Baby Quilt Fun...

I love making baby quilts.. they are without a doubt my favorite quilts to make.  2 years ago I made 2 baby quilts that I loved.. one was for a sweet little girl and is, to me, the prettiest baby quilt I have made ever.  The other was a fun cowboy quilt for a little fella.  Well this year I have made 2 more quilts.. same mommies... different genders. The little girl is now a big sister and the cowboy has a big brother.  I had as much fun making quilts for their younger siblings as I did for them.

 

When I found out the little fella was on the way, I immediately new I had to do a quilt based on his dad's alma mater.. Mississippi State University. This quilt shows how much I love this family... because I am a dyed in the wool Ole Miss fan who bleeds red and blue!  LOL!  Still I watched this little ones daddy grow up into one of the finest young men I know, so I wanted to do something he would love.  So Bulldog fabric was purchased along with some fun coordinating fabrics and this quilt was created..

Very simple strip quilt with simple straight line quilting.  I love how it turned out. I wish you could really see the fabrics up close.. that maroon and white gingham is great!

I learned that little girl's room was going to be done in gray and white and shades of pink / rose... not bright, but light and dusty.  Chevron or Zig-Zag quilts seem to be all the rage right now, so when I saw a gray and white Chevron I knew it was the quilt for this wee one. But how to add some pink into the mix?  Easy!  What little girl doesn't need a few flowers in her room. 

 I was so excited to find the polka dot fabric in my stash and there was literally enough for the flower and the border. I think it adds a great touch!

I think my favorite part is the quilting on the back!  I had a blast quilting this!  

Thought I might be done with baby quilts for 2013 but I am not. Yeah!  My niece in TX has baby #2 on the way.  Her little daughter was born 2 years ago too and yep, she is having a boy this time around! Not 100% sure what I will be doing for them. Mommy and Daddy met at University of Texas and are huge Longhorn fans.. so I thought about another team themed quilt.. but I also love the idea of a little boy quilt and his name is Wyatt.. doesn't that just scream cowboy hats and boots!?  Gonna be fun coming up with something special for this little buckaroo!

"Belle"

Kiddie Quilts...

I whipped together another Quilts for Kids quilt. This one was super quick and easy. I was going through a box of novelty fabrics and found a stash of nine-patch blocks.  I do not remember what I made them for or why!  I pulled out 10 that seemed to go well together.. all are bright fun fabrics that lend themselves to a girl.  I then pulled 10 coordinating fabrics. Tossed it all together and here is the result:

I am thinking I will call it ColorFilled Hope.  It is definitely bright and cheery and I love this smiling face..

Hubs has been busy working on kiddie quilts too.  A friend asked him to make a quilt for a "new" baby girl.  He came up with this...

And if you are thinking that is a big baby quilt, you are right! Hubs never does small.

He decided the wee ones big brother (age 3) needed a quilt of his own, so an I Spy quilt was born.

No doubt all of these will be loved. "Belle"

Chugging along....

Sewing Central has been chugging along..... Hubs has finished a top for a friend's new granddaughter...

and is working on an I spy quilt for the baby's big brother...

I whipped together another top for Quilts for Kids...

and the Christmas Granny Squares production line continues...

A run for some batting is needed soon so these tops can become quilts!

Photos of finished products will be forthcoming.

Belle

Cate's Quilt

Over the Christmas holidays we ran into a young couple we know who live in another part of our state... and they had a surprise. A beautiful little girl named Cate!  We knew immediately that she had to have a quilt.  And so once the holidays were done, I whipped up a top and hubs finished up with the quilting and binding.

Another Disappearing 9 patch... seemed to be the quilt theme for January.  We found this precious birdie fabric and added in fabrics from our scrap boxes.

I love love love how it turned out!  I would never have thought these colors would look so well together!

Off this goes next week to Cate.  I feel certain she will like it!

Wiggly-Giggly

I have made quilting goals for the year in the past and rarely do they all get met. So this year I am keeping things simple. I know of 3 baby quilts that will be made this year.. one is done and waiting to be bound.  I have one other quilt I plan to make this year... cannot tell what it is here since it is a surprise.  Other than that.. no set plans except.. I really want to do more charity quilts this year. I love making quilts and giving them away and I especially love sending them to organizations that use them to bring comfort and love to others.  My goal is for every quilt I make to give as a gift or keep, I will make a charity quilt. 

So far in 2013, we have made (finished) a wall-hanging and made a baby quilt. So that means 2 charity quilts are needed. No problem!

I whipped 2 tops up a couple of weeks ago and have one quilted, bound and ready to mail.  Both will go to Quilts for Kids  I love this organization ... love quilts going to kids in the hospital to comfort them.  You can request quilt kits from them and will receive fabric for the top and a pattern. You provide the backing and batting. I did that a few years ago for my first Quilts for Kids quilt.  Since then, I have just used their guidelines (found at the site) and made them from my stash.  

NOTE -- there are very specific size requirements. These are small quilts and go together quickly!  No excuse not to whip a few up.  Truly one could be made.. start to finish.. in a day by most any quilter.  There are also requirements concerning fabric (new, washed, 100% cotton) and quilting (tight so the quilt will hold up to use and washing).  

This first one is for a girl.. any age really.. I read that they needed quilts for teen boys, so I was pulling fabric for a boy quilt (which is next to my machine ready to be quilted) and while pulling 5" charms, I kept seeing these fun bright ones left over from some other kid quilts. So I pulled enough for a girl quilt too.  

I used the disappearing 9 patch pattern. It is soo fast and so cute... can be laid out in a number of ways. I have a lot of 5" charms, so I can get started quickly on one of these.  I will probably make some with other patterns as the year goes on. That is one of the fun things.. you can try out new patterns as you create something to bless a child.  

You can name your quilt and register it here: Downy Touch of Comfort  Then include the name and your first name with your quilt. Quilts for Kids sews a special label on every quilt, even if you add a label at home.  They can link up your quilt via the name so you can see who got it.  You can also read stories and see photos of the quilts and kids at the Downy site for inspiration.

This really is a great way to use the gift God has given to brighten someone's life!

So here is my first charity quilt of the year.. Wiggly Giggly...

The boy one will be posted soon and no doubt there will be more on the blog in the months to come. I already have ideas for 2 or 3 more!

Belle

Anthropologie... nope just looks it...

My son's girlfriend is an artsy-craftsy kind of girl who loves to make things for folks.  2 of her cousins had babies this year... both sweet little girls... so JJ decided to whip up some baby quilts.  You can see the first one here... Bunting Baby Quilt

The 2nd quilt is simple, but classy. Very modern. Looks like something from Anthropologie. The new mommy and daddy loved it.. pretty sure the baby did too!

Good Job, JJ!

Isn't this birdie fabric too cute!?

"Belle"

Summer Colors for a Summer Baby

A sweet young couple in our church just welcomed Baby #3 into their family... yesterday in fact!  When I heard the nursery was bright colors.. pink, teal and orange.. I knew this was going to be a fun quilt to make!  I went with a really simple nine patch pattern and let the fabric do the talking!  And oh the fabric!  The nine patches are from scraps on hand in the stash. Some of the larger quares are from stash fabric, but a few were purchased just for this project. I think the colors are very summery and very fitting a little girl born in Summer. 

The Mad Quilter quilted it using orange thread creating fun linear patterns (so architectural! LOL) I how it looks on the back.  It adds a whole new dimension to this already fun quilt. The back, by the way, is a vintage sheet in the softest pink color.. and feels just as soft. So sweet. This was fun to make.. I would take one for myself!

Lots more has been happening in sewing central. Completed top (soon to be quilted)... finished quilt.. pincushions galore.. photos coming soon!

"Belle"

Recent Purchases

Ran to Hancocks to get some basting spray recently (I love the Sullivan's spray they sell and it was on sale!)  They had tables full of fabric marked down from 20 - 60 % off. I found 2 that were 50% off.  Cute, Cute!  .... Kid Themed... I have no plans for either one as of yet, but I know there will be more kiddie quilts in the future and these will be great jumping off points.

Cowboys and Butterflies... can't go wrong with those!

While waiting in line to have the fabric cut, I spotted this... and bought it.

I hate to rip stitches and have the most trouble seeing what I need to see.  I have actually used this once and it work pretty well. Not perfect. The magnifier moves with the ripper which is a bit awkward on the eyes.  But overall it is works.. I will definitely continue to use it.

"Belle"

Colorful HSTs

My husband just finished up a quilt for a friend in his office. She had a great niece born recently and asked him if he would make a quilt for the baby. The co-worked picked that pattern and bought all the fabrics.  I think it turned out cute. Definitely bright and cheery!

"Belle"

Fishies and Clowns

A few weeks ago a friend shared about a co-worker whose son was born with a rare condition that has required 30 surgeries in the 1st year of his life (I cannot imagine it!)  This coming weekend there is going to be a big fundraiser at a local water park for this wee one and his family.  Part of the deal will be selling homemade items, so I decided to make a quilt. and ended up making 2.

Another dear friend who is an amazing quilter makes quilts for things like this all the time.  I so envy her the opportunity to use her talents and creativity to help someone, so I was thrilled when this opportunity came along!

Here are the two quilts I whipped up... I pieced and quilted these.. nothing fancy, but I think they turned out cute. The Mad Quilter added the binding. I hate that part and he does it so well!  I am a blessed woman!

For the boy quilt, I pulled out some circus fabric I had and used it as the focal fabric adding scraps of this and that to create the coins.  I decided to do something similar for the girl quilt.  I found some fishie fabric in my stash. Can't say it is overly girlie, but I think the fabrics used in the braids helped emphasis the female-ness and the pink backing and binding definitely sealed the deal.

I have to show you the back of the Circus quilt. Hubs and I went to a fabric sell shortly before I made these. A local lady had a fabric shop... she still sells online, but has not been able to cover overhead for a brick and mortar shop right now. She had a big sell out of her home to get the word out. We bought several pretty fabrics and when we commented about some fabric she had with big polka dots, she decided to cut some and added it to our mix for free. We were shocked to find 2 yards of it when we got home. I like polka dots but these are soo big that cutting the fabric would chop the dots up and I am not a big red person.  But I knew it would be used at some point. And it was!  It is the perfect fabric for the back of this quilt!  Goes with the Circus theme so well. And I love the striped binding Hubs added.

Also, I don't usually show labels here as they have personal info. I include the name of the recipient.. a Bible verse (always).. the date and who made it.  Sometimes the quilt gets a name. Well these just got a verse. I add my labels before I sandwich the quilt, so they are sewed on to the back and then quilted through. They cannot be removed without destrouying the quilt.  Here are photos of the labels on these quilt just to give you an idea of what my quilt labels normally look like.

I am working on a new project.. slowly but surely.  My quilting time seems to have diminished greatly... hopefully it will pick back up again soon!

"Belle"

2 more tops done...time to sandwich!

Finished up 2 more tops this week.  The House Wallhanging...

I love, love, love the final border fabric. It looks soo good!

And the other charity quilt I am working on... this one is for a girl.

So now it is sandwich time!  These 2 plus the circus themed quilt (also charity) and a scrappy top of hubby's that has been waiting patiently in the linen closet.

I hate sandwiching.. but it is a necessary step for turning tops into  quilts.

"Belle"

Rainy but productive day....

Today has been a rainy day with dropping temps... this Southern girl is downright chilly tonight! With the rain and such, it was a perfect day to stay in and work on quilts.

I finished up the center block of the wall-hanging last night.  I have to make a plug for a product.. Fabri-Solvy by Sulky.  I used my word processing software to layout the verse like I wanted and then printed it on a sheet of Fabric-Solvy.  Peeled off the back and pressed it to the front of my fabric.  I embroidered as usual, but I didn't have to trace the pattern because it was printed on the stabilize and now on the fabric.  Once done, I peeled and cut off the excess.... then soak in warm water for a few minutes to melt away the rest.  I will say that once it dried, it looked as if the thread had run.  So this morning I decided to wash it. My washing machine has a super delicate hand wash setting. I used that and put the block in a mesh bag.  The rest of the stabilizer along with the excess dye from the thread came right off!  It air dried with no problem and has now been united with the Happy Scrappy House blocks that I had pieced this weekend.

My husband put the top together with sashing and corner stones. He is much better (and more patient) doing those corner stones than me!  I think it is looking great...

Next we needed 1 more fabric for a final border... tried lots of things we have here, but nothing really seemed to suit it. So... a trip to the fabric store was made and this was found..

It doesn't show up here too well, but there are green leaves here and there along with the blue ones. Works really well with the green sashing.  Can't wait to see it added to the top.

While at the store I picked up some pink fabric. Not because I love pink (which I do!!!!), but for a quilt I started today. I am making another quilt for a charity bazaar. I found this fabric in my stash...

Pulled some 2 1/2 inch strips and started making braids with fabrics that I feel "coordinate" with the fishies.

Once all the braids are done, I will use them for the top with some sashing between them and a small inner border that matches it.  Then the fishies will be the outer border. It is going to be a bright quilt!  I have no doubt some little girl will love it.

Here are the pinks I bought..

One of them will be the sashing and inner border.. don't know which one yet.  The leftovers? well they will go in the stash. The pink boxes (yes boxes!) are getting slim and there are 2 baby girl quilts to be made before summer!

All and all this rainy day has been a good one... tomorrow is already full, so won't be a lot of fabric time happening.  Hoping to have the wall hanging and maybe the fishie quilt tops done and ready to sandwich by the weekend.  The circus quilt is waiting patiently along with another scrappy top from last year.  Saturday will probably be a "deli" day.. gonna be making lots of quilt sandwiches!  :-)

"Belle"