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Thursday, November 10, 2011

T-shirt Quilt

No, I haven't disappeared. It's just hard to make time for posts now that school is back in full swing. I finished this T-Shirt Quilt for my friend Anna a few months ago. While we were at Davidson we were in an Eating House (similar to a sorority) called Warner Hall. This quilt is made up of many of the t-shirts we collected over the years. Instead of machine quilting it, I tied it with embroidery floss. It has a great pink and black polka-dot Minky background. I love it so much I'm gearing up to make one for myself!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Onesie Dresses

I made these onesie dresses for my friends soon to arrive little girl using this tutorial. It was really easy to add a fabric skirt to add some major cute factor to a boring onesie.

Friday, August 26, 2011

My cousins came to stay with us at the beach and they wanted to do some sewing. I helped each girl make a bag using the same pattern as the one I used to make this one. It's hard to see it from the picture, but the fabric is glittery. They turned out really great, even better than I thought they would. My other cousin is a six year old boy and he really enjoyed all of the buttons, switches, and knobs on the sewing machine. He helped me sew strips for another project I'm working on (pictures coming soon), and started asking when I would make him a blanket. I rounded up some scraps and some Kona (white) and he sat with me and and sewed strips until it was time for him to go to bed. He controlled the foot pedal, I guided the fabric. I stayed up and finished the whole thing by about midnight. For a last minute quick quilt, it turned out pretty good. The largest piece of coordinating fabric wasn't quite big enough to cover the back, so I sewed a strip on each side.
I also made a label the next day and didn't get a picture. It turned out pretty well though, and I've vowed to go back and create labels for my first five quilts that don't have them. Now that school has started back up I don't anticipate having as much time to sew and blog but I'll do my best to update a few times each month!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Building Cornhole

Robbie and I have been talking about building a cornhole set for a while. A few weeks ago he came to the beach and we decided to do it. We drove to Home Depot and got all of the supplies, came home, and got to work. First we cut and assembled 2 x 4s into a frame.
Then we screwed on a plywood top and cut a hole in it. We cut and shaped the legs as well.

Then it was time to paint!

The whole project took about a week (we had to wait a long time between coats of primer/paint).

I also made the bags. I had extra corn so I made five of each color in case one breaks or gets lost.

This was a great project and the boards should last for a long time!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

A Laptop Case

My school recently upgraded my laptop to a brand new Tablet PC. It is awesome and I wanted to make a sleeve to protect it since I carry it in a tote back instead of the ugly black laptop case. I found this tutorialwhich was perfect. It didn't take long before I had this:

Here is what it looks like from the back:

I chose the red, yellow, and blue flower fabric for the lining. The laptop is snug and protected inside this cute new case!


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Oldies But Goodies

I have been needlepointing and cross-stitching for about 15 years. But I never seem to finish anything. And when I do, it just seems to sit there. Well I finally decided to do something about it. I got out these two finished flip-flop pieces and plan to frame them and hang them in the laundry room/bathroom at the beach.
I did these during the summer after college. I worked in a clothing boutique and cross-stitched when nobody was shopping. I enjoyed some fun, relaxing days that way. The lighthouse took me about three years. I don't cross-stitch often, but it's a good way to pass the time as a passenger on long car rides. This will also go up on a wall at the beach house. If you click on the pictures you will get a close up view of all the detail. Don't mind the stains...I told you, they have been balled up in a basket for a few years...

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Classroom Dec

I made these huge stars out of six 12 x 12 pieces of scrapbook paper. The tutorial can be found here.

I made one polka-dotted star and two blue and purple stars. I plan to hang all three from the ceiling of my classroom to add a little pizzaz. They are supereasy to make and I completed all three in under an hour. Just fold the paper, measure, cut, and staple! I would love to find some more double sided scrapbook paper as that makes the more interesting stars.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Halloween quilt top

I pieced the squares together and added boarders to finish the quilt top.


There are a few first in this quilt. It was my first time paper piecing. The jack-o-lantern's nose/cheeks are paper pieced. I liked how clean and crisp the corners were but I didn't like how much fabric was wasted. It will also be the first time that I try a scalloped boarder, but that will come after the basting and quilting. I was excited to get started with that part(not really, as it's my least favorite part), but when I went to get the backing fabric I realized I had left it at home (I'm at the beach for a few weeks). Robbie is coming tomorrow night and will bring it, but in the meantime I've been working on some other projects which I'll post about soon!

Monday, August 1, 2011

More Halloween Blocks

I worked all week on my Halloween blocks. The ghosts were definitely the easiest; thank goodness I did them first. Then I did this cute jack-o-lantern.


He wasn't too hard, but there were lots of little pieces. Or so I thought. Next came the bat. Ohhh, the bat.



He's only 6.5 inches square instead of 12.5 like Jack.Some of those little pieces were 1.25 inch squares! Needless to say, the block is a little wonky (and sorry for the string that was somehow invisible when I took the picture but is now very obvious), but I think I can make it work once I piece the whole top. Then came this interesting block. Can you tell what it is?



It's the top of a witch head (mostly her hat). She will get applique eyes and a nose that hangs down onto the block below her.
And finally came these two star blocks.

See how they are opposites of each other? I really liked learning the technique for these blocks. Just take two squares of fabric and lay them on top of each other. Then make a cut through both blocks (where you see an orange strip) and sew one of each type of fabric to either side of an orange strip. Now you have two blocks that each contain both fabrics. Stack them on top of each other again, making sure to line up the orange strips as best as you can, and make another cut. Sew one part of the top block to the other part of the bottom block (with an orange strip in between). Keep doing this until you have made all five cuts and re-attached the blocks with the orange strips. If you took care to always sew one part of the top block to the other part of the bottom block and vice versa, you will end up with two blocks like those in the picture above. Easy peasy! (Next time I'll take pictures as I work so that the directions are more clear)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ghosts

I have started on a Halloween Sampler quilt. I'm usually not into these holiday themed fabrics (except for the Christmas ones, which I love) but I wanted to make something that my students would like to have around the classroom. I have made the six ghost blocks so far. Two each in three black on white fabrics.

I appliqued the eyes and nose.

I still have to cut and piece a bat block, a pumpkin block, a witch block, and two star blocks. I have also started starching my fabric for more precise cutting and piecing. I'm not sure how much of a difference it's making, but I do like the feeling of the stiff fabric.

Riley Blake Givaway

Have you seen the quilt contest on the Riley Blake Blog? They're hosting a contest for quilts made with Riley Blake fabrics, and there are some great prizes!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fabric Flower Necklace X 2

I recently made fabric flower necklaces using two different techniques. The first one I made was a chain of puffy flowers.


The tutorial can be found here. It's pretty easy-to make a flower just cut out a bunch of fabric circles, scrunch them up, and glue them onto a circle of felt. I love, Love, LOVE this necklace. the colors turned out really well, I think.

I found a tutorial for this second necklace here, on my friend Laura's blog.

This one was even easier than the first one. Just take a strip of fabric, twist, roll, and glue. I love both of these necklaces. The first one is great if you want to get dressed up in a little strapless dress, and the second one looks best with a casual tank top.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Other Baby Things

Around the time I was piecing the baby quilt I realized that I could use my sewing machine for many things besides quilting. I started by appliqueing some onesies. How hard could it be? Hard. HARD. The onesie fabric stretches and it’s nearly impossible to stitch around the applique using the machine and not stitch some other part of the onesie in. In the end, they turned out pretty cute.

I did enjoy adding the ruffles to the backs, as they are for a little girl.
I also had a great time stitching up these cute bibs that I found in the Summer 2011 issue of Quilts and More. The creator was challenged to make something using a pack of charm squares and a fat quarter. I had a pack of charm squares left over from when I made my first quilt. The company sent me the wrong kit and didn’t make me send it back. Notice that these bibs are in the same fabric as Quilt #1.


Originally I used Velcro, but after consulting some new Mommies I found that children can easily pull the Velcro bibs off of themselves. So I made a trip to Jo-Anns to purchase this nifty snap-attacher.
They are really called Grommet Pliers but I like snap-attacher so much better. I think they look much more professional with the snaps than they did with the Velcro, and let’s be honest- I was pumped to have the excuse to buy another gadget.
I was enjoying using my sewing machine for something other than quilting, so I also tried my hand at these baby shoes.

They are called Kimono shoes, I guess because the fabric wraps all the way around. I don’t know if the will stay on a baby’s foot or not. I’ll report back in October, when she’s old enough to try them out.
I didn’t have much time for sewing after pumping out all of those baby shower items, but I did manage to make a few more bibs (in Lilly & Will and Lilly & Will II and some left over Verna by Kate Spain) for two soon-to-arrive babies of Robbie’s friends.


A Baby Quilt

Around the time I was finishing up Robbie’s Quilt, a friend of mine from work told me she was pregnant. Yes!! I had been waiting for the opportunity to make a baby quilt and I poured over my quilting magazines looking for the perfect pattern. It didn’t take long to find it. In an old issue of Quiltmaker I found a pattern in cream, green, and brown flannels that was made up of only two alternating blocks: a nine-patch and an appliqued fleece sheep. At the time she didn’t know if she would be having a girl or a boy, and this pattern would be great for either one. Plus, I knew she would like the colors. I set about cutting and sewing and immediately regretted my decision to use flannel instead of cotton. Flannel stretches and distorts. No matter how carefully I cut and sewed, I just couldn’t get the seams to line up. I started to get frustrated, but soon reminded myself that this is only the 5th quilt I’ve ever made and before I started quilting I had never even used a sewing machine before.


The applique part was easier, and I even used one of my decorative stitches to create the sheep’s’ eyes.
In the end it went together well, and I’m sure I’m the only one who notices those seams that are just a little “off”.
I stitched in the ditch between the blocks and stitched an X over the nine-patch blocks. I also quilted sheep around the boarder. I added a cute label to the back (something I know I should do every time) and finished just in time for the baby shower!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Watermelon Finish

A few posts ago I told you about the Juicy Summer Table Topper I was making. It's finished!

I pieced the watermelon and appliqued the stars and seeds. I stitched in the ditch and stippled the pink part of the melon (my first time stippling!)I think it turned out pretty well!



Monday, July 11, 2011

Another Cute Bag

I wanted a quick and easy project today. I also wanted to take a break from hand sewing binding, as I feel like I've done nothing but that. I finished binding Playful Pinwheels and went straight on to the Juicy Summer Tabletopper. I went with a bag pattern from the Spring 2011 issue of Quilts and More. You can find the pattern and instructions here. There are also instructions to make a messenger bag version (longer handle) but I preferred the shoulder bag size. The bag is reversible, but I went with a plan brown lining so I probably won't be flipping it around too often.

Please excuse the grubby hook it is hanging on and the fact that I forgot to empty it before I took that picture. Here's what it looks like laying flat.

This bag was a piece of cake to make. It was seriously easy peasy lemon squeezy. Even easier than the Summer Bag I told you was so simple. And all you need is a half yard cut of two different fabrics!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Playful Pinwheels

I enjoyed branching out my sewing projects, but I was anxious to get back to quilting. I had a few kits waiting to be pieced, so I chose a baby quilt in yellows and blues that would be suitable for a boy or a girl. It is a pinwheel pattern which I love, love. There is something about that playful shape dancing across the quilt that just makes me smile each time I see it.


Upon further inspection of the pattern I realized that these weren’t just any pinwheels…they were 3-D!! The triangles that make up the pinwheels were actually prairie points. Even better, they had pompoms at their centers which upped the cuteness factor, not to mention the fact that they hide the center pinwheel points that don’t always quite match up.

I used the Clover Pompom Maker to quickly stitch up and attach those bad boys. What a fun tool! I wanted to back it with something extra soft so I looked around blogland for some ideas. It seemed that Minkey was the way to go. I read the warnings about stretching but I also found a post about a spray adhesive that I could use to temporarily glue the backing to the batting, thus preventing stretching. It worked like a charm!

I stitched in the ditch, hand sewed the binding, and I was finished!