The LIST

Several people are rolling out link parties and challenges with resolutions for the new year, so I thought it was a great opportunity for me to look back at my 2015 list and see what I did there!

So this is the 2015 list, with the current status of each project.

1. Xmas tree decoration for 2014 - done one for 2014 and one for 2015!
2. Pumpkin's play mat - done!
3. the SK project - some progress here, not as much as I hoped
4. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - done and has been decorating my living room for most of the year
5. Reversible sewing machine cover - done and has been keeping my sewing machine for many many months!
6. College Days Blog Hop blocks for tote/grocery bag - done and it's holding my xstitch projects
7. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress here
8. As You Wish - no progress here
9. Happy Halloween wall hanging - done and hanged in the living room in Oct/Nov
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Bonnie's Hunter Grand Illusion - dropped, didn't like the design, but I am up to speed with Allietare!
12. Color of the Year mini - done, preparing the 2016 one!
13. D wall hanging - done and gifted
14. B quilt - dropped for now, maybe forever :)

So basically I had 14 items on the list, 8 of them are done, 2 were dropped probably forever and the rest... I think I may carry them over because I don't want to give up on them just yet!

On another note, there are a ton of projects that I didn't have on that list at the beginning of 2015 but they started and got done in 2015. I will feature all of them in a post at the end of January for my blogoversary! I think I accomplished a lot, but I need some time to collect them all in one post :)

And now... what about 2016?
Let's make another list!!! Let's make it longer so I will accomplish more!! :)

1. Play with Me QAL - this is a QAL I am hosting, so I don't just plan to finish it, but I plan to cheer everybody along, offer giveaways, inspire and get inspired!
   Today I had a post discussing fabric, so if you are interested, just click and check it out!!
   
   
2. "Jane Tiger, the Nearly Insane Wife of a Farmer" - I want to complete my version of the Dear Jane, Nearly Insane and Farmer's Wife quilt. I already started it and it looks fun!!
3. Block Swap Adventure quilt - I have been swapping blocks for about 2 years now, so I should have enough to put together a quilt! 
4. Charity quilts for Fran and the Quilts for DC General Homeless Shelter project - I plan to have 12 quilts done for her... let's see if I can make (or pass) that goal!!
5. Americana QAL - finish my version of this quilt and gift it to my dad probably for Xmas
6. Play with Me 2016 QAL (secret) - all January posts are ready!!
7. Allietare QAL - I plan to complete this quilt, and probably donate it for charity
8. Pantone Color of the Year 2016 - my traditional wall hanging has already been designed!
9. The SK project - here I need real progress as I wanted to have it done by 2017... it's a big quilt done in very small blocks so I need to get this rolling!!
10. the 31000 Xs project - a cross stitch project that I started and I would love to get done... eventually :)
11. Spirit cross stitch project - this is supposed to be a Valentine present... well... not sure if I will be able to pull it off, but I will try!
12. Mirror Mirror Afghan - a tapestry crochet afghan, I was very passionate about... and then I was not :) crochet is like that for me, ups and downs! :)
13. Alice in Wonderland quilt - I have several blocks done, just need to find some motivation to finish up some more
14. As You Wish -  same comment as 13.
15. Crazy optical illusion - same comment as 13. :)
16. Memory quilt 2 - same comment as 13. :)
    

This list is shared in for the following link parties and challenges:

• Yvonne (quiltingjetgirl.com) - 2016 Planning Linky Party
• Sandy (quiltingfortherestofus.com) - 2016 Quilty Resolutions Challenge (not formally announced yet), but she talked about it in her podcast.
  These are the 3 projects I want to put as my "Cleaning House" items:
• Block Swap Adventure quilt (3. above), because those blocks have been there waiting to be used for about two years
• Mirror Mirror Afghan (12. above), because I have a sitting box full of yarn and I want to be able to use the space and enjoy the afghan before the end of 2016
• the SK project (9. above), I highly doubt that this King size project (all the opening lines and book cover of Stephen King's books) is going to be done by 2016, but I want to have it done for Sept 2017 to honor his 70th birthday so I will put this here to get some momentum. I have about 30 blocks done already (see here) but I have many more to go!

Every Jane-ourney starts with one block (and a link party)

Or five! :) This was the most productive week of the year!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Block Swap Adventure - paused until 2016
2. Charity quilts - no progress 
3. Americana QAL - big star done (see below)
4. Play with Me 2016 QAL (secret) - all January posts are ready!!
5. Allietare QAL - fifth clue done (see below)
6. Jane T - not one but FIVE blocks done! (see below)
7. Pantone Color of the Year 2016 - no progress
8. My knitted hand warmer - done and in use! (see below)
9. Final Xmas present (credit card holder) - done (see below)

The EverythingElse List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
3. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
4. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
5. the Ender project - no progress
6. Embroidery calendar - no progress
7. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
8. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
9. As You Wish -  no progress
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
12. B quilt - no progress

--
I finally made the big start of the Americana QAL.

I think it turned out ok, but it's not my favorite block. The construction is pretty weird and it doesn't look like the one Deana had in her original design. Of course she said that she would change some patterns to make them simpler or cuter, but I really liked her original block and that star block was one of the main reasons I joined the QAL. Oh, well, I have a nice group of block for a quilt that I will gift to my dad in 2016, so that's all cool!

--
Last two Xmas presents for this year!
One for my boyfriend and one for myself (because I deserve an handmade gift too :) )

Following the tutorial by StyleNovice

I changed it to add a second row of pockets.

Pattern by weezalana (knittywhipped.blogspot.com) 

I really like how they look so different because of the self-striping yarn!!

--
The fifth clue of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery QAL is out. I decided to follow along, but I will make 1/4 of the units because I don't need a big quilt and I am not sure if I will like the design :)

I decided to go with brighter colors: cyan/aqua/teal (instead of red) and bright yellow (instead of gold). I will probably donate this quilt to charity as a baby quilt, so I want it to be fun and colorful!

I think the all-scrappy approach will work... I like what I see, so that's what matter to me.

Fifth clue of Bonnie's mystery QAL... 

Linking up at the Monday Link-up party!

--

I said that once my Xmas presents were done, I could start working on my Jane T, and so I did!

I decided to draft all the pattern myself for two reasons: 1. I am sewing everything by machine, but I want to honor the "slowness" of the original Dear Jane... so by drafting myself all the patterns from pictures, I can add the slow attention to the blocks, while sewing them up fast on the machine. 2. while I found patterns online for the blocks, they use up a lot of paper as each pattern is separate. Drafting several block at once, I can optimize their placement in Inkscape and save paper!

So this is my progress 

The color palette of the quilt, and 5 of the blocks done!

Progress on the entire quilt. Five blocks!

--

I have been working ahead for the 2016 Play with Me QAL!

check out this post for more information

All the posts for January are done, board 2 and 3 are ready, I just need to write up the posts!

--

And last, but not least, I want to remind you that I am working on charity quilts,
and I would love your help!! 

Quilts are for a quilt drive to help the kids in the DC General Homeless Shelter. 

And you can help me by donating orphan blocks, partial blocks, or fabric (scraps, strips, leftover, uglies, whatever). 

If you are willing to mail them to me, I could use them to make more quilts for these kids!!! 

If you are up for a loving donation, please send me an email at tweloq[_at_]gmail[dot_com] or leave a comment here with your email address so I could give you my mailing address. I promise that your donation will be used to make some kids happy and feel more loved!! 

No progress for this week, but I sorted a box of fabric, so I am ready to piece some backs and complete some quilts in the next few months!!

--

How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Reflections on learning (and a link party)

Not much sewing this week, but a lot going on behind the scenes and that got me thinking... :)

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Block Swap Adventure - just received Dec partner info, need to decide on what to make
2. Charity quilts - 3 quilts donated to Fran!
3. Americana QAL - no progress
4. 2016 QAL (secret) - a lot of progress behind the scenes!!
5. Allietare QAL - forth clue done (see below)
6. Jane T - no progress
7. Pantone Color of the Year 2016 - no progress

The EverythingElse List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
3. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
4. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
5. the Ender project - no progress
6. Embroidery calendar - no progress
7. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
8. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
9. As You Wish -  no progress
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
12. B quilt - no progress

--

Inspired by the Fold'n Stitch Wreath (Poorhouse quilt designs)

I was in the mood of sewing something for me but I didn't know what.
Then I saw that nice pattern (which is not available for download yet) and after starring at it for a while I realized two things:
1. I could make it myself quite easily once I "saw" the basic shape :)
2. I didn't need such a big piece as I wanted to use it as a tree skirt and I have a pretty small tree!

So I started playing around with Inkscape to figure out the size, and then I started stitching!
Of course, the good thing about having a pattern is that the designer figured out the steps and the math for you... and I messed up the first square :) oh, well, it's a tree skirt, that piece is going on the back of the tree, so I didn't undo it!
I also decided to use 10 pieces instead of 12, because I wanted it to be open and easy to put on. Probably next time I would use 11 or 12 pieces (and not close the last one), but I am extra happy about how it turned out. It's pretty cute! And reversible too, so a win-win!

--
And now let's talk about my reflections on learning :)

The thing that got me thinking is that I spent 4 nights trying to figure out how to make something work on my patterns in Inkscape. After so many hours spent on it, I was starting bashing myself about "wasting a lot of time", "not having real progress", etc. Then I stopped and realized something that applies on all our crafty adventures.

~~Lesson 1~~
Give yourself permission to follow your instincts and to deviate from what experts do or say you should do. 

My case: I had a file with a lot of layers and I wanted to print them into separate pdf pages. I googled around and I found an extension of the software that does that.
People say to use that, so that's what I did.
The problem is that the extension was not working for me: it was slow, crashing a lot, and while it had the final result I wanted, I hated the process!
I kept using it just because people say I should do that.
I kept doing until I had enough and I thought: wait a second... I have a degree in computer science and a lot of programming experience... my skills are different from what people that use that software usually have, so maybe I can use my own skills to obtain what I want. A couple of hours later, I had an easy (for me) script that does exactly what I need, with one click, fast and no crashing! Now... is this good for everyone? no, if you don't know perl, svg, xml and other technical things, this method is not for you. But that's the point, it is for me!
So this is the lesson! If people tell you to make HST or flying geese in a certain way and you don't like the process, give yourself permission of disagreeing, no matter how you respect or admire the person that gives you the instructions. Everyone is different and that's a beautiful thing!
You should explore and take advantage of your own strengths!

~~Lesson 2~~
Nothing is wasted, neither time nor material, if you learned something. You cannot predict how much what you learned now (by "wasting" time/material) can improve your future activities.

My case: I spent hours (days) trying to figure out the script thing explained above.
Is this time wasted? Could I have use it to make more projects?
Well... we are good at seeing how we could have used the past time but we are not good at seeing how the things we are doing now affect the future.
So if I spent 3 days figuring out that I don't like one technique and another way saves me time and makes the process more enjoyable, in the grand scheme of things, that should count as hours gained as not wasted in the future!
The same reasoning applies for material/fabric: did you try making HST of flying geese that turned out terrible and you think you wasted that material? Can you estimate how much material are you instead saving because in the future you will use a different method that you instead enjoy?

So even if very sewing was done this week, I had pretty good revelations that will help me in my future projects :)

--
The third clue of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery QAL is out. I decided to follow along, but I will make 1/4 of the units because I don't need a big quilt and I am not sure if I will like the design :)

I decided to go with brighter colors: cyan/aqua/teal (instead of red) and bright yellow (instead of gold). I will probably donate this quilt to charity as a baby quilt, so I want it to be fun and colorful!

For this clue, I getting more and more nervous about my decision of not going with "sets" but going for complete scappiness. The reason I am more nervous is because Bonnie keep writing things like "IDENTICAL", "ALL THE SAME FABRIC", "PER SET" all upper case!!! O_O
Does this mean that it is super important, or is it just because usually she doesn't have sets so it's good to highlight these uncommon practice? Who knows! I guess I will find out soon. But in the meantime I will keep my full scrappiness approach!

Forth clue of Bonnie's mystery QAL... 

Linking up at the Monday Link-up party!

--
And last, but not least, I want to remind you that I am working on charity quilts,
and I would love your help!! 

Quilts are for a quilt drive to help the kids in the DC General Homeless Shelter. 

And you can help me by donating orphan blocks, partial blocks, or fabric (scraps, strips, leftover, uglies, whatever). 

If you are willing to mail them to me, I could use them to make more quilts for these kids!!! 

If you are up for a loving donation, please send me an email at tweloq[_at_]gmail[dot_com] or leave a comment here with your email address so I could give you my mailing address. I promise that your donation will be used to make some kids happy and feel more loved!! 

I finally met the wonderful Fran, the lady that is collecting the quilts and donating them to the shelter! It was so fun to meet her! And she was pleased with my donation so I will keep going!

I have 3 tops done, that are just waiting for some inspiration on quilting!

My 2016 resolution is to have 1 quilt done per month. Let's see if I can do that!

--

How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Are you the winner? (probably not, but it's not my fault!)

No... probably not... because there is a good chance you are a no-reply blogger!! :)

The winner for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway is announced at the end of this post. 

But while there is only one winner, there are an amazing number of people that didn't even have the chance to participate because they didn't bother checking if they are no-reply bloggers!

So let me spend some words on that.

Are you a no-reply blogger?

Don't just think "of course not, I am not" because you MAY be and you may not even know!

Clues that you MAY be a no-reply blogger:

1. Did you enter hundreds of giveaways this week and you didn't win any of them?
2. Did you enter hundreds of giveaways this week and you didn't get any email back that says "thank you for participating" or similar?

An extremely important thing to know is that your status could have been changed without you noticing!! If you answer "yes" to any of the questions above, it's worth to double check it.
Email and privacy settings may have been changed from another app or program and since many applications are connected, you may have accidentally turned into a no-reply blogger!!!

Here some statistics about what happened in my giveaway:

• total number of comments submitted: 290
• number of comments from no-reply bloggers: 113
• number of comments with no email:  68

So as you can see, there are a good number of no-reply bloggers that actually put their email address in the comment and they were entered in the drawing. The saddest thing is that many of the comments without addresses were like "I follow you on FB, Pinterest, Flickr, bloglovin...".
So even if you are a follower I couldn't really reward you for that because your email didn't show up and several times in the past I announced winners that never got back to me! :(

Whether you won or not, the no-reply blogger is a good thing to fix for the future.

Now why is this situation happening in the first place?

1. you don't want to share you email address in your profile, because you have privacy concerns or you don't want the evil google to have your contact information :)
   Well... this is how I see it: it may be a good philosophical position, but to be coherent you shouldn't want to enter a giveaway that is on the platform you don't support! For example I don't have Instagram, I don't like Instagram so I don't enter giveaways or swaps on Instagram.
   There is a saying in Italian: "Non si puo' avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca" this translates to "You can have your cake, or you can eat it"... actually it translates to "You cannot have a full wine cask and have your wife drunk at the same time" :)
2. you have a different platform that does not play well with blogger
   I know this happens, but setting up a new blogger account (with a new or existing email address) is not that difficult. So if you don't want to do it, well, see my answer above
3. you don't know that this is happening to you
   I had this when I started blogging and I was really sad that I didn't win anything or get conversation with people. So I took the time to investigate the issue and fix it. It takes time (about 5 minutes) but again see the answer in 1 :) 

So, even if now these giveaways are done, do you want an easy way to see if you can be reached from your comments? Write me a comment below with the text "Hello, can you hear me?". If I reply back with the next line of Adele's song, then you are fine :) if not... well then you know!
I will answer EVERY single comment in this post within 24h. 
In the giveaway post I missed some of them because of the volume of the comments!.

And finally... let's announce the winner!!

I contacted you via email, so please get back to me soon or I will have to draw another winner!!

Cute little guys (and a link party)

Not as much progress as I hoped this week, but I spent several nights entering giveaways and answering to people entering mine :).

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Block Swap Adventure - paused until Jan
2. Charity quilts - no progress
3. Americana QAL - no progress
4. 2016 QAL - it's not a secret any more! (see below)
5. Allietare QAL - third clue half done (see below)
6. Knitted hand warmers - decided to leave this for next year :)
7. Jane T - no progress
8. Xmas present 2 - done (see below)
9. Pantone Color of the Year 2016 - designed the mini, bought the fabric!

The EverythingElse List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
3. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
4. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
5. the Ender project - no progress
6. Embroidery calendar - no progress
7. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
8. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
9. As You Wish -  no progress
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
12. B quilt - no progress

--
I think this is the last Xmas present for this year!

Pattern by E. Andersson 

Pumpkin is a little alarmed about the presence of a funny looking guy on our kitchen floor :)

Super simple pattern. I shorten the body (4 sections instead of 5) and I fill them with fabric scraps and crumbles: they are the perfect filling to give some weight to the piece!

--
The third clue of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery QAL is out. I decided to follow along, but I will make 1/4 of the units because I don't need a big quilt and I am not sure if I will like the design :)

I decided to go with brighter colors: cyan/aqua/teal (instead of red) and bright yellow (instead of gold). I will probably donate this quilt to charity as a baby quilt, so I want it to be fun and colorful!

For this clue, I didn't do strip piecing, but I cut every single square individually. That's why I actually have only half of my pieces done, but they are super easy and I will get the rest done soon.

Linking up at the Monday Link-up party!

I like the level of scrappiness I have. Let's see if it is going to work in the overall design!
--
Finally I finished up these two little guys:

Birds from "Sweet Tweets" (by Erin Cox)

Holiday Gingy (my pattern). It will be available soon on Fandom In Stitches.

I quilted it with falling snowflakes because I was inspired by the wonderful work of Susan @ quiltfabrication. I decided to use a metallic thread. I turned out pretty cool, the sparkle is just perfect. It was quite a nightmare to quilt with it though. It broke several times, but going slow seemed to be the good solution to this problem.

--
Finally, let me re-announce the QAL I am going to host next year!
Actually there are two big ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. I am moving all my patterns to a new website alidatweloqdesigns.blogspot.com!
   If you want to read more about the move, check out the link above.
   During the month of December, please be patient with me as the move may get messy and patterns maybe get lost in boxes :) if you have any issue, don't hesitate to get in touch with me!
   
2. I will be running a FUN QAL for 2016... a very non-traditional QAL that incorporates several techniques to create a quilt like you have never seen before!
   Not interested in the entire quilt? No problem!! Each block can be incorporated in a finished project perfect to gift to yourself, your kids, your nephews or your grandkids!!
   What is the theme? Board Games!!

To find more information about the QAL and subscribe to the newsletter to get more information during the month of December, please visit the official page for the QAL.

--
And last, but not least, I want to remind you that I am working on charity quilts,
and I would love your help!! 

Quilts are for a quilt drive to help the kids in the DC General Homeless Shelter. 

And you can help me by donating orphan blocks, partial blocks, or fabric (scraps, strips, leftover, uglies, whatever). 

If you are willing to mail them to me, I could use them to make more quilts for these kids!!! 

If you are up for a loving donation, please send me an email at tweloq[_at_]gmail[dot_com] or leave a comment here with your email address so I could give you my mailing address. I promise that your donation will be used to make some kids happy and feel more loved!! 

No progress for me this week, but I bought some batting, I have 3 quilt tops done so it's just a matter of assembling some backing and then get down to the quilting!!

--

How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway and QAL announcement!

THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

SewMamaSew.com

Hello giveaway hoppers!
If you are new here, welcome!!
If you have been here before, I am glad that you came back!!! :)

If you are new here you should know that I am obsessed with Paper Piecing and I offer FREE paper piecing patterns of very famous characters like Snoopy & Friends, Alice in Wonderland, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and many many more!

Two big ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. I am moving all my patterns to a new website alidatweloqdesigns.blogspot.com!
   If you want to read more about the move, check out the link above.
   During the month of December, please be patient with me as the move may get messy and patterns maybe get lost in boxes :) if you have any issue, don't hesitate to get in touch with me!
   
   
2. I will be running a FUN QAL for 2016... a very non-traditional QAL that incorporates several techniques to create a quilt like you have never seen before!
   Not interested in the entire quilt? No problem!! Each block can be incorporated in a finished project perfect to gift to yourself, your kids, your nephews or your grandkids!!
   What is the theme? Board Games!!

To find more information about the QAL and subscribe to the newsletter to get more information during the month of December, please visit the official page for the QAL.

And now, let's get down to the giveaway business :)

Some Halloween Themed charms...
and few Tula Pink's Fat Quarters...
and a Clover needle Threader!
THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

Rules are simple:

• leave a comment below answering a simple question:
  Do you have a favorite board game?
  Mine was "Non T'Arrabbiare" which is the Italian version of the English Ludo :)
• for an extra entry, follow my new blog through Blogger (GFC) or Bloglovin, or join my AlidaTweLoQDesign FB group, or follow on Pinterest, and add a second comment below to tell me how you follow! (new followers are welcome! and if you are already following, just let me know how!!)

Important notes:

• the giveaway will close on December 13th at (11:59 p.m. EST), and the winner will be contacted by email on Monday, Dec 14th.
  If I don't hear back by Tue (5 pm EST), I will pick another winner.
• this giveaway is open to anyone (US and non-US)
• comments are going to be moderated, so they will not be published immediately.
  But in 24h I promise that I will approve all the comments that are not spam :)
• if you are a no-reply blogger, please leave your email in the comment because I will NOT publish comments by no-reply bloggers without the email (I need a way to contact you if you win). If you are worried about spam, just type your email like "tweloq [space] at [space] gmail [dot] com" or similar :)
• !!! IMPORTANT !!! During past giveaways I received at least 50 comments from no-reply bloggers and I didn't add them in the drawing (even if I appreciate the comment, I need a way to contact you if you win). So if you don't receive an email from me answering your comment, come back and put another comment with your email!!! I cannot hunt your email through fancy links, website, etc. I am NOT making YOU jump through hoops to get the prize, so do NOT make ME jump through hoops to get your email address
• UPDATE: at this point (Wed, Dec 9, 9:49 pm EST) there are 30 comments from no-reply bloggers or from people that ask me to click links/profiles to get their email address. Sorry people: if I cannot access your email directly from your comment, I will NOT publish it.
  HOWEVER: I decided to change the rules... I will add a prize for the no-reply bloggers and for people that do not provide their contact information. I will send it to a random location in your home country (that I will guess from your name) and then I will write you a clue about where to find the next clue for a national/international scavenger hunt! :) if you don't make it easy for me to find you, I won't make it easy for you to find the prize!! :)
  Seriously: it takes 5 minutes to check if you are a no-reply blogger!! There are tons of tutorial that shows you how to check and how to stop this terrible thing that is preventing you to get new friends, replies to your comments and prizes!!! A simple step-by-step tutorial can be found HERE: http://www.flusterbuster.com/2013/02/are-you-no-reply-blogger.html. It has pictures and detailed instructions...

THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

Holiday projects (and a link party)

Slow but steady this week.

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Block Swap Adventure - just received Dec partner info, need to decide on what to make
2. Charity quilts - one quilt top done (see below)
3. Americana QAL - no progress
4. 2016 QAL (secret) - no progress
5. Allietare QAL - second clue done (see below)
6. Knitted hand warmers - maybe I will make another one, but not sure
7. Jane T - no progress
8. Xmas present 1 - knitted scarf: done! (see below)
9. Xmas present 2 - crochet caterpillar, no progress
10. Pantone Color of the Year 2016 - did you see what they picked? need to think about what to make with those colors :)

The EverythingElse List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
3. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
4. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
5. the Ender project - no progress
6. Embroidery calendar - no progress
7. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
8. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
9. As You Wish -  no progress
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
12. B quilt - no progress

--
Another Xmas present is done!
My first try at knitting a bigger project (I just did 2 pairs of hand warmers before today)

Pattern by favecrafts 

(the pattern has some missing brackets and * but it's easy to understand where the repeats are)

The scarf is still in blocking stage, but I really like how it looks. I don't like knitting though :)
Small pieces like hand warmers are ok, but bigger pieces like this are harder on my hands and brain :) plus I am not able to undo rows that have mistakes: it's easy to do it with crochet, but when knitting, everything is super unstable if you start undoing rows. So I just left the mistakes in there and they are pretty visible in cool and clean patterns like the one below. But despite the goofs I like the finished scarf.

--

The second clue of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery QAL is out. I decided to follow along, but I will make 1/4 of the units because I don't need a big quilt and I am not sure if I will like the design :)

I decided to go with brighter colors: cyan/aqua/teal (instead of red) and bright yellow (instead of gold). I will probably donate this quilt to charity as a baby quilt, so I want it to be fun and colorful!

For this clue, I was a little nervous about the "sets". I want it to be very scrappy because I didn't pick a constant grey so I am a little worried that now these "set" units will make the design look too "planned" and not scrappy enough to sustain the scrappy grey... however I decided to take the leap and not mix up the grey and neutrals in the units. So each set is the same, but they are different from each other.

I don't like chain stitching, I get bored, distracted and then I make mistakes :)

That's why I used chain stitching but I alternated two projects: the mystery quilt and the charity quilt (see below). And my sewing buddy helped keeping the chain stitching fun and challenging :)

Second clue of Bonnie's mystery QAL... 

with my new pattern Holiday Gingy to wish you Happy Holidays :) 

Linking up at the Monday Link-up party!

The pattern for Holiday Gingy will be available soon on Fandom in Stitches! :)

--
And last, but not least, I want to remind you that I am working on charity quilts,
and I would love your help!! 

Quilts are for a quilt drive to help the kids in the DC General Homeless Shelter. 

And you can help me by donating orphan blocks, partial blocks, or fabric (scraps, strips, leftover, uglies, whatever). 

If you are willing to mail them to me, I could use them to make more quilts for these kids!!! 

If you are up for a loving donation, please send me an email at tweloq[_at_]gmail[dot_com] or leave a comment here with your email address so I could give you my mailing address. I promise that your donation will be used to make some kids happy and feel more loved!! 

One more quilt top done!

Toddler quilt top - 64 x 46 inches

This is a project from my long Q4 list of projects! (Project 5. in the list)...
This is not done, but it's a good progress since the initial state was "I have the fabric, but I don't know what to do with that" :).
This is a super simple pattern, I saw some quilts online somewhere and I grabbed that idea but I cannot find it any more to link it here :( it's a very very simple pattern overall: it's just alternation of squares and nine patches, but the color placement makes it a "granny square" look. I think it's a perfect pattern for big prints, and for sure it's a quick and easy pattern.

--

How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

So much to share (and a link party)!

Few secret pieces revealed and several finishes!!!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Block Swap Adventure - paused until Dec
   (but making scrappy blocks for block lotto, see below)
2. Charity quilts - one quilt done (see below)
3. Americana QAL - no progress
4. Adam's wall hanging - finally I can show this off!! (see below)
5. 2016 QAL (secret) - no progress
6. Allietare QAL - first clue done (see below)
7. Knitted hand warmers - another pair done (see below)
8. Jane T - no progress
9. Xmas present 1 - knitted scarf (done about 15 inches)
10. Xmas present 2 - crochet caterpillar (found pattern)

The EverythingElse List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
3. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
4. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
5. the Ender project - no progress
6. Embroidery calendar - no progress
7. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
8. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
9. As You Wish -  no progress
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
12. B quilt - no progress

--
Finally I can reveal a big project I am super proud of!!

Happy Pigeon - 20 x 20 inches

A while ago I decided to participate in the AMB challenge and I made a mini inspired by the wonderful work of Adam Lister (adamlistergallery.com) and his interpretation of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night". If you want to read more about that project, you can read the whole story in this post.

After I sent Adam the picture of the quilt, he said that he really liked it and that he wanted a quilt for himself :) so he proposed a trade: I make a mini for him, and he makes a painting for me. Of course I thought this idea was wonderful! He sent me a picture of a old painting he made ("Pigeon") and he said that my mini would be used as a decoration for his daughter room (she is one year old).

So I decided to mix up his style with my own... so I made a very square horizontal/vertical style background, and I quilted it. Then I designed the pigeon to have fun angles and I paper pieced that block. I then appliqued the big pigeon on the background.

Once I completed the mini, I decided to make a little something for Adam as well... because everyone needs a little custom handmade object! So I made him this little mug rug.

Nintendo Mug Rug (9 x 4 inches)

--

Another couple of Xmas presents are done!

Hand warmers for a friend (I really love the cable pattern... and they are extra comfy too)

Pattern by weezalana (knittywhipped.blogspot.com) 

And a little crochet bag for one of her kids: because every little lady needs a cute bag, right?

Pattern by Sara (tangledhappy.com)

--
In our Block Swap Adventure group we decided to add extra things to swap, just to make it more fun. Next year we are going to run a block lotto, where each month one person will win a bunch of scrappy 16 patches (1 inch finished little squares, each block measures 4.5 unfinished). Each month we will enter 4 blocks in the drawing... I used this project as a "break" between other more "brain demanding" projects as here there is no thinking needed: just grab squares and sew!

Two months of squares are ready to be entered in the block lotto drawing!!

--

The first clue of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery QAL is out. I decided to follow along, but I will make 1/4 of the units because I don't need a big quilt and I am not sure if I will like the design :) I loved the Celtic Solstice, but I didn't like the one done last year (which I didn't follow along anyway).

This time, I am still not sure if I am going to use her colors or replace the red with blue.
I have many more blues than red... we'll see...
In the meantime I already made a change from her instructions, as I decided to use a scrappy grey instead of a constant fabric... we'll see if this will work or not :)

Some of my trimmed HST... and a pile of many more to trim!

Linked up at the Monday Link-up party!

--

And last, but not least, I want to remind you that I am working on charity quilts,
and I would love your help!! 

Quilts are for a quilt drive to help the kids in the DC General Homeless Shelter. 

And you can help me by donating orphan blocks, partial blocks, or fabric (scraps, strips, leftover, uglies, whatever). 

If you are willing to mail them to me, I could use them to make more quilts for these kids!!! 

If you are up for a loving donation, please send me an email at tweloq[_at_]gmail[dot_com] or leave a comment here with your email address so I could give you my mailing address. I promise that your donation will be used to make some kids happy and feel more loved!! 

One more quilt done!

Baby quilt - 40 x 40 inches

This is a project from my long Q4 list of projects! (Project 2. in the list)...
and I completed TEN projects since the beginning of October! WooooH me :)

--

How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

SYS2015 - Being thankful - series wrap up!

A very special time for the last post of the series.

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I want to express my warmest thanks to all the wonderful artists that contributed to this series.

Tutorials by Janeen, Alida, Pren, Susan, Karen, Kristel, Lisa, Alida, Jordan, Bea

All tutorials and links are available on the tutorial series page

As you can see many projects were shared, tutorials full of tips and tricks for beginners and expert.


I had an extremely fun time during the year putting together all these projects

I consolidated some of my old skills, and learned some new ones.

I learned that trying out a technique that I thought was going to be "boring" is the only chance I have to actually discover that I can have fun making things other than Paper Piecing!

I learned that small projects are a great way to test things that I am not sure about: having a finished project to use or gift is a wonderful way of not feeling "defeated" if I don't like the technique.

I had hundreds of downloads for each tutorial, so I guess that other people out there found them useful as well. Even if very few shared their projects here in the linky, I think the event was a moderate success, given the fact that I don't have a big readership nor I promote much on conventional social media.
If you have 5 minutes and you want to give me feedback about the event, please click through this short survey, so that I could use your feedback for future events!

I wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season, and stay tuned for future announcements of giveaways and QAL!

Remember that in this link party only projects belonging to the SYS2015 series should be added 

(I reserve the right to delete any non compliant link). 

This link party will be open all year long and you can add as many finished projects as you want! 

The same link party will be shown on the SYS2015 page.

Each link will give you a chance to win one of the monthly prizes.

You can link up blocks and projects from the Foundation Paper Piecing, Quilting, Crochet, Pixel Quilt, Fabric Postcard, Cross stitch, Embroidery and English Paper Piecing tutorials!!

--

An InLinkz Link-up

Can you help me name a quilt? (and a link party)

Finishes and new ideas!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Block Swap Adventure - paused until Dec
2. Charity quilts - no progress
3. Zipper pouches - last three done (see below)
4. Americana QAL - one star done (see below)
5. Adam's wall hanging - done and sent (cannot share)
6. 2016 QAL (secret) - no progress
7. Allietare QAL - no progress
8. Knitted hand warmers - 1 and 1/2 done (will share when done)
9. NEW PROJECT: help me name this (see below)

The EverythingElse List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
3. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
4. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
5. the Ender project - no progress
6. Embroidery calendar - no progress
7. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
8. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
9. As You Wish -  no progress
10. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
11. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
12. B quilt - no progress

--

I made three more zipper pouches (variation of the Sew Together Bag (by Michelle)). The smaller version of the bag is by Elizabeth (Mini Sew Together Bag).

This is a project from my long Q4 list of projects! (Project 9. in the list)... and I completed 9 projects since the beginning of October! WooooH me :)

--

One of the blocks for November/December patterns of the Americana QAL. I will make the big star as well, but for now, I choose to make this one as it was quick and easy!

--
And now... for the big reveal of a new project...

I am organizing a QAL for 2016 but that project will be already half completed by January as I need to test the patterns, make the pdfs, etc. So what am I going to do for 2016? I have several UFOs but ehi, I want something new too ;)

For years I have been watching people making few super traditional quilts (Dear Jane, Farmer's Wife and Nearly Insane). I really like their "sampler" look, and while I like that they are easily recognizable, they are "too traditional" for my tastes... I want to have a quilt that people can recognize but I don't want to have the SAME quilt that other people have!

So what is the solution?

Come up with a design that includes blocks from all those traditional quilts, and put them together in my unique design!

So after several hours of cut/paste of blocks I came up with this design

"Jane T"

Let me introduce you "Jane T", my take on few traditional quilts!

My question is: how should I name this quilt? The nickname is going to be Jane T, but for her full name I have two options:

1. Jane Tiger: the nearly insane wife of a farmer
2. Jane Tiger: the wife of a nearly insane farmer

:)

So my question is: who is nearly insane? the wife or the farmer? ;)

My quilt will be scrappy, using approximately those colors. Fabric requirements, measures, patterns links are not collected yet... however if someone wants to sew along with me, just let me know! I won't have an official QAL on this because I want the project to be a side project, free form and whenever I am inspired... but I would love to have others stitching this along! It would be a great incentive to have a support group!! :)

--

And last, but not least, I want to remind you that I am working on charity quilts,
and I would love your help!! 

Quilts are for a quilt drive to help the kids in the DC General Homeless Shelter. 

And you can help me by donating orphan blocks, partial blocks, or fabric (scraps, strips, leftover, uglies, whatever). 

If you are willing to mail them to me, I could use them to make more quilts for these kids!!! 

If you are up for a loving donation, please send me an email at tweloq[_at_]gmail[dot_com] or leave a comment here with your email address so I could give you my mailing address. I promise that your donation will be used to make some kids happy and feel more loved!! 

No progress to report here this week... I was focusing on a couple of projects that had a early deadline, but I think now I can go back to those tops and get them quilted.

--

How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

SYS2015 - Hexies, hexies, hexies!

Earlier this month Bea shared variety of project featuring hexies and EPP.
You can find the tutorial on the SYS2015 page!

Are YOU enjoying stitching up those fun shapes? I haven't seen any project from you... come on people, share your new EPP creations below!!

Remember that in this link party only projects belonging to the SYS2015 series should be added 

(I reserve the right to delete any non compliant link). 

This link party will be open all year long and you can add as many finished projects as you want! 

The same link party will be shown on the SYS2015 page.

Each link will give you a chance to win one of the monthly prizes.

Considering the lack of participation for the entire series, I won't offer a giveaway for this last installment. I will save up the goodies and offer them in few weeks for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. I don't have sponsors and I offer all the giveaways out of my pocket: I am happy to do it if I see that people participate, but if none is sharing, what's the point of offering the giveaway?

You can still link up blocks and projects from the Foundation Paper Piecing, Quilting, Crochet, Pixel Quilt, Fabric Postcard, Cross stitch and Embroidery pieces tutorials!!

For rules about what will be accepted in those cases, please refer to this previous post (Tutorial 1), this other post (Tutorial 2), this other post (Tutorial 3), this other post (Tutorial 4), this other post (Tutorial 5), this other post (Tutorial 6), this other post (Tutorial 7), this other post (Tutorial 9).

Remember that ANY new project (even from previous tutorials) can be entered in the linky.

--

An InLinkz Link-up