Is “multitasking” a nice way of saying “not getting anything finished?” Well, I don’t have a completed quilt to show you just yet…but I swear I haven’t been sitting around watching tv all day long. I have a lot of projects “in the works”. The above photo is from a quilt top I just finished, using my Off-Centered Squares quilt pattern. The colored fabrics are Moda Cross Weaves, the tan is an Essex Linen and the white is Kona White. Let me just say, making a quilt out of mostly cross weaves is challenging. Lots of stretching and fraying.

I’ve also finally cut into my Little Apples fabric by Moda designer Aneela Hoey. I fussy cut out her cute designs and have been making various size squares.

In an act of bravery (or lunacy), I cut into some of my remaining Anna Maria Horner Good Folks fabric stash…looks like I will be making a quilt from half square triangles! I wish this line would have a reprint…sigh…

I made a little drawstring bag for my daughter to carry around her princesses. This uses Jeni’s awesome tutorial. The bag fabric is from Heather Ross’ Far, Far Away 2 and 3 lines. On the right is a bag I toooooootally copied after seeing this fabulous bag by Darci on Flickr. The pattern is by the talented Anna of Noodlehead, her Runaround bag. The fabric is from Moda’s Hometown line.

And…I have a bit of new incoming fabric, including these pearl bracelets from Lizzy House’s Outfoxed line and these turquoise and red prints from Meet the Gang, by designer Marisa Haedike of Creative Thursday.

So that’s what’s keeping me busy! What are you working on this week?

Welcome to our third Mini Quilt Monday! This week I decided to dive right into the book Word Play Quilts by Tonya Ricucci. I recently discovered Tonya’s blog, and wow, there is a lot of inspiration on there!

I have future plans to make a quilt with some words on it, but I was a bit intimidated when it came to making letters. I’m *pretty* sure I’ve mentioned that geometry and I don’t exactly get along. And this style of letters looked like you needed to know something about that. Tonya’s book makes it SO easy! She has step-by-step instructions for all letters and numbers.

I also followed tips that I learned during Malka Dubrawsky’s Improvisational Piecing class:
1. I followed basic color rules when making my letters. Each letter/number is made with either warm or cool fabrics. I alternated warm/cool/warm/cool/etc.

2. I didn’t use my ruler once when making this mini quilt. I freehand cut all pieces with my rotary cutter. If a piece had a slight curve to it, I incorporated that curve into the next piece I sewed on.

3. When sewing letters together, if one letter was smaller than the next, I added fabric to the smaller piece rather than trimming fabric from the larger piece.

4. I used mostly solid fabrics, but incorporated a few prints to add a bit of interest.

I know this improvisational style of sewing makes some of you break out into a cold sweat. I won’t name names. You know who you are. LOL But I just love how it turned out!

I quilted this mini using straight lines in varying directions on the background portions of the letters. As for the fabric, I used a selection of solids from my stash: Kona cottons, Kaffe Fassett shot cottons, Moda crossweaves, Free Spirit Designer Solids and Pat Bravo’s Pure Elements solids. Phew! The binding is a Kei Honeycomb. The final size is 14″ x 12.5″. This is one mini quilt I think would look great hanging up in a nursery with little clothes pins. I’ve added it to my shop.

So let’s see what you made this week. Link ‘em up!

I am probably the last person in blogland to use Aneela Hoey’s Sherbet Pips fabric. I just adore these little girls on swings. They remind me of my daughter on our tree swing in the backyard and that makes me smile.

I decided to showcase that print and pair it with some coordinates from my stash. They include designs by Patty Young, Dena Designs, Liz Scott and Urban Chiks. The turquoise solid is a Moda crossweave and so pretty. I really love the combination of yellow, turquoise, white and pink!

I went for a simple design, just 5 1/2″ patchwork squares. I quilted it 1/4″ on each side of the horizontal and vertical seams. It came out of the dryer nice and poofy, a good quality for a child’s quilt I think!

The main print on the back is a floral from Sandi Henderson’s Farmer’s Market line. I was really hoping to use up some of my stash and I think it worked out well with this project.

The final quilt size measures 39″ x 47″. I think this quilt would make a lovely addition to a little girls room. It is listed in the shop!

I don’t have anything new to show you today, so I thought I’d share some fabric I picked up last month. These are some of the prints from Liz Scott’s Sugar Pop for Moda. I bought them from the Fabric Shack and just love the colors and designs.

Writing about the Fabric Shack is reminding me that the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati is coming up. This is the show that used to be in Chicago, this will be the first year in the new location. Although having the show local last year was great, this new location is also quite handy for me as my family lives in Cincinnati. I am planning on a visit with my parents and going to the show with my mom.

And the reason the Fabric Shack reminded me of the festival…it’s only about 45 minutes away from downtown Cincinnati. I’m sure a lot of people will be making the trip to visit in Waynesville (which is a cute little antique town in itself.) If you are in town, it’s worth the drive!