February Quilting Accomplishments

February has been an extremely productive month for me! I feel elated to have finished so much and to have worked on a bunch of tops that will become finishes in the next few months. I spent a couple Sunday afternoons quilting, which really helped get me closer to finishes.
I quilted this Modern Rose Garden quilt for Emilee.

I quilted up my Briar Rose quilt and finished the binding on it, just in time for the trunk show I did on February 16th.

I quilted this Frolic charm square quilt and finished the binding on it on February 18th, just in case I got to see the new baby I made it for. I'm excited to have it done and ready to gift.

I also quilted up this Frolic quilt to have on hand for another baby gift. It's super cute, but I don't have a baby to give it to just yet. It's another one off the UFO list.

I quilted and finished the binding on the Let it Snow batik quilt in time for the trunk show as well.

In addition, I also made this pillowcase for a throw pillow to match.

At the quilt retreat on Feb. 16th, I finished up the blocks for this Unwind baby quilt which uses the lazy angle ruler. I'll get it quilted up next month for another baby gift.

At the retreat I also pieced the top for my challenge quilt for a store sample. I need to get the borders on as it needs to be quilted by the end of March.

I've been basting and sewing Hexies like crazy, so I made some cute little needle books to hold my needles in my hexie bags.

I also quilted a couple quilts for my friend Andrea. This is a flannel baby quilt in Sage King Tut & bottomline

An older flimsy of hers with the same sage combo, which worked very well.

I also quilted this table runner for her with a yellow/green/blue King Tut and blue bottomline.

I made this cute little table topper from the leftover blocks of my Briar Rose quilt. I quilted it up quick one night and put the binding on it. I'm working on the hand sewn binding.

I quilted up this little scrappy beach balls quilt top and sewed the binding on for another UFO finish. It's a doll quilt.

I also quilted and sewed the binding on this flannel Pink Animal Crackers quilt made with leftovers from mom's stash. Another UFO checked off the list!

When I made the pillowcase from the Let it Snow batik, I had a big rectangle left, so I added a zipper and made a little zippered bag.

Another UFO finish was this Farmyard Friends baby quilt for Mathew. I quilted it at the beginning of the month and finished the binding on it this week.

I had some leftover triangles from the 60* table runners I made last month, so I sewed them together and made a table topper. I quilted it up quick the other night and put the binding on and finished the hand sewing on it yesterday.

At the end of retreat and during the last week I have sewn this little baby quilt together from the scraps of the Noah's Ark quilt I made last week. It turned out super cute and I can't wait to quilt it and finish it for my class in the next quarter.

Since February was so productive, I can't wait to see what I accomplish in March. I'm going to shoot for at least 2 UFO finishes and finishing the store challenge quilt.

Quilting Up a Storm

This weekend I pulled the quilt frame out and worked on several quilts for a friend. I quilted this flannel baby quilt with a sage green King Tut and Bottomline. It turned out so nice and cozy.

I also quilted up this pink/green baby quilt she had made several years ago and wanted to get finished.

I spent the most time on this small table runner. It gave me lots of headaches because each of the leaves is loose, think prairie points and I had to really watch so they wouldn't snag. Plus there there extra layers there and I had a lot of problems with skipped stitches. I slowed down, changed needles, used sewers aid, but it was only in the thick spots it skipped, so I am sure that had something to do with it. I

Here's a close up of the quilting, yet it is hard to see. I used a yellow, orange, blue, green King Tut with a blue Bottomline.

I've also been working on putting together this quilt top since quilt retreat. It's really a fun quilt to sew because the seams match up so perfectly! I couldn't believe how easy it was to get them to match. It's using up scraps from a sample I made at the beginning of the year. I'll hopefully get it quilted this weekend as I plan to teach this class in the next quarter.

This is the last remaining pieces of the border print I used for the Farmyard Friends quilt. I made a little table topper that I quilted up last night. Now I just need to put binding on. I've got a lot of projects that just need binding finished, so that may need to be my March goal.

Last night I also quilted up this little table runner made with the leftover pieces from Briar Rose. I made a whole bunch of pieces wrong, so instead of throwing them away, I just made them into a table runner. This is squared up and the binding is cut, so I just need to put it on now.

It's been another very productive week and I feel great. I also am working on my ahhhh's 2 & 3 which are English Paper Pieced. I got them all prepped and basted at lunch today and now it's time to sew them together.
Find time to enjoy your passion and everything else will fall into place.

Mikaela Marie

Mikaela Marie arrived January 19th, 2011 at 5:45pm. She was 7lbs 13oz, 20" long. She is absolutely beautiful and both Paul and I are so proud of her. This picture is from the hospital when Grandma Delia and Grandpa Hugh visited. Mom had made us a bunch of receiving blankets and this was her favorite, so we wrapped Mikaela in it while she was in the hospital. I've decided the receiving blankets are as wonderful of a gift as baby quilts. These are flannel pieces serged around, some one layer, some two and they are larger than you can buy, so they are perfect for swaddling. I'll definately be making a whole lot more of these for gifts. She also made us a bunch of burp clothes.

Mikaela was able to come home with us on Friday, so we've been enjoying our time at home. We made a trip to Wal-mart on Sat. for a few more essentials. Sunday we visited the Dr. and had breakfast out. Today Mikaela and I went to my work to visit and take the Tough Enough to Wear Pink picture. The girls really enjoyed seeing her. Paul got off work because it was too windy to work. He went with us to Fabric City/Sewing Center so the staff there could see her. He also took us shopping in the mall. We came home and all relaxed for the evening. It was nice spending time together. Tomorrow Mikaela and I are on our own, so hopefully I'll get a chance to do a bit of sewing. I did get the hand sewing on the binding on my Valentine's table runner done while I was in the labor room Wed. morning.  I haven't done any since we've been home, but mostly because we've been rearranging furniture and doing some cleaning, making changes to our lives because of our new little one. My brothers both visited, my SIL and cousin M came too. She was so super cute with her "I'm a 1st Cousin" shirt. Hopefully I'll get a few more pictures taken in the next few days.

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Baby Gifts

Last night I got ambitious and figured I had time so I might as well make a few gifts for a friend who is also having a baby pretty soon. I decided to make another nursing cover. This one I made using the serger and it whipped up so quickly! I absolutely love the fabric and can't decide which one I should give her and which one to keep for myself. I'm almost leaning toward keeping this one. I decided I'd make her one since I know she's planning to nurse. I'd like to make these for other friends having babies, but I guess I'd be more leary unless I knew they planned to nurse. I love how quick and easy these are, but they look really sharp.

I also got fabric and elastic to make a changing pad cover since I know she has the same changing pad that Colleen gave us. I didn't have a pattern and just kind of winged it. I guess I need to do a little better measuring as this one is a bit big on the ends and short on the sides. The covers Colleen gave me are perfect! I have another piece of fabric to make another one, so might have to adjust my measurements and try again. I used the serger and it went together in no time at all.


I feel like I'm accomplishing a lot and keeping busy helps me pass the time. Please say an extra prayer for my mom. She's facing many challenges and I know all the prayers help her. She's a fighter!

Burp Clothes

Last night when I was pulling fabric out for my hexi's project, I noticed all the flannel fat quarters I'd been saving to make burp clothes. I pulled the fabrics out and figured I'd get to them some time in the next few weeks. Tonight I wanted a quick project and decided I could probably get them done. I ironed all the fat quarters and cut out all 6. The fabrics match on the first 2, the 3rd & 4th, and the last 2. They are reversible, but wanted to show all the fabrics so you could see what I used. I picked up the pinks on the right when I was in OH as they were really cheap. The other 4 fat quarters came from a swap at a Christmas party I attended when I worked at the quilt shop. We were to make something for the next years party, only the shop closed before we had another party. I have the baby bag packed and I finished packing my bag for the hospital tonight. Looking forward to our new arrival any day....

Mom's Boot Quilt

Sometimes when I'm working on a project, I have to have just the right amount of inspiration to work on it. Mom gave me this quilt back in October to quilt for her. She didn't have a deadline, so it got put in the closet and I just never got around to quilting it. The other night she was over for supper and I didn't have a project to work on for the evening, so I pulled this one out and loaded it on the frame. I have had the thread for just as long and it was with the quilt, so I didn't have to go looking for it. I quilted loops that reminded me of the rope pattern in the fabric. Last night I finished up the quilting on it, so I can give it to her tonight when I see her.

A close up of the quilting. I used a Maroon/Green/Gold verigated King Tut on top and a light blue Bottom Line in the bobbin. I used a low loft polyester batting, so it poofs a bit more than many of the quilts I've quilted.

The backing was pieced with parts of the front. The quilt is all flannel, so it's going to be nice and warm.

The Bottomline on the back blends in really well, yet you can see the quilting. I'm really happy with my tension.

Giraffe Balloon Quilt

After work I stopped by The Sewing Center and picked up the thread I needed to quilt this baby quilt. It's a panel from Pearl Louise Designs and coordinating fabrics. I quilted it with King Tut light pink/blue/yellow/purple verigated and a light green bottomline. It's 43"x56" and I quilted it in about 2 hours. I had to catch up on the bachelor, so I took a few breaks.

The thread just matched so perfectly. I was really happy with how it turned out. The back is a solid green, the same color green as on the far right in the picture. The quilt is all flannel with a thermore batting in it.

Lickity Split Baby Quilt

Right before I left on vacation, we got in the Cozy Cotton flannel line. I absolutely fell in love with the baby colors and I knew I had to make a quilt for a friend who recently had a baby.


I decided to use the Fast & Furious Quilt as You Go book from GE Designs as the pattern. I appliquéd the babies name on the center of the quilt using the pattern for letters in Atkinson Designs new Fonts book. I cut it out in about 1/2 hour and it took about 4 hours total to appliqué and make the quilt. I went to put the binding on and had bought this great stripe. I cut it all on the bias last night and went to put it on tonight and realized I was short. Not only was I short, but I had cut it all straight when I was doing the tube method of bias binding. Apparently I turned my triangles wrong. So luckily I had the other part of my 1/2 yard cut and I cut it on the bias and got the stripes going around. It took me less than an hour to re-cut the binding and attach it. Now I only have to hand sew it down. When it’s done I’ll have to take a picture, but I want my friend to see it in person first. Here's the binding that I worked so hard on and made wrong, so it's unusable.