The quilting went smoother than I expected, and I enjoyed it, which is always a plus. Now I just have to do a tad bit of free motion quilting on the center circles, then start joining these panels via my (and Leanne's "She Can Quilt") method of quilt as you go! I will be joining the four panels and then adding a border to the whole quilt when finished. This project is my goal that I set in Rhonda's (Quilter in the Gap) Finish-Along, so I need to have it completed by March. So far, I am right on target to actually wrapping this project up! I'm going to try and get as much finished before I go into labor, wish me luck folks! Thanks again Amy for hosting this challenge and helping me to reach my goals! I always need that extra little push.
Amy over at Amy's Creative Side challenged us last Monday to pick just one thing for the week and get it finished. I decided to get the straight line quilting done with my walking foot finished on the four panels of my Lily's Quilts QAL quilt, all with the exception that I didn't go into labor. Well here I am, still pregnant (38 weeks) and with proof through pictures that I accomplished my goal! Woohoo!
The quilting went smoother than I expected, and I enjoyed it, which is always a plus. Now I just have to do a tad bit of free motion quilting on the center circles, then start joining these panels via my (and Leanne's "She Can Quilt") method of quilt as you go! I will be joining the four panels and then adding a border to the whole quilt when finished. This project is my goal that I set in Rhonda's (Quilter in the Gap) Finish-Along, so I need to have it completed by March. So far, I am right on target to actually wrapping this project up! I'm going to try and get as much finished before I go into labor, wish me luck folks! Thanks again Amy for hosting this challenge and helping me to reach my goals! I always need that extra little push.
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Wow, it has been almost three months since i have done a normal WIP post, and since I am still here, still huge and currently 37.5 weeks pregnant (full term, yippee!) I thought I would do a WIP roundup of sorts. Kind of a reminder to myself of all my current projects floating around my house that I will complete this year! And yes, I said it, I will complete these this year, or else! Just kidding, but seriously it is my New Years Resolution! 1. Block 1 QAL, 2. Block 2 QAL, 3. Block 3 QAL, 4. Block 4 QAL, 5. Petal Block - Bottled Rainbows 2, 6. Raspberry Block - Bottled Rainbows, 7. Lime Block - Bottled Rainbows, 8. Grass Block - Bottled Rainbows 2, 9. Kaleidoscope Quilt Top Hanging 2, 10. Fox Trails - Baby Quilt, 11. Baby Boy Quilt, 12. Log Cabin Block 2 - Quilting newBEES, 13. Christmas Spiderweb Block - Christmas Fabric Bee, 14. String Pieced Block - Always Bee Learning, 15. Scrapbuster Swap - Postage Stamp Blocks 2, 16. Scrapbuster Swap Round 3 - Set 3
Ongoing Projects or Works in Progress: Row 1 - My current project, I have 2 of 4 panels quilted, using the Quilt As You Go method. This was a Lily's Quilts Quilt Along. Goal is to have it finished by March. Row 2 - Bottled Rainbows Quilt Along 5 of 16 blocks completed. Row 3 (From Left to Right) - Kaleidoscope Quilt Along awaiting basting, Fox Trails baby quilt awaiting cutting, Baby boy quilt for my nephew top halfway pieced, Denyse Schmidt Log Cabin Blocks from the Quilting newBEES group top awaiting piecing. Row 4 (From Left to Right) - Christmas String Blocks from the Christmas Fabric Bee group top awaiting piecing, Heather Bailey String Blocks from the Always Bee Learning group top awaiting piecing, Postage Stamp Blocks from Scrapbuster Swap not sure what I will do with these, Scrappy Depression Blocks from Scrapbuster Swap top awaiting piecing. Row 5 - Wonky Christmas Stars from Scrapbuster Swap, possibly table runners and pillows. Row 6 (or Last Photo) - Good Fortune Fabric Bundle to be possibly used in the Swoon-Along hosted by I'm A Ginger Monkey. Currently hoping I can figure out how to make this Fat Eighth bundle work with the Swoon blocks! This Week's Stats: New Projects - What is new, what is old? Who knows? I lost track a long time ago! Completed Projects - 0 Currently in Progress - 12 Dream Projects On Hold For Now: Amy Butler's Style Stitches Blossom Handbag Amy Butler's Style Stitches Everything Wristlet Amy Butler's Style Stitches Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag Amy Butler's Style Stitches Take Flight Shoulder Bag _Head over to Freshly Pieced to have a look at what everyone else is working on!
I probably finished these about two months ago now, but just kept working and never took the time to photograph or blog about them (which is usually my problem!) I wanted a bunch of bright and new burp cloths for my new little guy, so I dug through my stash and picked a lot of fabrics I liked and then went to town! These are sewn onto cloth diapers, and are my equivalent of a mullet haircut. A mullet is business in the front, party in the back. These are the opposite, party on the front, cleaning up business on the back! Ok, that was my attempt at a little humor. HaHa! My son had some serious spit up issues, so I am just going into this one prepared, burp cloths in hand!
Happy New Year! I am going to do something that I NEVER do. I'm actually making a resolution this year. I am normally the type of person that follows the "if you don't make a resolution then you won't be disappointed when you don't accomplish it" motto. Yes, I know that is so pessimistic, but that truly is how I feel, and yes, low and behold, I haven't been disappointed in myself for years! It works, try it! Ha-Ha! But, this year will be different, and I have known for several weeks now that I will actually make a resolution this year. Woohoo! My New Years Resolution 2012: To finish all the WIPs (works in progress) from 2011. Plain and simple, right? I think so. So then today, I open up my Google Reader and see that Leanne over at She Can Quilt has posted this list of unfinished projects that she plans to finish up during the first quarter of 2012. How cool is that, exactly what I was planning to do. Then I realize that she is posting as part of a quilt-a-long of sorts. Rhonda of Quilter in the Gap fame is hosting what she is calling a Finish-A-Long. Perfect! Basically, you make a realistic goal of what you can finish during the first quarter of the year, post about it now, then link up again at the end of the quarter with your finished project! Easy peasy! I'm in, sign me up! Since this needs to be a realistic goal, and I am expecting a baby sometime in the next 23 days (my c-section has been scheduled!) I am setting a truly realistic goal. Just one quilt! I started this quilt a little less than a year ago, and all four quadrants are pieced, and this one will be quilt as you go, so I will be quilting each section independently. I picked this project first because I have all the supplies needed. Quilting thread, backing, border fabric, binding fabric....and oh fudge I forgot I am out of batting. Oh well, i can get that or send hubs to the store for it! So there we go, goal number one for the first quarter of the year! Wish me luck! Want to join along? Click the little button below!
Last minute project. I have had this on my "to do" list for two months now, but nothing like waiting until the very last minute to actually get it it done. Pathetic. I stitched this baby up yesterday, and it was nice to actually start and finish a project. Seems lately I tend to not finish very much at all, without starting something new. Today was the deadline to get it in the mail, and I am happy to say that I met the deadline!
The basic pattern can be found over at Purple Panda Quilts (click on the button below) and was super easy to make, though I did put the hanging loop in the wrong spot, it still works, so I left it alone. This stocking is going to a foster child so that they can have their own stocking that they can keep themselves, even though they may move around year after year. I thought it was a super sweet idea, and knew I could contribute since I have an insane amount of Christmas fabric! I certainly hope that whatever child receives this, loves it because I certainly made it with love. Awww....so cheesy. I used the Merry and Bright collection by Sandy Gervais and used fusible fleece on both the front and the back. I stuck with simple machine quilting on both the front and the back, and I just love this collection of fabrics together. This stocking is lined with the same fabric that I used for the cuff and it is a nice large size for filling up with lots of goodies! Now that I have started on my holiday projects, hopefully I can keep my momentum going! How are your holiday projects coming along? The countdown begins today folks! Sara over at Sew Sweetness decided to host a Thanksgiving Dinner Challenge, which basically was for anyone who wanted to join up to make an oven mitt or hot pad in time for Thanksgiving. I gladly joined up, knowing that I had already decided to make my son's Speech Therapist a set or two of potholders (or hot pads) as a Christmas gift for her. I used my own pattern, and honestly the hardest part was choosing which fabric to use. It is really hard to judge someone's tastes by their shoes alone, but since she always is wearing scrubs, the only "unique" thing I could use to determine her style are her shoes. This didn't really help me much unfortunately. This first set is my best judgement of what she would pick for herself, or what she would like the most. It looks like her, fits her personality and I hope she likes them. I am coining this set as her "spring set" of potholders. I used two larger scraps that I had for these two, and the inside is composed of one layer of Insul-Bright and one layer of cotton batting. This second set is more traditional, and more suited for a kitchen. This is the "fall set" of potholders. I figured by making two drastically different sets, she is bound to like at least one of them! This set was made just like the first, and both sets should hold up for many years of future use! I certainly hope she likes them! Thanks Sara for hosting this challenge and giving me the kick in the pants to get these completed!
I need HELP! Do you see this lovely collection above? It is Fox Trails (plus the solid green is a shot cotton gifted to me by Debbie, which matches perfectly, by the way.) I have every intention of turning this pile of fabrics into a quilt for our upcoming new baby boy, but I am struggling to choose a pattern. I don't want to choose a pattern that has a lot of sashing or solid colors in between blocks. Preferably, a pattern that can be just prints right up next to each other for the whole top! Below I have four examples from Flickr of patterns I am considering, and of them all, I am leaning toward the "plus quilt" located in the lower left corner, I'm just not sold yet. Do you know of a great pattern I could use, or have a great idea for these fabrics? Please share, I'm stumped! On a side unrelated note, I thought I would share some pictures of a crochet blanket that I made for our new little one. I started this crochet blanket at least 2.5 years ago, reached about the mid-point of the project, and then set it aside. I simply didn't want to work on it anymore. Well....about a year ago, I pulled it out and finally finished it up, I just never posted pictures of it. I wasn't pregnant at the time, and knew I was making it for a future baby, so it was packed away for a while. I love the way it turned out, and it has these cute little "knobs" all over it, that give the blanket such a great texture.
There are two lessons I learned by making this blanket: 1. I taught myself to crochet, so reading patterns is a real struggle for me. I discovered that if you set aside a piece of work for more than a year, it is really difficult to pick it back up and remember how and what pattern you were even working on. 2. Buy enough yarn to finish the project! I didn't and was about 2/3 of the way done, and had to try and find a matching yarn since the one I originally bought was no longer available for purchase. This was a MAJOR PAIN, and resulted in traveling to several stores, and then having to settle on something that was "close enough." I am quite proud of this one, and it sure is snugly soft. I just hope our new little one enjoys it too! I just wanted to share some of my recent fabric purchases, and ask for some help from you guys, so if you just want to look at pretty fabric pictures, you can skip all my lengthy rambling and just read the last paragraph, if you don't mind helping a girl out! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were nice enough to give me a gift card to Joann Fabrics for my birthday, and since our store is closing I went to see what deals I could score at discount prices. Pictured above are my goodies. Yes, the alphabet print looks the same, but the one on the left is vinyl like, though I don't think it is oilcloth, but I figured it would make adorable waterproof pouches. The store was pretty darn picked over, but I was happy with my purchases. I find that once you start buying fabric, you can't stop. Does this happen to anyone else, or just me? I ordered a major haul from Hawthorne Threads. Pictured above from left to right is some Peacock Lane, the herringbone print is from Botanica by Paula Prass, then some lovely Heath (which I think is my new favorite,) then two prints from the Studio E Restoration Collection, and lastly a print from Alexander Henry, Rivoli. I LOVE these fabrics and have no real plan for them as of yet, just a tad bit of insane hoarding. I also bought one of the colorways from Joel Dewberry's Heirloom Collection, which I wasn't crazy about at first, but this is one of those collections that you just have to see in person, it is beautiful! Next up are my two chunks of yardage from Anna Maria Horner's latest Needlework Collection. I ordered both of these with the intention of making tablecloths, Honestly, the one on the left is a little too pink for my table and kitchen, so I think it is destined for something else, though I have no idea what. The one on the right will eventually make it to my table, though I think I won't be embroidering it unless I just get downright crazy, which usually happens once or twice a year! Last but not least, I ordered several boy prints to make burp cloths, and maybe some pants or shorts for one of my boys, not quite sure yet. And here is where I need your help....see the pirate print all the way to the right? My son is OBSESSED with anything pirate and when I showed him this yard of fabric, he went absolutely crazy and laid it on the floor and practically rolled around on it until I ripped it out of his little hands. I want to make something out of it for Christmas, but I'm stumped on what to make. I am undecided about turning it into a quilt, but if you have a fabulous idea, please share. I do not want to make clothes out of it, and already have a plan to make a backpack out of other fabric. So what else is there? Help a girl out and leave me your suggestions. I know there is some great item out there that I am forgetting and you guys will know exactly what I should do with it!
P.S. I have one yard, my son is 4, and it needs to be something that my pregnant butt can actually get done before Christmas! Thank you guys! I am proud to announce that I actually finished a Halloween project before Halloween! I think this is a new record for me, it seems anytime I start a holiday project, I finish it after the holiday is over with! Actually, to tell the truth, I had finished this one a little over two weeks ago, but my lack of energy and ambition kept me from taking photos of it. So last night I gathered my last bit of energy and took photos. I looked at them this morning and was so disappointed, I redid the photo shot this morning. To be perfectly honest, I'm not in love with the photos, but since I have reached that "I no longer care" phase, this is it baby! I bought this Halloween bundle of fabrics from Venezie Designs and is the lovely "Boo To You" collection by Riley Blake Designs. I had no plans for the fabric, I just knew I wanted to make something for my home. After receiving the fabrics and taking note of just how large the characters really are, I just started cutting. The center fussy cut character squares range from 4" to 6" and then I just started cutting strips of all the rest. No real plan, I just started sewing. I added in some Michael Miller "Ta Dot" and a Kona Solid Orange left over from my Bottled Rainbows quilt. I had two blocks done when I realized that they both ironically measured the same size, so then I aimed for the other two to match that same size. Once I had the four, and I realized that the length and width would work perfect for a table runner, so that is what I decided to do! I am happy to say that this is the largest item I have machine quilted, to date, and I was quite pleased with the results, even though I just used my walking foot and straight lines. I am really happy with the quilting detail shown above, that I refer to as "the spiderweb look." I kept the quilting simple to really showcase the fabrics, and I quilted each block differently, so each one is completely unique. I am also happy to say that this table runner has no puckers front or back! Yippie! I kept the back simple, and then machine stitched on the binding using a zig-zag stitch, this was also the first time that I did the binding completely by machine. I think that the zig-zag stitching really added an extra element to the table runner, and I am excited to use this for many years to come! I had a few extra fussy cut centers left over, and some extra strips, so I decided to whip up two matching pot holders. I used two layers of Insul-Bright with batting sandwiched in between. They have that nice puffy look! I also machine quilted these two, but did the binding by hand this time (I need something to work on while watching TV at night!)
I am linking up to Celebrate Color over at Stitched in Color because what could be more fall like than Halloween! This was the bag that almost wasn't. It almost seems as if everything in the world kept stopping me from making it, but boy am I glad to have it finished! This was my August project in the Amy Butler Style Stitches Sew Along, and also my entry into the Sew Sweetness Amy Butler Sew Along. I missed the deadline for the first one, I barely made it in time for the Sew Sweetness Sew Along, but I'm so glad I at least met one of the deadlines! This is the Fringed Hobo Bag from Style Stitches by Amy Butler, and was in the "advanced" section of the book. I will definitely classify it as advanced. When I first started working on this bag, I thought it was going really easy and honestly I couldn't figure out why it was an "advanced" pattern, and then I got to the very last step, and could have pulled my hair out. The last step is simply to attach the lining to the main body of the bag, and that is simple enough, except for the fact that in several spots the thickness of the interfacing, fabric, lining and everything was so thick it was virtually impossible to sew through. I broke a size 14 needle, so I jumped to a size 16, which wasn't much better. Thankfully I had a few "heavy duty" needles on hand, and that needle punched through smooth as could be, which helped a lot. I still wasn't really pleased with the outcome in these spots, but honestly it was just going to have to do. I'm not really sure how to fix that issue, maybe it stitches together a little smoother if you use regular quilt weight cotton instead of home dec fabric, but i don't know if I'll make this one again to "try it out." Overall, I do love the look of the bag, and it is a good size, I made the smaller version, and I did shorten the length of the handle so that it sits right underneath my arm, instead of hanging down lower. The interior has two side pockets that I divided in half, so they weren't just large pockets, this way things can be organized a little better inside. The fringe doesn't go all the way to the top like it is supposed to, but that is my error, I didn't buy enough, so I made it work. I kind of like it like this, and am so glad I wasn't wrestling that extra bulk in those top seams. I used two different Echino prints for the exterior, and a simple muslin for the interior. Overall it wasn't a bad project, and I could have constructed it about 2 days, but halfway through I ran out of interfacing and couldn't find it anywhere locally, ordered it online, waited and then finished the bag. This added the extra two weeks to this project, that honestly I didn't need to add! I think if you have some bag making experience, you won't struggle to put this one together, and honestly all the steps are fairly straight forward with the exception of the last step, which was easy to understand, just difficult to execute. It does make a stunning bag, and if you are wanting to make a bag that stands out in the crowd, then this is the one for you!
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Marci GirlA feisty mom designing, sewing and blogging her way through everyday life!
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