A Weekend Challenge

Recently my online quilt group had a weekend challenge to "Make a Project From What You Have on Hand."   You may not believe this, but I have plenty on hand (aka my stash).  So, I figured I could make a great project.  And I did.  

The first thing I did was pull a couple of "Summersault" charm packs by Erin McMorris which I had bought from Missouri Star Quilt Company.   

These are really fun fabrics so I decided to make a quick baby quilt to either put back for a little girl or donate to charity.  (There I go with the baby quilts again!)

After I got the top together I looked through my stash and found a great dark pink batik that worked perfectly for the borders .....

..... and the binding. 

I went digging through my stash again and found this beautiful pink and orange and yellow fabric I had bought sometime, somewhere on clearance, and there was enough for the backing.  

I did some straight line quilting (I'm getting better at it!) and finished it pretty quickly.  Then I put the binding on and finished up stitching that down by hand, a nice relaxing way to finish a weekend of sewing.  

It turned out really cute, and it was a fun weekend project.  

Wouldn't it be nice if I could get that much done every weekend?

Hudson's Quilt

When I bought the fabric for "Grampa's Little Genius"  which I told you about in this post,  I bought more than I needed hoping to make another baby quilt from it.   I loved a quilt my friend Rita had made after "seeing it somewhere," so I sketched it out and determined that I had enough for it.  I cut it out and set it aside waiting for just the right baby.

Recently Baby Hudson made his entrance into this world so I started looking for quilt ideas trying to figure out what to make for him.  His Aunt Leah sent me a photo of his nursery, and guess what?  The wall color works perfectly with this fabric.  I got busy!

This was a really fun quilt to work on because of having everything prepped ahead of time.  Maybe I should do that more often.  It went together fast.

Straight-line quilting was the right choice for this quilt.  I'm getting a little better at it, I think.  Even if it's not perfect I mean for these quilts to be used, spit up on (and worse!) and dragged around.  After a few washings, who can tell, right?

So, another baby quilt went into the mail, and a sweet little baby can start snuggling right away.

Hudson's mama sent me these photos of him so I could include them here.  I think he likes it!  If nothing else, he's feeling very mellow about it.  

I'm linking up with WIP's Be Gone at A Quilting Reader's Garden.

November's Goal Met! -- "Otherness"

 I have to say this was a fun goal to work on, and I'm glad I finished it.  It was outside my comfort zone, but something I want to do more of.  The little art quilt I started for my sister last April has been pinned and basted for a long time.  I had tried to do a little free motion quilting on it and hated it so much I ripped it all out and threw it into a pile of "stuff!"

Starting over, I decided to take it one section at a time and see what happens.

Straight-line quilting gets a little boring, but it sure looks good!

Once I had the binding on it still needed a little something so I dug out the BeJeweler I bought and never used.  (I have tons of tools, notions, and rulers that have yet to be removed from their original packaging.  I bet other quilters never do that!)

That was fun!  It's a good thing I'm not a sweatshirt gal or I might have been up all night BeJewelling away.

I did "just enough" to give it a little pizzazz.  

I call it "Otherness" which is a word I came across in a novel and loved.  It perfectly fits my sister.  I can't wait to see this hanging in her home. 

I am linking up with the ALYoF November Finishes Party at Fiber of All Sorts.   My original goal was #66 and my finish is #41.

September Goal Met - Liam's Baby Quilt

This month it was touch and go, but I finished my September A Lovely Year of Finishes goal with a whole day to spare.  Whew!  I was beginning to think I should have set a simpler goal - maybe just make the top and not the entire quilt.  

This quilt was not on my Projects List for the year until my sister asked me to make a baby quilt for a special friend.  Baby's room is navy and grey so I chose a Herringbone pattern from a website (Newly Woodwards) I found through Pinterest.  She shares an excellent tutorial there. 

Normally I trim off all the dog ears from my half-square-triangles on my cutting board, but I trimmed them this time as I sewed and let them fall onto the floor. I just had to take a picture. 

I almost always press my seams open for more precise piecing. 

I actually remembered to use the double pinning method when I sewed the rows together so the corners of my HST's match well.  It helps to pin on each side of the seam when your design is graphic and you have high contrast pieces.  

I've only done straight-line quilting once before, and it was on a quilt with lots of prints so it didn't show up as much as on this quilt with all solids.  It is a lot harder than it looks! The walking foot helped, but it's far from perfect.  

Last night I got to sit and relax while stitching down the binding.  Ahhh, my favorite part.

So Baby's quilt is done and my goal is met.  I am a happy girl.

I am linking up with Fiber of All Sorts for their ALYoF September Finishes Party.