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

Guild Swap and a Baby Finish . . .

So . . . I'm just going to ignore the fact that I'm behind on blogging and forget the promises of things to show you . . . and just dive into my post! ;)

I did finish the baby receiving blanket for our friend.

It's Anna Maria Horner's Field Study Cell Structure voile, Robert Kaufman Solid Pink flannel, and Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill square petals for the binding (all bought at Fabric Worm).

I put my initials and the year on the back like last time . . .

Yes, my 13 sucks, but I really don't care! It was late and curves are hard! ;)

Moving on.

Tonight is the meeting for our Dallas Modern Quilt Guild!  We have a swap this time; last month we all brought a gallon bag of scraps to swap out with people. I included a little "thank you" pincushion for my partner.

Pincushion from tutorial found on Pinterest.

We brought their bag home and made something for their kitchen.

My bag of scraps!

I got Miss Shannon, and she requested a hot pad and an apron (a fancy, entertaining one).

I hope she likes what I did!

"Fancy Apron" - no pattern, tried to copy one my Great-grandma made!

Miss A modeling . . . because you didn't want to see it around my waist! (Notice the teapot!)

I made hot pads from a tutorial off of the Purl Bee and an oven mitt from a tutorial from Pickup Some Creativity. (Seriously, what did we do before Pinterest?) 

Hot Pad #1

Hot Pad #2

Hot Pad #3

Look at that fussy cutting . . . total accident, but totally adorable if I do say so myself!

Oven Mitt

Hot Pad #4 with mitt openings

Shannon seriously gave me some awesome scraps! I had some binding issues yesterday, but muscled through! It's not the best, but I hope she likes them!

I can't wait for tonight!

See Ya!

EL

Favorite Things

On Thursday, I went to the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild meeting. Part of our program was members sharing their favorite tools. (I have a new shopping list now!)

And while I was hilarious (if I do say so myself) bringing my ultimate favorite tool for any endeavor . . .

I thought I might actually show you a real tool!

I use Dritz Printed Treasures printer fabric all the time! Obviously, I used it a bunch of times in my grandmother's 90th Birthday quilt, for the pictures and the copy of the invite,

but I also use it for labels on baby quilts.

 It's super easy to use, just put it in your printer and hit print. I cut mine to size before I remove the backing, but it sews just like regular fabric (well, maybe a little thicker and stiffer, but nothing drastic).

I also found this hilarious "game" on the Victoria and Albert museum website.

Just upload any picture and they can make it a quilt pattern for you!

Tulips at the Dallas Arboretum.

You can specify how many colors and level of difficulty.

 

They'll actually give you a quilt pattern to download!

And here's the final pattern!

It's tons of fun! I haven't made a quilt out of it yet, but it's a blast to mess around with!

Anyway, those are my favorite tools!

See ya!
EL

Finally! A Finish!

So, here is a finish for you!

I made this sweet quilt for Mr. Alex (a new baby of a VERY good friend of ours!) Man! It seem like a baby boom around here!

I got the pattern from Moda Bake Shop . . . courtesy of V and Co! I love both of these sites! So much inspiration! :)

Mr. Alex's parents decided he would be a surprise, so I needed a gender-neutral quilt for him . . . and this one was PERFECT!!! (pre-approved by Mama, of course!)

The front is exactly like the pattern; the fabric is Make Life by Sweetwater, but the back is a fabric from Ikea! Super fun animals!!!! Instead of doing a straight quilting, I "Machine Tie" quilted it, by quilting polka-dots all over it (the red dots you see in the above picture). I got the idea from my SIL, who did it on the quilt she made for A. It keeps the quilt soft and floppy, and is REALLY fast and easy!

I love this family & I'm so happy for them!

Now, a little sneak-peak of my next project. The Dallas Modern Quilt Guild is having an Earth Day Challenge, and our pieces are due May 12.

I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew!!!

See Ya!

I've been a BAD, BAD girl!

You have NO IDEA! First of all, I haven't posted in . . . well . . . you can see that for yourself. Anyway, it's been a busy time . . . at work and at home, topped off by the most horrific illness you've ever seen!

But you don't want to hear about that, do you?

You want to hear about the crafts, don't you? I have finished one quilt on my UFO list to the side . . . the Green one. Also known as S's quilt.

Isn't it pretty?

It went perfectly with our room, and it's so . . . I don't know . . . modern (at least comparatively). It really goes with our style, simple and clean. I LOVE IT!

It's the Denyse Schmidt pattern Stacking the Odds, and the prints are all Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley (the green and blues). I love it, but the pattern is a bit of a . . . handful. I don't recommend it for new quilters, but it is a simple pattern. Confused? Sorry. Here's my little review: Ms. Schmidt's directions are amazingly clear and detailed (what every pattern reader hopes for), but Ms. Schmidt is also a perfectionist (and rightly so, have you seen her stuff? AMAZING!). I recommend this if you have experience piecing and quilting, and know where you can cut corners and make your own way. If you are still in the stage where you must follow every direction exactly to the "T", please hold off on this pattern. You will end up stressed and angry, and nobody wants that! Once you are in a more relaxed place, this pattern is clear and easy, and very satisfying (I pieced it in an evening)! (The white is Kona Snow that I got from Fabric Shack, and the Hope Vally I bought at the City Craft, my favorite LQS)!

So, here's the part where I've been bad. The week before I finished this lovely piece of quilted goodness, I started THREE MORE PROJECTS! Now, bear with me, 2 are for Mother's day and one is for a competition. I can't pass up those opportunities to create, can I? Can I? Please validate me! ;)

So this next month will be pretty busy . . . in addition to Mother's Day, and the deadline that imposes, my SIL is graduating on 5/14, and she will be getting a lap quilt (cross your fingers) and the competition quilt is due 5/15 to "Happiness is . . . Quilting". Also swirled into the mix is S's birthday, and his brother's birthday (probably not a crafty gift, boys are difficult to craft for) and the bee blocks.

OH NO! The bee blocks! I'm 3 months behind! ACK! Sorry sistas!

Thankfully, the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild is having their Saturday Sew this weekend. I plan to focus on the bee blocks and get those caught up, then work on the graduation quilt (on the list as the Pink Quilt). If you're in the area, you should come! It's a great day full of chatting and sewing! Last month was so much fun! You can find the details on the site.

Since this post is a little bereft of pics, I'll leave you with a shot of my Cherokee Roses intertwined with another bush (I can never remember what it is). I think it is SO PRETTY! Yea Spring! :)

See ya!

P.S. I just posted my first ever tutorial on the Dallas Modern Quilt Blog for a personal ironing stand! Check it out!