Sewing Central is on the Move

I started quilting 11 years ago  and from day 1 I've used our dining room table. There was no other spot available.  It worked great until we needed the dining room. Yes, we use our dining room... mostly for holidays, but really anytime we have more than 6 at the table (that's all the kitchen table can hold) and more than 6 has become more and more the norm. So down Sewing Central would come and then up it would go again. Not the worst chore.. but not the most fun either and as life has changed and I've gotten busier..working full time again as well as other outside activities, the up and down of SC has made it more difficult for me to get motivated to sew.

Well the times they are a changing. The nest has been emptied... all the chicks have flown... we now have a bit of "free space" and I've decided to claim some as my own!  LOL!

It is will a while before it is fully set up.. we are slowly painting and redoing throughout the house, plus there is furniture to move once walls are painted. However, this belle was ready to stake her claim, so I set up shop in the corner bedroom. Son decided to leave his desk / table and I find it makes a great sewing table.  Eventually there will be a skirt on it (Going to use the space underneath for storage).  The double bed is being moved to a different room too and other things will make their way to what will be the new and improved Sewing Central, but for now I am excited about this humble start...

And it appears the pups are pretty happy with it too. They just want to be close!

There has been sewing happening too!  I put together a special t-shirt quilt top and the mad quilter (a.k.a. my sweet husband) has it quilted and bounded. In fact, it is swishing away in the washer as I type.  I am in the midst of a cute construction themed baby quilt that is looking super fun!

So be on the lookout for quilt pix soon and updates on Sewing Central as it evolves.

Belle

Baby Quilts!

My sewing / quilting time has been greatly diminished the past few months. For a short while I was working 2 jobs.. both part-time but they added up to full-time together. Then one of the 2 asked me to go full-time and so I have been settling in to that position since the first of October.. and settling into balancing life working full-time (I came home when we had a newborn and 4 year old who are now 21 and 25).. add to that normal life stuff. and oh yes.. a wedding.. our baby boy is getting married Jan. 4, 2014 and so we are in wedding mode here.

So I accepted that some things would have to wait.. like my Granny Square Christmas quilt... and instead finished up the have-to stuff and now sewing central is packed away for the year. Sewing Central is setup in our dining room and any time we need to use it for holidays or such, it has to be moved. That will change this spring!  We will have 2 extra bed rooms with our empty nest and one is going to be a sewing room! I am thrilled!

The Have-tos were 2 baby quilts. Our soon to be daughter-in-law had put together a top for a cousin's baby but had not had time to quilt it.  She also had fabrics for another cousin's baby, but had not made a top. I had a top for my latest great-nephew just waiting for his arrival in Oct.

So... I whipped up a top with the fabrics she had chosen.. hubs and I sandwiched everything and he put on his mad quilter hat and went to town. Got them quilted and bound.  I think they all turned out too cute!

This first one is the one our soon to be DIL made.  Her cousin (the baby's dad) is a big Mississippi State University fan and so she decided his son needed a Bulldog quilt. I love the companion shirting fabrics we found at Stitch N Frame (This is a LQS for me, but you can also order online. Sign up for their Thursday deals. Great selection and prices!)

 Next is her other new little cousin.  Future DIL and I went to Stitch N Frame and browsed their fabrics. She picked these out and brought them home. I decided to do a simple patchwork pattern to highlight their cuteness.  I really like how it turned out. This is (I think) my first borderless quilt. I love love love the biding fabric.  Really sets everything off.

And last is the top by I had made earlier for my great-nephew (born in Oct.)  This is absolutely one of my favorite quilts ever!  I love the pattern... love the fabrics... love hubs quilting.. it is just precious, I think.

And now we are settling in.. not for a long winter's nap (which we need!) but for a busier than normal holiday season as we move towards the Big Day! I'll be back in January.. there's a Granny Square Christmas to finish up... another baby coming in February who will need a quilt... a rag-t-shirt quilt I have been trying to make for 2 years... and a Wedding Quilt to make for the happy couple (the goal is to have it done by their first anniversary!)... oh and a sewing room to create!!!!

"Belle"

Changing Seasons

Big changes coming our way.. the nest will be empty after January 4, 2014.  And so when the hubs and I decided to create a Fall Wallhanging it seemed appropriate to name it "Changing Seasons."  My sweetie loves batiks and has been buying up scrap bags of them from our LQS (Stitch N Frame).

I found a maple leaf block.. he pulled out those batiks.. we looked at various layouts and came up with one we think like and off we went. The results is a lovely collaboration between 2 creative people with different tastes and preferences.  It is hanging proudly in our breakfast area for now. Soon it will be put to rest until next fall. Can't wait to see what that change of season brings!

Baby Wyatt

Another baby on the way in our family.. a great-nephew.. Wyatt.  I did a bit of research via his Mom's Pinterest account and found great inspiration for his quilt. Lots of blue and orange... some jungle things... and I knew I had to toss in a bit of U of TX fabric for these Longhorns!

This went together very quickly and I think turned out great!  It will be quilted after Wyatt is born and I add the label with his name and birthdate.  I like to add labels before quilting, so they stay nice and secure!

"Belle"

A Colorful Summer!

My husband loves batiks and has wanted to make a quilt using them for some time. He has bought up several scrap bags of batik scraps at our LQS and been saving them for just the right project. Well, he came up with 2.. so far!  Both of these tops have been shown on here, but he quilted them in the last few weeks and I wanted to show off the finished product!

Here is the first one.. Summer Breeze.  Very modern looking quilt.

And here is the 2nd one that we were calling Summer Breeze 2, but its final name is Island Breeze. Not quite as modern looking as the first one, but still not super traditional. This one is my favorite of the 2. I love the purple border and the focal fabric.

So when I am cold next winter, I will pull out a bit of summer sunshine to warm me up!

"Belle"

Starflowers

Earlier this year I saw a lovely Starflower quilt on a quilt blog. I have always loved this pattern, but have never made a quilt using it.  I shared it with a group of online quilt friends and we all commented how lovely it was and started sharing pictures of other Starflower quilts. And then... we decided a swap was in order. 4 of us participated.. small group, but still fun!  We made 5 blocks for each person participating.. the thought being you would receive a total of 15 blocks and then could make how ever many more you wanted to complete your top. Because we were small, we were able to choose individually what we wanted.  One friend wanted all primary colors and she wanted each quarter of the block (so 2 points) to be the same color family.  And she wanted white backgrounds.  The other 2 ladies wanted each point a different color using fabrics that had an old timey look.... small prints.. darker shades.. not 1930s repros.  One wanted cream and light tan back grounds.. the other wanted tans and creams and really preferred tans.

My original request was cream or white backgrounds with any colors other than pastels or neons... and I wanted each point to be different.  I later changed to say cream or tan backgrounds. I never thought of tan as a background.. felt it would be too dark, but once I worked with it and saw these blocks I fell in love!

I have received 1 set and they are great.  Will post pictures of them and the other 2 sets once they arrive.

BUT here are the ones I sent out...

The primary colors with white backgrounds...

And the "old timey" ones with the cream / tan backgrounds...

I can't wait to see all the ones I receive together. I have 2 made to go with them so far. Will probably make 3 more to end up with 20 blocks. I like square quilts. :-)

"Belle"

A bit of fun...

One of my favorite things to do is take figure out how a quilt or block is made.  I will see a quilt I like or a block and be intrigued by it which starts my mind to whirring.  This happened recently as I was looking through some of the quilt blogs I enjoy.  I saw a block and it intrigued me. So I played around on paper and came up with what I thought was a close proximity to the block.  It was a fun process.

Here is the block I saw:

I found this and others at Pleasant Home.. one of my favorite blogs!

Here is my version: