On being an intermittent quilter...

I am, at this moment feeling very smart. I have coined a new phrase for my infrequent quilting related activities. I will now call myself an 'Intermittent Quilter'. Other things like work, the kid and general stuff keeps popping up in my life regularly to dissuade me from hooking up with the machine. 2015 began with a resolution to sew something every week....you might notice i didn't give myself a very unattainable goal. The God of fate and resolutions didn't really like my decision. So i had loads of work coming in....which is good....the kid suddenly demanding a 'something interesting to eat' for every meal and social engagements popping up with alarming frequency. Well, all this justification for just one project in the past 2 months. 

This isn't a quilt...it's a bedspread. I made it for my cousin who got married in February. 

Baby Pansy quilt

With the vacations well under i hardly find time to sew. Apart from enjoying the summer, mangoes and the kiddo's antics i managed to complete one baby quilt. 

I do have a baby in sight who can use this one! :)

The back! 

MBS Baby life quilt

I had always wanted to make this quilt. It is so simple yet so appealing. One of my all time favorite tutorials from the Moda Bake Shop. I feel this is going to be a baby quilt year for me if i don't get out of the habit of loving quick finishes.

My new year activities

The best thing that's happened this year is that things are picking up at the India Modern Quilt Guild.  Now we have new office bearers and a Quilt giveaway already happening. 2013 sure looks like an exciting year for the IMQG. I only hope I will be able to participate in every activity.  

December last year went into a flurry of weekend trips.  My family loves these little outings since it is difficult to coordinate everyone’s schedules for a long trip. We went to a beach in December and the kiddo has a lot of fun. I am thankful for a daughter who finds enjoyment in any given situation or place or weather as long as she is well fed.  A couple of days back we went climbing a fort nearby and she loved it too. My limbs are still protesting any movement but she is back to her hopping self.   

All this is indeed taking a toll on my sewing time though. I do have some WIP’s but not enough to share anytime soon. There’s this one that has been in the making for a while as a baby quilt. This one’s a wonky squares block that I found the tutorial for at Cluck Cluck Sew. All i need now is to finish this quilt AND find a baby for it :). 

Linking to Chumkie's blog for the Baby Quilts Blog Fodder.

Doodle stitch along baby quilt

With the hustle and bustle of Diwali where i made a lot of stuff that i couldn't eat and went through the agony of watching people eat my stuff and pitying me.....i was caught up with a few family gatherings and engagements which lasted till last week. All through this i could only look at my fabric and my machine and sigh. I was then inspired by my neighbor and friend, whose duties include prodding and pushing me to quilt,  to make a baby quilt. Here it is - the kiddo kindly obliged to hold it up...

IMQG Swap and WIP

Things are picking up at the India Modern Quilt Guild.  After the buddy challenge we are onto the IMQG Swap. The partners are informed and everyone seems to be busy sewing. Everyone is being super secretive and I just cannot wait to find out who is doing what for whom! I know my partner so I have an idea what she would prefer and knowing her skills I know I am going to get something very beautiful.  I just cannot reveal what I have made for her but trust me I am dying to! So here’s a sneak peak. 

I am also in the middle of a project that i am absolutely in love with. I generally prefer to work with solids more than prints. A few days back i saw this quilt called the 1930's Summer perspective at the Moda Bake shop. I loved it so much that i couldn't get it out of my head. Coincidentally, i had all the fabric i needed in my stash. So here's the quilt top ready to be sandwiched and quilted. The kiddo has claimed this one for her own and has helped me a lot while working on this quilt. She named it as 'The Rainbow Quilt'.

A WIP baby Quilt

I am not so imaginative when it comes to quilting. I prefer making stuff that i like though i seldom copy any design as it is. Since i use everything that i make myself i do not have to deal with breaking any copyrights.  Why am i telling you all this? A few days back i found a this tutorial from Cara for a lovely baby quilt which i absolutely fell in love with. I also happened to have a charm pack of Robert Kaufman that matched with that quilt. Lucky me!  Here's a sneak peak. I will post more photos when the quilt is done! Meanwhile, i have to think of a name for this quilt. 

A mug rug for a friend!

I recently went out for lunch with a friend of mine. With my maid still doing the disappearing act i didn't get a lot of time to make something for her. So i decided on a simple mug rug. She said she liked it......!!! :)

Grey steps doll quilt

My daughter has for a while demanded a quilt for her Barbie's bed. This one is quilted and ready to bind. I had some beautiful green scraps left over from another doll quilt which i used with the grey. I love how it has turned out and obviously the kiddo loves it too. 

I used this tutorial for the pattern. 

A quick post!

This entire month has gone in a mad rush with relatives and engagements and dinners and parties. I just have the time to show you my first quilt that i actually charged for. It is a baby quilt with cushions ans i hope baby Malhar loves it as much as his parents have. More on this later.......for now....just the snaps.

I am off to shop for my daughter's birthday party. Do let me know if you like this one.....being the first custom quilt i am feeling rather proud of myself :).

Small steps

When i renovated my home i had packed this little one away with my other quilting stuff. I thought i would hang it where i can see it now so that i remember to quilt a bit each day! So it will stay in my kitchen....that's the place where i am most of the day. I love the scraps that went into it and i have saved bits of all those fabrics to use again. The binding fabric is part of what i have used for the backing. It is what i picked up from my mom's stash when i went visiting her last. 

Purple doll quilt

I absolutely love purple. This purple hand loom fabric was sitting in my stash for around a couple of years. So was this charm pack. I had a sudden inspiration yesterday while i was doing other mundane stuff around the house and voila! here's the result of that inspiration. :) I can now proudly say that i can finish a project in a day. The DH liked the quilt, which was a first. He also asked me very sweetly when the inspiration would strike me again......which i think was a bit sarcastic. Regardless, i am happy and i have vowed to finish atleast one more WIP this week. That will perhaps make a tiny dent in my stack of WIP's. Fingers crossed! :)

Another Win

Shruti and me seem to have some sort of a connection. Rather i should say i have a connection with her random number generator. Whenever a giveaway is announced by her.....i win! :)

On this occasion the loot is awesome. Check it out!

There was a cute little wooden parrot, a pack of strawberry patches and a small purse which the kiddo has claimed as hers and isn't even letting me photograph them. I am going to make every one of these doll quilts. They are so yummy. My sister has some ideas about how i could use these designs and make full size quilts for her. She will have to wait! 

This is another of my WIP's. I started it long back when i was learning to piece. Piecing isn't one of my strong points even now but back then it was a nightmare for me. I decided to complete this one as it is because i want a play mat for my kid's doll house. 

A mini quilt

I had participated in a quilt block swap a few months ago. I got the lovely Mary Chow as my swap partner and she made a sweet block for me. Well, we liked each other (or the blocks we made) so much that we decided to swap mini quilts. Here's what she sent me...

She also sent me some lovely cat applique pieces to user for Ira. I am still not done with what i am making for her. Will post the pictures soon. 

Show and Tell!

When i was at my mom's place for the last month of my pregnancy i had made a couple of quilts for my baby. I never got to show them on my blog because they were packed up and left on the loft and i am kind of 'out of sight - out of mind' kind of a person. I have recently taken to check all the stored stuff because now the house is bursting at its seams. I found one of the quilts that i made for my daughter. It was a full fabric quilt with a satin and cotton combo. It was hand quilted by my mom as Ira came a week early making me abandon the project. She quilted it in white and hot pink and also added a few sparklers for the effect. Ira loves it even now.

I don't have the other quilt to show as it is well worn by now. 

Between the mad rush of Ira's fancy dress event and my house cleaning i forgot all about this table topper that i had made last week. 

I have sadly run out of batting so this little beauty will have to wait a while before i could finish it. I followed this easy peasy the tutorial that i found here.

Updates

I had a lovely vacation in Goa last week. Our anniversary gift to each other. My daughter went bonkers in the pool which was a consolation for me. The sea was kinda rough so i couldn't let her go in. I am totally refreshed and dying to get back to my embroidery and quilting.

After agonising for ages on what colors to use for the Birdie Stitches stitch along (if you follow that stitch along, you would know how hopelessly behind i am on it.......block 7 is out already). I am going to make a redwork version of it. My decision was made when i saw this beautiful fabric with a warli print in red on it. Warli is a folk form of art and it looks absolutely lovely. I just need to decide now whether it will be a cushion cover for each month or a full quilt or 3 different wall quilts for me, my sister in law and my ma in law. So whatever i decide to make it into....i will show some pictures real soon.

I am participating in a needle case swap on flickr which means i have to think how i can make a pretty one for my partner. There is also going to be a Quilt Along hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts that i am eager to join. Also let me not forget the State Flower Quilt Along which would come to it's conclusion soon. That is one project that i have immensely loved and enjoyed stitching.  So i guess that's that and since i have listed out all my 'To Do' things so publicly i would be motivated enough to finish them all.

Here's something that i did finish though.......a mug rug or a small wall hanging....whichever way my niece wants to use it.....it's her gift before i stitch up another pretty damsel for her on demand :).

A 'just-about-to-be-finished' quilt top.

This is my first independent quilt. I do hope i get it right. I have measured and measured and hope the measurements are accurate. I did follow all the steps religiously. I cut templates then used the templates to cut the fabric. I did all the calculations and got them double checked so that no fabric is wasted.
I decided on a simple 4 patch block to begin with. All the fabric is from my stash. I ironed these sewn and now they are ready to be sewn into strips. I.e. if i do not decide to change the layout. :) Hope everything goes well and i have this quilt finished by the end of this month. (That's a tall target!)

I still haven't decided upon a name. I guess something would come up by the time this is quilted and bound.

Another Win!

I won a giweaway, again! From the same blog too! Shruti's random picker seems to love me a lot :).
The best part of this win is the prize. It's $50 coupon from the Fat Quarter shop! Now i am off to shop till i drop! :)

Yippeeee!!

I won Shruti’s clutch giveaway!!! Shruti at 13 Woodhouse Road is one of my favourite bloggers.

She has a beautiful pink fabric which she will convert into a clutch and give it to ME!!! 

Well, another reason is this is the first giveaway that I have won! So the celebrations will go on till the clutch arrives!! Thanks Shruti!! 

Learning time!

What am i upto since the past few days? Roaming around the internet reading up on various tutorials on all aspects of quilting. I found a wonderful post on Sewmanyways on how to stitch half hexagons. I found another interesting tutorial on Circle Quilts on Crazy Mom Quilts. And the journey on the path of Quilting Knowledge continues.....