Baby girl quilts!

Finally finished working on all 3 baby girl quilts. Each one is for the precious baby girl of friends. They were all due this football season (like life wasn't busy enough!). The twins decided to get themselves born early, nothing like the pressure of babies already being born to light a fire under a quilter. They were teeny tiny and perfect. Each is gaining weight and doing well.

I wanted to use the same materials but not make them the same quilt. I settled on Moda's Puttin on the Ritz, in pink, of course.

On to finding patterns. I couldn't find anything I was truly in love with. I finally found a pinwheel block that I wanted to modify for a different quilt. After looking at it, I realized it would be perfect for this project. I'm not a big fan of sashing and borders and quite honestly, they caused me some real problems. I finally got the kinks worked out.

Love it.

For the other, I knew I wanted to try the great granny block because I was in love as soon as I saw it. I didn't want to use a white fabric for a baby though. I chose some denim that has been hanging out in my stash for a while.

I'm seriously in love with this quilt. If I didn't adore the parents of these babies, I'd be keepin this sucker for myself.

The backs are the same.

 As is the super cute polka dot binding.

 Quilts in a tree!

The other baby girl came slightly early but was still full term. I wanted a playful, bright quilt for her. I found this hiding in my stash and knew it would be perfect. I didn't like the olive green so I pulled it out.

I saw the Four Squared pattern in the Moda bake shop and had to make it.

The weather wasn't as nice the day I finished this one.

Wow, it has been a while!

Fall has been very very very busy. My son's football team is undefeated and we have been super busy with that. Work is crazy as usual and Aggie football has been FUN! All of that means precious little time with my machine.

I took this week off work and decided I should make sewing a priority. I feel so much better. A few things have been finished and a few more are well on their way.

Big List

1. Aprons
   
2. Bailey Most blocks pieced. Layout started
3. Kyle All decisions made. quilting this week
4. Swoon 3 blocks made, 6 to go.
5. Pillowcases 6 made.
6. Secret #1 Has to be done by Christmas. Looking iffy
7. Secret #2 Finalize design and fabrics this month. ugh, I keep changing my mind!
8. Secret #3 Have fabrics. Design chosen. Might get started this week.
9. Baby quilt #1 DONE!!! Pics later this week.
10. Baby quilt #2 DONE!!!! Pics later this week.
11. Baby quilt #3DONE!!!! Pics later this week.
12. Arbor Lane Not sure if this is going to get worked on anytime soon.
13. Potholders for gifts
14. Pouches Because I'm now obsessed with making cute little pouches.
15. Socks Having some issues with the one on the loom. Leaving it alone for a bit. 
16.  Heather Step 1 of 3 blocks complete. I started piecing the rest as leader/ender blocks while working on the baby quilts. Working great so far.

Going to try to come up with a gameplan for the rest of the week while gettin my hair done!
 

Trying to play catch up...

I need to kick things into high gear in order to finish Christmas presents and baby quilts. I have one finished and I can't share it with you until next week.

Two of the other baby quilts need to be worked on fairly quickly. They are for the baby girls of my friends Sam & Pete. The sweet babies were not due until December but decided to get themselves born last Saturday. They are teeny tiny but perfect and doing well. Auntie Jenn needs to spend some quality time with her sewing machine now.

I know you'll all be shocked but I ordered fabric almost as soon as I could. Sunday evening. It's here and it's all beautiful.

The weather has turned cooler and we even got some rain. There is grass in my yard, y'all. I'm not sure what to think of that.

Okay, time to get ready for work. Hopefully I'll get some good time with the machine this evening.

Summer is over!!!

THAT MEANS I CAN BUY FABRIC!!!!!

Summer was difficult. There were soooooooo  many things I wanted to buy.

I'm going to start slowly with a few things I need for backings and couple things I fell in love with.

y'all have a great Sunday.

halfway through September

And football is in full swing. My son's team is 3-0. My college team is 1-1. It's exciting and busy around here. Unfortunately, that means the sewing room gets neglected. I have managed to sneak in a couple hours here and there. The weather is rainy today so I might get something done today!

I'm not going to make a September list because there are enough August unfinished projects to keep me busy for a while. I'll just make some updates on the "big list". Also, my self-imposed fabric buying ban is almost up. Thank goodness. This has been way more difficult than I thought it would be.

Big List

1. Aprons
   
2. Bailey Most blocks pieced. Layout started
3. Kyle All decisions made. Top finished. Quilting this month
4. Swoon 3 blocks made, 6 to go.
5. Pillowcases 4 made.
6. Secret #1 Has to be done by Christmas.
7. Secret #2 Finalize design and fabrics this month.
8. Secret #3 Have fabrics. Need to pick a design.
9. Baby quilt #1 2 of 9 blocks complete
10. Baby quilt #2 All 16 blocks complete. Now to work on sashing. Having some issues with it.
11. Baby quilt #3 Top complete. Searching for proper backing fabric.
12. Arbor Lane Not sure if this is going to get worked on anytime soon.
13. Potholders for gifts
14. Pouches Because I'm now obsessed with making cute little pouches.
15. Socks Having some issues with the one on the loom. Leaving it alone for a bit.
16. Heather Step 1 of 3 blocks complete. I started piecing the rest as leader/ender blocks while working on the baby quilts. Working great so far.

Time to get in there and get started. Good sewing, good quilting, or whatever makes you happy!

Oh my stars, it's September!

August was crazy busy. I didn't post all month. Geez. I didn't get a ton of stuff done either.

August list

1. Apron need to decide on pattern and fabrics Done and delivered. She loved it. I forgot to take pictures
2. Swoon block I think the purple block this month Didn't happen
3. Pillowcases Boy fabrics this month Also didn't happen, so 4 this month
4. Kyle Baste and quilt by end of month Yeah, it's sitting on the table looking at me.
5. Bailey Finish all blocks and begin layout I laid all the blocks on the guest bed, pics below, only like 7 to finish.
6. Heather Finish step 1 of 3 blocks Done!
7. Baby quilt #1 Piece top Well, I made another block anyway
8. Baby quilt #3 choose design and fabrics So, this one just grabbed my heart and away I went. The top is pieced. Need to choose backing fabric.
9. Secret project #2 finalize design and fabrics Didn't even think about this one.
10. Pouch for swap Must do this week. Done. Delivered. Loved.

Of course, I did a few things not on the list!

My best friend had a birthday this month. I made her an awesome trippy apron (that I forgot to take pics of), some fuzzy socks, and a pouch. She found some cool laminated cotton in an owl print, so I made her a makeup bag.

and it's lined in the same fabric

thought of her the entire time I made this one so it had to go too.

Pouch for the AMQG swap

I forgot to take a pic of this completed, but I made this for our football booster club fundraiser silent auction

Big List

1. Aprons
   
2. Bailey Most blocks pieced. Layout started
3. Kyle All decisions made. Top finished. Quilting this month
4. Swoon 3 blocks made, 6 to go.
5. Pillowcases 4 made.
6. Secret #1 Has to be done by Christmas.
7. Secret #2 Finalize design and fabrics this month.
8. Secret #3 Have fabrics. Need to pick a design.
9. Baby quilt #1 2 of 9 blocks complete
10. Baby quilt #2 12 of 16 blocks complete.
11. Baby quilt #3 Top complete. Searching for proper backing fabric.
12. Arbor Lane Not sure if this is going to get worked on anytime soon.
13. Potholders for gifts
14. Pouches Because I'm now obsessed with making cute little pouches.
15. Socks I made some fuzzy house socks. The other one is still on the loom. Maybe during the Olympics I can finish it.
16. Heather Step 1 of 3 blocks complete. I need to type up a longer post about this.

First Sunday in August {new list}

How the heck is it August already? Last month was super productive but this month is going to be busy. Hopefully, I can still make good progress.


August list

1. Apron need to decide on pattern and fabrics
2. Swoon block I think the purple block this month
3. Pillowcases Boy fabrics this month
4. Kyle Baste and quilt by end of month
5. Bailey Finish all blocks and begin layout
6. Heather Finish step 1 of 3 blocks
7. Baby quilt #1 Piece top
8. Baby quilt #3 choose design and fabrics
9. Secret project #2 finalize design and fabrics
10. Pouch for swap Must do this week.

Big List

1. Aprons
   
2. Bailey Most blocks pieced. Layout started
3. Kyle All decisions made. Top finished. Quilting this month
4. Swoon 3 blocks made, 6 to go.
5. Pillowcases 4 made.
6. Secret #1 Has to be done by Christmas.
7. Secret #2 Finalize design and fabrics this month.
8. Secret #3 Have fabrics. Need to pick a design.
9. Baby quilt #1 Design and fabrics chosen
10. Baby quilt #2 Design and fabrics chosen
11. Baby quilt #3 I know it's for a baby girl. That's all I got right now.
12. Arbor Lane Not sure if this is going to get worked on anytime soon.
13. Potholders for gifts
14. Pouches Because I'm now obsessed with making cute little pouches.
15. Socks I made some fuzzy house socks. The other one is still on the loom. Maybe during the Olympics I can finish it.
16. Heather Design and fabrics chosen. Cutting done. I'm actually stupid excited about this one. I know she's going to love not only the quilt but the idea behind it!

How about a few bad phone pics for those of you who have made it this far...
Cute little pouches

Baby quilts sneak peek

Until next time, good quilting, good sewing, or whatever makes you happy!

Sunday list {July wrapup}

A short post to say...I finished EVERYTHING on my July list BEFORE the end of the month. Whoop!!!

I'm working on finalizing my August list. Y'all have a great week!

Sunday list

 Oh, wow. It looks like I am actually going to complete all my projects BEFORE the end of the month. I'm pretty shocked to be honest. Let's update this thing...pics at the bottom.

July

1. Apron for someone else. Done and delivered.
2. 2 Swoon blocks 1 complete, other mostly pieced, maybe I'll finish it this afternoon.
3. 2 pillowcases Done
4. Ironing board cover Done.
5. Sewing machine cover Done
6. choose pattern and fabric for Heather's quilt. Done, I even cut the fabric and started layout. Go me!

Big List

1. Ironing board cover
2. Sewing machine cover
3. Aprons this month's is done
4. Bailey Most blocks pieced. Layout started
5. Kyle All decisions made. Top finished. Maybe quilting next month.
6. Swoon 2 blocks complete, 7 to go.
7. Pillowcases 4 made.
8. Secret #1 Will be next month's big project.
9. Secret #2 I'm back to my original idea on this.
10. Baby quilt By November
11. Arbor Lane Not a darn thing
12. More baby quilts By December
13. Socks Didn't touch
14. Heather Lots of progress this week.

 Swoon block #2, points match up much better on this one.




 

 Swoon block #3, almost done.





 

 Pillowcases, love this brown and pink combo



Blurry sneak peek of Heather's quilt
 

 Until next time, good sewing, good quilting, or whatever makes you happy.

Busy sewing weekend {July List}

Wow, I got into the sewing room this weekend and spent HOURS. I made a lot of headway on this month's list AND did some work on Bug's Christmas quilt. First the lists, then some pics of what I finished below.

July

1. Apron for someone else. Done and delivered.
2. 2 Swoon blocks
3. 2 pillowcases
4. Ironing board cover Done.
5. Sewing machine cover Done
6. choose pattern and fabric for Heather's quilt. 

Big List

1. Ironing board cover
2. Sewing machine cover
3. Aprons this month's is done
4. Bailey Most blocks pieced. Layout started
5. Kyle All decisions made. Top finished. Maybe quilting next month.
6. Swoon Did nothing last month, hope to make up for that this month.
7. Pillowcases last month's completed. Now to pick fabric for this month.
8. Secret #1 Will be next month's big project.
9. Secret #2 still undecided about exactly what to do
10. Baby quilt By November
11. Arbor Lane Not a darn thing
12. More baby quilts By December
13. Socks Didn't touch
14. Heather Lots of thinking, no decisions.

Carlye's apron

 Ironing board cover and new pad.

 Sewing machine cover. Love the pirates. Didn't measure, oops. Had to add a "skirt" to make it fit well.

Good sewing, good quilting, or whatever makes you happy.

Tetris quilt

I have this great group of friends. We have a secret santa exchange twice a year. I had seen Tetris quilts on the 'net before and really wanted to make one. I knew the gal I drew for also likes Tetris. Soooooo, I decided to try. It isn't perfect but I really like the way it turned out.

 Kona solids except for purple. I forgot to buy the purple and used a textured fat quarter in my stash.

 Her initials are N.H. so I incorporated them into the "T" on the back.

 The backing is from JoAnn and matches a collection of cute sock monkey fabrics.

Quilt in a tree just because I like it.

June wrap up

Okay, I didn't finish everything I set out to do BUT I did add a time-intensive project halfway through the month. Forgive the bad cellphone pics, please.

To be finished in June:
Wildflower quilt 

1 Swoon block (didn't get to this so I will do 2 in July)
Apron for me

1 apron for someone else (Didn't get to it. It's my first July project. Plan to have it done by the 4th.)
sewing machine cover (nope. will do in July)
ironing board cover (If you look in that last pic above, you can see it laid out. It will be my 2nd July project)
1 pillowcase (I MADE TWO!!! These are super easy and 2 yds of fabric will give you two coordinating cases.)

super secret project (Finished and in the mail. It will get it's own post later this week.)

All in all, not a bad month. For July, I will not add an extra project that has to be finished.

Good sewing, good quilting, or whatever makes you happy.

This thing called Thursday...

I finished my super secret project. It's in the washer now. I'll take it and my apron outside for pics later this evening. Adding that project to my list and taking a vacation really messed with my progress on my list. I am going to try to spend some time in the sewing room the next couple of days. I need to decide which are the most important (to me) projects to finish. Nothing left on the June list has an actual deadline.

June List

1. Wildflower quilt 
2. 1 Swoon block
3. Apron for me
4. 1 apron for someone else
5. sewing machine cover
6. ironing board cover
7. 1 pillowcase
8. super secret project 

I think I'll do the apron and ironing board cover for sure. If anything else gets done, it'll be BONUS.

I'm super excited about sending off this secret project. I hope the recipient loves it!

Sunday List

 What a lovely, relaxing week...we spent the first part in San Antonio and finished at home. I got some quality time with the still unnamed machine as well. The super secret project is nearly done. I am hoping to finish it tonight. I took the sock with me and worked on it in the car. It's coming along nicely.

Only 6 days left so I think I will be spending most evenings in the sewing room to try to finish these projects. I know I can do it. I played with and showed off a bunch of my lovely fabrics with my mom here this weekend. It helped with the OMG WHY DID I DECIDE NOT TO BUY FABRIC freakout.

I finished my apron earlier and as soon as it's trimmed up, I'll post some pictures. It's super cute but not perfect. It will help keep the threads off my clothes and that's all that matters.

The Wildflower quilt made it to my friend on her birthday. She loves it. I am happy.

To be finished in June:

1. Wildflower quilt pics here
2. 1 Swoon block
3. Apron for me
4. 1 apron for someone else
5. sewing machine cover
6. ironing board cover
7. 1 pillowcase
8. super secret project

 Master List (in order by priority)

1. Wildflowers quilt- Needs to be quilted, bound, and mailed by mid June
2. Sewing machine cover- Will be finished this month
3. Ironing board cover- Will also be finished this month
4. Apron for me - Fabric cut. I just need to sew it up.
5. Aprons- I've gotten a few requests. I have the fabric just need to make them. Will finish one this month
6. Bailey's Christmas quilt-2 blocks made! Lots of prep done to make the blocks go together faster.
7. Kyle's Christmas quilt.- Top complete. Backing fabric delivered. Quilting plan decided.
8. Swoon quilt- One block complete!!! Love it! Will make 1 block per month.
9. Because I obviously need more projects, I found this A Case for Smiles and have to get involved. It will be a great way to use up some novelty prints lurking in my stash. Haven't made one yet but I did pull some fabrics. Will make 1 case per month
10. Secret project 1- I've changed my mind about what I want to do. More soon.
11. Secret project 2- Pattern picked. All fabrics for the top purchased. Needs to be finished by August.
12. Baby quilt- Needs to be finished by November
13. Arbor Lane BOM quilt. I started this one on our honeymoon last year (roadtrip). I am handpiecing it. No roadtrips, no work on this one.
14. More baby quilts- To be finished by December.
15. Socks. This is actually going well just slow. I work on it while watching television with the guys. 

Good sewing, good quilting, or whatever makes you happy. 

Sunday List

I didn't get much accomplished this week. Work was crazy as I was preparing to be off for a week. WOOHOO VACATION! We aren't doing much, a quick trip to San Antonio, a few days at home, and a visit from my parents. It will be fun times. I just need some time to decompress. I did spend a bit of quality time with my machine though. Oh, I need to name her. I name all my cars; my machine definitely needs a name. I'm working on it.

Finished one project. Started on a secret one. I made decent progress on it. On to the lists....

To be finished in June:

1. Wildflower quilt quilting started DONE and MAILED!
2. 1 Swoon block
3. Apron for me
4. 1 apron for someone else
5. sewing machine cover
6. ironing board cover
7. 1 pillowcase
8. super secret project

 Master List (in order by priority)

1. Wildflowers quilt- Needs to be quilted, bound, and mailed by mid June
2. Sewing machine cover- Will be finished this month
3. Ironing board cover- Will also be finished this month
4. Apron for me - Fabric cut. I just need to sew it up.
5. Aprons- I've gotten a few requests. I have the fabric just need to make them. Will finish one this month
6. Bailey's Christmas quilt-2 blocks made! Lots of prep done to make the blocks go together faster.
7. Kyle's Christmas quilt.- Top complete. Backing fabric delivered. Quilting plan decided.
8. Swoon quilt- One block complete!!! Love it! Will make 1 block per month.
9. Because I obviously need more projects, I found this A Case for Smiles and have to get involved. It will be a great way to use up some novelty prints lurking in my stash. Haven't made one yet but I did pull some fabrics. Will make 1 case per month
10. Secret project 1- I've changed my mind about what I want to do. More soon.
11. Secret project 2- Pattern picked. All fabrics for the top purchased. Needs to be finished by August.
12. Baby quilt- Needs to be finished by November
13. Arbor Lane BOM quilt. I started this one on our honeymoon last year (roadtrip). I am handpiecing it. No roadtrips, no work on this one.
14. More baby quilts- To be finished by December.
15. Socks. This is actually going well just slow. I work on it while watching television with the guys. 

That's about it. I need to go pack so we can get on the road soon.

Good sewing, good quilting, or whatever makes you happy.

Wildflower quilt COMPLETE!

This one has been fun to work on the entire time. It just came together so easily. Sure, points don't match and such as that but creatively, I never hit a wall.

 If you have been following along, you know this quilt used to have borders. Once I got it backed and started to quilt it, I decided the wide and pieced borders were too much. I sliced it down to a 1 1/2 inch border and I'm much happier with it. It is "organically" quilted in the ditch with a variegated thread.

 The back is pieced from an extra square (bordered the way the quilt originally way) with the bluebonnet print from the same Moda line and a "Quilt Across Texas" print that I fell in love with at first sight.

 Hey, I even remembered to use a label!

 I like the look of quilts in trees...if only my grass would grow.

Close up of the binding. A snazzy black and white print from my stash.

This quilt is in the mail to a friend who has NO IDEA it's about to show up on her doorstep. I can hardly wait to see her reaction.

Fabric...

So, I cleaned the sewing room yesterday. It was a much bigger task than I was prepared for. I need to totally reorganize fabric. It's kinda ridiculous. I found fabric that I didn't remember buying...and it wasn't that long ago that I bought it.

I have decided that it is time to try a longer fabric free period. I made it through a whole month earlier this year. This time, I'll try for a whole season. I am going to work only from my stash for the entire summer. I will not buy fabric from June 20th to September 21st. I'm probably going to get grumpy so have patience with me. ;)

I don't really need anything new. I'm sure there are plenty that I want. I have everything to finish all the projects I'm working on now. We'll see how it goes.

Sunday list

Not a lot of sewing this week, I did start something that I can easily do while watching tv with my guys. I started knitting socks! Okay, I started on one sock and being me, I couldn't pick the most simple to start. It's going well just slower than I expected. I'm trying to type this from my husband's new tablet and I'm getting frustrated.

Okay, gave up on the tablet.
To be finished in June:

1. Wildflower quilt quilting started
2. 1 Swoon block
3. Apron for me
4. 1 apron for someone else
5. sewing machine cover
6. ironing board cover
7. 1 pillowcase

Yeah, that's all I worked on. I'm going to try to get it finished this week.

 Master List (in order by priority)

1. Wildflowers quilt- Needs to be quilted, bound, and mailed by mid June
2. Sewing machine cover- Will be finished this month
3. Ironing board cover- Will also be finished this month
4. Apron for me - Fabric cut. I just need to sew it up.
5. Aprons- I've gotten a few requests. I have the fabric just need to make them. Will finish one this month
6. Bailey's Christmas quilt-2 blocks made! Lots of prep done to make the blocks go together faster.
7. Kyle's Christmas quilt.- Top complete. Backing fabric delivered. Quilting plan decided.
8. Swoon quilt- One block complete!!! Love it! Will make 1 block per month.
9. Because I obviously need more projects, I found this A Case for Smiles and have to get involved. It will be a great way to use up some novelty prints lurking in my stash. Haven't made one yet but I did pull some fabrics. Will make 1 case per month
10. Secret project 1- I've changed my mind about what I want to do. More soon.
11. Secret project 2- Pattern picked. All fabrics for the top purchased. Needs to be finished by August.
12. Baby quilt- Needs to be finished by November
13. Arbor Lane BOM quilt. I started this one on our honeymoon last year (roadtrip). I am handpiecing it. No roadtrips, no work on this one.
14. More baby quilts- To be finished by December.

Had a weekend full of baseball and friends.
Good quilting, good sewing, or whatever makes you happy!

Changin up the list a little

So, I think I need a bit more structure in my list just to keep me from adding random things and having to RUSH to finish gifts and such on time. In order to accomplish this, I am going to have an overall list and a monthly list. Hopefully, this will keep my wandering mind on task!

To be finished in June:

• Wildflower quilt
• 1 Swoon block
• Apron for me
• 1 apron for someone else
• sewing machine cover
• ironing board cover
• 1 pillowcase

 Master List (in order by priority)

1. Wildflowers quilt- Needs to be quilted, bound, and mailed by mid June
2. Sewing machine cover- Will be finished this month
3. Ironing board cover- Will also be finished this month
4. Apron for me - Fabric cut. I just need to sew it up.
5. Aprons- I've gotten a few requests. I have the fabric just need to make them. Will finish one this month
6. Bailey's Christmas quilt-2 blocks made! Lots of prep done to make the blocks go together faster.
7. Kyle's Christmas quilt.- Top complete. Backing fabric delivered. Quilting plan decided.
8. Swoon quilt- One block complete!!! Love it! Will make 1 block per month.
9. Because I obviously need more projects, I found this A Case for Smiles and have to get involved. It will be a great way to use up some novelty prints lurking in my stash. Haven't made one yet but I did pull some fabrics. Will make 1 case per month
10. Secret project 1- I've changed my mind about what I want to do. More soon.
11. Secret project 2- Pattern picked. All fabrics for the top purchased. Needs to be finished by August.
12. Baby quilt- Needs to be finished by November
    
13. Arbor Lane BOM quilt. I started this one on our honeymoon last year (roadtrip). I am handpiecing it. No roadtrips, no work on this one.
14. More baby quilts- To be finished by December.

 I do have a few other projects I want to work on but I am going to force myself to finish some of these before I add them to the list.

Good quilting, good sewing, or whatever makes you happy!

WIP Wednesday

Chain piecing squares for Bug's quilt. I love this book.

This is what it's going to be. Sorta.