2016 Christmas Quilts

Didn't quite get finished...so both my guy and baby girl were gifted the finished quilt tops:

with a promise to get them quilted up and done at a later date.  I really need to start my holiday sewing a little earlier than Dec. 20th.

Well then...

I just realized that it's been over a month since I last touched anything in my sewing room.  Or at least photographed anything in my sewing room.  It's easier to figure out my own timeline from my Instagram posts!  So here is where I left off:

and that's all she wrote.  I haven't even made plans to even consider getting a quilt (or two) finished to be under the tree this year.  I've been thinking about sewing...a lot...but had to travel for work for a week and then life has been just plain busy.  Thankfully my holiday is starting soon...so I may just make the effort to get a quilt done...we'll see!

Easily distracted

I started this morning trying to figure out what my holiday sewing plan would be and it quickly fell apart.  I picked up some older projects to work on while I figured out my plans...and I could not settle on anything.  I started working on a few postage stamp blocks, but couldn't make it past two of those. And then I decided I really wanted to start a new project...but figured I'd should make progress on at least one older project first...so I pulled out one that was originally started a year ago and turned it into a quilt top:

and then I started on something new:

and now I feel better!  Or I will once I get a replacement iron since mine just spontaneously stopped working this afternoon.  Thankfully the hubby is on his way to the store to take care of it for me.

It's that time again...

We have officially crossed over the imaginary line that ignites my holiday sewing frenzy.  This year is a little different, as I am not entirely sure who I will be making quilts for this year.  Last year I finished up gifting a quilt to each niece and nephew.  However it may be time to "upgrade" previous quilts for the older ones.  As I ponder this, there are a few that I do have on the list:

1.  Baby quilt for Baby B (due in a few weeks, best get on this one)
2.  Secret quilt for my baby (this will make it 4 years in a row)
3.  ???

I've also considered sewing bags for the nieces this year...but not sure on that one either.  Possibly a new bag for my mom though...again not 100% sure.  There is also a senior who will be graduating in the spring...the first of me and my best girlfriends.  But not sure if I want to make that for Christmas or for graduation.

I guess I better get to work on something...while I figure all of this out!

Nantucket...

Well, thanks to a few hours of work yesterday, and then to an early rise today (thank you daylight savings!) I got Nantucket into a finished quilt top:

and now I need to figure out what I'm going to work on now!

Just keep stitching...

Sometimes I think I can accomplish much more than I really can...sewing wise at least...at least before I get bored with that particular round of stitching...so last weekend I thought for sure I'd turn this into a finished quilt top:

yeah...didn't quite get there...but I'm making progress!  And because I'm making progress I figured it was time to actually go to the fabric store and pick up some fabrics for quilt backs...you know...to clear out that 10 quilt top (or so) back log I have.  So I picked up all of this:

Which is really only fabric for two quilt backs, the solid is for a new quilt I need to get started on, and the Star Wars fabrics are just because!  and now I guess I better get a quilt top assembled!

Boo!

Well I did get a finish in this weekend...here is my Boo quilt:

And the back:

The backing fabric has been in my stash for almost 5 years, glad to finally put it to use!  Here is a bit of a closer view so you can see both the fabric and a bit of the quilting:

The kiddo is very happy with the quilt and I should be off the hook for any Halloween quilts for a few years at least!

Temperature is dropping...

The temperature has slowly but surely been dropping (we are now enjoying ranges from 70 up to mid 80s) and the first time I have to wear long sleeves...my sewing mojo kicks into gear.  Last weekend I had a terrible urge to start a new quilt...so I went through patterns I had stashed away and decided on Nantucket by Minick and Simpson.

I chose to shop my stash for the fabrics for this one, and I found everything I needed in old fat quarter bundles I had shoved on a shelf and forgotten about.  The cutting wasn't too bad, but it took a fair amount of time getting the nine patches ready.  I made pretty good progress in just one afternoon of work:

I picked it all up again yesterday and got to this stage:

and then to this stage:

That's 50 nine patches, so just over half of what I will need for this quilt.  Since I was a bit bored with putting those together, decided to work on a few more stars:

And that's where I'm at...I hope to have it to finished quilt top stage by the end of the weekend.  I do have to really finally finish my kiddo's halloween quilt.  So, we'll see if I can meet both goals.  Of course I also need to start on a few baby quilts, and the quilts that will be gifted for Christmas this year...so I guess I better get moving on something!

Keeping busy...

As much as I like to collect finished quilt tops (at least 5 sitting on my banister right now), I chose to actually push my newest flimsy towards completion.  I got it basted:

started quilting:



and I'm now about halfway done:

and just to keep it interesting, I have put together some more orange peel blocks as well:

 just because I didn't want to add the last finished top to my un-quilted collection...doesn't mean I don't want to add more!

That was fast...

Did some stitching yesterday and before I knew it...had a stack like this:

and then some rows like this:

and then a quilt top like this:

We only briefly (for maybe 2 minutes) lost power yesterday, so I was able to stitch as long as I wanted.  Of course it rained until around 8 pm, so all my pics are indoors.  Kiddo says she wants this one ASAP so maybe I'll get it finished this long weekend and then get some nice pictures in the gorgeous sun!

Until then...I do have this new project to work on:

Have a happy Saturday!

Boo!

A month or two ago I ordered a Boo 10x10 by Cotton & Steel because my October baby loves anything Halloween-y.

Last weekend I got around to doing something with it, using my favorite pattern for this type of precut, the Double Slice tutorial by Missouri Star:

and now with all the rain in our forecast for today...I think I'll get back to finishing these blocks!

Well then...

So had an impromptu hiatus from the blogosphere...nothing intentional, not even too terribly much going on here...just kind of well didn't sew and didn't blog.  For the most part.  I did finish up one bag:

Sydney Crossbody by Alicia Miller (Swoon Patterns).  And even started another:

and that's it.  All the sewing I've done in the past 6 weeks or so.  In between my last post and this one, we did go to a wedding, take a trip to Chicago, hubby had foot surgery, and kiddo started her Junior year of High School...so I won't say that I actually didn't do anything...but now we are back in a sort of normal routine (for us at least) and the itch to sew is bugging me pretty bad...so today I'll sew...after I mow the lawn and bake cupcakes for the company picnic...and all that.

Lots of blue...

I've been stitching a lot with blue the past week or so.  First I was working on some log cabin type blocks from my blue scrap bin:

and when I got tired of piecing those, I finally got around to finishing up an Evelyn tote (Swoon Patterns) that I cut out and started on weeks ago:

The lining is a bit saggy, but as my kiddo said, who's going to see it?  The lining was a complete "make do" moment, I had nothing picked out for it and had nothing in my stash of all one piece that would work, so I just pieced something together from the remnants of the exterior and a bit of Flea Market Fancy I had in my stash.

and done...

with the quilt top that is.  Here is my Lap of Luxe quilt in Mustang by Melody Miller:

it was such a quick sew!  (Just ignore that center area that looks really wrinkled, that'll be pressed out before it gets quilted.)  I used a few different solids for the background, mostly Kona Ash and Bella Smoke, I like that the different shades break up the pattern a bit and look less "flat."  So on to the stack this one goes!  Guess I better find another weekend project!

Heat is on...

Well, summer has officially taken up residence, in all her 100+ degree glory.  It's predicted to be well over 100 degrees today (up to 110 with heat index), so I think I'll stay inside and sew.  Last weekend, after finishing up my Star and Stripes quilt top, I pulled out my Cotton+Steel Mustang Fat Quarter Bundle that I've had for a few years and got to cutting:

and then did some stitching and trimming:

and now I'll take that stack of HSTs and turn it into a quilt top ala the Lap of Luxe quilt pattern.  So there you go...that's my plan and I'm going to try to stick to it.  Happy Friday!

Stars and Stripes with Aqua

Well, I've got a finished Stars and Stripes quilt top!

This entire top was pieced straight out of my fabric stash.  Because I did not purchase anything specifically for this quilt, I did not have enough of the aqua solid that I used for the sashing of the blocks.  Fortunately I had another aqua print in my stash, that was close enough in color to be used for the borders.  I figure once it's quilted and washed up...I'll be the only one that will ever notice it's not an exact match.  I also plan to shop my stash for the backing, so for now, this one will go on  the "to be quilted" pile until I get the back figured out.

Stitching for the 4th

Yesterday while at work I was getting a powerful urge to stitch something.  I wanted a quick project, looking for that immediate gratification.  So last night as I was looking through quilt patterns, I remembered the lovely Stars and Stripes quilt by Camille Roskelley.  Into the cart the pattern went:

and then I was immediately up in the sewing room pulling fabrics:

and then set to cutting and stitching.  Total last night was maybe 3 hours, add an additional hour this morning (estimates here) and I had 15 flag blocks ready to go:

This is such a great pattern!  Quick to put together, big visual impact...I've started piecing the top together and should have that done before too long!  So now the goal is get it finished so it can be in use on the 4th!

Dollie Who?

Finished this little one up last weekend.  Pattern is Dollie by Swoon Patterns (and it's free...BONUS!!).

She's a real quick sew and really cute!  Plan to do some sewing this weekend.  Just not sure how much or what.  Had a very long week at work, so really more in recovery mode this weekend than anything else!  Happy Friday!

New adventure...

Sew I stitched with leather for the first time over the holiday weekend.  I had picked up leather and some tools at Tandy Leather on Friday, and then finally did something with it on Monday.  I was so nervous that I was going to cut something incorrectly and ruin a piece, but I managed to get everything cut out with no major mishaps.

I used the Bonnie Bucket Bag from Swoon Patterns with a few modifications (no bottom strip, no outside zipper pocket).  I doubled up the interfacing on the cotton fabric so that it had a little more body and on more equal with the structure of the leather side (the other side of the bag is the same as this, half leather, half cotton).  Because I was working with white fabric for a bag, I did Scotch Guard all of the cotton before piecing the bag together.  I did interface the leather using the lowest heat setting possible and a pressing cloth.  I had a minor issue getting the rivets set on the strap, didn't account for using larger rivets, so they might be a little crooked on one side.  The top stitching down the center on the other side is also a bit skewed, but nothing that would prevent me from using the bag.  I did quite a bit of reading about sewing with leather the past few weeks, so I felt comfortable doing what I was doing.  With the purse strap, I cut two pieces and stitched them together.  To help stabilize the strap and minimize stretch over time, I put a piece of twill tape in between the two straps and anchored it with some FabriTac. 


So there you go...my first bag made with leather.  Now I just have to work up the courage for another, slightly  more complicated bag.  But first...some glitter vinyl is calling my name!

Finally a finish

Wow!  I actually finished a quilt over the weekend!  (and a bag too, but we'll get to that in another post). 


This quilt has been in progress (actually abandoned for a good while) for several months, it is for a family member of a co-worker.  They lost their fur baby and wanted the dog's pajamas turned into a quilt (the dog apparently preferred them to a blankie).  There was not a large amount of fabric to work with, so I added some soft solids in green, cream and brown that matched (all from my stash).  Here was the quilt top Sunday afternoon:

and then by Monday afternoon it had been washed and dried and was ready for pics:

and now this is off to it's final home!  and it's my first official quilty finish of the year!

not a bag...

I have decided I must have sewing-attention-deficiency.  or something like that.  I was cleaning my work space to prep for a new bag, and found a project buried that I hadn't touched in a  long while...and next thing I know I had this:

and then it was only a short while later that I was moving to this:

and now I'm at this:

So...there we are and back to stitching I go...

We're all mad here...

What is it they say about good intentions...a road to somewhere is paved with them?  Well, I do intend to one day get back to quilting...but I may have detoured myself a little off of that this morning when I had my first visit to Tandy Leather.

All in the name of bag making!  I have already set a few rivets (just to test them out), and I'm trying to decide just how to use the leather pieces I also purchased.  And then the rest is just some more hardware...for bags I will one day make...

Yep...lots and lots of good intentions!

Finished some more bags...

I had good intentions of working on some quilty projects...instead I got a couple of bags finished.  First up is a Lola (Swoon patterns) with some marine vinyl (remnant I picked up at Joann's).

I really need to work on how the zipper went in for this one, definitely not as clean as my previous Lola, but it's in one of my all time favorite fabrics, so I love it no matter what!

Last night I got started on a  different bag, this time a Charlotte City Tote (also from Swoon Patterns):

and then this morning, I got it finished:

This particular one is for my daughter, who (right now) plans on going to Clemson when she heads to college.  Charlotte is a great bag, a tote that isn't too large.  I'll definitely be making more.  I just need to reconfigure the handles a little bit...to finish the handles, you have to stitch through about 8 layers of vinyl, and it 's just too much.

So that was my weekend...now off to work!