Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Blocks QAL

I checked out Google Reader and low and behold Tula Pink's "City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks" is out and Sew Sweetness had already posted the QAL.  I am so in.  I immediately downloaded the book to my Kindle.  It is nice to have it next to my sewing machine on it's stand so I can just follow along with the directions with a swipe of my finger.  I may have to order a print copy too.  Just not quite the same.

This morning I woke up early and could not get back to sleep.  I had decided to use my yellow, black and white stash to make a sampler quilt.  This seemed like a good fit.  I started cutting and piecing.
I am looking forward to continuing with more blocks this weekend after I pin baste and quilt my granddaughter's quilt.  We are leaving for Missouri to see her and her parents in a week so I have to get cracking.

Here are blocks #1 and #2.

A Lovely Spring Day

Last Monday was a beautiful day here in Austin.  I wanted to check my garden at Mayfield Preserve to see if the irises had bloomed and I needed to take pictures of a couple of quilts.  Out the door with my Nikon I went.

First up was my Very Berry Quilt which I finished quilting.  I quilted just inside and outside the squares.  Used my Quilter's Dream batting for this one since it is the first quilt I made for myself.  I used some Amy Butler Love for the backing.  The hot pink is a little much but it makes me very happy.

I finally finished up a quilt for another of my husband's uncles.  This was one of the first quilts I ever made.  A friend had told me about Keepsake fabric so I went on line and picked up a guy color bundle.  I used "Turning Twenty" again as my pattern.  It has been three years in the making.  Bad me.  I need to put a label on it and send it off.

I also took some pictures of the purple iris and daisies in my garden.

There are five ponds in the lawn area and the central pond had these beautiful yellow iris growing en masse.

So all in all a very satisfying day.

I have two more quilts pin basted and one ready to pin baste.  I am going to get as much done as I can today and tomorrow.

We had our sew-in day for the Austin Modern Quilt Guild yesterday.  I got my fabric cut for "There's a Square in There" by Kate Conklin.  I used my last eight fat quarters of Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt.  I have been saving it for this special project.  Finally got into cutting it. Sigh.  I also worked on getting my strips ready for my "Scrapper's Delight" project from "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison.  That should be a fun project.  A very productive day.

Photography Day at the Park

Our quilt guild had our first photography day at a local park.  We purchased a quilt frame for the guild and everyone had a chance to photograph their quilt.  This quilt is one that has been in my UFO pile for a while.  I was really into Civil War reproduction fabric for a while.  This quilt is from that phase.  I have another that is almost done.  Just about half of the binding to tack down.

I love having the quilt frame to show off the quilt.  The amazing plants in the background helped too.

You can see that I did my usual stitch-in-the-ditch quilting.  I am trying to get through Angela Walter's Craftsy class so I can branch out a little.  

Very Very Pink Quilt

We finally had a beautiful day outside to take a picture of my pink quilt top.  Lots of batiks, Kaffe and other wildly pink fabrics.  I have some Amy Butler Love I am going to use for the back.  This quilt is just for me since hot pink is my favorite color.

It was nice to be outside at Mayfield Nature preserve.  You can see the plum tree blooming in the background of the picture.  Some Sibierian iris and other bulbs are also coming up.  Yeah for a nice spring day.

Block Swap

I finally caught up on my February block and sent it out this week.  Also did my March block at the same time.  They both wanted star blocks so I whipped out QuiltPro and found a semi-modern star  called Twisted Star.  They wanted entirely different colorways which keep it more interesting.

I am still loving my new Janome 3160.  Smooth and quiet.

I used some Sew Mama Sew text print and my ombre Simply Color in grey for my February block.

My March block features some Kaffe and batiks in bright pink.  I even put in a purple feather. Hope my partners enjoy their blocks.  

Charleston Farmhouse

I am so excited.  I ordered a fat quarter bundle from Fabricworm after I saw a photo of Elizabeth Dackman's quilt made from Charleston Farmhouse by Felicity Miller.  I was in like.  Now that I am seeing it in person I am in love.  Might have to order some more.  Hmmm.  Fabric bundles were 10% off.  Hopefully they still are.

Here it is in its glory.  Make up your own mind.

P.S. The pattern is free.

Austin Quilting Buddies

Last Saturday I was at Quiltcon browsing the vendor booths, listening to lectures and generally having fun.  After the Denyse Schmidt keynote some of our guild members got together for a pic before going to happy hour with some members from other guilds in town for Quiltcon.  A fun time was had by all.