Sunday, April 2, 2017

Finish-A-Long 2017, Quarter 2 link up



It's time to link up your list of unfinished projects that you propose to finish in Q2 of the FAL. I truly hope you are facing a new quarter with a brand new list - because you finished so many UFOs in Q1!
The FAL is hosted by a community of bloggers across the world. Our hosts are:
  • Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland
Social Media Director
For those of you who are new to the FAL, it is a place to find motivation and encouragement to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging about becoming UFOs. Every quarter you post a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months, and then at the end of the quarter, you post a link from your blog, Flickr or Instagram of each successful finish from your original list. Each finish is an entry for wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list long or short, as you wish. The 2017 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent FAL page. Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q2 of the FAL - you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo (think about visiting them and saying thank you):  
As you may recall from last year, there was a return of tutorial week at the end of each quarter, between the opening of the link for finishes and the day that link closes. Are you enjoying this? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below! This will take place each quarter. Each host works hard to put these together so I hope you are visiting their blogs to encourage them. If you have a tutorial that you would like to share, please let me or another host know.

 It's time to round up those projects you want to finish over the next three months, take a photo of each one and make your list. Please ensure that you have at least started your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is now considered a UFO, and remember it is only finished projects that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project. It is very helpful if you tag your list as #2017FALQ2yourname when posting on social media: Flickr, Facebook & Instagram. Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing progress or finishes before the link, helps the hosts find your original list quickly - especially when this is done over a 3 month period. IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link your finishes up when the quarter closes.


The 2017 Q2 link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on one blog - and that link will show up on all of the blogs.

If you are using Facebook, Flickr or Instagram, link a mosaic and put your list in the description. Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link-up if you need it. We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too. When creating your list there is one thing to remember....No deductions for not completing something so ..... Aim High! Nothing to lose!!! Well Now..... Get those lists together and get linked up. The Q2 proposed finish linky party will stay open until 11 pm EST, April 8, 2017- as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link. Remember: you only need to link up on ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs.



Posted by Ella at 10:27 AM 1 comments

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Finish-A-Long 2017 Tutorial





Welcome to the tutorial week of the Finish-A-Long!
If you haven't already, check out the other posts by the lovely ladies of the Finish-A-Long!


 I decided my tutorial would make use of the many charm squares I have *ahem* hoarded over the years.

My Tutorial: A Polaroid Mug Rug/Snack Mat

Snack close up


I've liked the Polaroid blocks I've seen up and about the internet.  (I know there was a swap of them a while back.)  I don't have a plan to make a quilt of them immediately, but I have some cool charm squares from a fussy cut charm swap.
I wanted to use a couple of them to make something I could use every day.
Mug rug/snack mat it is!

I took the tutorial on making the tiny versions and amped it up for a bigger size. (Aside:  Karen over at Capitola Quilter is AWESOME, and I have been lucky enough to meet her in real life.)

For each mug rug, I used a 5 in charm square, 2 strips of white Kona measuring 2 in by 5 in, 1 strip of white Kona measuring 2 in by 8 in, and 1 strip of Kona measuring 3 in by 8 in.  I also used a piece of batting, approximately 9 in by 10 in.  For the back, I used some Kona charcoal, a piece about 8.5 by 7 in.

First sew the side strips on.

Then sew the top and bottom strips on.  (If at this point, you want to make a GIANT polaroid block, just add some darker sashing to make the polaroid "pop" out.)

I attached the batting by sewing around the "picture" part of the Polaroid.

Polaroid with Batting

Then I trimmed up the Polaroid block (with batting attached) to 8.5 in high and 7 in wide.

I sewed the back on (by placing right sides together and sewing around it, leaving a 2 in opening for turning) with a 1/2 in seam.  Hint:  Don't do what I did and leave the opening on a corner.  Your corners will look better if you leave the 2 in opening in the top or the bottom middle instead.

Clip the corners, turn inside out, and press.

Then sew a 1/8" topstitch and you're done!

finished Polaroid

If you wanted to be extra awesome, you could embroider a message on the Polaroid before you sew the front to the batting!


I hope you liked the tutorial!  I will probably make a mondo polaroid block quilt at some point, since I can't bear to have all my 5" fussy cut charms live in a box forever. *cough* hoarder *cough*

Don't forget to link up your finishes to the Finish-A-Long here and start drafting your next quarter's list!


Posted by Ella at 8:14 PM 5 comments

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Finishes, Quarter 1, Finish-a-Long 2017




My original list was CRAZY.  You can find it here.
I didn't get as much as I wanted to get done actually done....so expect an even bigger, crazier list for Quarter 2.  I get to go to Stash Bash, so hubris says I'll assume I can get more done there than I actually can.

I'm just going to list the number on my original list for my actual finishes.

Sewing


9.  Do.Good.Quilt, Serenity Circle, slab quilt  (It's the Jan quilt for my circle.)
slab quilt for Serenity

10.  Timber Quilt
Timber quilt

21.  Framed quilt
Framed quilt

28.  churn dash for hospice
Churn Dash quilt


45.  Infinity Scarf Project
infinity scarves

50.  AMQGQAL
AMQG Boms







Knitting



5.  Pussy hats
Pussyhat project
pussy hats


The truth is that I have five more quilts basted (3 awaiting machine quilting, one awaiting hand) and two more in mid process of hand quilting.

I keep breaking my walking feet.  Seriously, I know I quilt A LOT, but the spring seems to go pretty quickly.  Anyone have advice/a supplier/a tutorial on how to repair one?


Seven is not stellar for me, BUT I have a bunch ready to whip out next quarter, and spring break is nigh!  I also did a crap load of BOM blocks AND a ton of costumery for my class play, so I'm counting it all as a win.





Posted by Ella at 7:51 PM 4 comments

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Quarter 1 Finish-a-long Link up Time!


It might be hard to believe but we have made it to the end of the first quarter of the 2017 FAL and it's time to link up your Q1 finishes! In addition to completing all those UFOs on your lists, we hope you have taken the first 3 months of 2017 to get to know all of our new hosts! The 2017 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting the FAL. Our hosts are:
  • Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland
Social Media Director
  Before you link up, let's give a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors:  
For the 2017 FAL, we continue tutorial week. Here is the schedule so you can visit them all:
The 2017 Q1 link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on each blog. Link-up "rules":
  • Add one link for each finish. If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately. Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws.
  • Please ensure that the photo or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter).
  • Please become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others and comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other. The 2017 FAL Facebook page is here and follow us on Instagram @finishlong and tag your photos #2017FALQ1yourname (substitute your name), this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your lists.
  • Our hosts will also link their finishes to share in the community, but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.
The Q1 Finishes link will stay open from now thru April 1, 2017 - link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out. The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings. We will post the winners on each hosts' blog.
And don't forget to start making your Q2 lists as the Q2 list link opens on April 2nd.

Posted by Ella at 4:50 PM 3 comments
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