Lorraine aka February UFO

The finishing gods must be rooting for me, for this is the second month in a row that I've not only finished the month's UFO, but have done it - gasp! - early. That's the surprising part - I am not particularly known for finishing things way before a deadline.

So let's have a look at Lorraine. This name stems from the name of one of the lines of American Jane fabrics used in the quilt; the other two are Savonnerie and Breath of Avignon. Of those three, doesn't Lorraine make the most sense for naming a quilt?

Lorraine's adventure began last June when I put together some blocks for a change of pace from commission sewing. I used precuts of Savonnerie (Charm Packs) and Lorraine (Jelly Rolls). I worked on the center of the quilt off and on through the summer and fall. It adorned my design wall for much of that time, thus providing a pleasant reminder of a finish I was eager to work on. But not too eager, apparently, because everything else kept taking precedence over it - somehow!

It made its way onto my UFO list for 2017. It needed just borders, and the task wouldn't be too difficult because I planned to use from my American Jane stash which diminishes my options. I'm running out! The inner border is from an older line called Breath of Avignon. I just didn't have the yardage of either Lorraine or Savonnerie.  Then I used the leftovers of the jelly roll and charm pack to make a piano key outer border.

And now it's a finished flimsy - yay! The size is 73"x 64" - not overly large. It will hang in my closet awhile before I decide how and when to quilt it. I will have to be inventive with backing, so that will require a bit of thought.

What are you finishing in your sewing room? I have one per month this year to do, and I'm right on target just 2 months in. I will do my best to maintain this rate - finishing things really feels good.

I'll be linking this finish to some other blogs that showcase finishes. Check out Fabric Frenzy Friday , Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop, and Finish It Up Friday for some awesome inspiration.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Back to Lorraine

Early in the summer when I should have been working on any number of commissions I had waiting to be done, I took a day to dive into my sweet little stash of American Jane/Moda fabrics - Lorraine and Savonnerie, specifically. These bright, sunny French-inspired colors were just begging me to create something.

And ever since, the design wall has looked like the photo above. I sewed my blocks into rows, and pinned the rows onto the design wall, and then went back to work on the commissions. It has been nice to look at this wall of gorgeous color all summer long.

On Monday, after I sewed together three - yes, three - quilt backs, I rewarded myself by taking down these rows, rearranging a bit to distribute the colors more evenly, and sewing the top together.

Whee! What fun! I am so loving how the two lines of fabrics work together. It is really hard to know which piece is from the Lorraine line and which is from the Savonnerie line. Good planning by the fabric designer, right?

So now I have my center and am left with deciding how to handle borders. Here is what is left of my two fabric lines - one charm pack of Savonnerie and leftovers from my jelly roll of Lorraine.

However, I do have a wildcard option: several years ago I made a quilt with an earlier line of American Jane fabrics, and I still have leftovers of that fabric stored away in a tub. I think they will totally go with these newer lines, and I will use them if necessary.

Yes, I still have a couple of commissions to finish - 2 t-shirt quilts, specifically. But it sure has been fun to divert my attention to my own stitching for just a little break.

And, one last time, let me remind you to go visit the Quilter Blogger's Festival, to see all the entries in a virtual quilt show hosted by Amy's Creative Side. I have entered quilts in three categories, and would sure love for you to vote if you haven't already. Results will be announced on Saturday, so time is running out!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Pre-Cut Project

Right before leaving for the beach, I put together a few blocks of some precuts I'd been dying to use. You can go back to this post to see my initial blocks. I had two charm packs and one jelly roll of fabric all by American Jane of Moda. The charm packs are Savonnerie; the jelly roll is Lorraine. They play oh-so-well together. Just take a look.

The centers are all Savonnerie charm pack squares; the strips surrounding them are Lorraine. Can you tell any difference? Anyone would think these were all from the same line. I am extremely pleased with this project so far. I will set it aside for awhile, though, because I need to get back to work on those commissions I have agreed to do.

When I do come back to this, I have one more charm pack and some ends of the jelly roll left over. I'd like to be able to make this larger, and I will just need to see what I can come up with. Additionally, I have a tub of remnants of an earlier American Jane line called Breath of Avignon. I've checked. Those remnants will play nicely with these fabrics, also. I will figure out a way to incorporate them.

Sharon was here Tuesday and she worked on her Lorraine fabric, too, while I finished the 42 blocks you see above. Tomorrow I will show you what Sharon's plans are.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Sneak Preview

One of the projects I want to complete this month is the quilt using precuts from American Jane - Lorraine and Savonnerie.

Before I left for Myrtle Beach - did I tell you I am on vacation? - I waved to you yesterday as we headed south. I'm with 4 girlfriends for a week of surf, sun and fun. I've scheduled regular posts to appear in my absence.

Back to my sneak peak. I couldn't resist those fabrics any longer, so I cut into them, and stitched a few blocks together.

I'm  planning the most basic quilt with these precuts, and I will have zero waste. I like zero waste. The first step is to cut two 5" strips from each jelly roll fabric. These 5" strips will be randomly matched with a charm square like the photo above shows.

Also from each jelly roll fabric I will cut strips for the other side of the charm squares, as shown above.

These went together oh-so-fast, and I just couldn't stop. Here is a pic of all 4 blocks.

I will be so eager to get back to this when the vacation ends. Maybe it will make leaving paradise a little easier to swallow. Maybe?

Happy Quilting, Friends!