Yay Fabric Mail

You ever have one of those days where things are just not going your way and you are stressed and sad and then something happens that makes you smile?  Well today was one of those days.  This morning was rough but when I came home there was a package on my front porch.  Polly at Helping Little Hands recently hosted another I-Spy fabric swap and I jumped in and signed up for double spots.  Polly has made some amazing quilts and projects with hers and it has been inspiring me.  Well my squares arrived today and she included something extra and it made me smile.

Now, I will have to bring all my squares to my nephews and let them help me sort them.  It is so much fun to hear how they think we should group each square.  And it always makes me laugh when the 3 year old, Christopher, tells me that a fabric is gorgeous  haha.  Thanks Polly for making my day :)

And just for fun... a picture of Christopher riding his bike and Matt in his go-cart.

New Napkins and an Update

Wow, it has been a little while since I have written... oops.  I have been doing a lot of sewing.  I made some baby shower gifts and some little things that I still need to photograph so I can talk about them.  Today, though, I am sharing a new set of cloth napkins that I made.  I used a pretty print on one side and then a solid on the other.

 I picked up the print and solid from JoAnns, and love how they are bright, fun and cheery.  They are a quick turn napkin and I top stitched around the entire perimeter to close the opening and to make it look pretty.

 They measure about 11.5" x 11", good for lunches or everyday.
 

I made them while I was watching this super fun guy.  He is the most well behaved dog and such a sweetheart. 

New York Beauty Trunk show

Over the weekend I was able to attend a trunk show at my LQS, Quilting Possibilities.  Linda Hahn, author of New York Beauty Simplified and New York Beauty Diversified was in the store showing off the quilts from her newest book New York Beauty Diversified.  Of  course I bought the book and had it signed by not only Linda Hahn, but by a couple quilters in the book.

Debbie's quilt (She is on the right) 

It was great to see the quilts in person.  Now that I have the books and the special templates that she has had made to go along with her books I am going to give the NY Beauty block a try.  I am still thinking about taking her workshop in a couple weeks.

And I just wanted to share the lamb cake from Easter Sunday.  I wasn't sure if it would get done because my knee and back weren't feeling the best, but I finished it (with Mom's help).

April - A Lovely Year of Finishes

It is time for the April linkup of A Lovely Year of Finishes.  I had to think about this one.  You see, I have an ever growing pile of unfinished tops and quilts in progress but I couldn't decide until I picked up a quilt I pieced last month, backed, and basted it.  It then got pushed aside because I got distracted.

I pieced this quilt from a book panel I have had in my stash for ages.  I framed out the pages with a fun alphabet print also from my stash.  I want to finish this quilt for my April goal.

I am also planning on piecing and hopefully finishing another quilt made from another panel that I had in my stash.

Once these two quilts are finished they will be given to Hometown Heroes , a great organization that is working with families here on the Jersey Shore to Restore the Shore.  They have replaced furniture, paid bills and security deposits, and just done so much to help the families displaced by the storm.  They are still receiving applications for help from families.  My local MQG is also working on a donation quilt for this organization.

So here is to a great month of April and getting these two quilts finished.  

March A Lovely Year of Finishes

I finished my March project for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  I was so happy to have this off my pile, I felt like it was taunting me.

A while back I had seen a quilt a long for this quilt called the Pervalong.  I thought is was fun and interesting and decided to give it a try.  I started out and made the center square of the small quilt and then got distracted.  I blame my sewing ADD.  So the center sat and sat until I added a border and then another made of improv pieced fabrics.  And then it sat again.

I chose it as my March finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  For the finish I added another border and then quilted it to death.  Seriously, I machine stitched (semi) straight lines randomly across the quilt one way and then another, perpendicular to the first lines using about 2 and a half bobbins on this little quilt.  I feel like it might have been a bit of overkill, but I really like the look it gives the quilt.  

I made sure that strawberry was pieced so you could see it clearly, I kinda like how it pops out of the quilt.  

All the quilting on the back gives a plaid look to it. 

I am happy to have finished this quilt.  One more off my pile of unfinished quilts that seems to grow when I am not looking.  

Fun mail and hand stitching

The other day I got a fun unexpected package in the mail, yay!  Em sent me a a quilt block book.

Perfect reading for a couple days spent on the couch.  As I was flipping through it I found some blocks that are awesome and might be perfect for the Project Quilting bonus challenge.

Since I had to spend a couple days relaxing on the couch I figured it was a great time to start a new hand stitching project.  Prior to my nerve block I picked out a pattern and some fabrics and had it all set so I could start my project when I was ready.

I decided on a pattern my parents brought home from Hawaii for me (best souvenir you can bring me :) ) .  I traced my fabric onto freezer paper and pressed it onto the folded fabric.  Lots of safety pins were added to make sure the fabric didn't shift while I cut it out.

After I laid it all out, I ran a basting stitch around the applique.  And while I lounged with Boo Boo Penguin on my back, I started the needle turn applique.

It was going nice and smooth, especially since I had never tried needle turn before, until I realized I sewed it to myself.  Ugh!  Thankfully I caught it before I got too far.  I have a feeling this project is going to take a while.

Project Quilting Challenge 6

I am sad to say that this last week was the last Project Quilting for the season.  It was "Hooray for Spring" and I decided to really push myself for this one and "think outside the square".  For this challenge all I kept thinking was bright colors and the warm sun leading into summer traveling.  So that lead me to thinking I need a new overnight bag.  I had seen a Retro Travel Bag on the Riley Blake website and loved the shape, but wanted it a little bigger and had to make it really mine.

The sides were pieced with strips, sewn onto fuse-able interfacing then fused to the fabrics   Then, I layered that on top of batting then the Peltex and quilted a quarter inch from each seam.  The bottom is fuse to interfacing then quilted to the batting and Peltex the same way.  The top has an exposed pink zipper.  It is fully lined with a fun green polka dot print and a green lime slice looking print that I hand-stitched in.

I added rectangle rings to guide the strap which is a long loop that wraps underneath the bag, through fabric tubes, and has an adjustable tab to shorten or lengthen the straps. The bag measures at its widest 20 inches by 13 inches tall by 5.75" deep.

I won't lie, this bag was a pain to make.  I haven't had much structured bag making experience and learned a lot in this process.  This was an 8 needle bag.  Next time I think I can make it using less (at least I hope so!).

I am loving this bag and can't wait until I take my first trip to use it.  Thanks Kim for the great season of Project Quilting, looking forward to working on my bonus challenge.

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