Thursday, November 29, 2012

Another Sock Monkey bed

I just love making these little sock monkey beds!

Monkey bed

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

Monkey bed quilting

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

monkey quilt front

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

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

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.

Christmas sewing

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.

Hexy mini quilting

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.  

Winterkist stockings

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. 

Friday, November 9, 2012

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.  

Thread Catchers

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

Thread Catcher

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

Thread Catcher

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

Improv Stars and Stripes Quilt

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.

Improv Stars and Stripes Quilt

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.

16_patch_blocks

Then I decided to alternate with some stripes.

more 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".

Improv Stars and Stripes Quilt

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

Improv Stars and Stripes Quilt

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.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

WIP Wednesday

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

Quilt top almost finished

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.

hexies_mini_option1

hexies_mini_option1

Option 2 is a crosshatch print from Summersville.

hexies_mini_option2

hexies_mini_option2

Do you have a preference?

Linked to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  

Friday, November 2, 2012

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.

AMH All Set skirt

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.

AMH All Set skirt

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

AMH All Set skirt

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