Friday this and that!

Another week of projects that haven't gotten finished, but no hurry, and some weeks I just can't push like I usually do.

One thing I did was start painting the rocks I found, a few finished and more than a few, not finished. The lyme is affecting my eyes this week and my arm is still messed up, so it is slow going and I end  up making more messes, and having to fix them, so I do what I can and take a break.

These I did freehand, two are Laurel Burch designs, I have a couple of her quilting books. The other I just drew up, using my quilting chalk pencil. That is nice since I can draw on the design to see how it looks and not worry about following lines since the chalk disappears.

Then I started with one batch and decided to do them all. At this point, I just want to get them done and put the supplies back into my beach room. I have a million things to finish and projects I want to do, so time to get working on my quilting and I need that table back. Painting rocks is fun, but time consuming when you are slow, so later I can do more and maybe do some folk art designs that are simpler. I think doing pumpkins for halloween would be fun and easy to do.

You can see I have some odd shapes, and my brain wasn't working, so I have to remember to relax and just enjoy it and not try so hard, kids will love them.

I also started a punch needle. A free design by, The Old Tattered Flag. Here is the back, not very pretty, but much better on the front;) I wanted it to look like brick on the house, but brighter than I wanted, good thing for walnut stain, that will go on to dull them down and blend them into the house.

And the animals keep me busy, Bean always wants to play and the kitties leave tons of hair and dirty litter boxes for me to clean. But, moments like this, sharing dinner with Bean. Moki is like Bean, he thinks everyone should love him and he loves to say hi to company.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am hoping to get out more this weekend, great weather for the beach.

Tumbler Baby Quilt!

I finished Nicolas' baby quilt last night and took it to him today. I was going to take a photo of him on it, but I was too busy holding him;)

I used the leftovers from the first quilt and material from the curtains. For the stars and circles, I used fusible and raw edge. I used variegated thread and a blanket stitch to sew them on. I decided to quilt by hand, using a medium blue floss, which I think, makes it look more fun. I would have liked have quilted stars on the border, but I wanted to finish it, and went with a simple border stitch. The binding was done with a vintage satin material that I had bought to make curtains. Never made the curtains, but found a great use for it.

The fabric is Down Under, that I won from Henry Glass & Co.

Here is a closer look at the stitching. As you can see, I am not perfect, I missed the edge on a few places but that is ok, he won't mind;) I like how the variegated thread looks, but the lighter color makes it look like I missed a few spots.

And for you new moms and grandmas, I found a wonderful tutorial for making a Mei Tai Baby Carrier. After seeing the ones you can get now, I thought this was a wonderful carrier, for those of you who can sew and read directions, unlike myself. It is in a PDF format, so you can print it out.

Baby Quilt: Tumbler and Stars!

I decided to make a quilt from the scraps that I had from the first quilt and the curtains I am working on. I am still working on the curtains, I made a mess, so now I have to think it over and decide a better way to do them or just make a topper and buy solid curtains to match;)

This one I used the baby tumbler die to cut, makes it easier to cut them out, but it does waste a bit of fabric. Great though for scraps since you just need sizes that fit the dies.

This is the fabric that I won from Henry Glass Fabrics, they really sent me a lot. I still have the green shades that I can use for another quilt, plus a yard of print and one with rows of animals that I will use for the curtain tops.

I wanted to add a little touch and saw a quilt that had stars with circles in them, so I made my own starts and fussy cut the circles to add a little fun to the quilt. I used fusible on them, then a blanket stitch by machine. I also used a variegated blue thread, so on some spots it looks like there is no stitching, not a good idea to use lights on light if you want it to show;)

Then I decided I wanted stitches that were larger and fun, so I am hand stitching the tumbler blocks. It is taking me longer, but I am on the second half, so I should have that finished tomorrow. I would like to do star stitching on the borders, and I also think embroidery would be cute, but would take longer. I am hoping to have it done by sunday, we shall see.

Here is a sneak peak, not the best piecing or stitching, but I am sure he won't mind that Grandma isn't perfect.

Baby Quilt Top Done!

I finally finished the top. Lots of piecing and fixing and stitch ripping and machine acting up, but it all worked out and I finished the top. It is not perfect, I cannot keep my blocks straight, no matter how hard I try, lol. The original pattern came from Connecting Threads in their free patterns. They had the nine patch in the corners, but I decided to add a fussy cut kangaroo, too cute not to use.

Now I need to figure out how to quilt it, suggestions are welcome. I want to keep it simple so wondering if I should just stitch in the ditch and maybe X's across the large blocks and maybe a interwoven design for the border?

I am going to mix the solid blue with some of the solid yellow or all yellow for the binding? The pieces are not long enough to go in one straight line, so I would have to sew pieces together and think it would look nicer with mixed, than solids that are sewn.

I was thinking of using blue thread for the quilting? I still have material to make curtains, so that is next and then enough to make another quilt, so I might use the green shades and do a chisel or tumbler with the dots and then the animal print for the borders.

Here is a close up to show the colors better. This is such a cute print and I do have larger animal prints that I can use in a second quilt, can never have too many.

Quilts in the Works!

Today I wanted to start the baby quilt. I had a Doc day so I didn't get started until the afternoon. It took me awhile to cut out the blocks, I am a bit slow and since I am clumsy, I want to make sure I don't cut my fingers off;) I am making a baby quilt for my grandson who is expected next month, nothing like waiting till the last minute.

The pattern is an irish chain baby quilt that I found as a free pattern at Connecting Threads. I thought it would be easier to do a pieced quilt, then trying to do applique this late. It will also be more practical for a baby.

I measured carefully, I watched my seam lines as I sewed them up but I still came out crooked. Since it is an irish chain, I want them to be perfect, so they line up properly, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen with my sewing, lol. Do you know any tricks or ways to make them better?

I am using these for the chain part of the quilt and the animals in a row for the border. I will save the larger print for the curtains. The Fabric comes from the Down Under line by Shelley Comisky, a prize that I won from Henry Glass Fabrics.

Another project I am working on is, a new runner for the Patriotic Challenge at This-n-That Fabrics. I am making it for my dining bureau so it is long, but I need to make it thinner so I can add a border and then I will add appliques to the ends. I definitely think this is one piece that needs antiquing;) The Fabrics come from a jelly roll that I won from Minick and Simpson, just using the red, tan and blue strips.