6.26.2014

Hazel's Quilt {the quilting}

With all of my machines in the shop it is good to know my Long-arm is still running. (fingers crossed)  I was able to finish up this quilt and get it off in the mail.


I used an all over free motion flower and leaf design for this beautiful floral quilt.  I used the leftover pieces of my layer cake and some additional yardage of coordinating print.


For the 'H' I quilted a small leaf design to tack the design down. 
Now she if off to her new home.


6.25.2014

Put a fork in us --We are Done!



The American Made Brand tour is now complete.  I don't know about you but I loved visiting everyone's blog!  The State Blocks turned out Fantastic.  I cannot wait to see them all incorporated into a quilt. That is going to be One AWESOME Quilt! If you miss a day or two (or six)  you can catch up by checking out the links below.

DAYDATESTATESTATEHOOD BLOG
Day 119-MayDelawareDec. 7, 1787Blue Striped Room
19-MayPennsylvaniaDec. 12, 1787Cherry Lynch Quilts
Day 220-MayGeorgiaJan. 2, 1788Butterfly Threads Quilting
20-MayIdahoJuly 3, 1890Taffy Talk
Day 321-MayAlabamaDec. 14, 1819Green Quilts
21-MayMassachusettsFeb. 6, 1788A Quilting Jewel
Day 422-MayMarylandApr. 28, 1788Spring Water Designs
22-MaySouth CarolinaMay 23, 1788The Crafty Quilter’s Closet
Day 523-MayNew HampshireJune 21, 1788Park Hill Farm
23-MayVirginiaJune 25, 1788Pat Sloan’s Blog
Day 626-MayNew YorkJuly 26, 1788Quilts from my Crayon Box
26-MayNorth CarolinaNov. 21, 1789A Stitch in Time
Day 727-MayRhode IslandMay 29, 1790Seaside Stitches
27-MayVermontMar. 4, 1791Quilter in Motion
Day 828-MayKentuckyJune 1, 1792Simply Sandy
28-MayTennesseeJune 1, 1796Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Day 929-MayOhioMar. 1, 1803Olive and Ollie
29-MayLouisianaApr. 30, 1812Fleur de Lis Quilts
Day 1030-MayIndianaDec. 11, 1816No Hats in the House
30-MayMississippiDec. 10, 1817Life as a Quilter
Day 112-JunIllinoisDec. 3, 1818A Sentimental Quilter
2-JunConnecticutJan. 9, 1788Jump Cut Arts
Day 123-JunMaineMar. 15, 1820Quilts of Love
3-JunMissouriAug. 10, 182142 Quilts
Day 134-JunArkansasJune 15, 1836Sew at Home on Pine Ridge
4-JunMichiganJan. 26, 1837Crafty Blossom
Day 145-JunFloridaMar. 3, 1845Flourishing Palms
5-JunTexasDec. 29, 1845The Caffeinated Quilter
Day 156-JunIowaDec. 28, 1846Kindred Quilts
6-JunWisconsinMay 29, 1848Freshly Pieced
Day 169-JunCaliforniaSept. 9, 1850Cali Quilter
9-JunMinnesotaMay 11, 1858The Curious Quilter
Day 1710-JunOregonFeb. 14, 1859Sew Mama Sew
10-JunKansasJan. 29, 1861Lilac Lane
Day 1811-JunWest VirginiaJune 20, 1863Coop Crafts
11-JunNevadaOct. 31, 1864Inventive Denim
Day 1912-JunNebraskaMar. 1, 1867Renaissance Sandi
12-JunColoradoAug. 1, 1876Sew Incredibly Crazy
Day 2013-JunNorth DakotaNov. 2, 1889Terri Stegmiller Art Quilts
13-JunSouth DakotaNov. 2, 1889Moneik Quilts
Day 2116-JunMontanaNov. 8, 1889Why Knot Kwilt
16-JunWashingtonNov. 11, 1889Bloomin’ Workshop
Day 2217-JunNew JerseyDec. 18, 1787Studio 78 Notes
17-JunWyomingJuly 10, 1890Excessive Compulsive Sewing
Day 2318-JunUtahJan. 4, 1896Fireball Quilts
18-JunOklahomaNov. 16, 1907Hollyhock Quilts
Day 2419-JunNew MexicoJan. 6, 1912Dora Quilts
19-JunArizonaFeb. 14, 1912So Many Quilts, So Little Time
Day 2520-JunAlaskaJan. 3, 1959Quilt As You Go
20-JunHawaiiAug. 21, 1959Barbara Bieraugel Designs

6.24.2014

Baby Quilt.

I received this modern log cabin baby quilt in the mail on Monday.




 It was a slight rush to get it loaded and returned to her before the birth of her grandchild, so I was only able to snap a few pictures before getting it back in the mail.  Her choice of fabric and the setting made choosing a quilting design simple.


To soften the square setting and sharp corners I used a free-motion ribbon. I changes the ribbon's orientation to make it look like it was circling around the center.




As for the center square.  I used the adorable whale fabric as inspiration for this little guy. 



Happy Quilting!

6.19.2014

Timing is everything.

With summer rapidly approaching I decided to make a few more Cargo Duffels for the kids.  With all of the travel for sports, band and camps we end up spending a great deal of time in the car.  I thought these bags would be perfect for hauling all of their car activities.

You may remember this Cargo Duffle I made for Easter using Noodlehead's Cargo Duffle pattern.  If you would like the pattern you can find it here


For the kids I decided to personalize them with a little embroidery and colors of their choosing.




With the first one under my belt I knew the 2nd, 3rd and 4th bags would go much smoother.  Ha!  Silly me.

Close to the end of the second bag my sewing machine started leaving huge tangles of bobbin thread for me.  Obviously the timing was off.  I played with what I could but couldn't get the tension adjusted.  A frustrating hour later, I switched to my old standby. My second machine is a good 30 years old but sews like a champ!  I finished the second bag assembly with the second machine.   As I was finishing off the inside of the second child's bag, my needle broke.  Then another and another.  YOU have got to be kidding me!  My old stand by, also had a timing issue.

My machines are off to the repair shop.  Perhaps it is time for a little English paper piecing. The bags will make Great Christmas presents too!

6.06.2014

Quilt for Hazel

 I finished this quilt top up just before the end of the school year.  My cousin and his wife had their second baby just days before I finished this quilt. Just in time for me to put a little "H" applique for Hazel.


 I used a layer cake from Moda Fabrics Scrumptious line by Bonnie and Camille.  My inspiration for this project was a quilt I sew by Natalia Bonner of Pieceandquilt.com called Jumbo Coins Baby Quilt.  Instead of cutting all of the layer cake blocks in half I chose to highlight several of the girly floral prints.  I organized them by color into rows.  Then using the remainder of the blocks I cut them into 2.5 inch strips, pieced them into groups of 5.   Then once they were pressed I cut them in half and added them into the quilt.  I was a little concerned that the variation would be too busy.  I added a small 3/4 inch white border to separated the rows.  I think it works.



Now to load this baby quilt onto my machine and get her bound.!  Happy quilting!

6.02.2014

The Key to Success.

Well, it's that time again.  The end of the school year is upon us.  The kids are giddy with anticipation of Summer Vacation.  One more day and it will be here.  Imagine my surprise when my 6th grader asked, "What are we giving the teachers this year?"  Hmm.  I had totally forgotten.  Off to pintrest to see what I could whip up in under an hour.  Nothing like last minute planning.


I stumbled upon these cute little key fobs at The Ribbon Retreat and knew that they would be perfect.  A few ribbons, 1 inch webbing and key fob hardware was all it took to make these cute key rings.


Unfortunately I Jo-Ann only had 5 packages of key fob hardware.  I went back to pintrest and remember this tutorial from The Idea Room that I had used once before.  It is slightly more time consuming but still a really quick and simple key fob just perfect for teacher gifts.



A little note tucked inside each teachers Thank You card and Ta-Da! Last minute teacher gifts finished.  Gotta' love the internet.