Twin Rag Quilts

I'm back! Sorry it's been so long. I'm not sure who's reading my blog anyway. These days I post mostly to Instagram, but I like to blog about finishes. I have finished 4 quilts since my last post!!! I'm going to share one today which is actually 2 quilts made from the same fabrics. I've also updated the My Finishes section of my blog if you want to see photos of the other finishes, although I will blog about them next time.

I made 2 rag quilts using flannel, several prints from Moda and others unidentified. I got most of the fabrics at Marden's in Maine (great prices!) and at some quilt shops along the way. They both measure about 60 x 70 inches so they are great cuddly couch warmers :)... or throws :) I gave one to someone I work with for Secret Santa. I gave the other to my Sister-in-law in Washington state. I forgot to take pictures of one of them finished, so most of the pics are of the Secret Santa one.

This is the link to the full photo album.

Here are some posted for the blog:

Linking up at Link a Finish Friday!

Have a great day everyone!
Until next time,
Mike.

I have Google+ comments activated, so if you are having trouble commenting you can comment on my Facebook page, Twitter feed, Flickr, Instagram, or Pinterest pages! ...On any of my photos or posts!!! I love getting comments! You can also email me at amateurquilter at gmail dot com! I will always respond! Thanks for stopping by! .... Mike.

Is it Binded or Bound?

Once the binding is finished on your quilt, is it considered "binded" or "bound?" I had this conversation with a friend this morning on the train. (I happen to be making him a quilt at the moment.) We think that in the quilting world "binded" is acceptable, but not so much in other contexts. Thoughts?

I'm about to sew the binding on this hexy quilt. So, does it need to be bound or binded?

On another note, I am having a big giveaway as part of Sew Mama Sew starting Monday. I have a sponsor (they're first time sponsoring a blogger!). You don't want to miss this prize!!!

Also, you all know how Hexy I am :)... so I started a Google community for English Paper Piecing called "I'm Hexy and I know it!" Come join through this link :) I've made the leap and integrated Google+ into my blogger account, including comments. They finally fixed the issue of it making you a no-reply blogger, so I hope you all will make the leap too :) Inevitably you will be forced to make the leap... sooner or later! If you want to follow me there take a look at the "Follow Me" box on the right of my blog.

Until next time,

Mike.

I'm Hexy and I know it!!!!

I have a big surprise coming up :) You are all gonna love it! In the meantime, here are some pics of what I have been up to:

Busy huh? Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is starting May 6th... you know I'm in it!!!!

Here are more pics for you:

And more:

See you soon!
Mike.

Green and Hexy & Link a Finish Friday!

I finished a couple of things recently so I decided to write a quick post and participate in the Link a Finish Friday and Richard & Tanya Quilts. I posted about this finish last Saturday but did not link up anywhere:

Tonight is the belated holiday party at work. This is my Secret Santa gift.
This week I also finished the quilt top for the Green and Hexy quilt:

 The border fabric has inspired me to maybe quilt it with a loopy flower design. This fabric was also part of the bundle I won.

 Backing fabric. I did not win the backing fabric. That would have been a huge win :) I picked most of it up on sale.

 Leftover border fabric that will go on the back.

 Owl fabric for the back.

Monkey fabric for the back.

I back piece large chunks of fabric usually, so these are a few that I had in my stash saving for the day I finished the Green and Hexy quilt. 320 hexagons later and many hours on NJ Transit and PATH trains, I finally have the top finished! Yay!

I'm linking up at Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts.

Until next time,

Mike.

Scrappy Days Are Here Again... and a Ton of Stuff!!!

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let you know what I have been up to over the last couple of weeks. I also still haven't announced the winners of my last two giveaways (here and here). They were contacted the next day and both have already received their respective prizes.

Barbara from Cat Patches won the fat quarter bundles:

Gabriele from Gabriele's Boutique won the Holly Jolly Christmas fabric assortment:

This also brings me to an important point. Gabriele was NOT a no reply blogger, but her email on her profile was out of date and kept bouncing back to me. I was able still to click through to her blog and find her Facebook page where I left a message on her wall. Sometimes it's really easy to find the person even if you do not have their email. I wanted her to get her prize and I wanted her to know that her email was bad! She did not realize it and was probably missing out on giveaways that she had previously won.

As a segue, I also wanted to point out that if you link Google+ to your blogger profile, it will make you automatically a no reply blogger!!!!! But... and most people don't realize this, your name in your profile and in the comment (if the blogger receives the no reply email) is linked to your Google+ page where the person having a giveaway can obviously contact you. It's just not by email.

Anyway, on with the show. First off, happy holidays to everyone!

I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to. Here we go:

Work in progress: I have been sewing these 320 hexagons on the train while I commute back and forth to work everyday. It's finally coming together, but I have quite a bit of whip stitching left to do. I did it in blocks and now I am just sewing the blocks together. Oh my, the people I get asking questions all the time!

90% of the fabric comes from my very first giveaway win from about a year ago. I haven't decided what to do with the charms yet. I have been working on it since about June of 2011, and I sew on it some everyday pretty much (every work day). And, if you can believe this, I have not blogged about these hexies at all. I know you all got tired of hearing about hexies the last time!!!

Work in Progress: I have started my first rag quilt. It is all owls mostly. They had a great sale on flannels at Joann's. I still have tons left over too. I am going to alternate the prints so they form diagonals (matching) across the quilt. I am coordinating the solids as shown in the picture. The solids will be on the back. 

Finished: This table runner is finished. I made a nice simple nine patch block with HSTs. I used scraps and leftover fabrics from my stash. This was the first one I had ever made :)

This is the back.

Here it is loaded an ready on the machine. I haven't decided yet if it was worth the trouble to load it on the long arm since I know I could have done it FMQ on my home machine. I did enjoy using the machine for the third time though.

Work in progress: This one is my first truly scrappy quilt. I literally hit the bucket to find anything that would make a 5.5 inch square. It's mostly random, but I still tried to make sure there were no similar squares too close to each other. It is really going together fast!!!

Well, if you made it this far, I wanted to let you all know that I have a new sponsor. I'm not doing a giveaway yet, but if you would like to stop by and see Nicole at 1 Choice 4 Quilting her button is at the end of this post and at the top of the right side bar. The store has an awesome selection and I am pleased with their shipping rates. $2.95 for orders under $10. $4.95 for orders $10-50 and anything over $50 ships free!!!

Also, my Facebook page has been really hopping since the last two giveaways. If you haven't liked The Amateur Quilter yet you should. I always try to share any useful or interesting blog posts I read as well as any giveaways I come across.

This week I am going to link up at Richard and Tanya Quilts Link a Finish Friday and Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays!

Enjoy your holidays!

Until next time!

Mike.