Finished - I Spy Economy Block Quilt for Grandson

Hello!  It's been a while since my last blog post and I have so much to tell you!  Life has been full and busy but I've managed to fit in some creative time.  I started three quilts a few weeks ago and as they are all in the process of being gifted I will start sharing these with you.

I've been wanting to make an economy block quilt for some time.  As this quilt is for my little grandson I wanted the focus block to be large enough to get his attention.  Using this table by The Littlest Thistle the center blocks are cut at 6.5" resulting in a finished 12" block. 

It took more time to troll my fabric stash for the right combination of colors and fun fussy cut motifs than it did to sew this one up.

The backing is an unbelievably soft minky from Michael Miller.  With simple meander quilting, this is one very soft and cozy quilt!

So, this is my grandson's third quilt from Nana and he is just six months old.  At this rate, how many will he have by the time he is 18 years old?!

Finished - Chic Country Wedding Shower Quilt

I have a list of quilts that I want to make.  Don't we all?  The Chic Country quilt by Sew Kind of Wonderful has been near the top for some time.  I've been waiting for a special reason to make this quilt. Then my son got engaged to lovely Amanda and a wedding shower quilt was just the perfect excuse!

 I enlarged the quilt adding one row to the length and width.  Perfect size for cuddling!

The quick curve ruler is easy (and fun!) to work with.  The primary fabric is Maven by Basic Grey.  

To personalize the quilt I added some special fabrics that would be unique to this couple.  Here's  some delightful Winnie the Pooh fabric for these two Disney fans.

A dog print that sort of looks like one of their dogs.

They both share a love of Star Wars.

And of course my family's Peanuts affection can't be overlooked.

And homage to their six chickens.

The quilt backing is my favorite Carrie Bloomston's News Print fabric.

I wanted the quilt to be very soft so I just stitched in the ditch to emphasize the circular movement.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt.  More importantly the future Mr. &Mrs. love it!

I was SO close to keeping this quilt as the colors would works so well in my home!!

But I love these two so they get to keep the quilt and I will enjoy visiting it!

Hello Lucy!

A hand sewing project has escalated in priority as the summer begins.  Something I can do on the deck or on the beach to keep my hands busy is the goal.  English paper piecing seems to be the perfect technique for portability and there are so many enticing projects it has been a challenge to decide where to begin.  There's beautiful hexagon projects, La Passacaglia Quilt, the Smitten Quilt and so many others.  I've decided to give Lucy Boston a try!

After some research I assembled the needed supplies.

Let's start with fabric selection.  To jump start this adventure, I've gotten quite a bit of support and supplies from Alewives Fabrics' (in Nobleboro, Maine about two and half hours from home) weekly Lucy Boston club.

Then supplies to fussy cut the fabric.  Templates to cut the fabric, mirror, small rotary blade.  I'm hoping that I can get more accurate and faster with this stage.

One of my concerns about EPP is the potential waste of fabric.

Glue basting is brilliant!

Then, there are the supplies for sewing.  Lovely Aurifil 80 weight thread and skinny needles.

After cursing numerous annoying thread tangles, I'm giving this stuff a try.

Phew.  EPP is quite a bit different than my quilting experience to date.  All of the prep work takes a surprising amount of time.  BUT I think I'm hooked!  Stitches are not perfect but using the flat back stitch seems to yield better results.



So stay tuned, in another five years or so I may have a quilt to share with you!

Kathy

A Couple More Book Bags

Hello!  I know the blog's been a little quiet lately.  Life has been wonderfully busy with the weather finally starting to improve here in New Hampshire, the new grand baby distraction (the best kind!), secret sewing and more time exercising!  Recovery from surgery in November has been a very long and slow process.  I finally am feeling enough strength and confidence in the leg to go back to some of my regular fitness activities.  I have joined a local fitness center and have returned to yoga practice!!  Hooray!  So many sore muscles now but it's all good!

A few years ago I made a book bag for my mother-in-law who has used it for many visits to the local library where the bag received compliments from the librarians.  I've been thinking about making a book bag or two to donate to her library in recognition of how great the staff have been to my voracious reader mother-in-law.  Heather Givens latest fabric collection Literary was the obvious choice for these bags!

 I love the stamps and library cards!



On the bookshelf side I embroidered book titles.  Classic book titles for one bag.

Books that probably don't exist (but should!) about South Portland, Maine.

Even the lining has book piles.

I believe the plan is to raffle off the bags for the benefit of the library.  I'm so happy to help!!

I highly recommend this fun pattern by City House Studios.

Kathy

Baseball Shield for Baby

To say that we are a baseball loving family might be an understatement.  I was raised in the dugout at the little league field helping to score my brothers' baseball games while my Dad coached.  Some of my fondest childhood memories involve taking the train into Boston to see the Red Sox with my father.  Fever Pitch is my definition of the perfect movie. Well, you get the idea.

My son plays on a vintage base ball team, rules circa 1864.  The games are played on a field with corn stalks in the back (yes, they do have to go into the corn to field balls) and people bring blankets and picnic baskets to enjoy an afternoon of this gentleman's game (and there are women who play also!).  Watching these games is idyllic for any baseball fan.

You might recall I made my son a special uniform shield for his last big birthday.

Well, the creative mind in my household (my husband!) observed that our new grandson needed to have a shield to watch his father's games!

This bib was so much fun to make, I'm sure there will be more in the future!  Here is the tutorial I used.

My Tula Pink City Sampler has moved to the quilting stage.  This is an epic quilt and therefore warrants an epic quilting effort.  Even though I am using my Sweet Sixteen to FMQ it, given the size and weight of this beauty, quilting still equates to a workout.  And good news, my FitBit gives me steps while quilting!!  Win win!!

I finished my second knitting project.  The pattern is from the Craftsy class Knit Lab.  Nothing fancy but the right project for building knitting muscle memory.

My third project is a scarf with all kinds of increases and decreases.  Another long term project I suspect!

Off to "exercise" with my Tula Pink quilt!

Kathy

Finished - A Quilt for My Grandson

The most incredible, amazing, wonderful thing happened!  I am now a grandmother! Levi is a healthy, beautiful and incredibly loved little boy.  It's really quite impossible to put into words what my heart is feeling about this little human being.  So, I won't try.  Instead I will speak in the language of quilting.

This little quilt was made for loving and quality belly time.  The pattern is Super Star by Kate Blakesley of SwimBikeQuilt.  

This was a fun one to quilt and I love how soft and squishy the flannel backing looks.

Please be patient with me, I may be a little distracted with baby sewing and snuggling for a while.

Tidying Up Before Baby

With the grand-baby arriving soon, I am hesitant to start any new projects as I am quite sure I will be fully distracted by the new addition to our family and don't need to add to my list of WIP's!

When we had our home on the market in 2015, I went through a no sewing period to ensure the sewing room looked as neat as possible for showings, a very stressful period indeed.  I managed to sneak in and cut up some squares of peachy and low volume fabric.  That bag of squares sat around until a few weeks ago when I decided I needed to work with some brighter colors during this never ending winter.  Digging into my  scraps I cut more squares to yield a queen size quilt.

 To be honest, I am not sure about this quilt yet and that's really the first time I've felt this way after completing a quilt top.  I added some blue and mint green colors because why not.  

My goal is to make this a summer quilt for one of our guest bedrooms.  Quilting always makes things better so I am optimistic this will work out fine.

In really big news. my Tula Pink City Sampler has moved to the next stage...it is basted.  Unlike the quilt above, I have loved this quilt from Day One.

In my spare time, I'll be contemplating my quilting plan.  One can never accuse me of rushing to a finish!

I have to share with you my good luck!  I won this fabulous bundle of patterns, book and fabric from Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting as part of Amy's IGQuiltFest!  And the list of projects that I "must do" just keeps growing!

Sewing down my fabric stash has been a goal of mine and I have really tried to avoid buying fabric (except of course the necessary baby sewing fabric which doesn't count!).  The combination of this gorgeous collection by April Rosenthal (Sweet Marion) and a sale at the Fat Quarter Shop resulted in my purchase of this FQ bundle, the first time in a very long time I've purchased an entire collection.  So many of my favorite colors!

Sewing machine just dropped off for a tune up.  Hand sewing projects being organized.  Baby will be here soon.  All is good.