Friday Night Sew in Results

I'm a little (all right a lot) late reporting my sewing from Friday night, but today has been one of those non-stop days.  All of the things on the to do list have been fun, but still busy!

I wasn't very productive, but I did at least get the binding sewn on my table runner.

I pieced the top and quilted this runner last year around this time and then just completely dropped the ball when it came to the binding.  Not sure why, but it happens, right?  Needless to say, I'm thrilled that I will be able to use it this year!

We are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning to visit my parents in southern Virginia.  We are so excited because they really go overboard with the Halloween decorations every year, so I'm interested to see the boys reaction to them.  Some of it is scary, so will see how my 2 year old handles it.  I'm hoping he doesn't have nightmares all week...

Anyway, we will be in the car for 6 hours tomorrow (without traffic), so that should give me plenty of time to sew on the binding.

I hope everyone else had a productive Friday Night Sew in!

W.I.P. Wednesday

I feel like a broken record with my W.I.P.'s.  I am still working on the same two quilts, the Hushabye and the baseball quilts.  I was able to make progress on both, but neither is finished.  I didn't have a lot of time to sew this past weekend due to traveling and visiting with family.  I'm not complaining of course because it was great to spend time with both my side of the family and the family I married, I just wasn't very productive.

The Hushabye quilt is coming along nicely.  I have attached the binding and just need to hand sew it to the back and then I'm finished.  I am so happy to be so close to finishing this one!  It is so pretty!

I am hoping to post a finished photo of this by the weekend.  It is going to be cold here so I'll need it!!

There is good news and bad news for the baseball quilt.

The good news, there is a finished top,

A pieced back,

Both of which are pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!!

The bad news:

What is with all these stinkin' loops on the back of my quilt!!  I decided to do "easy" organic straight line quilting for this one in order to meet the quickly approaching deadline for 100 Quilts for Christmas, but I keep messing up!!  I am so frustrated!!  The quilting on the front is perfect, the only problem is the loops on the back!!  I have tried adjusting the tension and cleaning the machine of dust, but nothing is working.  If anyone has any suggestions I could really use some help.  I have decided to FMQ this so that it will be finished in time (I never thought I would write that sentence).  Even though I have decided to change quilting methods I really am open to any advice.  I am so looking forward to the time when this quilting thing is a little easier!  While my piecing still isn't perfect I do feel comfortable doing it.  I used to have a problem with binding, but I seem to have worked through that process.  Quilting is always such a problem for me.  I know I need to practice, but I just get so frustrated!!

The only other update I can mention is I have started cutting out the red, white and blue quilt I am making for a Christmas gift.  I am hoping to get some serious sewing time in this weekend, but we'll see.  I also need to decorate for Christmas.  Hope everyone else had a very productive week!!



DC Modern Quilt Guild Sewing Lounge

Last night I had a great time at my first ever DC Modern Quilt Guild "meeting".  Everyone was so nice and welcoming, and I loved being around all those ladies sewing!!  I don't think I have ever seen so many sewing machines going in my life!!  By the time all of our projects are finished I think we will have made a large dent in our goal for 100 Quilts for Christmas.  See the event blogged about here.  I can't wait to go back on Saturday to help finish up! 

Here is a picture of my blocks.  I have four of the six finished.  I'm going to stop blogging about this quilt now and go try to finish it before my sweet little boy wakes up!!  I will post more as this project is closer to completion!

I love how this is turning out!  I can't wait to see it finished!

W.I.P. Wednesday

I'm a little late this week, but better late than never!!  I didn't make a whole lot of progress on my projects, but I completed my biggest goal!!  I finished free motion quilting my Hushabye quilt.  It took me many, many, many tries and I pulled out way more stitches than I ever dreamed I could, but it is done!  I am not going to pretend that it is the best quilting ever because it most certainly isn't, but I am so proud of myself for not giving up.  Sunday afternoon I decided to just get over myself and just quilt the thing and be done with it.  It turns out once I took the pressure off myself to be perfect I actually enjoyed the process which is the reason we quilt right?



I wasn't able to do the stipple quilting like I had originally planned, but I am happy with the random, wavy, vertical lines I used instead.  Like I said above it isn't perfect, but that's okay.  This is the first quilt I have ever FMQ, so it's okay if there are a few (or a lot) mistakes.  I am hoping that maybe next year when I am a quilting genius I will look back at this project and smile.  I know I will love snuggling under it with my boys!  I am taking a little break from it to work on other projects, but I do plan to bind it this weekend.  I will post a final picture when it's completely finished.

I didn't touch any of my other projects this week, but I hope to make up for lost time since my husband is taking all of Thanksgiving week off and I have been promised lots of sewing time!  Gotta love that!

I did add a new project this week.  I have finished cutting out the top for the charity quilt I am working on for 100 Quilts for Christmas.  I blogged about that here.

Now that Hurst is in bed, after I finish this post, these strips will be turned into a rail fence quilt top.  My goal is to have this finished by Saturday so I can turn it in with the rest of the guild's quilts.  Wish me luck!

My goals for this week are:

1. Finish binding Hushabye

2. Finish baseball quilt for charity

3. Cut out at least one of the Christmas quilts

Hope everyone has a very productive week!

100 Quilts for Christmas

I am so excited to be participating in this awesome sewing event.  It starts today, November 15th and lasts through the 15th of December.  The goal is to donate 100 quilts to children in your community (or other communites) this month.  If you can't find a charity in your area some suggestions are Margaret's Hope Chest and Project Linus.  To find out more details check out Kate at Swim, Bike, Quilt blog post.  If you do decide to participate you will be eligible for multiple fabulous giveaways!!  As if helping children in need weren't enough to get one excited for this event, there are prizes involved!!

On Thursday night the DC Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a sew in to make quilts for local kids in our community.  I can't wait!  It will be so much fun to get together with people who love to quilt and help out at the same time!  I will be sure to post details of the event later this week.

I have started cutting a baseball, rail fence quilt to work on Thursday night.  As I have said many times before I am slow, so I hope I am able to finish it in time!  Even if I can't it will still be fun to sew with everyone else! 

I would love to be able to say that I have made a large amount of progess on my other projects, but I can't.  I am still plugging away at the FMQ for the Hushabye quilt.  I am hoping to finish that up after I make the charity quilt.  I hope everyone else is having a very productive sewing day!

Work in Progress Wednesday

I am so excited to join in the fun of Lee's W.I.P Wednesday!  Hopefully this will help me stay on track and give me an extra push to finish those Christmas presents!  I definitely need to get cracking!

My W.IP.'s:

The Hushabye quilt:

I blogged about this earlier when this was just a quilt top.  Here is the pieced back I made with the leftover charm squares and some basic white fabric.  Hopefully during naptime I can start quilting this baby.  This will be the first quilt I have free motion quilted, and so far it's not going so great :(  I am giving myself until Friday to make it work or I am going to just do straight line quilting instead.  The weather has definitely turned cool in these parts and I want my quilt!!  I don't know if I have enough patience to stipple it!

The Red, White, and Blue Quilt

So far this is just a pile of fabric, but eventually it will be a gift for someone very important.  I won't be able to show pictures of the finished product until after the holidays, but I will update every week on the progress.

The Brown and Blue quilt



Also, just another pile of pretty fabric, but this will hopefully soon be a quilt for another special someone.  Like the red, whilte and blue I can't show the final project until after the holidays, but I promise I will be working on it!  I plan to use this tutorial to make a double hourglass quilt.  I can't wait to see how this one turns out!

The Dr. Seuss quilt

This is the quilt I am most looking forward to completing!  My husband and I are expecting our second child (a boy!) in early March!  Needless to say, we are over the moon excited!  As soon as I saw the fabric I knew I had to make a quilt out of it for #2!  I plan on using a pattern out this book.  The trick will be making myself work on the Christmas presents and not jump right into this one!  This line of fabrics is just too cute!!

These quilts will be my focus for the next few weeks, but I reserve the right to take a break and make pillows,stockings and other Christmas projects along the way!  I am afraid that when it comes to quilting/sewing I have a bad case of ADHD!  That's why I am hoping this project will help me stay focused!

Mary Mary, quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

Very, very slowly!!  Just one little flower at a time.

Baking and a little sewing...

This weekend was not very productive on the sewing front, but I did manage to make another hexagon flower for the GMFG quilt.

Gotta love those pink polka dots!!

I did, however, perform some magic in the kitchen.  Saturday morning I made pumpkin waffles that were to die for!!  If you are a pumpkin fan you MUST try these!

I also made my favorite sugar cookies from good ol' Martha.  The only changes I make to this recipe is I use 3 1/2 cups flour instead of 4 cups and I always add either lemon or orange zest to add a little more flavor.  This is the best recipe for cutouts.  They always hold their shape so nicely!  Since I didn't feel like pulling out the piping bags I frosted these with this delicious icing.  Of course the decorating wasn't as pretty as when I take the time to pipe royal icing, but boy these are delicious!  Since these cookies were just for us I think that's all that matters!

I am still plugging away on the "Hushabye" quilt.  I hope to have the backing finished soon.  First, I need to figure out what I am going to practice free motion quilting on.  Definitely don't want to just jump in and start on the quilt without practicing first!  I really need to get over myself and just quilt already!  I am always so chicken when it comes to trying something new.  Hopefully tomorrow during naptime I will get something accomplished!

Sewing update

Unfortunately, there wasn't much sewing accomplished this past week.  I have had a great time playing with Hurst and hanging out with my fabulous husband, so I can't complain too much, but I do miss my sewing machine.  Tonight after the baby goes to sleep I have vowed to work on my Tula Pink "Hushabye" quilt.

Here is the quilt top in all its' wrinkled glory waiting patiently on the ironing board for me.  This will be the last of my works in progress to finish before I start on the Christmas projects.  I know it's a little early, but I'm slow so I should have started at least a month ago.  Oh well...

I will be so happy when this one is finished because it will be all mine!!  I made this out of six charm packs, and I think it will be the perfect size for snuggling under on the couch!  I know it is just another boring patchwork quilt, but I can't help loving it.  I am mostly excited (and nervous) because I am going to try my hand at free motion quilting for the first time with this quilt!  Tonight I am going to hopefully piece the back and then hopefully during naptime tomorrow I will baste it and start quilting!

I do have a long term project that I worked on a little this weekend.  When I say long term, I do mean very long term!  I estimate that so far I have been working on this quilt off and on (mostly off) for five years.  It is my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  This quilt pattern is the reason I wanted to learn to quilt.  Needless, to say it has been a lot of work and there is much more to come, but I can't imagine the sense of accomplishment I will feel when it is finished!

Here are the blocks I have made so far spread out on the dining room table.  I need 67 and so far I have 47.  Only twenty more to go!  Of course then I have to add the multiple borders, quilt and bind the monster, so I will be working on this for a long time!  It will all be done by hand, so it has been the perfect travel project.  My goal is to work on it at least once a week to finish it as soon as possible.  We will see how that goes!

Sorry for such a long-winded post!  Now I'm off to put a sleepy little boy to bed and then quilt.

Baking and Sewing

Today was a very productive day.  On top of the usual housework and toddler care, I was able to do some baking and sewing.

Unfortunately, my husband and son don't share in my love of all things sweet.  Of course, in their defense, I do have one of the biggest sweet teeth around!!  The three of us do agree on one thing: pumpkin sweets are delicious!!  I made one of my go-to pumpkin treats this morning, pumpkin muffins.  I recently started using this recipe and I think it is perfect!  I cut down on the amount of sugar called for, but other than that I stay pretty true to the recipe as written.

They may not be much to look at, but these are perfect for breakfast with a glass of milk or tea in the afternoon!
On the sewing front, I made two blocks this morning for an exchange at my quilt guild meeting tomorrow night.  I am a new member, but so far I just love it.  It is so nice to have two nights a month where I am surrounded by people who all share my passion for quilting.  This group is filled with so many talented people!  I get inspired all over again everytime I go.  I really hope whoever ends up with my blocks likes them...I am a little nervous since I am a novice quilter!

We are using Bonnie Hunter's Happy Scrappy Houses pattern for exchange this year.  I was hoping to have at least three blocks for exchange this month, but no such luck.  While I think these turned out really good, the piecing was a little tricky for me, so I am thrilled to have these made!  I can't wait to see what I get in return.  So exciting!

Space Quilt For Max

I have finished a quilt that I have been working on since this spring and it felt so good to scratch it off my to do list.  I made it for my adorable nephew Max who was born in July (I'm a little late, but better late than never right?) for his outer space themed nursery.

It is just a simple patchwork, but I am so proud of it!  It is made from the incredible David Walker Rockets and Cosmo Cricket Cosmog lines and it is so cute!  It can be really hard to find cute boy fabric, but when I heard how Max's room would be decorated I knew this fabric would just be perfect!

The back was pieced very simply, a robot print bordered with Red Rockets.  I can't decide which side I like better!  I know that he will love the bright colors.

One last picture of the quilt with my favorite model...my sixteen month old son Hurst!  He can always be counted on to ham it up whenever there is a camera around!
Now I just need to wash the quilt, wrap it and deliver it to Max this weekend.