frog quilt

This is another project that had been sitting waiting for a due date. The color is so much better in person I really should have waited to take the pic in daylight tomorrow. I liked the frog prints and didn't know what to do with the flannel, I was going to make some pants or something for my daughter but then decided to just do a little kid quilt. You can never have too many handmade quilts on your shelf incase of a last minute birthday present or shower gifts. I might even make a run to donate a few with winter here. There are 2 more quilts waiting to get finished and not sure what I want to work on next. I think the pinwheel one for our bedroom would be best now for the cold winter nights. I really need to find a nice old wardrobe unit to store my quilts and blankets in. Might have to hardcore garage sale this srping

Scrap quilt done

this lil' guy is done!!! I feel like everything is in slow-mo lately. I am not getting in as much time at the machine so things are taking a little longer to get completed. I really like how this little guy turned out. I think it is about 35' square. I will definitely do this design again. I finished it up with all scraps and it feels so good to put it all to use and not waste any fabric. The colors all go so well together too I love when that happens.  I will be donating this lil' guy along with a few more. I just need to get some labels put on so somewhere someone will say "who is this sheila from MN????" I used a white sheet for the back and the white on the front but after using sheets for a few quilts I realize that I just don't like the way they sew as much. They are so dense that the needle doesn't go thru them as easily when stippling and piecing. I will still use them once and awhile but I think I'll stick with quilters cotton for the most part. I do love the softness to the sheets though much more pleasant to the skin. I think tonight I will try to come up with some labels and get them printed on the fabric I have for it. 

Boy Boy birdie quilt

This is the last of the gifts for the triplets. This one is for the boy. I found this material as a fat bundle at Joann's and used my 50% off coupon so the whole top and binding was only $4.50. The back is from my stash it is not really the typical cotton fabric used for quilting. It almost is more of a canvas type weave but still soft. It was a little harder to work with because it seemed to have a little more stretch to it too. The back got a little bunched up in a couple of spots but once I washed it and it puckered up nicely you can't see the mess up hardly at all anymore. I love when that happens. None of my quilts are perfect from start to finish but hey neither am I;). Now I just need to label the 3 quilts and wait for the babies to come and then they are ready for their new home. It is always a little sad to see them leave my house but also rewarding that someone else will hopefully enjoy them.

baby flower quilt

I finished this one a couple weeks ago. It also is a baby gift for one of the girl triplets. It is leftovers from my wallflower quilt. The back and binding is a very soft flannel. I really love the colors and the fabric. It is from sandi henderson.  I originally bought it for clothing for Presley but I guess it had other ideas and ended up being in 2 different quilts. I think I want to have a couple baby quilts on hand so when I have a baby shower or a friend with a new baby I have one ready to give as a gift in case time is tight and I can't make one right away. Also an excuse to keep sewing. 

baby chick quilt

This is one of the girl's baby quilt to go to my GF that is having the triplets.  She is having 2 girls and a boy.  I found this material at Joann's and it is just adorable I ended up not getting enough so I had to improvise to make it bigger and it still is on the smaller side but will work. I used flannel for the back and the binding so it will be extra soft on the new baby. It started out being a different design but when I realized I was out of white and the color fabric I had to change plans. It didn't line up perfectly either due to my poor planning but it can't always be perfect. I also did my loopty-lou free hand on it that I did on my valentine's quilt. I want to experiment with a few more free hand quilting techniques. I like the look of the plain stipple but it is fun to mix it up since I get bored so easily!! I love doing the smaller quilts it is so much easier to stipple without trying to get the quilt squeezed into my 7" arm space. Oh how I dream of having a long arm machine. Until I win the lottery my muscles will just be nice and strong pushing all those quilts around.

Wallflower quilt done

After another trip to Joann fabrics to buy more pink thread I am done with my wallflower quilt. No it is not going on any wall I just named it that because of the big flowers in the fabric. I am really liking the pink thread for the stippling. It gives a little more to the quilt than just white. I pieced the binding and the back with leftovers from the front. I love being able to use up all the extra that way my scrap binds don't get too out of control.  I can't believe how much thread you go thru with stippling. I used 3 spools of  250 yards. I think this quilt is going on Presley's new big girl bed. It isn't quite a twin size the quilt measures 66" square before I washed it not sure how much it shrunk?? It will fit fine because she has bed rails that won't allow the quilt to hang over anyhow. Her room is pink and green so it will look great in there.

elmo rag quilt

My mom asked if I would make an Elmo rag quilt for her to give to a friend's daughter for Christmas. I really love making the rag quilts. They are so soft and cuddly. They are a mess after the first wash/dryer cycle but are worth the mess. I had my mom wash this one in her machines. The colors are so bright and vivid. The little girl is almost 3 and loves her Elmo so I am sure she will love her new blankie. 

ready for love

Now that my valentine quilt is done I'm ready for snuggling up with it and my dh. I used a flannel cream sheet I got at the thrift store for 2.95.  I love it because it is soft and warm and I didn't have to piece it together it was wide enough. I really love the binding too. I used up all the leftovers from the scrap bag and they were each about 5" long  so I had to piece them all together and I couldn't do it on the bias because it would have wasted too much fabric and I needed every inch I could get. I just pressed the seams open so when I was hand binding it wasn't too bulky for the needle. The colors and patterns are just one of my favorite valentine prints I've seen in a long time. I also tried something new for quilting it. I have just done the normal stipple random pattern but this time I tried adding little swirls like some of the designs in the fabric. It turned out pretty good but not perfect. Since I really didn't practice the design I just winged it. There are a few spots that I messed up but since the back and the thread are both cream it doesn't stand out too much.  Now I just have 3 more tops to quilt and I am caught up. I think I might have to run to Joann's to pick out something for the backs. I don't have the right fabrics in my stash to finish them up....oh darn I just hate shopping for fabric!!!:)

Wizard of OZ quilt

I just finished this quilt. I don't know what happened but when I was stippling the thread broke about a million times!!! I was getting so mad I was ready to throw it out in the snowbank. I changed the needle twice and that didn't help. I went slower that didn't help. I had bought some new thread and I am thinking that was the culprit. I was able to do the binding during nap time. The back is part of an orange sheet from the thrift store. It worked out perfect. It is a smaller baby quilt measuring about 37x35". It is perfect size for my 2 yr old and she was already snuggling up with it after her nap. I guess we will keep this one and I'll have to figure out something else for the triplets. They aren't due for a little while so I have time. So this is my modified hour glass and I like how it turned out. The random full squares add a little more to it. I hope i don't have more issue with stippling when I do my valentine quilt. I think I have figured out the back and will be using everything from my stash but I have to buy more cotton batting for the middle. I am all out. I have a 50% joann's coupon that I can use in a few days so I will be buying it then so I'll just have to work on some of my other projects. I have some fabric for a valentines dress that I need to start. Maybe tonight after bedtime I can figure out the design I want to do and cut it out.