Back in the Saddle - um... Sewing Room

I've been back in the sewing room this week, and it feels pretty good.  I feel like I'm ready to tackle a few of the projects in there waiting for my attention, so maybe I just needed a bit of a break.

My friend Leona asked me to quilt this little mini pinwheel quilt for her, and it was a fun little project.  I outline quilted all the little twisters to emphasize the pinwheels, then carried that through to the first border.

I really love the texture the outline quilting gave this little quilt.  It feels great as I run my hand over it.

I herringbone quilted the outer border.  I really like the rhythm of quilting herringbones, even if they are far from perfect.  And I really haven't figured out corners yet.  They're getting better, though.

I'm still doing a couple of swaps - the ongoing kind, that I've been doing for a long time.  I made this little turtle for my partner in the Sewing With Friends swap.  The theme this time was pin cushions.  I meant to make this little guy last summer, but I had misplaced the pattern.  Finally found it and created this fun little critter.  The pattern is Henrietta by Heather Bailey.  So cute.  And fun to make.

Another swap I started just this year is the Handmade Birthday Swap.  I'm in the sewitsyourbirthday group.  Since my birthday is in January, I've been receiving fun little gifts for awhile, and when I have them all, I will do a big reveal.  In the meantime, this little quilted tool caddy is what I gave to the other birthday girl this month.

I filled it with a few fun little goodies too.

Always before I have pin basted my quilts, but when my sister asked me to quilt the quilt she made for my grandson, Britton, and sent it already spray basted, I began to think I was missing something.

So, at the ECMQG meeting last Saturday, I asked for expert help.  Cindy and Kim each showed me their method for spray basting and helped me spray baste a couple of quilts - the bookshelf quilt and the starflower quilt. 

So I decided to quilt the starflower quilt this week.  I have to say, I really like the spray baste.  No wrinkles or bumps, despite all the bias edges in this quilt.

I did swirls in the stars and what I called chrysanthemums in the hexagons.  It seemed to me to take for-ev-er, but I finally got the main body of the quilt done.

Now, all I have to do is figure out what to do with the borders. 

One of the fun things about having such a talented daughter is that occasionally I get asked to do something fun, like test a pattern.  This adorable little nosegay pattern was designed by my own sweet girl, known on IG and Flickr as @acraftyfox_amanda.  She and her husband own Westwood Acres Fabric, and she not only raises kids, runs a shop, and makes quilts, but she designs them as well.  Each month, in the Westwood Acres Fabrics monthly newsletter, she includes a unique pattern that she has designed especially for her customers (in fact, the starflower quilt above was one of her designs!)

This month, it's this cute little nosegay pin cushion.  She designed it to be made with Liberty Lawn, but I don't have any, so I grabbed some @annamariahorner Dowry and set to work.  In about an hour and a half, I had this adorable little pinnie.  If you haven't signed up for her monthly newsletter, you really should.  There's a link on the Westwood Acres website. And I think she just may have some Dowry left in the shop.

So, that's what I've been up to.  How about you?

Swappy Stuff and a Sandwich Basket

I've spent the last couple of days working on some swappy stuff.  I finally bought the Noodlehead divided basket pattern, and made one for my partner in the Fabric Basket Swap.  It was a popular choice, apparently, as I noticed several of these in the Flickr photo pool.  It turned out much larger than I thought it would, and would be a great size to make to hold all those small things in a nursery or even toiletries in the bathroom.  For this one, I made a patchwork panel for the outside pocket and my favorite Robert Kaufman red dot, called Spot On for both the exterior and the lining. 

The pattern recommends fusible fleece, (which might have actually been a better choice) but I used Peltex, and I'm happy with it.  I don't like floppy baskets, so I wanted this to have some substance to it.  Consequently, I perhaps should have made the lining just a tad bit smaller so it fits a little better.  An extra 1/8 inch in the seam allowance might have made all the difference.  Still, the exterior and the lining matched around the top of the basket and I like the way it turned out.  I actually made a second aqua panel and decided not to use it, so there may be another one of these divided baskets in my future - maybe a giveaway?  We'll see how long it takes me to get it done.

When I did my Weekender class at Derrel's of Pensacola, some of the ladies wanted to do a class on this Bernina Quilted Tool Caddy .  The pattern is located on the Bernina website.  It's a really cute item but the instructions were... um... very hard to follow.  No wonder these ladies wanted a class.  I've been working to perfect the caddy and the instructions before I teach a class on them later this month. 

It measures 6" x 8" and can be made from 3 fat quarters.  Not a bad size, but honestly, I wish it was a little bigger.  It would be great if it really held a 6" x 8" cutting mat and a full size pair of scissors.  I may see if I can create one a little larger.  And I've figured out that if you cut it just right, you can make TWO from four fat quarters.  A pretty good return on your investment, I think.  One for a gift and one for me!  This one is in Flower Sugar, from a "warm" bundle I bought from my favorite fabric shop last time she did a remnant sale.  I sent this one off to my swap partner in the Simple and Sweet Scrappy Swap.

I really like having these random but coordinated fat quarters in my stash. (Aren't they pretty?!)  They have come in so handy already.  I hope she does another sale soon.

This one is Nicey Jane.  This one is the sample for my class.

Here's the inside....

And then I started another set with DS quilts, Baby Jane in aqua and...

Happy Go Lucky.  They are getting easier. This one still needs a flower or a button or something on the front, but that shouldn't take long.  This one will be for my partner in another swap I can't mention yet.  And there's one more, but no pictures yet.

Now to perfect the instructions....

And, just because they were in the background of the divided basket picture above, I thought I'd show you the quilts I sandwiched last week.  Brings a whole new meaning to the term "Sandwich Basket", doesn't it???  Can I just say that it feels so GOOD to have these ready to quilt!

So what have you been working on?