selina quilts

Monday, May 28, 2012

Link to tutorial for Garden Fence quilt

This is the link for the tutorial for the Yellow and Green quilt below. I was in a hurry to do the post and forgot to include it. It's a great tutorial.
http://thiscraftyfox.blogspot.com/2011/06/garden-fence-pattern-wip-planning.html

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Hand 2 Hand 2012 Charity Quilt Challenge

This is one of my favorite quilt patterns. It is so versatile. I have done it with fussy cut centers of children novelty fabric several times for quick gifts. This quilt and the one that follows is for the 2012 Hand 2 Hand Charity Quilt challenge. I will be linking to their show of all of this years quilts. Please stop by http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/search/label/Hands2Help on Sunday.

This is one of the 1600 quilts. It is such a fun quilt to make. You don't need to compete with anyone but yourself. It goes together mindlessly. I put on a DVD and just GO. I personally found it took longer to iron it than it did to sew it.

This is the back of the 1600 quilt. It is such a fun fabric. I believe it is a Dr. Seuss. No picture of the back of the other quilt it was pretty but plain.

I got 3 more of my Swoon blocks done. 7 done out of 16. I found a real motivator. I booked some time with my long arm quilter for the end of July to have this done. Now I need to keep my end of the bargain.

This is the 3rd block. I went to bed last night with the block in 3 big pieces. Just too tired to finish the last 2 seams. Can you tell which seams I'm talking about. Well I got up this morning and decided to finish it before all of the holiday plans kicked in and voila, I not only put one piece on the wrong end I did both pieces wrong. The one mistake I can accept but after sewing it I ironed it and never noticed it was wrong before adding the other side.

My ripper works well and it was fixed in a matter of 10 - 15 minutes. This should be the worst thing to go wrong with my weekend.

I hope to get some quilting in between errands, picnics and parties this long weekend here in the states. I'm heading out to get my toes done so they will look pretty in my sandals.

Enjoy your holiday. Go hug a veteran and say thanks.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Over Achiever : )

So my goal for this weekend was to make 2 Swoon blocks for my King Size quilt. I think I must be just a little bit of an over achiever. I made these four and cut out the pieces for another. My backgrounds are a very light gray with white flowers and light gray with little bits of red and white. Picked them up at 50% off at my LQS. I'm planning on making the bulk of the blocks from my stash. So far 3 of the 4 are from stash. I did pick up the oranges the day I picked up the background. I don't know how this picture will look once I publish but right now that bottom right block looks very pink, it's actually red.

Since I work for a living the sewing is back on the back burner. Hoping to get the cut out block pieced over the course of this week. Have a good one.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

H2H2012 Finishes - Sneak Peak

I had a wonderfully productive week. My committment to the H2H 2012 project is done. Here are sneak peaks of the 2 quilts that I sandwiched, quilted and bound (that looks weird) this week. Next Sunday will be a linky party at http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/

for all of the contribution quilts for this years event.

I just checked my list of projects for May and I have 7 out of 10 completed. My problem today is that I want to start something that's not on the list. Oh well there's always tomorrow for the list. Today I want to start on my next Swoon quilt. This one will be for a King size bed. That's 16 blocks. I need it completely finished by the beginning of September for the 1st night we spend in the new house.
That means finishing in time to send out to be quilted and back for binding.
Goal for this weekend is 2 blocks.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Swoon is officiallu finished and the 100th post winner

This is the zip pouch I worked up for Loralynn in her requested colors of Black and Pink. I absolutely love the combo. The pin cushion is just an extra I'm throwing in because the pouch is empty. There was also a Chocolate and Raspberry candy bar that has mysteriously gone missing. Will need to stop back at the store before mailing.

The inside of the pouch has a pink pocket on polka dots. The back of the pin cushion is made from the scraps from the pouch. The star on the front of the pin cushion is from the corners chopped off the joining of the binding strips from the Swoon quilt. They were just lying there begging for a new lease on life.

Now on to the big finish.

I posted about this quilt coming back from the quilter back in February

http://selinaquilts.blogspot.com/2012/02/another-productive-week.html

It was quilted by Sarah Russett of Sweet Potatoe Quilts, close ups are at the posting above.

She did such a wonderful job.

It has been sitting patiently waiting to have it's binding put on. Since it is for a gift I need for the end of the month I had to get a move on. My problem was that the longer it sat the bigger the job was getting in my head. In actuallity it took 3 evenings. I think I had gotten it up to a bit over a week in my head. DUH!

I took pictures today because it was so bright outside and I found that every shot had MJ in shadow. The thing is about 81x81 and is quite heavy. Here is a shot of MJ between takes. It was sweet of all 6'3" of him to help hold it up so I could get a shot of it in it's entirety. The binding is the same deep purple fabric as the center block. Very simple clean finish.

OK so for my small projects for the Month of May list - details here http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/ I can cross off the Swoon and the 3 purses. I really had intended on making 3 purses not counting the purse for the 100th posting which I hadn't even thought of at the time but 3 done is still 3 done. I'm now off to sandwich and quilt one of H2H quilts. Maybe I'll get one done this weekend.

Be productive and have a wonderful Mother's Day.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

And the winner is...........

Congratulations Loralynn, I will whip up a Black and Pink zip pouch for you this weekend and will get it off in the mail on Monday if you will send me your address. I will send you an email about that in a few minutes.

I want to thank you all for your kind words and for following along. I am so enjoying the blogging experience.

I have been working on hand stitching down the binding on the Swoon quilt this week. I have it about half way done. I should get it finished Friday, Saturday at the latest. Saturday here is supposed to be a great day and I hope to get a few good pictures of it to post. Then on to the other items on my list of to do's for May.

Today I went to my LQS in search of backing for my H2H quilts. Found some great stuff in the "sale" room. I not only got backing for the H2H quilts but I found a couple of great grey print Moda fabrics (still hiding in the trunk) to use as the background on another Swoon quilt I plan on making this summer in King size. The sale room was full and I managed to get 18 - 19 yards of fabric for $102. All of it ends of bolts so it was 50% off. Painful but so worth it.

Enjoy the day and thanks again for your continued support. Here's to the next 100 posts. Selina

Friday, May 4, 2012

This is my 100th posting, oh my

I can't believe it, this is my 100th post. Where has time gone. I feel like I just started doing this. Meeting all of you great people. I must celebrate. Maybe by the end of this blog I will have dreamt up a give away.

I have signed up for the May Small Projects group with Amanda Jean at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/ I am off to a good start. It was easy, I picked the smallest items on my list so I could see the list shrinking before my very eyes.

I have 3 pouches/purses on my list so when I saw the Strippy Pouch made by Freda at http://imperamagna.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-all-betty-lous-fault.html#comment-form with a link to the tutorial I knew I’d have to make at least one of them from that design. The tutorial was great when I took the time to read it. It’s been a bad week for my allergies. My eyes itch all the time so I am not reading instructions fully. I picked up all of the measurements correctly, thankfully. And on Tuesday night I cut out all of the pieces necessary to make the pouch as pictured and one without the strippy effect. I even put the front and back of the outsides together and made the straps before I called it a night.

Wednesday I did the tailoring requested by my neighbor. 1st thing officially off of the list.

Last night I went back to the Pouches. Generally I don’t make boxed bottoms the way the tutorial did. It looked easier so I thought I’d give it a try. See the red lines on the upper right corner and on the upper left corner. Well that’s where I wasn’t paying attention and with a RED Pigma pen I marked the wrong corners for the boxed BOTTOM. Things went better for awhile until it was time to sew the corners for the boxed bottom before tuning inside out. I scrolled past that step. Minor, I know but a pain none the less. End result is great except for the red lines on the back. 2nd thing officially off of the list.

I apparently didn’t have enough pain for the evening so I went to work on the second pouch. Error number 1, do you see the strip of fabric in the picture in front of the pouch?

Can you guess what it is? You are correct , it is the strap that I forgot to attach. DUH. Error number 2 was just plain stupid. This is about my millionth pouch so far this year. I sewed seams for the outside and inside and sewed the corners just beautifully. I went to turn it right side out and found that I never opened the zipper, not only didn’t open it I sewed the pull on the outside of the seam so I couldn’t even cheat it open. Had to rip open the seam, the same seam that I could have put the strap in if I had realized it was sitting on the table laughing at me. I did put a pocket in this one and am quite happy with it.

At this point I’m not sure what direction I want to go, mark it off my list as completed or rip open the lining and the side seam and insert it. I guess it will depend on how itchy my eyes are over the weekend.

Well tonight I want to get started on binding the Swoon quilt. I think that may be my biggest project of the month. I’d like to at least get the machine part done by Sunday night. Then I can park it on the dining room table and work on it in between things as time permits. 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there add up.

How’s your list moving along???????

My 100th Posting Give Away

Ok so I have decided how to celebrate. I will make yet another pouch, with pocket and strap and will put a surprise inside. If you want in just let me know if you have a favorite color combo. If I have it in my stash I'll do it. If not I'll come up with something. I will pick a winner on Wednesday, May 9. I will ship internationally so everyone can play.

Thanks for visiting. Selina

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Small Project Sew Along List

These 2 tops are on my list for the Small Project Sew Along being organized by Amanda Jean over at

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/ for the month of May.

My list of small projects so far for this month goes like this:

1. Finish the Green and Yellow quilt above for the H2H project (see the button)
2. Finish the 1600 Jelly Roll quilt also for the H2H project
3a. Make a small purse
3b. Make another small purse
3c. Make a third small purse
4. Tailor a pair of pants for a friend
5. Bind my swoon quilt which is a gift for a friend's anniversary at month's end
6. Bind my granny square quilt for my sister, just because.
7. Make the rest of the half square log cabin blocks for an additional quilt for H2H time permitting
8. At least one more block of the Harrington and Hannah block of the month from http://theraspberryrabbits.blogspot.com/ I've fallen way behind.

Now that these are written down maybe it will be easier not to loose track and start too many other things cause we all know that's gonna happen.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

First I'd like to thank all of you who dropped by during the Table Topper Blog Hop. I would especially like to thank all of you who left such wonderfully supportive notes. My goal for this evening is to respond to them.

I am running late with that because we were away for the Blog Hop. We were in sunny (maybe not so much) Florida looking for a retirement home. We've still got 3 years but thought that prices etc. may not hold out that long so we should strick while the iron is hot.

To make a lonnnnnnnnng story short we are the proud owners of a piece of land in The Villages. House to be built on it this summer. It looks like an amazing place to retire to. Saw in their weekly news of things to do at least 7 quilt groups and many groups of crafters of every kind. Any one out there from there?

We were gone for the entire Hop and MJ let me use his tablet to keep track of the goings on. We have a household where we each have our own toys because I am really hard on them. It was really big of him to offer his tablet and true to form I somehow messed it up. He now has all of my December blog pictures on his tablet. I have no idea how I did it and we can't figure out how to undo it. What is it that they say about good deeds?

Since I've been back I have managed to do another pouch for a friend.

She was looking for something to replace her purse on workdays to cut down on the number of bags she totes around. This one needed to fit into the bag she uses to carry her computer back and forth.

I got creative. Here is a zipper pocket for change.

Slots for credit cards and space for bills. The piece of velcro works with the next picture of the flap

that will cover over the cards and bills

I then went to clean up the sewing room and remembered the posting by Beth at Love Laugh Quilt about Half Log Cabin Free style. Needless to say I didn't get the room cleaned up unless you count using some of the scraps as cleaning up. http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/2012/04/half-log-cabinfree-style.html

4 blocks down 36 more to go.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

My Turn for the Table Topper Blog Hop

1st, thanks madam Samm for organizing this event, such fun, and so many talented participants. An incentive to us all.

When M Samm sent out the first notice of having Table Topper blog hop I HOPPED on board. Had no idea what I was getting into. I actually didn't have a clear idea of what a Table Topper was. I guess I had seen them around Blog land but never gave the title much thought.

After reading the basic requirements I realized I needed to buy something, always a fun thing, like the Table Topper frame. If you have been following me you know that I really have a problem doing one of anything. Why would this be any different. The requirements were to make a topper for the 12 by 14 frame. When I went to http://theraspberryrabbits.blogspot.com/ to find the frame I found that one, and a bigger one, like 12X24 big. In for a penny in for a pound.

My first completed Table Topper was inspired by this cocktail napkin

I finished my topper in time for my families Easter Sunday celebrations

Here is the photo I took last week outside in the sun, much better light.

Bunny wasn't my first idea, just the first completion, that darn napkin got me sidetracked. My first idea was to make a star block. The star is my go to block for everything. I need a quick quilt and that's where I head. While my topper came out well beyond my hopes it does have its issues.

I don't know which end is up !

Therefore there is no hanging pocket only pins.

The bunny and the star both were large stitch hand quilted. Something I enjoy but don't do much of.

So now on to the topper that isn't exactly part of this hop because it is outside of the designated size.

What can I say, it is an addicting type of quilting.... and I had the frame.

see how big, it barely fit on this table.

I needed to make the back pretty but plain because I live in a townhouse, not a lot of big spaces and this is a darn big frame. It is now residing on the buffet in my dinning room with its Pretty but boring back facing a mirror. This piece has a traditional pocket and was machine quilted in the ditch.

It's funny what you see when you look at a picture that you don't notice in reality. For instance that in the reflection in the mirror I can see my favorite Halloween quilt hanging on the wall. I'm guessing it's been up since October. It's several sun bonnet Sue's dressed as witches. I hope she enjoyed Christmas and New Year's and Easter, no sense in putting her away now, she might as well enjoy her summer.

I do hope you enjoyed this stop on the Hop. I had a great time participating. Please continue to follow along and go back and visit anyone you may have missed.

Table Topper Blog HOP Schedule

Monday April 16th

Tuesday April 17th