Fresh Mini Quilt Club - March 2013

I took a much needed day off from work (Friday) and created my own three day weekend (at home) sewing retreat.  It felt so good to have the opportunity to sew all weekend with no interruptions.  I'm not a doctor, but I honestly believe that sewing is good for the soul!  :)

Have you heard of Canoe Ridge Creations' 6 month Fresh Mini Quilt Club?  I signed up a couple of weeks ago and am SO glad that I did.  At the begin of the New Year I challenged myself to choose more difficult quilt projects (aka the Swoon that I'm working on for the Bestie QAL) and to get out of my quilting comfort zone (aka start making mini quilts that I can practice my free motion quilting skills on). 

Although I haven't yet found the courage to practice my free motion quilting skills, I did finish two mini quilt tops this weekend, which means I'm well on my way.  The first quilt top is for me, and will soon brighten up my sewing studio.

The second mini quilt top is for my Momma.  I think she might hang it in her office at work!  :)

Both mini quilts are made from a very old Riley Blake fabric line (Andrea Victoria), which I love.  It made its debut when I first started quilting, and unfortunately none of my local quilt shops carried the fabric (and I wasn't a savvy Etsy shopper back then).  A year or so my quilting friend was getting cleaning out her stash and offered me pieces of what you see above.  I've held onto Andrea Victoria for quite sometime, as I new the perfect project would come along!

4x5 Modern Quilt Bee - Spring!

Do you spend much time on Flickr?  I was browsing around yesterday, and noticed that the Spring sign ups are open for the 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee!  This will be my first Bee ever, and I am quite excited to participate and get to know the other ladies.  If you're interested, make sure to visit the Flickr group and sign up, as the hives are filling up quickly (note- I am the caretaker for hive #9- woo hoo!).

Here's a glimpse at my color inspiration board - Tangerine & Aqua!  The colors are so soothing.  :)

1) Modern Quilt Guild 2) Dorrie 3) Jeni Baker 4) N/A 5) coco+kelley

6) yolanda 7) Bluprint Textiles 8) elnorac 9) mrsmcporkchop

Swoon - Blocks #4 and #5

Blocks #4 and #5 of my Bestie quilt are complete, which means I only have four more to go- whew!!!

 

 

 I love the green/blue combo!  From my personal experience, if you're making a Swoon quilt of your own, I find that sewing the blocks in pairs is most efficient (rather than sewing one block at a time).

 

 

Truth be told, this block is a bit dark for my liking.  It may be a challenge to place the block within the quilt, but then again, I'm always up for a good challenge!

I'll be back soon with Blocks #6 and #7!  :)