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.

Babies, Birds and Quilt!

It was quite the holiday weekend, I hope your's was much more relaxing. Our DIL went into labor on Saturday and was in labor for two days, so no family cookout, this year. This morning she started pushing and that lasted 4 hours, ugh, mine was in and done in an hour, that is the way to do it, lol.

And here is our new Grandson, Nicholas William St. Germain.

And just in time, I put the label on his quilt today. I had the quilt and finished yesterday and waited for his birthday to add the label.

I finally got my machine back, after repairs and started by doing a simple X in the small blocks. Then I went to do free motion in the larger blocks and couldn't find the free motion. She went and upgraded my computer system and I couldn't find the button to switch over and the shop was closed, so I had to do straight stitching and I cannot sew a straight line. I kept it simple, at this point, I gave up, nothing seemed to be working, the thread was jamming and turning into nests, so whatever was quickest, is what I did. I left the outside border plain, since it was starting to bunch and quilting would have left bad puckers;) This is after a wash, so I left the crinkles.

I looked online and found this saying and thought it was a cute idea for the label, then I just added by grandma. I printed out what I wanted to say, from the computer, then I traced it onto the fabric, using a Faber-Castell artist pen. I used some of the yellow dot fabric from the curtains as a border. I still do not know what to do with the curtains, I made a mess and not sure if my idea is good, so I might give up on that, not my week for thinking.

One thing we did yesterday, was take a walk at one of our favorite parks by the ocean. I wanted to stay close to the hospital, just in case. We noticed a bird on the path and he just stayed there, so I took some photos. Once we started walking, he flew up ahead of us and waiting till we got close and then flew forward. I noticed he had bands on him and found a local breader and sent him an email. He knew who bred that type and the owner emailed me and said he has been missing all week. I sent him a map with a dot of the location we saw him at, so i hope he finds him. I guess he is a young one and hasn't gotten his bearings down, too well.

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.

I Win You Win Giveaway!

Last week I was the lucky winner of a fabric giveaway hosted by Henry Glass Fabrics. It was a surprise giveaway so I had no idea what they would send me. I loved the fun Down Under fabric and I really was surprised when, that is what I got, but also the whole bundle of the fabric line, wow!

There is at least a yard on each and more on others, so I will be able to make quite a few charity quilts with this and it will be so fun for the kids that receive it. I have some ideas for quilts, but I would love your ideas or maybe links to patterns that I could use. I many design some around the fabric. Leave a comment on this posting and I will pick a winner on Friday night. The winner will get their choice of one of my epatterns or booklets.