Christmas Gifts!

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday!  As we have a 3 year old, it started out amazing, but quickly deteriorated with a few tantrums. She's still talking about what an awesome day it was, though, so I guess it's a win!

Her new house, and her Princess Dress, and her Pirate Spyglass.

She is a girl of many tastes!

Santa was VERY good to her, and she is very appreciative! She wrote him a thank you note! (Hurray for manners! Let's hope it lasts!)

I made very few gifts this year . . . I learned my lesson a few years ago and just do what I can.

I made my grandmother a Rainbow Quilt from a kit from Pink Chalk Fabrics. The quilt sewed up REALLY fast!

 So bright and happy! :)

 The backing (From Camille Roskelley's Scrumptious) was picked out by Miss A because "Flowers make Oma happy", and how do you say no to that?

backing

I also knit my grandfather a blanket; I've been working on it off and on all year, but I think it turned out very nicely!

Knitted!

When I finally cast off, it was 65" x 25" . . . yes, I almost cried! But after blocking it (thank goodness for tutorials on the Internet!) it ended up 65" x 45". I'm told he fell asleep on Christmas day under it, so I think he likes it!

I made my awesome SIL a quick scarf from a kit and tutorial from The Purl Bee.

Just me . . . posing (I changed shirts so I looked presentable!)

It turned out really well! I had a hard time giving it up! I got to try something new, elastic smocking, which was easier than I thought it would be.

Smocking

Finally "Mrs. Clause" made Miss A a baby doll quilt for her new baby and baby bed!

Baby's Quilt

Thankfully I have a stock of It's A Hoot from before she was born and was able to whip up a quick quilt that matches the one on her bed.

Kirsten's bed

It's an amazing bed. My Opa (who got the knit blanket) made me this bed and a matching trunk when I was a kid for my American Girl doll (Kirsten).  Santa found it in the attic and thought it would be perfect for a new baby doll grandma was getting her. Baby has slept in that bed every night since Christmas. It makes me smile!

Those are the only gifts I made! I took it easy this year and it ended up being a great Christmas! I hope you all had one just as good!

Happy Holidays!
See ya!
EL

Quilt Stats:
Name: Oma's Rainbow
Size: 64" x 64"
Design: Line Art Kit from Pink Chalk Fabric
Fabric: 2 Robert Kaufman Kona Jelly Rolls (one white and one multicolored)
Back Fabric:  Aqua Summer from Scrumptious by Camille Roskelley
Completed: December 16, 2013

Christmas Quilts!

Christmas Trees!

Merry Christmas!! I LOVE this time of year! I'm very into the decorating, and the baking, and the EATING!!!! Every year I want to have Christmas quilts out, but I usually underestimate my time and overestimate my ability, so I don't get them done.

NOT THIS YEAR BABY!!!!!!! Granted, one of these quilts was pieced, basted, and partially quilted, and the other is ridiculously small and completely cut out and organized, but I actually FINISHED 2 CHRISTMAS QUILTS! And that is what we are focusing on! ;)

The first one was part of a Round Robin for the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild that started in February of 2012 and ended in July of  2012. I finished this quilt on November 21, 2013!

Round Robin Quilt . . . I need to find a better way to photograph quilts!

I used the Octagonal Orb Block tutorial from Oh Fransson! as my center, 

It looks like a wreath! Hurray!

and some lovely ladies of the DMQG finished the sides.

Inner borders.

Outer Borders.

I did have to add one border to make it long enough, but it now resides on my guest bedroom bed!

Quilt Stats:
Name: Christmas Wreath
Size: I didn't measure, but it fits a full size bed really well.
Design: Round Robin (center is Octagonal Orb Block from Oh Fransson!) 
Fabric: Miscellaneous Christmas scraps (back is a sheet) 
Completed: November 21, 2013
Label: None, but I do have a journal I sent around for the ladies to write in. It includes pictures! :) 


The second one is for Miss A's toddler bed! I picked out the fabrics and cut them last year before abandoning it for more pressing matters.

Look at those little feet!

It is the Lovely Little Forest tutorial from Purl Bee.

I used a TON of fabrics, some are real lines, some are scraps from my stash, some are even scraps from my Grandma's stash. So I can't tell you what they are.

She wanted to photograph her quilt!

But the back and binding are from Happy Zombie's Holiday Happy line. (Miss A LOVES the "Santa's" on the back!).

"Santa" Gnomes!

Quilt Stats:
Name: Ali's Christmas Trees
Size: 44" x 52" (Small enough for her toddler bed, but big enough for a couch quilt when she moves into a big bed!)
Design: Lovely Little Forest from Purl Bee
Fabric: Miscellaneous Christmas Scraps (Back is Happy Zombie's Holiday Happy gnomes.) 
Completed: November 21, 2013
Label: None

I'm really proud of my Christmas quilts, and that I've actually had them decorating the house for the entire Christmas season. Maybe next year I'll have one for my bed! (No promises.) ;)

I do have some Christmas presents to show you next time (not too many, I decided not to kill myself;)

Merry Christmas!
See ya!
EL

Finish! - Franken-quilt!

I hate this quilt sooooo much!

F-ing Snowflakes

Don't get me wrong, it turned out really cool. I like the way it looks.

More F-ing Snowflakes

But every time I see it I feel frustrated and disappointed.

F-ing Snowflakes

The pattern is from this amazing book called Pixel Play by Emily Cier. The book is full of crazy cool quilts! Every page is so inspired . . . but after making this one, I don't think I'll make any more!

The strips were 1" finished, so I cut HUNDREDS of 1 1/2" strips and squares. To keep them all sorted, I had to use 3 poster boards with the strips organized by length. I did the opposite color palette from the book, so I really had to think about what I was doing (so no wine! boo!).

Dang strips!

The book broke the quilt into 7 sections, each with 10 strips in it. Each section took a solid 3 hours to complete. That's an ENTIRE nap time! I finally quit halfway through my 6th section, so its not as long as it should be, but it's big enough to cover a person on the couch, so I'm fine with it.

One Section, lots of strings!

When I put them together, I knew my strips weren't exactly the same length, but once I put the sections together, I found out they were off by 6 or 7 inches! and it took several cuts to get it squared off once I quilted it, and it's still not exactly square. Again, the whole thing was really frustrating, and it only has 2 colors, so I'm not sure how I would even begin some of the quilts in the book with 7 or 8 different colors!

STILL not square!!!

Anyway, it's at my MIL's house now and she loves it, say that's all that matters.

Finished. And loved.

Washing my hands of it!

Quilt Stats
Name: F-ing Snowflakes!
Size: don't ask. all the sides are different (appx. 59" x 48")
Design: Snowflakes from the book Pixel Play by Emily Cier
Fabric: Kona Snow and Kona something blue - I can't remember which one. (Back is Kate Spain In From The Cold Snowfall in gray)
Completed: October 31, 2013 (The MIL's 60th birthday was 10/30, and we had her party on 11/3, so it was on time!)
Label: I love this, It's a 2013 calendar from a tea-towel off of Spoonflower! I used these for my dad's 60th quilt and for the hubby's 30th quilt, too! (I stole the idea from Imagingermonkey!)

Birthday Label

See ya!
EL

PS: I just realized I haven't done a post for S's 30th quilt! And that was back in May! I'll do one tomorrow!

WIP Wednesday

Sorry for the absence; I think I got burned out on the 2 quilts I was working on.  They had very important deadlines (which I ACTUALLY met for once), but they wore me out.

I have still been sewing, but I haven't felt like talking about it, so I'm easing in with a WIP Wednesdays!

 I've been working on Christmas stuff the past week or so because . . .

Hurray! I LOVE Christmas, and Miss A is really excited, too! This is the first Christmas she really understands what's going on, so she's pretty happy!

She INSISTED on an orange tree . . . We're still working on the bleeding maroon thing!

So I am finishing her Christmas Quilt. It's a pattern on the Purl Bee, and I had the top all cut out last year, but nothing sewn!

This is my favorite! The seam lined up completely by accident!

This morning It's basted and ready for quilting! It's so small it should only take me an hour or so!

Can't see the forest for the trees!

Also, I've finished quilting my DMQG Round Robin from last year! I didn't do the top justice with my quilting, and the back is horrendous, but the top really makes me happy!  I'll be binding it this this weekend!

That blur is Miss A trying to steal ALL the Christmas quilts!

I don't have any good pictures of the Franken-quilt, but I hope to get some on Sunday (I finally got my camera back, but I'm out of practice, so these are all Phone photos again!) and I'll do a Finished Friday on Sunday!

See ya!
EL

So I'm kind of freaking out!

On Saturday morning, I teach my first class . . . EVER.

The pattern for the class . . . Abel

I'm completely and totally terrified! But my friend Michelle (of Urban Spools) seems to think I'm pretty good at embroidery, so I hope I can make her proud.

I have been thinking nonstop about stitches, trying to keep everything straight.

Abel the Stitch Explorer by Follow the White Bunny

Will I sound like I know what I'm doing? Because I usually just wing it.

Will I make my students love embroidery? Because I do. But I know better than anyone that a bad teacher can kill a project. I'm worried! :/

So I haven't really been concentrating on anything else, except my Uncle & soon-to-be-Aunt's wedding quilt.

Kona snow, Kona champagne, Kona grass

They requested a Guest Quilt instead of a Guest book, and I have been put in charge!

This is Red Pepper Quilt's Economy Quilt Block.  I used the paper piecing template from Craftsy and enlarged it about 140% to almost 7 1/2" (hoping the paper on the back helps people write on the fabric a little better!). Also, as much as I hate paper piecing, my points are FANTASTIC!!!!

So pointy!

I'm almost finished with the blocks, and then I can get back to working on my MIL's birthday present . . . and then it will be time for CHRISTMAS!

Seriously, only 75 more days, and then SANTA COMES! "I LOVE HIM!!!!!!!" (I also love the movie Elf, this is a quote!)

Really? crap!

I am also participating in the You Are Here swap coordinated by Sukie - Don't You Know Who I Am?  I sent my partner a Dallas Mug with a book and some binding clips, and this is what my AWESOME partner sent me!

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!

Hurray for Chicago! I'm super pumped! The next round starts in 2 weeks, and I am determined to actually make my next partner something!

Hopefully I will have my camera back in the next week or two, then I can stop with the phone photos, but until then, at least I have pictures!

See ya!
EL

PS: If you think about it, on Saturday about 9:30 and on Wednesday at 6PM, please send good thoughts to me. I'm going to be SUPER nervous!

Friday Finishes

*Still using phone photos. Thank goodness for Instagram!*

Woo hoo! It's FRIDAY! :)

Last night was our meeting of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild! So I can show you my Modern Mini. We could only use solids that our partner brought, and it had to be modern.

I made this one for Rebecca.

Half square triangles! :)

Angie made this for me!

Front

Back

It's perfect! I posted on Instagram about Miss A covering up her stuffed kitty with a towel because he was cold,

I swear, we DO have quilts in the house!

so Miss Angie made this perfect quilt for her and Kitty to keep warm! :)

We LOVE it! She's already slept with it!

I also finished my picnic quilt a while ago, and since I wasn't blogging, you didn't get to see it, so here it is!

So cheerful! And no white! I'm "growing" ;)

We spent most of the summer having picnics in the backyard, at the Dallas Arboretum, and in the living room. Miss A LOVES it!  (I think I'm growing a quilter! Hurray:)

Yes, I'm also growing someone with sass!

Quilt Stats.
Name: Picnic Quilt (I know, I'm not very original!)
Size: 68" x 68"
Design: St. Louis 16 Patch (tutorial at Sew With Sass)
Fabric: Picnic Pals by Penguin & Fish (the back is some random cheap fabric from JoAnn's)
Completed: July 7, 2013 (I swear, one of these days I'll finish in time for the correct holiday!)

See ya!
EL

WIP Wednesday

Hello! :)

Jumping right in because *someone* is begging to sing and dance. I'm doing this in between songs, during my breaks! (this girl NEVER stops! I'm so tired!!!) :)

I'm still working on my pixel quilt. No new pictures, sorry.

I've bought new fabric for a HUGE project due about the same time, so I'm trying to do the pixels quickly before the new fabric gets here. (My uncle is getting married, and they want a Guest Quilt instead of a Guest Book. Guess who volunteered to make the blocks! I'm crazy! But they are worth it!)

I also have been working on a Mini Quilt for the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild Mini Quilt Swap! But it's a surprise, so I can't show you much.

Solids only! Super fun!

But I can show you pictures of my embroidery. There are several ongoing projects!

Belle by Aneela Hoey

I worked on Belle at the beach a few weeks ago. I made her a red-head like Miss A, and I'll probably end up putting it up in her room! She loves balloons!

This one is the most important!

This was my second attempt.

I'm so lucky, my friend Michelle of Urban Spools has asked me to teach a class in embroidery!

Little Abel

We are doing Abel the Stitch Explorer by Follow the White Bunny.

It's a great sampler, and I'm hoping people like it enough to sign up!

So if you're in the Dallas area on October 12 or 16 and want to learn to embroider, I'd love to see you there! :)

See ya!
EL

Friday {Baby} Finishes

This post will be really quick as I am on my way to my SIL's baby shower. (PS still using phone photos!)

This is the quilt I made my future niece/nephew.

Hurray for Tummy Time!

Again, the gender is a surprise, so I made a neutral play quilt from the book We Love Color (the same one I used to make Steven's quilt).

Miss A "helping"!

These colors match the bird wallpaper they picked for the nursery.

Strips of Color

I used the scraps to make the banner for the shower.

Baby J!

And that's it for today! Now I'm off to the shower to see my family and eat cake! ;)

See ya!
EL

PS: For posterity, I finished the play quilt August 17th.

WIP Wednesday

Just a quick apology about the photos, my camera is broken, so you get phone photos! Hurray! ;)

I have MANY projects going (I love to start them!),

but I'll just stick to the ones that are most important right now!

I'm working on a pixelated quilt for a very special birthday at the end of October.

Section #1

It's from the book Pixel Play by Emily Cier, given to me by my awesome SIL! This book has some REALLY cool quilts in it!

The strips are super small, though, finishing at 1" tall, the smallest is 1" x 1" (and there are a TON of those!) So it took a little organization to keep them all straight.

2 of 3 poster boards filled with strips

 There are 7 sections of the quilt, each with 10 strips in it. It takes me about 2 1/2 hours to finish a section (the ironing really slows me down). But I definitely think it'll be worth it!

I'm also making a banner for my SIL's baby shower on Saturday. The baby's gender will be a surprise, so the name will be, too. So this banner will say "Baby J" when I'm finished.

Triangles!

Those are the things I'm working on today!

See ya!
EL