I posted pictures of the finished quilting that I have done recently.
1. Cars and Trucks 2. Sailboats 3. Butterflies for Ariane 4. Owls for Bea 5. Caterpillar for JoJo I am super happy with the quilting being done on these three and I was jazzed to try and get another quilt taken care of...when my power went out. For hours! So, apparently, I quilted up a storm and it stopped my quilting in my tracks. I am hoping to get back to these two this weekend. I know that I can do it and it doesn't have to be perfect! Hope that you are having a great day! Katie
I have finished quilting the car quilt that I made. Nothing fancy - just stitch in the ditch.
I don't want to have any quilting in the blocks themselves.
I think I am a minimalist when it comes to my own quilting. I like the quilting that others do...but I tend to cringe at my own. Perhaps that will change as I do more of it.
So - quilts to quilt:
1. Cars and Trucks
2. Sailboats
3. Butterflies for Ariane
4. Owls for Bea
5. Caterpillar for JoJo
These are all basted and ready to go. They are all Christmas presents, so I really need to get a move on.
It took me a few days of invading the dining room table, but I got it done!
Today, I was forced to confront a friend who asked me to quilt a quilt for her. She bought the fabric for me, and asked me to make her a Jacob's Ladder quilt. I haven't every done something like that, and I am intimidated.
I mentioned that I made her niece and nephew a quilt - and she said, "Mine should come first!" in this huffy tone.
And I was forced to defend making a baby quilt.
Then - I stopped.
This is MY hobby. This is something I do for joy and for peace of mind. And I told her that. I basically told her to back off - this is my hobby and she is not allowed to hijack it.
It really made me cranky.
Has this every happened to you? I find that more and more people EXPECT me to make them a quilt.
And honestly - I don't always want to. Not that I don't care about them, but I want my hobby to be mine. And my hobby isn't theirs to guilt me over.
I am free to make what I want, when I want. It is a hobby. Not a job. They aren't paying me for it.
So - I am making a stand. Quilting is for me. For my joy. And I am taking it back.
I decided that I need to make baby quilts for all the new babies in my family. I was in church...listening to the pastor share his ideas about a passage of the bible...in a very interesting manner. However, my brain kept trying to organize what I was working on. I was taking notes on what he said and taking notes on my TO DO for finishing quilts.
My list is pretty long. I have a LOT of tops that are complete. To be clear....I just want to piece and piece and piece. The quilting part isn't really getting me going, but piecing...LOVING it. So, now, I have a list of my priorities. And I can get started doing them.
I am currently sewing an endless number of circles.
Slowly working through the pile....one at a time.
32 of these to do! Why are these so much more challenging than the dots?
I am currently working on small projects to give my daughters something pretty to bring to school.
I have made them pencil pouches using a very simple pattern that was very clearly presented with images. I used this pattern: http://hamelsthread.com/pencil-casetutorial/
Here is how they came out:
Vanilla bear chose the zigzag fabric and already has it full of school supplies.
My pumpkin bear loves the flowers and the orange inside. She is saving it to put in her desk at school.
I then started making them composition book covers, because it seemed fun. Also - I have a TON of fabric that they have picked out and I wanted to start using some. You know what it is like - you go to the fabric store with your little bears and suddenly they find 20 things that they love. I occasionally bow to the pressure and buy something cute for them. It usually ends up in my stash - unused and unloved. So...I decided to use it. I am using this pattern:
So- this was my first attempt.
I didn't pay enough attention to the measurements. I thought it would be okay...but it is about 1/2 an inch to small on both sides. Vanilla still loves it.
We solved the problem of it being too small by cutting the cardboard of the composition book. The pages stick out a half an inch, but she thinks it is awesome.
This is attempt number 2 - where I paid close attention to the size in the pattern. Hopefully, it will fit better. Vanilla gets this one too, as the other bears don't really have composition books that I can cover. Their composition books are all color-coordinated for their teachers.
Something I learned - Between the backing, and the pockets for the inside, this takes about 2 fat quarters....in case you were wondering. There is some left over, but I would definitely use two.
So, I don't know about you, but I have some jelly rolls that I don't like that much. I have been trying to get rid of this fabric FOREVER. I made a bag out of 12 of the strips. Now, I have the strips that I needed something to do with. So - Another Jelly Roll Race Quilt.
I have a new baby cousin who is going to get this quilt. However, I want to add something cute and girly in applique - but I have no idea what. Any suggestions?
My top is finally together. Now - I just need to finish it. It has only been 5 years. LOL
I have started working on a dot to dot quilt for my best friend.
This is an old tutorial that Missouri Star sent out into the world. I got the fabric right after I saw the video...in 2010. Doh. FINALLY doing the quilt.
On my way to trimming them down to 10 by 10. I had my daughter help, which lead to a few being a little short.
This is the plan. I have 4 circles cut...32 to go. Wondering if the 7 inch circle is a little too big.
I am also doing ANOTHER jelly roll race quilt, for a new baby in the family. I will upload pics soon. I also have this adorable panel with owls (pictures to come) that I will be putting together for ANOTHER baby in the family.
Honestly - I am doing a lot of piecing and loving it.
So - the goal is that I have everything cut on the weekend. Then, I can piece over the week while I work. I found that I can't cut while I am working. I need to have all the pieces ready to go, so that I can just piece. If I do, then I get SO much done! It is like making a meal for dinner and freezing it from the week. LOL. Gotta get everything planned, and then I can sew while I do my job.
Sewing is becoming my therapy. I LOVE getting things finished. It brings a huge feeling of job and accomplishment.
I had a great time making the top for my mom's quilt. It is the X's and O's quilt. It is not perfect, but it was very quick. I was using a pack of six charm packs. I had a TON of charms left when I made this, and I added a 20 squares to the pattern (5 blocks). So, I decided to use it as the border.
This set of charms had a lot of lights in it, so I used that for the centers. What do you think?
The individual block
The finished top. Please note that there are two charms that match next to each other on the border. This was intentional. I appliqued hearts onto it, and I am going to have my bears write their names on the hearts. Sort of a signature filled with granddaughter love.
I did free-motion quilting for the first time. No walking foot. No structure at all. I just made random shapes over and over again. It is NOT great, but it is was such fun! I didn't get a picture of the bound and finished quilt (sorry!) but I did get a picture of the finished quilting. My stitches are not consistent at all, but I really had a great time doing this!
A close-up of my very first attempt at quilting a block. Messy - but such fun!
My finished free-motion quilted quilt. All I have left to do here is the binding.
Again...I am making one of these for my mom. Finally. I have had the fabric for her quilt picked out for years. Purchased and stored. Ready to use. It is FINALLY getting made.
The fabric is from when I used to be part of the charm pack club with FatQuarterShop. I would get six charm packs of the same line. I really liked that because I could make one or two quilts with the fabric that I bought. I was really sad when they moved over to six different charm packs.
I was going to do a tumbler quilt, but I just did a charm pack quilt and a jelly roll race quilt. I want something with more of a challenge.
Well - I got addicted to applique while working on my Jelly Roll Race quilt. It was so much fun, I decided to add more sailboats. I made as many sailboats as I had fabric for! What do you think? (Sorry the picture isn't great!)
So....my life is crazy, which, of course, means that I am sewing a lot. I might be the only one, but when my life falls apart...I just want to piece quilt after quilt.
I decided that my list of UFO's didn't matter. I wanted to make something new and special.
So I did.
My good friend has two little boys and one of them is obsessed with cars. So I made him a quilt with cars and trucks. Then, I did a jelly roll quilt with sailboat fabric. I think the line is called "Daysail."
Quilt top came together very nicely. I was really happy with my points on this one!
Here is my jelly roll race quilt. I pulled out all of the flowers, because it is for a little boy. I like the strips. They give so much movement. But it is missing something....
I decided that it needs some applique. It is my first time putting applique on a quilt.
I added two actual sailboats to the quilt. However...I wanted to add more. I am working on 4 more sailboard. :)
I LOVE APPLIQUE! I didn't realize how much fun it was. I will post pictures of my finished top.
My family is suffering from some serious summer funk and there has been a lot of emotional upheaval. Very dramatic and traumatic.
So....I got a cold. Not only was my body feeling gross...but my soul felt like it had a cold too.
My parents are off on adventures and came through New York on their way to Amazing...so I took a sick day, loaded my kids in the van, and drove to the train station, tissues in hand.
We took the train to Penn Station, braved our way through the labyrinth of the subway system, and traveled to the Children's Museum of Art, which is awesome. The kids made lovely paintings, drew amazing animals, and played like wild monkeys. It was like a shot to heal my soul.
I am inspired to sew again, with a focus on quilts for kiddos. I have a few in mind. Nothing dramatic, but soft, and sweet.
Here are some pictures of the bears...on the train.
"Ummm...I don't want to eat dinner, but OHHH...you have an apple. I will take that!" says Sweetie Bear.
The joys of a good day, and a DVD player that has a battery. Vanilla hogs the screen, Pumpkin snacks on the New York Cheddar Cheese and Caramel Popcorn, and Banana Bear is nibbling on Scooby snacks.
Vanilla Bear made a super hero cape for her hero - PEACE-BRINGER! She is powered by positive thoughts.
Hello!
I am still here and still planning on a lot of quilting.
However, I went on vacation. Which...with 4 small children...is not really a vacation at all. Let's just say that I need a vacation from my vacation.
TOO much drama. Too many issues. SOOOO much driving.
But I am home now. And I am trying to figure out what to work on first.
The bag that I made came together very well and it worked wonderfully. It will also be awesome when I go grocery shopping, as it is so big!
I am going to set aside time to actually quilt the work that is basted and pinned. Once I get everything put away from our trip. Sigh....
Hello!! I hope that you are having a wonderful day!
I am working hard on the bag that I talked about in my previous posting. I posted the YouTube video from Missouri Star Quilt Company, and I am following them to the best of my ability.
Step 1: I really am not a huge fan of these colors...but I have put them together. I have had this jelly roll for over 5 years. It is TIME to use this!
I am using all of the Reds from the City Weekend jellyroll. These are the strips all sewn together.
The Lining: Honestly, I didn't want to buy any more fabric for the lining for this bag. I am going to be using this bad to hold all of the snacks for the trip we are going to be taking. So...it is going to get dirty. I decided that the lemons were perfect for the middle.
This is the only fabric that I LIKE for the lining that I already have.
I am currently quilting this. Now, life keeps getting in the way of the quilting. I am doing straight lines down each strip. Four lines a strip.....48 lines total. I like it. It is fun, but man it is taking a long time. My 18 month old is trying to help, and that makes things a challenge. Let's just say that my lines are MOSTLY straight...we will call it Stra-vry. LOL. Slightly curvy. Mostly Straight.
I will be back with more pictures as I make more progress.
I treated myself to fabric at JoAnn's today in a blazing fast trip. I only needed 1.5 yards of fabric...so of course I bought 6 yards! LOL.
I am going to be pausing my work on all quilts...(yes...the basted quilts have STAYED basted and not quilted.)
I gave away the table runner to our girl scout troop leader and doer of everything. Just in case you were wondering.
ANYWAY....I am going to be making bags for our car trip across the country. You see, long trips are only successful if my bears have LOTS and LOTS of snacks to nosh while we drive.
So I need HUGE bags to store all of the snacks that they will eat while we drive for 3 days straight.
Therefore - I am going to use this tutorial to make the BIG bags.
AND....My goodness....Craftsy is having an awesome sale! I couldn't resist buying lots and lots of thread and some fun fabrics. I hope that I can knock out some baby quilts soon.
I dropped Banana off at her last day of Transitional Kindergarten, and I had that moment - I don't have a teacher gift! What can I do!
Since I am down to my last $20 until pay day, I couldn't really do a gift card. I have started my low carb, no sugar diet, so I didn't want to bake anything.
So - MSQC Zig-Zag table runner comes to mind!! I have all the fabric, and all it will take is time.
I am working on it as fast as I can...while I am working and tending young people.
WOW. I am actually QUILTING something!
I love the lemons and I somehow had 2 yards of it. I have no idea when I bought that! But they are so happy - I had to use them on this little table runner.
My banana graduated...and I didn't finish the gift. I will drop off the gift next week, when it is done.
Sewing the border on one side of Maddie's Pinwheels
I picked off the mistakes on this quilt, and turned all of those mistaken pieces into long strips.
Man - they are fraying like crazy. I am a giant fuzzy monster when I get up after working with all of these strings.
And now....while listening to podcasts.... I am stitching down everything that I can.
Of course, I am hiding from the TWO quilts that I have basted, and ready to quilt. I have a stack of fat quarters hiding them, so that they don't mock me from across the room.
But I am totally enjoying piecing. I can't really quilt and work at the same time. The quilts simply get in the way of my laptop.
Brown Bento and Hungry Caterpillar are strategically covered on the ironing board. Here is a peek at how the pinwheels are coming together...
Quilting...specifically...the piecing aspect of quilting....is helping to calm my brain and give me focus. Now, my girls want to learn how to sew...and it should make for an interesting summer project to teach them how to do it.
Sidenote - Planning to make baby quilts for the three new babies that are coming from my cousins!
I was thinking of this quilt....it is so cute!
I have found SO many quilts that I want to make.....WOW!
Okay...some background.....
I was bored and futzing around in the Moda Bake Shop. And I started finding quilts that are adorable. I should have been doing the dishes...or quilting what I have basted. But instead....I found these adorable, free patterns.
Too many quilts going at once? Is that possible? LOL. I want to make the book quilt for my eldest daughter who LOVES to read. I really need to think about what I am going to do for all the bears. I haven't made a larger quilt for Banana Bear. And Sweetie Bear hasn't gotten a quilt at all.
And...my mind goes into a rant about not letting people hijack my quilting. I need to let the quilt guilt go! I am allowed to sew what I want to sew! LOL. How do I say no to people? That is a serious part of my issue.
I just got this from FatQuarterShop.com and I am not sure that I like it. The colors feel really muddy to me. I guess that is the downside to doing a club.
And I am avoiding my quilting. I an no longer filled with fear that I will mess everything up. I am just sitting here with an extreme lack of confidence.
So...what am I doing instead?
Baking cookies....
Laundry - bleh.
Bossing around my 4 bears...
changing diapers....
pulling weeds....
making sun tea....
AND....
Picking out 121 seams that I messed up.
Here is the story of my excessive mistake.
I made 132 pinwheels for a pinwheel quilt of Maddie. I started them 5 years ago...and finished the pinwheels 3 years ago. I decided that I wanted the pinwheels to float, so I needed to add a white border to the edges. Well... I just hopped to it and didn't measure or think, apparently. Next thing that I knew, I was looking at 132 pinwheels with two one inch strips sewn onto the sides. Two strips. So...if I were to connect them...they would have too big a border for what I was hoping. SO....I now have to rip 121 seams to get me the correct border size for my rows.
So, instead of quilting and facing my low self-esteem, I am ripping stitches. Lots of stitches.
I swear this weekend flew by and no quilting got done.
Have you ever had a weekend were the chores took over, and all of the fun things were set aside?
That was this weekend. *Sigh*
Good news - I have the caterpillar quilt basted now too.
All I need is time. And to overcome my fear of dropping my feed-dogs.
I mean - what is the worst thing that can happen? I have to pick stitches? I have done that before. Why I am filled with this fear that my quilting is going to ruin the quilt? It is irrational, but it has a stranglehold on my productivity.
Hope that you had a wonderful and productive weekend!
Katie
I am now getting ready to quilt the Brown Bento and the Caterpillar quilt for my neice. I have basted the Bento, and it is ready to go. I have decided that I am going to drop my feed-dogs and give meandering a try. This seems like the quilt to practice on.
I decided that since I was basting, it was time to take out the Caterpillar and get basting on that. I have stalled about 1/3 of the way through, though, as my Sweetie Bear woke up and started grabbing for my basting pins. I will have it ready to go this weekend. It would be nice to get these two finished.
I have to say that my heart hasn't been in it regarding the quilting. Mostly - I just want to piece. I want to sew pieces together and see how they look.
Seriously considering a scrap quilt where I can do that. LOL. Here I am considering new and different things, and my UFO list hasn't quite gotten smaller yet.
Well...I am pushing through the Bento Brown quilt.
I ran into some snags with this quilt. I had backing fabric in my stash, but I didn't have enough. I don't know if anyone else has this issue, but I bought a yard and a half of this fabric like 2 years ago...so of course I am unable to find it anywhere. So, I need about 5 more inches to fit the back of my quilt.
The backing fabric is a soft flannel...so I want to make sure that the rest of my backing is flannel too. I found a light yellow that I had a long scrap of - and that was that.
I took a 20 minute break from work today and put my basting safety pins into my quilt after I spent the morning stitching my batting together and piecing the yellow to the owl backing fabric. Once again...work 20 minutes...sew for 5.
Here is what it looks like waiting for me to quilt it. Unfortunately, quilting takes up a lot of space, so I can't work and actually quilt it. But it is prepped and ready to go.
Well - I am overwhelmed at work with a million things to do, so of course I pushed through to finish this quilt top. Work hard for 20 minutes...sew for two minutes. LOL. And repeat.
I finished the Ugly Quilt...which ShariK likes....So I will rename it. How about the "Bento Brown"?
I happened upon a piece of batting that is ALMOST a perfect size for this quilt. I will be adding a few inches onto the batting, and I found a large piece of green owl fabric to put on the back. It is a soft flannel, and I think the kids will enjoy the softness when the snuggle down. Now...it doesn't match the front of the quilt at all. You can KIND of see it in the picture on the side of the first picture.
I think I will be attempting to free motion quilt on this piece. I will be going for the large meander. Gulp.
It is my first time dropping the feed-dogs.
Okay...back to work!
An overall shot of the finished Ugly top and apparently kiddo socks. :) If you look at the side, you will see the little owls that will be the backing fabric for this quilt. Doesn't match...but I really don't care. It is soft flannel. And I already own it. LOL
Here are what I have been working on this week. I am okay with the way that they are coming out.
I have someone I love who is coming over and looking at the tiny differences in the seams and the sizes of the blocks, and making small comments about my problems.
So, I have learned something about myself. I have found that people telling me the tiny things that are wrong with my quilts REALLY makes me crazy.
Like...snappy, cranky, bust-out-the Midol crazy.
I try to stay positive and kind, but I am swallowing down some SERIOUS mean comments. Does anyone have someone like that?
One block of the Ugly Quilt
Orange Block of the Ugly Quilt
Just a bit of a stack left to do
I am working on getting this finished. I want to get it together, so that I can quilt it and put it in the back of the van. The kids like to watch movies on long drives, and to snuggle. While this fabric is all clearance, it will be soft once I have washed it. Now....trying to be positive...so here is a little picture of my Bears at the park.
I know that this never happens to you...but I have had to re-piece my blocks several times today. It is like my brain is not functioning in a way that lets me see the directions my blocks need to be. I think this is showing me that I really need to do something that doesn't require me to pay a lot of attention.
Work is insane right now...and I have a do three things at work...sew a seam. LOL. It means that I can't actually pay that much attention to what I am doing. LOL.
I will be starting my Sweetie-Bears Pink Elephant quilt soon.
However, I was cleaning and I stumbled across my Bento Box ugly quilt. I didn't realize HOW much I had done on this quilt. I only have 5 strips left to cut and sew together. So....I am going to go for it to finish this one.
Here are some pictures. I am totally going to go for an easy finish here.
I am using a pattern, but it no longer exists as a tutorial on the website that I got it from. I hope that the author is writing a book. She is very good at patterns and clarity.
