WIP Wedenesday {5.29.13}

Well that week flew by! How was everyone's week? Mine was pretty lovely; I had a wonderful time with my sister and I even got some sewing done. I would call that a win :) My sister even brought me a beautiful pile of towels and washcloths from ikea to play with! But anyway....

twinkle - I got this all quilted up and now I just need to settle on a binding color. I keep changing my mind, but I think I am between pink and a dark teal....we'll see where I land on that.

lazy day skirts - I got both of these done last week and they have already each been worn multiple times so I guess they are a hit. I am slowly whittling down the list of kids clothes to make.

beach robe - cut and ready to go. It took me a while to make the binding, otherwise it would probably be done already, but I'll hopefully finish it up today.

bed quilt for neighbor - still sitting and waiting for love
summer wardrobe for the little - I am not even sure what I am still going to make, but I know there are a couple more things.
birthday dress for the little - I need to settle on a pattern and then pick fabric.
baby stuff - I have big plans, my friends, big plans.
pony club quilt - no new blocks this week.
hexies - someday.....
wedding quilt - I am still stalling on fabric ordering.

I am still slowly plugging away at everything. I am starting to get myself organized for the ridiculous amount of baby stuff I want to make, so that will be coming soon. Hopefully before I get too huge and uncomfortable to do anything. Have a lovely week everyone!

WIP Wednesday {5.22.13}

Woah, I almost forgot it was Wednesday! Aside from my big finish, I haven't gotten much done this past week and this coming week doesn't look much better since my sister is coming to visit this long weekend, but that's okay, it's going to be so much fun!

marcelle medallion - finished and in love. Love, I tell you! I even entered it in the quilt festival :)

twinkle - I need to finalize a backing choice....I am thinking of going lazy with a sheet or something so I don't have to piece it. I just haven't decided if I will regret that later.
bed quilt for neighbor - still sitting and waiting for love
summer wardrobe for the little - I actually did start the skirts, I just need to finish them. I do hope I get at least that done this week.
baby stuff - I have big plans, my friends, big plans.
pony club quilt - no new blocks this week.
hexies - someday.....
wedding quilt - I am still stalling on fabric ordering.

I would say not very impressive, but that was a pretty big finish so I'll take it. I am definitely having good days and bad days in this pregnancy so I just have to take it day by day and do what I can.   And I guess it's getting close to time to figure out this years birthday dress for the little one....how can time go so quickly and so slowly all at the same time???? Anyway, I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Marcelle Medallion: a finish!

It is finally finished! My marcelle medallion quilt is completely done and I am so, so in love. I even got it done in time for Bloggers Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side like I had hoped :) And I never thought I'd say this, but I get to enter it in the hand quilting category!

I am pretty sure this is one of my favorite quilts I've made ever. It is from the book Liberty Love, and it is just a fantastic medallion quilt. I had been planning to make a medallion quilt for ages, I just hadn't found the right one and when I first saw this one, I knew it would be it. I couldn't even stop myself from starting and before I knew it I had a completed quilt top. I started with the center and had no real idea where I was going with it, which was a fun way to work for once. I knew I wanted it to be calmer than the original, but in general my only rule really was no black. I had so much fun picking out my rainbow of fabric and just playing and making it pretty! So many favorites that I am not sure I would have ever used all together, but this style quilt was absolutely perfect. I even used some amazing voile for the back and it is just the softest quilt ever. The only changes I made to the pattern were to leave off the final border and when I did the plus blocks, I kept each background the same fabric instead of making it totally scrappy. And while I may not have made this quilts out of actual scraps, I didn't buy any new fabric for it, which felt really good. I figure any quilt where I can use my whiles and mermaids is a good one.

It took a bit longer than normal to finish this up since I decided that I wanted to hand quilt it. I have never hand quilted anything before, not even a small something, so it seemed a little crazy, but once I got hand quilted concentric circles into my head, I couldn't get it out and it had to be done. I used a size 12 pearl cotton since that's what I found and I love that it is a little chunky, but not too much. I actually enjoyed the experience quite a lot. I used random plates/pots/trays/bowls to trace the circles in the beginning until I ran out of things big enough and then I used a ruler and marked the circles however many inches away. I used my hera marker to mark and it worked pretty well although it was hard to see unless I had really good light. Still, I really loved not having to worry about any markings disappearing. I only used a quilting hoop for the center until I outgrew it and then just propped it up with my knees and went to town. I bound it in leftover scraps of binding I had and I am really happy with how that worked out.

I am really super proud of this one! I can't believe I hand quilted an entire quilt (!!!) and I just hope it can withstand being used. This was originally going to be for my baby-on-the-way, but I don't know if I can part with it, so I think it might be mine. It just has so many of my absolute favorite fabrics in it and I just want to look at it all the time. I have seriously considered hanging it on the wall, but I'm not sure I have space for that. It finishes right around 55" square. And I just have to include this picture of my little helper, because man, she's pretty cute :) She likes to help and take pictures of the quilt too on her play camera.

And now that this is finished, I can work on quilting the quilt that actually is for the baby! And about a million other things....but that's besides the point. Happy quilt festival everyone! Who else has entered a quilt?

I made what??

A bathing suit, that's right. I feel like I have been going a little nuts around here making and modifying maternity things and trying to feel like I have something to wear as it gets hotter. So far I have cut two pairs of pants into shorts and have plans for a tank top or two. But that is not what this is about. This is about the fact that I made myself a freaking bathing suit! Just a top, but still!

I saw this tutorial at diy maternity and filed it away in case I needed it. Now that I live near the beach (!!!) I figured I was going to need it but I kept putting it off. Next thing I knew it was thursday and my friends were on their way down for some beach time and I had no bathing suit to wear. I am not quite feeling the bikini thing right now. I mean, no one needs to see that much pale skin blinding them on the beach and while I embrace my stretch marks, I don't exactly love them or feel that other people need to see them. So, with my dear friends help, I set about making this sweet tankini that, with any luck, should fit me until this kid is out.


I didn't buy anything new for this project. I had bought this swim fabric to make a bathing suit for the little at some point in the future, but decided I should just use it now and have something to wear. It was a little tricky cutting since I didn't have any bathing suit lining so I just doubled the swim fabric where I needed it. I didn't really have much leftover and I was so beat by the time I was done that I skipped making bottoms....I may make them eventually, but for now I will make it work with what I have.

The instructions were pretty vague and I had a hard time especially figuring out what measurements I needed and how much to subtract. I would say the top part was waaaay to big initially and I ended up taking out an additional 4-5" after it was all sewn together, just so it would stay up. Which then meant there was too much gaping in the back, so I had to add some elastic there. The mid section was actually a little tight but hopefully will have enough stretch to grow. There was also no instruction as to how long to make the tankini piece or how much to really gather it so I fudged that and I guess it came out alright. I used elastic to do my gathering which made things a bit easier I think. In the back I decided to make it more of a bow on top and just wrap that section with an extra piece of fabric because there was no cute gap like in the picture and I actually love the way that turned out.I wish I had a picture of the back with me in it, but I didn't think of that at the time.

In conclusion, I would just say not to look too closely and it is fine. I still haven't gotten it wet so I am not entirely convinced it will stay up in the water, but I am hoping and I guess if it comes down to it I can figure out a strap. Considering I threw it together in a couple of hours with little direction, I am pretty proud of it. Now I need to go bind my medallion quilt and will hopefully be back to show that off on Monday. I can hardly wait!!!! Happy Weekend!

WIP Wednesday {5.15.13}

I thought for sure I would have something to post in the past week, but it turns out I did not have much time for sewing and was just relaxing and enjoying time with friends. Can't beat good food, good company, beach trips, and pedicures :) I did have one big accomplishment though:

bathing suit top - that's right, I made a maternity bathing suit top! It was a pain, but it seems functional (it hasn't gotten wet yet, the water was too cold) and looks cute. I am planning a post about it.

marcelle medallion - I am done all the full circles and am now working on the corners. I have one done and they seem to go pretty quick, so hopefully soon this will be done. I guess I should pick out a binding....

twinkle - after the medallion is done I plan to quilt this one.
bed quilt for neighbor - still sitting and waiting for love
summer wardrobe for the little - I still have a tunic, some shorts and some skirts to do at some point.
baby stuff - I have big plans, my friends, big plans.
pony club quilt - no new blocks this week.
hexies - someday.....
wedding quilt - I am still stalling on fabric ordering.


I have no idea what I will get done this week. I am hoping to finish up my medallion so I can enter it in the bloggers quilt festival which starts friday, but other than that, I have no specific plan. I am trying to set expectations low at this point since things keep happening and I keep getting much less done then planned. I better get a move on though, this kid is not going to bake in there forever!

WIP Wednesday {5.8.13}

It's that time again! Time to figure out what the heck I've been doing all week, which in this case is not a huge amount, but not terrible I suppose. I am still a bit sick, but much better than I was and certainly very happy to be feeling functional again. So, what did I manage to get done

twinkle - this quilt for my little-on-the-way had a pretty quick turnaround. What started late last week as a pretty stack of fabric is now a quilt top. I need some inspiration for a backing and quilting...

marcelle medallion - I finally started hand quilting again this week and hope to finish that up soon. I am almost done the full circles and then I just have to fill in the corners.

bed quilt for neighbor - the fabrics are ready. now I just need to draw out my plan and get to work.

summer wardrobe for the little - I still have a tunic, some shorts and some skirts to do at some point.
pony club quilt - no new blocks this week.
hexies - someday.....
wedding quilt - I am still stalling on fabric ordering.


So that's it. I am planning on finishing up my hand quilting and who knows where I will go from there. In the meantime, I am looking forward to a wonderful weekend with some friends that I have missed dearly and a much needed pedicure :)  Is it Friday yet???

twinkle

Alright, a new week. Hopefully this one goes better than the last. I will say that I did get more sleep, but unfortunately, I also got pretty sick. I think I am getting better now, so hopefully the mending will continue and I will be good to go very soon. If I was smart, I would have spent the weekend curled up on the couch hand quilting, but I got a little obsessed with the baby quilt once it was all planned out in my head, and then I needed to see what it would look like. So now I have a new quilt top. (the picture doesn't really do it justice, but I tried)

It was fun to do some assembly line piecing for a change. Between my pony club quilt and the medallion, I haven't done much of that recently and it was nice and mindless. And while I may have pushed myself a bit more than I should have to get it done, I really do love it. I used 11 different fabrics for the stars, starting with some les amis prints I had, and then used some nicey jane for the background. It was definitely a different choice, but I think it worked out really well. I used charm squares so it finished at about 40.5" x 45", entirely determined by the amount of background fabric I had, but a good baby size.

Now I just need to figure out how to quilt it. I am thinking some sort of all over design, maybe loops or something. I don't know. But that's okay because I am determined to have the medallion quilt hand quilted first. That is my goal for this week. And then maybe I'll feel motivated to get back to toddler clothes. And my goodness do I have a long list of baby things I want to make! I'll worry about that next week. This week I am going to relax and enjoy my hand quilting and then have some friends come visit for a couple of days and hopefully have a simply marvelous week :) Hope you do too!

coming soon

Alright, keeping it real here. I still have not slept...I guess this is pregnancy insomnia or something, where I have no problem falling asleep but if something wakes me up I just can't fall asleep again. I have only slept between 2 & 5 hours on any given night this week. On top of that (and not surprisingly considering the lack of sleep) my cold is getting worse so I can't breathe well either. In sort, I am a miserable pregnant woman. And not even to the third trimester yet. But, I am doing what I can and resting as much as possible....a difficult task with an almost 3 year old running around, but I am managing. That said, there is not a whole lot of sewing going on. Like pretty much none. However, in my rare moments of clarity I have been getting some fabric together for some quilt tops that I plan to start as soon as I can.

First up, I finally pulled fabric for the baby quilt I am going to make for my little one. Which then caused me to change the pattern I had decided on. I am so in love with the little stack I came up with though. I thought I was going to make a new wave quilt, but once I had these picked out, I really wanted something that would let the fabrics mingle a bit more so I am now planning a sparkle punch quilt. I am so stinking excited. I want to start it right now. And that nicey jane fabric on the bottom, I think that is going to be the background. A decision that is sure to be either stupid or brilliant and I won't know which until I start putting it together. Only I don't think I have quite enough to make the size I want....I think I am like 6" short. So now I have to figure out whether I can enlarge the blocks or how much smaller I would need to make it. So we'll see where that ends up. Hopefully my sleep deprived math is okay.

I started with the les amis fabric and rounded out from there. I am so in love with the result, and I just hope that can work as the background without drowning any of the other prints.


The other quilt, which I really should be working on already, is for my neighbor. She asked me a while ago about making her a bed quilt and we have collected this nice stack of fabrics.

Not what I usually work with, but it will look super lovely in her room. We are going kind of random inmprov-y I think. I still need to map it out and then get to work. I will probably be distracted by a baby quilt first though and thankfully she is okay with that. She is also okay with the fact that by the time the top is done I will need help bending down and basting it haha.

So there are my two upcoming quilts. I still need to work on quilting my marcelle medallion, but hand quilting is a separate category I think. And I need the energy to mark circles before I can quilt them, which is my big roadblock right now. Thankfully, exhaustion doesn't stop me from dreaming up plans and ideas :) So, sorry if this seemed a little whiny....I will hopefully be back next week well rested and functional again. So happy weekend!

WIP Wednesday {5.1.13}

We all should have known once I said the other day that I had been sewing a lot that it would come to a screeching halt. And it certainly has. In fact I am a little surprised I am writing this as I have not slept more than a handful of hours on any given night this week and I am so tired and worn down. I don't know why either, which is the worst part. I just can't seem to fall back asleep once I am woken up. Oh well, life will go on and I will muddle through and hopefully sleep eventually. To make it better, I am fighting a cold too so I am really dragging over here.

Anyway, at least I do have some things finished and others under way.

wrapped maternity top - I made myself this top and I love it!

summer wardrobe for the little - probably halfway done. but at least I am finished with the knits I think. I have grand dreams of getting picures of them on her, but we'll see. I probably should have taken pictures before I let her wear them and they were washed, but here are the pictures I've got: 2 pairs of jammies,  2 flashback skinny tees (3t & 4t), a ralgan tee, and a racerback knit dress.

marcelle medallion - I actually did quilt another couple of rounds, but no picture this week. I am hoping to really work on this a lot this week since I want it finished for bloggers quilt festival in a couple of weeks.
pony club quilt - no new blocks this week. although I am itching to make a couple more...
bed quilt for neighbor - more on this soon
hexies - someday.....
baby quilt - still debating fabric
wedding quilt - I am still stalling on fabric ordering.

So not too bad overall, especially considering it has now been days since I picked up anything to work on. I would like to say I have some lofty goals for the week, but in reality, I just want to sleep and feel functional again. I'll just go ahead and assume that if that happens, everything else will fall into place.