Christmas Finishes, Part 1

Hi there! I hope your holiday season was as fun as mine was! However, by the end of it, I was more than ready to go back to the "normal" routine :)

This year, my mom and I jointly made a quilt for my uncle; she pieced the top and I quilted it. We surprised him with it on Christmas. Can you believe she just started quilting a little over a year ago? We used a Batik jellyroll (I think it was called "Blueberry Crisp") and used this pattern - changing the size to have a complete row of the spinny part at the bottom, rather than half like the original pattern has. My mom also rotated the blocks for a different look than the pattern, and to be honest, I like this version better (I might be partial, too!).

I quilted it in an all-over stipple, with loops/figure-eights in the borders, with a nifty little corner accent.

The backing is not a batik, but I don't know what it was, only that it was pretty colors and super-soft :)

A major accomplishment on this quilt is that I finally got the bobbin tension just about right - I've had so many problems that I almost gave up on free-motion quilting...but I'm a little too stubborn to do that!

I'll post soon with another quilt made for Christmas (once I get some decent pictures of it) and hopefully another project that's been calling my name...until then, take care!

~Michelle

What I've been working on...

You know how when you have a huge, ginormous list of things you want to do and then life gets in the way and prevents you from accomplishing anything on said list? Yeah, that never happens to me, either :)

Somehow, someway, I ended up with a Christmas gift to-do list as tall as I am and the amount of time to finish them is getting smaller and smaller...cue the panicky breathing and the paper bag.

Not only am I making a quilt for the hubster, but I'm also quilting one for someone in my family.

This is the one I made for my hubster:

It has been sewn together, basted, and now is partially quilted since this photo was taken, so that's progress, I guess!

I hope to have more pictures of works in progress on here soon. Hope you are having a good week!

Fandango stars

This is going to be more a contemplative post, rather than the bubbly ones that I normally post, but for good reason. This post does include a finished quilt, though, so stay with me :)

To make a very long story short, a neighbor of mine recently lost her husband. The means of the passing I don't know, nor do I think I should, but the end result is that a woman, married a little more than a month, lost her husband and was left to raise two kids and pick up the pieces of her life by herself. Not only that, but her past is not an easy one and includes huge loss in it as well.

My heart was broken for her. I cannot even conceive the enormity of that loss, and to be honest, it scares me to dwell on it, because it could happen to anyone, at any time, and in such a life-altering way. It may sound weird, but I found that I had to work through my grief, too, and I searched for ways to help her. We don't really have much of a relationship to begin with, and understandably, she kept to herself.

What could I do to help her that wouldn't turn out to be awkward and weird, too? I thought and thought and one night, while I was snuggled under my couch-cuddle quilt, I thought, a quilt, that's what she needs, a quilt to snuggle on the couch with in case she didn't want to sleep in her bed.

What I had was my Fandango quilt that was partially quilted and was patiently waiting for some tender loving quilting. I spent about four hours one day and three more hours spread out over a couple more days finishing the quilting and binding and nervously packing it in gift bag for her. I put it on her doorstep, with a note tucked inside.

I don't know if it was well-received or not, and to be honest, I don't care if it was or not. It helped me to make something with my own hands to give to her with the offer of comfort if she wanted it, and part of me believes that is what quilting is all about: offering comfort from something made with time, love, and fabulous fabric :)

And so, I present, "Fandango Stars" (of course I took pictures before I delivered it!)

The top row and the bottom row are echo-quilted in the star toward the center of the star, while the middle two rows are echo-quilted from the star out toward the edges of the block. All the sashing and borders are quilted in the ditch.

I was a little sad to see it go, but that's balanced by the fact that it was made with love for someone in need.

Pinwheels aplenty!

It certainly has been a long while since I have been on this space, but don't think it is because I haven't been doing anything! No sir, not me! Always working away on something, I am :)

What I've been working on: I made another set of 5 burp cloths, in the same fabric as before (remember, you can get 10 burp cloths from 5 fat quarters); I laid out the In From the Cold fabric for the Christmas quilt I wanted to get done this year, but I'm not sure I like the layout how it is; and I started (and finished!) a new quilt top!

In From the Cold layout...

I saw this tutorial on Moda Bakeshop and thought it was one of the cutest quilts I have ever seen! Plus, I haven't tried my hand at pinwheels yet (I know! Can you believe it?). And, I just happened to have been stockpiling gathering 30's fabrics here and there. I mean, how could I not make this quilt?

All the pretty fabric...

 

Lovely trimmings from the half-square triangles...

Laying it all out on the line...

 
I made it bigger than the tutorial; instead of a baby blanket, I wanted this to be throw-size, so I made extra pinwheels, doing a 5x6 layout instead of the 3x4 layout in the tutorial. I used around three charm packs, instead of the single one that was called for in the pattern, so I had plenty left over for the prairie points (something else that I hadn't tried before), and what was left over from that is perfect for making some EPP hexies (2 1/2 squares), which was fine by me! I also made the second border 5 1/2" instead of what was called for in the pattern.

Prairie points mixed in a bag for ultimate scrappiness!

It is so happy and adorable that sometimes, I just lay the top out on the bed and look at it and smile. I already know how I'm going to quilt it; I just need to find just the right backing for it!

One more tidbit...I found the neatest little thing at a recent quilt show...an ironing cover for a little folding TV tray! Isn't the fabric adorable? It sits right next to me while I'm sewing, so I can press (really, I iron instead of pressing, but that's between you and me) and then start sewing again without having to get up! Genius!

I will post better pictures of the pinwheel top soon! Until then, hope you're having a good day!

Slice of fun

Hello there! How are things going in your world today? Hopefully all good things are happening to you...

I've embarked on a new project and this is one is just for fun! I haven't had a just for fun project in a while, so this is very exciting! I might have been smiling and giggling like a silly ninny the whole time I was sewing...maybe :)

Like a squirrel with its nuts, I've been hoarding charm packs and fat eighths of 30s and 40s reproduction fabrics and stashing them about the house. Then I forget and find them some time later :)

 

I found this pattern on Moda Bakeshop and ever since I saw it, I've been wanting to make it! I'm making it a little bigger, a throw size rather than a baby blanket...

Can't wait to share progress updates with you and hope you have a good week!

She's alive!!!

She's alive...and somewhat kicking :) So much has been going on in my little world lately that I haven't had time to update this ol' blog here with some the projects that I've been working on!

Never fear, though, we can fix that!

My In From the Cold fat eighth bundle has been sliced into; I cut 4 5-inch squares from each eighth and have some scraps left over that I plan on making a couple pillows out of.

 
My office seems to have a fertility statue hidden somewhere...now there are five pregnant ladies! It was time to come up with something to make for them that is not as intensive as a quilt, but still something useful and handmade...burp cloths! I backed mine with terry cloth found at JoAnn's and wish that I had had some for myself!

 

I've given away one set and have another cut out...you can make ten burp cloths (or 2 sets of 5) with 5 fat quarters and a yard of terry cloth...good deal if you ask me...especially when you get everything on sale or with a coupon!

 

 
Lastly, I made a skirt for a friend of mine whose daughter turned four last week. It felt really nice to make the whole skirt from my stash...something I need to do more of!

 
I'll be back soon with more fun for you!

 

Sunny Day Progress

Progress: the process of improving or developing something over a period of time. Pretty fitting description for anything quilting related, huh?

This project, using a kit found at a quilt show with Avalon fabrics, has been placed on the back burner several times since I started it, but I'm happy to report that the top is finished! Progress has been made!

It's now basted and partially quilted. I'm not real happy with how the quilting is going, though, so I've started unpicking what has already been quilted, which sucks a big, fat one. I was going to do an allover floral design with some swirly loops between the flowers, but the flowers look more like a child's scribbles than a flower and that was ticking me off, so I stopped quilting and started unpicking. I think I'll go with this pattern: Crybaby Meander; it looks easy enough and it is something that I haven't tried before.

I just really want to get this done, so I can snuggle on the couch with it, even though it's going to be like, a hundred degrees here shortly... :)