Celtic Wave QAL - Update

So, it's the end of March and the closure of Bag #3 for Celtic Wave QAL. Have you been keeping up with it??? I actually think it was easier to keep up when it was every week, at least from my perspective, every week meant that every Sunday night I took pics and wrote a blog post. Every other, just isn't as smooth. I think I will keep that it mind if I do another one of these....

Checkpoint 3 : March 17 -  31 : Bag 3 

Started like this..... 

Bag #3 was a quick one -- just 8 units. I got mine all finished and trimmed, and here they are....

Here's the rest of the schedule for the next couple of months...

Checkpoint 4 : March 31 - Bag 4 start

Here's the homework for the nest two weeks.....using these fabrics, cut the required templates. This is am easy one, it should literally take just an hour or so, which is convenient, given the number of things going on around here these days....

Checkpoint 5 : April 14 - Curved Piecing
Checkpoint 6 : April 28 - Border Units (if you are doing the Queen)
Checkpoint 7 : May 12 - Start Assembly
Checkpoint 8 : May 26 - All DONE!!!!

How are you coming along on getting your Celtic Wave done??? What colors are you doing???

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

A Trip -I so Love a Trip !!!

Well, the calendar is filling up fast!!!

I just booked two retreats....in far off and not so far off locations!

The first, will be in July on the 9th, 10th and 11th in Porterville, CA at The Calico Mermaid! If you have never been there, you should go. It is an adorable shop, owned by a lovely couple, Georgia and Richard Goode. Bonus : he makes smoked pork shoulder almost as tasty as my Dad, and that is saying a lot, since I am from the BBQ capital!!! I'm super excited about teaching in the Central Valley, since I'll get to see friends that I haven't seen in a while! So, give the shop a call and reserve your spot.

My other retreat is for me! I get to be an attendee!!! I'm heading out to Montana for the new Judy Niemeyer Certified Instructor pattern! Super excited to go and see what she has cooked up next for us!

We're starting to get all of our spring market literature. Pittsburgh is less than 2 months away at this point, so we're starting to get sneak peaks of new lines that will be released at market, and new patterns....super excited for all the new stuff now that Spring has officially sprung!

So, have a great day, and I'll see you all soon!

Catherine

Curvy Town Alert

So, we're in crazy mode this week.... Working on Osprey's Nest curved piecing....

Each block has 4 curves seams and there are 63 blocks, so, by the end of tomorrow, I will have sewed 252 curved seams. I am currently at 8. I have a long way to go!

Once that is finished, I am going to work on the curved binding on my Bali Bedrunner. The Bedrunner has been quilted for a little over a year, but it was on a road trip all over SoCal, without any binding, so while it is on vacation for a week, it is getting dressed properly! 

And after that, well, I'm not 100% sure. I have lots of things I could do, even several i should do.....but we will see....

Other things that have to be accomplished this week :

* pack for Henderson Guild Show next weekend - includes new kits, new products and new fabrics!

* prep for teaching in Thousand Oaks

* finish y seams on Amazon Star

So, the list is long this week, and I also will eventually need to do some laundry and stock the fridge, or I'll be naked and hungry! This would not be a good combo!

What are you working on this wee?

Happy Quilting....

Catherine

Finish It Friday

I only have one real finish this week, and it is a small one...a pillow!

I've looking for the perfect solid comforter for my bed, and I finally found it! It is a dove grey color, and perfect. Of course, I bought a size larger than I needed, because I like the drape to almost hit the floor, since a sleigh bed has nowhere for a bed skirt....so I bought a king, and I love it! It does make making the bed interesting for those that have never done this before, the comforter goes on sideways. But enough about that.....

On to the pillow. I made a simple block that measured 12 1/2 inches, and put a super simple border on it to make it 15 inches finished. I love it! And the block is from the March BOM, so it's a 2 for 1! I loved it so much I made April's block as well, only I gave it a larger border, so the finished pillow is 18" square. Since the April block is still under wraps, here's a quick sneak peak!

March block with 2" borders, for a finished 15" pillow.

March and April blocks stacked for size reference. 

I also got some blocks finished for various projects....

Bag 3 of Celtic Wave!

And the multi A blocks from Ospreys Nest...still the runners left to do, but hopefully those will get finished today, and assembly on Saturday.

That's pretty much all the sewing I got done, though I did finish a crocheted cowl for a friends birthday, and I pieced my new sign for the booth, I should be able to share both of those next week!

Happy Quilting!!

Catherine

WIP Wednesday

Just a quick note on the happenings on this gorgeous day!!!

These are waiting for a few friends....

These are the B units, and the main Log Cabins, all finished and ready to go....

Now working on these guys.....the A units.

Hoping to finish today so that I can assemble tomorrow and Friday!!!!

Wish me luck!

Happy Quilting,

Catherine

Celtic Wave QAL

Well, it's already mid-March, and I can't really believe how quickly the month is going. It seems like it was February 1st just last week.

It's the end of the second checkpoint and the beginning of the third. Hopefully, you are keeping up with us, and have been working steadily on Bag #2......

Here's my H units from Bag #1, and my CG units from bag #2. I'm really getting excited to see how these are going to turn out.....I'm almost ready to start the curved piecing!!!

And now we are ready to move on, to Bag #3.......

Checkpoint 3 : March 17 - Bag 3 start 

Bag #3 is a quick one -- just 8 units, so this is a good week to catch up if you are starting late or have gotten behind. Take advantage of that now, because after this section, there is LOTS of sewing each week. So, off to work to get these finished.....

Here's the rest of the schedule for the next couple of months...

Checkpoint 4 : March 31 - Bag 4 start
Checkpoint 5 : April 14 - Curved Piecing
Checkpoint 6 : April 28 - Border Units (if you are doing the Queen)
Checkpoint 7 : May 12 - Start Assembly
Checkpoint 8 : May 26 - All DONE!!!!

How are you coming along on getting your Celtic Wave done??? What colors are you doing???

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

Finish it Friday

I actually have finishes this week!!! Yippee!!

It was busy around here all week, mainly working on Osprey's Nest and doing the standard business work (filling orders, accounting, etc). Busy but good. I got to hang out with Shawn and Kelly on Thursday and work on some new patterns for market, and that was really fun. It had been a while since we sewed together, with crazy schedules and the Puyallap show, we just hadn't had time....but we remedied that, and had an all together great day of chatting and snacking and sewing and apron making.

Today's FIF's are just the kind I like. Totally done! Quilted, bound and ready to go to their new homes. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California, so the pics are not great, it's super bright and in the low 70's, an absolutely perfect day, which means pics are much too contrasts, but for now, they will do.

First up....a baseball quilt for Holden. The baseball maniac. It's almost double size, big enough for a super generous picnic, or a double wrap on a cold practice night. As you know, I like my quilts to be used. Really, what's the point in show pieces? And how many walls do most people really have? So most of my quilts are bed sized, with cotton batting for washability.

The second finish this week, comes in the form of Meandering Star, which was on my goals for 2014 list. It was on a field trip to Ms. Carrie for some lovely long arm quilting. I got it back on Monday and got it bound on Tuesday, and I love it. The quilting is superb, and really let's the pattern and fabrics sing. Plus it has feathers, and you know how I feel about feathers.

So, here she is : Meandering Stars.

Hope everyone is getting some sewing time in this weekend. What are you working on?

Happy Quilting!

Catherine