i've been featured!

although i blog purely for fun and the connections it brings with other sewers, a bit of recognition is sure flattering. a few months ago i was contacted by favequilts.com for permission to feature some of my tutorials. oh, gosh! of course i said "yes." and then never heard back from them at all. i guessed they just didn't find anything interesting enough. but today i got an email saying they'd been back logged and were finally adding my tutes to their site. how exciting for li'l ole me! i'm sure the book deals are around the corner. (laugh with me, folks. laugh.)

so what did they pick? my "six and one half dozen baby quilt" and the "fat quarter lollipops." this doesn't exactly make me famous, thank goodness, but it does have me connected. i like both of these projects and sure hope other quilters out there get to use them now. if you ever do use any of my ideas, i'd love to see your version.

happy sewing, all!

"expecting blossoms" quilt completed

 i feel as if i am finally getting in my groove again now that baby is over a year old. life is returning to what it was before her with the added bonus of all her wonderfulness mixed in. i'm starting new projects, finding time to work on things, and actually finishing stuff that has been in progress since before she arrived. hallelujah!

 we had a big sewing weekend as a family this saturday and sunday while we listened to our church's annual general conference broadcast (more on that later). the first thing i got done was the binding for baby's quilt. we were all hanging out in the glorious spring weather in our backyard between sessions when i decided to go ahead and photograph the quilt. baby saw her blanket and wouldn't get out of the way, wanting to sit on, roll up in, and drag it all around despite my intentions otherwise.

 so, even though she was in just a diaper because she'd just finished lunch (i always feed her in just a diaper at home to avoid clothing messes and to speed clean up), i went ahead and photographed her with the quilt, too. granted, she isn't always this interested in it, but she does have her moments. maybe in time it will become more of a comfort object and cherished possession to her.

originally, i was going to make her a modern charm squares quilt (pattern from elizabeth hartman here) out of french general's pom pom de paris from moda. and i still want to. but when i saw this oppsa daisy line i also wanted to wip up a quick 6 and 1/2 dozen quilt for her. well, that "quick" quilt took a year to complete. (i will admit the top was super quick; the rest, including the handquilting was the hang-up.) now i think i will make that charm squares quilt with two charm packs instead of one so she can have a larger quilt for when she is older. in time, i will, that is. she already has two other blankets, her 4sq and the furry minky made by kelly, our sewing teacher. i think we are good on blankets and quilts for her for now.

back

 what could be under that quilt, i wonder?  this reminded me of  you're just what i need (originally the bundle book) by ruth krauss. in it, a toddler hides under a blanket and mother tries to guess what could be under there. it's one we've been reading for years. our baby was having the best time playing with her quilt. for about 10 minutes, or as long as i wanted to photograph it.

 for the binding i used the large floral print from the line in the green colorway. i went through a phase where i liked to use bindings that incorporated all the colors of the quilt, if possible, to tie it together. i'm starting to branch out more now. but i still like this one.

and i still really like all the tiny creatures you can find through out the fabrics. it makes for a little bit of "i spy" fun to look for the butterflies, caterpillars, and ladybugs.

there is one tiny problem with this quilt. when i put the panels together, i didn't notice that i put the large pink tulip that appears in the red and white large floral right next to each other on the quilt top (see first photo, top left). i did turn the white panels so they wouldn't blend with the red as much, but i didn't notice those tulips together. it kinda bugs me when i see it. bummer. but not a deal breaker.

i am still super happy this is done and finally in my baby's hands for good!

wip and some close-ups on my hands at work

i am this close to being done with daughter #5's baby quilt. i missed her birthday by a few days (or maybe a week), but i can taste victory soon. another 4 rows of hand quilting, squaring off, and the binding and i am done! sunday after church i took a seat at the bottom of the stairs so i could be in the middle of things and steadily sewed with many an interruption, of course.

i had daughter #1 take a few shots of me working away at it.

in-out-in-out with the needle, over and over. i can get about 7 stitches on the needle before i pull through. no hoop, no thimble.

my stitching callus is back so my poor fingers don't get so sore anymore. not that it was ever that bad at all. when i was a girl, i had calluses from all my monkey bar gymnastics. now it's sewing.

i still like these prints and am itching to make another version of "out on a limb" with a jelly roll from this oppsa-daisy collection. i had a moment of horror last week when i realized i never bought any yardage for backing and binding to go with the precuts. fortunately, the quilted castle had it in stock still and on sale, too. perfect. now it's tucked away waiting for me to get around to it.

but as i near completion of this quilt, elizabeth hartman's charm squares baby quilt and my charm pack of pom pom de paris is calling me . . .

definitely torn

six and one half dozen quilt pattern

my mom had a saying that went "that's six and one half dozen of the other." it took me a few years to figure out that what she was saying was "they're both the same" or "that's two ways of saying/doing the same thing." because, you see, "six" is the same as "half a dozen."

it stuck and i use it all the time (along with other family expressions that have been passed on for generations now: "no, no, fluffy," "the bus is leaving," "for cryin' out loud," etc.) when i started a second quilt after the same pattern i created for star cookie, which uses 6 fat quarters, mom's expression kept coming to mind, which is why i think i'll name this pattern "six and one half dozen". it does, after all, consist of 6 fat quarters cut in half, placed in two rows, so you actually have six on one side and . . . a half dozen on the other.

this quilt top is about as absolutely simple as they get. i've decided to share basic instructions for how to make it. it's beyond the scope of this tutorial to give detailed instructions on quilting basics like how to square off fabric or bind a quilt. the good news is, those topics have been covered thoroughly and extensively elsewhere, many times over, in books and online.

what you'll need:
6 fat quarters (or just 6 regular skinny quarters, doesn't actually matter) for the top
1.5 yards for the backing
1/2 yard for binding
batting, slightly larger than 1.5 yards x width of fabric
thread

start by squaring off your fabric quarters and removing the selvages. then cut them into two 9x21'' rectangles. (this is why you can use fat or skinny quarters - you're just cutting them in half either along the length or the width depending on how your quarter was cut.)

arrange your rectangles in two rows in a pleasing manner

begin pinning them together by folding the bottom left hand rectangle on top of the adjoining rectangle, right sides together, and pin along the seam. do the same with the next two rectangles and the final two in the row.

***tip - this is where i found it helpful to have photographed my layout because no matter how well i mark placement or think i'll remember even a simple one as this, i always get something turned around. so having a reference photo was super helpful.

go sew and press your seams
square off you fabrics if you need to. i only removed the selvages and measured the 9" across the width so my lengths were slightly different. i just square up after each seam to get them even.

now you will have three squares, side by side. fold the left hand square over the middle square, right sides together, pin and sew like you did the rectangles. press open the seam. put the final square, right sides together, on the middle square, pinning along the seam. sew the final square and press your seam. trim if you have any sections longer than the others along either length.

your first row is complete.

stop and drink a glass of water. seriously, we all need to stay hydrated!

repeat the above steps for the other six rectangles in your second row.

when you have two rows of six rectangles adjoined, put one on top of the other, right sides facing.

you'll want to line up your seams between the rectangles with the ones across from them to create nice intersecting seams on your top. start with pinning at the very middle seam.

to pin, line up the seams and pin on each side, with one pin in the pressed seam allowance to keep it flat, which i didn't do here so you could see how the seams are together. but do pin down your seams. it makes it much easier. (you can't tell where they're placed very well from this picture because my pins blend with the fabric - sorry. look closely and maybe you can make out the ivory colored, flat, round pin heads and pins on either side of the seams.)

after you've pinned the middle seam together, pin the seams to the left and right next, working your way out toward the edges. then go back and pin twice between each seam.

you may have a little slack between seams if your cutting or seam allowances weren't precise. pinning them first will allow you to have clean intersections and make up that slack. just keep your pins in place as long as you can and watch that your seams don't shift.

now simply sew that baby from top to bottom, being careful when you approach the seam intersections. press open.

you've got a completed top!

i did all of this in one afternoon nap session (the baby's, not mine - ha), which was probably between two and three hours. easy-peasy.

sandwich, baste, quilt, bind.
there's your quilt.

you can see more about my completed version, named "expecting blossoms," here.

variations:

 when i made star cookie i only used 5 different fabrics. i used the main fabric, my daughter's favorite which was also the backing, twice (or for four rectangles) on the top so it was more dominant and noticeable. so i purchased 4 fat quarters and 2 yards (one half for the 4 rectangles on top and 1.5 for the backing).

i'm considering turning some of the squares on their sides so it looks like six large blocks rather than two rows, but will have to change the dimensions so the squares are actually square.

wip wednesday

it must be crafting spring fever because it's always this time of year that seems to get me in a frantic mood to make stuff. with baby four months old and somewhat close to a schedule or at least to the point where i'm not consumed by her needs every minute of the day, i found the time to do some blanket stitching to finish up that gift blanket. it got me back in the saddle, so to speak. i promised myself i was going to make time each week for at least some small bit of sewing.

when my husband announced two weekends ago that he was going to take several of the children on a two day camping trip, i got all excited for a big block of sewing time. then, we found out there was finally going to be snow at our closest ski resort and decided to do a spontaneous trip to a cabin for four days so the mr. and older kids could ski. i figured cabin time was the perfect opportunity to do a bunch of handwork - how cozy!
unfortunately, we were so spontaneous i had no time to prepare any handwork to take with me. i was dying over the missed opportunity. when we got home late thursday and the girls had sewing class friday morning, i thought to myself, "no sense trying to have school today. i'll just declare this a bonus spring break week. and if the girls are going to sew today, so am i!" i vowed never to be without handwork at the ready for any chances that might come along.

i completely amazed myself by knocking out two 4sq tops and then a small quilt top by dinner time. now i actually have a wip report for this week:

completed:
-4sq blanket #10

under construction:
- ollie's 4sq, back attached and edging started
- hailey's 4 sq, top sewn
-oopsy daisy baby quilt, top completed, sandwiched, and pin basted

in the wings:
-lanee's 4sq
-charity's baby girl's 4sq
-ladybug softie for daughter #3
-taite
-at last's top embellishment

trips to the store:

- one to joann for flannel and floss for 4sqs (and a book or two. hee,hee) discovered mollie makes british craft mag - very cool

online purchases:
-barnes and noble book order (for more new ideas and to read while nursing)
-fabricworm, some monsterz, woodland tails, and saddle up to celebrate the fabric i used up this week (and because i couldn't resist the coupon i got in my email.)

tutorials:
-securing corners for blanket stitching
- six and half dozen quilt pattern

i'm raring to go on the three projects. can't wait to start the hand quilting, especially. in the hour i sat at my kids riding lesson today, i was able to complete half of ollie's blanket stitching. almost there! maybe i can even get lanee's (my newest niece) blanket done this week before she comes.