It's all pieced!

Okay so I didn't get it all sewn together that day. I ran into a few problems- I had to re-piece two blocks that I somehow put together backwards. That and I had laundry screaming at me too. But It's done.


All I have to do now is send it off to my Quilter, Becky. Thank God for Becky! After becky works her magic on it, this quilt will go live with my mom, and have a special spot in the "grandkid's room" at her house.

Finishing this quilt meant a lot more to me than I thought. After I had the last seam sewn, I laid it out out on the floor to take a picture of it - and I cried.

Why so sappy over a quilt top? I don't usually cry over finishing one, I'm usually happy to have it done and out of my hair. But this one was more than just a sewing project. It was a huge mess that I had the chance to fix!

Here is what I started with I messed this up really bad, and it is one of those rare moments in life when you get a chance for a do over.


Most importantly, this quilt is proof that I finished a project! One thing I do not like about myself is that I had a habit of starting a lot of stuff but didn't always see it through. Heck, the main reason I started this blog was to motivate myself to finish up my UFO's! And look, it's working!

All the blocks are Done!

I am on the home stretch! I have all the blocks pieced, and Now I just need to arrange them and sew the blocks together. The quilt will be 9 blocks by 7 blocks, but my design wall isn't quite big enough for 7 rows until they are sewn together. So now I just have to fiddle around with how I want the colors to line up, and with a little help from my son, I should have this together today!

Blue and White tea set

I finally got 'er done. This one is up for sale in My Etsy Shop



These are so fun to make. Hopefully I will bring in a little extra cash for Christmas!

Fabric finds

I always love adding to my fabric stash.. here's a few of my latest finds..A little more of the Snippets by American Jane. I like everything in that line. Oh how I adore the paper dolls and sweet toys! And the batiks, just like candy, so hard to resist. I don't think I'll ever buy a solid color fabric again.




I especially loved the chicken fabric. I think I may make a zippy little retro apron out of them , and a dress for Mollie with the ladybugs.

Progress on feedsack Quilt

Moving right along with the "Ugly Quilt" Remake.... my quilt is growing..


Friday, 4 rows done, and the rest of the pieces sorted into baggies:


And my progress for Sunday:
Five rows finished!


And I pieced the rest of the blocks this far:


I did cheat a bit and hired out the ironing..sure did make things go a lot faster.


Monday and Tuesday's work:

Crochet watermelon hat

I finished another project!!
Here's a crocheted watermelon hat I made for my little girl:

Ugly Quilt contest

Oh, the things you stumble upon on the internet!


Doesn't everybody have a quilt that just didn't go the way you wanted it to? Maybe it was your first quilt, the one that you learned all the "rules" on..Maybe you've hidden that thing in a closet too embarrassed to hang it on a wall.



It's time to trot out that that trainweck and put it to good use! Get a good pic of that sucker, and enter it in "What was I thinking?" The Ugly Quilt Contest . Let's have a good laugh, learn from our mistakes, and maybe win a sweet prize for your uh..creation.

Here's the quilt I entered
If you enter one, let me know in the comments!

Stained Glass Quilt

Another UFO done! I know it wasn't on my list of UFOs but, well, I have a lot of UFOs laying around. This is my Mother's Christmas Present. Yes, I mean last Christmas. Yes, I know it is June. Technically it was all finished a few months ago ( but not before Christmas), but I decided to add a quilt label on the back.

I got the idea for this quilt from a church in Grayson County Virginia. My Mother does a lot of genealogy research, and tracked down a slew of our Ancestors in that county. There is a pretty little church there, with beautiful stained glass windows, and a few of the windows had our ancestors name's on them.




I started with a foundation fabric, and sketched out the lines of the pieces, and sewed blocks onto the foundation:


Then I added bias tape for the leading:




It was hard to quilt on my machine, and next time I will hire that part out. It was the first stained Glass project I've done, and I'd really like to do more. Overall I was pleased with it. And it's for my mother, so I'm sure she'll like it. Your mother has to like your artwork, it's some sort of rule.

Quilt Qua

I came across this wonderful new Quilting site recently :

Quilt Qua

Oh my , what a lot of resources.. My favorite is the Giveaway page, several contests and giveaways just for quilters!

There is a page of Quilt blog links, to find other quilters; a page to find Quilt shops and museums across the US, and plenty of useful articles.

Right now there is a giveaway for a lovely Holly Taylor Fat Quarter bundle for telling a friend about the site!

UFO for the summer

I always have several projects going at once, and The very reason I blog is that I hope to push myself into actually finishing all the things I start. Here's the latest round of UFO's ( besides the feedsack quilt and the Rug below) but Hey, I did finish the Silk Tie dress, so that counts, right?

This dress is very comfy, and I wear it around the house because it just feels good on. But I really don't like the flowery print, and I want to make it a bit longer, so I thought I'd try to copy it in a bright happy loud tie dye fabric. I have the skirt cut out..


I saw a really cute Watermelon hat at my favorite kids clothing store, and thought I'd try to make one for Mollie. It's a small project, I keep it in my purse and take it along to the park and work on it while the kids play.


I have been hanging onto some of My daughter's clothes to make into a little quilt. Most of the pieces are knit, and I thought the pieces and patterns would look cute in a charm quilt, with hexagons. I don't really sew a lot with knits, so this may very well be a disaster, but at least it will be a small disaster. I even cut some small squares for a matching Dolly quilt.

Recycling T Shirts 1 : a rug

This projects started as a swap for some fabric with a friend. She wanted a rug, and I wanted her stash..So I learned to make a rug.

I started with a pile of old t shirts in bright colors, washed and dried them,and used a rotary cutter to cut into strips about an inch wide and 4 inches long:



I cut up several shirts at a time, and sorted into bags by color. I used the mesh that is used for making latch hook rugs as the base:


And used a latch hook tool to pull one end of a strip of fabric through the mesh


And then tied a knot


Trial and error proved that I didn't need to put a knot in every row, I did two rows, and skipped a row, and skipped a row diagonally as well. the t shirt material will full up space and stand straight up, giving a nice thick, fluffy rug:

Recycling silk ties 1: dress

Maybe you have a stash of silk ties in your closet, or can raid your friend's.. at worst you can buy plenty of silk ties at yard sales and thrift shops for a quarter a tie. A friend of mine made a tie skirt and I wanted to try it too.

I started with a pile of 100% silk ties and gutted them. It doesn't take long to take them apart and I had no idea what was inside.


Then toss a few ties at a time the ties into the sink , handwash with cool water and a little mild detergent. Some ties might run color, so I washed like colors together. hang over the shower rod to air dry.

Now iron flat - I used a little spray starch too, to make it easier to handle. There is a lot more material than I thought in a tie!


Then I just started stitching them together, starting from the widest end, (two rows of stitching to make it less likely to ravel). keep going until you have enough width to wrap around , and sew those end together. The bias cut of the ties will have enough stratch that most likely won't need to add a zipper.

I added a band around the top for a little extra stability, and cut off the bottom points of the ties and hemmed just a little bit.

and here it is all finished: ( yes, that is a duct tape dress form)


Back view:

Bright Ideas

As usual, when I am working on one project, my mind darts around thinking up other projects to do next..

I wanted to try to crochet a set of nesting dolls.. I haven't seen a pattern for any, so maybe I'll try making it up as I go.

That made me think of a little doll I had years ago..It was a little red riding hood, and when you turned her upside down, and flipped her dress over, there was a wolf in grandma's nightgown. That would be fun to crochet too..

And I can't quite get my fill of crocheting teasets. I picked up some embroidery floss in gold and Silver today so I could try making a crochet teaset fit for Sunday Dinner..Just like the gold-edged dishes my mom used for special occasions.

Oh, and Mollie wants a Skippyjon Jones doll..So I will need to crochet one of those too, I suppose.


Just as soon as I finish the two quilts, one pair of socks,2 crocheted purses, the rug, and the mini teaset I am working on now....Oh Dear.

Feedsack Quilt - Fresh Start!

I decided to use the Snail's trail pattern with the feedsack material I took apart. I set to work re-cutting the triangles:



And started piecing the blocks. I used a red from the Snippets line by Moda to contrast with the feedsack fabrics


I am so pleased with how it looks this time around!




I have decided I like it so much I am going to make a second quilt for me to keep.

Hello Kitty crochet bag - almost done!

I crocheted a Hello Kitty Bag for my Little daughter. You can see the beginnings of it here http://mamacatbluequilts.blogspot.com/2009/04/crochet-hello-kitty-bag.html

I've added a lining, Sewed on the eyes and nose and tomorrow I put on the whiskers..Maybe she'll get it before college.

Feedsack Quilt

I started this quilt about 10 years ago, when I was very new to quilting.

I got it about halfway finished and stopped in frustration, packed it all in a box and hid it. For years it has been bothering me, and finally I did something about it. Or At least I started doing something about it..


Before:




And the back..This is when I learned all about how important seam allowance is:


This past week, I took a Seam Ripper to it and pulled every bit of it apart, and threw out the horrid white material I had used:


After several hours of picking seams and ironing, I now have a motley assortment of triangles. 10 years of this quilt mocking me, and I had the last laugh! Now to figure out what to actually do with them..

UPDATE!
Here's how the remake of this quilt is going

Update again!
The finished top

Kameleon Quilt - two quilts in one

Here's an update on "Growing Season"..

Eldrid Royset Forde designed this Pattern. The name of the pattern is "Kameleon Quilt Night and Day". It can be found at her website Kameleon Quilt Tekstildesign


I love the idea of having a quilt that changes. Here's my completed version.
First the solids, which makes me think of the early days of spring, at planting time


Then the harvest season, when the garden offers it's bounty


Close up of the middle with solids showing


And the middle with the corn and chickens showing




The secret to getting two looks out of the quilt is the flaps that move back and forth and fasten onto a button in the center of the squares. The flaps have a different fabric on the back so when it is moved and buttoned in the opposite direction, you see the fabric underneath.

Mending Day and Guilt

It is so very satisfying to work through the pile in the mending basket. Especially when the things in the mending basket have been taunting me with cries of "But I've been in here a year" and "Hem me before the kid outgrows me already!"

I was feeling a little rotten for putting off so many little easy things that had grown into a huge pile. It would take forever to do it all..but it didn't.

So I took an afternoon and worked on the mending pile.. It felt so thrifty to hem the ragged edged pants into shorts..and to shorten the sleeves on a few shirts so my daughter could wear them from another season.I saved a lot of money on clothes! I got on a roll and sewed on 3 missing buttons, fixed a ripped strap on a dress, and several of the 5-minute fixes that I just put off doing for no real reason.

I worked through my guilt and procrastination piece by piece, my guilt started to melt away I started to feel pretty good about my accomplishments. I couldn't help but think of the other mending basket I have. The one nobody can see.

The phone calls I put off..the letter I should write, the friend I should make. The things I keep meaning to attend to, just put off- for no good reason. All these things I know I should do, and the longer I put them off the worse I feel.

So tomorrow, I think I'll have another mending day.
Join me.

Crochet Hello Kitty Bag

I absolutely loved this pattern! I saw it on a website, and when I started looking for the pattern, I found that the The pattern is published by Sanrio...In Japanese.

Now I don't read any Japanese, but I really wanted to try this pattern, so I tracked down the book here: Saucy Louise's Shop. The name of the book is Hello Kitty Pompom Mascots and Knit Goods Vol 14


The inside of the book looks like this:


Here's what I have done on the bag so far..



And I decided to line it with a coordinating fabric..

Raffle for Wii

A good friend of mine is raising funds for March of Dimes. Her beautiful baby girl was born 13 weeks early. Here's sweet Molly at 10 weeks


To learn how to support March of Dimes and Join in on a raffle to win an Awesome Wii Bundle, just go here:
Molly's Mission Raffle for Wii