This is MY HOBBY....a rant

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.

Okay....rant over.

Fabric is taking over my house...

So...I found more quilts to make

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?

32 dots completed!

Small distraction from quilt tops and basting...

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.

More tops are done...

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

More things that I am working on...

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.




How to Make a Circle Quilt from MissouriQuiltCo on Vimeo.

Instead of a honey bun, I used a jelly roll.

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.

My mom's quilt

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.

A finish!

The Ugly Quilt is done! Completely finished! 

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.