January Bee Blocks

February 4, 2010 in Piecing, Quilting Bee | 4 comments

I did more than make those two quilts in January… I also kept up with my Bee obligations!  As of this month, I am now in FIVE active virtual quilting bees, which is a little insane.  One of them was on hold this month, though, so I only had four blocks to make.

For A Piece of Work B, Kyra sent batiks and white-on-white and asked for a Dutchman’s Puzzle block:

APOWB block for Kyra

For the inaugural month of One Block Over, Michelle sent some Riley Blake fabrics and solids, as well as a pattern for a neat star block. I followed the directions very literally, though I rather like the blocks made by those who took more liberties with the instructions. Must remember not to always be so rigid…

One Block Over block for Michelle

It was also the first month for Scraptastic, which is my first time being the admin for a Bee. Jenna sent the pink Starling print and asked for improvisational log cabins. I wanted to make a second block, but just ran out of time. Would you believe EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the bee got their block done on time? So impressed!

Scraptastic block for Jenna

And, finally, we also began our Charming Robin bee, which is a round-robin involving charm packs. The package was late in arriving, so I didn’t finish exactly on time, but it’s still early in February and it’s on its way to California for the next person. Sharon sent a charm pack of Clementine and a pattern for the “Basket of Flowers” block from Moda.

January Block for Sharon/Kirasma

Charlie

February 2, 2010 in Finished Objects, Quilts | 13 comments

That’s right, it’s madness up in here! Two finishes in less than a week! Well, it makes sense, as these two babies were born less than a week apart.

My nephew, Charlie. My very first nephew. My brother’s son.  He was born last Wednesday, about 10 days ahead of schedule. I was already working on the quilt when I got the call, but obviously his arrival sped things up a bit.  I hope they like his quilt. Because if they don’t, I’m taking it back. Because I am in love with it.  It feels so “boy” without beating you over the head with BLUE and TRUCKS and STEREOTYPES!

Charlie

It all started with a fat quarter bundle of Robert Kaufmann’s Animal Party prints that I bought from an Etsy seller, ages ago. I bought it on a whim, thinking it would be great for a baby boy at some point. Lo and behold, the ultrasound revealed that my brother’s first child was, in fact, a boy. And my sister-in-law mentioned something about a jungle/animal/explorer theme.  Golden!

I was undecided on what to do with these prints for a long, long time. I toyed with a whole bunch of different ideas, and couldn’t settle on one that I liked. And then Ashley posted about the Spotted Squares quilt she’s working on, and I had my inspiration.

Charlie

I felt compelled to be somewhat organized about it, not totally improvisational. (Because, seriously, improvising takes time! I like to chain-piece, people!)  They are all 8″ (finished) blocks. There are two different sized center squares (2″ and 4″, finished). There are two different layouts (centered and off-center). And there are two styles (print/color borders and white borders).  I picked fabrics from my stash to coordinate with the prints I already had, sticking mostly with brown, green, blue, and orange.

Oh, and the back. I kind of love the back. As much, if not more, than the front. I have to remember to do an actual quilt like this. Maybe for my kids…

Charlie

I was also torn as to how to quilt it, as I seem to be on almost every quilt I make.  I didn’t want to quilt it too densely, that much I knew.  But I’m psyched with what I went with: straight horizontal and vertical lines at random intervals.  I love that it kind of works with the square-but-wonky style of the front. I marked the lines with a washable pen and my ruler to keep them as straight as I could.

Charlie

Binding is from Connecting Threads, their Riviera line, which is now discontinued and on major clearance (those circle/dots are still available in three different colors).

Charlie

Anyways, I’m thrilled that this one is done. And I can’t wait to deliver it in person on Saturday, when I fly to Chicago to meet my sweet new nephew. Hooray!

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Lucy Elizabeth

January 28, 2010 in Finished Objects | 16 comments

My first finish of 2010 is for a good friend and her brand new baby girl, Lucy.

It was no secret I would be making a quilt for her, and I just waved goodbye to it on the mail truck. I was going to wait a couple of days to post about it, but someone decided she wanted to see pictures…

Lucy Elizabeth

Once I found out this baby was to be a girl, I ordered a charm pack and a jelly roll of Hushabye.  I went through various thoughts on what I’d actually do with it, and eventually settled on this.  5″ (cut) centers, 2.5″ borders.  The solid is Kona Cotton in Bone, which wasn’t quite so stark as plain white.

Lucy Elizabeth

The back is the bunny damask print from the same line, with a strip of squares.

Lucy Elizabeth

Quilting is diagonal lines in pink thread. Binding is also from the same line. Yes, I said I was going to try to do fewer quilts using all fabrics from the same line, I know. But I bought this fabric last October, so I think I get a pass. And sometimes it just looks so nice, you can’t pass it up.

Anyways, it’s in the hands of the postal service, on its way to Manhattan.  I hope Lucy likes it! (And her mom, too, I suppose…)

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Already behind

January 17, 2010 in Piecing, Quilting | 2 comments

How is it that I already feel “behind” for the year and it’s not even the end of January?

It feels like I’m really struggling to find time for sewing right now.  As it is, my time is limited to when my kids are asleep, which basically means from about 1-3pm and after 8pm.  Trouble is, I need to do other things during that time, too.  Exercise, laundry, dinner prep… blah blah blah.  Plus, we took a last-minute trip to Florida to visit my husband’s ailing grandmother, so that threw me off, as well.

It could also be the fact that one of my closest friends and my younger brother are due to become first-time parents any second now, and I did not get a start on either quilt before the holidays.  Progress is being made, though.  My friend has the slightly earlier due date, so I worked on hers first.  It’s now just waiting for binding (which has been ordered) and the arrival of one awesome little girl (so I can put her name on the label, of course!).

Baby quilt in progress

My nephew-to-be is due February 6, and I finally got all of the fabric cut last night.  Now to assemble the blocks and get it all together. It’s a bit of organized chaos that I’m hoping will come together well.

Fabric cut for nephew's quilt

In the meantime, I signed up for the eighth go-around of the Doll Quilt Swap on Flickr.  I arguably should have said no, but it’s just entirely too much fun to miss out on.  My partner for this round has a rather different style than I do, so I’m trying to come up with an idea that she’ll like, but that I’ll also like making and be proud of.  We’ll see…

When it comes right down to it, I feel like I have more ideas and things I want to make than I really have time to do.  Not a terrible problem to have, as it sure beats plodding through something you don’t feel inspired to do.  It’s just that it gives me that slightly panicked feeling all the time, because it never seems like enough time.  Ah well.

So, how is your new year shaping up?  Feeling fresh and renewed, or already dragging?

Post-Holiday Binge

January 5, 2010 in Fabric | 11 comments

Alright, I know I’m not the only one in the quilting blogosphere who went on a bit of a fabric-buying binge right before New Year’s.  Not only was it fun to shop for this stuff, but there’s nothing quite like having those heavy Priority Mail envelopes show up on my doorstep.

Fabric binge

Now, tell me that’s not the happiest sight a sewing girl can see?

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Fabric binge

From Fabric.com, some major stocking up on Amy Butler Lotus, mostly Full Moon Dots. You can never have too much of those dots, man.

Fabric binge

Plus two other assorted cute prints that I believe were on sale.

Is it just me, or do you find Fabric.com sometimes sends VERY generous cuts of fabric? As in, I ordered one yard and they sent 1.5 or even more? Insane. Yay for me!  Plus there was a $10/off coupon and free shipping.

Then there was Fabric Shack and their 15% off everything sale.

Fabric binge

Hellooooo, Hope Valley. You’ve been steadily growing on me. I’m having visions of blocks sashed in gray.

And, finally, I had a gift card AND a coupon to Pink Chalk Fabrics.

Fabric binge

One Kona Cotton FQ starter set. Ooooh, solids.

Fabric binge

And a few other assorted sale prints, because I don’t have a lot of orange in my stash. Yeah, that’s the reason…

All told, it’s over 16 yards of fabric, for less than $75 of my own money.  Averages to around $4.50/yard. Sounds good to me!

So, did you get some goodies recently?

2010 Sewing Goals

January 2, 2010 in Finished Objects, Quilts | 5 comments

For posterity, I thought I’d record some of my quilting-related goals for this year. I won’t call them resolutions, but these are things that I’d like to get done this year.

First, a handful of specific projects I’d like to accomplish:

  • Quilts or duvet covers for both kids – This is the year that my kids will move from cribs to big-kid beds, and I thought it only appropriate that they get a quilt upgrade (the first ones I made for them, while sentimental, are kind of crappy).  In my head, this is shaping up to be a many-faceted project, but I’ve got some time.
  • Duvet cover for us – Ack! How on earth do you commit to a quilt for your own bed?! But it’s high time, if I really want to call myself a quilter, that I sleep under my own work.  Except, well, we like to sleep with a down comforter, so duvet cover it is.  We’ll see.
  • Matching pillows – That’s right. Pillow shams. Decorative pillows. My husband is just shaking his head at the thought.
  • Minimum 2 Project Linus donations – I would really like to make some quilts for Project Linus. My kids were the recipient of a PL blanket (knitted) when they were in the NICU, and my daughter still sleeps with hers. Seems only right to pay it back.
  • A bag – There are so many cute bag patterns out there, I am dying to leave my comfort zone and make one.
  • Clothing – I’m not sure whether it’ll be a skirt for me, a dress for my daughter, or what.  But again with the comfort zone, I want to try to make a piece of clothing.  Redeem myself for the disaster that was the formal dress my mom and I made when I was in high school.

Second, some more general, overarching goals:

  • Name quilts – I’m sick of referring to my quilts in generic terms. They need names. Except, I kind of suck at creative names.  But, you know, I’ll try.  I might just give them people names, we’ll see.
  • Say “no” more often – I’ve said “yes” a few too many times to people who want me to make a quilt for them.  I mean, I’m torn. I enjoy doing it for my friends, and hey, I like that they pay me for it.  But I find I’m spending so much time on those, that I don’t get to the other things on my list.
  • Use scraps/stash more – Trying to use what I have and put things together in more interesting ways, instead of always buying new fabric for a new project.  Plus, scraps are cool!  If I learned anything from my retreat, it’s that you can do SO much with even the littlest pieces.
  • Use all fabrics from one line less – Related to that last goal, I want to get away from using only a single line of fabric in a quilt.  I mean, sure, it looks great together. It’s supposed to.  But I want to do it a little less.
  • Bigger quilts - I know, size doesn’t necessarily matter.  But I want to make more quilts for use on actual beds this year.  I will not fear quilting them.  I will not fear quilting them.

So, what are your sewing goals this year?  Similar to mine?  Totally different?  Any suggestions for me?

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2009 Roundup

December 31, 2009 in Finished Objects | 9 comments

2009 was a big year for me and quilting. While I may have learned to use a sewing machine when I was a little girl, and took a quilting class a little over three years ago, this was the year in which I would dare to call myself someone who sews. A quilter. This year, it became a regular occurrence, a habit, and an important part of my life.  I’m in deep.

And I was pretty productive, too!  This year, I made…

Eleven doll quilts

2009 Doll Quilts

Ten baby quilts

2009 Baby Quilts

Three lap quilts

2009 Lap Quilts

Two bed (twin) quilts

2009 Bed Quilts

A handful of quilt bee blocks

2009 Quilt Blocks

And a few other fun things with fabric

2009 Crafts

Can’t wait to see what next year brings!

Just One More

December 30, 2009 in Crafts, Finished Objects | 7 comments

One last finished item for 2009.  A little birdie told my dad I wanted a Kindle for Christmas, and my dad is not someone who can resist a gift idea.  Of course, I was totally paranoid I was going to ruin it on the way home, with no case to protect it.  Obviously, that had to be remedied immediately.

Kindle cover 2

I grabbed every bit of Amy Butler’s Lotus line that I had in my stash and put them together into this little case.  Speaking of Lotus, did you know that Fabric.com has a bunch in stock right now?! Including the Full Moon dots in Cherry and a few other colors? I may have placed an order and stocked up…

Kindle cover 2

My only beef is that the little adhesive dot of velcro isn’t sticking to the fabric as well as I might like.  Of course, I may have gotten impatient and played with it prior to the recommended 24 hours to let the sticky stuff set up…

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Scrappy gifts, Part 2

December 26, 2009 in Crafts, Finished Objects | 2 comments

Oh. Um. Hi there!

Holidays, travel, craziness. You know how it goes.

Anyways, I realized I never showed the other scrappy gift I made.  This one was a birthday gift for my husband, who tends to get tension headaches and loves heat packs on the back of his neck.

ricebag1

It’s a rice heat therapy bag with washable cover, and I found the tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew.  Super easy, and I added an extra round of topstitching around the edges of the rice bag for a little more security.

ricebag2

Of course, when I made the second one, I realized that topstitching was a lot easier if I did the first three sides before I put the rice in the bag. Genius, here. And, speaking of being an idiot, I didn’t take a picture of the second one before I gave it to my aunt. But it was cream with green and purple scraps and really matched her decor. I swear.

Anyways, throw together a few today! It takes no time at all. Chuck that bag in the microwave for two minutes and you’ve got nice, toasty weight to put on that knot in your shoulder or tuck under the covers to keep your toes warm.

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Scrappy gifts, Part 1

December 13, 2009 in Finished Objects | 3 comments

I hadn’t really planned on doing a ton of homemade gifts this year. I didn’t think I would really have enough time. But, then, I couldn’t resist when I saw a few ideas that people would really like.  Plus, it gave me a chance to play with more scraps!  Ooh, Amanda Jean, I can see how this could become quite addicting!

So, the first thing I pulled together was a Kindle cover for my mom.  I used the tutorial from the Sometimes Crafter, and it came together super easily.  My needle complained a little when doing the final topstitching through a lot of layers of fabric, and I had to convince it to keep moving the bulkiness under the foot, but overall it was very fast.

Kindle Cover

Some of the fabrics I used were leftover scraps from the quilt I made for my mom, three years ago. The first lap quilt I ever made. I’ll have to try to take a picture of it when I go home next week.  I picked the rest to go with that group.  The inside is some leftover I have from a Neptune fat quarter bundle.

Kindle Cover

I’m hoping to have a reason to make another one of these for myself when the holidays are over! And I may make one more before I leave, as I think my stepmom recently got a Kindle, as well.

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