WiP Wednesday -Some Boy Quilts

So I have been trying to sort, pack and purge the past week or so, but I have still sneaked in a bit of sewing!

I posted my most current completed quilt blocks a few days ago (here), but I forgot one so I'm giving her a little recognition today :) 

 This is block #8 in the Virtual Quilting Bee Sampler Quilt.

The other WiP's I have been working on is this quilt for my new nephew, who was born 2 weeks ago...5 weeks early!  But I was planning to give the quilt when I went to visit for his Blessing the end of September anyway, so no rush on this one:

I have the rows pieced...kindof. Turns out, I ended up sewing 5 of the 11 rows wrong, so I've got a little unpicking in my future before I get this one finished.



This brown and blue star quilt was a random project that I wasn't expecting to start, but I finished the top last night.

This one does have a story behind it.  Some of the fabric in this was salvaged from one of the two matching bedding sets my twins had when they were babies.  When my third son was born, I obviously didn't need two sets anymore, so I decided to make a matching quilt with the fabric from one of the sets for my third son, since neither of my twins wanted to give up the blankets that actually came with the set.

I cut what I had into charm squares, bought some backing fabric, put it in a bag....and totally forgot about it.
Well, now my son is nearly three and won't be in a crib after we move, so what to do with the bedding and the partial matching quilt squares to go with it?  Why, give it to one of my two nephews that have been born within the past 3 months, of course!

To make this super easy for me, I am not quilting it.  This will be a tied, comforter-type quilt instead.  I dug around in my scraps and found enough fabric to make it work without having to get anything else for it (except the high loft batting and yarn).

For an impromptu quilt that has been put together from what I had on hand, it's turning out pretty cute, I think.  In fact, it is cuter than the blanket that actually came with the set!

That is it for this week.  I am packing up my fabric for the move as I type this.  I have two words: Fabric.  Hoarder.

Some Blocks and Some Changes

Yep, I'm here!

Forgive my month hiatus, but things have been changing around here.

While my husband was away at a school for 8 weeks (he left mid-May), my sister came to stay with me.  She brough her two kids - ages 2 years and 6 weeks.  While it was totally AWESOME to have my sister with me for 6 weeks, as you can imagine, having 5 kids ages 4 and under in the house meant almost constant chaos!  

Then my husband came home the beginning of this month...and told me we were moving within the next two months.

The fact that we are moving didn't surprise me - we've known we would be moving eventually.  But we had just decided to stay put for another 10 months, to let the boys finish preschool in the school they love, among other reasons.  So this news was a bit of a surprise and has changed the name of the game around here.

We aren't moving far - just one state north to Maryland (about a 3 hour drive in D.C. traffic!)  And to be honest, I am nervous AND excited about the change.  My husband and I have been married 9 years this year and this will be our 5th move in that time.  This is the first time it has had a noticeable affect on our boys...one of my twins has cried twice about having to leave his beloved preschool/primary teacher. (Insert sad face and mommy-guilt feelings here.)

Amid all this chaos, however, I did get some sewing done!  I am (finally!) caught up with my Virtual Quilting Bee blocks.

(Forgive the crazy vividness of this pic.  I could't seem to tone it down - my PS skills are limited!)

 I also finished my Sister's Ten June Blocks.

WiP Wednesday - Catching Up

I have had my sister visiting for the past week or so, and while it has been busy having five kids ages 4 and under rampaging through the house, we have amazingly managed to get some sewing done!

We are both doing the Virtual Quilting Bee over at Diary of a Quilter and decided to use the time we are together to get caught up.  I finished blocks 5,6 &7 over the weekend and have one left to be all caught up.

Block #5

Block # 6

Block #7

Nothing new besides the blocks, but I will have more next week, since I have been working on a birthday gift for the sister of one of my twins friends.  We are going to her birthday on Saturday.  I am making her a doll blanket, diaper, and bib set like the ones I posted about HERE.

WiP's 

Finishes:

none

New WiPs (or WiPs pulled off the back burner!) -

*Doll Blanket, Bib and diaper set

Worked on: 

Blocks

 Not worked on:

Upcycyled Tees - 1 of 3 sewn

Denim Rag Quilt - not worked on

New Nephew baby quilt

Sister's Christmas present

2013 BOM's & Bees - 3 more done!

Sister's 10 BOM blocks - Junes block to complete

Virtual Quilting Bee blocks - 7 finished, 1 to go to be caught up

Applique Quilt -  2 done, March fused but not appliqued, April - June blocks not started

Linking up @ Freshly Pieced

Finish - Pillow Covers

I have had some sad pillows on my couch waiting to be redressed for about a year now. 

 Actually, these pillows have been on my couch for about 5 years now, and I have never loved them in all that time.

When I originally bought my couch, they came with some generic (UGLY) pillows that I immediately gave away to a friend who was willing to take them.  That left my couch a little bare, and I guess I just didn't have the time at that point to do anything crafty about it, so I went to the store and picked up some slightly-less-generic (and down-filled - because I love the shape and squishiness of down-filled) pillows to dress it up a bit until I could do something with them that was a little more "me".

Like I said, that was FIVE years ago.

Then about one year ago, I decided it was time, and I went out and bought some fabric specifically for these pillows.  Aaaaand...I immediately put it on a shelf in my closet and forgot about it.  Except for the times when I would look at my couch and think, "UGH.  I really need to do something about those pillows."

Well, apparently I finally decided to get serious about it and made a wonky log cabin block with the intention of turning it into a pillow cover for this particularly beat-up looking pillow.  (I wish I had taken a before photo!)

After that one was finished it took no time to make the pillow covers for the larger pillows (the blue and green flors/paisley behind the pieced one), since they were basically just fabric envelopes.  No piecing or quilting on those.  Easy!  

 

I quilted it with a variegated green thread that my husband put in my birthday pinata. (Yes, my husband made a pinata for my birthday filled with picked-by-him sewing supplies...Sweet, eh??)  

I honestly didn't know if I would ever use that thread, but it worked perfectly for this pillow!

For the quilting I just did a simple square spiral following the block strips starting in the center, and 1/2 inch straight lines down the sides. 

And here are the pillows together on their new home.  MUCH better...although now I am definitely thinking there is room for another pieced pillow somewhere on that couch :)

Linking here:

Sew Cute Tuesday @ Better Off Thread

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday - More Finishes

I have been on a roll the past two weeks trying to finish up my WiPs.

I did have 2 finishes this week - my improv log cabin pillow top that I made a few weeks back, and some plain pillow covers I've been meaning (for a LONG time) to make to revamp my living room couch.

The blue and green paisley/floral pillow behind the improv block pillow is one of the other pillow covers I made. 

My other WiPs worked on this week are:

I got MOST of the binding on my nephews quilt.  But when I had it all sewn on and ready to join the ends, I decided I didn't like how the fabrics were joining on that side (it is a scrappy binding and there was too much orange on the side where the ends were joining), so I have been doing a little unpicking and cutting and adding until I have it fixed a bit.  I will have that done by tonight.

I am just about done with snipping the rag edges on my son's Toy Story rag quilt.  I think I have one row of blocks and the outer edge to do and then I will be done.  Because it is hard on my hands, I only clip a few rows each night, hence the reason it has taken its time being completely finished!

And I had mentioned last week that I found a decade-old, unfinished baby blanket in a box in the garage and decided to throw a binding on it and get it finished and usable   

So while I was at Walmart one day, I stopped in their fabric section (since I had no plans to drive out to any other fabric stores for awhile) and found this pink floral in a tone pretty darn close to the pink in the quilt. 

 This is one of those "Get-It-Done" projects for me, so I was not picky about finding the "perfect" fabric.  And I think it cost me all of $1.28!  Not bad for a free blanket that has been long neglected!  I am just going to machine bind it, so this shouldn't take me much time to finish off once I sit down to do it.

I also finished up another block for the Virtual Quilting Bee at Diary of a Quilter.  This one is called "Going Dutch".

WiP's - 

2 finishes - Improv pillow and 2 plain pillow covers

Worked on: 

*Toy Story Blanket - All sewn, just need to finish clipping the seams.

*Baby Boy quilt - binding MOSTLY applied

*Discovered old baby blanket - binding made

 Not worked on:

Upcycyled Tees - 1 of 3 sewn

Denim Rag Quilt - not worked on

New WiPs (or WiPs pulled off the back burner!) -

None this week

2013 BOM's & Bees -

*Sister's 10 BOM blocks - Caught up!!

Virtual Quilting Bee blocks - 1 finished, 2 behind

Applique Quilt -  March fused but not appliqued, April & May blocks not started

Linking up over @ Freshly Pieced

WiP Wednesday

Even though there is no WiP Wednesday this week at Freshly Pieced, I still felt like doing a Work-In-Progress post, even if it is just for myself!

This past week I got a lot done.  First, I finished my Love Baby Quilt just in time to enter it into the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  (You can view that post HERE.)

Second, I finished sewing together my son's Toy Story Rag Quilt.  I just have to finish clipping the seams and it will be finished.  He already loves it and tries to steal it from me while I have it out to work on.

Thirdly, I sewed up some adorable tiny totes to fill with candy for my twins teacher appreciation gifts (which I will show in another post once I figure out how to iron them and have them filled and ready to go!)  These were so fast, so easy and so adorable, I can definitely see myself making a lot more of these as favors or gifts in the future.

Fourth, I have cut and pieced a couple of bindings - one for my nephews quilt, and one for a random, unfinished baby blanket from years ago that I found in a box last week.  Now that I have my Love quilt out of the way, I am going to focus on finishing my nephew's.  My sister will be here with him and my niece in about 2.5 weeks.

And Fifth, I finished the May Blocks for the Sister's Ten Modern BOM.  Now I just need to catch up on my Virtual Quilting Bee blocks (three behind).  And my Applique Blocks (also three behind).  Sigh.

WiP's - 

1 finish - Love Baby Quilt!

(also started and finished Teacher mini Totes this week)

Worked on: 

*Toy Story Blanket - All sewn, just need to finish clipping the seams.

*Baby Boy quilt - binding cut and pieced

 Not worked on:

Improv Log Cabin Pillow - Not worked on

 Upcycyled Tees - 1 of 3 sewn

Denim Rag Quilt - not worked on

New Projects:

*Old Baby Blanket that needs binding - binding cut and pieced

2013 BOM's & Bees -

*Sister's 10 BOM blocks - Caught up!!

Virtual Quilting Bee blocks - 3 behind

Applique Quilt -  March fused but not appliqued, April & May blocks not started

WiP Wednesday - 2 Down and How Many to Go??

The only thing I have to show for this week are my two finished April blocks for the Sister's Ten Modern BOM.  

Yes, the April blocks. Which means I still have my May blocks to complete.  And I am not caught up on my Virtual Bee blocks, being 2 behind. Or my applique quilt blocks, now being 3 behind on that one.

In terms of statistics, that means I have 2 down and 7 to go to be caught up with all my BOM's.

Anyway, I did two different versions of this block on purpose to see which one I liked better.  I made a monochrome version, and one with contrast.  Personally, I like the purple monochrome version the best.  My husband on the other hand, who rarely offers an opinion on my quilting, liked the aqua one the best.  Go figure.

Other than that, I have about half of my Love baby quilt basted.  In my defense, we decided to go to D.C. for Mother's Day weekend, so I lost all my prime sewing time to that much more exciting adventure :)

WiP's - no finishes (Again!)

Worked on: 

*Love baby quilt - Binding half sewn on the back

*Toy Story Blanket - All the squares sandwiched and x's sewn

 Not worked on:

Baby Boy quilt - just waiting to be bound!

Improv Log Cabin Pillow - Not worked on

 Upcycyled Tees - 1 of 3 sewn

Denim Rag Quilt - not worked on

2013 BOM's & Bees -

*Sister's 10 BOM blocks - April blocks finished, May not completed

Virtual Quilting Bee blocks - 2nd April block to complete, 1st May block to complete

Applique Quilt -  March fused but not appliqued, April block - picked up, but not worked on, May block not picked up

Linking up @ Freshly Pieced

WiP Wednesday - Piles and Piles of Squares

So again, no actual finishes on my WiP's, but I did get some stuff done.

 

I finished my April block for the Virtual Quilting Bee.

 

 

And just for fun, I thought I would share both of my sister's blocks so far, since neither of them blog.  These photos were the ones they each texted me:

 

 



my sister Diana's block

My sister Jenna's blocks

 

We are having a lot of fun doing this Bee together, even being thousands of miles apart!

 

 

As for my other projects, I was able to get the backing fabric and batting for my nephew's quilt. Even better?  I got it for 50% off, thanks to a coupon on my JoAnn's app, and the sheer luck of the Denyse Schmidt fabrics not being on sale this week (hence being able to use the coupon on it).   

I am hoping to have that done by this weekend, considering he will be born next weekend! Yikes. Better get on that one...

Also, I did manage to get one of the three shirts sewn that I had cut out from my husband's cast-offs. 

It turned out a lot better than I thought!  I still have to finish the seams (as you can see on the inner neck seam), and I think I want to embellish it, so I don't consider this finished just yet.

And then I decided on a whim to start a new project.  Two years ago I made my twins some simple tied Toy Story blankets.  Well, they have since outgrown Toy Story, but my youngest son is now totally into Woody and Buzz.  So I spent an evening cutting the leftover flannel to make my 2-year-old a Toy Story blanket.
 

 

 

I decided while I was in the flannel-cutting groove, I would get out my stack of flannel that I bought two years ago for my (still in progress) denim rag picnic quilt and get those cut into squares, too.  So  I ended up spending the past three nights cutting approximately 375 flannel squares of various sizes, and I'm not quite done.

My carpal tunnel is paying me back for it now.

WiP's - no finishes
 

*New - Toy Story Blanket - squares cut

 Improv Log Cabin Pillow - no progress
 

 Upcycyled Tees - 1 of 3 sewn

Baby Boy quilt - backing and batting purchased

 Love baby quilt - not worked on

 

Bonus - flannel cut for Denim Rag

2013 BOM's & Bees -

 

Sister's 10 BOM blocks - April block not completed

 Virtual Quilting Bee blocks - April Block COMPLETE

 Applique Quilt -  March fused but not appliqued, April block - haven't picked it up yet

Linking with Lee @

 

WiP Wednesday - Something New

Not much work happened on my WiP's this past week.  Unless you count buying new fabric for some of them (which I totally count!)  But really, I am pretty much caught up on my BOM's and waiting for April's blocks to come out so I can get to work again.

In the meantime, I did start a new WiP that should be fairly easy to finish.  I pulled out my scrap boxes made this Improv Log Cabin block to cover a sad old pillow on my living room couch.

 

 

Even though I have been quilting for a few years now, this is my first improv block, and my first venture into any kind of "wonky" piecing. My natural personality likes things ordered and precise, but I really liked the process of making this block.  I liked picking my fabrics as I went and seeing what emerged from the process.  I definitely see more improv work in my future.

 

The pillow I am covering is elongated in shape so I need to add some sides to this square in order for it to fit.  I was hoping to use the fabric that was already on the pillow for that, and to use as the backing, but after placing this block next to it, it is obvious that it is just too dull and lackluster.  So I will have to go out and get some fabric before I can finish this up. 

The only other thing I worked on this week is also a new(ish) project.  I am trying my hand at upcycling my husband's cast-off t-shirts into shirts for my three boys.  I have been using Dana's tutorials over at MADE.  So far I just have a few pieces cut out, so not much to show right now. 

I had those on hold for a few days as well, because I had to get thread for my new serger. (I have mentioned before that I live in the middle of nowhere, so I can't just run to the fabric store whenever I need a spool of thread or a little interfacing.  I have to wait until I find the time to make the trip or will be in the area.  Sigh.) 

But back to the topic at hand... yes, I am FINALLY breaking out my new serger...the Christmas gift from my parents that is still sitting in it's box because I have been afraid of opening it!  I am determined to at least get it out of it's box and read the instructions this week, if nothing else :)

So, here is the tally:

WiP's -

*NEW* Improv Log Cabin Pillow - Block made

*NEW* Upcycyled Tees

Baby Boy quilt - not worked on

 

Love baby quilt - not worked on

2013 BOM's & Bees -

 

Sister's 10 BOM blocks - current

 

Virtual Quilting Bee blocks - current

 

Applique Quilt March block - fused but not appliqued

Linking to Lee @
  

WiP Wednesday - Blocks and a Baby Quilt

I finished the last of my March blocks this past week, and while these two blocks look like they should belong in the same quilt, they are actually for two different QAL's!

The one below (called Origami Star) is the second block in the Virtual Quilting Bee hosted by Amy at Diary of a Quilter. (You can see my first block HERE.) 

 

This one has been especially fun because I am doing it with two of my sisters - one in Tennessee, and one in Utah.  We have been texting photos and Facetiming each other all week as we have been finishing up our blocks.  It's the closest thing to actually sitting in the same room sewing together!

 

 

This one is the March block for the Sister's Ten BOM hosted by AnneMarie over at Gen X Quilters.

 

I'm finishing this one a little late in the month mainly because I wasn't thrilled with the design, and just didn't know how I wanted to do it. I spent a lot of time pulling fabrics an trying out different combos until I came up with this, and, as usually happens, in the end I loved it!

 

This one is called "School Girl's Puzzle".

 

 

 

I also finished the top of the quilt for my nephew, due late next month. 

 

 

 

To be totally caught up for March, I have to finish my applique block for the month. I have it all fused to the square, but haven't started appliqueing yet.

 

And my Love baby quilt is still only partially quilted. I started having problems with my machine again about 2/3rds of the way through. I am going to take my machine in soon...but until I do, I'm afraid the quilt will have to wait.

 

WiP's -

Sister's 10 March block - done

 

Virtual Quilting Bee block - done

 

Applique Quilt March block - fused but not appliqued

 

Baby Boy quilt - top done

 

Love baby quilt - not worked on 

 

Linking up @

Some Blocks

I haven't posted in awhile for a bunch of various reasons, but I am back today with a few blocks I have finished in the meantime.

 

I joined the Virtual Quilting Bee over at Diary of a Quilter.  My sister, who lives clear across the country from me, wants to learn to quilt, and when I saw this I thought it would be a great way for her to learn.  Amy has a lot of great beginning quilting posts and tutorials on her blog that I can direct my sister to, and with me doing to QAL with her (AND the awesomeness of Facetime!), I can answer any other more specific questions she might have.  Plus, the fact that she is coming out for an extended visit this summer doesn't hurt.  We should be about half way through our blocks by then, and we can work on them for a bit together.

 

Anyway, here is the first block, which was posted last Friday.

 

The next two are the applique BOM I am doing from my LQS.  It is a pattern by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts.

 

I wanted to try my hand at applique to see if I liked doing it.  And so far, I do!  It is definitely time consuming - each block has been taking me about 4-5 days to finish - but it is fairly easy.

 

The top one is the January block, and the one below is the February block.  I am doing a machine buttonhole stitch for my applique, and while I definitely did a far better job on the February block than the January block, I still have MUCH room for improvement.  All those curves and sharp points are killers!

 

However, by the time I am done with this quilt, I will probably be an appliqueing expert! (One can hope, anyway...)

 

 

WiP Wednesday #2 - BOMS Away

So I started two Blocks of the Month this month, one online, The Sister's Ten Modern BOM over at Gen X quilters, and one at my local quilt shop.

This week, I finished my blocks for the Sisters Ten BOM.  It's called Grandmother's Frame.

For the quilt I am using mainly Cuzco by Kate Spain, as well as a little Vintage Modern, a few other various Kate Spain prints and a few random fabrics I dug around in my stash for.

Honestly, I'm totally loving my little peacock :)

This quilt seems especially appropriate to be making right now...I am thinking about giving it to my mother, and as I was making this "Grandmother's Frame" block, my own grandmother passed away.  I know I will think of her now every time I look at this quilt.

I picked up the other block for this month on Saturday at my LQS.  It is an applique BOM, and I am waiting to start it until we get back from our trip west for my grandmother's funeral.  My husband is going to build me a light box to use in order to see the applique placement, and obviously won't be able to work on it until we get back.

The progress on my other WiPs were minimal - I did finish unpicking my quilt, and had plans to quilt it this week, but with my grandmother's passing, a lot of things have gotten pushed off until I get back from her funeral.

I also haven't finished my other twins hat, but have it cut out and the eyes appliqued on.  I am taking it with me and will finish it at my mom's house.  They are expecting snow while we are there and I know my boys are going to be thrilled - both to wear their new hats and (more importantly) to play in the snow!  (We don't get a lot of snow out here in No. Virginia, so it's a treat for them.)

So, a short WiP list today.  I have every intention of re-evaluating my WiP's and deciding what I want to make a priority this year.  But that is gonna have to be a February resolution.