Scraps to Squares Quilting on Etsy!!!

I am very excited to announce that I now have a shop on Etsy! It has been a dream of mine for quite a few years now and I decided to jump in finally. 

The link to the shop is www.etsy.com/shop/ScrapsToSquaresQuilt. 

I am excited to finally have a place to sell the stuff I work so hard to create. I am also going to be doing custom orders so if you don't see something that says "you", let me know and maybe I can create something just for you! 

Next up on the to do list for this year is to get a longarm quilting machine. It's all going to be happening and I am so very excited! 

The Finished Swoon

I am so relieved to have this quilt finally done. I decided to custom quilt it, which took a short lifetime. I timed how long it took me to quilt and it was in the machine for over 20 hours for the quilting alone! That doesn't even count how long it took me to cut, piece, and baste it. 

I am really happy with the way it all came out though. The extra time in the quilting really did make this quilt. I used all batik fabrics that I bought while in South Dakota last summer. I love how bright the colors are. I was really unsure about using a white background (because let's face it I almost always go with a darker background), but I really think it made all of the colors pop! 

The one disappointment I have in this quilt is that the feather quilting on the white background doesn't show up that well. I feel like I put a lot of extra time in that and it wasn't necessary. Oh well you live and you learn! The backing is also a batik fabric that I found online. I love how bright it is and I think it went along very well with the whole quilt. 

Thankfully I don't have anymore big quilts going at the moment. They are big things brewing over here though and I can't wait to share them with you! Keep an eye out for my new upcoming adventure.....

Calendar Quilt Kickoff

One of the projects for the year is a calendar quilt. I am designing a block themed by each month. My mom, grandmas, cousin, and online sewing group are all doing it with me. I am so excited to get started with this. The January block is a snowman face. I am really trying to encourage people to be creative and do different things with theirs. I want them to know it's their quilt and they can do whatever they would like. If you ask me there is no wrong way to do it! 

All of the snowmen together! 

My snowmen blocks

Obviously the online group can't all come over to my house to join in the fun here, but it's great we can all connect through Facebook. I love how my family comes down to my house and we make a day of fun! 

I can't wait for February now! :) 

Candy Squares Table Runner

The other day I was feeling like I hadn't finished a project in a long time, and I was discouraged. I have been working on quilting my Swoon quilt and it has taken a long time! I also have quilted a few commissioned quilts for a few customers, so that has taken up some time also. So to go along with a goal for this year of using up precuts, I decided to throw together a table runner. 

This used 2 Moda Candy Packs and was a quick project. I found the pattern on Moda Bake Shop and it is called Candy Squares Table Runner. I had purchased these two packs while in South Dakota this last year. I love the bright colored vintage fabric! For the backing I had this orange flower material that worked out pretty good too. 

  

 

Another thing I have been pushing myself to do is try out new quilting patterns. This was an allover design in one of Angela Walters books. I love how easy her instructions are to follow! She truly is a huge inspiration to me in free motion quilting. 

The Upcoming Year

I'm very excited for the new year! I have made my list of quilting goals and quilts I would like to make this year. I have never pushed myself this way before, but there is a first time for everything. I have made signs and posted them right above my machine so I will see them and hopefully be reminded to challenge myself daily. 

One of my goals is to use up all of the precuts that I have been hoarding. Along with that I am going to do some serious stash busting this year. I have way too much fabric and I need to quit buying until I use some of it. We will see.....my last fabric purchase was the very last day of last year. 

I only have 1 more square left to quilt on my Swoon and then the borders. I am regretting how much quilting I put into this, mainly because of the time I have invested in it. Each square takes me about 2 hours to quilt and there are 9 of them! I love the way the quilting looks when it is done though. 

I have a baby quilt underway right now, but I won't be able to share it until it is gifted. I also have another baby quilt coming up too. Both are using charm packs which goes along great with my goal!