Welcome Wee Ones

I have several friends who are expecting little ones - in fact, one of these sweet little ones was just born yesterday - the first boy after 6 girls!  Woo hoo!  I'm sure his parents are excited.

I missed my friend's baby shower because unfortunately it was the same day as the ECMQG A&E Field Trip (you can read all about it here and here.)  And, of course, I hadn't made the gift yet.  (Don't tell, but I bought the fabric for this one at the A&E field trip.)

It's finished now though, and I delivered it this morning.  I hope little Kai likes it, and that it keeps him warm and snuggly.

The fabric is mostly Tula Pink Salt Water with a few random pieces added.  The pattern is the Charm Baby Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman.  I quilted it with just loops because that was the kind of mood I was in.  Loops are so fast and easy, and you don't really have to think...  and before you know it, it's done.  Especially baby quilts.  I really like making baby quilts.

I also had need to make a girl quilt, and I chose this Swanky jelly roll by Chez Moi that was just sitting on the shelf.  Bright and cheerful and girly without being too pink, don't you think?  The pattern is a new design called Ribbon Candy by Diane of From Blank Pages, and I believe it'll be out very soon.   Diane asked that I not share photos of the full quilt yet, so here's just a snippet of what it looks like.  I really love these fabrics for a baby girl quilt. I quilted it with all-over loops also.  As I said, I was just in that kind of mood.

Sometimes, I really love a quick finish project.  Makes me feel so productive, you know?

Weekender Travel Bag #Sew Mama Sew Giveaway - FINISHED!

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I couldn't wait for "sweet light" to introduce you the Weekender Travel Bag I made for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway.  (If you are entering the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post - comments left anywhere else, while oh-so-welcome, will not count as entries for the giveaway.)

As you can see, I used mostly Amy Butler Lark for the quilted outside panels of the bag.  I am actually really excited about these chevrons, you know - these were some of the "bonus HSTs" (I made the HSTs as I was making the flying geese - a suggestion I read somewhere - Flickr, maybe?)  I had left over from all those flying geese in Amanda's Swoon Quilt that I made her for Christmas.  You can read about the Swoon quilt here and here.   I really love creating things out of scraps.  It makes me feel so thrifty!  And I really had a blast creating this bag.  (And now that I've re-read the Swoon posts, I think I'm going to have a really hard time giving this baby away.  Luckily, there are lots more HSTs if I decide to make another bag.)  If you'd like to make one, I think Amanda still has some Lark in her shop.

Here's the other side.  While the color combinations are basically the same, the fabrics on both sides are different, partly because I didn't have enough of any one fabric, and partly because I thought it was a fun way to create the bag.  Making the bag wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.  The most time consuming part was quilting the outside.

Not a single wordy-dirty on this project, can you believe it?  A bunch of bent pins, but that was to be expected (I really have to get some of those quilting binder clips.)  And only two broken needles - one because I didn't screw the needle in tight enough and it came loose while I was sewing - oops!  The other because the needle I was using was too small.  In the instructions, Amy recommends a size 16 needle and sewing s-l-o-w-l-y.  I think she means it!  I didn't have any 16's, but I did use an 18 for most of the bag construction (after I broke the size 12 needle, of course), and it worked perfectly.  I used most of Elizabeth Hartmann's suggestions for the bag, including using cotton duck instead of peltex, and I really like the sturdiness and heft of the bag.  If I do make this bag again, I'll use this same idea. 

I decided to vary my chevrons a bit for the end pockets.  I kinda wish I'd thought of that sooner.  It's really fun!

I used texty prints as filler - and also because I thought it was really fun.  And the piping is a texty print I stole scavenged from Amanda when she made her Weekender last fall.

It has a double zipper...

And my favorite divided pocket inside - perfect for cell phone, keys, and other small objects you don't want to lose in the bottom of the bag.

I'm so excited about this project!  I sure hope the winner likes it!

A Blockwork Orange - WIP Completed

 I was reading someone's blog the other day, and she commented that it isn't her having too much fabric in her stash that makes her anxious, but all those unfinished projects laying around.  I tend to agree.  I have too many projects in various stages of completion to be truly comfortable starting a new project.

And I have so many projects in my head, just waiting for a few minutes of my time.  I try not to set ultimatums for myself.  I don't like to tell myself, "You can't start anything new until you finish at least one unfinished project."

But sometimes, that is the way I feel.

So, I am proud to announce that I have finished another WIP!  (Everyone, please say, "Yay!")  It is so satisfying to get them out of the basket - sandwiched, quilted, bound, voila!

Last spring, I joined a Flickr block swap aptly named A Blockwork Orange, based on Elizabeth Hartmann's wonky 9-patch lattice tutorial.  I made the blocks, sent them off, got the swapped blocks in exchange, and promptly stuck the fun mail package up on the shelf - too often, never to be heard from again.

But sometime in November, believe it or not, I actually put the quilt top together.  I made mine quite a bit bigger than the original.  I hate to keep tugging at a quilt to try to keep all of me warm, so the size of her quilt didn't work for me.  I like quilts at least 54" x 70" or so. Elizabeth's quilt had 27 wonky 9-patch blocks, plus the appropriate white lattice squares.  This one has 43 9-patch squares and proportionally more white squares as well.  The 9-patch tutorial makes 9 blocks at a time, so I have 2 blocks I didn't use.  Not sure what I will do with those....

Anyway, once I finished the top, I put it back in my project basket where it sat for awhile.  It is so easy to lose enthusiasm for a project when that happens, don't you think?

Last Saturday, I got it out and sandwiched it, but didn't have time to get the quilting done.  And I am purely worthless during the week, and this week was worse than most.

So, yesterday morning, I got up and started quilting.  And despite the interruptions, actually had it bound before I went to bed.

I picked this orange birdie backing from JoAnn's.  I couldn't find a thing at my LQS that I wanted to back this quilt.  This fabric is so fun, it makes me happy.  And it has a very nice hand.  I really like it.

Isn't this cute?

And I picked this cute polka dot fabric for the binding.  Also from JoAnn's BTW.  I L-O-V-E it. 

This is just a happy quilt, and makes me smile.

Crazy 9-Patch MIAGIA Blocks

The other night I dropped by the Pensacola Quilter's Guild MIAGIA (Make It And Give It Away) sewing night and picked up a ziplock bag full of random fabrics. Over the weekend, I made this quilt top.

Once this quilt top was done, I had  some fabric left over. I've been dying to try Elizabeth Hartmann's Crazy 9-Patch blocks in some more random fabrics, and this was my chance.

Since the fabrics I had left were mostly fat quarters, there was not enough to put the same fabrics in every block, which is really OK with me.  I wanted all 27 of the blocks to be different.  And, the point of this exercise was to see how the blocksturned out with a less defined color scheme.  Here are my 3 sets of blocks:

So, now I'm wondering - whatcolor should I use for the lattice blocks.  Not white, I think.  Not brown either. I really want the blocks to "pop".  I thought about a dark green.  Hmmm.  I'm open to suggestions. Let me know your thoughts!

In the Mail

Today's post is all about mail.  Sending and receiving.  Mail - mail that is NOT bills, that is.  The kind of mail that is inherently good.  WH has even begun commenting on the fun little (and sometimes not so little) envelopes and boxes that come in the mail.  Today he greeted me with a big smile and "You got some more fabric in the mail today!"  Fun, fun, fun!

First, the outgoing mail.  I mailed the 27 A Blockwork Orange blocks to the swap mama.  I can't wait to get my 27 different blocks back!  How cool is that?  But, I do have to admit that I liked the blocks I made a lot...  I may have to make some more of them, since I didn't keep any.  I wonder if Elizabeth's pattern works in multiples of 9, or if 27 is optimum?  I'll have to check it out.

I also mailed BD#2's finished Sugar Rush quilt.  It is such a good feeling to finish a project and get it off to where it is supposed to go.  I hope she likes it as much as I do.

And I mailed these little guys, but I can't say where they went just yet.  Let's just say they are now winging their way all over the world.  Literally.

And in today's mail, I got my first two Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks for my GMFG quilt.  Aren't they pretty?

And I received the fabric for the blocks I am supposed to make for spontaneousthreads in the Christmas Fabric Bee.  She wants us to use the mod mosaic tutorial by Elizabeth Hartmann to create her blocks.  I've been wanting to try this, so it sounds like fun!

And a week or two ago, I received the fabric for the other two QBs in the CF Bee.  This one is for Fairly Merry.  Check out the pretty fabric for the center square.  The photo seriously doesn't do it justice.

And this package is for Singings - and has real silk in it.  Oh-so-elegant...  Just lovely!

And I thought it was amusing that when I put the three packages all together, they were in identical envelopes.  Funny, huh?  No wonder WH can tell when I get fabric in the mail!

And I've been neglecting telling everyone about the other cool mail I got.  BD#! sent me the most wonderful package the other day.  It was an assortment of Freebird by MoMo and Garden Party by Anna Maria Horner.  YUMMY!!!  And she also sent me a complete set of templates for my Single Girl quilt.  I really have to get going with that one.  I am so far behind....  It is awfully nice to have the templates cut though.  That much less work to do!

I also received my next-to-last set of charm squares in the Chronic Seamstress charm square swap.  So pretty.  The last ones were supposed to come from Louis in the UK and be Liberty fabrics, so I hope they come.  He said he mailed them way back in February.  I don't know of anyone who got squares from him, though.  Hope they're not lost!

 And I think I mentioned I got my order from Pink Chalk fabrics.  So fast.  And isn't it a great collection???  They were all on sale.  The Spirit charm squares were $4.48 and the other fabrics were all about the same per yard.  I could have bought more (oh yeah!) but I exercised a great deal of restraint and stuck with adding to my collections rather than embarking on something new.  In this lot is the Weekends by Erin McMorris, It's a Hoot by MoMo, and one piece of Central Park, because my LQS doesn't have any of the Lawn Zoo, for some reason.  To me, it's the piece de resistance of the entire collection.  Go figure.

Finally, I "won" this ugly fabric in the Save the Uglies giveaway.  I don't think there were many entrants, but I'm going to go ahead and try to make something beautiful out of this.  I actually think the dark brown is kinda nice, but the orange-ish fabric has Halloween words on it.  I decidedly do not want to make a Halloween quilt.  Do you think I can cut pieces small enough that the words are just random letters, and not words like "trick or treat" or "pumpkins"?  We'll see...