Another Finish

This one has been a top for a long time because it was a store sample for several months.

Front

Back

The kits it was selling are all gone, so I brought it home and finished it. It has been a top since May 2012! Click here to read the post showing it as a top. And click here to see this same pattern with different fabrics.

The quilt finishes at 42" by 52", a perfect size for my oncology charity project. It even already has a finished bag to go with it.

Patriotic Star Value

I finished my Star Value Quilt of Valor.

This one measures 60" by 72" it is simply quilted with an all over meander. I altered the original pattern only in the method of construction. For this one I pieced the red stars, the blue stars and the diamonds separately. Then I arranged them on my design wall before sewing everything together. This allowed me to not have any partial stars and diamonds along the edges.

As a refresher, here is the first quilt I made using this pattern.

You can read more about the making of this first one in these two posts: post 1 and post 2. The original pattern can be found at Happy Quilting: Star Value Pattern.

Twelve!

Yesterday my little boy turned 12. It has been several years since we have been able to have a birthday party on his birthday, so it was a special day. We went to the Sand Dunes Pool for his party. I didn't take any photos around the pool yesterday, but you can see some I took previously if you click here.

Like many boys his age, he loves video games, especially Minecraft. We purchased a cookie cake from our new Nestle Toll House Cafe.

I took in a photo of a creeper I got off the internet for them to use as inspiration for decorating the cake. The birthday boy was pleased. And the cookie cake was pretty tasty!

I did get some pictures of my birthday boy yesterday evening. The light was just right for a mini photo shoot on the front porch.

He, of course, wanted to do a bunch of silly poses too. I took those photos in exchange for his cooperation in being able to get these two good shots.

Back to a quilting post tomorrow. I will have a finish to share!!

Almost Finishes

Last weekend I got two quilts quilted. I've been super busy with work this week but I have been able to get labels made for both and the binding attached to the front on both.

Above you can see that I have the label completely attached on one and about 2 feet of the binding sewn to the back. Hopefully I will be able to show you two finishes soon, but not today.

Catching Up

Last week I got caught up with the Globetrotting BOM hosted by Pat Sloan.

These are the blocks for January through May.

I will be donating this quilt to Quilts of Valor, which is why I'm using a patriotic color scheme. I'm also using mostly donated fabric too.

If you like mystery quilts and/or quilt alongs you should check this one out. Pat's directions each month are very clear and easy to follow. She also includes technique tips as well as photos of the blocks in two color ways. It's a really nice BOM and it's free!

Guild Class

Last Saturday I took a full day class with my guild from Annette Kennedy. Click here to go to her website. It was a fun class and this is what I made.

I wish I had taken a picture of this before I started painting. For three of the five branch pieces I used the back of the fabric. So all of the marks you see on those pieces are painted on. Some of my leaves are good, some aren't that great. I'm hoping the quilting will help with some of the leaves I don't really like.

I have enough of the dark green to do another small border, then I'll quilt it. The piece is small, only 9" by 20" at this point.

It was a fun class and if you get a chance to take a class from Annette and you are interested in painting on your quilts, take the class. She also teaches a class through Craftsy called Painted Pictorial Quilts. She said that she covers a lot of what we learned plus some more stuff in the Craftsy class.

Blocks from Mom

My mom sent me two sets of blocks recently. I quickly assembled one set.

The border is from my stash. It's not my favorite, but it was the best option from my stash. When it is finished it will be donated to my local hospital for an oncology patient.

The second set has 17 blocks. I can't decide whether to put one block into my orphan block pile and make a square quilt (which aren't my favorite). Or sew up 3 more blocks so that I have 20.

A Gift

I recently received a box of goodies from my mom. There was a collection of fat quarters, some sets of blocks (which you will see later after I put them together), cookies and this cute clothes pin apron.

It is made from a hand towel and some cotton fabric. It has two pockets on the front for clothes pins. I like to hang our laundry outside on the line when the weather permits. Now I have a really cute apron to wear while I do this chore! Thanks Mom!

Quick Project

A neighbor was having a yard sale two weekends ago. They had a single TV tray that came home with me. I already had the Insul-brite and fabric just waiting until I got another TV tray. It was left over from the first one I made. About 30 minutes of work later and I have a new ironing surface.

I don't need this because I already have one so I'm not sure what I will do with this one. Maybe I will use it. Maybe I will sell it. Maybe I will give it away. In any case, I've finally used the left over fabric and Insul-Brite! It feels good to finally use up the leftovers and get them out of my sewing room closet.

Another New Pattern

Last week I was browsing through my Craftsy account. I have had several patterns in my Wish List for a while and decided that it was time to purchase.

One of those patterns is the Flora Needle Book. I already have one of these that was given to me as a gift. Click here to see it. But I wanted to make some to give as gifts. Here is the first one I made.

Oh my goodness! These turn out so stinkin' cute!

And the inside.

It was pretty easy to make. The hand embroidery on the front cover takes the longest, but not terribly long. My plan is to make up my own designs for the front cover on the next ones but I wanted the first one to be just like the pattern.

The pattern is very well written and easy to follow. I had absolutely no trouble making it. It does call for a fabric stiffener which I had to order from Amazon because no where around me carries it. I thought about just skipping that step but I'm glad I didn't. The stiffener helps the felt to conform to the folded book shape nicely and was easy to use.

A Little Project for Me

I hurriedly made myself an iPad carrier some time ago. Click here to go to that post and see it. Although very functional, the fabric isn't my favorite. I was in a hurry and the fabric was probably already sitting out in my sewing room.

So here is my new iPad carrier.

The fabric is "my style." I put handles on this one too, even though they are a pain to attach. I put them on a little differently than the last one, but it was still a challenge. Although I don't remember it being as difficult as the first time. Guess I'm getting better.

Sew Together Bag

I have a new bag pattern called the Sew Together Bag. I've made two already - one for me and one for a gift for my mom.

Here is my mom's bag, the first one I made.

I love how the zipper wraps around to the bottom to form handles for the bag. Here is what it looks like on the inside.

It has three zipper pockets inside with open pockets in between. You can pack a lot of stuff in these bags! The pattern also includes directions for a needle holder and a pin cushion, but I didn't include these in my bags.

After I sent the one above off I realized I had to have one too. Below is my Sew Together Bag.

The bag is super cute and the pattern is well written. I am an experienced bag maker but I did have a bit of trouble when it came to sewing the inside pockets. My problems were all due to lack of careful reading of the pattern. I simply folded and sewed with right sides together when it should have been wrong sides together. I quickly realized my mistake (if you can't access the zipper then something is wrong!) and was able to rip out the mistake and fix it easily. The pattern includes plenty of diagrams and pictures that are very helpful and as I said before, is well written and easy to follow (as long as you do actually read it correctly).

You can purchase your own copy of the pattern from the pattern designer, Michelle, of Sew Demented. The link will take you to her website. Simply click on the "store" tab to purchase a PDF copy of the pattern. She also sells wholesale to quilt stores so if you want your LQS to carry the pattern tell them to contact Michelle to order some patterns. I've already placed an order for my LQS so if you are local to Alamosa or will be coming through, Heartstrings and Heirlooms will have the pattern soon. And I will be teaching this bag as a class soon.

I know I will be making more of these!

Wool Pincushion

I finished a pin cushion that I started some time ago when I taught this class at my LQS.

Like most of my pin cushions, this one is 4" square and filled with a sandbag.

Bad Kitty!

Our kitty likes to stretch and claw on things. This leather covered dining chair is her favorite spot.

We squirt her with water from a squirt bottle whenever we catch her doing it, but we aren't always home.

I've had "chair cover" on my list for quite a while and finally got around to making one earlier this week. It took me two tries with muslin before I got what I wanted. Then I made a third one with cotton fabric from my stash and some fusible fleece.

Turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself! My husband liked it too. And the cat has left the chair alone thus far. I'm not sure that she realizes it is the same chair yet. We'll give it another week or so and if she still hasn't scratched on the chair I'll make covers for the other five of these chairs we have.