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I love Tuesdays.

text treats

While perusing the antiquated selection of quilting books at my local library, I came across one gem titled  "Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts".
Inside there was a simple sailboat wall hanging pattern which perfectly coordinated with my grandson's nautical themed nursery.  The project in the book was made up in reproduction fabrics with horizontal line stitching.  I made mine in more contemporary fabrics and added the anchor on the sail as well as the birds overhead.  I felt that  a swirly pattern to mimic wind was a better choice for the quilting...but it wasn't something I could do myself.  Once it came home from the quilters, I bound it in a red and white striped fabric.
 

This quilt, which I began last October, is the one I designed for my son, Kevin.  It is the quilt that started this new obsession of mine and was the first project I had professionally quilted.  This evening I sewed the binding to the front and will hand stitch it on the reverse side while traveling to Sacramento tomorrow.  Now that my other sons have seen it, they're all asking, "Where's mine?!"

P.S.  This post is titled "text treats" because the way J'Adore Quitling  notifies someone that their project is ready is by texting a picture of the finished project.  How fun is that?!

near disaster quilt

At first, this quilt top was just too wild.  The fabrics (Salt Air by Moda), when cut into pieces and sewn back together, made my eyes twitch.  I found myself wanting to sing "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, age of Aquarius..." (you know the rest).  Bubbles, fins, waves, and scales....oh, my!

But once I changed the pattern by adding a thin white strip around the outer edge and then a grey border, the whole thing calmed down...as did I!  The pattern is called Reveille and is from the book "Another Bite of Schnibbles".

Note:  The quilt looks crooked because I shot the photos at an angle AND the wind was blowing.  My stitching is straight. I promise!

bibs for babes

 My little grandson needed some bigger bibs now that he's gotten bigger himself!  Two of his favorite things are cars and dogs, so I hunted down these darling fabrics.  The dogs are from JoAnn's and the cars are from a new line by Riley Blake which I bought at my local fabric store, Quilter's Cottage.

I always use snaps when making bibs so that the little darlings can't pull the bib off themselves.  The pattern I used is a free download and found here.

Heirloom line quilt top

 I think what makes an impression with this quilt top is not the pattern but the bold fabric designs.  I just ♥ Joel Dewberry fabrics!!  Just today I dropped off a different top to be quilted which was also made with Joel Dewberry fabrics - a line named Aviary 2.  But I digress...

 This baby quilt is made from a set of 6" squares, one of each fabric from Dewberry's Heirloom line.  I actually bought the set from a seller on Etsy, a lady in Australia who cut them herself (since it's not a factory item).  Because I wanted to make a quilt that maximized the squares so that the prints could make their statement, I chose a simple disappearing nine patch.

The white background fabric is slightly hatched so it has a subtle textured look and is a little fancier than a plain Kona solid. Someday I will probably look back at this quilt and think that the prints are far too bold.  But as for today...I'm in love.

Andra's Quilt

 This is the finished quilt that I made for my son-in-law's sister.  While she was pregnant, I had her choose a pieced quilt top from those which I had posted pictures of on this blog.

The quilt took me longer to finish than anticipated because I just couldn't decide what design to quilt on the four patch blocks.  Then after a choice was made, I had to pick the thread color.  And getting advice from other quilters didn't help because each had a differing opinion!  It was funny how skiddish I became about the whole thing, but in the end, I decided on red (my own choice).

Now that the quilt is quilted and washed, I'm pleased with the result.  Hopefully little Andra will feel happy and warm wrapped in it.  The best part of making and giving a baby quilt is imagining the little darling snuggled inside!

feeling blue...

About 15 years ago, I picked up this ironing board at a yard sale.  It was a bit tired looking back then, so you can imagine what it looked like today!  I decided to help the poor little thing regain some self-respect, so I spray painted it a happy blue.  I am pleased to report that both she and I feel a lot better now about her appearance. Of course, we both know that looks aren't everything.  But we also know that a little color goes a long way toward improving self-image.  Just imagine life without lipstick! (shudder)

fleece bean bags

So if your cute little 14 month old grandson needs some bean bags, you quickly get to work!  Today I made five 5 inch bean bags in 5 minutes.  OK, it wasn't 5 minutes, but it felt like 5 minutes.  I took my 5" plastic quilting template and cut out 10 squares of fleece with a rotary cutter.  Next I stitched around the outside edges with a 3/8" seam, leaving a small opening.  Then using a funnel, I filled the bags 3/4th's full with some Israeli couscous (from Fresh & Easy).  After stitching the opening closed, I pinked the edges.  Finally I walked around the house calling "heads up" to my kids while tossing a bean bag at them.  They worked perfectly! *wink*

table runner

This table runner took about 15 minutes to sew - no kidding!  All it needs is a 1/2 yard (background) and a 1/3 yard (center) of two coordinating fabrics.  Sew the long ends (width of fabric) into a tube, wrong sides together. Press such that the background fabric wraps around to the front evenly on both sides (for mine it was about 1 1/2 inches on each side).  Fold the short unfinished ends, back sides facing, and stitch seam.  Turn right side out and press the triangle shaped ends to the front.  Sew on a decorative button at the seam ends, and you're done!

valentine's day cards

Today I stitched up Valentine's Day cards for my sons.  I chose cardstock colors that matched personalities and scrounged through my scrap bag for happy fabrics.  No lace, no rick rack, no pink (so missing my girls today!)

This easy project idea came from a post I saw a couple of years ago at The Purl Bee.  Using a cutting blade, I removed a heart shape from the folded card front.  Then I glued a piece of fabric inside which covered the cut out.  Finally, on the front I sewed a decorative stitch around the heart. Nobody complained that his was too girly, so mission accomplished!