A Friday Finish

Finally! I finished my Wheel of Fortune Quilt, and am so happy with how it turned out.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

I can't even tell you how many times this project has been on my "I'm going to finish it this month" list only to be set aside for something else. My label on the back even has the date of July 2014--that's 10 months ago.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

The quilting took a lot longer than I anticipated. I used a walking foot for everything. There were a lot of starts and stops with ends to bury. A LOT!

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

I received the best compliment when I showed this at guild meeting on Wednesday. A lady was astonished by the quilting and asked me if I quilt for others as well. I explained I quilted this myself on my Bernina, and do not quilt professionally. 

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

I'm so happy to have this one done. It's now sitting on our living room couch as a cuddly blanket for TV time.

Linked up with Link-A-Finish Friday here.
Linked up with TGIFF here.
Linked up with Show Off Saturday here.

June Goals - Check!

Talk about cutting it close. I set two goals for June--nothing too big as it's been a very busy month. But still, I'm just squeaking under the deadline I set for myself.

• PREP "OLD ITALIAN" FABRIC

I tuned piles of fabric like this:

Into piles of fabric like this:

Now, all my fabric for this project is prepped and ready to start. I won't have to stop and pull out any yardage needed.

• PIECE BACKING FOR "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" 

I finally did this just today. But today is still June, so it counts.  My backing is all done! I pieced the label into the backing so it will be quilted with it instead of added after the fact. 

So, this is my backing: 

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Back

As a refresher, this is the front of the quilt:

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

Setting goals have really helped me stay focused. And, it is so helpful for me to have something to work on besides my packing, cleaning, and house-selling madness consuming my life right now.

Linked up with A Lovely Year of Finishes here.

Vise Versa - Wheel of Fortune Label Block

I know I've been a bit MIA lately. First, I'm trying to clean, purge, and pack up my house to sell it (always an exhausting process.) Second, I went camping for with the young women in my church (always an exhausting experience--but loads of fun.) Third, I've thrown my back out (always an exhausting and painful experience.) 

With all that going on, I haven't had much time for sewing. But sewing is my sanity, so I try to find time. I have managed a few things.

Here is an updated picture of my Wheel of Fortune quilt.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

I am absolutely LOVING my border. I just modified the wheel block to create this fun border. It really makes the secondary pattern pop.  

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

This will be my label--so fun, right? I left it with my mom who is embroidering my quilt label onto this block for me, which I will then piece into the back. She said she could even do it in a circular spiral! Can't wait to get it back from her.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Block

It's just fun to see the inverse of the wheel block.  

Wheel of Fortune Vise Versa Blocks

I am determined to keep my June goal and get my backing all pieced for this quilt.

And just for because--here is a picture from my camping trip.

View from our campsite. 

Mountain View

Linked up with Show off Saturday here.

June Goals

It's official--I'm moving. We haven't sold our home yet, but we did sign papers with a home builder this past week. This means I won't have a lot of time to sew in the coming weeks as I work with my kids to purge our home of unnecessary things, pack, and prep our home to sell it.

Ultimately, this moves means I will get a real sewing room--a room all to myself! This will be a significant improvement over my current "sewing room." And , I use that term lightly. I have commandeered a small space between the couch in the living room and the dinning table in the dinning room.

Make-Do Sewing Room

And, I've commandeered a space by the couch and entertainment center for all my fabric. My tower can be a little perilous.

Tower of Quilt Bins!

Even though I will be spending a lot of time cleaning, packing, painting, fixing, and more, I still want to have time for me. There are so many quilty things I want to get done this month. I just know I can't make huge goals.

• PREP "OLD ITALIAN" FABRIC

Old Italian Quilt Blocks

I've pre-washed a lot of fabric already. I need to press it, starch it, and pre-cut it into roughly 8-1/2" squares.

• PIECE BACKING FOR "WHEEL OF FORTUNE"

While this was on my list for goals for May, I didn't finish it because I changed my mind on how I wanted to do the backing. I now have all the pieces I need and need to get  moving.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

Because I'm in transition, I won't baste this. I want to piece my backing and press the front. 

Linked up with A Lovely Year of Finishes here.
Linked up with Anything Goes Monday here.

The Messy Side of Paper Piecing

A few days ago I posted this picture of my Wheel of Fortune quilt. 

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

I have since sewn the rows all together and am on the messy task of removing all the paper. I print out my paper piecing patterns onto Crayola's Doodle Pad paper. It is thinner than standard paper and cheaper than vellum or other quilt shop papers. (The paper is larger than standard paper, but I take it to a local copy shop and ask them to cut it to size. Then, I can easily print from my printer at home.)

One of the downsides of paper piecing is removing all the paper. I was sitting on the floor doing just this when my boys returned home from school. C thought it looked like good fun and asked if he could help. Um, YEAH!

C pulling paper off the back of the quilt.

Messy Side of Paper Piecing

S came upon us and saw C working with me and immediately said, "Oh! Can I do some, too?" Sure, I could spare you a corner to work on. 

S concentrating on tearing only the paper off. 

Messy Side of  Paper Piecing

We sat and tore paper for about 45 minutes while we listened to the audiobook of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." We only made a small dent, but had other things to do that night like soccer games and a work meeting.

I might be here for a while pulling off paper. Good thing the book is long.

Linked up to Paper Piecing Party here.

WIP Wednesday #31 - Wheel of Fortune

I'm excited to show off where I am at on my Wheel of Fortune Quilt.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

As you can see, I only have two more rows to sew and the top will be DONE. D-O-N-E. Done. 

I am most excited about the border I added. Instead of ending the quilt with a full wheel, I made modified blocks with just the outer wheel so the secondary design of the star really stands out. I love it!

MK holding up pieces of my quilt. I think she thinks because this is pink it will be for her. 

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

Linking up with WIP Wednesday here.

Linking up with Let's Bee Social here.

WIP Wednesday #27 - Wheel of Fortune

I took a digital time-out over the Holidays. I was able to spend a lot of time with my family, enjoy the Holidays, and sew. Of course it seemed like the perfect time to start a new project...despite my ever growing list of WIP. What's one more project? Right?  I did work on some of my existing projects, but just needed something different to break up the "monotony" of working on the same thing.

I have been admiring this pattern for a while now. 

I found a free paper piecing pattern at quilter's cache here.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt in Progress

I've raided my scraps for any pinks. Then, I cut off about a 5" strip off all my pink fabric in my stash. I still have a LOT of pink to use up, which is a good thing since I want to make more blocks. I really should decide on how big I want to make this thing. For now, I'm just going to keep making blocks. 

I love the precision of paper piecing. 

And, I really like the secondary design that shows up--can you see the star that shows up in the negative space? 

As I'm piecing this, I'm starting to wonder how I will eventually quilt it. 

It's never too early to think about the quilting stage. 

The only thing I can think of at this time is doing a spiral out from the center of the wheel. But then what in the "star" area? Hmmm.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt in Progress

Any ideas out there? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have you seen the Wheel of Fortune quilted? What did you like about it? What didn't you like?

All the examples I've been able to find are just the finished top, not quilted.

Linked up with Modern Traditional Quilts here.

Linked up with Freshly Pieced here. 

Linked up with Quiet Play here.

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