WIP Wednesday {10.30.13}

Wow, Wednesday really snuck up on me this week! So much going on! And I felt like I hadn't gotten much done, but I actually did alright. I don't know how much time I'll get to sneak in over the next month since we have visitors the next two weekends, we move, and then Thanksgiving, so I am enjoying it when I can get it.

pj's - I whipped these up real quick this weekend. They actually came out pretty big, but she loves them and at least has room to grow.

hoodies - I finished them both and I can't wait to put them on them. Unfortunately the sweatshirt fabric doesn't stretch, so they are a bit tough to get on and off, but oh well.

penny sampler - I am not caught up, but I did make my small diamonds and my teacups and I have fabric picked out and partially cut for the little squares. At least I'm not as behind as I could be....

trick-or-treat bag -quick and easy and cute. good times.

hexies - I found these when I was cleaning. I had originally intended for it to be a long term project that would be a lap quilt....but since it has been years and this is as far as I got, I am going to sew them up into a doll quilt for the little one. That should be manageable at least. I hope.

So not too shabby. I am trying to clear things out right now so that I don't have to move it and am hoping to finish up some things I have laying around. I need to make a crib sheet and finish up the security blankets that have been cut for months, and make another stuffed bunny, and try to keep up with the penny sampler. Hope everyone is having a good week!

WIP Wednesday {10.23.13}

Thank goodness we are halfway through this week! For no particular reason, this is turning out to be "one of those weeks". I was hoping to get more sewing time this past weekend, but alas I got distracted by that whole 'clean out everything before you move' business. Which will probably be the case again this weekend, but who knows.

I did manage to finish the panties. They were sitting around for ages and a certain little girl is super happy to have them and be using them. In fact, I had no choice but to have one pair missing for the pictures because one pair is always on :)

I also finished a stuffed bunny and got a little package sent off to a friend for her new little

And the sweatshirts are started. This is as far as I got on the first one and I am really hoping to get them both done soon.

I don't even know what is next after that. I have to do penny sampler blocks and I have fabric to make a treat bag for halloween and some fall/winter pjs and shirts, so I'll have to get around to that.  Who knows, I guess I'll see if I end up with any time and what mood I am in. At this point, I'll be happy to keep up with the sampler and finish these sweatshirts! Wish me luck!

Penny Sampler: the second month

Alright, so this past month was precise piecing in our lovely penny sampler quilt. Here's the thing, I am not a particularly precise person. Which is why I wanted to take this class, hoping to kick my rear in gear. At the same time, I did manage to make an entire farmer's wife quilt, and am also part way into my pony club sampler (which I can't wait to get back to!) so I reason that I must not be terrible. I mean, my quilts come out looking pretty good, I think. Still, improvements could be made. So I am working at it. And through the course of these blocks it became clear that I have just as much problem with precise cutting as sewing, so there's that. In fact, that might be the larger issue. Anyway, on to pretty blocks.


Penny candy were first. All 17 of them. Cute little things :)

Hanging diamonds, snowflake and stacked pines came next

then ribbon square, jewel, and hourglass stacked

and finally, boxed in, crossroads, framed, and whirl

And here are some group shots laid out in there approximate final locations. On my purple carpet. Have I mentioned that I need a design wall...and that it's not likely to happen any time soon. *sigh* Oh how I wish I had a blank wall to use, even temporarily. Still, it gives me a rough idea of what I've got going on so far.

So there it is in all it's glory. I am loving it so far even though the purple does throw me off a bit in these pictures. I am really looking forward to the final paper pieced blocks. I am thinking I am going to hand quilt this beauty, but I suppose I have time to decide.  Happy weekend everyone!

WIP Wednesday {10.16.13}

Well, I certainly can't top my two quilt finishes last week, but I am moving right along over here, getting as much done as I can. We are now confirmed to be moving within the next month, and while not far (only a few blocks away really), that means I will have a whole bunch of new home stuff to make. Not to mention a lot of junk to clear out and organize and pack. Which is obviously besides the {sewing} point.

So anyway, this week my big hooray is that I am all caught up on my penny sampler blocks! But only for a bit since I will have new blocks to make quite soon. Still, it's something. I finished 10 blocks this week to catch up. It was intense, mistakes were made, some were fixed, some were ignored; either way, I am where I want to be. This picture is the whole thing together so far. More on these later.

This weekend will hopefully see finished panties, hoodies, and little stuffed bunnies. No new pictures at this point since it is all in pretty much the same state it was last week.  The crochet blanket is also sadly neglected since I got sucked into a book, but I'll get back to it soon hopefully. Then I guess I need to figure out halloween costumes....I don't know, we'll see. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Finished: Dogwood Blossom

Don't die of shock or anything, but I actually did finish two quilts recently and I am posting about them :) I finally gave up waiting for the sun though since, no lie, it has been almost a week without more than a glimpse of the sun, so the pictures are not my favorite, but oh well. I am thinking of sending this off to be loved by a sweet new baby, so I need it taken care of.

This is the dogwood blossom pattern from the penny sampler class. I did already talk about the top what feels like ages ago, but it was my first sketch stitch applique project, using two different methods to turn under the raw edges. I am still not very good at either of them, but I think sketch stitching and I will be good friends.

Anyway, I got it in my head that it needed to be backed in minky, so I found some of that and went to put it together and realized that it was showing through some of the lighter fabrics on the front. So, after much consideration, I decided to just put a layer of white flannel between them. Part of the reason I didn't want batting (aside from how ridiculously thick that would have been) was that I wanted pretty sparse quilting. I only stitched on either side of each seam line, so it is super, super snuggly.

I did zig-zag the edges before I put the binding on to stop the shedding of the fabric and make it easier, which it did. The binding is whatever pink/brown binding scraps I had lying around that I could make work, so it isn't ideal, but I think I like it. It is just lovely now that it is all finished, all soft and wonderful. I kinda want to keep it, but I think it would be much better for a northern baby. Perfect for making a soft place to lay on the floor or snuggling in a stroller I would say. Hopefully I will get it on it's way soon.

In other news, I am caught up on my penny sampler blocks for a few minutes, so I am going to try and get some pictures of those soon as well.

Big girl!

Well would you look at that, I came back as promised to share the big girl quilt! Two posts in one week! And I am aiming for the same next week! I clearly need to lay off the exclamation points haha. Amidst complete diet change (at least for now, hello whole30), visitors, an impending move (just a few streets over, but still), a newborn and a needy toddler, the fun never stops around here. Still, it is good and I am sneaking in my sewing time when I can.

This big girl quilt is definitely the biggest quilt I have made in ages. I kept it simple and it still felt like it took forever. Thankfully I finished it in time for the big girl bed to be up and running as planned. I used almost entirely scraps, which determined the strip sizes I used. All the strips were cut between 2-3.5" and the columns are 12", 18", and 8". I think it finished at something like 70"x85" after washing and everything, which seems to be a pretty good twin size.

I used some of my favorite fabrics and fussy cut a lot of cute ones I had been saving for her. It was so much fun, and it turned out I cut an extra column's worth, so I am planning a baby quilt too. My favorites include the guy in the boat fishing, whales, owls, foxes, deer, birds....okay lots of them!

The back started with the animal print I had been saving. It was actually going to be a duffle bag or something until I realized a white background would be a mistake for something like that. Anyway, I pulled colors to go with it and made it work. I love it, even if it is a little random. It felt great to use up so much that I have had sitting around for ages, waiting for just the right thing.

I quilted just doing organic lines every couple of inches across. It keeps it soft which is perfect. Binding is a pink pindot, chosen by the lady herself. I wasn't sure how it would go, but it's perfect with her bed frame. I did machine sew the binding, because on her last bed quilt it started coming off on the back where I had hand sewn. I don't know if it was me since I has never happened before, or just the roughness of a toddler, but I decided to take no chances on this one. It is not my favorite look, but it will work. I chose to sew it down on the front since I haven't mastered making it invisible/catching it all from the other side.

She has been using her big girl bed for a week now and seems to love it! The blue bed frame that we got off craigs list and painted really makes it, I think. And I love sitting and looking at all the different fabric from so many different projects over the years.

It will look even better once we are away from the green walls I think. Not a color I would have chosen, but ah well. With any luck, I will get some pictures and be able to show you my finished dogwood blossom quilt early next week and maybe finish some panties and catch up on some penny sampler blocks. Dream big! Have a lovely weekend everyone!

WIP Wednesday {10.9.13}

Hey, I remembered Wednesday! AND I squeezed in time to post :) I am just going to go ahead and say it: things are nuts around here. I would really love for life to keep the crazy at a minimum for a minute, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards. That's okay though, at least most of it is good crazy. And amidst the crazy, I am happy to say that I am at least making progress. This week I have not one, but two finishes! And a whole lot started.

big girl quilt - done! I will do a full post later this week. For serious!

dogwood blossoms- also done! I figured while I was quilting, I might as well keep going :) More on this later as well, but probably not this week, that would be insane.

panties - I was going along nicely and then I got to the part that I dislike....so I'll suck it up and finish them soon, hopefully this weekend

penny sampler - I am so behind I don't even want to talk about it. But I am starting to catch up now that the big girl quilt is done, and I managed to finish up these little 3" plus blocks the other day. I have pulled some fabric and hope to start cutting this week for the others.

hoodies - obviously my girls need almost matching hoodies for fall, right? different shades of gray with the same lining. I am pretty sure it is going to kill me with cute and I can't wait!

stuffed bunnies - I have been meaning to make these for a while. I am pretty sure they will be adorable, and I really want to have one to send a friend that just had a baby, so I should really get on that...

crocheted blanket - I am on my 3rd color out of 9 so I am getting there slowly but surely. It's going to be awesome, the only problem is that I don't want it to cover up the pretty quilt!

And this is just what I've actually started. Don't even get me started on the other things that need to be done. One day at a time, that's what I keep telling myself. I think the handmade holiday gifts will be few and far between at this rate, but that's okay. So how is everyone else doing?