Obligations Fulfilled... Finally!

I finished up the last 2 sewing commitments I had for 2008... YEAH! The first were some blocks I was sending to a friend. They look easy, but they were a booger to make! I think those flying geese had it in for me! LOL! They turned out nice in the end. Here is one of the 8 I made ...

Oh yes, this is the Indian Star pattern found at www.quilterscache.com

The other commitment I had was to make a tote for a friend to give her dd for Christmas. I LOVE making things to give to other folks, but I find that I hate making things for people... does that make sense? When it is a gift, I tend to be relaxed and while I want it to be well made and nice, I don't get overly uptight when I see a small flaw here or there (like points that don't quite match up). But when making for someone to give to someone else, wow! The pressure! And that made me make mistakes.. really dumb ones that frustrated me! But it is done and I think it turned out nice. I love pink and I love purple, so I thought I would have a difficult time giving this one up.. but I know the young woman who will be getting this for Christmas and she will enjoy it... so that makes the parting easier! LOL!

I will be taking a sewing break for a week or so... at least through Christmas... maybe even through New Years! But I already have projects for 2009 on tap... lots of them! So I will be back up and running in sewing central soon.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! "Belle"

Finally some quilting!

As usual life has been moving at a rapid pace and I have had no real time for quilting and, to be honest, when I have had a bit of time I've been to tired to quilt. How sad is that!? LOL!

But I got motivated this past week... mainly because I will be seeing 2 of my great nieces at Thanksgiving and 2 of these quilts are for them! So we have had a bit of a quilt marathon recently. I had the tops done on all these quilts... the labels printed... one back was done (meaning it was cut to the right size and the label had been added)... so I cut the backs for the others.. added the labels.. then got them all sandwiched. My hubby quilted and bound (binded?) 2 for me... he is a gem! (And no, I will not share! LOL!)

First is Ellie's quilt... I had the pillow made, the top pieced and the back ready... so once I got it sandwiched, hubby took off and got it finished in no time flat (he is a quick quilter!)... I think it turned out great...

Next is Noah's quilt... the top is a cheater, but the panel is so cute! I whipped it together a few weeks ago. The "pieced" border is actually a neat stripe fabric. We decided to use the same fabric for the binding.... I love the way it turned out! Hubby finished this one up too.

Here are the 2 I finished up... these are headed to Texas for our family Thanksgiving get together... the first is Madeleine's quilt... my first quilt using repros... it won't be my last! I did a simple diagonal grid for the stitching. I didn't wash the fabrics ahead of time (a first for me.. and it went so against my nature).. and as always I used cotton batting.. so when I washed and dried it, things crinkled up nicely! I love that crinkly look!

Madeleine's big sis, Caroline, has a quilt I made for her when she was born 2 years ago, but I knew she needed a happy too... so she has a doll quilt made from Madeleine's leftovers. This was soo quick and soo easy. A great idea for a child's Christmas!

It's nice to have some WIPs done... of course there are plenty more begging to be quilted... and more than I can list begging to be started! A quilters to do list never ends... it just continually grows and grows....

"Belle"

Baby Quilts Everywhere!

Baby Quilts have invaded Sewing Central here. I love baby quilts... one because they are quick to make (instant gratification)... and two they mean there's a baby! I love babies! So here are the ones hubby and I whipped up last weekend....

We have a young couple in our church expecting a little boy in December. When hubby finished up his blue and yellow snail tails quilt, he had some left over blocks. I commented that the pattern and colors would be a cute quilt for a boy. So he whipped up a few more blocks and created one. It will be quilted after the little one is born. I like to put the baby's name and birthday on the quilt label, along with a Bible verse. And I always put labels on before quilting.

On Friday, Sept. 5, my great-niece Madeleine was born. I decided months ago that I wanted to make her quilt using 1930s repros. I have never made a repro quilt. This will definitely not be the only one I make! I used a simple pattern that shows off the fabrics and is quick to make... Yellow Brick Road. Originally I planned to put 1 border on Madeleine's quilt using another repro fabric... but when I laid it next to the center I didn't like how it looked. I really love the look of white fabric with repros. It seems to make them stand out. So I added the white borders with a slim pieced once (using leftovers from the blocks) in between. I really love how this quilt turned out and the fabrics feel sooo good! I have a sweet purple (sort of lilac) repro print for the back and binding. This one will be quilted soon and then off it goes to Madeleine.

Madeleine has a big sister, 2 year old Caroline. I made her a quilt when she was born, but I decided to send her another one... not for her, but for her baby doll. So I made a few extra blocks when working on Madeleine's quilt... put them together... added a border... and voila... it's done. I have a fun green repro for the back of this one and the border. This is my first doll quilt... lots of fun!

And last.. but not least.. is Noah's quilt. Noah is a very special fella. He is 16 months old and in an orphanage in Taiwan. Tomorrow (Sun. Sept 7) he will meet his mom and dad for the first time. They are there now and anxious to get him into their arms. It has been an amazing journey for the last 9 months. God has been working this out and providing in ways unimaginable to our frail human minds. Noah's quilt is a cheater quilt... so very quick and easy (I suspect he will get another one from his Aunt "Belle" down the road!). I bought 2 of these panels and some coordinating fabrics on clearance a year ago. Thought they were cute and knew someone would need this quilt. The pieced border is also a cheater... it is a wonderful striped fabric that goes with the panel. I have a really cute coordinating fabric to back this one with... it has animals all over it. This is a scrumptious feeling fabric too! Noah's quilt will be quilted this week. They are due home next Friday and I would love to have his quilt waiting for them.

That's all the baby quilts for now. I have one more that I made some time ago. It is about to be backed and quilted for my great-niece Ellie, who was born in June. (Running a tad late with hers!) Once it is done, I will post a picture.

"Belle"

Charm Party Walker Bag

I adapted the Charm Party tote bag pattern and created a walker bag for my mom. We were both pleased with how it turned out. I even remembered to put pockets inside this time... on her last bag I failed to do that! There are 3 things I will do different on her next one (which she wants to be another Charm Party version)... one is to put the top tabs on the back instead of the front (that was a mistake! so they button on the back)... I will also position those top tabs a bit further apart to make it a tad easier to get into the bag ... and last I made the tabs like I normally make the handles for the Charm Party Tote.. so you end up with 2 layers of fabric and 2 layers of fusible fleece. It is so thick, that is made creating button holes difficult. I will work it so there is only 1 layer of fleece next time.

Another Snail Tail Picture

Here is hubby's snail tail quilt top pieced together with all the borders. It is a 90 x 90... as I have said before, hubby is a big guy and makes big quilts! Now when this will get sandwiched and quilted is anyone's guess! LOL! We both have a bad habit of making more tops than quilts!

Bees Buzzing around Snail Tails....

Hubby finished all his Snail Tail blocks with some extras. In fact, we are going to whip up a few more and have enough for a baby quilt... which is great! We have a young couple in our church expecting a boy in December, so that will be his quilt.

All the blocks have at least 1 piece of a yellow fabric with bees on it (Hence the title of this post!).

Hubby laid the blocks out of the bed... here they are ready to be sewn into a top...

Snails, Orange Crush and a Party

How's that for a title?! LOL! It has been a productive weekend here.

Hubby has started a new quilt and as always is making progress at the speed of light! He is making a scrappy Snails' Tail quilt in all blues and yellows. Here is a sampling of the blocks:

I continue to work on my Orange Crush Quilt (which is not orange!) in amongst other projects. I am finishing up these blocks:

I will have all the square blocks done then. I am not planning on putting this on point. In fact, I am not sure how I am going to put it together. Once the blocks are all done I am going to lay them out and play with various options until the right one hits me!

And lastly I made another Charm Party Tote. This one is for a dear friend (a surprise!) and I so want to keep it! (Isn't that the way it goes?). She loves green... I tried an all green layout, but it seemed blah. She loves purple and green together, so I added in some purple and voila! I think it turned out great. I changed one of the inner pockets a bit.. the divided one. I made it a bit shallower and wider. Here are some photos of the outside and inside:

I still have some fabric to cut up for a charm swap and some birthday fat quarters... so off to get that done and then I am thinking ice cream! Yep, I thinking after all this work some ice cream is called for... ok, I'll be good and stick with peach yogurt.. the real stuff, not frozen. But I really want Rocky Road from Baskins & Robbins!

"Belle"