One Last Post This Year

I know I'm pushing it close. It's almost 11pm here in CST, but I wanted to update everyone on the last of my finishes for the year.  First up, another baby blanket.  I love this color! We don't have anyone expecting right now, but there's always someone around the corner and now I won't have to scramble.

Next, I am able to cross this nursery rhyme quilt off my 2012 list! Isn't it cute? It's 37" x 46". This one also will be waiting in the closet for a new owner.

Finally, there's this cute little wall hanging I made the hubs for Christmas.  He used to live in the Florida keys and is a HUGE Parrothead (fan of Jimmy Buffett) so I thought this would be a nice trip down memory lane for him.  He was very surprised and pleased.  We try to do at least one handcrafted gift to each other each year.  I had wanted to do more, but ran out of time. 

So, that's it for this year.  I'm pleased with my quiltiness this year.  I've pushed myself and tried some new things.  I made the biggest quilt thus far. I have done some blanket-stitch applique. I've gained some confidence in my quilting ability and feel good about my progress.  Tomorrow, I'll talk about my expectations for 2013.  In the meantime, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Finally! A Friday Finish!

I finished this batik jelly roll race top a month or so ago, but finally had the opportunity to quilt and bind it this week.  I think the collection is called blueberry.  In all honesty, I'm not sure I will use this pattern again.  It was easy enough, but there isn't enough variety between the strips and the changes between strips are oddly placed.  Even so, this quilt is growing on me.  The more time I spend with it, the more I'm liking it.

You can see the quilting a bit better in the second picture. I did in the ditch between the strips and a wave through the strips and the outer border.  I used a smokey blue thread, but I went through two spools (one full and one not) and part of a third.  I also realized that I don't have much variety in my thread collection - mostly white or darks (green, blue, purple and red).  I'm going to have to remedy that.  

Anyway, I was having some difficulty choosing a binding.  I had bought some 90" natural flannel for the backing and had enough left over for the binding as well.  I like using flannel for the back for added warmth and softness, but the natural cream color would be striking against the dark outer border.  So, I asked the hubs' opinion.  Essentially, the choice was between the fabric for the backing and the fabric for the border.  He said the border fabric would be better and he was right. It was perfect!

This is, by far, the biggest quilt I've ever made and completed.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with it... and the cats are thrilled! ;o)

Two Birthday Finishes

Last Thanksgiving (2011) was my family's year to gather together.  My niece was carrying around her other aunt's purse (also my sister - there are four sisters and two brothers). I asked her mom if she would want her own bag or purse to carry around.  MB said she'd rather have a quilt for her bed.  I've never made a quilt that was bigger than a baby blanket before so I told MB I would see what I could do.  That's when I started planning.

First, I knew that I would have to make one for her brother, too.  You know, it wouldn't be fair to make one kid a quilt and not the other.  Besides, his bday was first, but her quilt was WAY easier to plan.

Did you know that it is impossible to get Syracuse University fabric? Apparently,they do not license it which makes it terribly difficult to make a quilt for a young man who LOVES Syracuse basketball!  What's an aunt to do but get creative.  Last Christmas I kept an eye out for clearance t-shirts as I was also looking for the non-existent Syracuse fabric.  I found two so I snatched them up for $5 each.  Then the hubs and I were walking through a sporting goods store this summer and found a third.  Over the course of the last year, I gradually picked up fat quarters of basketball themed fabric to fill in.  I found a great flannel online that was sports-themed and basketballs were prominent.  That still left me wondering what to do about surrounding/framing the t-shirt panels.  I went to Hobby Lobby when they had a flannel sale, but was underwhelmed by the selection and the hubs said not to force it just because the nephew's bday was coming.  I ended up finding a GORGEOUS navy check flannel to use.  The final quilt is about 57"x 60" so I patched the back together with the sporting flannel, a strip of leftover squares, and then an 8" strip of the navy flannel.

Syracuse Quilt for HB1

Front

Back

As I said, her's was way easier to plan.  I went to the local quilt shop (LQS) and found the green kitty fabric.  Did I mention that my niece LOVES cats? Seriously.  The kid is crazy about 'em! So, I picked two complimentary colors, fussy-cut the kitties for the centers of the stars and added a white-on-white daisy print for the background.  Originally, I was just going to do a white border, but then I was going to do a checkboard along the top and bottom, but had enough leftover squares that I changed my mind and went all the way around and added a 4" white border around that.  Her backing is hot pink Minkee that matches the pink on the front and I bound it will a swirly pink flannel.  It was a total pain in the tush to quilt!!! I ripped out stitches three times last night before calling it quits for the night.  The Minkee, while incredibly soft, is also incredibly slippery and kept being brought through.  I finally got the tension and procedure right this afternoon and it took me 6 hours to quilt it.

Kitty Quilt for HB2

Front

Back

I just love these quilts and I'm pretty proud of them.  I feel pretty sure the kids will love them, too. And that's all that really matters. :)

Fulfilling a Promise

So, I mentioned my sister's sister-in-law (EBG) a couple of posts ago.  Last year, she contacted me shortly after Thanksgiving about making Christmas stockings for her and her husband.  I told her my typical price, but offered a significant discount since she's nearly family. She agreed and I promised delivery before the following Christmas. 

Then news arrived that EBG had been notified that she was going to adopt a baby over the summer.  I knew I needed to make the new baby a stocking as well at no charge.  First, I chose the fabrics and then I cross-stitched the name plates.

Waiting for assembly

Here are the final projects:

The package went out in the mail this afternoon.  I expect it to be delivered on Monday.  

I have another stocking to make this year - my brother and his wife had another baby girl. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until after the semester is over since it doesn't have to be there until December 22nd and I have two other projects for special little ones whose birthdays are well before Christmas.

Entry Curtain

The entry has a smaller window next to the door that my in-laws have agreed to make a stained glass for, but for now I wanted something that would allow the light in without losing the privacy. I had some fabric from the bathroom curtain left over, but not quite enough to cover the whole window which meant I had to find a solution if I wanted to use it.  So I ran to  the local Hobby Lobby to look at their upholstery fabric. The first one I considered is this one: 

I like it, but it is rather formal.  So, I kept looking and found this:

I LOVE this fabric! Our entry walls are the same color as the darker grey medallion.  My intention was to make a curtain of just these fabrics, but then I thought that I liked the silk as well and it would be appropriate for the holiday season.  So then I thought about making two tops and attaching the gauze-like fabric with Velcro.  

I started to plan these curtains, but as I took before pictures I realized just how close the window is to our wall quilt.

This poses a bit of a problem because I do not want the curtain to clash with whatever wall quilt we have up. So, back to the drawing board.  I had some black canvas fabric left over after making some potholders for a friend.  So, I decided that simplicity was best in this case and made this curtain:

I like it. :o)

Mary's Tea Cozy

I sent her a trivet made from the same collection as well.  I hope she likes it! 

Happy belated birthday, Mare!

Friday Finishes

I'm pretty proud of myself. I completed two projects this week! 

First, I quilted, bound and gifted the baby quilt for the young lady in our church.  I'm pretty happy with this one.  The 9-patch blocks are approximately 7" square with 2" sashing.

You can see the backing I used for the back and binding in this picture, but what you can't see is the very pale white polka dots in the yellow fabric.  I'm not surprised as it was hard to see up-close as well.  I think the yellow backing complimented the top well.

The second project I completed was a curtain.  When we moved into this house last year, I was complaining to my sisters how I couldn't find a curtain I liked for our bathroom window. The previous owners had left a top curtain hanging which was about 10" in height.  It did nothing for the window and was not complimenting my chosen color scheme.  My problem was that the window is positioned in such a way that I needed something that was about 45" long because the window cuts over the countertop and I didn't want to have a solid curtain which would block the sunlight.  My sister said that I should stop looking and make my own.    Of course!  Why didn't I think of that?!  So that was the beginning of my planning process.  What did I want the curtain to look like?

I decided that I wanted the top to be this top curtain.  I had tried it initially when I took down the curtain that had been left behind, but the tabs made it hang loosely and unattractively.  Hmmm... Ok, I can fix that, but what about the bottom?  I need privacy and sunlight.

I had been eyeing this gauze-like material at Hobby Lobby.  This week, they were having a 30% off sale on their upholstery fabric.  I bought 3 yards of this fabric.  That means that with the gauze fabric and the window ribbon to create a sleeve for the rod, the curtain cost me less than $16 and it's exactly what I wanted!!!!!!!

I frogged the tabs from the curtain top, cut two 38" panels from the gauze-like fabric, hemmed it, and gathered it before sewing it to the top about an inch from the bottom of it.  I also create a sleeve for the rod just below the top of the plaid.  Here's the window pre-treatment.

And here it is post-treatment.

I was very grateful for the experiences of my youth when I made my own dresses because it made the gathering of the gauze so simple for me. 

I absolutely LOVE it! Thanks, Mary, for the suggestion that I make it myself.

A Little Help...

Progress on the HS quilt is slow. I tire easily with the fussy cutting of the 9-patch squares and have become bored again.  So, I moved on. I'll come back to it, but I needed to make some visible progress on a project.  So, I finally finished the binding on this:

Yeah! So, I'm continuing at least one finish a week and I feel good about that.  I'm working on a couple nameplates for Christmas stockings.  Those should be completed this week too... if I have time.  We have company coming.  A lot of company.

Anyway, I would like your feedback/opinion on what to work on next.  I need a wall quilt to switch to when July is done (but have no idea what it should be - should I continue with the summer theme or go for an autumn look?), I also have a couple Halloween projects to work on, and an anniversary wall quit (or four) to complete.  So where do you think I should go with my next project?

Friday Finish - 4th of July

Wednesday I showed you this block as part of a larger project I was working on.

I indicated that there was more to it than just that bock, but not much more than that.  Last weekend, we took a little trip to Sioux Falls.  The hubs wanted to shop for beer brewing equipment.  We had heard that there were a couple stores, but we were supremely disappointed.  If we need brewing supplies, we're going to go back to Minneapolis, I think.

Anyway, the hubs surprised me by looking up a few quilting shops to take me to! AWW! While shopping in the first store, he saw this project and loved it. I mean LOVED it. The kit was reasonably priced at $19.50 including the backing!  Wednesday morning we got up and walked the dog and then after a shower, we went to our separate shops and worked on projects.  It wasn't long and I had another block done.

Before you knew it, the top was done.  By 4pm, the whole thing was complete!  Look how nice it looks on the entry table:

You can't really see it, but all three fabrics have gold pattern on them, but you hardly notice the color, right? Crazy.

So that's my 4th of July projects. :)

Fourth of July Finish

I finished this wall quilt this morning - just in time for the fourth!

Last week, I pulled together reds, whites, and blues from my stash to create this fun holiday quilt.  I have been very neglectful in my decorating and in creating fun holiday-themed items, but have made a minor resolution to correct that.  So this is the first of two items for the Fourth of July that I've been working on.  The other is not quite finished, but all cut out.  So I'll post tomorrow with a WIP.

I had the Henry Glass fabric for the light inner border and the navy blue with stars on it in my stash, but had to run to the fabric store (oh darn) because the red I was going to use turned out to be too busy and there was already a lot going on with the words and stars ... and when the hubby says "you should buy a different red tomorrow" what's a girl to do, I ask?? Go to the fabric store, of course!  I just bought a half yard of a red I had used in the stars so, it looks good. The light fabric of the inner border has the Pledge of Allegiance written in blue ink on a cream background.

I'm really happy with this one!

Facebook Challenge

In January 2011, there was a thing going on around Facebook.  Essentially, the offer was the first three people to respond to the post would receive something handmade from the poster within three months to a year.  I responded to three "friends" and had three people respond to me. As it turns out (as I write this more than 17 months later) only one of my friends has fulfilled this promise and while I have had it on my "to-do" list for those 17 months, between my then job, the flooding, the moving starting school, etc I have not been able to fulfill my promise... yet.

One of those people who responded to me stated that they would love something handmade, but that they wouldn't/couldn't make the same promise.  They wanted some potholders if possible and their favorite color was orange.  I've had the fabric for nearly the whole time and was finally able to finish the project over this year's Spring Break.  I sent the package earlier this week and it should arrive today or tomorrow at the latest so I feel comfortable revealing the project here.

I used the same block, but reversed the layout to make two similar, but different potholders.    If I had thought about it better, I would have included more of a seam allowance.  After I added the batting and the Insul-Bright, the seam allowance kind of disappeared.

I think they turned out nice and bright and cheery!

Add a couple business cards and they're ready to be mailed.

Stay tuned for more projects completing the challenge.  It was hard for me to decide on projects since I'm not really sure what the crafty taste of these FB friends are, but I think I have decided on what to do for the remaining friends and my last final project is due tomorrow (Friday).  That means all my time will be devoted to sewing and gardening.  I can't wait!!

See? I Have Not Been Slacking!

While classes are in session, it is typical for me to become overwhelmed with homework, research, and studies.  The semester almost always weighs on me until I "break."  Not in the sense that most people do, but I get to the point where I'm just not happy and frustrated with never doing anything I want to do because all the things I have to do take up all my time - sometimes even more time than I have to give and I lose sleep because I'm up late doing work and get up early to make sure everything is done on time.

I hit this point week before last.  I've been feeling alone and missing my friends (from my foodie friends to my best gfs who are always so supportive).  I really needed to nurture my soul.  My subtle signs were not getting the desired results so I took things into my own hands.  I organized a much needed "stitch-n-bitch" then I committed to spending some time on crafts throughout the week.  You would think this would be an easy commitment as I haven't been spending any time on crafts since classes started this semester.  But finding even five spare minutes is a challenge.  However, I know I need to take a break (however small) from school work and teaching to nurture my soul.  

So, that's what I'm making a conscious effort to do so.  This week I finished one of the projects on my 2012 "to-do" list.  This little blankie will be mailed off to my DB1 and SIL4 for their new baby (due in a few weeks).

So cute!  I'm happy with it.

And I started another "to-do" project.

This one is going quickly (which is good because this is for another baby due soon).  I can't wait to show it to you!

Finding time for me is always a problem.  I'm sure it is for some of you, too.  So, my question to you is: how do you find the time to nurture your soul?  How do you do it?