Stockings!

We are getting close to Christmas so this is finish is none to soon!  With the arrival of our daughter this year we are finally staying home for Christmas, this means that we actually need stocking at our house this year!  I decided to make our stockings this year and had a jelly roll of Aspen frost by Basic Grey in the sewing room.

I used the template from Imagine Gnats and loosely used her tutorial, but used jelly roll strips instead.

They turned out great and I am excited to use them this year.  Now the hard part is deciding who gets each one!

Oh, and this another thing crossed off my Finish a long Q4 list (found here)!

Linking up to: Needle and Thread Thursday, Finish it up Friday

Frozen Flakes

This month our guild was doing a challenge for a swap – frozen inspired mini quilts! We wanted to do something wintery but not in the traditional red and green Christmas theme. I knew I wanted to do something inspired by snowflakes and was going to do some raw edge applique, but then my machine broke. I had only my backup machine that I haven’t used in year, and that I don’t like doing applique with.

It took me a while to figure out a new plan, but when going through a drawer in my sewing table I discovered my Lil’ Twister ruler. I had bought this ruler during the holidays last year and then forgot I had it! I hadn’t even tried it out yet, so this was perfect to give it a shot.

I quilted with random freehand “straight” lines with various spacing at an angle, inspired by following the tracks of slowly falling snowflakes.

I think it all turned out great and is off to its new home. Hopefully someone will be happy with this for the swap!

Linkups: Fabric Tuesday, Sew Cute Tuesday, Lets Be Social

Bum Pants

So my quilting machine has been in for a tune up for the last week, so I am using my old really basic Brother.  There is nothing wrong with the machine, just a simple cheap machine that I got when I first started (my first 3 quilts were made and quilted on this machine), but what is nice is that it has a few stitches other than straight.  I thought while I had it out and had a zigzag stitch available I would try making something for my little girl.

I had ordered a pair of “bum pants” for her, but I won’t get them for a while as they are being custom made by a local business My Sunshine Creations, and it is the holiday season.  There was a sale on Etsy for Black Friday and I was able to get a pattern for 50% off – so I thought I would make my first clothing item since my middle school home economics class.

The pants are made with knit fabrics so they are stretchy and the cuffs roll up so you can make them longer as she grows – which is awesome as she has already got some long legs and outgrows her pants like crazy!  They also have lots of room in the bum to fit over those fat little diaper bums.  Not only that but they are adorable.  I am a huge fan of how this turned out and have promptly ordered more fabric in cute prints.  I still can’t wait to get my pair I ordered, but these will hold me over!They are currently rolled up as far s they will go, so she has lots of room to grow into them, yay!

 

Link ups: Fabric Tuesday, Sew Cute Tuesday, Lets Be Social

Block of the Month!

I have finished my blocks the December block of the month with my local guild. As a treat for the guild, I did an extra variation this month!

Want to see the rest of the blocks we have been working on?  Check out the guild page here for each of the blocks and the guild flickr here for some of our member’s blocks!

Surfing Penguin

So I am crossing more presents of my Gift list!  I have another pillow finished for someone for Christmas.  It was made to compliment the VW van pillow from last week (which was featured on Sew Cute Tuesday at BlossomHeart Quilts this week, yay!!).  This little penguin is all ready for the beach with his surfboard! I just wish I had some thicker white fabric as you can see through it a bit.

The pillow has an envelope back with surfboards.  I tried to make the surfboard on the front tie in the the backing fabric.  I think it turned out well, and it looks nice hanging out with my Christmas Monkey quilt!

Here are the pillows together – I love how well they go together!  They are now all wrapped up and ready to be shipped off to their new home for Christmas!  One more crossed off my Finish a long list!

Link ups this week: Sew cute Tuesday, Fabric Tuesday, Lets Bee Social,

Coastal Cruiser

I am busy working on some Christmas presents for this year, because as we all know handmade presents are the best! First on my finishes for this year’s Christmas is a pillow for my brother in law.

My bother in law loves VW vans (well so does my Husband for that matter) and has been restoring one for the last few years. I knew when I saw the Coastal cruiser by Tula Pink pattern last year that it would be perfect for him, but at the time he was living with a bunch of guys and I had a feeling that a throw pillow would not be highly appreciated. He has since moved and I was told that his living room needed some color, so I am hoping this pillow will do trick.

The van is done in raw edge applique and I hand embroidered the logo before putting it on the pillow.  I love the way the colours turned out – like a van driving down the beach.  The only thing I think it is missing – a surfboard on the roof!

Well, that is one more thing to cross of my Finish a long list for this year! Now onto the second pillow!

Link ups: Lets Bee Social, Sew Cute Tuesday, Needle and Thread Thursday

Quilts of Valour

In honour of upcoming Rememberance day and the 100th Anniversay of World War 1 I am posting about a great project I was lucky enough participate in. 

At a recent Creative Stitches show the Quilts of Valour people had a booth with a set up of cute mugs.  When I asked what they were I learned about their Hugs Project (or Hugs from across the Nation).  I don’t have time right now to make a full quilt for the Quilts of Valour but I can easily make a block to help get quilts made!  I picked up a mug which came with the pattern for a shoofly block and the fabric to make it.

I have my block all ready and ready to send off to be put together into a quilt.  I am looking forward to making more of these in my spare time to help get more quilts to soldiers.  For more information on the project check out the Quilts of Valour website.

New Block for Guild

The last week I have been working on a new block for my Modern Guild’s Block of the Month.  This month is a string block, and I decided to do mine as a sort of rainbow starburst.  I love the way it turned out and now I think I need an entire quilt made out of these blocks!  I may start making more of these blocks now as they were quick to put together and didn’t require too much thought so they were great for nap times.

I now have 4 blocks ready!  I am loving the way they all look together.

It is time to start thinking of getting the next block ready: a wonky log cabin!

Linking up to : Sew Cute Tuesday,

Bloggers Quilt Festival – Pretty Petals

I made this quilt for the Modern Quilt Guild Fabric Challenge with Micheal Miller fabrics.  It is one of the few quilts I have made this year that was of my own design (apparently having a kiddo took away a lot of my time for creating), however it is also one of my favourite quilts from this year.  Thankfully it gets to stay at my house!

When the fabrics first arrived, I had no idea what I was going to make with them.  I admit I stared at them for weeks before I cut into them a friends house, there is nothing like a quilting session with friends inspire you and give you the courage to cut into that fabric!

The quilt to came together quickly, including the back I pieced with leftovers from the front, which was great given that this had a deadline and I was running our of time.  Then for reasons I still don’t understand (must have been the sleep deprevation making it seem like a good idea) I decided to do some spiral quilting.  Not just any spiral quilting with lines spaces a reasonable distance, nope I decided to space the quilting 1/4″ apart.  Then I decided that I needed a second spiral that centered on the “flower” on the back of the quilt. So much for a quick quilt.

It was worth it though and i love the end product.  I was worried the heavy quilting would make it too stiff, but that hasn’t been a problem yet (although I haven’t been brave enough to wrap the baby up in all that white either).

I am entering this quilt in Bloggers Quilt Festival Original Design Category put on my Amy’s Creative Side (thanks for hosting!).

 

Bloggers Quilt Festival Fall 2014 – Large Quilt

I know this quilt is a little older, but I was rearranging rooms this fall and came across it (in a sadly underused room) and fell in love all over again. The colours are so bright and happy, especially with the weather turning gloomy outside.

The fabrics are from V and Co’s Simply Color, one of the best fabric lines ever! I am hording all my scraps from this line as I don’t come across it often now.

This quilt was made as part of the In Color Order HST BOM. I think the colors work so well with this pattern and it came together wonderfully. My daughter loves all the colours and it is a great quilt to snuggle in this fall as I am in denial that winter is coming!

The quilting follows the chevrons from the backing fabric. I like the simplicity of it and how the angles in the quilting goes well with the angles in the blocks on the front of the quilt.

 

I am entering this quilt in the large quilt category of the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy’s Creative Side.

 

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: Simply Color by V and Co for Moda
Backing: Chevrons by Riley Blake
Pattern: HST BOM or HST Sampler by In Color Order
Size: 54 x 67″
Quilting: Done by me on my Juki