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.

Free motion quilting class

Saturday afternoon I took a free motion quilting class at a local quilt shop, Quilter's Haven.  I really enjoyed the class, and learned quite a bit.  It's amazing how fast a 4 hour class can go when you're having fun.

First we started with stippling.  After practicing on paper for a bit, we tried it on our machines.  I find stippling to be very challenging.

 

Next we worked on loops, which are so much easier.  We also learned how to make teardrops.  Those were super fun. 




After I got home from the class, I practiced some more of the teardrops and then echo quilted around those and added some swirls.



I'm excited to try using some of those teardrops on a quilt.