Bestie QAL

I have had a crazy month.   I was going to end the post with that, but thought I better explain... especially to my besties who roped invited me to join in their Bestie QAL.  

I have had a number of wonderful opportunities come my way in the last 8 weeks, and with this blessing of good fortune is alot of time crunching quilting.   And I can't even share it with you for a while, so please hang in there and when I can, I will shout it out!

This past week, I got a lovely email from Bestie Candice  asking how my 'Swoon' blocks were coming along.  Now knowing this lovely lady, I know that email really meant, 'Why haven't you worked harder on those blocks?  You do nothing all day but drink coffee and eat chocolate!'  

Now my dear readers, you know I jest, but let's be honest, there is A LOT of drinking coffee and chocolate eating going on in my studio on a daily basis.

I should mention that the other Bestie in this scenario is Jana, and she is not getting any lectures from anyone named Candice, because she purposely planned to be due right in the middle of the QAL.. how convenient is that I wonder?

This weekend, I packed my 'Swoon' supplies and lugged them up to our weekend get away and went to town and got 3 more done!  

What do you think?  Am I off the hook for a week or two now so I can meet some deadlines?

Bestie Block #2 Done

Whew... #2 Swoon block is done on my Bestie QAL.  Have I mentioned before that each block is a whopping 24" big?  You can see our photos at our Flickr site.  It is not too late to join!  You don't have to do the same pattern as us, just work away at a QAL with us!

A while ago I participated in a 'Quilting Arts' challenge and totally forgot that it was also a swap.   Look what came in the mail today for me.

Isn't it beautiful?  The writing is all about artists. How clever was she to embrace the 'art' part of 'heart' in yarn?  I felt a lot better about not getting published after I saw this one, as this is a real winner and it didn't get picked either.  Different tastes and different ideas.   Well, they did an excellent job sending the perfect one to me.  I love it!

A Potential Solution for Scraps

The smartest people check out my blog!  Do you know how I know this?   They leave the most brilliant comments to all my dilemmas.   The other day I asked what I was going to do with all the triangle scraps from my Bestie QAL and got several great ideas.

The one that made a light bulb go off in my head was from Michelle G:

 Michelle G said...

The book Sunday Morning Quilts has some really good tiny scrap buster ideas. Amanda Jean who co-authored the book also has this tutorial on Sew Mama Sew. It's in kids section it is called the ticker tape mini quilt. see this link. 

After checking it out, and seeing that they had sewn little scraps onto a background... it got me thinking how I could embellish that a bit further=)   Here is what I came up with so far:

What do you think?  I put it on a dark hand dyed grey background and thinking maybe a light pink or brown would be better.

Marti left a comment asking how we sort our scraps.. by colour or size etc.. so if you have a great tip, please let us know.

I have my Bestie Block #2 all cut out and partly sewn.  Notice the dots.  I think any fabric designer that puts dots in their fabric line is simply awesome!

Are you doing the Bestie QAL as well?  If so, how far along are you?  And if not, come on, join the fun.    You can leave a pic of your work in progress on our Flickr group.

Calling All Besties...

I need help!  Big time.  If you have emailed and said you were going to join in the Bestie QAL with me, you need to do so right now!  Don't wait, don't eat, don't sleep... run to your cutting table and start cutting... anything.  Why the panic in my typed words?

Today I followed a pattern for the first time in 5 years.  Yes, I am an art quilter which really means we can't follow a pattern, so we have to have a name for ourselves other than, 'rule breaker'.  Art quilter sounds catchy, doesn't it?   I do on occasion use a pattern, but it is for a tutorial that I have written, therefore it incorporates all of my mistakes=)

Today I accomplished the first block of my Bestie QAL and it almost did me in!   There was a cutting guide, 3 different fabrics, and points!  Yes points... and to clarify, you never see a point on any of my art quilts.   I need you to join me in this QAL, to motivate me, inspire me and keep me from slashing my points.

Here are some progress shots:

Not to brag, but look at these points!  Notice I am only showing you one small section of the block?

This is my first block completed.  

I have 8 more to go.   This block is 24"!  This is the biggest quilt block I have ever made.   It is the size of most of my art quilts.   And my besties want 8 more?   If you don't join me, I may only end up with this one and it may be easier to have another baby and say it is a baby quilt, rather than do 8 more blocks!   Do you see the seriousness of this?   

Are You Ready for Our Bestie QAL?

My fabric finally arrived and we are getting started on our first ever, probably first ever in the whole entire quilting world, Bestie QAL!

I know some of you have been waiting for us to get things underway.   The rules are  simple.   You  and your Bestie each make a quilt.  Candice, Jana and I are all using the fabric from the line 'Flea Market Fancy' by Denyse Schmidt and the pattern 'Swoon' by Camille Roskelley.   You can see both here.

You can work at your own pace, use your scraps, or your favourite collection, and pick your own pattern or use the same as us. We  have a Flickr page set up so you can post your progress as well.  If your Bestie doesn't quilt, you can be my blog Bestie and do it with me=)

Here is a picture of the collection of fabric, I had to pick 18 fat quarters out of 21.  

The agreement with Candice and Jana is we all do the same centre block and then pick our own colours for the rest.   I am just waiting for Candice to pick the fabric for the centre.  Really hope she doesn't go  with the directional print, as I am challenged that way trying to get everything to go the right way!

In the meantime I have matched mine up in pairs.

What do you think of my matching?   Leave a comment telling me if you have started yet.

To make it really fun, what do you think the nicknames are that I call Candice and Jana?

Introducing the Bestie QAL

Imagine my delight when I got an email asking if I wanted to join in a Bestie Quilt Along with two of the sweetest gals around?  These fabulous quilters and I have been friends for a few years now and have only met each other once!  But we had the best time when we were together that it solidified our friendship forever.  Candice, who has a heart of gold, and Jana who has the best sense of humour ever, invited me along.  Candice is the genius behind this adventure and describes it this way, 'Way back when, I had a brilliant idea of having identical Bestie quilts, you know so that you can snuggle "with your Bestie" wherever you are!'  

I didn't mention to them that I have never done a QAL, let alone a Bestie QAL, so I am a tad bit nervous.  How embarrassing would that be to screw up!   In order to keep me straight and narrow, I want to invite you guys along, my blog besties!

 The details are quite simple.  Select fabric and a quilt pattern with your Bestie, and make identical quilts!  For this QAL, Jana, Candice, and I will be using Flea Market Fancy, and the Swoon Quilt Pattern.  Feel free to use the fabric and pattern that we're using, or come up with your own combination- the choice is totally up to you!  

Image taken here

By Camille Roskelley

The best part, is that there isn't a rigid QAL schedule that you need to keep up with, just sew at your pace and know that others are rooting for you to finish.  I'd love to hear if you're interested in joining; simply leave a comment below and I'll work on setting up a Flickr Group, so that we can share progress photos.