Made-Fabric

I got the book 15 Minutes of Play by Victoria Findlay Wolfe for Christmas.  I've already read it cover to cover and have spent a lot of time looking at the pictures.

This book provides a ton of inspiration for creating improv quilts.  The main ideas are to spend at least 15 minutes a day playing with fabric, and to piece scraps to create your own "made-fabric".  Then the book goes on to give many examples and ideas of how to use this made-fabric in quilts.

So of course I had to dig out my scrap bin and do a little playing.



I always gravitate towards my green fabrics, and after making these two pieces I am already out of green scraps.



Next up was pink.



These are just so much fun to make.  I've done this before and used the pieces to make potholders, but I will have to try using this technique in a quilt.  I wish I had more scraps!  I tend to use them as quickly as I make them.

Christmas Stockings

I managed to finish two of the four Christmas stockings just two days before Christmas.  I got stuck on deciding how I wanted to finish these.



I ended up omitting the cuffs and skipping embroidering names on them.  I finished them by just adding binding around the top.  Each stocking will have a different color Gnoma on it, so everyone will know whose is whose without the names.  Besides, I just ran out of time and needed to finish them.



One thing that has always bothered me about our previous stockings (which I bought before I started sewing), is that they don't hang right on the mantel.  They are always twisting one way or the other.



So instead of centering the loops on the side seam, I put mine on the back right next to the side.  This worked quite well, and the new stockings hang nice and straight.



I'll have to get the next two done in time for next Christmas.

Linking to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Finished Owl Ornaments

Today I can check off one more item on my Christmas sewing list.



Every year I make an ornament for my kids.  This year they are getting owls.



I found the pattern here.  If I had more time, I'd make a few more of these for our tree.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Another Sock Monkey bed

I just love making these little sock monkey beds!



Once again I really enjoyed practicing my free motion quilting on this small project.



I have gotten pretty comfortable with quilting this design now.  I think next time I'll have to try something new.



Linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

More hexies and Christmas stockings

Despite all the sewing time I've had lately, I don't have much to show.  I'm mostly working on Christmas gifts, so I'll have to wait to share those projects.



I have made some good progress on my hexy mini quilt.  After showing a couple options for the background fabric back in this post, I ended up choosing something completely different.



Originally I thought I wanted a black and white background, but I think this green fabric makes the colors pop even more.  I'm done hand quilting it with pearl cotton, and now I just need to trim and bind it.

I have made some good progress on new Christmas stockings for my family.  



I'm planning to add a cuff and will probably embroider the name on each one too.  Hopefully I'll be able to get all 4 done before Christmas.

Linked to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. 

Finished quilt top and thread catchers

I have a couple small finishes and a completed quilt top to share today.

After seeing Amanda Jean's thread catchers last week, I decided it was about time to make a couple for myself.  I really needed one to use by my sewing machine, and one for beside the couch where I sit and do hand stitching projects.  



The first one I made ended up being a little tall and narrow.  It's almost the perfect size for a pop can.



The second one is more the size and shape I had in mind, but both will work just fine.



I also finished my quilt top and decided to call it Improv Stars and Stripes.



While laying out the blocks on the floor, I was reminded of my Swoon blocks.  Since those are 24" blocks, they fit in with my 12" blocks quite easily.



So once again, my plan for this quilt changed.  Originally I started out planning to do all 16 patch blocks using just two fabrics per block.



Then I decided to alternate with some stripes.



But I got bored with the stripes and checks too quickly.  The colors were similar, so I used my Farmer's Wife blocks, and just added borders to get them up to 12".



Now the king sized 16 patch quilt has turned into a queen sized quilt that looks like this.



This is definitely not what I originally planned, but I really like it.  I especially like that I was able to use both my Swoon blocks and Farmer's Wife blocks.  Those are two WIPS I can cross off my list now.  There are just always more projects that I want to make than what I have time for, and maybe combining them like this will be the solution for me more in the future as well.

Linked to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

WIP Wednesday

I'm in the homestretch now, and I hope to have this quilt top finished by the end of the week.



This is a quilt made without a plan.  Well, more accurately, it's the quilt made with a constantly changing plan. 

I am kinda stalled on my hexies mini quilt, because I can't decide which background fabric to use.  I think I have it narrowed down to 2 options.

Option 1 is a text print from the line Mama Said Sew.





Option 2 is a crosshatch print from Summersville.





Do you have a preference?

Linked to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  

Friday Finish - AMH Skirt

Suddenly my daughter loves to wear skirts.  Thankfully they are pretty quick to make, and at her size they don't use much fabric.



This week I tried out the skirt pattern in Anna Maria Horner's All Set kid pattern.  I made the size 4, but used the size 5 length.  I also skipped the tie in the front.



She loves the pocket.  Now I just need to remember to check this pocket before putting the skirt in the wash.



This post is linked to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Daycare Quilt

Here is a quilt that I made last year as a Christmas gift for my children's daycare provider.



They care so much about all the kids, so I really wanted to make them something special.  I got hand prints of all the kids (footprints of the babies), and made each individual block using a quilt as you go method.



Then I embroidered the names of the kids on the blocks.



To fill in the extra blocks, I used my favorite Loulouthi print bordered with a solid color.



I backed it with a Loulouthi flannel print, and tied the backing to the quilted front using pearl cotton.



The finished quilt size is 60" x 72".

Finish it up Friday

I've managed to have a very productive sewing week, despite being distracted by all the activity outside my window.  The critters have been very lively in my backyard.
   

First, I got a head start on a little Christmas sewing, and finished three more lined drawstring bags.  This time I made the snack size.

Second, I finished up a flannel quilted pillow sham.  I used some of the Loulouthi flannel scraps from the Log Mansion quilt I made last winter.



I had a lot of fun once again trying out some new stuff with the free motion quilting.  The fabric is busy so it doesn't stand out too much on the front.  That meant I knew any mistakes I made would be hidden, which made for another great practice piece.  

Finally, I got around to finishing a pair of pants for my daughter.  These are the reversible pants from Anna Maria Horner's All Set kids pattern set.  I started these a few weeks ago, and now that the weather is getting colder I decided I must finish them.



Hopefully I'll get a couple more pairs made yet this fall.

I'm not sure if all these finishes reflect how productive I have been as much as how many projects I had started and then set aside.  I tend to have several things going at a time, and this week I was in the mood to cross a few things off my list.

Linked to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Lots of Hexies!

I've been making English paper pieced hexagons for about a year and a half now.  I tend to get really into the project for awhile, and then set it aside for a couple months before picking it back up.  I do eventually want to make a full quilt out of these.



These hexagons are 1" on each side.  I got my papers from paperpieces.com.  I punch a hole in the center of each paper, so they are easy to remove with a small crochet hook.  I also just stitch at each corner and don't stitch through the papers.



Instead of making the traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern, I'm just going to piece them together with a more random pattern and none of the traditional garden paths.  I'm calling my quilt a Granddaughter's Flower Garden quilt.



Here are some of the hexies I have pieced together to make a mini-quilt.  Now I just need to figure out how to best applique this piece onto my background fabric.  Then I plan to hand quilt it.




Linked to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Trimming HST's

Here is another 12" block I decided to make and throw in the quilt with the 16 patch blocks.  I need a name for the quilt.  I don't know what to call it, since I'm just making it up as I go.



I saw a picture of this block somewhere, but I don't remember where.  I pulled out the colored pencils and sketched the block.  It's very simple piecing, but it does take awhile to trim all of those half square triangles.