quilts and more quilts

Last year was a quilty year.
And here's some of the proof. And when I say some, I really mean smidgen. I have made so many quilts in the past 12 months that I'm actually a little embarrassed.
I'll begin with a quilt I made for my little grandson. Simple four patches were cut to become ...

Disappearing four patches. Here is a link to a tutorial by Material Girl which shows the block technique I used. The only difference with mine is that I didn't use a solid color with a print but instead two prints.

I made this quilt with my outdoorsy son-in-law in mind. Don't you love the little foxes in the blue fabric?

And here is baby Blake's blessing quilt made last September. I took this photo while visiting my daughter and her family for Christmas. The snow on the ground is reflecting some yellow onto the white. I hope that wasn't because .... you know what can make yellow snow!

Isn't baby precious all wrapped up in it?  The pattern is from The Big Book of Baby Quilts and is called "Wonder Baby".

Both of these quilts were backed with minky for extra warmth and snuggliness!

And my final quilt post of the day is of the gift I made for my son-in-law for Christmas.

The pattern was called Apple Crisp, but a Google search doesn't show this block for that name. Hmm.

This quilt was made from two runner kits that I had bought at the shop where I work. But I noticed that if I cut the strips very carefully, I could get 2.5" out of them instead of the intended 1.5". With bigger strips I could make bigger squares, in other words an actual quilt - albeit a scrappy one.  Because I couldn't get enough out of one strip length to complete the large square each time, I simply made occasional blocks a little hodge-podge scrappy.The solid black square in the center keeps it from looking too hobo. I hope.
Cody loved it, and that's the main thing. My daughter says he uses it almost every evening. Success!

More later ...

quilting friends

During quilting class this week, we had our end-of-year/Christmas party.  The food was beyond delicious - my favorites being the stuffed mushrooms (ok, I brought those) and the bean dip (thanks, Holley!). Our teacher, Kathy, gave each of us a quilt block "rug" made from the gorgeous Moda fabric line "Midwinter Reds".

Seeing that I had something smart to show, I finally mounted the bird cage display that I had purchased about a year ago.  I'm sorry the photo is so lousy but it's in the corner, the day is gloomy, and I only have a cell phone camera (note to Santa!).  The little hanging bobble block is something I picked up a few days ago for $4 at the quilt shop. I'm anxious to add more interesting items.

And here is the mug rug that my friend Holley gave me (yes, Holley of the favored bean dip).  She had made a different one for each person in the class.  Holley is the bomb!

And finally, here is the darling pincushion that my friend Karen made.  She gave me three to choose from and I picked the red with dots because it so nicely matched "Bernina" written on my sewing machine.
Not true.
I picked it because I had been to Disneyland the day before and it reminded me of Minnie's dress.  But it does coordinate beautifully with my machine.

Christmas is fun!

dresden dish towels

I needed simple gifts to give a few of my friends for Christmas ... something inexpensive ... something homemade ... something quick. And actually in the end I got a bonus - but more on that in a later post.

For about a year now, I have wanted to do something with the vintage towels that are sold in the quilt shop where I work. First step: buy 10 towels in five colors: berry red, bright green, pale yellow, deep sky blue, and black (sorry, not all pictured). Nest step: think of something interesting to stitch on the front using what you have on hand at home.
 So I took this ...

Made by this company ...

And these simple tools ...

To make this finished product.
I like to think of it as "half a Dresden plate is better than none!"

I packaged them all in clear treat bags and slipped a Merry Christmas cupcake pick behind a twine bow.

And because I had them, I sealed the back with a bakery sticker.

I'm thinking I need to make just one more for my son's piano teacher whom I'll see tomorrow at lessons.
You know what I'll be doing tonight ...

advent box

Last night I found a lovely store in the mall, Lemonchello's Boutique. I hadn't ventured into the shop before but what lured me in during this shopping trip was an item in their window display (you know it would have gotten you, too!). And then when I stopped to admire it inside the store and saw that the sign said 20% off, there was no turning back!  It had to come home with me. Had to.

There is a side door opens and stores a tree which fits inside a hole on the top of the box. Each day you open the appropriately numbered drawer and add to the tree the ornament inside.

I decorated (slightly) the hurricanes next to the box with a couple of things that I found in the gift wrap bucket since we don't have our Christmas decorations down from the attic yet....

This is the gorgeous glitter writing on the top. Sooo pretty!  It's probably my favorite feature.

Hopefully, this lovely advent box will inspire me to get our Christmas decorations placed in their proper positions. If I don't, the children have every right to call me Scrooge!

H - A - double L - O - double U - double E - N

Halloween is just around that old creepy corner.  Although I'm not a big fan of the holiday ... except for the chocolate ... I do "get a little pumpkin on" in spite of myself.

The trick of treat banner is an idea I copied from a Pottery Barn catalog a couple of years ago (mine is a larger version), and the bewitched refused to focus wall hanging is one you might remember from last year.  Besides an orange candle here and there, this is the sad extent of my holiday spirit.  Fortunately, no one has complained.  Otherwise I'd have to get my witch on!

Oh, yes!  I do have this quilt as a shop sample where I work.  I'll probably get it back after the holiday.

binding stack

Last night my sewing project was to get some binding made for quilts that have been dropped off or are going to be dropped off at the quilter this week.  I stack the finished rolls on a paper towel holder to keep the binding tidy until sewing time.

The first binding roll is for a brown, outdoorsy looking baby quilt; the next is for a quilt for my new grandson's blessing day; the next is for a quilt which I made for said blessing day which turned out to be too big and now has no home; the next is for a quilt where I used "Seaside" by Riley Blake and the broken dishes block; and the final is for a funky, Anthropologie looking quilt that I made from Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill line.  All will be blogged once they are finished.

my kind of fun

Twice in the past month I have attended a sewing/quilting class where you bring your own project, eat, chat, and have drawings for prizes. This type of fun is exactly why I started quilting!
Had to share with you what I won at the last event.

Luann knit this adorable (lined!) mug warmer, chose gorgeous buttons for it, and wrapped it around a hobnail-esque mug.

Love and LOVE!

baby basics

Two flannel blankets and one little knit hat for the precious newborn grandson.
Just practical stuff, but usually the stuff you need and use the most!

This blanket I bought with the holes punched for crocheting from The Fabric Mill in Provo, Utah.  I'm so happy I didn't cut into the stitches when I snipped the final thread like I did with the last one I made.  Ouch!

This blanket's edge is non-flannel.  Next time I will square the corners since I hate cutting fabric on the bias (didn't) but also hate fighting the curve when its not a bias cut (did).
All items have been shipped and are hanging out with baby.
I sure wish I were!

pirates!

When my blog is inactive, it doesn't mean that I am inactive.  Believe me, my machine is still humming away!  Last month, in spite of spending two weeks in Scotland and Ireland, I finished two quilts to give as wedding gifts (sorry, no pictures) and started two more quilts.  But as for today's post, I wanted to tell you about finishing this little collaborative project.  When my daughter was here a few months ago, I "borrowed" one of her many adorable doodle sketches.  My idea? Turn it into a needlework project!

I used a light box to transfer the sketch onto linen.  See the silver metallic thread used for the earring and sword sparkle?  The only other thread color I used was black (even his bellybutton is black!).  The shaded color on the fabric is simply Prismacolor (important) pencil applied ever so lightly. I love and only use Prismacolor pencils because of their strong pigment and soft lead.

The frame was purchased at the quilt shop where I work and then backed with a scraggly pirate-esk scrapbook paper form Hobby Lobby.

I think the little guy's name is Benjamin.  He loves to play dress-up and is anxious for his next swashbuckling adventure!!  

Later this month when I go to help my daughter's family after the birth of her new little boy, I'll bring this to her ... as well as ask for another darling doodle to take home and play with!

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