Idea Pouches plus Mini swap

I made a couple Idea Pouches by Michelle Patterns as extras in the two swap packages I mailed out this past month. I love this pattern! I need to make a couple more up for my girls and fill them with goodies for our road trip to Calgary which is a good 10 hour drive. The first one the pattern is printed at 100% you can either fit a Ipad or a notebook inside. Since I was making it for a four year old I chose a sketch pad! As you can see there was plenty of room for stickers and such as well.

The second one I made with the pattern printed at 75%. I was able to find a smaller notepad and some neon pens to put inside for my partner. It can also fit a mini Ipad at this size. I chose to use a hair tie as a closure here instead of the two buttons and ribbon. I totally recommend this pattern. It is a great sew and I think a handy thing for a student or child or a creator on the go!

I decided to make the Ribbon Star block  tutorial from Freshly Pieced for the Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt swap. She requested Tula Pink among other designers but i decided to go with fun. Tula is fun. I was so lucky that an IG friend sent me a scrap of raccoons and the top dot print. It really made everything fall into place. I really loved making this mini. It finished at 12”.

I was so glad she loved it. I was a little worried but I think we are always nervous sending out swap items!

linking to finish up friday at crazy mom quilts

Warm Wishes Swap

I was reminded today of why I haven’t been blogging. It seems as soon as I sit at the computer someone is crying or arguing or maybe a bum needs to be wiped… So frustrating. Although I need to do this. I have missed blogging. Sometimes being a Stay at Home Mom is lonely. Sometimes you really feel like you are going to lose your cool. So blogger I am back! I am going to share some new projects and play a little catch up too. If you follow me on IG you will have already seen most of this but “real” pictures are always better! After I am all caught up I’ll organize a little giveaway! Anyhow…

I was so thrilled to be invited into a group of lovely ladies on Flickr to swap with. We just finished round one. I was paired up with a fellow Canadian sewist and we got to talking about what we would like. We decided to make each other something to help us stay organized around our sewing space, a surprise and something for the little ladies in our life. The swap had a summer theme to it which I was excited to use some of my favorite colors.

I started trying to make a clamshell mini but failed. So next I use some of the same fabrics and made a Thimble and Blossoms Mini Puddle Jumping quilt. I have to say that those teeny tiny pieces were a pain but it was totally worth it. I was able to use some of my treasured fabric scraps some liberty cottons, Henna, Chicopee, etc.

I really love how it turned out I really want to keep it! Lol. You must love what you make especially if it is for someone else. This was her surprise item. Although since it was so small (12” square) I added a little spool mini made with some Anna Maria Horner True Color scraps. I used the spool pattern from the Liberty Love book. I am making myself one of these! It is just waiting to be quilted :)

Next I made the Pocket Caddy from Quilting Happiness. I used warmer colors, they remind me of the beach at the end of the day. There was a slight measurement issue which caused the top pocket to butt up to the top dowel but I was able to add a panel for length and hide it. I don’t think anyone would notice if I didn’t tell you.

Lastly I made an idea pouch for her little. She told me not to worry about her 1 1/2 year old so I have to admit I got carried away for the older one. I love this pouch. I actually made a smaller one for my schnitzel and boo mini quilt sway partner too. I am going to share that with you next post since I took pictures of them together.

The best part about swapping within Canada is that I didn’t have to worry about filling in those custom slips that ruin any surprises that are inside! It was fun spoiling her!

I received the most lovely items from Deanna too. I’ll share them with you in a bit! I really loved being part of this swap!

Catnap Pow Wow

I finished this quilt a while ago but it was a gift. I didn’t totally want to give the surprise away! I snuck in a few sneak peeks of  pictures of fabrics but that is all Brie knew. I even delivered it to her MILs house so she could have it for her new baby girl Keira right as they arrived in Canada.

I used Cluck Cluck Sew’s Pow Wow quilt pattern. This is the second time I have made this pattern and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. It is such a great sew! If you haven’t sewn this pattern and it is on your list you should try it now!

I used the Catnap line by Lizzy House. These kitty cats sure make you smile! I know that these prints aren’t in the typical “girl” colors but I loved them all together. Plus pink is overrated ;) I love green!  So guess what I even backed it in green minky and straight line quilted it with green thread!

 

I missed posting this yesterday for the link ups but I have a couple more finishes to share in the next week! Finished quilts are the best :) Plus some goals to make!

Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress

Last week an order came in the mail with some sweet kitty cat fabrics. I bought one for me and one for my cat loving three year old. When I took it out of the package she squealed with delight when she saw her fabric. I gave her a few options of what Mommy could make her and some how I was convinced to make her a dress. I had only ordered a yard so I went on hunt for the perfect pattern.

I picked the Ice Cream Dress by Oliver and S. The pockets sold me because she is in love with pockets! I was able to download it digitally. Print it out on my FIL’s large plotter printer that we still have from building the house with some help from the husband of course. Yay  for no taping! I had even managed to buy some parchment paper recently which worked perfectly for tracing out the pattern size I needed!

I happened to have just enough Stella Dot in Pink and Purple print for the top and bottom left over from Miss L’s quilt! The colors are made for each other so perfect for the Hello Petal Kitty Cat print. I love that everything is faced on the inside the only exposed seams are the side seams which could easily be done as a french seam. The extra lining fabric on the skirt band gives it a nice weight.

It just has a button and loop closure. Luckily we even had a button! I made her the size 3T (which happens to fit her older sister too it is just a lot shorter.) I am hoping it will fit Miss E for a while. She told me today that she wants me to make her lots of dresses and skirts. I guess my vow of not being a garment seamstress is void.

Who can say no to such a cutie?! Also big sis thinks she needs a dress too. I am stuck on what size to make Miss L though because her measurements are so small. She is nothing but bones and muscle, she actually measures tinier that her little sister. Miss L saw the Geranium dresses Amy made for her girls so you will most likely see the exact same fabric and dress here for my horse lover! After I figure out what size to make that is…

#yarnstitchswap

I joined a swap on IG a few weeks ago where the idea of the swap was that you sew something and then you get something knitted or crocheted in return. My partner gave me a list of things she wanted so I picked one and went with it. I picked the Noodlehead Divided Basket pattern. I knew she likes colorful fabrics so I figured that the lovely fat eighth bundle of Mor Mor and Sylvia I had sitting would be a lovely choice for her. I didn’t just want to make a plain baskets that would be too boring. I cut out 2” triangles and I have to say I love the results. I embellished the pocket…

…and then on the other side I put a strip of triangles going down it.

 

I ordered some DearStella scissors from Patterncrush for the lining and some Essex dyed linen in black from Westwood Acres. When the linen arrived in the mail I knew it was meant to be. I have to say my basket is jealous of the time and effort I put into this one ;)

Jealous or not I love my basket. I keep it just behind my sewing machine the current things I am working on have seemed to gather in there.

It’s been a while

I have been a bad blogger. Life has been busy. We were sick. My Grandma is having health issues. (Getting old sucks.) I just haven’t been very motivated even though I have a long list and deadlines. Although I think my sew-jo is renewed because my husband gave me the a-ok to get my dream machine, Pfaff expressions 4.2! He truly is the best :) I was able to go to a Pfaff demo class on Saturday to see what it could do just to make sure it was “the one”. Needless to say it came home with me and I think it is quite happy here. I played with it on Sunday, completely ignored my family. I even managed to finish a pay-it-forward gift. I think I am getting into the flow of this pretty sewing machine. I feel so lucky and blessed to have this as my first machine. I don’t have to use my Moms back up to her backup anymore ;)

The only thing that I am missing is the lever to put my foot up and down but that will come with time. It is such a habit to reach back there. I am almost ready to put Miss Ls quilt together so soon I will be ready to make my first FMQ voyage on her. I am so excited to have 10” of throat space plus my table extension! Can we say spoiled! Speaking of spoiled, Miss L thought since I wasn’t using my Moms old machine anymore and my Mom didn’t really want it back that we should set it up for her. So here is our new sewing set up. I even organized her little stash in a bin.

 

Yes she is already sewing in her PJs.

Happy sewing everyone! I will be back with my March goal soon :) I was so disappointed that I missed posting Februarys goal.

Doll Quilt Swap 14 received

I wanted to share the mini that arrived in my mailbox from Kristin at andChips. There was such a great group of talented ladies in the DQS14 on Flickr. It was so hard to figure out which one would be coming to you. Plus you your never expect the person you were making for would be making for you. Well guess what that happened! Mr. Fox went to live with Kristin and her loving star dresden (you can find the tutorial for the dresden here) came and lived with me!  

She said she was inspired by the shape of  my sewing room. I love all the low volume and  prints that she used! It is perfect :) And look she put a little stitching of Mr.Fox on the back as a label! Such a lovely reminder. Btw if you are wondering she loves Mr.Fox he is such a charmer.

I now have two minis on my wall! It is so nice to being finally hanging things in my space plus I am doing a private mini swap with one of my blogging friends too! So exciting!!!  

A mini finish

Last week it was my Mother in laws birthday. I decided somewhat last minute I should make her a little something. I decided to try the mini swoon pattern by Thimble and Blossoms. I only made one. I figured it would be a good mug rug or trivet since it is about 8”.

This baby swoon took almost as long as the Mama swoon block. So don’t be deceived by its size. So needless to say my MIL didn’t get her present quite as early in the day as expected. I am not too sure of the fabric line used here but I did pair it with Kona bone and also used bone as the binding. She was pretty happy with it. I had to make something for the lady who taught me how to chain piece when I was a super newbie to the quilting world ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

linking to finish up friday at crazy mom quilts

January Goal Completed

I am happy to say that I have made my January goal of cutting out all the pieces for the blocks for Miss L’s On a Whim quilt!!! I actually was even able to complete a block, Yay!

The rest of the pieces are all ready to be pressed and then on the next steps! I am excited to be getting this done for my daughter since she is growing while her current quilt is staying the same size, lol. She is also pretty persistent about asking when will it be finished. I am hoping I will have a completed quilt top soon!

Linking to January: A Lovely Year of Finishes at Fiber of all Sorts

Spools Mini

Last Saturday I had a lovely sew-in date with my friend Christina. We decided to make the Spools mini quilt by Thimble and Blossoms. Camille does design some lovely patterns!

I was lucky enough to win a Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate from A Lovely Year of Finishes for my November goal which I splurged and bought the Heather Bailey True Colors charm pack with. I am so glad I did because I love, LOVE the colors so much and the prints are super pretty too!

I decided to be brave and practice my free motion quilting skills. I wanted to try pebbling and since this quilt is only 14” by 16” I thought it was a perfect practice size. It is not perfect and I did get some shifting but I am okay with that. I am super happy that I tried something “scary” and plus it is for my sewing room wall so I can deal with its imperfections ;) I quilted it Aurifil 50wt in a light dove gray (color #2600) which I have to say is one of my favorite Aurifil thread colors so far. It is almost gone. Sad face.

I took the binding fabric from my daughters quilt fabric stack, shhhhh. I was going to use this fabric to bind her quilt but the running stitch print and color was just too perfect not to steal from her stack to bind this sweet quilt. I will find something else for her I am sure.

There are so many lovely versions of this quilt popping up. It looks so different depending on the fabrics you use. I think that if I make it again I would maybe make a scrappy version or perhaps a rainbow. Next up perhaps a mini Swoon or Puddle Jumping mini. Did you see that Jaybird Quilts is working on minis too?! Fun! She posted a sneak peek on Flickr!

Linking to Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it up Friday

January Goal

Okay I am going to try to make a goal each month this year for A Lovely Year of Finishes 2014. I have some bigger quilt endeavors planned for the year so some of my goals may seem small (like cutting fabric, lol) but I am excited to create for those around me and perhaps myself!

I have this stack just waiting for my daughter. (She has been nagging me a little about it as well. Her current quilt is almost too short) My goal for January is to cut all the blocks out for her On a Whim quilt. I have reduced the size of this quilt but these blocks do take a while to sew and press and square up so sewing all of them this month might be a push.

linking to A Lovely Year of Finishes – January Goal

Mr. Fox

I was lucky to be able to take part in the Flickr Doll Quilt Swap round 14. I had so much fun being snoopy and trying to figure out what my partner would like. I was inspired and decided to with a design that was a little more fun than serious.

I was inspired by Pile O’Fabrics cross stitch block tutorial. This little block could be turned into so many cute designs. I had a vision of a little fox made with all different orange fabrics. I had one problem though there was no way I had 39 different orange prints. Luckily some lovely ladies (locally and not so locally) donated some of their orange scraps to my vision which helped me to create the most handsome Mr.Fox ever! Okay maybe I am bias. He also has 10 different low volume prints and 4 text prints mixed in with those 39 prints, that is a lot of fabric for a little quilt.

 

You might notice that my blocks are a little smaller than the tutorial. I used 1.5” squares and 4ish” by 1.5” strip. The linen was about 1.75 (I left it the original size in the tutorial). I squared them off to 2 3/8” so sewn they are approx 1.75”. This quilt ended up being 20” by 19.5”  for some reason it isn’t quite square. Oh well.

I decided to hand quilt because I didn’t want the quilting to take away from the design. I used an Aurifil orange variegated thread in 28wt. 

I even made my very first ever label. Sure it was just with a Sharpie and Heat n Bond but I am proud of myself, lol.

 

This quilt will be heading to its new home in a little bit. I have loved making it. I hope he makes you smile :) Everything came together so nicely and I really really hope my partner loves him!

Linking to Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it up Friday

My Dad’s Quilt

Back in July my Dad was in a pretty bad motorcycle accident. Luckily he is alive but sadly he is still a bit broken and still not back at work. After his accident he would basically make me feel guilty every time I saw him by asking me where his quilt was since my Mom had gotten one while she was in the hospital only a few months prior. (you can read see hers here if you want.) Anyhow every time I would respond with oh sure Dad I will make you a 6” quilt to keep your toes warm. We would tease each other that is just how we roll in our family. In October I finally decided I would make my Dad his quilt after he landed himself in the hospital for a unwelcomed stay once again. Now he even had more leverage being there twice I guess. My brother pitched in a little cash and I went fabric shopping!

So I made him his quilt for Christmas. He didn’t know about it. We surprised him!  Well at first he unwrapped a blu-ray telling him to go to the laundry room where his 6” quilt was waiting for him…

He started laughing so hard. He was thrilled with his little mug rug. He even said that would have been good enough but wasn’t willing to give his actual quilt up to my brother. Afterwards I unrolled his big quilt for him. I used the Vintage pattern from the Simply Retro by Camille Roskelley book. I did not add the additional borders (My Dad is not the tallest guy, ssshhhhh). This quilt measures at approx. 60” by 80”.

My Dad has a thing for sailboats. So I had to add a sailboat block. I think that it turned out well. I used the lovely Tula Pink Salt Water line in the blue color way with a few Kona solids thrown in. I paired it was Kona ash and the binding is the anchor print. I couldn’t really make a block with that print because it blended so much but luckily I found yardage on sale for binding! I quilted it on the angle stopping at the sailboat block. I stitched around the sailboat which was easier said than done with my sewing machine.

 

Needless to say my Dad is very happy with his quilt! I am super glad that I made the time to make it for him even though Miss L thought I should be making her quilt instead. Hers is on the list.

 

Happy New Year to all my lovely blog friends! I hope we all have a few fun me projects planned for the new year!

Swoon Pillow

It is so nice to be inspired by those around you. I saw this lovely Christmas swoon pillow on Instagram and thought it was the perfect way to test the block. I have a stack of fabric just waiting to made into a swoon quilt but I was a little nervous. I was given a little push and encouragement to make a pillow. Since I was done my Christmas sewing for others I thought I would make a little something for me!

I did a little digging in “my fabric” and found some lovely Amy Butler Daisy Chain FQs I recently got from a destash on IG. I paired it with Kona snow hopefully dirty fingers will keep their distance! I love how pretty it is :)

I have to say that the block itself is easy to make it just takes forever!!!! (so the that stack will become a swoon quilt eventually! Yay!) This pillow is reduced in size from the original pattern by Thimble and Blossom. The pillow measures at about 18” with the border. I had a small spool of pink variegated Aurifil thread in Mako 12 weight so I decided to do a little hand quilting.  The fussy cut of the medallion print makes me happy!

I love how it turned out! The colors even look perfect with my new chairs that we recently bought for our living room. Yes we finally bought a couch and chairs. The couch is still being made but I am super excited about it!

linking to finish it up friday

WIP and a little finish

December is the month of lots of sewing but not much blogging. Some of my family read my blog so their projects are off limits for blogging at the moment…

I can show you some little things I have been up too though. I am taking part in the Doll Quilt Swap on Flickr, which I am super super excited about! I snooped and then snooped some more and then came up with a cross stitched fox for my partner. I was lacking some orange but some lovely ladies helped me out with some extras! I love this community! Here is a progress shot. I am hoping he will be very handsome!

 

I still have a lot of blocks to sew but so far so good ;) I used Pile O’Fabrics cross-stitch block tutorial but it is a little modified because I needed the blocks a little smaller. I am trying to figure out his ear tips and eye though. Should the eyes be the same print? how about his ears? hmmmm. What do you think?

My little finish is some sweet dumpling pouches. I decided to give Quilt As You Go a try! I have to say that QAYG is a lot of fun. I thought these would make a great “just because” gifts. Although I had to “fix” up one (darn a couple little holes caused by unpicking. I put the zip in upside down, oops) so my sister is getting my damaged goods ;)

I really enjoyed making these. You can find the pattern for these here. I used the harder pattern which is about 4” along the bottom.

Linking to WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Orbit Quilt Finished!

So the quilt is done! I made all of my finish goals. I got it done for last saturday to post on IG for the #westwoodacresgiveaway (which I happened to win and won this awesome bundle from Amanda, so excited! You should check out her shop), I got it done before Jason’s birthday and before the VMQG meeting!  I was not able to show it there because we ran out of time. That is alright because we were all amazed with seeing all the beautiful and awesome neon cotton couture challenge projects. You can check out the challenge pieces here at the VMQG Flickr group! And of course I got it done before the end of the month for my a Lovely Year of Finishes goal.

Anyhow this quilt was made for my brother. The pattern is found at LRstitched and is called Orbit. This is a Quilt Along pattern from earlier in the year. I really enjoyed making this quilt. The pattern includes an awesome coloring sheet to help with planning, cutting and sewing. I was surprised on how quickly it went together! I quilted this quilt in straight lines.

 

I used a variety of prints that I collected based on the colors on the center Robert Kaufmann race car print. The solid I used was Kona charcoal. The backing was the IKEA texted print with a strip of leftovers on the side since it wasn’t quite wide enough. I also added a strip to the top and bottom to add a little length for a tall boy.

  

He is happy with his quilt and is now teasing all my other siblings that he has a quilt and they don’t. (I am the oldest of six kids so I may be making some more sibling quilts) He is an awesome guy who helps my parents, our siblings and me out however he can. I am glad I was able to make him this Thank you quilt and that he is my brother!

linking to Needle and Thread Thursday, Finish it up Friday and A Lovely Year of Finishes

Folk Modern

I love the line Folk Modern by Ellen Luckett Baker that came out a few months ago especially the gray and yellow combo but resisted buying some! But I finally had an excuse to buy some since a friend and I are swapping some handmade goodies. (I can’t knit and she can) She asked for a tote and gave me a few color combo options. I knew exactly what fabric to buy when she said gray and yellow!

I hadn’t actually made the 241 tote in the proper size only smaller for my girls (here and here) It is such a great sew! Awesome pattern too. I paired it with some Robert Kaufman Putty Linen and some Art Gallery fabric for the lining.

I also made a matching Pocket Clutch. You can find the pattern here at Michelle Patterns. I think that is makes the perfect chap stick and small hand cream pouch for in your purse.

Put them together and they are the perfect combination!

linking to Finish it up Friday