Quilt-y Progress

Remember this quilty post from way back in January? No you say? Well here is the quilt I started and am now just getting ready to finish. Eek! It's been only 7 months right? Was originally going to be a throw for the couch but will be much sweeter on baby's bed.

It also ended up quite a bit larger than crib size at about 54 x 70 inches but will transition nicely to a toddler bed and I do plan on making a couple more small blankies as well.

All of the patterned fabric is from the Nicey Jane and Modern Meadow lines - I've been hoarding saving it for several years now. Am not really a fan of all the baby blue's and these colors are perfect. If only there were a bit more orange. 

Hubby, grandma, and a few other males think it is very gender neutral - okay for a baby but not a little boy. And I suppose if you focus on the flowers, but idk. I'd never choose brown, blue and green for a little lassy.  What do you think - not boyish enough?

Just in case they are right, the back side is mostly brown with just a couple strips of blocks so it can be reversed. Two layers of batting for extra warmth and coziness. Now I just need to add the binding and it will be all ready to go!

 Hooray!!

New Quilt Fabric!!

One of my goals for last year was to sew a large quilt for the couch, buuuut I never got around to it because it's such a big, time consuming task. This year I will (start and) finish it and I have a plan to do it and am allowing myself until April to complete it. One small task at a time.

Above is the poor, neglected fabric that will go into the quilt.

And here is the tutorial I am using by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Wish me luck!

we QUILT this city

Finally, finally Mr K's quilt is completed!! Can't believe it took almost 6 months! Don't know why I have that Starship (Jefferson Starship?) song in my head but it's there to stay.

Very orange. It didn't turn out quite like I'd imagined but he still loves it. I guess I bought that orange because it was the only high quality solid at the fabric store that matched the color scheme.

Rather than quilting, I just sewed around the boxes - on the inside and outside.

I really like the contrast of the light binding on the edges. Hours and hours of hand stitching that on but the result really is worth the effort.

Right after these pics, he wanted to go inside and make the bed with his new quilt. Am sew glad he loves it!

Enjoy the sunshine today!!

weekend update

Hello! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! We've been home all day, just relaxing and I've spent the last hour putting together a big pan of manicotti - it's the first time I've made it and though wow, was it time consuming, it smells like it will be well worth the effort.(PS - We've ate and I'm still writing this post. SO good! Find the recipe here).

Anyway I just realized the final project I created for my guest stint at Design Dollies never was posted here even though the Trifecta challenge started on Monday. Eek! It's a combo of the weekly sketch, color combo and elements challenges. As a bonus, everything used here came out of the scrap bin.

Also got a little progress accomplished on my step-son's quilt that was started last fall - all that's left is the binding!!

Rather than actually quilting, I just sewed around the blocks on the inside and outside of the border. Here's a close-up:

One final project I completed this afternoon was a layout using the Feb sketch at Sweet Peach Crop Shop.

I just pulled a bunch of random colorful stuff outta my stash to coordinate with this fun photo we took modeling the dress I made last week (or was it the week before, hmmm? either way,see more details here). The girls play dress up all day long but the truth is, I love to do it just as much as they do!!

Here's a close-up of the details.

And another of my first attempt flick-misting with the end of spritz tube. Love the look! I would just die to win the kit that is the prize for the sketch challenge - their is a vinyl paper in it (from their August kit) that I am seriously coveting!! Wish me luck! xo

Fall colors

Nearly completed the little boy's quilt I've been working on this past Sunday and likely would have had it all done other than the binding if the stinkin' batting wouldn't have been too small. Somehow this quilt grew an extra 5 inches length and width-wise without me changing the original dimensions. Clearly my math skills are leaving me along with my short term memory. Sigh.

Still so ORANGE but I can live with it. Orange is usually a color I steer clear of, but for little boys it is so cuuute! Hopefully I'll hit the fabric store this week to pick up a new batting, although my mind is swirling with halloween costume ideas so this project may have to resume its place on the back burner.

Until tomorrow...

Making progress.

We had a pretty fun and busy weekend so it was nice to relax today and get some work done. All of the quilt strips for the boy quilt are together - I just need to so the in- between pieces and border together. I was really kind of surprised and initially disappointed by how in your face ORANGE the solid fabric looks against the patterned but the more I look it at, the more I am starting to like it. The in-between strips are also orange but the border will be brown so hopefully that calms down the brightness a bit. The orange was the only color I could find at Joann that was an exact match to the colors of the quilt. The brown is very close but not close enough that they would look very good side by side. I hope to get the entire front piece finished by next weekend.

On a side note, my girl friend and our three kids spent 8 grueling hours thrift shopping on Saturday - it was well worth it if only for the Van Gogh print I scored for $5 bucks. What do you think of the frame and how do you think it could be better? Gold is a little too aristocratic for my taste.

Sneak peek

Just wanted to give you a little sneak peek of the fabric I am using for my next quilt. It will definitely be a few weeks before it's completed. One day at a time.

Today was another full day and I didn't get the chance to put together the DIY project I've been planning. The "test" model is made, but I still need to photograph all the steps of the final version. It will be ready for my Sunday post for sure, so please check back then!

completed quilt and a giveaway!

After several nights of handstitching til my hand cramped, my step-daughters quilt is bound and completed! I intended to post this last night but was so exhausted from spending the day at the beach that I fell asleep as soon as I sat down on the couch.

We took some modeling shots today in the backyard.

On another note, my blog has reached 1000 views! And to thank everyone who has stopped by, I am giving away a pattern for a tablecloth, runner and placemat set from McCall's. We have at least 2-3 spills per day, so our table will have to remain bare until all the kids are much older.

Here is a picture of the pretty possibilities you can make - visit the McCall's website here for more info.

Leave a comment by Friday for a chance to win! Good luck!

1st Quilt! and a pillow sham

Well, technically, this is the third quilt I've put together, but the first that actually stayed together for more than one wash (apparently zig zag stitches are only good for stretchy fabrics) or that was quilted.

I pulled out these fabrics (Chloe's Imagination by Tina Givens) with the idea of making a pretty pillow sham for my step-daughter.

I cut two strips of each color and laid them out to make a standard 20x30 inch sham.

The pillow tucks in the back through an opening in the middle, no buttons, it just overlaps. On a side note, I would reduce the width to 28", her pillow is a bit smaller that 30" and its baggy on the sides even after washing.

Since there was so much fabric leftover, I decided to make a matching, lightweight quilt for the summer.

It turned out a little smaller than her bed, but I figure when she grows taller she can use it as a lounging on the couch quilt. Now I just need to make some binding with the leftover scraps.

Its machine quilted around each individual strip and then around the whole group of strips. Everything turned out very neat and even. I love it and more importantly, she loves it. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the lavender solid fabric from Joann's used for the backing and in between strips - it was really stretchy and threw off some of the measurements. If you have a suggestion for a better quality cotton solid, please leave a comment!

I am planning on making lots more quilts/pillows/etc- not because we need them but rather because there are so many gorgeous new fabrics that I can't justify buying until I clean out the stash I have accumulated!

Check back soon - I will be posting a bunch of new scrapbook layouts this week and hopefully this finished binding quilt.

Goodnight. xo