Baby Quilt

A good friend of mine had her second baby in February.  I managed to pull a decent sized stack of fabrics from my stash for a baby boy quilt.  I have tons of fabrics that work for girls, but not near as many for boys.



I quickly turned this stack into a simple patchwork quilt.



I wasn't going to use any green in this quilt, but in the end I couldn't resist the green binding.



I also made a tote for the baby's big sister, and threw in some tea for my friend.

 

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

Finished Hexy Mini Quilt

It's finally finished!  I finished hand stitching the binding while watching the Super Bowl last weekend.



You might notice that the label says 2012.  I really thought I'd get this done before the end of December, but that just didn't happen.



There are 59 one inch hexagons in this min-quilt, and it finishes at 12" x 26".



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

Quilting pebbles and loops

This week I'm working on quilting the Sherbet Pips Peppermint Snowballs quilt, which I posted about back in August.  This quilt has been a work in progress for a really long time, so I'm happy to finally be finishing it up.



Having a deadline is helping with the motivation to get it done.  My daughter's birthday is in February, and this will be her birthday present.



It took me awhile to decide how I wanted to free motion quilt this.  I am doing loops and then pebbles in the the white areas around the pinwheels.  I'm already finding out how much thread gets used quilting pebbles.

Scrappy Trip-Along

After seeing these fabulously scrappy blocks popping up all over people's blogs and on Instagram (#scrappytripalong), I just couldn't resist joining in on the fun.  Here's the tutorial on Quiltville.



I started these a week ago.  They are rather addicting to make.



I have 13 blocks done so far, and I'm not sure how big I will make this.  The squares finish at 2" and each block is 12".



While I was busy sewing up 4 of these blocks today, my son asked if I could make him a bag like one that his sister has.  How could I refuse that request?!  So off to the stash we went to have him select the fabrics for his bag.  Here is what he came up with.



I know the day will come when he doesn't want me to sew him stuff, so I'm just enjoying this while I can.

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.