Finished or Not Finished?

This quilt top is finally finished , or so I hope. I am having mixed feelings about whether I should add a white border around it about the size of the sashing. It's sized to fit a double bed so I don't have to have the extra few inches. What do you think?Now I have 3 large quilt tops to quilt! It probably won't be until after Christmas that I get around to quilting them with all of the Christmas gifts I need to make.

I'd love your opinion about the border...let me know what you think.

Works in Progress

So I got a bunch of stuff done in August and now that I am almost half way into September and I haven't finished a thing. I have a bunch of things in the works, but nothing complete yet. I even have one of those "mistakes" I need to unravel and start over again. I have been knitting a beanie for my nephew, and it's just too big. I was in denial and just kept knitting hoping foolishly that it would miraculously work. I just hate checking my gauge for knitting and I suffer the consequences! I should know by now but I'm just a rebel!

I'm taking a sock knitting class at my local knitting shop. Yes, I've knitted socks before. I have even posted about them on my blog. The thing is I wanted to push the envelope a little farther and work with actual sock yarn. The yarn I'm using is a gorgous hand dyed wool. The photo doesn't do it justice. I'm so excited to finish them, but it is very slow going.In my quilting world I'm working on a version of "Stacked Coins". I'm modifying it a bit and flying by the seat of my pants. That's usually how I work best. I'm using charm packs of "Chocolate" by Moda. I'm hoping I'll have enough fabric to do a queen sized quilt.

Well, I better get back to work if I want to finish anything this month!

Finished in August

Here is my last entry to "finish it in the month of August". I made 6 Christmas pillow cases for my nieces, nephews, and son. I actually finished these over the weekend but had problems with getting the photos taken so I could post. Always excuses I know! I got the fabric from The Fat Quarter Shop's Christmas Cloth Store. They have an awesome selection and it was so hard to choose. That place is my online "Candy Shop"!!
I'm so glad I got these done ahead of time because they have to be shipped across the pond to Denmark and Germany along with some other handmades. I'm really trying to do another hand made Christmas this year. I have many things to create, and I've got a great start!

So to sum up my August finishes:

1. "Seeing Stars"quilted, binding done, labeled

2. "Kaleidoscope" quilt top complete

3. BOM flying geese sashing strips and borders, quilt top complete

4. "Falling Leaves" wallhanging, wiped off dust bunnies and finished applique...top done

5. "Sew Square Pear" Tablerunner quilted and complete

6. 6 pillowcases made

7. Pink knit socks...I know it's not a quilt but they got done!

8. Something I can't talk about because my sister is reading this!!

Whew!! I'm just amazed at how much I got done. Thanks to Kim for the kick in the pants! Check out her blog Kim's Big Quilting Adventure to see what everyone else has done. There were some very busy girls that completed some amazing projects in August.

Fall Is In The Air

It might be 90 degrees outside but inside I'm thinking of fall. I took a class for this wall hanging several years ago and never finished it. I don't even remember the name of the pattern or who designed it. So with Kim's challenge on her blog Kim's Big Quilting Adventure, I pulled this one out of the UFO pile and FINISHED IT! No it's not quilted, but the top is done...yay!

The leaf blocks are made out of prarie points with many different colors of fabric. If you have never tryed prarie points, you can see how there are done here on about.com

There is even a prarie point border.

I cut out eight assorted leaves and appliqued them onto the cream fabric. I used the raw edge method for the applique. I thought about hand stitching the leaves on ...for about a minute! Then I came to my senses and decided to get this done in August.

I used the free motion foot on my machine and did some "drawing with thread" on the leaves and stems. I have to say this was alot of fun. What took me so long?

Getting busy

Okay, so I entered this challenge on Kim's Big Quilting Adventure Blog to "Finish it in August". Here is my latest project to check off my list.

This quilt called "Kaleidoscope" has been on my to do list for awhile. I made one for my sister a few years ago and had alot of fabric left. When I went to visit her, I got to sleep under it and decided I just had to make one for myself. It still needs to be quilted, but Yay... I got the top done! All the fabric was from my stash except the black border which I will also use for the binding.

I've been madly knitting (happily actually) a pair of slipper socks for my friend's birthday. I used a wonderful wool acrylic blend of yarn that is machine washable. I even crocheted a little picot edging to add to the girly appeal. They are done and she loves them.

Now I'm off to finish my next project...

Quilt Along Sampler

Drumroll please... I have finally finished my quilt for Crazy Mom Quilts Quilt along Sampler. I used my 1930's reproduction fabrics for this quilt in pink, green and yellow. There are 12 different blocks, and we made one each week.

This was alot of fun to put together and I kept up with the quilt along for most of it. Since I don't know many people in my area that quilt, it's nice to join an online quilt along and feel like I am a part of something. It is amazing how the internet brings people together.

I really like this pieced border. It gives it a scrapy look. It took me awhile to get to quilting it because I always seem to be distracted by a new project. I was determined to get to the pile of quilts I needed to quilt. I quilted it in an all over meander pattern and washed it up for that crinkly antique look.
Once again I pieced my binding. I just didn't have enough of one fabric to do it. That's what happens when you collect fat quarters and not yardage.

Thankyou to Amanda Jean for the wonderful quilt along!

Square Garden Quilt

I have finally completed one of the 3 full size quilts I've had ready to quilt. I'm so pleased with how this turned out.

I used 2 charm packs and several other pink, green, and yellow fabrics from my stash. As you can tell from my blog I have a thing for pink and green (I think the tide may be turning on that though). There is no shortage in my stash of those colors for sure!

I absolutely love how the quilting turned out. It took several days but was so worth it.

My intent is for this quilt to live on my bed, but I'm so afraid that my dog will take a liking to it. I have washed the quilt since these photos were taken and I can say I love it even more in all it's wrinkled glory!

Thankful knees

This wonderful quilt top has been waiting to be quilted for quite a while. Being a full size quilt I was procrastinating on putting my quilt sandwich together. Finding floor space to spread the quilt out to pin baste it together while damaging my knees in the process is not what I call fun. While I was attending the big quilt show this spring, I met a woman standing by the wonderful Gammill quilt machine. She mentioned that she was a nearby quilt shop owner and frequently basted peoples quilt sandwiches together so they could then take it home and quilt it themselves! While she was at it I had her do two other full size quilts for me. She is an answer to my prayers and my knees and back are forever thankful!
Instead of quilting this on my Bernina, I decided to get creative. I came up with a quilt design and digitized it for our commercial embroidery machine. I am hoping to get this quilted and put the binding on so I can post the completed quilt next week.

Freedom

Let me just say WWaaahhooo!! Ya know that feeling you get when summer is here and you peel off your wool socks and shoes that have been so confining? There's that moment you slip on your most comfortable pair of flip flops that have been beckoning from the back of your closest all winter long? Oh yes, this is freedom! I must say making this quilt was a very freeing experience for me. You should have seen my grin at the completion of my first block...yippee!I was inspired by this quilt and Amanda Jean to create this baby. No pattern, no rotary cutter or mat. It was just me, scissors, fabric scraps and my trusty machine (and my dog that couldn't understand what all the excitement was about). Log cabin quilts are a favorite of mine, so this was a fun way to add a "wonky", modern twist. I pieced the binding out of scraps and machine quilted it with a meandering flower pattern. As a quilter, part of being creative for me has always been taking a pattern and making it my own. Whether it was using different fabrics or modifying the pattern. Thanks to many bloggers out there I am now stretching my creative muscles further by finding inspiration in what they create. I'm putting on my flip flops and wiggling my toes....freedom!

Rose Medallion

After completing the Basket of Hope project from my previous post, I wanted to continue in my journey of machine applique. The wall hanging pattern I used is called Rose Medallion from the book Vintage Blooms by Pat Sloan. I also used her line of fabric called Old Blooms. I'm usually not one to go "by the book" when creating from a pattern, but I sure did on this one. This time with the machine applique I used matching thread to the fabric rather than all one color thread and I'm much happier with the results.

I took liberties with my quilting and did my own thing. Isn't that what it's all about?

Basket of Hope

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a class at my local quilt shop taught by Pat Sloane. She is a very skilled quilt maker and pattern writer. I was never very interested in traditional applique and fiddling with the needle turn method. When I heard there was another way to do applique and there was an opportunity to take a class by someone like Pat Sloane, I was all over it! This pattern is called "Basket Of Hope", and is actually just a small part of a larger pattern. This wall hanging top is what I was able to do during our class time. I finished the quilting and binding at home.

As you can see the applique is held down by decorative blanket stitches...by machine. My little fingers were very relieved.

I really enjoy adding my own creative touches with quilting.

It's Still A Small World

Well, I thought I'd continue with my small theme and show a doll quilt I made for my niece. She is two and really loving here dollies now so I thought it was time for a real doll quilt. The truth is I was working on a larger quilt with these fabrics and I just looovvvveeee them. I have plenty of extra fabric and the scraps were just calling out to be made into a little girls doll quilt. 1930's reproduction fabrics are the coolest! I just cut 2 1/2" squares from my scraps and my son arranged them while I stitched them together. I think it turned out great! This little quilt was machine pieced and machine quilted. The larger quilt is finished but is impatiently waiting next to my machine to be quilted. I promise I'll post it when it's done.

It's A Small World

This cute little quilt is from a pattern by Patchalot Patterns. It's called "Medallion Doll Quilt". I took a class at my favorite quilt shop and it was taught by none other than the maker of the pattern. I machine pieced and hand quilted it.
The center applique is actually wool which makes for a nice texture. This was fun to put together and satisfying to finish a project quickly.


I loved it so much I made one for my sister too! I left the hand quilting to her though. Are you done yet sis? I'm waiting....

A New Woobie!

I was informed by my sister that her son's first "woobie" (baby quilt) no longer covered his toes. She said that he sleeps with it every night but pulls it down to cover his toes and then back up to cover his shoulders and it gets quite frustrating. Auntie to the rescue! A new "woobie" for my nephew.
I used some fabric from a charm pack and a jelly roll of "Wee Play" fabric by American Jane for Moda. I added some other fabrics I had on hand and did not follow a pattern. I just tried to make the best use of the fabrics. Don't you just love those primary colors? I used a soft plaid flannel for the quilt backing and quilted it in a meandering pattern.


I hope this keeps him warm from his nose to his toes!

Country Hearts

My next quilt is from the same book as my previous blog entry. The book I used was a great way to introduce myself to quilting and to explore this new craft on my own. I knew how to sew already so the instructions were easy to follow.
I dabbled in some applique here. This wallhanging was hand pieced and hand quilted. The 80's weren't complete without the country hearts!
Needless to say, this fabric is far from my taste now and lives in my closet.

In the beginning

I am finally posting to my blog for the first time. The purpose of my blog is to create a diary of my quilting and crafting journey in one place. I've made so many things over the years. My skills have improved and my tastes have changed. I thought it would be fun to re-visit my old creations as well as exploring and sharing new ones.

This first picture is of a sampler I made from a book called Quilting Basics For Beginners. I did not own a sewing machine at the time so it was hand pieced and hand quilted. All the piecing was done using templates traced onto the fabric and then cut with scissors. No rotary cutter and mat used here. Boy I feel so spoiled now with all of the tools and tricks we have these days.

Gotta love the mauve and country blue! Just think, these will be the "retro" colors 30 years from now.