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

WIP Wednesday

So, I was going to post this last week, but things got crazy and I didn't  have time . . .  the funny thing is, I couldn't tell you what I did that made it so crazy! That seems to be happening to me more and more lately, I feel like I run and run, but I have nothing to show for it except a dirty house and a hungry kid!

Maybe that's why I like to quilt . . . at the end, I have something tangible to show for the work I've done!

Anyway . . . off the soap box, and onto the WIPs!

I'm working on a little something for the DMQG swap next week! I'll tell you all about it after the meeting!

I'm about to start on a little string block (these paper squares are 3.5").

This will soon become a pillow for my bed! I plan on using I'm A Ginger Monkey's pillow tutorial to make sure it's pretty!  (I got this extra Hope Valley fabric from my friend Lisa's big destash!)

These strips will hopefully be a pillow for Miss A's bed.

There are things afoot for Mother's Day! (Sorry, I love to say afoot! I'm a Doyle fan!)

I'm *this* close to finishing another receiving blanket! All I need to do is add my sign and wash it! Then it's off for a new baby!

I've whipped up the top for S's birthday quilt. It's the Modern Cross Kit from Pink Chalk Fabrics. It's not long enough for the hubster to stretch out under, so I'll be adding some borders before I finish it!

Hopefully, I'll have something finished to show you on Friday, or at least have a plan for some finishes to tell you about!

See ya!

EL

Progress

More washing and ironing . . .

More cutting and sorting . . .

Auditioning fabrics . . .

And Ernst is home! Hopefully I'll have some time to sew tomorrow and Sunday!  Maybe then I'll have some actual finishes for you!

Cross your fingers!
EL

WIP Wednesday

Right now, everything is a WIP! Ernst is still at the spa, so I'm getting random stuff done.

There's been washing . . .

 And ironing . . .

and cutting! (My favorite part! :)

I've also done some organizing, and I have a LOT of WIPs and Wish-Lists!

My main focus this  month will be Mother's Day gifts for my mom and MIL, and a 30th birthday quilt for my hubby!

(This is a screen shot of the quilt from the Pink Chalk Fabric website.)

I'm doing this Modern Cross for him from Pink Chalk Designs (out of the book We Love Color). It's an amazing book! So pretty and inspiring!

Hoping to get that fabric washed, ironed & cut this weekend!

Hope you're getting stuff done this week, too!

See ya!
EL

Happy Easter!

Hope yours was as much fun as a confetti egg on the head! :)

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

Embroidery Love

Do you know Penguin and Fish Embroidery? Seriously, I LOVE THEM! Alyssa, the owner, is super talented!

She asked for volunteers to try out some of her embroidery kits. Of course, I jumped at the chance! She sent me 8 of her alphabet animals to try, and, I have to tell you, they are just like cotton candy: sweet, simple, and finished up REALLY quickly! Here they are!

I love the banana in this monkey's hand!

This jellyfish is my favorite! The colors & cute french knots just won me over!

Miss A's favorite animal, a giraffe.

After seeing this lion, Miss A ran around the house roaring for 2 hours!

Elephant holding a sweet flower.

This fox gave me fits! It's super cute, but my head wasn't in the game with this one!

Something about this zebra makes me grin every time I see it!

Chomp chomp! Aligator & birds!

I could get one of these done in an evening or during nap time, along with everything else I was doing, so they really are quick projects.  They are perfect for killing a little time, or keeping your mind off watching Thomas the Train for the 500th time! I really hope the samples are good enough for her to use. I'm always worried that my best isn't up to snuff!

I have a little idea swimming around in my head for these patterns. I have a total of 12, so just 14 more, and I'll have the whole alphabet! I'm so happy she let me do this!

See ya!

EL

PS: I'm on my way to the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild meeting tonight to show off my new dress! :)