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Baby Quilt DONE!!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
It has been done for a few days but I'm just getting time to post it.
Completed quilt:
Quilt Back:
Standard folded up shots:
I'm so happy to have this done! It is the biggest quilted project I've made so far! I've only made 2.5 table runners previously. (I've yet to finish my Easter one.) Baby girl and I used the quilt yesterday for napping together on the living room floor. It fits nicely over my arms and around her little body.
I learned a lot while making this quilt. I learned for small projects like this I can sandwich & baste (spray or pins) on the wall. That I should plan out the desired quilting method BEFORE I actually start quilting. That I should take into account what the quilting will look like on the back. That having contrasting thread on the back isn't horrible after all. That I need to try a different method of binding- I'm not all that pleased with the final pass of stitching.
All in all, however, I love it! From the front it looks really nice, I must say. The back would be just as nice if only I'd done a different method of tacking the binding on. No biggie though. The quilt is utilitarian for sure; it wasn't made for storing away as an heirloom.
So, I haven't done anything quilting related since... oh golly, this Spring. I've missed it. All my stuff just sits around calling out to me--- sew me! But baby "G" needed some things sewn or crocheted first, not to mention just the limited amount of "free time" with a new baby in the house.
BUT, this morning I couldn't get back to sleep after her early morning nursing session so I piddled around in the office. Eventually I found myself looking through my fabric stash and came across a partial Moda Charm Pack (1974 by Urban Chicks)... here's what I had left of it.
And here's what I did with it in quick snippets of sewing time today ...
**Don't worry, it does lie straight, just didn't hang it too straight on the wall!**
For now it is just a baby-size quilt top... awaiting a backing to be pieced together and all the rest of the quilting steps.
I'm happy with the results. Can't wait to finish it! It will make a nice "throw blanket" for the living room floor for Baby "G" once it is all quilted up and squishy!
I finally finished the new babywrap. It was on my sewing machine in a partially hemmed condition for, oh gosh, about two weeks. I was only able to work on it in tiny snippets of time until this weekend. Luckily a 30 minute stint of time appeared for me with baby "G" content playing with Daddy and I finished it.
This time I made it from a woven cotton fabric- just some lightweight fabric I've had for years and years. The pocket is made from a cotton kid ribbing with an elastic opening. I made it a nice size for my wallet, a diaper, wipes, etc. Now all I have to do is get USED TO WEARING a woven wrap! I still only know ONE general carry/wrap for now (simple cross-wrap carry), need to learn more ways to wrap/tie/carry. But with baby "G" probably pushing 15 pounds or so now (will be 8 wks old on Wednesday) a woven wrap was certainly called for as far as wraps go!
Anyway, here's a couple pictures my hubby snapped this weekend...
For other babywearing photos of us of wraps and slings I've made, please click over to here.
A Green Lean Towards Spring
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
So in my attempt to practice and improve my quilting skills while also decorating the table, I completed another table runner on Monday, this time for MARCH!
The top, looking down from one end.
The backside. I pieced this together "more fanciful" than I had
planned due to leftover fabric scraps!
The label.
I'm still working to improve my border
stitching and lettering, but at
least it is better than last month's!
Close-up of loopy meandering and binding.
I used Sulky Blendables thread. LOVE the non-uniformity of the color variegation!
I used this thread for the meandering (top and bobbin threads) and for the top thread
only for the binding. I used white in the bobbin for the binding.
I used a stitch already programmed into my machine to do the final attaching of the binding.
It is demonstrated at this website, though too! her two-part video is super!
Overall I'm pleased with the results. This was a definite learning project for me. From creating blocks that have a PARTIALLY sewn seam like the TWIST BLOCK does, to learning a bit about thread weights, to backing piecing-- all were opportunities to grow and learn.
I've already picked out fabrics, a pattern, and started on a table runner for APRIL! Stay tuned for that early next month!
Pineapples- But Not in Hawaii
Friday, February 27, 2009
Between organic produce delivery clubs, salad bars, and now quilting, I've dealt with way more pineapple while living here in Illinois than I ever did while living on Oahu.
Here's my latest brush with pineapples, this time for a quilt block swap:
Ten Pineapple Blossom blocks.
These are not sewn together, they're still individual blocks, ready for swapping.
I used the instructions over at Quiltville.com to piece them together.
They were a lot of fun to do, and not difficult at all!
So, I'll be putting these into the mail early next week and then eagerly awaiting the arrival of ten DIFFERENT blocks from other people in the swap. I think while I'm waiting I'll go ahead and make two additional blocks in order to get three "full pattern rotations" and be able to make it into something. Or, who knows... maybe I'll feel like just keeping them on hand and adding to them from time to time to eventually make them all into something larger.
After hanging out at Quiltville off and on since I started quilting, I've come to love many of the ideas for scrappy quilts that are shown there. I went there to read about the Scrap User's System and soon found myself clicking all over the website, reading this and that and other things! It is very addicting and fun.
Here are a couple things of my own that I've started since reading Bonnie's website:
This block was inspired by the String Quilting Primer. I used a piece of tracing paper, squared up to 8.5", as I don't seem to have a phone book in the house! (Gotta love Yahoo yellow pages) I'll be making more over time, eventually to turn into something fantastic, right?! LOL
And these random bits are (so far) four sections of "crumbs" sewn together. I just LOVE, LOVE sewing these up!
I don't particularly LIKE the quilt that is shown on the top of the crumbs webpage, but figured a block of crumbs can be turned into most anything with enough of them, right?! I keep my pieced crumb "wanna-be-blocks" actually under my sewing machine extension table, nice and handy. I can add a crumb(s) to it anytime! None of them are very big right now as I'm trying to GROW the quantity currently so the fabric crumbs, as they accumulate, can be spread among a lot of "blocks" and not just a few.
Additionally, I have a recipe box (cause that's what I could find, not optimal, but it works for now) for sewing leaders/enders. Right now they're mostly red triangles and white triangles from having made my Valentine themed table runner, but rectangles are starting to show up in there, too. This little pink box sits to my right side, right by my thread cone holder, easy to grab.
Since I've just begun (again) sewing, quilting to be exact, my fabric stash is small, and my stash of scraps is even smaller. Slow and steady for me though. I'm trying to not get too ahead of myself. (Yes, really, Mom!) I have another fabric order that should arrive this evening via UPS. It contains some specific fabrics I selected for upcoming Fat Quarter swaps as well as our 9Patch swaps. Oh, and best of all, some much needed fabrics for a quilting project I've already started. (more on that in the future!)
To wrap up this blog post, let me share just PART of the delight that welcomed me from the mail yesterday...
"But what *IS* it?" you ask?
Well, it is just PART of a nice sized baggie of FABRIC SCRAPS that Melanie sent me as a "KISS" (aka, R.A.K, aka- Happy day present)! Yesterday evening I pressed out a lot of what was in the baggie, which is what is shown in the photo above.
A stack of strings/strips,
some "stubs" (a newly coined term of my own that means... fabric the typical widths of strips, but too short to be a string and too long to be a brick.. LOL),
some bricks,
and some squares
I even separated out the Christmas scraps & the patriotic scraps
and made a little pile of what I call "kid prints"
I haven't tackled pressing/cutting/trimming up the misc. irregularly cut pieces that were in the baggie yet. It was a lot of fun. LOL-- yes, I said FUN, pressing fabric bits while in a CLOSET no less! HA! And as my husband (and Mom) knows, I HATE ironing clothes... but fabrics, not too bad.
Here's a peek at a project on the horizon... well, that is, once I DECIDE exactly what it is I want to do with them! I have a few ideas, just need to settle on one!
The apple print fabric caught my eye immediately and I just HAD to have it (bought 1 yard.) The blue I bought 3/4 yards and the brown/green I bought a mere 1/2 yard. Nothing too big, just enough to whip up something fun!
The top, looking down from one end.
The backside. I pieced this together "more fanciful" than I had
The label.
Close-up of loopy meandering and binding.
Ten Pineapple Blossom blocks. 
You can buy these fabrics and more at 
