MOP Monday, a new Linky party!! :)

Hello everyone!!

I decided to host a new weekly linky party here every Monday because it is always fun to share my weekly progress and see what you all are up to.

This linky party is called MOP Monday - My Own Progress Monday :)

The idea for myself is to have a specific list of projects and every Monday share with you the "step forward" that I took on all those projects. The "step" can be anything related to that project (from finishing a full block, to cutting the fabric, from just printing the pattern and picking the fabric, to finishing up the entire project). No step is too little to be reported! A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step!! :)
To make my progress easier to track I will use both a picture (showing the entire project with the progress) and a written list... but you can decide to share whatever you want (as long as it is about quilting/sewing/crochet/crafts :) )

-- MOP: The list --

1. As You Wish - finished Buttercup block (see below)
2. Celtic Solstice - assembled the missing four-patch units
3. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - done second block (The King's Crows)
4. Alice in Wonderland quilt - done Heart Rose Tree block (blogged in a previous post)
5. Happy Halloween wall hanging - designed (in QA) the corner blocks from Melissa's QAL (I needed a smaller version of what she is doing, so I had to do it myself and I prefer paper piecing than classic piecing ;)), printed and cut the pattern pieces
6. Topolino quilt - done Number 1 block (see below)

-- MOP: This week new blocks --

--
Buttercup block, from the As You Wish, Quilt and Stitch along @ Fandom in Stitches.

The pattern is available for free on Fandom In Stitches.

I choose the simple version of the embroidery pattern, but there are also an intermediate and an advanced option that are just amazing!!

--

I tested another of my Disney blocks, Scrooge's Number one Dime :)

I found some minor mistakes in the pattern, I fixed them and now you can find it in the Quilt&StitchTestAlong page. 

<div align="center"><a href="http://tweloquilting.blogspot.com/search/label/MOP%20monday" title="TweloQ blog"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxatOKf20HsVXYe-U6CBgqCLaO-a5uzkP1n7NDr2J3BiczMFszHuLg7x8dNOE0Gber23KyE-X_o3O6lvCbXeU-unh7dQv10yPGhmLx6x6HNV27U7YjR8sQR3Cv95U3BjWTZK1ZCPUbyFy/h120/MOPMondayButton.png" alt="TweloQ blog" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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And now, what are YOUR own progresses? Link them below!!
Rules for the linky party:
1. You can link finished projects or WIP at any stage! Every step is worth sharing
   (A journey of thousand miles is made of single steps)!
2. Link to your specific post to make it easier for others to read about your progress!
3. Spread the word and post my button or a text link (code for the button on the side bar)
4. Comment on other links!! It's always good to support each other every step of the way!! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Blogoversary to me!!!

Today is time to celebrate!!

I am ONE year blog-old!!

I created this blog after designing my first paper piecing pattern (Tweety) and after I fell in love with sewing paper piecing blocks... at that time I thought that piecing was called "quilting" now I now that quilting technically means something else ;) but still the name of the blog is short for Tweety Loves Quilting ;) technically I don't love quilting... it's actually the part I like less ;) but maybe I will love it one day!

When I started the blog I thought I would have posted maybe some pictures/patterns once in a while... and maybe I would have someone to read my few posts... I actually did a little more than that in one year!!

These are the numbers:
- 65 posts
- > 24000 pageviews
- > 150 followers (between GFC, Blogloving and Pinterest)
- 68 original pattern created and shared for free on this blog

I am also ONE year sewing-old!! :)
I never touched a sewing machine before... and I am pretty proud of collecting all the projects done in this single year! Mosaic time!!

If anyone is interested in pattern/instruction for a specific project, just drop me an email!! :)

1. Coraline; 2. Reindeer; 3, 4. Amigurumi Owl; 5. Pincushion for giveaway;

6, 7. Finger labyrinth; 8. Wallet, 9. Plastic bag small rug;

10, ..., 16, Hot pads and Kitchen sets; 16. Tablet sleeve;

18, 19. Hot pads and mit; 20. Sewing set; 21. Toothbrush sleeve; 22. Hokie-Dokie sewing caddy. 

1, ...,10 - Block swaps (no blocks received from partner 1, bad start but all the others are lovely); 

11, 12, 13 - For Melissa @ HappyQuilting because she sent me so many wonderful selvages!

14, ..., 20 - For Jennifer @ Sewhooked for charity quilts.

1. My first baby quilt!! Pieced by hand and quilted by hand --> the reason I bought the sewing machine ;)

2. Christmas mat; 3. Love pillow; 

4. Various Fandom related PP blocks turned into pillows;

5. Second baby quilt (PP and Applique); 6. Alice's game (back); 

7. The Sword in the Stone; 8. Secret Santa wall hanging;

9. Music mat; 10. Alice's game (front); 11. Star Surround QAL giant pillows; 

12. Small Cardinal wall hanging; 13. The Fault in Our Stars mat; 

14. Magica de Spell pillow (detail); 15. Snoopy and Friends wall hanging; 

16. Pillows: Magica De Spell, Esther test pattern, Floppy disk;

17. Music mat (detail); 18. Coaster; 19. Alice's game (detail);

20. Christmas pillows: seat belt, t-shirt, rainbow starburst, storm at sea, monster (front);

21. Christmas pillows (back)

And now let's stop looking at the past... and let's look at the future!!
This following year I have some QAL that I want to keep up with... some organized by others and one organized by me :)
Here they are all together... I will keep updating those images to track my progress... much easier than keep everything on my design wall :) especially because some are pretty large projects (the grid is 5'', for reference)

1. As you Wish - I am a designer so I already made some progress on blocks that will be released soon :)
2. Celtic Solstice - I didn't make the original quilt, I redesigned a smaller version
3. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - fused the two QAL in that (not yet final) design
4. Alice in Wonderland quilt - designed by me, blocks need to be tested
5. Happy Halloween wall hanging - mix of halloween blocks + Start Light, Start Bright variation
6. Topolino quilt - designed by me, blocks need to be tested

I am going to be pretty busy!! Let's see how far I can go on those projects before my next blogoversary!!

---
I want to conclude this post with an Happy Blogoversary to me... and a huge thank you to YOU ALL.
With your comments and support you fuel my passion for sewing and you gave me so much inspiration!!
In particular I want to thank Jennifer (@sewhooked.com) for all the inspiration, support, energy and help that she gave me over this year... and also thank to all the wonderful people that post videos in the TTMT livejournal community... I love watching your projects every week!! :)

Testing Alice and Kangaroo block

After the Christmas craziness I am back to my regular Paper Piecing rhythm!! :)
So this week I tested one of the patterns for my Quilt&Stitch-TestAlong.

I found some minor mistakes in the original pattern, I fixed them and now the pattern is available in the Quilt&Stitch-TestAlong page.

I also tested a Aussie pattern for Kristy @ Quietplay: here is my (obviously scrappy) Kangaroo! :)

And come back tomorrow for a special post :)

As you wish, Princess Bride!

The fabulous event organized by the wonderful Jennifer @ Fandom in Stitches started TODAY!!!

Click HERE to go and check out the great first pattern (patterns actually) of the sweet Princess Bride herself, Buttercup!!
I am really excited because now I will be able to share here some pictures (soon) of the blocks I made!!
Since I am one of the designers (more to come soon, so stay tuned) I has been involved in the preparation of the event so I have been stitching and piecing blocks for about a month already so I have few finishes to share in the future!! Soooooo exciting!!!

It's going to be a fun event, so please go and check all the details HERE and join us in this journey to find our True Love!!

P.S. If someone is wondering, I am making the Book Layout!! It's amazing!! I already made one block (that I cannot share yet) but it's an easy but very effective layout for this quilt... I highly recommend to try it!! :)

Tea Towel Challenge, PPV and Celtic Solstice updates!!

It has been a quite productive holiday time for me! At least from the point of view of crafty things :)
I delivered all the Christmas presents (all handmade item) and I will share them with you later on this month... because now I have to update you on 3 QAL that I joined: Tea Towel Challenge, Paper Piecing Vintage BOM and Celtic Solstice Mystery!

** Tea Towel Challenge update**
As mentioned before, my tea towel will be the center piece for a wall hanging and it will be surrounded by blocks from the PPV (see later). January would have been the "fabric selection" time for this challenge but I actually already finished my center piece and it looks like this:

The fabric that I will use is going to be scrappy... in dark blue, white and aqua (see later for the whole design). I cut out the main design on the tea towel and I reproduced (in paper piecing) the little geometric motif in the lower band. I increased that in size and I put them on the side of the tea towel. I added some blue and white strips to reach the right size (12'' x 18'') to be coupled with the 6'' blocks of the PPV.
I am pretty happy about this center block, even if I doubled the white fabric (because it was too much "seeing through" for my taste)... this made the little pieces a little bulky and not "perfectly matching" but I like them anyway! :)


** Paper Piecing Vintage update **
The first pattern was released few days ago!! And this is my block:

And I needed three of them, because of my Tea Towel Challenge design :) so this is how the PPV and Tea Towel Challenge looks right now:

I am pretty sure that I will change the greek top/bottom border... and I will probably replace it with a bigger version of the motif I already put on the sides of the tea towel... I think that will be a more cohesive choice... but we will see... I have one year of blocks to make before adding that border... I may change my mind a thousand times more :)


** Celtic Solstice Mystery update **
And the Celtic Solstice was revealed on Jan 1st!! :) I still didn't complete step 5 at that time, but now I not only completed that but I also put together my blocks!!!
Step 5 picture (again I created the paper piecing pattern for the split triangle unit) :)

And these are the finished block on my design wall:

I have just few blocks because for each part of the mystery I just did one fourth of the small quilt blocks... I will add the missing one later on, since I want to make this as a baby quilt... but let me tell you: I really like this design!!! I love patterns that made circles appear without any curved seam!! :) I love the color I choose, they are very bright even if I cannot take a good picture of them now because it's cloudy :( I will when the top will be done! And I love the scrappyness!!

As a final note: the official name of this quilt will be "The perfectly unmatching points"... so if you are a member of the quilt-police, let me tell you that every unmatching point is a design choice against the search of perfection that causes nothing but stress :) during the assembly process I decided to put pins here and there to force some points to match, but not everywhere because I prefer to admire a finished block than stressing about points and using my seam-ripper all the time :)
And Pumpkin (who has been recently being spayed :( this is the reason for the cone) checked them and she gave me her approval, as you can see below:

So if SHE approved them, who can tell me that they are not ok???
And if you want to check everybody else's progress, you can find the link-up party here!!

And that's it for now...
I wish you all a crafty 2014!!! :)

P.S. Actually I also made some progress in the As You Wish QSAL because I am one of the designers so I have access to some patterns before the official release ;) I did one PP block and two embroidery blocks!! I am very proud how the embroidery blocks turned out because I never did "serious" embroidery work (i.e., with stitches different from back stitch) before... but I think my blocks are pretty good for being my first experiment using stem stitch, satin stitch, brick stitch, french knots and lazy daisy stitches ;)
I am sorry but I cannot share pictures of the blocks because they are still secret :) but I will do it as soon as they are officially released on Fandom In Stitches!! ;)