Good Folks Quilt Top

On Saturday night I put a new blade in the rotary cutter and went to work on a complete fat quarter collection of Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks. I received this as a present at least a year ago and Gregory was constantly going for it and throwing it on the floor. I really like her new collection, Innocent Crush, (is anyone else grateful it's coming out in a quilting weight cotton and not just that slippery voile!?) - so I figured I better get cracking on her "older stuff."

It takes a lot of patience to do that much cutting and I have to admit that I was not happy when my new rotary blade started to stop making clean, smooth cuts about halfway through!

I used Amy Butler's free Brick Road Path pattern with a simple alteration: I cut 9 of the rectangles in half to begin each column instead of having to eyeball the staggering of the rectangles and having 18 large half-rectangle scraps upon completion.

I feel that one drawback of this collection is that the prints would not mix well with other fabrics. But I have to say that I don't really love any of these prints individually - but they really "sing" when they are all mashed together.

So this brings me to 9, count them 9!!!!, unquilted quilt tops I have in my house. I am a hypocrite! I have to admit that I recently cast a critical eye on a prominent blogger who unveiled at least 5 unquilted quilt tops.... but here I am with more. (In my defense, I am really not in a position to go out and buy a bunch of backing fabric and batting right now, but I think the bigger truth is that I am still scared of quilting on my machine!)

Once again, I have pulled a bunch of fabrics from my stash to make an Urban Circus quilt top. This time I truly have a quilt pattern in mind. Although I didn't really like this pattern for Hope Valley, I think it might work well for a whimsical collection like UC.

I do have a bit of Kona White - but I am not sure if I should throw it in there.... I am leaning towards "no" - but please stop me if you think I should!

New England World Quilt Show

I wrote a post today here, displaying some of my favorites from the New England World Quilt Show. Check it out!

City Weekend Pinwheels and a Diaper Bag

I snuck outside today to take a few quick pictures of the quilt top I finished a week or so ago. I really love this fabric line and I look forward to seeing what the blogosphere does with it. Yardage hits the stores this month.

Yet another quilt top that needs to be quilted, now added to the pile.

This week I worked on Anna Maria Horner's Multi-Tasker tote. I had the pattern and fabric for over a year but I felt uninspired. I feared that the bag would be too big and maybe wasn't all that attractive. But along came the motivation - a dear friend had a baby in July and I felt the need to make her a much better purse than the one she received from me a few years ago. (What progress I've made compared to that shapeless sack I unfortunately gave to her.)

So this bag totally kicked my butt and it shouldn't have. Life most bag patterns- you make the lining first. I only skimmed through the directions because I have made many bag linings and didn't think this was any different. Imagine my shock when at 10:30 on Wednesday night, after having sewn the exterior of the bag to the lining (and clipping the curves on the seam allowance) - I couldn't get the inside of the bag to lay flat - it was EXTREMELY lumpy and full of extra fabric. Long story short, I did the lining TOTALLY wrong and there was no salvaging it. I had to use a plain white lining amidst some recent yard sale fines as a replacement.

This bag is easy to make if you follow the directions and it is a deceptively clever design. I had no idea that the exterior of the bag has 4 built in pockets - it is really a great pattern for a diaper bag. Despite my troubles, I am very happy with how it turned out.

Noelani- I assume you are too busy on your travels right now to be reading this - but if you are - surprise! This one is coming to you.

Kimono style PJ's

So I thought I wasn't going to do much sewing this weekend because I had done so much during the week and I was tired. But one thing led to another, and before I knew it at 11:30 on Sat night, I was trying this pj top on a large Kermit doll. I finished the bottoms today (after) a long nap.

The pattern is from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones and the fabric, of course, is Urban Circus and Full Moon dot in Tangarine.

I made the largest size of the pattern - 9-12 mos and they are definitely not going to last too long for my ginormous child. Despite the sizing issue, I am super excited because I made clothes that actually came out nice and are quite cute. The pattern was easy to follow. I made the mistake of rushing through the pants, (because I thought they were easy and I have made pajama pants before), so I did have to do a fair amount of seam ripping. I like that "Little Stitches" book - but there are so many tiny words/instructions and definitely not enough pictorial instructions.

Elodie the Elephant

Okay, true confession: I haven't left my house for the past 3 days and was in "lounge yoga" pants the whole time. All the rain and Nick's fruitless job search really got me into a funk. A good friend recently explained that she has made time for sewing a lot recently because it gave her a feeling of control (to deal with postpartum depression). I totally get that.

So, once again, I had to cut into my Urban Circus to make something cute for Gregory. This came together all in an afternoon. I will admit to working on it while my son was awake- it's not hard to keep an eye on him while you are stuffing a softie (using the sewing machine, on the other hand is not wise). Although I do have another "true confession" - I think Gregory found a stray button and ate it. I think this softie is kind of ugly in a cute kind of way. I think I am going to wait to give it to Gregory for his 1st birthday. (BTW, the pattern is "Elodie the Elephant" in the One Yard Wonders book).

Last night, I decided to pull fabrics for a Tufted Tweets quilt. I had delayed on this because I thought I would never find the correct purple fabrics to complement the purples in the Tufted Tweets. Finally I realized - it really doesn't matter if it's not a true match. I love the look of combining fabrics from different collections and by adding other fabrics, I will make the Tufted Tweets last longer for other projects. (I really want to make those cubes but I don't know if I have enough interfacing!)

Wow- this grouping is SO rainbow - which I love! The pattern I am thinking about using only requires 18 fabrics - this is 29. I don't know if I can really pare (sp?) it down.

City Weekend Baby Quilt Top

Thanks for everyone's encouragement to attempt that circular quilt.... I don't think I am going to try it too soon because I am just not in the mood for a major challenge right now. I did, decide however, to do triangles today - so that's a bit more challenging than the other kinds of things I have been doing.

I have not yet blogged about last weekend's quilt show - Mancuso- but that is coming. While there, I picked up a charm pack of "City Weekend" and had to start sewing with it immediately.

I really should not have bought the charm pack - so I definitely couldn't justify getting this ruler (which I have wanted forever) - so I had to improvise a way to make half square triangles. Yes, I tried using my normal quilting ruler to draw correct lines down the center of the squares- but that was just a joke. So anyway, I found this 1/4" quilter's tape (undoubtedly bought at a yard sale a while ago) and lined it up down the center of the square and sewed on either side of it. I don't really recommend it, but it worked out okay.
I finished the quilt top today - it was really quick. Unfortunately, I couldn't get decent pictures though- I really rely on outdoor lighting and it's been rainy/gloomy all day.

If you are a child of the 80's like me - please tell me where this song comes from, "Pinwheel, pinwheel.... turning around....." It's been in my head all day.

I have to say that Moda has a good thing going with doing all of these pre-cuts. A charm pack is an affordable little invention that gives you a decent sized sample of every print.... It makes you want more of the fabric when they finally release it in yardage. I have to say that I am a big fan of this line now - when I saw glimpses of it online, at first I was kind of doubtful about it. But it's got a lot of good basics and many prints that are boy friendly.

Curved Piecing?

I am contemplating doing this quilt with these Hope Valley fabrics: (because I really like this quilt - but I don't like the raw edges). Am I crazy?

Full Contact Apron

I finished this last week and was able to give it to my good friend Christie today. The pattern comes from the book "Seams to Me" by Anna Maria Horner.

It fit her pretty well. Her husband teased me that I should've made one for him because he does all the cooking.

I was so happy to see her - the last time we'd gotten together was in March 2009 when I was pregnant with Gregory and Nick was doing his internship in Washington, DC. Christie is finishing a residency in pediatric dentistry in Philadelphia. We've been friends since our freshman year in college. I was so sad to miss her wedding last December, but things were crazy with having a newborn.

After all these "quick" projects, I am contemplating diving into a longer-term quilt project. More to come on that soon!

Black Forest Purse

I was really excited to be able to swap some unwanted fabric for the Melly and Me "Black Forest Purse" pattern. I whipped this up all in one day - yesterday actually. I went to bed with only having not attached the buttons. For some odd reason, I was recently thinking that I didn't really like Amy Butler fabrics that much - maybe because I have been working with a lot of bright, juvenile prints lately and was thinking about the merits of those... But this "Water Bouquet in Midnight" fabric is easily one of my favorites. I still want to make another purse, apron, and include it in a Amy Butler "Love" quilt.

These buttons couldn't be more perfect for the bag. When I was searching through my button collection, I could only find 2 and was lamenting the fact that I really needed 3. But obviously - I found another and I think it is a perfect match!

I think this one's for me, but we will see...............

Bibs and Birds

I couldn't wait to cut into my Urban Circus.... so here are my two first projects. I can't wait to make a larger-sized quilt for Gregory - but I keep telling myself I need to get cracking on my sister's quilt first. While I was at it, I decided to make a few more bibs. Here's one made out of fabrics I received in a swap:

I LOVE these "To the Rescue" fabrics for boys:

Made with leftover pieces from this quilt.

I completed 2 birds last night while watching a disc of Project Runway. That show got me through 4 months of sitting on the couch with a newborn. Is it me, or is it kind of boring until you see the "runway" part?

Urban Circus is Here!

I sold some of my Heather Ross and Flea Market Fancy in order to pay for buying some of 2010's best fabric collection debut: Urban Circus. Now I have been accused of liking the designer, Laurie Wisbrun, only because we share the same name. Let me tell you.... it doesn't hurt! Just kidding, but seriously - these elephants are my absolute favorite!!!! Tonight I am making a bunch of bibs for Gregory before I sit down to two hours of Glee and more hand-sewing: I have wanted to make this bird mobile for quite a while, but wasn't too thrilled when I learned how difficult it might be to sew these little buggers on the machine. No thank you. Luckily, I know this project will go much faster than my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.

And for the first time ever, I really cut myself with the rotary cutter today. Luckily Nick was home because it would've been hard to take care of myself and Gregory. Don't worry, what you see on the band-aid is first aid creme, not blood!

P.S. I finished the apron referenced in the last post, but haven't really been in the mood to do a photo shoot these past few days. I may wait until my friend, the recipient, is here to snap a picture. (She called me the day after it was completed and said she's stopping by on Sunday - can't wait!!!)

Sunday Sewing

Turns out I really didn't get many pictures at the Lowell Quilt Festival. I did capture a very cheerful Monet holding Gregory, but I wasn't sure if she wanted that plasted on the internet. (It's a great picture- don't worry Monet!) She held Gregory a lot as we walked around and I was impressed with her strength. I confirmed that Gregory weighed at least, if not more, 1/4 of her weight. This is the project I completed over the last half of the week. It is a mini quilt called, "Autumn in New England." I made it for a family that is moving out of the area. They have had some trials no one should have to face during their few years here, so I wanted to give them something special.

I used techniques I learned from making the Girl in the Swing quilt. The whole project was pretty easy and fun. It is a great scrappy project. I am going to do something very similar like this again soon.

I didn't chicken out this time and I did do free-motion quilting - both all around the leaves and tree, as well as the actual quilting. I also finally made a real quilt label.

Today, while both boys are sleeping, I am working on a long-overdue wedding present for a dear friend. I used to think I would make everyone quilts when they got married, but then I had a child!

Apple Pincushions

These were one of my "top secret" projects I completed on Thursday. Meaghan reads my blog sometimes, so I had to wait to post that I had made a small present for her. She is moving all the way to Seattle soon, and our NEMQG is definitely going to miss her! Meaghan, Monet, and Amy all met in Lowell today for the annual Quilt Festival. It was a great time going with friends who weren't just humoring me (like my husband). I took a few pictures I may post later, but I was a bit distracted with having Gregory along - so I didn't take many.

Scrap-Tastic Day!

Yesterday was the best sewing day I have had in a while. It helped a lot that Nick took Gregory to a park for a few hours. I had a few top secret projects- I finished one and the other one is coming along great. (Both of these projects were made all from scraps - which I LOVE). I also seized the chance to organize the sewing area in Gregory's room- it had become a SERIOUS mess. I finally got smart and made space for - current projects and another for my favorite fabrics.



While I was doing all that, I went ahead and pulled a ton of coordinates for the fabrics that Emily chose when I told her I would make her a graduation present. She is graduating today and I am sad to not be there! This is why I like having a sizable fabric stash even though it clutters my house.... It is so nice to just pull fabrics for a project. I am thinking about either doing an Oh Fransson pattern or something like this. Any opinions or suggestions are welcome.

After all my sewing- the day came to an end perfectly when I received an email that Hawthorne Threads had Urban Circus in stock. I think cleaning my sewing space tempered me though- so I didn't go too overboard.

9-Patch Lattice

Remember this post? Just shortly after my fabric diet started, I decided to make a quilt that required 3 yds of sashing (that I didn't have)..... I tried to go around it by swapping for the solid sashing - but that ended up being a total bomb that is still not resolved. Anyway, I finally gave in and used some of my birthday money plus a 50% off Joann's coupon to get a bunch of Kona Cotton in Ash. And here you are: The free pattern can be found here. Luckily I already have a wonky cut of batting that is big enough for this. I was going to try and start quilting it tonight- but that's not going to happen. I am thinking I might actually attempt free-motion stippling for the first time. Wish me luck!

Pop Garden Quilt Top- Done

Yesterday I tackled this beast and won! I didn't go to bed until midnight - but it's finished!!! Yay! Staying up late to finish it was probably not wise, as I sewed the last border on incorrectly and spent at least 20 mins with the seam ripper.... aarrggghhh. I showed it to my friend today and she said, "I wish that I could've taken that to my dorm room for my freshman year." I think that is a perfect way to describe what kind of quilt it will be.

This makes completed quilt top #5 (?) that I have not quilted... this is much too big for me to do on my own machine. I am really dying to take a local long-arm quilting class.

I loved learning a new technique- machine applique. I learned how to do it on my machine and was pleased with the performance of the Wal-Mart adhesive material I bought ages ago. But going around all those flowers! I wanted it to end after flower number three!

Celtics charity quilt

As if I didn't already have enough to do, the morning of Saturday's meeting, I decided to make blocks for the charity quilt to show the girl's what we would be making. It took longer for me to choose my fabrics than to actually sew th blocks - it was very easy!