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

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

We're just going to ignore . . .

the fact that I haven't blogged since May. I'll give no excuses . . . you ask no questions, ok? ;)  (I just don't want you to know that I'm lazy!)

I have actually finished some things, though! I'll do it all a bit at a time so as not to overwhelm you!

First, I'll show you the quilt for my dad's 60th birthday!

I've been wanting to do a triangle quilt for a while now. I used the tutorial from Fancy Tiger Crafts!

The triangles are a mixture of green, gray, and black Kona solids I had lying around (sorry, I can't remember exactly which ones) and an Architextures print by Robert Kaufman.  The back is an old gray sheet (so it's super soft)!

For the label, I used a tea-towel with a calendar on it I bought from Spoonflower. I did the same thing on S's birthday quilt! (2013 is a big year! My niece was born, my husband turned 30, my MIL and dad turn 60 and my grandmother turned 90!)

He really liked it! My measurements were a bit off, so it's kind of skinny, but so is he, so it works! ;)

I'll show you more next time!

See ya!
EL

PS: for posterity sake, I completed this quilt on August 2!

Friday {Old} Finishes!

It's been a while since my last post . . . I think that last one is hard for me to look at, so I've been avoiding my blogger page.


Things have also been busy lately . . . with the warmer temperatures, I've been getting the kid out more. We've gone to . . .

the Dallas Arboretum,

the Dallas Zoo, 

and now we have gymnastics every week.

The only problem is that by the time nap/sewing time comes around, I'm pretty pooped too! So my sewing and blogging time is down a bit, but I'll try to be better for y'all.


But I have been working on things!

Mother's Day was last weekend, so I made my mom an Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote.

(I'll dedicate a whole post to this one; it was hard but definitely worth it!)

We (S & A & myself) made my MIL some yard art.

S & A built and painted the frames, and I made the stencils.

She worked HARD!

Both moms loved their haul!

The day before Mother's Day was S's 30th birthday. Among other things, I decided that 30 deserves a quilt!

I haven't gotten any great photos of it, and I'm still working on the "perfect" label, but I'll get on it and show y'all as soon as I can!

I've also been working on a St. Louis 16 Patch for a picnic quilt. (The fabric is Picnic Pals by Penguin & Fish. Just too perfect, isn't it?)

I ADORE this fabric! Remember when I did some embroidery for Alyssa at Penguin and Fish? She sent me a fat quarter bundle as a thank you, and I can't wait to finish this up!

Just look at this chipmunk and turtle. Too cute, right?!?!

Tomorrow I'll be at Saturday Sew for our Dallas Modern Quilt Guild, and I hope to finish the blocks (and maybe piece the top!).

Next week I'll be taking Miss A to see my parents in Lubbock. We'll be flying, and I've decided I need a new bag to take with me . . . so we'll see if I get it done in time!

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

90th Birthday Quilt

My grandmother is an amazing woman! Among other things, she actually had the patience to teach me to quilt! Some of my earliest and happiest memories are being at her house, underneath a quilt on the quilt stand, listening to her and her sisters talk and watching their needles. (Also, watching cartoons. She had cable and we didn't!)

She is the main reason I sew. Quilts mean love to me, and I want to be surrounded by things that remind me of my childhood and of her. So I sew! (Seriously, say it out-loud. So I sew. :)

This weekend, NannyPud turned 90. Obviously we threw her a major party! For my part, I decided she needed a quilt, as she is always making a quilt for one of us!

In October, I sent my family (basically her siblings and decedents) 5" squares of Kona Snow ironed onto freezer paper and asked them to write something and send it back.

Some were elaborate.

(My mother, who hasn't sewn in 20 years and swears she hates it, whipped these 2 up without a pattern. She just drew them out and filled them in! That's talent! :)

Some were simple.

All were filled with love.

I also printed out pictures I stole from her house onto Printed Treasures Printer Fabric. There were ones of her with her kids and grandkids and siblings. This is my favorite, one with my grandfather.

Finally, I laid it all out with random fabric squares.

There is a blue one from DS Quilts Picnic Line for JoAnn's (they don't have it in the stores anymore, so no link), a green one from DS Quilts (I know its Denyse Schmidt, and I'm 99% sure I got it at JoAnn's, but I can't find it online, and I don't know the line, sorry), and the red Mama Said Sew Sewing Guide fabric from Sweetwater.

I blogged about the middle rectangle here, a dedication block I embroidered.

The back is a grey sheet from Target and I appliquéd a fabric copy of the invitation to her party in the center.

 All in all, it turned out really well! Everyone loved it, especially NannyPud! I'm really glad I did this for her, she is amazing and deserves an amazing quilt!

See ya!
EL

PS: Here is my block. It's an iron-on from the same Stitcher's Revolution packet I got at JoAnn's as the dedication block.

Little Hearts

I have a confession to make . . . I'm secretly one of those girls who loves a glittery, sappy, goopy, pink-drenched Valentines' Day! I never indulged in this, however, because I was too embarrassed. I know, silly! But I have never been the most confident of people. For some reason, though, since Miss A was born, I am a bit more comfortable in my skin. Since I'm pretty sure the hubby didn't want pink hearts for V-day, I'm very happy I have a 2 year old girly-girl who loves pink hearts! (Her exact words were "Baby wuv pin hurt".)

Since Miss A's birthday was less than a week ago, we decided to include Birthday Thank-you's with our Valentines.

When I cut out the hearts, somebody decided they were hers, so I had to cut out more! Then Miss A added her own touch to the inside!

 Next I decided to make her a pillow from this Tutorial from V and Co! (I love her stuff! She has the prettiest heart quilt I really want to try! Maybe someday, huh?)  It's really well written, but my first pillow didn't turn out well.

I'm pretty sure it's because I used Essex Linen as the pillow. It didn't work as well as muslin. I think it was too stiff. Also, ruffles are hard!

The second try turned out much better!

 At least you can tell it's a heart! Like I said, the tutorial was really great. The only thing I changed though, was making the ruffle. She said to use a running stitch, but when I tried that, it didn't work very well. A straight stitch worked better for me, but I still didn't make the ruffle very well. It takes a certain touch I just don't have!

Next, I decided to take the pre-cut hearts somebody stole and stuff them for her. (I think they are her favorite part, she takes them everywhere!)

Add a Fancy Nancy book, and you have the perfect Valentine's Day present for a 2-year-old! (Sorry about the pictures. I finished them up pretty late Wednesday night, so the light wasn't so great! I really want one of the OttLites that Don't Call Me Betsy was talking about!)

The hearts for Miss A and on the cards are Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott for Moda (I got mine from my LQS Quilt Asylum a while ago). The first pillow is Hoot for Moda and I have no idea what the second pillow is. It's from my stash!

I have Saturday to myself (I love my MIL), so I plan on making forward progress on some of those WIPs from Wednesday!

See ya!
EL