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"

Works In Progress...

Sewing Central is buzzing with several projects right now....

Hubby is making a baby quilt. Co-worker asked him to make it for her niece.  She bought fabric and picked pattern.  He has it laid out and is in the process of piecing the top together. I love the colors.. bright and cheery.. perfect for a little girl!

Once he is done with this, he has a quick project for the house... napkins!  These fabrics will be transformed into new spring napkins.  Won't they be lovely!

I watched a video last week on a really interesting technique for making quilt blocks with 2 1/2" strips.  We have a slew of these in our scrap stash, so I pulled a few and gave it a try.

Here is what the block looks like once done...

Here are a couple of possible layouts...

The technique really is cool.  You can watch it here: Amazing Jelly Roll Quilt

I may use that technique and some of our strips to make up another baby quilt for an upcoming bizarre to benefit the family of a little boy in need.  I made this top for it all ready..

It just needs to be sandwiched and quilted to be done.

I am also working on a new wallhanging for the breakfast room. I knew I wanted to use a specific Bible verse that has to do with House.. so a house block was called for... there are many, but one of my faves is found at Quiltville...  Happy Scrappy Houses

The pattern calls for 2" strips. The stash here is full of 2 1/2".. so I adapted and came up with this...

Looks great.. even before being wonkied.. but it is bigger than I want for my layout.

So today I cut down some of those 2 1/2" strips to 2" ones and pulled together some "kits" for house blocks.  They are waiting patiently for me to sew them together.

Plenty to keep us busy this week!

"Belle"

Reversible Table Linens

Hubby, also a quilter, decided to make some table linens for our breakfast room table as a Christmas surprise for me... but then we decided not to exchange presents this year! He finished them up and gave them to me AFTER Christmas! They are really neat. A bit like having 3 table runners. The cool thing is they are reversible. One side is strip pieced.... very colorful. The other side in a single piece of fabric with a border and some detailing on the ends. The ends also have fringe to add a touch of elegance. We have enjoyed using them!

Here are the 2 looks... I prefer the strip pieced runner in the center. I like seeing all those colors!

Two Goals checked off the list!

I have gotten one of my January goals met and one has been lifted from me. I finished the gift for my Christmas Swap partner. I love the Charm Party Tote pattern and instructions. I used the basic how-to but adapted the pattern to be strips instead of charms. I think it turned out great! My partner sent me 2 fabrics and I was required to use at least 1 of them in my item. I used both! They are the 2 prints seen in the front pocket. They are also used in the purse itself.

Another friend, knowing a good bit about the circumstances in my life right now, has "ordered" me to send her the top I need to quilt this month to send to a mutual friend. I have hemmed and hawed over doing this, but finally relented.

So now I just need to pack up the purse and the top and send them off to their recipients.

And time to pick the next goal to work on!

"Belle"

Catching up on Projects... New Toy....

Seems there has been very little quilting or sewing of any kind around here for a month or so. The summer has been full and busy instead of slow and relaxed!

This past week hubby and I made up for lost time. He finished up a quilt top he is making for a co-worker who is on his 2nd our in Iraq. Most of the fabric used came from an online quilting buddy of mine who recently made a patriotic quilt for her son on his return from Iraq.

Quilting buddies are great about sharing fabric!

I played around a while back with some scrap strips (2 1/2") and came up with some blocks. I took part of them and added sashing and put them into a top this week. This will go into a pile of quilts here to be used when someone is cold or to be given away when there is a need. Last year we had an apartment complex burn and 8 families lost everything they had. I so wished I had some quilts to donate to them. I am working to create a pile of quilts to have on hand for when someone needs one... or even wants one. My kids' friends hang out here a lot and many come from less than ideal family situations.

Several have said that they want a quilt all their own. If I had some made up, I would just say "Here.. take your pick." So that is part of the plan too!

Some online quilt buddies and I do a quarterly block lottery. I won the last one... gorgeous mini-bowties made from repros on white backgrounds. SO I got to choose the next block.

I picked Buckeye Beauty (easy block that has several neat layout options) and fall fabrics. We draw in August, so just in time for the winner to get some blocks for a Fall Quilt. Here are a few of the ones I made:

A couple of weeks ago I made a bit of an impulse buy... but I think I am going to be pleased I did. I have been toying with the idea of an embroidery machine. I looked at some wonderful ones, but they are way outside my budget. I decided to just let it go and look again next year. Then one night I was looking at Craigslist and came across an add for a basic Brother embroidery machine. A bit of research and I found the seller was asking $100 less than the cheapest retail price I could find. Further inquiries and I learned she was the mom of 2 children.. toddler and infant... bought it 4 months ago with the intention of learning to sew etc. Got in over her head and needed money more. So I bought it.

I finally had time to play with it today. One thing I love is that it has the applique stitch. I have a basic Brother sewing machine (you can see it in the picture too) that I love and have used for 5 years, but it doesn't have the applique stitch. I have not tried the embroidery features yet. That is very new to me, so will take a bit of time and patience on my part.

Hopefully now that summer is winding down, I can get back into some sort of routine and find some quilting time each week!

"Belle"

Playing with Scraps....

I saw a quilt in a magazine or catalog recently that was really cute and immediately the wheels started turning and I began adapting it idea to what I have on hand. I participate in a monthly 5" charm swap, so I always have plenty of those... and I also cut a lot of 2 1/2" strips for projects, so I have a lot of those in my scrap bin. I came up with a neat and easy to piece block. I will use these to create 2 more tops for charity quilts.

Here are some laid out together...

And her are some more with an added strip that will create a "faux" sashing when sewn together...

We like bright colors here... can you tell? :)