Quilty Things

Changes

2011-09-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well, since Google has decided that it does not want any Blogger users to continue to use Internet Explorer, I have decided to remove my blog from Google's blog hosting. Nothing else has changed; I just refuse to bow to Google's insistance that I use their "Chrome" browser if I want to use their blog hosting. All of my previous posts & any future ones will be found at my new WordPress blog. The blogspot address will probably remain live for a while, but I'll be shutting it down altogether soon. I hope that you will all come visit my new "home." Please update your favorites/links/little post-it notes to reflect my new address: texasmomquilts.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading! Keep on quilting!

"Grandmother's Flower Garden"

2011-06-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

When Jack & I got married, his grandmother gave us a set of tea towels embroidered with different fruits. I have long thought that they needed to be preserved in a quilt/table topper/wallhanging of some sort, and had been thinking of using 30's reproductions, but I never had found anything that I really liked for them pattern-wise.

This spring I went to the Missouri Quilt Guild show at Powell Gardens and saw this kit using pre-embroidered baskets in a hexagon log cabin setting and I knew I had found the pattern for me! I haven't yet done the fruit towels, but here's the kit I purchased and put together so I could try my hand at the weird angles before cutting into Jack's grandmother's handiwork. (BTW I found a GREAT video tutorial on machine-assembling the hexagons on YouTube - of course I forgot to save it... but it's there, I promise!!)

Now I need to tackle G-ma's fruits, but there's only 6 of them... any ideas for a center block since I don't really do embroidery?

Fun Skirts

2011-06-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

These skirts all come from Serendipity Studio's "Fashion Formula Skirt" combo pattern. This first one is "Trixie" done in yummy, springy Anthology fabrics. I made another one from this pattern for my mom that was black & white prints with hot turquoise for the contrast trim.

This next one is "Penelope," done in the oh-so-popular chocolate brown and robin's egg blue. Not my usual color scheme, but I really do like it.

This one is "Fiona," a faux-wrap skirt in simple green and yellow, which my mom picked out for herself. I happily trade sewing for fabric - she buys fabric for two skirts, one for each of us, and then I do the "labor." Everybody's happy!!

My Amazing Cousin

2011-01-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

My cousin Jennifer, who is just a few months older than me, has an amazing life story. Here's a quote from her new blog "Running From My Heart":

To celebrate my 40th birthday in April and the fact that I'm actually able to celebrate my 40th birthday in spite of having had three open-heart surgeries to correct Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Stenosis, I'm running a 5K the week-end of my birthday. I wanted a way to share that journey and possibly encourage others. Hopefully other Adults with Congenital Heart Defects or parents with children with Heart Defects will see this as encouragement that a diagnosis of a Congenital Heart Defect is not the end of the road but just the beginning.

I'd like to invite my readers to share in her journey and help cheer her on. May you be as encouraged by her as I have always been.

"For Daddy"

2011-01-01T06:35:00.001-08:00

Flannel Rag Lap Throw, my own design (OK, no design, I just threw it together...). This was a Christmas present for my dad.

The squares are 9" cut, with a 1/2" seam allowance for ragging. Since he lives in Texas, I went with three layers of flannel and didn't use batting in the middle of the squares. This was easy & fun to put together, but sure made a mess in my washer & dryer when I ran it through to fluff the rag seams.

"Wild Strawberries"

2010-11-13T19:13:00.001-08:00

51" x 63" Lap throw. Pattern is "Tilt-a-Whirl" using Moda's Strawberry Lemonade line (jelly roll & charms plus yardage).

This one turned out way cuter than I was afraid it might. I put this "kit" together for myself a couple of years ago and just decided to put it together this summer. I got scared of all those wild colors and put it aside more than once, but after all is said and done I kind of like it. My 5yo daughter LOVES it.

"Flag Day"

2010-10-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Small (28x28) wall hanging from a Connecting Threads kit.

I've had this cute kit for quite a while, but never got around to making it. I put it together as a thank you/hostess gift for a friend who put up with my rowdy crew for the better part of a week this summer. I'm not much for applique, but there wasn't TOO much of it with just the stars (used fusible & then machine-stitched). There's also a star quilted in the center red square.

"Whimsical Girls"

2010-08-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

When I saw Moda's "Whimsy" line, I knew it just HAD to be made into a baby girl quilt! So I grabbed a few charm packs and did another disappearing 9-patch using the darker pink/red squares for the centers. It's backed with the green polka-dot fabric from the line (thought it would hide dirt better than some other choices, plus I LOVE polka dots) and long-arm quilted with crib hearts. There were several charms left over from the quilt, so I thought I'd make a "Mini Charmer" bag for Mommy too.

"Casual Sampler"

2010-08-09T20:30:00.001-07:00

Cabbage Rose Quilting's 2009/2010 BoM. Just a simple set of blocks in fun, sunny colors/prints, so I thought that the denim sashing & border would suit. Backing will be the same lightweight denim.

Lil Jack

2010-07-20T12:12:00.001-07:00

This little 5" cutie is from Happy Hollow Designs "Pumpkin Spice Espresso Goblin Kit." These kits come in a paper coffee cup, complete with sipper lid. Too Cute.

I have their big jack o' lantern pattern and thought I'd do this little one to try working with the fusible quick grid that the patterns are based on. It's pretty easy to work with, but I did have a little trouble getting those corners & points turned - guess I need to snip the corners a bit more when I do the big one.

Using Up "Orphan Blocks"

2010-07-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to tackle my scraps and beat them back into submission before they completely take over my sewing room. So far I have sorted all the smaller scraps into ziploc bags by color, except that several colors have enough that they won't fit into ziploc bags, but that's beside the point :-) I've been pretty good about sorting larger scraps/remnants/odd purchases into bins by color or bags by project, but the little scraps were getting way out of hand...

ANYWAY, while sorting the various and sundry bins, baskets and walmart sacks full of scraps, I came across several orphan blocks and decided to get busy.

This first one is a little 12"x18" doll quilt made from 1" squares. Way back when I made "Winds of the Seasons," I couldn't decide how I wanted to do the borders. One of the ideas I toyed with was these scrappy little sections of 3x9 random squares. I went another direction (much better!!) but never did anything with those odd border chunks until now. I just stitched them together en masse and did some super super simple quilting. I didn't have enough of any of the fabrics to do the binding, so in keeping with the extreme scrappiness of the quilt, made a scrappy pieced binding.This next little doll quilt is a whopping 15x15. I'm not even sure where this block came from - it's not one of mine. It must have been in a box of random fabrics that I got either came from hand-me-downs, a garage sale or freecycle. The world may never know. When I was sorting all those fabric scraps, my little helper saw this block & decided she needed a quilt for "Big Dog" - one of her fave stuffed animals (bet you'll never guess what kind of animal it is- LOL). So I grabbed a scrap of muslin, a leftover bit of batting and some random binding from another project and Big Dog now has a quilt!

Getting Caught Up

2010-07-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm finally all caught up on my BOM's in progress. All the blocks from the 2009/2010 Cabbage Rose BOM are complete and ready to put into some sort of simple setting - I'm thinking denim blues for sashing & borders?

And here are the first four blocks of this year's BOM. These are 14"blocks, and looks like they'll all be variations on Bear's Paw blocks. I've never worked with 1800's style reproduction fabrics before - lots of neat browns & blues (and one really weird orange/brown wavy stripe)! At 14" this is going to be a large quilt...

Great Giveaways!

2010-04-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

Kelly over at I Have a Notion is celebrating her blog and online store 1 year anniversary with some awesome giveaways, including an AccuQuilt GO! cutter, which I would LOVE to own. Talk about making quilting easier! So go check it out, and good luck.

Another Quilt Done...

2010-04-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

A comfort quilt for a friend facing cancer treatments. I asked her her favorite color(s) and she said blues & greens. This is what I came up with.

My own design, very loosely based on an antique quilt I saw in a book. The scrappy 9-patch and HST blocks are basically the same, except for colors. In the book, the quilt had the HST's just in diagonal lines from one corner to the other. With the stark difference in my blue & green, I thought the "barn raising"-style setting looked better. My DH says this is about his favorite of all the quilts I've made so far...

I Love Easy Patterns!

2010-03-26T18:19:00.001-07:00

I was lazy and sidetracked this year and never got around to making Miss Abby a new spring dress. Poor thing will have to settle for a new skirt. The pattern is "Little Charmer" by Indygo Junction, made with 2 charm packs from Moda's "Fig & Plum."

This little cutie went together super fast: started it mid-afternoon, made dinner, worked out & finished it up after dinner. It's supposed to have rick-rack along the horizontal seams, but I didn't think that would go too well with this fabric - so I did some simple decorative stitching instead (doesn't show up too well in the pic though). Sweet & feminine, don't ya think? Plus, there are enough charms left to make her a matching bag...

New Cabbage Rose Block of the Month

2010-02-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

Edited 02/13 to add: Sign ups have begun - $40 set up this time... but certainly still worth it!

Just a bit of news for those who follow my blog & have enjoyed seeing those fun BOM's from Cabbage Rose Quilting in Ft. Worth. They are gearing up for yet another one! Sign ups for the next "Saturday Mystery Block of the Month" will begin later this week, Feb 10 to be exact. I'm excited about this one because the 2 colorways they're offering are 30's repro and Civil War repro. I've been wanting to do a quilt in each of these styles - now I just have to decide which one! Coin flip?

The last 2 BOM's have been about $30 to start up and each month's block is FREE, as long as you remember to order it on the correct Saturday each month (usually the 2nd Sat, though I'm doing a 3rd Sat one right now); if you miss, the block will be $5, and has to be ordered before that Saturday the next month. It's a pretty cheap way to have a whole quilt worth of blocks, especially if you remember to get your block when it's free. Sometimes you might even get bonus blocks. At the end of the year, you can either buy their finishing kit or not. For the bright batik BOM, I got their kit; for the earth tone batik one, I opted not to.

If any of my readers decide to do one of these, please let me know! I'd love to have an online show-and-tell of the blocks and of our finished quilts.

Note: I'm only sharing this because I really like these projects - I do not receive anything from Cabbage Rose, and I have no connection with the store beyond an affinity for these BOM's... :-)

"Tossed Salad"

2010-02-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

This little table runner was a special request by my mom as a thank you gift for a friend. Mom picked out the focus fabric and overall color scheme and I designed the rest, using the "Square-in-a-Square" ruler/technique. (BTW - this was my first time using the "Square-in-a-Square" - not sure how much I'll use that ruler... it's a real super time saver, BUT it uses tons of fabric & leaves loads of odd scraps, which could be avoided by more traditional techniques.)

The warm, Tuscan-feel fabrics are from South Sea Imports' "First Course" line and feature salads - our friend is known for her salads - and neat bottles of olive oils and such. I did simple in the ditch quilting following the "swirls" and some of the stripes in the borders with invisible thread (so no one could see where I messed up LOL). Hope she likes it!

Cabbage Rose 2008 BOM - "Serenity Now!"

2010-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

Yay! Another finished quilt top (will get it quilted ASAP).

The blocks are from the Cabbage Rose Quilting block of the month program from 2008-2009. They offer two colorways for each BOM - not a fan of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, so I went with the earth tone batiks option... very happy with the warm, yummy colors. I opted not to go with their finishing kit, but used a setting pattern they sent with the last block that just used dark & light batik FQ's plus a little yardage. I love the secondary pattern of the dark stars around some of the blocks.

Don't look too closely at the setting triangles/border or you'll see where I had to rebuild the fabric after I found out the hard way that my new sub-cut ruler is 6 inches wide... not 6 1/2 inches. Oops. I was already having a rough day at that point so the quilt will be named "Serenity Now!" in honor of the serene fabric colors and the extreme need for serenity I found while trying to recover from my cutting mishap.

Cabbage Rose 2007 BOM

2010-01-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Fun with bright batiks. This was the 2007/2008 Block of the Month from Cabbage Rose Quilting in Ft. Worth, TX. I love the colors, and the simple black setting which allows the colors to really shine. The quilting is done in black as well.

I'm currently working on setting the 2008/2009 BOM blocks (earth-tone batiks, yum)... then I can start assembling the 2009/2010 blocks (can you tell I like the Cabbage Rose BOMs??)

Mini Charmer Totes

2010-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

All of these little cuties were made using the pattern "Mini Charmer" from Quilts Illustrated. Each tote uses about half a Moda charm pack or one full Connecting Threads pack, plus 1/2 yd coordinating fabric. The twins are made from a single set of Moda's "Rouenneries" charms (one is my mom's and the other is, as of yet, homeless...) The next one is mine, and uses fabrics from Connecting Threads' "Sweet & Sour" line. Last is my daughter's bag, with fabric from CT's "Riviera" line.

"Biscuits & Buttons"

2010-01-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

This little table runner/centerpiece was a kit I found at a shop somewhere while travelling... It ended up being my travelling companion on several road trips, since I could easily work on it where ever I was - lots of handwork, that. Simple construction - buttons holding the folded squares, which are then tacked at the corners.

"Lily's Heart"

2010-01-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

This sweet little quilt has lots of back story. A few years ago, a sweet quilty friend of mine gave me the Eleanor Burns book Still Stripping After 25 Years. Not too long after that, she was diagnosed with ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's disease, and as she has weakened physically (but never spiritually - truly an inspiration to me!!!), she has become unable to complete quilt projects she had previously planned to make, and decided to share those unfinished projects with friends and family. This is one of those projects.

She actually planned for the lap throw size of the "Love the Log Cabin Quilt," but I opted to make a baby quilt for a couple of very special friends who, after a difficult pregnancy & delivery, now have a BEAUTIFUL baby girl, named Lily. So this is "Lily's Heart" - named for that gorgeous little darlin', and in honor of my dear friend Mary.

"Down the Garden Path"

2009-06-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

Queen-size sampler quilt. Blocks from Patchwork Party 2009 - Spring Edition, with Irish chain finishing kit by Grandma's Attic Quilting. Don't ya just LOVE those colors?? This is destined for my own bed.

"Happy 40th"

2009-03-18T13:32:00.001-07:00

Last summer we had a 40th anniversary party for my in-laws. Before the party, I made up a bunch of simple signature blocks and had them there for guests to sign. Here is the resulting quilt top! I ended up with an odd number of blocks, so I made the center piece to fill in the hole.

Debbie's Log Cabin Quilt

2008-08-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is!
The recipient (Debbie) picked the pattern/layout and size (queen) and her MIL told me what colors she generally likes (deep reds, golds, etc). I took that info and designed the blocks and final quilt on my own. Then I spent weeks and weeks collecting all kinds of reds and creams, as well as the gold marble-y fabric I used for the center squares. All told, there are sixty-four 10" (finished) log cabin blocks, with a total finished quilt size of 90x90. I'm kinda proud of this one... almost hate to give it up.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

OK So now I'm blushing...

2008-07-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

A visitor to my blog put the following comment /question on the post for my Santa's Blizzard Blues quilt that I made last winter:

Vicky E said...
"I love this quilt. I know how to make the block but can't make anything without pattern and have never put anything on point. Would you share or sell the layout and color directions.Vicky"

Well Vicky, I'm sincerely flattered by your request; however, I have to say that it happened completely by accident. I'm happy to share the general path I followed to end up where I did, though.

The main part (using the split 9-patch blocks) contains --I think-- about 3 or 4 sets of charm squares from Moda's "Snow Village" line from last fall. If you wanted to reproduce the color scheme from my quilt, you'd need 40-5" squares of various blues, 40-5" squares of whites/creams and 10-5" squares of blacks/dark grays. To use your own color set, you'd substitute accordingly, using a range of mediums for the blues, very lights for the creams and darks where I have blacks. Then you make 10 big 9 patch blocks with the blues in the corners, creams on the sides, and blacks in the center, and cut them each into 4 smaller blocks according to Helen's disappearing 9-patch tutorial.

Here's where I started "riffing" on Helen's instructions... I tried putting them in a straight set, but it just didn't seem to look right to me, so I thought I'd try turning them on point and I decided it looked more how I wanted it to look (easy when you have no idea where you're headed before you start out!). I tried to sort of arrange the blues to where the darker values were toward the middle and they got lighter as they went out.

I used the guide from About.com to figure out how to size/cut the setting and corner triangles. They have all the formulas to calculate the sizes needed and all you have to do is follow their step-by-step math to make it all very simple. For my quilt, since the split 9-patch blocks end up being 6 1/2" blocks (finished-- I know, odd size), you will need to cut the following:

Side setting triangles: cut 3 parent squares 10 1/2" and cut each into 4 pieces --across both diagonals-- to make a total of 12 setting triangles
Corner triangles: cut 2 parent squares 10 1/8" and cut each once diagonally to make a total of 4 corner triangles

Then I simply added a narrow inner border (2 1/2" cut, 2" finished) of one of the cream fabrics and a wider border (5" cut, 4 1/2" finished) that matched the setting and corner triangles. This made a 58" x 58" lap quilt.

Hope this helps-- it's my first attempt at writing anything like this so I hope it's not "clear as mud." I'd love to see your quilt! I may do another one like this--thinking it would be really pretty with deep red for the dark, various pinks for the mediums and cream or white for the light... kind of a Valentine's quilt... hmmm...

Log Cabin Work In Progress

2008-06-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here you can see all the different 1.5" strips cut and hanging from my giant quilt hoop waiting to be added to a block... there's also a sneak peek of the layout there on that paper beside it. The basic layout is from the book "Log Cabin Quilts Unlimited" although that one is done in black & white.

Here are the 1st quarter of the eventual 64 log cabin blocks as they basically will appear in the finished quilt top... log cabin is really very simple, but it's very time-consuming, since you have to press and square up after each individual strip is added to a block. And each block has 16 strips. I love how all the different reds are "playing" together.

Penelope's Pumpkin Patch

2008-05-12T20:08:00.001-07:00

Note: Post updated Feb 22, 2010 to replace picture of unfinished top with completed quilt.

Way back in October of last year, I happened to win our guild's block of the month drawing (for the pumpkin blocks). I never win ANYTHING, but I was really happy to get this particular one. I added the kitty cat to make it a truly fun "Halloween" quilt, and I have candy corn fabric for the backing. I'm very pleased with the way this one turned out--can't wait to see about quilting. I might try to see how much it would be to have someone else quilt it, though... we'll see.

Finished QOV #3

2008-04-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest Quilt of Valor... all quilted and bound and nearly ready to go! Just need to put on the label & wash it before sending.

A close-up of some of the really nice quilting done by my longarm partner!

The presentation tote...
The body of the tote is the same fabric as the quilt's backing, and the straps are the same as the border and binding. The tote is made using the free "Fabric Grocery Bag" instructions from The Creative Thimble. I love this little tote--too easy & cute!--so I'll be making myself a few shopping bags very soon!

Fun with Scraps!

2008-02-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Several months ago, I did another swap on the Scrap Quilting forum on DelphiForums. This one was an exercise in color play. Everyone made two pairs of blocks each for the others in the swap. Each pair was to be a set of a rail fence block and a four patch block. Both blocks in a set had to use the same tone-on-tone or solid matched with two different fabrics that could go with the solid, but not necessarily with each other. Here's one of my sets as an example... both use the same blue, but the other fabric is different, and certainly not what you would normally use in a quilt together. My other set was more "subdued," using a burgundy solid with two prints that didn't contrast quite as much. The burgundy set made it into the quilt, but I didn't have room for the blue ones... I have a few sets of that left, so I'm making other plans for them.

Due to the fact that there's no room in the budget for new fabric right this second (like I NEED any more fabric...LOL), I decided to take them out and play. And here's what I came up with! I used the four patch blocks for the center, and then lined up the rail fence blocks as a border of sorts. Then I added the corner blocks to carry the line of the rail fence around the edge of the quilt. What do you think? I'm not usually one for wild scrappy with "reckless abandon," but I actually really like the outcome. Very colorful to say the least... It's not very big, only 30x30, but it will make a nice tea party blanket or kid cozy quilt. Another reason I went ahead and put this together is that I need a small project to test out the Flynn Frame my mom got me for Christmas. That's my next challenge...

More Travel Pillows

2008-02-26T19:23:00.001-08:00

These use the same wonderful pattern from Charlotte's Sew Natural that I used for my family's Christmas pillows. So funny... when I thought of making myself one, I immediately thought of this exact fabric, called "Paris Cats." Then -voilà- suddenly it came up on clearance on one of my favorite online shops. So I bought a half-yard pack of the fabrics and made myself a really cute pillow. I love the cats on their scooters running by Paris' most well-known landmarks...
And since I had some more half-yard pieces in the Paris Cats line, I made the fun one on the bottom of this picture for a project that I'm planning on undertaking with my MIL & SIL. The other one in the photo is a twin of a pillow I made for my mom, and is also for the proposed project. I thought it was nice and feminine without being "frou-frou."

Cabbage Rose BOM

2008-02-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

For several months now, I've been doing the block of the month program from Cabbage Rose Quilting in Fort Worth. Way back when it started, you only had to choose which color way you wanted and pay a small start up fee & then all the monthly blocks are free as long as you remember to order them on a certain day each month (I usually do, but sometimes end up paying the $5 "late fee"). So far I have 9 of the blocks. I have never done much with batiks so I decided to go with that option, and I haven't been disappointed! Such pretty colors! And since they're all traditional blocks, the piecing has been pretty easy. I did learn a really neat cool easy way to make the flying geese (used in the teal block), so I'm certain I'll be using that again.

Here is a shot with the first 9 blocks. I think that leaves me with 3 monthly blocks to go, and then I'll have to decide if I want to pony up for their finishing kit or create my own...
I really like all of the colors, but I'm not too sure about the block with the bright orange... kinda seems to stick out a bit. Maybe some of the last few blocks will have colors of similar intensity.

Another Swap

2008-02-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

This time the swap is of colors, instead of a particular block. Everyone in the swap is to make 12" blocks in a pattern of their choosing, using a blue/yellow/white palette. I've been dying to make a blue-yellow quilt & I've wanted to try the Hayes Corner block since Hayes is one of my family names, so I couldn't help but join in. Here's my "pilot" block and a couple showing different layouts of of 4 blocks together. This is all I could make with the fun blue paisley fabric I used, so the others will have a different blue, but you can get the idea. Sooooo gonna make a big quilt with this block!

Why I Quilt

2008-02-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

Every quilt I make is intended to be used and loved. When my sweeties cuddled up under this one (the first I've actually KEPT), I couldn't help but snap a shot.
And then there's always other uses for quilts. She says she's a "mon-ter... wooooo."

QOV #3

2008-02-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Here is the unquilted top of my 3rd Quilt of Valor so far. (Will update when it's all quilted etc)

This quilt honestly has caused me no end of consternation, but I am pleased with the final result. It has been sewn, ripped, re-sewn, re-ripped, re-arranged and flipped around with the entire middle jettisoned (used to have a panel in the center!), re-re-sewn, ripped yet again to adjust length trying to do something cool with the borders, which I eventually gave up on ... and finally just finished. The zig-zag blocks (called "Delectable Mountains") at the top & bottom are from a block swap I did online. They're neat & really pretty, but a very odd size/shape which made them kind of hard to work with. I'll be using the rest of them in their own quilt so I won't have to worry about the weird size. Anyway... since those blocks were already scrappy, I went scrappy with my courthouse steps blocks. They each have the same flag print fabric at the center, then random strips for the red, blue & neutrals. I've never done courthouse steps before, but I love them & will certainly use them again. If you can't see, the whole quilt is framed by a narrow border of deep navy blue with tiny white stars. Overall, I think it's kind of a neat quilt. Hope its eventual recipient agrees!

"Santa's Blizzard Blues"

2008-01-29T15:09:00.001-08:00

Here it is all completed, quilted and bound as I entered it in the show... for more background (pattern info, etc) on this quilt... click here.

"Winds of the Seasons" --Completed!

2007-12-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

Here's my first entry for the quilt show, all done including hanging sleeve and label. It's hand-quilted... my stitches aren't terribly small yet, but they are pretty even, and the larger stitches (I think) work well with the folk-y style of the overall project. In the panels, I quilted the house outlines, the hills and the paths. There's a ribbon pattern quilted into the blue sections of the sashing, and then I added the cute little wooden buttons in the center of the pinwheels to make it that much more homespun-feeling. It's not "master quilter" quality, but I think I met the guild challenge of taking pre-printed blocks/panels and making them my own.

Christmas Sewing

2007-12-26T06:35:00.000-08:00

This is "Dutch Iris" designed by Eileen B. Sullivan at The Designer's Workshop.

This is the first Christmas project I finished. My mom has a serious "thing" for irises, so when I saw this kit at the quilt festival, I knew I just HAD to make it for her for Christmas. Paper piecing is one of my new favorite types of quilting, since it's so precise and makes such intricate pictures with ease. Due to the way I piece (preferring newsprint to freezer paper) my iris is a mirror image of the original... and the cute little ladybug is graciously hiding a pretty major flaw in my piecing. So it's not perfect, but she loves it and that's all that really matters anyway!

These are based on the Tremendously Tidy Travel Pillow created by Charlotte at Charlotte's Sew Natural. Everyone in our house got one of these (except me... I'll make one for myself later). The baseball one (for Elijah) is actually one of her kits, and I pulled together fabrics for the camo pillow (for Jack) and Dora pillow (for Abigail) on my own. The pillowcase is really cool... the inner liner, shown in the second picture, is attached to the inside of the outer case and serves to keep the 12x16 pillow clean and inside the case... neat, huh? And they go together very quickly-- I can see many more pillows being made from this pattern!

My Surprise Find

2007-12-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Not far from our house is one of those shops where you can rent a booth and sell whatever you want... candles, Avon, homemade crafts, antiques, assorted junk (trust me there's LOTS of that category there) Honestly, I think I've been in there all of 3 times in the nearly 3 years we have lived here. Well, today I just happened to pop in, mostly to get ideas on what I could charge if I started selling miscellaneous craft items. I made my way through the aisles and found a booth way on the back wall with a sign indicating that the items were being sold by the family of a woman who had passed away back in October. What first caught my eye were the four 8 fat quarter bundles marked $2.50 each (usually you would pay $2.50 per FQ, right?), plus I later learned that there was a 20% off sale going on... I decided to poke around a bit further and found a non-descript plastic bag containing the above 38 applique leaf blocks. What a treasure trove! They will make a beautiful quilt top... for a whopping $20 (after the 20% came off). I told the shop owner that I would try to complete the quilt and give her a picture of it to share with the woman's family, which she indicated they would probably like.

Hey I just finished one project today... time to add another one to the pile, right?? (Oh and I can't post a pic of the finished project, since it's going to someone who reads my blog :-) Sorry, you'll just have to wait)

Pumpkin Blocks from Guild BOM Swap

2007-10-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

This is the pumpkin I made for the drawing. I especially LOVE the strip with the polka dots. (And Mom, recognize the last strip, with the leaves?)

And here are all my little pumpkins, save one which I should be getting soon from someone who forgot to bring hers to the meeting. Now I get to decide what to do with them... thinking of adding a full moon block (and/or black cat?) and maybe making one pumpkin into a jack-o'lantern for a true Halloween feel. We'll have to see (this project MIGHT get finished for next Fall, but right now I have bigger fish to fry...).

A Big Step

2007-10-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

Today's post is all about my quilt-making. So far, I've been "small-potatoes"-- making little projects and a couple of cute little baby quilts for friends. I've made some larger quilt tops, like for Quilts of Valor, but those are quilted by someone else. Well... as of last night, it's official, I've signed on to be a "real" quilter.

Our local guild will be having a show in January. I had already planned to show one of my quilts, "Winds of the Seasons," since it was specifically made for the guild challenge (using pre-printed blocks/panels), but I wasn't going to enter it to be judged... After asking some quilty friends and soliciting advice from our guild president, I am not only having that little wall-hanging judged, but I'm also entering my latest creation, now entitled "Santa's Blizzard Blues." You can see both unquilted tops on my quilt page. Now I just need to actually quilt both of them! I'll be hand quilting the smaller of the two and (gulp!) machine quilting my big, lap-sized quilt. Now I have no illusions of winning ANYTHING, but maybe I'll at least be able to get some constructive criticism and a little "direction" from some people who really know their stuff.

Wish me luck!

Oh and I forgot to mention! I also won the drawing for this month's block of the month! Each month the guild ladies who want to participate make blocks from a pattern and bring them to the meeting. The block for last night was a cute simple pumpkin on neutral background... I made one (I usually participate) and actually won the 15 blocks--enough for an entire quilt...woohoo! Now I can put them together at my leisure and have an Autumn/Halloween quilt. There's a picture of the blocks that I received over on my quilt page.

I've Got a Name: "Santa's Blizzard Blues"

2007-10-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the completely finished top... If you click on the picture, it will come up bigger. The pattern is called disappearing 9-patch (Thanks Helen!). The finished size will be approx 58 x58. It uses Moda's "Snow Village" charm squares -- you can even see Santa in his sleigh in one of the squares. Just leave a comment with your suggestion... I really need help (everything I've come up with is either terminally boring or terribly cheesy...LOL)

Completed QOV #2

2007-10-13T17:09:00.001-07:00

Here are the pics of my second completed Quilt of Valor, quilted by Edith S. in Odessa, TX, with an all-over stars & loops quilting pattern. I'm so happy with the way it turned out! If you look carefully at the close-up shot, you can see where she actually quilted the words "With deepest gratitude" into the inner border -- gorgeous! This quilt was sent to the Wilmington VA Medical Center.

"What Little Boys Are Made Of"

2007-07-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

A baby quilt for a friend at church who is having a baby boy in September (her shower is this weekend). I hope she likes lime green...

This pattern is the "Star-Sashing Baby Quilt" from the (really helpful) book Quilting 101. It's really cool, because the stars sort of appear as you assemble the quilt, rather than being individually pieced, which makes it MUCH easier to handle. The name I gave this particular quilt comes from the fabric featured in the large squares which has frogs, crabs, fish and snails scattered across the blue-green stripes. I haven't quite finished the binding, but I wanted to get the picture up. Now don't look too close or you'll see why I say that I'm a quilt-topper, not a quilter... I really need to find a friend with a long-arm machine...

Another Quilt of Valor

2007-06-19T09:46:00.001-07:00

I just finished the top for my second QOV. Now, it hasn't been quilted yet, but I'll be requesting a longarmer from QOVF later today. I still need to get a backing fabric for it... something simple. The pattern is another free one from Quilt Index, called "Richly Deserved." I thought this was a perfect name for a quilt going to a wounded soldier. I had to increase the quilt size from the pattern to be big enough for QOV, but it was just a matter of adding another row & column of blocks. The outer border fabric is WW2 theme Army print with newspaper, medals, postcards and the like. I had this fabric first (another one from the Christmastime fabric shopping spree with my MIL) and then pulled the colors out for the other fabrics. I personally think the end result is very handsome, but then I'm a little biased.

"Hook 'Em Horns!"

2007-06-10T13:57:00.001-07:00

A few months ago a very sweet friend did something for my family which was overly generous and totally unexpected. I won't go publicly into what he did for us, but suffice to say we could never hope to repay his gesture. He is an old college buddy of mine and like me totally bleeds orange. I made this little (the whole thing is less than a foot square) paper-pieced wall hanging for his office as a small token of our thanks. I had never paper pieced before, and I decided that I really like doing it--uses very little fabric & hard to mess up, even though I did in couple of places-- but even for my first time, I think it came out pretty OK. Hope he likes it, and if not I'll tell him to give it to his wife for a hot pot holder...LOL

"Winds of the Seasons"

2007-06-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for our quilt guild's show challenge (only doing it since it can be entered as "non-judged"...LOL) The challenge is to take pre-printed squares/pictures of some type, cut them apart and make them your own. Back around Christmas, my MIL had taken me fabric shopping and these seasonal squares were one of the purchases we made. I took the changing seasons blocks, chose one color from each season and made little pinwheel blocks to separate them and carry over the feeling of the changing seasons, hence the quilt's name. As you can see it's not quite done yet. I can't decide if it needs another border--perhaps out of the blue coordinating fabric I used in the pieced sashing or maybe a pieced border using the different colors? Then I need to quilt it (likely by hand since my machine has been misbehaving and won't feed fabric right), and then bind it off in the blue. If anyone has border suggestions (or if you think it doesn't need one), please leave me a comment with your suggestion!

A Pair of Twins

2007-05-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

I guess they would be more along the lines of "fraternal twins..."

It's amazing how different two quilts can look even when using the same pattern and related fabrics. As you can see the yellow & green one is not quite finished... I'll probably replace this picture when I get around to finishing it.

Quilts of Valor

2007-04-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

A while back I mentioned that a quilting friend of mine and I were planning to make a quilt for the Quilts of Valor program. For those who don't recall, this organization is made of volunteers who make and donate quilts to be given to wounded American soldiers. Well, we finally got ours 100% finished (almost anyway... we still need to put a label on it...). Then we can get a final destination to send it to so it can be given to a soldier. This has been a wonderful experience, and I'd love to do more of them -- I only wish I had more time to devote to this worthy cause (I hardly get any sewing time at all with homeschooling and caring for my two rambunctious kiddos, and much of that time is spent making clothes). The best part was having someone else do the actual quilting... Anyway, please visit my quilting page to see our quilt and then maybe try making one yourself! (and while you're here, check out my darling daughter in her new dress over on the family page)

Our Quilt for Quilts of Valor

2007-04-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

This quilt and its presentation/pillow case will be going soon to an American soldier wounded in the line of duty. You can't really see close enough to tell, but the border fabric has words like "Glory... Freedom... Honor... Justice... Brotherhood" printed in the gold-tone stripes. The quilt pattern, called "Stars and Strips," is available for free from Quilt Index.

Stashbuster Squares

2007-01-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

This is a sampling of the kinds of squares I made for the block swap. Quite the mish-mash, but overall really kinda pretty.

"Bluebonnets Squared"

2007-01-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

A large-scale double nine-patch wall hanging/table topper (finished size around 1 yard square). This was my Christmas gift to my mother-in-law. She's the "master quilter" who has really gotten me started on this quilting journey. Her kitchen is all done in Texas Bluebonnets, and I thought this would look nice on her kitchen table. It is a very simple pattern with even simpler quilting, but that way it shows off the fabrics above anything else.

"Cozy Cars"

2006-12-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is a very simple little snuggle quilt I made for my nephew Riley for Christmas. The top is a single piece of fabric featuring characters from "Cars," which he loves right now and the back is a piece of flannel with kind of a racing/ checkered flag motif to it. I did some simple channel quilting on it--basically enough to hold it together. It's really small... just the right size for a little guy to cuddle with on the sofa or in front of the TV or whatever. Then I had a little piece of the Cars fabric, so I decided to make him a little matching pillow. Elijah has a little kid-sized pillow, and loves it... I really hope Riley enjoys them!

All Wrapped Up!

2006-12-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! I just finished my last Christmas quilting/sewing project! This one was a flannel lap quilt for Jack's grandmother (I put a picture of it on my quilt page, since there's not much chance she'll be on my blog). That makes 3 quilts (all small ones), 4 potholders, 1 pillow, 3 fleece blankets, 4 fleece scarves... and a partridge in a pear tree...LOL Now I can get cracking on Elijah's pirate quilt (loads of detailed handwork to be done yet before final assembly & quilting) and then there's the 50 squares I have to make for my block swap.

You know only a couple of years ago, I'd have laughed 'til I cried if you had tried to tell me I'd like sewing one day. My poor mom, bless her, tried to teach me to sew... did not go well. I just didn't have the patience for it back then, and she tried to get me to sew clothing, which I still can't do by the way. Quilting, on the other hand, has given me the creative outlet that I have been searching for (without even really knowing it) and I don't care what anyone says, IT'S WAY EASIER THAN MAKING CLOTHES! I tend to be really high-strung when it comes to crafts--and yes, MOM I can see your head nodding--and quilting actually relaxes me like I thought nothing ever would. Who knew that I would so quickly grow to love something from which I had run screaming for most of my life??

"Floral Flannel Frenzy"

2006-12-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

This is a flannel lap quilt that I actually pieced over the summer, but just now got around to finishing. It's tied, rather than being machine quilted, and that meant it had to spend a lot of time in my lap while being quilted... not much chance of THAT happening during summer in Texas (even today, it had me turning on the AC, since it's 80 outside!!). Anyway, I finally finished it so we can give it to Jack's grandmother for Christmas. Another UFO (un-finished object) taken care of...YIPPEE!

Care Package

2006-12-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today we sent our first package to the soldier we signed up to "sponsor." He is in the Army and currently serving in Iraq. One of the items he requested was a blanket-- here's what I whipped up quickly (I'll probably make him a quilt later, but wanted to get this first package shipped off ASAP). It folds up into a pocket sewn on one end (shown in second picture). I thought the stars and navy blue field were handsome and appropriate (hope he likes it too)

Here's a shot of everything we sent in the package. It ended up being a pretty good-sized box of stuff!

Let me take this chance to encourage my readers to support our troops in any way you can, whether it be sending care packages or letters directly to them overseas, participating in programs such as Quilts of Valor, which provides quilts to wounded soldiers in hospitals stateside, or simply remembering our fighting men and women in your prayers. When it comes down to it, it just doesn't matter how you feel politically or whatever about the war itself--we should be willing to support our fellow citizens who are risking life & limb in the service of our country. **exiting soapbox now**

"A Little Christmas"

2006-12-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

These are potholders I have made to donate as door prizes for our congregation's "Grandparents' Dinner," which will be happening this evening. I made 2 identical holders in each style to that people could get them as sets. I did not buy a single piece of fabric for this project (or even batting)--aren't fabric stashes wonderful! I have one little drawer in my fabric cabinet that is entirely dedicated to holiday/winter fabrics, so I had lots to pick from.

This is the same pattern as the table runner I made for fall. I like the way the novelty snowman fabric is highlighted by the very Christmas-y holly prints.

The tree is a single square from a wall hanging pattern I found in a book of holiday quilts. I added the red border (same fabric on the back) to make it feel more "Christmas-y."

"Birds of Autumn"

2006-10-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

This is a table runner featuring birds that have been "fussy cut" from some autumn fabric that I fell in love with at our local quilt shop. The first fat quarter of it was a gift from a sweet friend, and I probably wouldn't have gone ahead with the project at all if she hadn't gently forced my hand by giving it to me...LOL
(She doesn't know it, but she's got a little surprise coming too...)

I hand quilted it with a leaf pattern-- my first real hand quilting project (I've definitely got some learning to do, but all in all, not a bad first effort I think). Here is a close-up of one of the blocks. You can't really see the quilting very well in the picture (I suppose that's just as well **smile**), but it really shows off the gorgeous fabrics.

"Soccer Star"

2006-09-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Hexagon Star pieced tote bag
A soccer bag as requested by my son who started playing this year. He picked out the soccer ball fabrics and I figured out the rest. The bottom, backing/lining and decoratively stitched handle are black denim for durability.

"Bunny Blues"

2006-09-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

Pieced and Applique crib quilt
A joint project with a friend... I made the pieced blocks & she did the applique work. Then I pieced the quilt top. She hand quilted it and then I put on the binding. A true team effort!

"Watermelon"

2006-07-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

Rail fence crib quilt
This is my first "real" quilt. Didn't take me very long to make either--rail fence is EASY! It's a baby quilt for a friend of ours. Not bad for a newbie, if I do say so myself...

And here's a close up showing the really cute backing fabric, which of course I can't get anymore...

"Americana"

2006-07-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Log cabin pattern wall quilt
My first "flat" project. I had done several quilted sewing machine covers in various colors, including one for my mom-in-law using this combination. I liked it so much that I had to make a wall hanging using the same fabrics.