Last Quilt of the Year!

I'm definitely not going out with a bag this year - picture wise!  You only get one so I'll make it large.  See if you can find my 4 boys in this picture...the last one is hard to spot (but you can easily see his hand!)

My oldest daughter has had these fabrics picked out for over 1 year now.  She said that she would help if I made her quilt for her bed.  How could I refuse the help?  That doesn't happen very often.  We used the tube method for a trip around the world and she seem ripped them open and did all the ironing.  It really went together so fast.  I made a quarter section at a time having to add 1 row and 1 column down the centers.  She wanted it finished before we started school again (which we did today).  It is now washed and on her bed.  Happy daughter, happy mom!

This makes 26 quilts, 5 pillow cases, 1 ironing board cover, and 1 premie baby (who's doing great) for this year.  Hope to make more than that next year!

Some Cute Pillow Cases

The kids needed a gift for church for a couple families so we made these cute pillow cases. One is for a family with 3 boys.  I had some football fabric and the semi solids set aside for a quilt.  But they seemed the perfect fit.  These pillow cases are super easy.  It's the sausage roll method.  Here's the tutorial.

These two were for a family with 2 girls, one was 2 an one was 8 years old.

I didn't add the band between the main fabric and the end piece.  Trying to make things easy.  No french seams either.  I figured the kids wouldn't notice!

Christmas Quilt

Yeah!  Our very first Christmas/Winter quilt is ready for the couch!  Even got to take a picture of it out in the ice.  Yes I said ice!  We don't get much snow in southern Oklahoma.  If we do it only lasts for a day.  But this ice has been here for a week!  My brave husband walked out there so I could take this picture.  Thanks honey!  And a big thanks to my oldest daughter for all the ironing she did to help me finish this quilt!  

This is the block I used for my quilt.  I'm trying to branch out more and try new things.  The sewing of these blocks wasn't so bad...    

but the waste of precious fabric was huge!

 This is the pile of scraps from cutting off and trimming up those rectangle blocks.  Agh!  And they are little triangles that can't be used.  While I love the quilt, I will never use this pattern again.  Much too much waste. 

On a good note though, I backed this quilt with red snowflake flannel that almost exactly matches the red snowflake on the font.  Nice and snuggly!  Next year I hope to make some more.  One is not enough to cover 8 kids on the couch!  Merry Christmas everyone!!!

New Iron Board Cover!

Why do I put things this easy off for so long?  I don't know.  I was not looking forward to making this ironing board cover.  Bad memories from the last one made too tight and I couldn't get it off without cutting it I suppose.  Well this beauty only too an hour or so plus a quick trip to get some elastic.  I've had this thick fabric picked out for probably a year!  While the baby was sleeping and my daughter was wrapping the last 2 presents I whipped up this cover.

I used this tutorial from Angela Osborn.  I had 4 different directions pinned but this one seemed the best.

I even used some "I love you" fabric that ended up in my stash somehow.  That kind of fabric doesn't seem appropriate to give to a stranger...

You should update yours too, it really makes the room look more cheery now!  No more burnt spots!

Rail Fence Three Ways

Rail Fence 3 Ways - Okay it's really only 2 ways and one scrappy, but we'll get to that in a minute. I was getting ready to teach a few ladies how to quilt and I thought this pattern would be perfect for that, but that plan fell through, especially with Emma home!  But I had started getting ready back in October for this.  So might as well make them anyway right?  I plan on giving them to a local nursing home, so they are a smaller lap size quilt.  

The first one is a traditional layout with 3 fabrics creating 2 running strips.  Love these colors, so bright and cheerful!

The second one is three fabrics too but with the blocks laid out to form pinwheels.  This one didn't look good in the original layout.  I guess I picked the wrong color to be in the middle.  But it looks good this way.

The final one is a traditional layout with the black on the outside to make a runner.  But I cut up all my brown and green scraps to do the other to sets.  I alternated the browns and greens on each block.  Half the blocks have green on the bottom and half have brown.  I meandered on the scraps and straight line quilted on the black.  

 Making these small quilts was so rewarding for me because they quilted up so fast.  The binding was super fast also.   It's amazing how good finishing some quilts feels!  I haven't gotten to finish anything since Emma came home.  Glad to be getting something done!  Christmas quilt will be done next - the last one of the year for me!

Emma's Home and Her Quilt!

Emma came home tuesday from her 11 week stay in the NICU!!!  She weighs 4 lb 15 oz about triple from when she was born.  Her first night home was rough, but her second was great.  We are getting into hang of things now.  It's a little different having a premie because she has to have her milk fortified and I can only nurse her 2 times a day.  Lots of extra work to get that accomplished.  But I have some helpers who love to feed and hold the baby!

Here's the quilt I made for her play pen. And 2 of her lovely sisters!

The plus quilt pattern seems to be a current favorite.  Soft teal and orange high light the pretty flower fabric not really shown well in the photos.

I stippled for a quick and easy finish

Not much sewing to be done for a while!

All Ready for Baby

Yep, I'm finally ready for baby Emma to come home from the hospital. And it will hopefully be this week!  She now has proper bedding to sleep beneath both upstairs and down.  This one is for her bed, I have another I will show later for her playpen.  I put pink minky on the back to keep her extra warm and it's so soft.  

 The top picture shows the right color.  The lighting in her room is terrible!  And I think I put her bumper on backwards.  It's made of minky too (but not by me) just a slightly lighter shade.  Her sister likes it since pink is her favorite color, so I think Emma will too.

7 Things I Learned Making a King Size Quilt

Finally got this one finished!  Yeah!  This is a king size quilt 108 x 108.  Possibly a little to long, but nice and wide.  I loaded this on the quilting machine before I finished the bumpers for the crib...agh!  Now I had to finish it because Emma should be coming home soon and she needs her bed.  Do you know how long it takes to quilt a king size quilt?  Especially when you are not doing an all over pattern?  Way Too Long!

Things I learned making this quilt (and don't want to forget...)

1.  This thing is huge.  Think twice before making another one.  (The bad thing is I have one more planned and fabric bought.)

2.  The last and only time I have ever made a king size quilt was 3 and a half years ago when I was pregnant with my 7th child.  This time I was pregnant with #8.  Didn't finish either quilt until after the baby was born. And last time I took the top to the local shop to have it quilted.  Nice but expensive.

3.  Patterns designed for a bed look different on paper than they do on the bed.  See here. Once the top was finished, I changed the bottom of it because I didn't like it on the bed.  I guess I forgot that it hangs down on the three sides and isn't flat.  duh.

4.  I almost cut the quilt top into 4 square lap quilts because I wan't sure I was going to like it.  I would have too but the back was already cut into strips and not big enough for separate quilts.  Pick a pattern that you know you will be happy with for a long time.  Don't try something experimental on your bed!  What are you going to do with a king size quilt you aren't in love with?

3. I love the look of straight line quilting, but hate doing it on my longarm despite the fact that it has horizontal locks.  Getting the quilt to roll even is tricky.  Especially when the quilt is so big.

4. Meandering is my all time favorite go to pattern.  Why?  Because it goes so quickly.  I quilted all the colors in less time than I quilted the white.  One note - don't try to meander when you're tired.  It doesn't look so pretty.

5.  Solid quilts need lots of texture.  I had planned on quilting each color a different way.  Once I quilted the white straight and meandered the blue I was so tired of this quilt and opted for the easy way out.

6.  You can't custom quilt a top in different colors and expect the back of the quilt to look just as good.  I was planning on a 2 sided quilt, but the quilting on the back has ruined, in my opinion, the look of the stripes.  I didn't even bother taking a picture because it is so bad.  If you're going to make a 2 sided quilt, pick one color of thread and an all over quilting pattern!!!

7.  Once you finish the quilt, you now need to make pillow cases and pillows to go with the bed!

Blue and White Quilt

Half square triangles are far from my favorite thing to do, but I love this quilt!  It really wasn't as bad as I always make HST out to be. I might even make another one.  This fabric is all from JoAnns, yep it was the quilter's showcase line that goes on sale for $2.50 a yard!  I have used it before and it makes a lovely quilt.  Feels and looks just like fabric that costs more.  The white is Kona, as I only use Kona.   I guess I'm a Kona snob.  My daughter has a quilt made from purples and greens quilter's showcase fabric and it is holding up to washings and wear very nicely.  The back reminds me of a present and was a slightly different way to put it together.  Love it!

Two Color Quilt - Purple

PATTERN is now available in  my shop here.

I started this quilt (and a few others) before the long stay in the hospital.  I have been spending as much time as I can trying to get caught up on my quilts before baby Emma comes home.

Love this pattern, but the solid colors made it a little plain.  So I picked out a variegated purple thread to quilt it.  It wasn't the exact shading that I wanted because it never went to white.  You can hardly tell that it changes colors.  Hmmm....it would be easier to see on a dark quilt.  I was hoping that the curves in the quilting would soften the straight lines of the quilt.  I'll see it better once it's washed!

Emma's First Baby Quilt

It's so nice to be back to sewing after such a long break!  I decided to start with something small for Emma since she is so small herself.  I made her this coin quilt and put minky on the back.  This was my first time quilting with minky and it went real smoothly.  The only thing that I noticed was it's a little thicker when I put the binding on.  Still no problems with the sewing machine or the Big Lady.

Quilting is free motion hearts and loops.

Baby Emma is Here!

My little girl was born Wed morning at 1:47 am (25 weeks) weighing only 1 lb 11 oz!  But she is doing great in the NICU.  I have never seen anything so tiny!  Meet Emma Grace - 

We are believing and trusting God to take care of her with leaps and bounds so she can come home!

Some sad news...

I just wanted to let my readers know that I will not be posting for quite some time.  You man know that I am pregnant with baby number 8.  I have been on bed rest for the last 2 weeks, the last week in the hospital.  We just found out that my water broke 2 weeks ago and didn't know it.  I also have placenta previa which is bleeding.  Anyway, I have to stay in the hospital until baby girl is born which is anytime from now to 34 weeks.  I'm only 24 weeks right now.  And then if she comes early, that means NICU and no sewing.
The no sewing part is bad, but I really miss my family who are an hour and a half away.  They do get to come see me once in a while.  So while I have 3 quilt tops done and 1 on the big lady halfway quilted, it will be a while until I can finish them.  But after baby girl is born and doing well, I will get back to sewing! Thanks for reading and have a great summer and start of fall!

A Request From a Princess

One day in a land far, far away (well actually it was the sewing room), a little princess came to the queen of the land and made a request.  "I need a quilt for my baby", she said.  "We can do that," the queen replied.  So I gave it some thought and decided it would be much fun for the princess to lay out her own quilt.  We pulled out all the scraps and she choose her favorites.   

The pieces were cut into 2.5 and 4.5 squares and the oldest princess came to help layout the blocks.  I intended to have only 6 blocks that were 8 inches, but oldest princess got confused and the blocks ended up being 12".  

Of course there is still part of the story that is needed to understand it completely.  My princess is only 3 years old.  She loves pink and purple.  Hence the pink in the quilt. (I don't have much purple scraps!)

She thinks she has a baby in her tummy (just like the queen) and this quilt if for her. Or him.  It changes regularly! Or maybe it is for the king as she let him use it once. But then she took it back...

She has now learned that all the pink squares can not sit by one another.  They need to be spread out!  That lesson only took 4 blocks to learn!  I hope my little princess still likes to put quilts together 10 years from now since my older 2 princesses don't care to do so!

To end the story, a picture of the quilt back also made of scraps.  It was quilted freehand loops and hearts. One quilt fit for a princess (or her baby) free of charge.

THE END

Designing A Modern Quit

Wow, have I been busy cutting today!  Both the top and the bottom of this 2 sided quilt have been cut! 21 yards of fabric.  Whew! Here's the design plan I came up with.  It was inspired by the black and gray quilt on this post.  This quilt is for my room which is painted  a dark chocolate brown.  I say it looks like hershey bars on the walls!  This quilt should liven it up a bit.

This is the front fabrics ready to be  laid out. I finished that too today, but since it was laid out one row at a time and piled up, I didn't take a picture.

Pattern for the back.  I wanted a 2 sided quilt, but something my husband would like.  Stripes are a nice fit.

Backing fabric ready to be sewed in sets of 3 WOF wide!  I haven't decided on the quilting yet.  I really like the different types of quilting on the inspiration quilt, but I am not sure how that would look on the back. I wanted to quilt each color in it's own thread, but that might really mess up the back.  Any suggestions?

Linking up with Sarah:

A Blue and Green Quilt