that work? I have tried to start in the center and then I feel like I'm moving the quilt all the time. This would be so much easier. I'd love to hear your thoughts about techniques for quilting on home machines. Thanks.

Mary said...

Are the "waiting blocks" pieced or appliqued? I like them as well as the other wip. Only 6 - wow!

DeniseClaire said...

This question has probably been asked before, but ON A SCHOOL DAY, how many hours a day do you spend sewing (including the evenings) on average?


It seems as if you have more than 24 hours in your days!

Amanda Jean said...

ConGhin,

That is a great question! I always start from one side while I am free motion quilting, never in the center. I have addressed that subject here:

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2014/06/machine-quilting-101-working-your-way.html

Hopefully that helps!

AJ

Amanda Jean said...

Mary Howland,

The waiting blocks are appliqued. :)

AJ

Amanda Jean said...

Denise Claire,

That is a good question! I usually work about 9-10 hours a day. Not all of that is sewing, mind you! That includes admin, writing, shipping, sewing, and hand stitching. I am a bit of a workaholic, but I do cook dinner for my family almost every night! :) I most certainly don't have more than 24 hours in a day. Who has the energy for that? Ha!

I hope that helps!

AJ

Tiffany said...

WOW! You are rocking it!

Mary Marcotte said...

The WIPs are gorgeous! And everyone one so bright and colorful. Do you ever just start a project with yardage? I have tons of scraps, but that's because I alternate between quilts that start with yardage and quilts that start with scraps. So one feeds the other. Plus there's some form of clean up (of scraps) in the system. You just seem to use scraps All. The. Time. and that makes no sense at all because the scraps have to come from somewhere.

Laura VanVleet said...

Beautiful projects! Quite frankly, I am amazed that you are quilting a large quilt on a table top machine! Is your meandering free style or a setting on the machine? The quilting is beautiful!

Amanda Jean said...

Laura VanVleet,

The meandering is free style, not a setting on my machine. I love quilting on my domestic sewing machine! Thanks for your kind words about the quilting. :)

AJ

Amanda Jean said...

Mary at Fleur de Lis quilts,

I do start a quilt from yardage sometimes...although it has been less often these days. I love using scraps most of all! Some of my scrap quilts will use yardage if I need to round things out. I have a lot of friends that support my scrap habit, but I also make a LOT of scraps myself. I hope that helps!

AJ

Suzanne said...

I love reading you post and seeing your list. I am glad I read all the comments. You are kind to answer the questions folks had. I'll be doing the meandering on slopes on my machine at home too. I think it take practice but is doable and rewarding.

Ps. I always suspected you cooked nightly for your family but I wondered how long you logged in the sewing room. Now I know. No wonder you get so much done. You use your time!

ConGhin said...

Thanks for your response to my question, Amanda Jean. I'll look up your post and read your recommendations. I have a baby quilt I'm ready to start quilting and will use your technique.

Di~ said...

Lookin' good! and a little overwhelming! :)