Finished Tops

I've finished a couple full size quilts here lately and have been remiss about keeping up here.  I think I'm making progress though this week getting caught up with posts about my projects.  First I finished the Spiced Apple Quilt and it is off being quilted at Quilts by Phyllis.

Spiced Apples

This was a really fun quilt to make and I think it turned out fairly well.  I loved the reds in this quilt!

The next one I finished was the Carpenter's Star quilt that I started in class.  This was a super easy quilt to make and it turned out really nice. It's also at Phyllis' being quilted. 

Carpenter's Star

And last but not least one of my Simply Charming Quilts.  This one is Julianna's Jewels.  And guess what?  It's off being quilted as well.  I'm thinking that's going to be one heck of quilting bill when I go to pick it up because if my memory serves me right, there's one more little quilt there too: my Blessing Baskets small quilt. I failed to take a picture of it, so we'll have to wait for it to come back from the quilter.

Julianna's Jewels

Because I Just Can't Have Too Many BOM

Like the title to this post implies .... I'm a sucker for a Block of the Month program.  And feeding that addiction is this cute BOM entitled "Cottage Sampler".  It's done mostly with Moda's Etchings line.  So far, I've completed the blocks for Months One and Two which are actually Blocks 2 and 9.  I'm not sure why on earth they decided to make it that confusing.  Month One should be Block One.  But anyway .... here's my first two:

Month 1 Block #2 - Star in the Cabin

Month 2 Block #9 - All Heart

These blocks are all different sizes.  I think it's pretty darn cute. 

Simply Charming Small Quilts

I've been trying to get caught up on my Simply Charming small quilt of the month.  Last weekend I finished one called Columbia's Vintage Charm:

Columbia's Vintage Charm

I love making these little quilts, but I have to say the little pieces prove to be a challenge sometimes.  The seams get thick and become hard to manage and just plain bulky.  So this morning I was starting on one called Worn Old Clothes and I read a tip by the author Tara Lynn Darr.  She suggested ironing the seams open when using these little pieces in order to reduce the bulk.  I was a little reluctant, because I like the way you can lock seams together to match up rows if they are pressed in opposite directions, but I gave it a shot.  

Here's the results so far:

Back of Worn Old Clothes - Seams Open

It works!!  And it wasn't all that bad matching things up.  I just used a few more pins than usual. And I think it looks so much neater than the other way:

Back of Columbia's Vintage Charm - Seams to the Side

 

 

So I've acquired a new technique today for piecing these little quilts.  I'm excited to try it on some more.  I've got 4 more rows to sew on Worn Old Clothes, but here's a little sneak peak of what I've got so far:

Worn Old Clothes in Progress