Quilt Blocks - 318 Patchwork Patterns

This is my test block for my new quilting bee group.  The group is called "geese in a ring" and there are some BEAUTIFUL blocks up so far!  I already feel like I'm falling behind!

This is my new quilting book.  It's called 318 Patchwork Patterns by Kumiko Fujita.  You do need to know a bit about paper piecing because there are no instructions (and it's in Japanese). 

I can't wait to try the ice cream cone block.

Or this adorable duck block.  Perfect for a baby quilt.  Look at how the stripes match up...amazing!

This is probably my favorite page so far.  I'm savoring the book...ever so slowly studying each page.

Bits and Pieces Quilting Bee

Untitled, a photo by delightful disarray on Flickr.

Guess what!  I'm in a quilting bee! Doesn't that sound so old fashioned?
I'm so excited to start doing more quilting and the quilting bee makes it even more fun.

The piecing of a quilt top is usually such a solitary and sometimes boring activity.  I love that in the quilting bee I'll be making new and different blocks based on their visions for the quilts AND that I get to share all of these experiences with another group of crafters!  It's so exciting!

Click on the play button to check out the great blocks from these lovely ladies (all of whom I still have yet to "meet"!).  Can you hear my enthusiasm yet? 

The Great Minnesota Get Together!

Hello from the Minnesota State Fair!

We had a marvelous time at the fair.  

We ate some alligator, cookies and cheese curds.  

We explored all of the barns and marveled at the animals.  

Lucy especially liked the pigs and goats.

I liked looking at the quilted arts.

  This one was king sized.

Both of the girls were thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep in the car about 2 minutes after getting strapped into their car seat.  

This shot of Charlie and Lucy is my favorite.

Just one of the wonderful memories we've been creating this summer.   

Free Pattern - Simple Skirt

There is a new sewing studio opening in a town nearby and I was asked to be a part of the grand opening!  (see the beautiful shop HERE)
I wanted to have a free handout for people as they visited my table so I put together a free pattern for a simple skirt.
 
It only takes about 20 minutes to make one skirt - even less if you make the skirts assembly line style!

The directions and fabric requirements are in the document HERE.
The simple skirt pattern includes sizes 6 months - Girls 6x/7. 

Happy sewing!

Hoarding FMF?

Does this count as hoarding?  I think I might be obsessed!!  I'm planning a quilt for me and here is my stash of Flea Market Fancy.  I just LOVE the bright colors.  No grey fabrics yet...

I'm thinking about doing a quilt with lots of white space and FMF - but I've always loved the dresden plates.  Thoughts?

On a totally unrelated topic - this is how I found Lucy during nap time today. 

Knitting Bag Refashion

I would include a tutorial but it's too easy!  All you need is a seam ripper.  Rip apart the existing fabric on the musty, stained knitting bag.  Then trace the pieces onto your favorite fabrics and reassemble.  The only thing I really changed was to add more pockets!  Each bag has 3 medium sized pockets and 2 dpn or pencil pockets.  The larger bag also has a pattern pocket.

The fabrics I used for the large bag are Amy Butler's Morning Glory in Linen, Full Moon Polka Dot in Slate and Red.  It is quite large - the pocket with the flowers is holding an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper - perfect for your knitting patterns!

For the smaller bag I used Paula Prass' Woodland Delight Brick Path in Brown, and Flights of Fancy Summer Fretwork in Summer.  It was basically the same process - rip apart and put it back together in reverse order.  I did have to hand sew them to the frames, but it didn't take a horribly long time.

This bag would be the perfect size for knitting hats, kids sweaters, socks, mittens and other smaller projects.  

HINT:  If it's hard for you to remember in what order you need to sew things together, just take a photo after ripping each seam apart and sew it together in the reverse order.

Both of these bags are for sale HERE in my Etsy shop. ($45 for the large bag - SOLD, $32 for the small bag -SOLD).

The Quilting Bug

I've been stung by the quilting bug lately.  I've churned out 2 (almost 3 quilts) this past month.  It could be due to the cooler weather.  Who knows?  My goal is to have a lap quilt for everyone in the family by the time winter sets in.  Lucy's is finished.  Hattie's will be an I-Spy quilt with lots of little pictures and colors.  Mine will have some Flea Market Fancy fabrics that I've been collecting.  I'm not so sure about the Hubby's quilt yet - he's not too picky.

I thought I'd give you my whole quilt history - just for fun.

Lucy's Zig Zag Quilt, 2011

It all started with a move to the "big girl" bed.  So I used some precious Sherbert Pips fabric and a modern zig zag/chevron pattern.  I hand-quilted it using perle cotton because I liked the large, chunky stitches. I'm fairly pleased with the outcome.  The back is voile from Anna Maria Horner and it's very soft and cuddly.  It was my first time applying binding with my sewing machine and it turned out well enough to evade the seam ripper.

My first quilt -made for Charlie, 2003

 Not bad for my first quilt.  It's twin sized and get this -completely hand pieced AND hand quilted.  I started making it for him as our 1 year anniversary (of dating) gift and didn't have access to a sewing machine.  I was working at Bible Camp and picked out all the fabrics at our local WalMart.  The design and colors are not especially beautiful, but the sentiment is nothing short of amazing.

This is a close up of the border.  I wrote his name in cursive and then quilted it.  My favorite detail yet.

Vintage Quilt Blocks, 2006

This is my favorite quilt to cuddle with.  The vintage quilt blocks were given to me by a friend who thought I might enjoy them.  They are super soft and each one has a bit of character.  Again, this was made with fabrics from WalMart (I didn't know there existed stores for just fabric!) and a piece as you go effort.  I obviously didn't know to buy enough fabric for the entire quilt because I ran out and had to use a different fabric for the border and backing. 

Baby Quilt, 2011

This is the quilt I am most pleased with so far.  It has wonky stars in Katie Jump Rope fabric from Denyse Schmidt and one vintage turquoise flower fabric.  The rest is an ivory polka dot fabric.  I love the sawtooth border and the placement of the stars.  I also made scrappy binding and for the first time did machine quilting.  It went MUCH faster than quilting by hand! 

I'm guessing there will be many more quilts to come.  There have been a few other quilts I've made for friends and family that aren't shown here but I've tried to stay away from quilting as long as possible.  I hear it's addictive.

After this is posted I'm going to begin quilting the NEXT quilt.  Yikes.  It IS super addictive.