WIP Wednesday - 11/28/12

Done:
A cozy little flannel & minky quilt I posted about yesterday.



In Progress:
It's Christmas Gift Crunch Time! I'm going to have to be more selective about what I share here, but I think I won't spoil any surprises by sharing these two gifts I'm working:



This hummingbird paper pieced block was inspired by a post I saw on the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog a while back. I downloaded the free origami font mentioned in the post and used it to trace my pattern in EQ7.



The SMS post uses a freezer paper method of paper piecing, which I've never done. I just printed out my pattern and used the regular ol' sew-on-the-lines, through-the-paper, method (that's the official name of the technique, right?).



And here's a little cross stitch gift I started this past weekend. I always underestimate the time it will take to finish a cross stitch project. I look at a pattern and say to myself "that looks fast and simple!" and then about halfway through, I'm all "Why am I only half finished?!?".

Flannel & Minky Baby Quilt

Last week I finished a quilt for one of my closest friends who just had a baby. Baby #4 to be specific! When you have 4 kids, you pretty much have all the baby stuff you need, so I think it's nice to make something special and one-of-a-kind for the newest member of the family. This quilt is flannel on one side and minky on the other—perfect for cuddling a little one!



I started two other baby quilts before finally settling on this one (you can see the other two in-progress here). I'm glad I choose this one to finish because I just love how it turned out. I had bits and pieces of two different flannel collections from Hoffman- To the Rescue and Beep! Beep!. I think the biggest piece I had to work with was about 10" x 15". So it was just a matter of putting up pieces on the design wall and seeing how it could all fit together.



I left out the batting, because I didn't want to make it to heavy which I think can happen when you're using minky. I also kept the quilting fairly light (just large diamonds) and it has a wonderful drapey feel. My only regret is that I didn't take better photos of this quilt, but I was in a bit of a hurry to give it to this little guy!

Weekends Tumbler Quilt

I finished my tumbler quilt about a week ago and I love the way it turned out!



While blogging has helped me get a bit more motivation to finish projects, it's also made it possible for me to look back and see exactly how long ago I started something. I first cut out those tumblers way back in February.

This quilt came together slowly. At first I was just using the the green colorway of this fabric collection, but all the patches just blended together. It needed more contrast so I added the solid aqua. Better, but not quite enough. So I cut some more tumblers from the violet colorway and it worked! Adding the violet colorway also allowed me to get in some more of those little bike prints. Squee!



I tried a finishing technique with this quilt that I've never done before. Rather than binding the quilt, I finished it with a facing (using this tutorial). I had wanted to bind it with the solid aqua, but I didn't have enough left. And this fabric had been sitting in my stash for ages, so I didn't have a color name/number, and I couldn't find a good match in any of my local fabric shops. So facing, with no fabric showing on the front, was the perfect solution.



I quilted it with simple straight lines, about 1/4" from the seams. The solid aqua tumblers got an extra outline stitch on the inside. You can see the quilting really well on the back. I like the back almost as much as the front!



And, just for fun, a peek at one of my little helpers:

WIP Wednesday - 11/14/12

Done:
My Weekends tumbler quilt! I'll be writing about it soon.



And to celebrate corduroy day, I made a sunglasses case.



In Progress:
I've had battling baby quilts up on my design wall for a couple of weeks.



I couldn't decide which one I wanted to finish for an expecting friend. She ended up having her baby a week early, so the pressure was on. This weekend I started a brand new baby quilt, and I'm almost done quilting it!



It has minky on the back and feels soooo cozy. It's gonna be hard to give this one up. But it is baby-sized so if I used this quilt, it would only keep a third of me cozy.

Future Projects?
I was at Target last night and saw this cute plate:



And now I want to make a quilt inspired by it. Will this actually materialize? Odds aren't good, as the number of things I want to make and the actual time I have to make all these things don't match up. But here's hoping!

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Giveaway!
I posted a little giveaway yesterday to celebrate my 100th post, so please hop over and leave a comment to enter!

100th Post (and a little Giveaway!)

I've reached a little milestone here on my blog- 100 posts! I started writing not knowing if I would even stick with this blogging thing, as I'm sure many people do. It's been a fun side project that has kept me motivated to keep making. I know I'm happier with myself when I'm sewing/crafting something, rather than spending my kid-free time staring at the tv. Although I do have to confess I enjoy watching Downton Abbey on my laptop while I'm sewing. Seriously, Season 3 can't get here soon enough.

I have an exciting bit of news to share here in my 100th post- I have a quilt in the new issue of Quilts and More! It's the Picture This quilt and I just love how they photographed it:



The little cutie featured on this quilt is my friend Sarah's daughter. I had been playing around with the idea of a photo as the center of a dresden plate block for a while. When I saw this photo at Sarah's desk I just knew that adorable face was perfect for this design! This quilt may be one of my all-time favorite things I've ever made. Now I just need to make one with my own kids' photos!
(For any EQ7 users out there, you can download the project file for this quilt here.)

To celebrate both my 100th and post and having a quilt in a magazine, I'm having a little giveaway! Just leave a comment on this post by Friday, Nov. 16th and you'll be entered to win a copy of Quilts and More-Winter 2012 and a handful of surprise goodies! (Make sure I have a way to contact you if you win!)
The giveaway winner is ♥Duff!

Celebrating Corduroy Again

Last year, for the first time ever, I learned of Corduroy Appreciation Day. It got extra special attention last year because it was 11-11-11, an extra high holy day of corduroy.

Still, I was surprised I hadn't heard of it before, especially since 11-11 is also my birthday so, ya know, I pay attention to the date. Last year, in observance of the day, I made K a corduroy dress.



This year, I didn't think of it soon enough to make something big (the holidays always sneak up on you, don't they?). But I still wanted to celebrate in some way, so I dug through my small stash of corduroy and made this sunglasses case.



The pattern is from Sue Kim's book, Bags: The Modern Classics, which I highly recommend. I've made the Elegance Pleated Clutch from the book, and I have many more of these patterns on my sewing wish list.



The main fabric is Mod Blooms by Patty Young for Michael Miller and the flap fabric is from the Happy Together collection by Timeless Treasures, a leftover from the Music Class Skirt I made a while back. I love the variety of fabrics available these days.



Sadly, when I googled Corduroy Day today, I found that The Corduroy Appreciation Club has disbanded. I believe I shall continue to appreciate this fabric, even if there is no longer official club dedicated to it. Vive le corduroy!