Farmer's Wife - Halfway done!!!

Don't they look lovely? I certainly love them. I actually don't know if I'm happy or sad about being halfway done this QAL. I guess since I still have another half left, I'll stick with happy :) This week I managed 4 blocks which brought my grand total up to 56 blocks out of 111.  Oddly enough, it was also my first dealings with y-seams. In 3 out of 4 blocks. I didn't see that coming, so that was a little rough. But I made it through and the blocks came out pretty well. A few....puckers, but nothing too horrible. I feel like I should celebrate the halfway point or something, I just don't know what that means haha.

Anyway, here are this weeks blocks.

#31 - Evening Star
Love! Things started off so simply and innocently. I love the red as a background and I am having a great time putting these birds in the center of blocks. 

#47 - Homemaker
This one I knew was coming up and I knew it was harder to put together. So I was prepared and it didn't go too badly. I had one little seam ripper problem, but it got fixed up all right and I am happy with it even though there are a few little pucker spots.

#37 - Flower Pot
This block, I did not realize until I started that there were any non-straight seams. But they were not bad at all and it came out really well. This block is actually a favorite of mine I think.

#43 -  Garden Path
I did not see these seams coming. I was not happy. But it came out alright. Not great, but alright. Oh well.

And here are these 4 together

I have already checked next weeks blocks to make sure there are some nice easy ones haha. I also may or may not have decided on sashing. I am thinking this Michael Miller print right now, but we'll see after I go do some quilt shop hopping in a couple weeks.

I have no idea how I'm going to lay them out in the end but I will figure that out when the time comes. I think I may start by following the diagram in the book and go from there. Who knows how that will balance the colors. But, as I said, I have a while.

And now, I have some serious binding to do. And visiting. And fall-ish things, weather permitting. So have a lovely weekend. Next week I should have finished thank you gifts to share, another month of skill builder blocks, and a few other things hopefully.

WIP Wednesday {9.28.11}

Do you know, I think I almost missed Wednesday this week? It snuck up on me. But here it is and here I am ready to recap all my crafty doings of the past week.

Completed:

Baby-in-the-hood Jacket

I got this done pretty quickly and I love it. And it is supposed to cool off a lot this week so I think it will even be put to use :)

Skill Builder - block 12

I never made a house block before. Never had the desire to actually, but it was kinda fun. And I like the result despite it coming out too small and needing to add some extra around the edges. 

FWQAL

Love! 5 more blocks done bringing me to 52 out of 111. This week, today in fact, I should pass the halfway point!!

Still Going:

Swoon

So last Wednesday I was supposed to get my binding fabric and get to work, but it arrived and it turned out I was sent a half yard instead of a yard so I didn't have enough for the queen size quilt. The replacement should be arriving today so I'll hopefully get that put on there tomorrow and get to work.

New:
I actually have something new that I didn't finish this week! I am close to done, but not quite. These are both gifts for two people who watch our cat for us when we leave town and can't bring him. They are so sweet about it, always ready to help and I've been thinking for a while now that they needed little gifts. So here are the sneak peaks of what I've got (plus one of the clutches is a gift for one of them).  Excuse the poor pictures, it was an incredibly gloomy day with no light.

Thank you gift 1

Thank you gift 2

And that is it I think. I am hoping to work on FW blocks today, put the binding on Swoon, do my skill builder block, and finish up the thank you gifts this week. And then my parents are visiting this weekend. And then who knows! Happy Wednesday!

Baby-in-the-hood Jacket

It has come to my attention that somehow it is Monday again. How did that happen? This weekend just flew by! At least I got a few things done though :)

One of those things is a fall jacket for my little lady. She didn't have one and I was lamenting that fact when I realized I had seen one in Handmade Beginnings. After looking at the pattern and deciding it would do just fine, I set to work finding some fabric. Which proved difficult. And I was just about to give up having anything useful in the house when the hubby suggested I use an old pair of his {ripped} khakis that was in my pile. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. So I picked a lining and did some quick measurements to make sure it was enough fabric. Long story short, it worked out perfectly! I used the inside seam of the pants (the side with the topstitching) in the center of the back and it looks really good. Using the khaki gives it a bit of weight perfect for fall and I used one yard of fabric for the lining and the accent instead of throwing a third fabric in there. And I'm glad because that lining fabric is a little loud haha.

The pattern was great. Easy to follow and I loved seeing it come together so professionally as I went. I hate using pattern pieces, but I am learning to suck it up because it is worth it. I need to see if there is anything else in the book I want to make while it would still fit her.

I made the 12-18 month size and it just fits. Which is good I guess since she will only be using it until it is too cold. Which around here won't be long I suspect. She looks so stinking cute in it! And I am feeling really good about using fabric I already had on hand. I am actually sad thinking about how soon she will probably be too big and a pair of old pants won't be enough fabric to make her things. Ah well, enjoy it while it lasts. I almost want to find a pair of jeans and make a cute denim one....maybe for spring! Next up for the little one: long sleeve t-shirts. I am just waiting until I feel like setting my machine up for knits and then I will hopefully do a bunch of knit things at once. Before then though, I have a few other fun things to do!

Farmer's Wife - Week 10

Wow, 10 weeks? Really?? This week I took two days to do my blocks instead of one. By the end of the first day I had 3 done and 2 more cut out so I figured I would finish them up yesterday morning....but then I needed more thread. Finally last night before dinner I snuck in some time and got them done. I know I say this every week, but I love them. They are so pretty. I now have 52 out of 111 done! And next week I should pass the halfway point!!!

So here's what I've got this week

#85 - Square Dance

Love! It's the bird that really makes it :)

#27 - Darting Birds

This one is pretty cool, I must say. I always love this orange fabric.

#52 - Hovering Hawks

This rainbow block came out pretty well, but I think that green square with the polka dots in the middle, yeah, it's a problem since the dots blend in with the background and make the design less clean. Oh well, live and learn. Other than that it looks good.

#28 - Duck & Ducklings

This was pretty easy and it is a cute block.

#87 - Star Gardener

I love this! This green makes a wonderful background! I hope there are more stars that I can keep the star white and do a color background, I love it!

And here they are together

I obviously still have yet to find the time and a place to get all the blocks together, but I'm going to try soon. I can't wait to see them all together! I am hoping to start looking for some sashing in the next month at some LQS and that will make it even more exciting!

And now, on to the weekend! With any luck swoon will have the binding on the front by the end of the day and I will spend the weekend working on some things for the little lady (the scrapbook has been postponed due to lack of ink for the printer and some clothes sewing has been substituted) and a skill builder block. Sounds like a good time to me!

WIP Wednesday {9.21.11]

Even though there is no link up this week for WIP Wednesday (good luck with your fabric designing Lee!), I have decided that I need to keep it up and keep my list going so I can organize myself. Somehow it helps to have it all put out there every week and see that even when I don't feel like it, I did accomplish something. It keeps me motivated. And this week was....pretty productive actually :)

Completed:

Card Condo

I whipped this up yesterday and I love it. It's nice to have a place to store all those cards that keep accumulating. 

Clutches

All 7 finished and getting ready to go to their new homes

Skill Builder Sampler - Block 11

I actually like the way this came out even though I kind of have a problem with the chaos of improv piecing. (side note: my sashing for this should arrive today! I hope it looks good with everything!)

FWQAL

Love these blocks! And I am rapidly approaching halfway done!

Still Going:


Swoon

The top is quilted! I decided to FMQ it (what was I thinking?? It's a queen size and only my second time FMQing!)  and while I did manage to get it done in a day, it was a very stressful day. Let's just say that the seam ripper and I developed a very close relationship as I ripped out a quarter of what I had done due to a fold in the back that was making the backing not reach the edge. It was ugly. But I got it done. My binding fabric should come in the mail today and I will hopefully get the binding sewn on this week and then settle down with some good movies

FWQAL, SBS

As far as this week, today I am working on my FW blocks and I will hopefully get swoon bound and the SBS block done and who knows, maybe I will work on the little one's scrapbook for her first year. She's only almost 15 months.....I guess we'll see how the week progresses. Happy Wednesday!

Card Condo

Do you ever spend some time cleaning and in the process realize a million little things you should make to help organize things better. That totally happened to me the other day. Thus, today during naptime I made a card condo for all those stray store cards that I don't carry with me but need to store somewhere.

It was a really simple tutorial to follow and I love the way it came out. It has 24 card slots plus 2 larger pockets so it can hold a lot. I only have it partially filled and I'm glad there is room to grow. I used all scraps I had lying around which is always a good thing (since my little scrap bin is overflowing!).

Next up in my organization quest are some fabric bins...eventually. For now, I have some FW blocks to make tomorrow and hopefully I will get the binding made and sewn on my swoon quilt this week and then start on a few thank you gifts. See you tomorrow for some WIP wednesday goodness. Even though there is no link up this week, I think I need to keep the list going for my own sanity :)

Clutch Crazy!

As anyone who saw my WIP post on Wednesday probably noticed, I have gone a little nuts. One thing on my to-do list for ages is a bunch of clutches for various people. I have been putting it off for a while because I didn't feel like making bags really, but my stack of pretty clutch making fabric got too big and something needed to be done. So action was taken and now I have a pretty pile of clutches instead :)

I may or may not have mentioned, but these are all from Keyka Lou patterns, which I love. I have made both types before and this time made 5 snap curvy clutches and 2 zip clutches.I didn't have any sew-in interfacing so I used two layers of white flannel in one and a layer of batting in the others and they seem to have come out well with good shape to them. I like the look of the curvy ones more but you just can't beat the praciticality of having everything zipped away. I made the medium size of the curvy clutches and the large size of the zipped ones and they are all big enough to hold a phone/keys/small wallet/chapstick and various other things. I love the one I've been using so I figured maybe others will like the gift.

Here are the curvy clutches:

And here are the zip ones:

I really love all of them! It feels so good to have them off my list too! And I think once I finalize who gets what, there will even be one left for me :) And if you recognize one of these as for you, sorry for spoiling the surprise :-P Now I'm off to {hopefully} tackle a few more things.

Farmer's Wife - Week 9

Here we are again. I meant to only do 4 blocks this week, but then the 5th one just jumped on in there when I wasn't looking :) I am  now done 47 out of 111. I can't believe how close to half way I am! And I really can't believe how much I still love it. I just look forward to these little blocks. I think I'm going to have to start another long-term sampler when this is over. But anyway, on to the blocks!

#83 - Spider Web

Love! I really think I love everything with this fabric, but this is a pretty sweet block

#105 - Wild Goose Chase

I had trouble deciding on my greens for this one, but I am reasonably happy with my choices. Not perfect, but good. 

#32 - Farmer's Daughter

Another cool block that could have had better fabrics. It came out pretty well anyway.

# 42 - Fruit Basket

I kinda love this one. A lot. More than I even thought I would. Maybe I should have used my apple fabric though :-P

#39 - Friendship
So simple and pretty. For whatever reason, I love the white square. In real life the blues are prettier too. Stupid gloomy weather. 

And here are all 5 together

I really need to take a picture of all of my blocks so far together, but I am having trouble finding the space and the right weather. And it will just get harder as we get into fall and have more and more cold, cloudy days.  I will have to try and photoshop them together or something. Ya know, in all my free time. We'll see what I can work out.

Well, happy weekend everyone! I will hopefully be quilting and quilting and quilting my swoon quilt and hopefully it will be all quilted by next week and then I just have to wait for the binding to arrive and I can get that done.

WIP Wednesday {9.14.11}

Holy tiredness batman! We are having a crazy week around here, what with a husband back to work and a toddler who is....going through a clingy/needy/whiny/defiant period. Consequently, I am feeling a little fried and have not been as productive as I would like to have been. I have been working on some bags that I wanted finished by today so I could work on my FW blocks, but alas, I will have to put that off until tomorrow I think so I can get these bags off my sewing table. Oh well. Anyway, on to what has been accomplished!

Completed:

Swoon top!

I am so excited this top is done!! Still not loving it, but liking it well enough. I am hoping to baste it and start quilting this weekend and I have ordered some solid gray for the binding which I think will look nice with both the front and the back. Even though my mom tells me she doesn't like gray....oh well, it will look nice. 

Skill Builder Sampler -block 10

A good basic block that I had never done before.

FWQAL

5 more blocks down, bringing me to 42 out of 111 done! We'll see how many I get done this week. 

New:


Curvy/Zip Clutches

I have had these on my list for a long time now. I am making a total of 7 clutches, 5 of which have specific recipents in mind, the others were just because I wanted to use the pretty fabrics and that way I'll have them on hand. So far I am done 3 of the snap clutches completely, the 2 zip clutches need some finishing details, and I have one partially done and one not started which I will hopefully take care of today.


Still Going:

SBS, FWQAL, Swoon

So that's that. I didn't do too bad this week I guess. Hopefully today I finish the bags so I can cross those off the list and move on to other things.  I guess that depends how naptime goes....