-rag quilt-

The Celebrate The Boy posts by Rae and Dana made me think of this little rag quilt made for my newest nephew back in December.  I bought a set of boy fat quarters from the Children at Play line back before whether I knew whether Samantha was a boy or a girl. (I thought she was going to be a boy.)  So, I was just waiting for another baby boy to make his appearance to use this darling fabric.  I decided just to make a simple rag quilt with minky.  I love using minky for baby quilts.  It is so soft and seems to add that perfect soft touch that babies love.  I didn't use any batting in between the layers, so it is a little more like a blanket than a quilt.   Now to finish Samantha's baby quilt now to be her first birthday quilt! ;0) 

-pillow talk swap 9 complete!-

The past couple of weeks have been so tiring (the time change- it messes with everything!) and busy with halloween, soccer, and birthday stuff.  It just going to get busier- I know.  I am contemplating taking next week off of school to catch up on some projects around the house and to prep for Christmas.  One advantage of homeschooling...

 I haven't had much time to sew.  However, this past weekend I finished up my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap.  I quilted it with swirls- they are a little "organic".  I hope my partner doesn't mind!  However, I do like the look and will try it again in the future.

I am happy to cross this project off the list, and I am looking forward to getting something in my mailbox in the next week or so!

For the back I used this gray text print.  My partner likes text prints, and I kind of felt bad for not using any on the front! ;0)

You can find my previous post on this pillow here!

Happy November and happy sewing!!  Time to get the Christmas crafty groove going!

Bloggers Quilt Festival: Fall 2012

I have always wanted to participate in The Blogger's Quilt Festival, but for one reason or another it has never happened!  I am squeezing in at the last minute to share a quilt that I love and use every day.

I first decided to make a Turning Twenty quilt when I saw this beautiful version done up in Good Folks over four years ago!  A little while later I fell in love with Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow, and I knew I had found my fabric.  When I first started quilting I really was drawn to simple patchwork and letting large prints shine.  I have grown in my appreciation for more intricate quilting, but I still love big prints.  I think they work especially well for bed quilts.  

In the summer of 2011 I cut out and finished my quilt top, but when I finished I was indecisive about how to quilt it.  A king size quilt is no joke to quilt!  I was going to do straight line quilting, but I finally decided to quilt it with a large stipple since free motion quilting is a little more fun!  It took me about four days to quilt, but it honestly wasn't as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind.  

For the back I used a light blue king size cotton sheet, and I made two matching pillowcases.

I also *finally* finished two throw pillows.  For one I used scraps leftover to make a little hexie pillow appliqued on linen.  The other one is a pillow I crocheted using this pattern, and then I sewed to a plain envelope style pillow cover. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to go check out all the other quilts in the festival!  There are some really beautiful quilts!

*Quilt Measurements:  approx 100" x 108"
*Special Techniques used- hmmm...how about easy? ;0)
*Quilted by… me!
*Best category – bed quilt, home machine quilted quilt 

-at last-

The Fussy Cut Bee quilt is complete!  I finished it sometime in August, but I was DONE when I was finally finished with it.  This quilt has been on my "to finish" list for so long, and it has been blogged about it a number of times.   So happy to cross it off that list! 

This quilt was the first time I ever put my own fabric bundle together, and I would now say these are very "Megan colors".  I requested improv log cabin blogs, and I got a fun variety of blocks.

I needed this quilt to be slightly bigger than a twin for Felicity's double bed on the bottom bunk, so I added a scrappy border. 

I quilted it with a stippling pattern.  So fast and easy and covers up a multitude of mistakes. ;0)

Here it is on Felicity's bed.  I was excited to be able to have a place to use this pillow too!  

I love how a picture can make something look so pretty and serene.  In reality, there were toys and stuff all over this room.   

Felicity likes the new quilt, but was really upset about her "guys".  She is one of those kids who sleeps with a thousand and one stuffed animals on her bed.  I don't know how she does it.  I let her put them all back on once I got my picture.  She sleeps on the tiny sliver of bed on the left... ;0)

-pillow talk swap 8-

I finished my pillow!  I have to say that I really enjoyed making this.  I felt I had a vision for how this pillow was going to turn out, but sometimes my visions are flops.  I kept fretting over the background and whether I should put the dresden off center or not.  I am pleased with the overall effect though, and I have high hopes my partner will like this.

For the back of the pillow I used a coordinating print to the background of the front and made a simple envelope closure.

I kept the quilting on this pillow simple with random diagonal lines.  It already felt busy, and I didn't want to add more "busy-ness". ;0)  The pillow is 20" x 20".

Of course, as I was taking pictures, Josiah thought I wanted to take pictures of him.

Really, how I could I not?  Cutest little face ever.

-dresden making-

So I have my Fussy Cut Bee quilt top all finished and a backing ready.  Now I am just waiting for the inspiration to baste!  I am not the biggest fan of basting (who is really?!).  Plus, this quilt is meant for a full bed, and my house is just not set up with a whole lot of floor space in any of the rooms, so it is going to be a little squishy. ;0)

This week started off busy, but then one of the kids got sick on Tuesday and now as she is feeling better, another one is down for the count.  So I have a feeling it going to go down the line, and we will be spending some quality time at home.  My kids are catching up on all the TV watching that I usually don't let them have.  Gotta have some sort of perk when they are sick, right?

So yesterday I decided to work on my pillow for The Pillow Talk Swap.  This really is one of the most amazing swaps.  I think it has only gotten better over the past couple of years.  This is my third time joining in, and I am feeling the pressure to make something super fabulous.  My partner has a love for warm colors and text fabrics.  I had an idea in my head, but then I found this dresden while browsing and fell in love.  I have never been that big of a dresden fan, but this took it to the next level.  The rainbow isn't really my partner's thing, so I made my main dresden in reds, oranges, and yellows, and the second dresden with some neutrals.  

I was playing around with background fabrics, and I found this one.  However, I only had a 14.5" piece, and I tried playing around with borders.  It just wasn't hitting the right note for me though.      

So I went digging again, and I came up with this text fabric.  I like that it is smaller and a little less busy, while still being different from a solid background.  The plan today is to work on this a little more while the sickies watch La La Loopsy!

-summer plans-

So back in April we stopped in a furniture store to take a look at bunk beds for the girls.  Felicity was still in a toddler bed, and we thought the three girls would probably end up sharing a room at some point.  Of course, the first bunk bed you see in the store was this fort bed.  My girls were in *love*.   We didn't get any further. Honestly, who wouldn't be?  However, we gave ourselves some time to think about it.  Then we decided that we have enough kids to make this bed useful for quite awhile, so why not?  We had to special order it, and last week it came.  It has been a big hit, and they have been telling everyone about their fort bed and having all sorts of pretend adventures.

So, I had a down comforter to fit the double bed on the bottom, but summer here is super hot.  Really you don't need much more than a sheet at night.  Good reason to finish up one of those quilts that I have been meaning to finish for a year!  This is my Fussy Cut Bee quilt.  I wanted to finish it last year when I was hosting Finish It Up!, but I only got as far as adding a bit of sashing to some of the blocks.  I now have the top mostly assembled.  I just have one more white border to add!

I am a slow quilter.  Any other slow quilters out there?  I see people busting out quilts every couple of weeks, and I get inspired.  I can't do that.  Okay, so it might have a little something to do with four kids, but I also find quilts to be such big projects.  I always seem to lose motivation somewhere along the line.   However, I have three quilts I wanted to finish last summer, so I am determined to finish them this summer.

GOAL

June: Fussy Cut Bee Quilt

July: Kaleidoscope Quilt

August: Summer Sampler 

Fingers crossed!  What are your summer sewing plans?

-a mini complete!-

I finished my little mini quilt for The Fab Little Quilt swap over on Flickr.  I admit when I saw my partner's mosaic I was filled with anxiety.  She had picked such amazing pieces filled with details.  I didn't know what in the world I could make.  So, I started browsing through my copy of Cathy Gaubert's Doll Quilt Book.  In fact, this quilt is one of the featured minis on the cover!  It really suited so many of my partner's requests and likes.  I didn't change much.

This little quilt features fun bright colors, raw edge applique and some embroidery.  I definitely think my favorite part is the house with the birdie on top.  

Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out.  The pattern was relatively easy to follow.  The only thing that I did not like was that this quilt required 1/2" seam allowances.  I had already started cutting before I realized this, but I recommend adjusting it to 1/4" seam allowances.  There was quite a bit of bulk.  I also like to use single fold binding for small quilts and mug rugs. I have been a convert ever since reading this little tutorial.  

Lucky for me, I finished this just in time to enter it into Jennifer's Modern Mini Quilt contest!  There are some amazing prizes and lots of amazing entries!  I am getting this in just in time!  *whew*

-turning twenty complete!-

I finally finished my Turning Twenty quilt.  I finished it a couple of weeks ago, but I was waiting to try and finish up the hexie and crochet pillows to go with it before showing you all.  Then I realized that just wasn't going to be happening soon.  So here it is!

This quilt has been planned for a number of years.  I was inspired by this one done up in Good Folks.  One of my most favorite lines ever.  However, I realized it was probably a little too bright of a line for my taste in home decorating.  Then Modern Meadow came out, and I fell in love.  I knew it was perfect for what I wanted.  Two years ago my lovely family gave me a whole fat quarter bundle!  Last summer I finally decided it was time.  I finished the quilt top rather quickly...so easy!  However, I was undecided on how to quilt it.

I wanted to send it to be long armed, but in the end decided just to do it myself.  It wasn't actually that bed!  I spent about four days quilting this for about two hours at a time, and only when I was quilting the middle did my arms ache. ;0)  For the back I used a king cotton flat sheet in light blue.  I also made some matching pillowcases.  I do still have my accent pillows to finish, so I sure you will be seeing this quilt again! ;0)

I haven't been sewing much for the past month, but this is the week that is all going to change.  I have been cleaning and organizing like a mad woman.  I have bought all of the girls' curriculum for next year for homeschooling.  (That was a lot of fun!  There are so many awesome books out there!  I love putting together things that I think will suit them and their particular needs.)  I have gone shopping for the kiddo's spring/summer wardrobe, which is really almost here in California.  So, this week I am giving myself some time off to delve into some projects.  I have a lot planned, and I know I won't get to it all.  It is fun to dream though, isn't it?

My list:

-baby quilt

-mini quilt for Fab Little Quilt Swap
- special project

-Art Student Tote

-hair bows

-snuggler for baby

-dress for Juliana

-case for my new Kindle Fire!

Let's see how much can get done!

  

I even moved everything down to the dining table, so that I can whip up snacks and put together lunch and still hop on the sewing machine in between!

-quietly plugging away-

I have been trying to grab some sewing time here and there.  I am working away at my Turning Twenty Quilt.  I was going to straight line quilt it, but I decided just to do a large stipple at the last minute.  I find free motion quilting is just a little bit more entertaining, especially for something this huge!  I am super pleased with how it turned out.

I made the binding a couple of days ago.  So it should be done soon!  I had plans to get it done earlier, but you know how "plans" always seem to work out. ;0)

I have been working on some hexies as well to make a pillow to go with this quilt as my sitting on the couch project.  This seems to happen a lot more now than sitting at the sewing machine.  ;0)  I am definitely in the third trimester!  

-this week-

I made my first thing for new baby girl!  One of the softest, most luxurious blankets ever!  The pink floral is a velveteen by Anna Maria Horner.  The other side is a super soft minky.  I found it here at our local random fabric store.  It is a giant warehouse full of all sorts of interesting treasures and a whole lot of well, you know.... stuff you never want.  I found something similar over at Fabric.com.  I love making things like this.  Really isn't anything easier, and you get such a nice result!  I took it downstairs to show everyone, and Felicity immediately declared that she was freezing and needed a blanket.  Hmmmm....  I let her try it out. ;0)

I also got out my Turning Twenty quilt top that I made last summer.  It is finally a quilt sandwich!  I went to my mom's house and basted it there, since I really didn't have a big uncarpeted open space to baste this.   I think I am going to keep the quilting simple and maybe just outline the blocks?  I plan to quilt it here and there.  It is such a big quilt that I don't want to burn out on it.

I also started a crochet pillow to go with the new bed quilt!  I have had this pattern pinned on Pinterest for awhile now, and I am excited for how these colors are coming together!

Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!  

Last Finish of 2011!

This was the last thing I finished!  I cut this pillow out on Thursday, sewed the blocks and top together Friday, and quilted and made it into a pillow yesterday!  I had so much fun making this gigantic pillow.  The blocks are actually not improv improv. ;0)  I used block patterns from Scrap Republic.  I loved this book and wanted to use it right away.  I knew I didn't have any reason for starting another quilt when I already have four others in progress, but I was inspired by Svetlana's pillow.  

I had wanted to make the kids some big pillows for reading for Christmas, but the first part of December didn't go my way.  I wanted to enjoy making them and not have them be stressful projects.  I am so glad I waited because I felt nice to sit back and really enjoy making this.

 I added a little free motion stitching in this one scrappy print using some gray wool thread.

I had Juliana hold up the pillow just to give an idea of how big it really is.  It is often hard for me to tell in pictures what the size of things are.  Also, she loves it and has "claimed" it.

For the back I used this Denyse Schmidt canvas print.  It doesn't really "go" with the front but since this is a floor pillow I wanted something sturdy for the back.

I quilted this in a grid pattern which I really love, but I forgot how time consuming and monotonous straight line quilting can be!  When I finished these blocks they only measured at 24".  I needed this to fit a 26" pillow so I added a border.  I was going to do a more rainbowy border.  However, I decided to use white prints with splashes of color instead, and I really like the look.

We moved our rooms around a bit after Thanksgiving, and we have a big space by the kids' bookshelf that is just begging for a little reading nook.  I already have the next floor pillow pattern picked out, and I am hoping to make one of Dana's Rollie Pollie chairs as well!

I hope you are all having a wonderful New Year!!!

-habitat challenge quilt complete!-

I finally finished my Habitat Challenge quilt a couple of weeks ago!  My little assistant tried to raise her arms high enough...

but alas, she was a wee bit too small.

So we hung it up on the fence.  If you haven't heard about the challenge, the modern quilt guilds were offered the challenge of taking a bundle of Habitat by Jay McCarroll and making something with them.  Our guild decided on small quilts.

I knew I wanted to cut it into small pieces. It is such busy fabric, and I also wanted something simple and modern.  I found Kate Conklin's pattern called Scattered Showers and knew it was perfect for what I wanted to do.  It was an easy little quilt and came together very quickly.  I could also see fussy cutting some of my Heather Ross little scraps and using them in this pattern. 

I kept the quilting simple and modern as well with some random straight line quilting in a slightly darker grey thread.

I used Kona ash for the background and then used Kona charcoal for both the back and the binding.

One quilt top turned quilt!  Five more quilt tops and/or completed blocks to turn into quilts!  Why do I always get burnt out after I finish the tops?