project quilting 10.5 Abecedarius Challenge

Another week of project quilting is upon us and this weeks challenge is a little challenging for me.  10.5 is Abecedarius, which is about the alphabet.  I took a bit to decide on the project, but then I saw a great pillow at a friends house and was inspired. 

Inspiration Pillow

I used her pillow as my inspiration for my B for Bunny pillow.  I cut flowers out of a charm pack and laid them on an outline of a bunny on my Heat and Bond lite.  I cut and cut and cut until I filled the bunny's body.

Then I fused the bunny to the background and echo quilted the bunny down and then the background.  I then added my B for the bunny. 

I love my little B for Bunny pillow, perfect for Easter. 
Created in Manchester, NJ

Project Quilting 10.4 Pixel Play

This weeks Project Quilting hosted by Kim at Persimon Dreams  is all about Pixel Play.  I lovepixel quilts, especially my nautical ones.  Though, because of my surgery recovery I had to keep it small this week.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I decided to do my anchor quilt is super mini size.

I started by pulling out scraps from cutting my 2.5" nautical squares and cut them down to 1.25".  Pulled out my pattern and started laying out my quilt. 

I used the interfacing method for this mini quilt, where I lay my squares on the interfacing and then press as I go. 

 I sewed up all my seams then added a scrappy border.  Matchstick quilting completed the mini quilt.  I bound it in a darker gray to frame my little quilt.  Those little squares are .75" each.

My mini anchor quilt finishes at 14" x 15"
Created in Manchester, NJ

Project Quilting - Challenge 4 Mellow Yellow

So this is challenge 4 for project wilting and it's Mellow Yellow. I was so lost for this challenge. I had tons of ideas, but wasn't feeling well enough to make anything big. 

So yesterday I pulled out some scraps and started slicing and dicing and making sure to add in more yellow than I normally would. 

I added in my nautical touch with some yellow anchors on the inside front cover. So my little patchwork notebook cover came together nicely. 

I created my patchwork notebook cover in my home in Lanoka Harbor, NJ. 

Project Quilting season 9-3 - Bold and Brave

This weeks challenge for Project Quilting is Bold and Brave. I'll be honest, it took me a bit to think about and figure out a good idea.  It hit me on Monday when Ellie was playing with my bracelet she gave me for Christmas as usual.  It has the phrase on it "Just Keep Swimming".  It came with a great mantra... 

You see, I have an incurable condition called RSD, also CRPS (Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome).  I struggle daily with constant chronic pain.  But through that struggle I make it to my aqua therapy twice a week (along with home exercises) to keep my body moving.  To make sure I do not loose all that I have fought to gain over these past 6 years of fighting this condition. 

What could be a better Brave and Bold statement for me than the one I look at everyday from my little niece.  I never take it off.  

I printed the saying onto freezer paper then ironed it on to fabric that I had already backed with heat and bond.  After cutting the words out I found the perfect background fabric, a nod to my nautical mini challenge for myself.  

The words and bubbles are zig-zaged on and I free motion quilted swirly water into the background.  I framed the pillow with a swirly gray that matches the words.  

This picture I feel captures perfectly what this little sweet girl pushes me to do. Sweet Ellie Rose thinks I can do it so I will try... I'll Just Keep Swimming.  

My Just Keep Swimming pillow was created in my home in Lanoka Harbor, NJ.

It is 14"x 14"

Project Quilting - Time is Up

The final challenge of Project Quilting Season 8 is here and the topic is "Time is Up".  I struggled with this one, with the lyrics to Bruce Springsteen's Jersey Girl in my head, ""cause down the shore everything's alright."  It is always beach time here at the shore.  The beach is beautiful all year long, especially when the snow is covering the sand and the water meets the snow.  (A future beach photo shoot is in order)

So I decided a Jersey Quilt is the way to finish off this season of Project Quilting.  

Lots of nautical fabrics were used in this quilt, including some of my favorites and horded fabrics.  My lobsters are always in my nautical quilts.  But I added in my Moda nautical from my flying goose quilt, along with my sea horses and and loved Barnegat Bay fabrics, named for the bay where I live.  A blue rope print frames is perfectly as the binding.  

The back is a navy anchor print that was just perfect for this quilt.  I free motion quilted swirling waves all over this quilt.  Perfect for my Jersey Shore quilt.  

I am in love with this quilt.  I think it is the perfect quilt to finish this season of Project Quilting.  I'm sad that is it over , though.  Can't wait for next year!

'Cause Down the Shore Everything's Alright

48" x 64"

2.5" squares 

All cotton 

Created in Lanoka Harbor, NJ - On the Jersey Shore ;) 

Target Practice Mini Quilt

This is the final month of the Project Quilting Cherrywood off season Focus Through the Prism challenge. I'm sad to see it end, but super excited for another season of Project Quilting starting in January.

This month the challenge block was the snowball block. My first thought was, uh oh... I left orange for last and couldn't think of anything at first. The reason I left orange last was to support RSD/CRPS awareness month. Color the World Orange was Monday November 2. 

I randomly started making different size snowballs and tossing them at my design  wall. When I posted on our Facebook group joking about throwing a ball at the snowballs the name Target Pracrice was suggested by Jo and I loved it so I ran with it. I created some more small snowballs and tossed them on the board. From there I started piecing the quilt around where the blocks landed. They only moved if I had to make piecing easier. 

Once it was all together I kept my theme and quilted circles into it using the perfect color orange of Aurifil. It matched the circles in my background fabric perfectly! 

I chose to do the binding on the background fabric to make it seem like it kept going. 

This was a fun quilt to finish the challenge  with. Thanks Kim for all the fun you provided in the off season! 

Target Practice 

20"x 20"

Machine pieced

Machine quilted

Hand bound

And of course an obligatory Maggie pic... or two. 

Maggie and Matt smiled so nicely for the camera.

And here Maggie and CJ are both smiling. She had a lot of attention on Thanksgiving.