First finishes of 2012

It is unlike me to post more than once a week, but since I took a week off work to rest (ha!) and sew this week, I find myself here reporting on my progress.  And much progress has been made!

I had on my list to make a new table topper for my round table.  I made the first one out of Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater.  I liked it so much, that it became my new go to pattern for this table.  I used all charm squares for both.  This is made with Fairy Tale Friends, by American Jane.  I like this because there is no hemming (the edges are pinked) and no batting.  I set my coffee cup or water glass on here and didn't want the bulk to cause instability.  Bonus is it whips up in less than an hour, including picking the fabric charms to use.

This is my first attempt at paper piecing.  I think I grasp the concept now, but this little square took me 2 hours to finish.

And this is the mess it made in two hours!  Hopefully I will get better at this.

This wasn't on the 2012 list, and I posted this the other day, but it is a 2012 finish so I include it.

 Here is the biggie!  My Birdie Stitches Quilt is done!!!  Yay!  I quilted in the ditch only.  I didn't want to mess up the embroidery work.

 I used the same fabric for the border that I included in the blocks.  I love the way it looks.

 It was kind of windy when I took these, and here is the sun shining through the back of the quilt.  I think it looks cool!

 Can you see the little birds on the yellow print?  I saw it and knew it was for this quilt.

 Love the contrast with the stark tree branches and the Carolina Blue sky!  Now the best part!  This little guy has been watching the progress of this quilt since the beginning.  When I first started it he asked if it was going to be for him.  I said no, I was just making it for me, and he was disappointed.  As the blocks were done, he ooo'd and aaahh'd over each one, and helped me choose colors for the birds and some of the elements of the blocks.  When I began to put it together, I knew it had to have a new home.  I just felt it.  So I bound it in purple, his favorite color.  I took it to him and showed him the binding and said "I think this quilt needs to live at your house."  And this was my reward:

And that my friends, is why I do what I do. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: Start your sewing machines!

I am going to start my new year off right!  I have cleaned my sewing room up, made a project list (it has 18 items on it...so far), bought fabric and started sewing!  And I have this whole week off from work to do some of that sewing.  Great vacation plan I think!

 First, I have to show you these great slippers I got from my Dear Husband.  I L-O-V-E them and have been wearing them a lot since Christmas.  I can even sew in them, unlike when I am wearing shoes.  I always have to take my shoes off, and then my feet get cold.

 I finally replaced my old Sunbeam iron that I have had for 20+ years with this.  I first saw this iron on Madame Samm's Stash Manicure blog during the Wantobe Quilters campaign.  I sent the link to I Have A Notion to my Dear Husband and it was under my Christmas tree too.  I am starting to get used to it.  I had no idea how not hot my old iron was starting to be!

 Also, saw this on Green Fairy Quilts and since Sweetwater is my all time favorite designer, I had to have it.  It was on sale and there was a free shipping thing going on.  I wasn't going to indulge, but after I talked to my DH, he told me to go ahead and order it.  I love that man.  He really understands me. :)

 New year's eve my oldest daughter, M brought this quilt to me to mend.  The applique was coming unstitched in several places.  This was a quilt I made for her in August 2004 for her wedding.  I don't think I ever got pictures of it.

 It was a pattern in a book by Georgia Bonesteel.  It is queen size, pieced and appliqued and all hand quilted by me.  She later confessed to me that she didn't really care much for purple, and the marriage didn't last.  I was convinced the quilt was a bit of a jinx.  Crazy, right?

 She is happily remarried now so maybe I'll try again...but not purple!

 This is the back of my Birdie Stitches quilt.  I found this fabric and thought it perfect for that.

 And here is the front of the Birdie Stitches Quilt, assembled and pin basted, ready to quilt.  I am most proud of this quilt.  It is my first BOM and I kept up for the whole year!

 These strips are leftovers from the 36 Patch QAL that I did with Crazy Mom Quilts.  Another project I kept up with.  These are going to be incorporated into the back of the quilt.  I already know how I want to quilt it and am excited to get it finished.

 My LQS has a New Year's Day anniversary sale every year from 1-5 pm.  I have never missed one.  We get 35% off any cut of a half yard or more.  I bought these cuties with the new grand baby in mind. We will find out soon if it's a boy or girl.  I am stocking up on pinks...just in case.  My stash doesn't have too many pinks.

 And I got these to add to a couple of works in progress.  I am going to make a queen size quilt for my sister this year.  We bought the fabrics when she was here in October, with no particular pattern in mind.  Now that we have one, I needed a bit more of a couple of the fabrics.  The sale was the best time to buy them.  The fabric at the bottom of the photo is just because it's cute.  The one at the top is for this next quilt.

 This is the beginning of the new quilt for my middle daughter.  I am making it from a box of scraps that I won from Moda Lissa awhile back.  I found that tan and wanted to get a bit to add to the scrap stash.

 In Cleaning I found this quilt that I started about 3-4 years ago.  I got it pieced and started hand quilting it and then it sat neglected for all this time. :(  So now I am determined to finish it.  I had forgotten that I do like to hand quilt sometimes.  I think I got caught up in the ease and quickness that is machine quilting.  And lastly, a bit of a surprise for me:

I found this lovely fabric was on the back of the aforementioned quilt.  I had forgotten it totally!  I do so love it too!  So, this was a bit long, but hopefully you enjoyed all the pictures of my projects.  I have lots to do now, so have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.

A Finish!!

Finally I have another finish to show you.  I feel like I have been sewing and sewing but not any closer to getting anything finished.  Don't get me wrong, I do love the process, but when it comes to Christmas sewing, there is a sense of urgency.

 First, this is not Christmas related, but here is November's Birdie Stitches block.  I can't believe I have kept up for a whole year almost now!

 This is made from a charm pack of Countdown to Christmas.  I wanted something small to top this table in my living room.  It is not quilted so not bulky and since the charms are pinked around the edges, no hemming required.  Love it!  I might have to make some for other seasons.  Now the big finish...

 This quilt is for my brother's new niece.  She is just a few months old, but he wanted a quilt that she could grow into for years.  I love how it turned out.  There are lots of butterflies here.

 The fabric has butterflies and the quilting is, in part butterflies based on a quilt that Patricia of    Happy Days Quilting did for her daughter.

 Here is the back of the quilt, made from pieces of leftover fabric from the front.

 Down here at the bottom is my new label.  I will put a proper label with all the info on the quilt as well.

love the crinkly goodness

Essential dots for the binding, as well as the inner border

I'm sew happy with this!

 And one more almost finished...two pair of sleepover pajamas(Oliver + S) for Christmas for V and J.  All they need are buttons and elastic.  I am going to go shop for buttons soon.

Happy sewing and have a great week.

Progress... 2 by 2 and then some

Wow! What a difference a week makes.  This week I caught up on sleep (a little) I caught up on housework (a lot) and I made great strides in my sewing room.

Now having 2 grandsons 11 months apart in age makes it easy sometimes to think of gift ideas.  But the reverse is sometimes true when you have to then execute those ideas,  imagine...2 of everything.  So I don't do it often.  This time, though I just had to.  This is what I am working on with Christmas in mind:

My mother always made sure to give up PJs for Christmas.  I think the reason was that she wanted us looking good for Christmas morning pictures.  Whatever.  It became a tradition.  It's one I used for all of my girls and now for the grandsons as well.  We have bought Christmas PJs for them most years, and now that they are little men, we (my daughter and I) like this style, but it is hard to find.  I was wishing for a pattern so I could make them and now, BAM! Liesl has done it.  The pattern includes many sizes and I know I will be using it a lot.

For Christmas this year, here is my fabric choice:

Colorful Christmas-My Mind's Eye-Riley Blake

close up of the main fabric

I had to wash and iron all the fabric first

ready to go

I got all this on Stitch Steals for half of the original price.  And you all know flannel isn't cheap!  So I got it all cut out and ready to sew...both pairs.

The other project I am working on for the boys for Christmas is this one, found at the Moda Bake Shop.

It is a bean bag toss game that can be played inside!  Winter can be long people, especially with little ones in the house.

One I am making with a combination of Sherbet Pips and Little Apples by Aneela Hoey and the other will be Cheap Talk by Connecting Threads.  It's a great yellow, orange and red with a bit of blue and green.  Can't wait to see it all sewn up.

I cut out some of the letters just to see this.

Now that I have started these projects, I am really motivated!  I finished piecing this:

My Hometown quilt

And this:

My small quilt for my book/quilting group

And I got this done with 11 days left in the month:

Sew it's been going quite well over here.  I even managed to sew a few yo-yos this past week.  Yes, that project is still chugging along, although slowly.  I just hope I can keep this up.  The plan is to get all the tops done and then quilt my butt off until I finish everything.  Wish me luck.

Hope you all have a great week.

I think I can, I think I can

Sometimes I feel like that little engine and only if I keep "thinking I can" will I accomplish anything.  This is a tough work week for me and I am tired already, mentally as well as physically.  For my mental well being, I am trying to sew every spare minute I can.  So to that end, yesterday before I had to go to work, I got a couple of quilt tops finished.

The first one I got finished is my 36 Patch Quilt Along that I did with Crazy Mom Quilts this summer.  I am so glad to have it together and now I will begin piecing the back.  I already know what I want to do, so I just gotta do it.

The next one I finished is on my brother asked me to make for a special little girl on his wife's side of the family.  I had wanted to make a simple strip quilt, and that's how I started out.  But anyone who has quilted for awhile knows that sometimes a quilt wants what it wants and your best option it to go with it.  So this is what happened:

My strips needed a bit of something else, so I made some small strips going the other way and put them in.  This is good, I thought. I continued adding more strips and then WHAM! the quilt needed something else. So I gave it this:

Since there is a pinwheel print in it from Children at Play, it seemed to fit.  I like the scrapiness.  And then it seemed happy and fine with the progress.  I ended up with a thin green border and a larger pink border.  I measured all the leftover fabric and I think I have enough to piece the back without buying more fabric. YAY!

 I was also able to finish piecing these blocks and got the layout done.

And I did all of that in just about 3 hours before work.  So today when I got home, I pieced my October Birdie stitches block and started putting the hometown squares together.  Sewing soothes my mind and my soul somehow.  I can still think about problems, but they seem less urgent somehow and I feel calmer.

I hope you all get lots of sewing time this week so you can feel it too.
Have a great week.