Crazy weeks, but you can share your projects!

(Random picture from the past) :)

In the past couple of weeks I have been crazy busy at work and I didn't have the energy to do much sewing.
I did few things but I didn't even find the strength to take picture to document them :)

Oh, well, I have been sewing a little so that's good!
Let's hope to get back to making and sharing soon!

In the meantime, you can share what you have been up to, I will love to see!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

A Splendid week (and a link party)

This was one of my most productive week ever!!!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Play with Me QAL - June released!
2. WGACA projects (changed projects)
1. Charity Quilts for DC General Homeless Shelter project - no progress
2. SECRET quilt for exhibit - (FDJ) - no progress
3. Minion QAL - half block done (hope to have it done soon)
3. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
4. Hello Block Swap - one block received and one block done (see below)
5. American Quilt (previous known as Americana QAL) - shipped to the quilter!
6. Splendid Sampler - TEN blocks done (see below)
7. Challenge quilt - idea abandoned
8. Road Home Row-A-Long - sent out pattern, no progress on finishing my piece

The EverythingElse List:

1. 70273 Project - no progress
2. Jane T - no progress
3. The SK project - one block done and several more designed!
4. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
5. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
6. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
7. As You Wish -  no progress
8. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
9. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
10. Gyleen's BCP Mystery QAL - no progress

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The new board block was released last Monday: Ludo (done with traditional piecing). So fun, fast and easy!

Find all the details at alidatweloqdesigns.blogspot.com

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This week has been a SPLENDID week: I made 10 blocks for my Selvage Splendid Sampler:

Once I get my selvages out, these blocks are so easy and fast! I am still quite behind, but I prefer to make these blocks in big batches instead of one every three days!!

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I completed the block for my second partner for June for the Hello Block Swap.

A little house in a block, white and black fabric. Busy but cute I think!

And this is the one that she made for me (she mailed it earlier, so nice of her!!)

Block that I received from Cathryn

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Finally I went back to my Stephen King project. I have been designing embroidery blocks to have them with me for a upcoming working related trip: being away from my sewing machine will be hard, but having hand sewing projects will be great!

I also completed one of the book covers. I decided to use reverse applique, and on a such a small piece it didn't turn out so wonderful. The effect is fine, but I don't think I will ever use this approach on a tiny piece like this.

7.5''x5''

The Long Walk, book cover

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How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Minion invasion (and a link party)

This was one of my most productive week ever!!!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Play with Me QAL - June ready to be shared!
2. WGACA projects (changed projects)
1. Charity Quilts for DC General Homeless Shelter project - no progress
2. SECRET quilt for exhibit - (FDJ) - no progress
3. Minion QAL - THREE Minions done (see below)
3. Mirror Mirror Afghan - no progress
4. Hello Block Swap - two blocks for June done! (see below)
5. American Quilt (previous known as Americana QAL) - shipped to the quilter!
6. Splendid Sampler - no progress (but I did something with a pattern from there, see below)
7. Challenge quilt - idea abandoned
8. Road Home Row-A-Long - sent out pattern, no progress on finishing my piece

The EverythingElse List:

1. 70273 Project - two more blocks done (see below)
2. Jane T - no progress
3. The SK project - no progress
4. the 31000 Xs project - no progress
5. Spirit cross stitch project - no progress
6. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
7. As You Wish -  no progress
8. Crazy optical illusion - no progress
9. Memory quilt 2 - no progress
10. Gyleen's BCP Mystery QAL - no progress

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You may remember from last week... I have a new obsession: hot dog pillow cases! I made 3 more!

3 new hot dog pillow cases: tutorial by Jennifer @ sewhooked

The two on the left will be sent out as a gift with the pouch below.
The one on the right is for my boyfriend because he said he loved that circuit/binary fabric... and of course I didn't have enough to complete the pillow case... and it's out of print, nowhere to be found :( :( :( oh, well... I think that the piecing worked.

Now who is the only one without a nice pillow case? Me of course!!
I need to measure my giant pillow and make one for myself!!
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I made this scrappy zipper pouch for a friend.
It is pretty big, I am not super pleased by the lining, but I think it will be loved and used! :)

Heart block and zipper pouch pattern available at www.thesplendidsampler.com

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Then I made this block from "My Favorite Things" (by Jennifer)

Fast and easy pattern to get me back into paper piecing mode...
And thanks to that I also made a couple of more XX blocks for the 70273 Project.

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Then I saw the Minion Design Invitation... so here are my blocks!

The Evil Minion was made of the wrong size... fixed in the pattern but for my block I just added a border... and some fuzzy yarn to make the hair, because it's fun!!
The Royal Minion is just simple embroidery and it was super fast to make!!

The patterns will be available at the end of June 2016 from Fandom In Stitches.

And after completing my two blocks, I went back and complete this other Minion

Egyptian Minion by Jennifer Rowles

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And the last thing I made are two blocks for one of my June partners for the Hello Block Swap.

I couldn't really decide on a color scheme and the block is so simple... so I made two :)

Patterns by sewmamasew

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How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Opposites Attract: Sol Mates

Sol Mates, by Alida

Dimensions: 40'' x 14'' (each)

Inspired by the work of Sol Lewitt

Marian (seamstobesew) is hosting a fun blog hop and I decided to join with my recent piece "Sol Mates"!

I made this piece for a recent blog hop I myself run on this blog (Art with Fabric) and it is a piece completely outside my comfort zone!

Let me tell you more about Sol LeWitt.

LeWitt is regarded as a founder of both Minimal and Conceptual art. His prolific two and three-dimensional work ranges from wall drawings (over 1200 of which have been executed) to hundreds of works on paper extending to structures in the form of towers, pyramids, geometric forms, and progressions. More on LeWitt, links at stories can be found on this Wiki page.

You HAVE to watch the amazing timelapse video of the artists painting "Sol LeWitt at the Met - Wall Drawing #370, Installation: Days 15-17" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OJ36NbGU2c.

If you want to hear more about his approach to art and how amazing artists put together his conceptual work (which is the text instructions on how the piece should look like) listen to the stories in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpi5OBv6ZMU.

"The artist and the draftsman become collaborators in making the art" -Sol LeWitt.

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Now about me :)

If you ask me what kind of art/paitings I do NOT like I would say something modern, simple, minimalist... something with few colors...
If you ask me what kind of fabric I absolutely do NOT like to work with I would say solids... and white in general...

That's why I was super surprised when I first looked at one of LeWitt wall drawings (the X) and I instinctively thought "I NEED to make that into a quilt" :)
That's what I LOVE about art... sometimes a piece moves you so strongly and so deeply that it goes against all the "rational" likes/dislikes that you have always had.

So while I knew that I wanted to reproduce the X painting, I also knew that I had to put my spins to it.
First of all I decided to make just half of it, and then I decided to add a pop of color (purple).
I made that half and then I start starring at it and I kept thinking "I really like it, but something is missing".
Of course the other half was missing :) and that's when I decided to make the other half and the name "Sol Mates" came in the picture. Because the first half represents me (my favorite color is purple) and the other half represent my significant other (his favorite color is blue).
And if you look closely the finished piece you would notice that it is covered in cat hair :) so here you have it, the entire family in one quilted piece of art :)

The two halves are complementary in the quilting (quilted in opposite sections) and the quilting is not perfect... because we are not perfect...

Detail on the quilting.
The two halves are quilted in complementary ways: straight quilting on the white sections of the X (and black sections on the background) for the blue half, quilting on the black sections X (and white sections on the background) for the purple half.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to help yourself in the following giveaway offered by Marian (seamstobesew)!!! :)
Go and check out the other participants of the hop from Marian's blog!!!

June 1 

Tweety Loves Quilting (me)

Quilt In A Not-Shell

Life in the Scrapatch

My Quilty Musings

a Rafflecopter giveaway