Ready for some Boys!

Recently whipped up 2 baby quilts for 2 little fellas.... both due in August. I have posted pix of the tops, but wanted to show them completed.

The first is for Oliver.  I pieced the top and my husband quilted it. Be sure to look at the upclose shot of the border. He had fun creating there. And there is a photo of the back.. I am hoping the quilting shows.  I have to say that the photos do not do the fabrics in this quilt justice.. they are beautiful (and were all in my stash.. bought nothing for this one but batting!)

And the other is for Reed. Reed's dad is a basketball coach.. so I went with a sports theme. I pieced and quilted this one.  Very simple disappearing nine-patch with in the ditch quilting. But I decided to try something else. In the 4 corner blocks and the very center one, I quilted the outline of a basket ball. They are not perfect by any long shot, but I think they turned out cute and I feel certain Reed's dad will like them. I had most of this in my stash. Had to purchase some fabric for the border and the batting.

Working on a quilt for a little girl now ... have another boy top done and ready to quilt... and then have another boy and a girl coming in December!  More baby quilts on the way.  I love babies and I love making baby quilts!

"Belle"

Weird & Ugly Update

A few months ago I posted a photo of some fabric... it was part of a challenge among a group of quilty friends.  One friend picked out a fabric she considered weird and ugly. She sent a bit to each of us and we then had to use it in a project.  Here is the fabric:

And here is my creation:

It is a very large tote bag that I now use for carrying groceries and such. I like using canvas or cloth bags in place of plastic ones and carry a number with me.  This one is perfect for when I am running in to pick up just a few items. It will hold them all!  (It is big!) And the handles are nice and long, so I can carry it on my shoulder even when full.

I am not sure you would know the fabric was covered with skeletons and day of the dead images if you hadn't seen the fabric whole first.

Fun challenge.. wish you could see the other creations... they were all neat and varied!

"Belle"

Too busy to blog or quilt lately....

Life is so full and busy lately... and that means less time to quilt or blog.. not fun!

There are a number of things in the works....

A baby quilt for a little girl due in September. The HSTs are done.. now I have to decide how I want to lay them out..

This way:

or This other way:

Here is where I got the colors I used for the HSTs...

This dot fabric will be used for a border for sure!

I am also going to try my hand at making a denim baby big. Saw this post (Recycled Denim Bib  ) with the how-to and just could not resist!  Pulled an old pair of jeans from my daughter and a scrap of fabric to test this out.

Hubby has a BIG project going. A sweet girl named Morgan had a quilt top her grandmother made for her years ago. She asked if we could quilt it.  We got the quilt.. it is huge!  Morgan's grandmother said she was aiming for queen size. I think she may have overshot that a bit! LOL!  Hubby added a border There was none and we didn't want the binding to cover any of the red squares... which are really a reddish pink in person than a true red-red.  Got a back and batting.. sandwiching this one was a bear!  Here is a look at the quilting, so far... I think it is going to look great when it is done and I know Morgan is going to cherish it!

Warning: Blog Reading can be costly! LOL!  I was reading some quilting blogs and saw in one where the blogger was selling off some of her stash. I zipped to her etsy shop and found I was a tad late.. most everything was gone.. but there was a bundle of fabric designed by Sandi Henderson left. I LOVE Sandi Henderson's designs, so I snatched it up!  Don't have a clue what they will inspire, but I know I love looking at them!

I posted awhile back where my son's girlfriend and I did some crafting and she created a cute little applique tree pillow. We had another crafty day earlier this summer. She wanted to make another pillow. This one is larger and coordinates with the small one. Turned out great!

There are 2 completed baby quilts I need to photograph and post... soon!

In the meantime... here's to hoping we all get more time to create!

"Belle"

Catching Up in Blogville -- Part 4 ... All Caught Up!

One quilt got completed over the past 2 months. I made the top earlier in March and the Mad Quilter (a.k.a. my sweet hubby) quilted it and finished it, binding and all. He is a keeper! :-)  This is a graduation gift for a sweet girl in our church.  She will be getting it as soon as she gets home from FL!  Cannot wait to see how she likes it.

I finished up a top for Friendship House in New Orleans (a transitional shelter for women).  I saw a picture of this quilt online, but had no idea the pattern... so I winged it!  I think it turned out well. I love the final border... I really love pieced borders!  

And as I mentioned in Part 2 of Catching Up in Blogville, I put together some baby quilt tops.. which will soon be quilted. This one is the most unbaby quilt I think I have made... and I love it!  My daughter has friends expecting baby #1.. a boy (lots of boys this year!). She asked me to make something using warm earthy tones. I pulled greens and golds and browns and I found a big scrap of fabric that has frogs all over it. I really love this fabric. She saw it and said "Use that!" So I added more colors that coordinated with the froggy print.  Here is the result:

And here is a close up of some of the frog fabric:

The last baby quilt top I made this weekend.  Another couple in our church expecting baby #1 and yes, another boy.  I was digging through the stash and came across some cowboy fabric I had used in another baby quilt. I really love this fabric.  An idea formed in my mind and off I went.  I love braids... have made a number of braided borders, but I have never used them in a quilt this way. I like it:

That little red strip defining the braids looks great to me, but it was not the easiest thing to add. Soooo small! But worth it, I think.

Here is a close up of the inspiration fabric:

One more thing. All 4 of these were made from fabric in the stash.. no purchases necessary!  I love it! I am doing my best to use from the stash and save some money!

And now I am finally caught up in Blogville!

"Belle"

Catching Up in Blogville -- Part 3

Some of my time playing with fabric over the last couple of months has not involved a sewing machine. I have bought a bit.. not much actually... received some from a friend... and cut some things for a swap.

Hubs and I found this pretty fabric on clearance at Hancocks:

I have no idea where it will be used, but I am sure it will turn up somewhere.

We also found this amazingly gorgeous fabric:

It has been used to create napkins!  Yes, napkins. I grew up using cloth napkins.  I don't consider them for special occasions only or "fancy". I am not one who believes in saving the good stuff for company.  My family deserves the good stuff! Plus using cloth napkins is environmentally friendly. :-) Hubs  made these. I love them!

My friend, Jules, who knows me sooo well, sent me some dachshund fabric.  She knows how much I love dachies and anything dachie! Isn't this too cute?

Then when I was at Hancocks, purchasing the fabrics above, I saw this...

Dachies and Pink!  Could it be more me!? LOL!

And lastly, I am participating in an online swap... 2 1/2" x 21" strips of fabric. Pinks!  Here are the ones I sent:

Cannot wait to see what I receive.

Oh yes, 1 more fabric came into my life over the past 2 months. This one:

I am sure someone loves it, but most will think it is Weird and ugly. That is why I have it. Some friends and I are participating in a Weird and Ugly challenge. I have to make something using most of this fabric. I have an idea... just need to get started as the challenge deadline is June 30. I will most definitely post the result!

"Belle"

Catching Up In Blogville -- Part 2

I have been working on more baby quilts over the last 2 months for 3 little boys due later this year. A young couple in our church is expecting their first child in August. Dad is a high school basketball coach so I immediately thought of a sports themed quilt. I knew I had some fabric left over from my great-nephew's eye spy quilt, so once again I went digging in the stash.  I decided to use the Disappearing 9 patch pattern. There are many tutorials online for this quick and easy quilt.  I use this one: Tutorial

If you have a charm pack or, as is my case, a boatload of 5" charms, this quilt will go even faster!

First I pulled the sports fabric:

After cutting a portion of it into 5" charms, I dug through my boxes of charms and pulled out ones that coordinated:

Take 9 charms and create a nine patch.. I placed the sports fabric in the same place in each nine patch, but was random with the other fabrics:

I made seven large 9 patches:

Then sliced them up!

To create these blocks:

Played with the layout:

Sewed into a top:

Added borders and voila!  Top done:

This quilt top was mostly made from stash fabrics. I didn't have anything on hand I liked for the borders, other than the white with black geometric print (and what you see in the quilt is ALL of it!), so a run to the store was made and 2 vibrant Kona Cottons were purchased.... papaya and royal.  Bright and fun!

"Belle"

Catching Up in Blogville -- Part 1

I cannot believe I have not blogged in 2 months!  Good Grief!  I knew it had been a while, but had no idea how big a while.  Lots of quilting and sewing has been happening here... so on with the catch up... buckle up, it is going to be a long multi-post ride!

JJ Sews...

JJ is my son's girlfriend. She is a sweetie and loves to craft. I have posted some of her creations before.   She made a really cute pillow earlier this year with a tree and leaves. She decided to make a small companion pillow with just leaves... turned out so cute. We found this great sage green polka dot fabric in the stash for the background:

She also decided to make herself a mug rug.  Very basic one, but very cute. Love the fabrics she chose... again, from the stash:

And because she did so well and loved making her mug rug, she decided to make one for her mom for Mother's Day.  Her mom's loves Scotties like I love Dachies and my friend, Rhonda, loves Corgis. (There is just something about those small dogs with big attitudes! )  I remembered there was a bit of Scottie fabric buried among the novelty fabrics, so we went digging and found it. JJ added a few others and voila!  A darling mug rug that was a big hit with her mom!

The Mad Quilter a.k.a my sweet husband....

Hubs has been busy over the past 2 months also. Not so much being the mad quilter (although he did quilt one for me... you will see it later). He has been whipping up quilt tops that will soon be quilts to give away (many to a women's transitional shelter).  Here are his most recent creations:

All the fabric used in these tops came from our stash. I love that!

Part 2 (and 3?) coming later. 

"Belle"