finally finished!!

My I-Spy quilt for Natalie's 2nd birthday, (last March!) is finally done! I'd had all the squares done, then stalled at the sashing, then stalled again at the border, and then stalled one last time at the quilting! But it is done, washed (I almost stalled there too, but bit the bullet and just made sure to use a bunch of color catchers!), and in use on her bed. I loved the idea of this quilt, and the finished product, but the next time I do it will be on a smaller scale.
I quilted each colored square with a border and bubbles. This quilting technique is also something I will only attempt again on a small scale. I couldn't believe how much thread I went through!
Natalie loves it, and it seems nice and sturdy, so I'm happy with the results!

Baby Shower Gift

Almost every mom I know is pregnant with her second baby right now, so a bunch of us got together and did a group, secret Santa style baby shower. I drew a friend of mine who isn't finding out what she's having, but luckily loves the color green, which is pretty gender neutral, so I went with it.

I quilted her a quick, cotton-chenille-lined stroller blankie.
Knitted a tiny cotton hat, (my fave!)
And tried my hand at terrycloth-lined bibs,
and burp cloths.
Top the whole thing off with a cow, and it was quite a popular gift! Phew!
Now on to all my Christmas sewing and knitting!

my cousin's baby shower gift

My dear cousin's wife is pregnant, due in December. The first of all my cousins to have a baby. This little girl will be my niece, (my cousin and I are both only children), and I am very excited.

I made the new little girl an eye-spy play/stroller quilt. It is 44" X 44". I'm so glad I added the patchwork border... this really adds to it I think!

Here is my favorite square...
And here is my daughter's favorite one - Dora of course! She's going to get one of these quilts, only much larger, and with many more things to spy, for Christmas.
Here is the back! I loved this fabric. Got it for a great deal at a quilt shop that was closing. So soft and bright.
The binding.... Most of the fabric came out of my stash - except for the sashing and the back.
And what baby shower gift is complete without a hand-knit hat! I've been making this pattern a lot lately. It's from the 101 Designer One Skein Wonders book. Very easy and quick.

Quilted Baby Blanket - Finished!

Believe me, I'm really kicking myself for not getting a better picture of this one before I sent it off... I love the way this blanket came out:

And it arrived on the same day the baby did! I've been told it was very well received, so hopefully I'll get a picture of it in use soon.

I've also finished the yellow knitted blankie for Natalie. She's been using it to play hide and seek, and she seems to enjoy cuddling it as much as her old couch cuddly! so that's a success story for sure. Unfortunately, it's a success story with no good picture to go with it! I'll try to get the little mover to pose with it tomorrow, and we'll see how that goes. So stay tuned for a picture!!

And I'm still working on some of that art quilting for the show in Erie. I'm loving my color pallet, so hopefully it all come off okay. I've got to get cracking though... September's almost here!

Baby Blankets

I have been busy... just not blogging! But here are a couple of quick pics of my two biggest WIPs.

I'm working on a quilted baby blanket for Kathy, a family friend's first grandchild, a boy, who's coming soon. I'm loving the way this quilt top came out. Each square has a different animal in the center. Kathy said the mom really likes brown and natural colors. I picked all these fabrics, except the sashing, from my stash, and I think it really works. And at the same time is still very baby boy.

Sorry for the crumby picture! The backing will be that light blue with dots fabric... I had to go get more of that at Hobby Lobby, but the width ended up being perfect... I won't even have to piece it!

And then I'm also knitting a blanket for my little one. She's really become attached to the junky old couch throw we have. She feels its nubbles when she's going down for her naps. I'd like her to have something a bit more special, (and something smaller!) so I'm making this textured knit blanket out of soft cotton. Hopefully she'll take to it.

Even if she's not into it it will have been good practice for me. The texture seemed complex at first, but I've got it memorized now. Hopefully I'll make some good progress on it on the road trip I'm heading off on this afternoon!

I've also got a couple other things on different needles and hooks, and a few other sewing projects for the show I'm doing in the local Library in September. I'll post some pics of them when I figure out how to mount them!!

Square-in-Square

This is what I'm working on putting together with my pretty Amy Butler squares... It's going to be a small throw blanket for our living room.

I'm still working on the squares... I think it's going to be 6X5... I'm debating the sashing... I think there will be sashing for sure... I'm not sure of the color (tan or navy).  

I'm very pleased with the way these are coming out... I love seeing all the scraps in the borders, and then the individual fabrics highlighted in the simple squares... I can't wait for it to come together!

Getting things done!

Phew... I'm finally getting a few things done around here... I've pretty much taken the week off from sewing... I did do a bit of cutting, but that's all... 

But now I can cross a couple more things off my to do list!  Woo hoo!  

First off is this little house doorstop... it's actually quite a bit bigger than I think it needs to be, but I think that's okay for now... maybe I'll make another doorstop or two for some of the other doors that keep slamming around here.

This wall hanging has been done for a while, but I didn't have a piece of foam board to mount it on... until yesterday!  So now it's up!  I'd show it over the bed, except for the bed is covered in crafting stuff... and I don't want you to get any bad (though totally true) ideas about my tidiness!  I'm going to have to do another one of these I think... I'm liking these colors for my bedroom and think that the guest room needs something a little less white to go over my great-grandma's feedsack quilt... this one is just a bit too bright.  But I'm happy with the way it turned out other than that!

And I also got caught up with my squares again... and a few ahead... I have forty now!  So as of today, I think that's two ahead... 

And I finally started sewing the blocks together using the beautiful Amy Butler Daisy Chain squares I won from the Fabric Square Shop.   I've had these squares for months now, all cut out, but I keep working on other projects... I'm really excited about this... the squares I've put together are looking so cool!  I'll post about them when I have a few more.  

And I'll also post a picture of what I won on Giveaway Day!  :)  I'm so excited to get the mail!

W.I.P.

Well, after a long break from my sewing machine, I'm back at it.  I started doing squares for Amanda Jean's one-a-day nine square quilt.  

I figured getting to my machine once a day would get us both back in sewing shape.  And having to make lots of little scraps would also force me to work on some of the projects I've bought fabric for, (and maybe even cut into some of the stuff I've been hoarding!) 

 

And I think it's working!  

I've finished up the major blocks for a headboard/wall hanging/quilted picture for the guest room/library/office/sewing room, (I guess everything has to be multi-purpose in that room!). 

 

And at my DH's request I started a little doorstop.  I wanted to make it a house because I really liked this one I ran across somewhere.  

I also made a little skirt for my baby girl, but I think it'll look a bit better after washing... I have to work the kinks out of the baby alterations I made to this amazing tutorial.  

And I'm sure there are some other projects I should be working on too... I think I need a new pin cushion... maybe I'll do that next.  I just have to decide which one... I've seen so many cute and creative ones out there it'll be tough!

Doll Quilt Quilt-Along, Part I

Here's my quilt top for the Sew, Mama, Sew Doll Quilt Quilt-Along!!  I love the way it came out, and was excited to find a good use for these cute fat quarters my mom picked up for me!!  I love the kitty theme, and I think my little one will appreciate it later, since she's such a fan of the feline already!!  

I'm planning a birdie applique for the next step.  I'm also planning on using a different free motion quilting technique than I usually do, (like I've done a ton of quilting - Ha!)  

My Great Grandma's Quilt

Wow, how cool is this?! My Grandpa dug this out of his crawlspace the other night for me. His mom made it, but we're not sure when. He said it doesn't look like her usual ones, because they were usually more scrappy. She used to first make her dresses from the feedsacks, and then with what was left, or maybe after the dresses were worn out, she would make quilts.

After a very rough and quick count, I found more than 80 different fabrics in this quilt. There is no border, but the top wraps around to form a border on the back, which is made from a large piece of green flowered fabric. It fits jsut right on our double bed.


The quilt is both hand pieced and hand quilted, though my grandpa remembers his mom sewing on a foot treadled Singer as well. A couple of the patches are worn through, but other than those, this quilt is in remarkable shape. If anyone has any suggestions on how to replace a patch on an old quilt, and also, on how to wash one, I'd love to hear them!! For now I think the quilt will rest gently on our guest bed... at least until anyone visits!

The pillow on the bed was cross-stitched by my Grandma from the other side! I love having all this family history right in my own home! And I do apologize for the striped baby outfit in these pictures... I know it's a bit overwhelming!

Amy's Baby Quilt

Well, here it is! I love this quilt and will probably have to make another one similar. I think it's just the right size for a playmat, or stroller blanket! I added the flower patterns after Amy's third ultrasound, (or was it second?) said it was almost definitely a girl!!

The border is the small green dots, (forgot to get a closeup!) And I labeled it after these pictures.

Sneak Preview

I'm giving this blanket as a gift tomorrow, so after that I'll post the pictures of it!! I'm really pleased with it... my best so far no doubt!! And my baby girl loves it, so I'll have to make her one that's similar.

Anyway, here are the fabrics... sorry they're so washed out in the picture!!

Busy Weekend

This past weekend was a great one craft-wise... I did some knitting with a couple girlfriends while the boys watched the kids!! What a nice way to get away for a couple hours... and I finished this pink baby shrug (made from soy yarn) that's been sitting in my living room for ages!! I got to my last ball of the yarn, and then couldn't find any more in the store, so I was sure I would run out and have to do the borders in a different color, which of course made me not want to even bother with it. Anyway, it turned out I had enough and was able to finish it in one sitting!! It's funny the reasons we put stuff off. This pattern was really easy and fits great... it came from the Debbie Bliss book Simply Baby.

I also finished this quilt for a friend's baby boy due next month. The border of this quilt has taken me ages to complete... again mainly because I didn't want to do it. But now it's boxed and I just need to get it to the post office tomorrow with the rest of her gift!!

And this little blanket for Sweetpea is finally done too. I might add a bit of applique to the back corners to finish it off. It's made from recycled cashmere sweaters that shrank after too much tough love, (I don't dry clean anything.) I ended up backing it in a cute dotted grey cotton fabric. It's very lightweight and soft.

Now I need to start cutting fabric for another friend's baby blanket... I'm excited about this one... based on a doll quilt I saw on Amanda Jean's site!

Sneak Peaks, and in the Mean Time...

So I've been busy working on a quilt for my friend Beth's baby.... it's been done except for the binding which is taking me forever!! Well... not literally... it's almost done. Then it just needs a label. I don't think I'm going to do prairie points on something so big again for a while. Here's a sneak peak!

I'm also working on a small recycled sweater blanket for Sweetpea... I'm most of the way through the piecing of that now too, and just trying to decide if I should back it with something to make it more durable... I have some poly satin that matches perfectly, but would that just cheese it up? It's mostly cashmere... Maybe I should look for some coordinating cotton for a light backing.... I just don't know... here's a teaser for that project as well.

And here's a picture of my sweety this morning in a sweater I knitted when I was pregnant!! Isn't she cute! The sleeves are rolled up, so I think it should last her through the winter!! :) The hat she's wearing was knitted for her by my aunt Sue's mom. :)

I'm meeting some friends for knitting tomorrow!! I can't wait!! I have this pattern for a pumpkin hat that I think my little pumpkin HAS TO HAVE since it is October already!

My First Quilt, Part II - Uh Oh

So with the quilt mostly done, the last things I wanted to acomplish were the aplique and embroidery, and the label on the back. And I also needed to wash it for the first time! I've been a bit afraid of this step, because I didn't have the forsite to prewash all the different fabrics first! This is not a mistake I will ever make again... the worry has been haunting me!

It turned out I had a reason to worry... I didn't notice any shrinkage, but a couple of the seams didn't hold up to the wash... It was on the thin green flanel strips. I will try to tack them in place, and then add extra quilting to those areas to hold everything together. I guess the lesson learned here is to give the flanel fabrics some extra seam allowences! I think this quilt will now become my quilting techniques test piece... I might try stipling in that area now, and when I get the guts to try other methods I might use other squares to test them... it will become my sampler quilt! In the meantime I'll just have to be more conservative with my future quilts!!

I did do the aplique, but I think I'll skip the embroidery... unless I want to practice... Oh well. I guess I'll just have to allow a bit of error due to the learning curve... hopefully my next will be much better.

Stipled Bib!

So I just made this bib from this post... Okay, so mine is a bit different, but the basic concept is the same... I ended up tracing one of my bibs because I liked the shape of it a bit better. I still need to add a bit of velcro on it, but I've tried it on the baby, and it seems to do the job! I made it from the same cute flanels that I made the dress from the last post in. But I did the border in a print I found in my scrap bag. It was just barely long enough after I trimmed the bib a bit to make it work. Phew. It was close. Thank goodness I pinned beforeI started sewing it on!!

One reason I chose this project was because I needed something to practice stipling on.... I love the look of it, and I really would like to try it out on a bigger project, but am afraid of ruining something!! Anyway, after checking out CrazyMomQuilts blog about free motion quilting (Amanda Jean, you rock!!) I figured I'd give it a try... here's a close up of my work. I think the tension was a bit too loose, and there was one blank area that I missed and had to go back to, but I'm satisfied with the restults!