Shhhhh...It's a secret

I finished a small quilt wall hanging for my son-in-law this week, and since I'm pretty positive he doesn't read my blog (may not even know there is a blog) I feel okay showing it off here.  I am pretty pleased with this.  It is meant to hang on the back of his office door, since all the walls are taken up with books. (He is a PhD candidate)

 It started a couple of years ago when my daughter saw a bookshelf quilt on someone's blog and said "This is so cool, you should make one for M" and I said "mmm hmm".  Then, about 6 months ago I saw this stitching pattern on Urban Stitches web site.  Don't remember how I got to that, but anyway I thought "that is so cool and the perfect thing for the Literature Dr. to be.

 In case you can't tell, it is lines from Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven, in the shape of...yes, a raven.  So I spent months trying to get this thing stitched to be the top of the quilty book shelf.

 And then came the books.  Three shelves of them.  Made from a Basic Grey jelly roll which was perfect for books.

 A little Ruby Star typewriter on the bottom shelf...I think I outdid myself on that one.  Perfection!

 And the book titles?  All selvedges from my scraps.  I had such fun choosing the titles of the books.

 And now it is done so one more checked off the ol' Christmas to do list.  YeeHaw!!!!

 One more quick one...V's new quilt made from Out to Sea fabrics.  I love this line and knew it needed to be a boy quilt.

With the map as the focal point.  Now I just have to quilt it in time.  And I have to design J's quilt for the cool airplane fabrics I bought.  See a theme here?

Have a great rest of your week.

Survived Thanksgiving Week

I have missed being here, but when you work in a grocery store, Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest of the year.  I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Now that last week is done, I hope for more time to sew and show you what I'm working on.

Since a lot of it is Christmas related, it will be challenging to find things I can show, but there will be some.  I have one today that I can show, because even though it is a gift, my 5 year old grandson doesn't read my blog, so it's okay.

Have you seen the blog Sew Can She?  It is awesome!  It is filled with tutorials for things, not just quilts, but bags, clothes and lots more.  I found it, or maybe it found me, I don't remember, but it was this summer.  This is the first thing I have made from the tutorials on the site.

 It is a cushion for sitting and watching TV or sitting and reading or just flopping on.  The tutorial has it made from home dec weight fabric, but since I had none of that and I really wanted to use this cute stuff, I used a layer of muslin underneath for added strength.

 I love this print and thought it would be just perfect for a 5 year old boy.  What do you think?

 I used smaller pieces for the sides.  These are all left from a quilt I am making for another grandson.  The tutorial has you purchase ready made piping trim.  I made my own and it was really simple.  I had some soft, thin-ish clothesline rope...at least that was what it was sold as...and I cut strips of the blue starfish print from the Going Coastal line.  You can buy cording to make piping at Joann's.  I think it was the perfect addition.  I was able to make this without buying anything but the filling, which I got with a 50% off coupon at Joann's.

It even has a handle for carrying.  If you want to make one of these, it's pretty easy.  I recommend you don't skip the piping as it really makes it look finished and really, it's very easy to use, whether you make it or buy it.

I am working on another one for my other grandson, using Castle Peeps I still had in my stash and a small piece of Kona in an orange color for the piping.  I will be back soon with pictures of that one.

Have a great Sunday.