Hooked on Quilting

Finished building and sewing the baby blocks...just have to stuff and close the opening. Think I'm going to change the bean bags to white with colored letters. Which do you think will help the kids learn their letters better? Going away for a bit to baby sit the grandchildren so I won't be sewing much. I'm just taking a few things with me, but I doubt I'll make any progress. Way too much fun to play with the kids! Keep you updated when I can. 

I've decided to make alphabet bean bags. So I put one together. It's not the finished project, just basted to see how well the muslin bag would fill the finished bean bag. I think I will make the inside bag a bit larger.  Leaders and enders, from Bonnie's Easy Street, Step 4 .  I'll keep working, but thought I'd check in and I've linked up with WIPs at Freshly Pieced . Join me???

Made some progress on a couple of projects today and started, in earnest, a new-ish project. Here's a photo of the prototype alphabet bean bags I wanted to make for each of my children's households which means four sets of the alphabet, extra vowels and extra for each child in the family. I decided that since the kids are small that I'd make inner bags of muslin first, then applique the capital letters on the front and the lower case on the back. I really think my machine applique skills need some work. What do you suggest I do? What stitch would you use? Length, width? I am stabilizing the letter first.  ' Also worked on "Fresh" and am making three blocks for the latest grandchild to toss around. I'm going to stuff it and pink the seams so she can grip it easily. Different ideas?  I am still working on all my projects. Started sewing my Dear Jane BOWs, ironed the fabric for some more pillowcases, worked on the Stop Sign at bit, de...

I really need to blog every day, if I sew! I made a pillowcase for the quilts I made here . This one is for the twin for my granddaughter's birthday next week.  I need to make two more for the queen size, but her birthday isn't until March. I started and finished the diaper stacker to go with the nursery. We daubed the project "Fresh" for the line of fabric we used. It goes with the pillow , photo frames , runners  and quilt . For many reasons, these didn't get finished in a timely fashion.  Here's the second block of the Skillbuilder BOM called Magnum. No hand applique is getting done. Need to correct that today!

As usual, I'm waffling about which fabric to use, what do you think? I bought this pattern, Oakland Bay Sampler by Holly Bullock, from a quilt shop that has since gone out of business due to owner illness. It's a sampler quilt and one of the first quilts I'd tried to choose colors on my own. They just aren't so great so I've let it sit for awhile (read:very long while) in hopes I could one day decide. I'm still color challenged :(  Anyway, this is a king size quilt for my bed and I thought it was about time I finish it. Not sure if you can see it (remember, I'm still in need of a photography lesson), but there's a really soft pink in the two blocks to the right and the darker pink on the left. These are the only three of the 16 I need to do, so do I rip out one block or two blocks? Keep in mind that the 16 blocks are going to be sashed with either the light or the dark pink, so do you think the darker pink would make a better sashing or the l...

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesdays with Freshly Pieced  with my Dear Jane block for this week. It's the A-9 block, Cabin Fever and it's in purple. I'm really trying hard to get at least one block done a week. I think I will even start trimming and sashing them as I go so the job won't be so daunting at the end.  More later tonight. It's snowing and I feel like I should just sew all day, but I've stripped one bedroom and will try to clean it. Then checking out the Internet and watching TV might steal many moments of my time. My bad. 

One of my goals for 2013 was to do a Quilt As You Go type quilt. I joined the Skillbuilder BOM at Pile of Fabric. I worked on Block 1 and have gotten it sandwiched. Watched a bunch of Alyssa's videos in preparation. I practiced on paper and will try a practice piece after I feel I've gotten the hang of it! I realized that I hadn't completely finished the block and found a bunch of this red fabric that I'd bought on the bolt of the last day of the closing day of JoAnn's (relocated).  It's not the best, but I knew I'd have enough fabric for the back and that, hopefully, it won't show my mistakes too badly. I worked a bit on: Dear Jane Baltimore Autumn Baltimore Liberty  Stop Sign Pot Holders (need to get these done soon) That's it! How did you do on your projects?

Well, I've gotten a bunch done on my projects and thought it was time to share. I've finished the next step in the mitts. I cut the patterns and sewed them and turned them so all I have to do is add the binding (which is cut and pressed!). Hopefully, they will be done very soon and I can check off that project! I worked some more on burying the threads in my Stop Sign wall hanging. Need to cut the binding and sew it on and a sleeve to hang it and that will be done! Yippee. Also, got the fabrics identified on my Baltimore Autumn applique quilt. I'm doing a BOM with an applique Yahoo group and we are on Block 2 - Horn of Plenty. Lovely batiks for the cornucopia and I purchased the kit/pattern from Amidon Quiltworks . It's a Pearl P. Pereira design. It's a beautiful project. I love Pearl's patterns and I'm also doing her Baltimore Christmas, Baltimore Halloween and Baltimore Liberty patterns. I made a bunch of Step 4 of Easy Street  - Bonnie Hunter...

It's finally done! I squeezed the pillow form inside that small opening! Can't decide on a method of closing it up - hand or machine. Just not sure I want the stitching to show.  Anyway, thoughts? My daughter designed it to match the nursery. She really wanted bright primary colors. Well, only worked on three projects today. It's been four days since I even touched a few of them. Need to get on them!!

I've joined in with Freshly Pieced on WIP Wednesdays !  Today, it's being hosted by Jenelle at Echinops & Aster.  That wasn't a good thing...now I want to join Jenelle in her Honeycomb Quilt Along !!!  I see she's going to have hexies which is something I'd wanted to try in 2013.  How many more things can I add to me already too long to-do list? <grin> So here's what I've been doing so far today: These are the pot holders and the mitts. I just cross hatched them and will bind the pot holders and the larger pieces will be used for the mitt pattern then I'll sew and bind them. I've been doing a bit of practicing on my new machine and these were just the right size to use! More later...

I didn't post yesterday because I thought I spun my wheels all day yesterday. Actually, I did do two BOMs so I wasn't flitted from one project to another. I did get my Craftsy BOM finished!! I'm using scraps because I am trying to make a conscious effort not to buy so many kits anymore. <grin>  So, that's the reason that blue in the middle just doesn't seem to go with all those reds!! This block taught us how to do partial seams. So, I'm done for the month of February, so there's less on my list to do each day. The other project that I let extend for over an hour was the Skillbuilder BOM . It's a QAYG project which is one of the skills I had wanted to learn in 2013.  I didn't really buy any fabric except for the black, so it will be a bit scrappy, but controlled scrappy.  The instructions say to press seams open and that seemed to take forever because these are 1" strips. Ugh!!! I didn't get to the block two weeks ago wh...

Here's what's up on my design wall today: This is really the Dottie Do Little Mystery from Jean Ann Quilts and is part of the Sunbonnet Sleuth mysteries . The directions were a bit confusing and I didn't purchase the correct fabrics so I had to substitute and I don't like what I had on hand. I bought aqua and in one of her directions, she included teal from out of the blue, but I just thought she meant aqua, so now I have lots of aqua and no teal and an oddball green. Although it doesn't look too bad in this photo, I would have liked more blue-ish colors and not better greens as part of the shopping list. I volunteered to be a tester. <grin>  I'm doing a yellow and pink inner borders and white outer border with gray for binding. Not sure about the backing yet. I think I will see what I have leftover and see if I can substitute here and there.  Linking this to Patchwork Times  design wall Mondays. 

I was able to get a bunch of projects moved forward today. I was able to sew quite a bit today (Saturday). My February goals are: 1. Pot Holders/Mitts - I cut the fabric for them (TODAY), just have to quilt it and then cut them. 2. Dino's - Cut valances for two windows (TODAY). Each are two fabrics and one appliqued Dino per window. I will go back to the quilt next. 3. Dear Jane - Almost finished two blocks, should finish tomorrow, will post pics then. 4. Baltimore Autumn - I didn't finish Block 1, so I'll probably tackle it again in February. 5. Baltimore Christmas - Didn't finish Block 1, might continue or move on to Block 2. I think Block 1 is the hardest of all of them. 6. Baltimore Halloween - Block 2 here I come!!! 7. Baltimore Liberty - None much was done in January. :( 8. Vintage Valentine - About halfway on this one - Block 1. 9. Country Cottages - Little embroidery left, then will move to Block 2. 10. Nursery stuff - Started a pillow awhile ago, p...

This is going to help me finish one project as I've signed up at the   2013 - A Lovely Year of Finishes  hosted by Melissa of Sew Bitter Sweet Designs and Fiber of All Sorts .  I've chosen my Stop Sign to finish up. I don't have a deadline for it, so it might as well be February, right? I really should get this done! 

Yikes, I didn't post the winner yesterday! Forgive me...should have scheduled 15 minutes for that!!! Anyway, the winner of the Grow Your Blog Party giveaway is... Di of Cottage Wishes  - please send me your address so I can send your fabric to you. Thanks also to Vicki of 2 Bags Full because I know it was a ton of work to get this all put together. This party has truly helped me get my blog out there and share my daily progress. Di, shoot me an email soon.