July 2018

One would think that it is too hot to knit or quilt, but I have a finished object in both categories.

My grandson is three months old and I finally got his quilt finished. I had a bit of fun with this quilt. The pattern had the bubbles as applique, but I have always wanted to try piecing circles so I did! It is easy peasy lemony squeezy. I also played a bit with the quilting. I quilted bubbles in the bubbles, sand at the bottom of the quilt hides a starfish and a snail. There is also a bit of kelp.

 My best friend knitted the little boy Knubbelchen but couldn't finish the girl because of a pinched nerve. Since these were for my grandson, I finished the knitting. Aren't they adorable? This is a Ravelry patter, BTW.

How about...

some knitting for baby!

That little grand baby of mine is keeping me busy!

Baby Sewing

Well, hello, there! I should welcome myself back, shouldn't I? You can see from the photos that I've been busy busy busy with grandbaby sewing!

These pacifier tethers were really easy to make. I had some leftover binding that I sewed into a tube and turned right side out. But before I did that, I add a loop of ribbon to one end so that it would be caught in the sewing. Then I threaded the other end through a mitten/suspender clip and just sewed it down. Easy peasy.

The pattern for these bibs came from Heather at Hellomynameisheater and is free. I used a fabric that is new to me. My friend, Mrs. Goodneedle, used it and mentioned it in a blog post, so of course I had to try it. Thanks for mentioning it Mrs. G!

I had some of the PUL left over, after all it is 54" wide. So 2 layers of PUL + 4 layers of flannel stitched together and then turned right side out (like birthing a quilt) and Voilâ! a very wipe-able travel changing pad.

I found this sweet alphabet panel and I turned into a book using 72F Peltex Ultra Firm 2-sided Fusible and a bit of time. Boy do I love the pinking blade for my rotary cutter!

Baby Quilts

I have been sewing baby quilts lately. This quilt actually was a one block quilt measuring 22"x22" called Pieces of My Heart by Sassafras Lane Designs that I found on Craftsy. I made four of the blocks and added a border.

After talking with a new mother and consulting with several blog friends about a backings and battings for this, I ended up using Ultra Cuddle fabric with no batting. Quilting was done on my DSM using a walking foot in straight lines.

From the left overs I pieced this quilt. Once again I used the Ultra Cuddle for the backing with no batting. The quilting was done on my Handi Quilter Sweet 16 in an all over large meander.

The top quilt with the hearts was given to my brand new grand-daughter, Miss Addy. The other quilt will go into my donation pile.

Sunny

This is the Sunny Baby Blanket I am knitting. I just love this pattern and have made several of these blankets. The link leads to the Ravelry page for the free pattern. I am using a very soft acrylic yarn in the color 'Menthe'. Some nice back lighting going on in the photo, isn't there?

My Sister's Sweater is about finished. It is just a matter of stitching up the seam in the sleeves and then blocking.

What are you working on? I'm linking up to Judy L.

Gifts for a baby

I have been working on some baby gifts. I bought a package of size 0-3mo Onesies and did a bit of stenciling using some fabric dye pens. There were originally 3 little shirts but I threw one away because the happy face in the star bled into the yellow and looked more like a scary face. The purple bird is a bit dark but it is what it is. I really DO like the star, however.

These burp cloths were FUN to make! A fat quarter stack of bright and cheery fabrics, a package of ten cloth diapers and this tutorial along with a bit of time resulted in these seriously cute and practical items. The hardest part of this? Finding cloth diapers!

Quilt #1

This is the first quilt that I quilted on my Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen.

This is a panel that I dug out of the fabric stash. As it was a bit short, I added a series of borders on the top and bottom.

It took me a while to quilt this as I am still in the learning and playing mode on my HQSS.  I laid in the straight lines around the blocks and borders. Then I filled in the blocks with a simple meander. The sashing and like colored borders were done with a wavy pattern. The colored borders were done in a psuedo cathedral window. Here's a shot of the back.

This is the back that I showed last week. Remember? the one with the tucks? I can see that I need to pick some thread from it and that I had a bit of tension problems here and there, but overall I am pleased. It will only get better, right?

Top thread and bobbin: Signature 40wt quilting thread
                                     Color: Fawn

Follow this link for more Design Walls, at JudyL's Patchwork Times.

Design Wall March 11, 2013

Remember the baby quilt that I made for Operation Homefront? You can find a full photo of it in this post. It is now finished as in quilted and bound. Woo hoo!

There were enough of those 2.5" strips to make some 4-patches and they are up on the wall in another quilt. I need to piece the blocks together, but I love the movement these simple little (4" finished) blocks give.

Plus, there are bits and pieces left over and it is possible to get a third quilt from the leftovers. We will see.

These baby quilts are going to be sent to Operation Homefront- Texas and I've linked to KaHolly's blog if you care to follow the link for more info. I am not in Texas, but I can make baby quilts and I know where my local post office resides.

What's on your design wall? Visit more design walls over at JudyL's blog.

Design Wall Monday - February 25, 2013

Well, this area FINALLY got some snow. And during that storm a big batch of chili was made in the crock pot. And after all the domestic chores were done, some sewing commenced. So for the last Design Wall Monday in the month of February I actually have something to show.

Have you heard about Operation Homefront? Operation Homefront in Texas is having several baby showers for the wives and military members who are having babies. You can read about it here. Or you can read about another one here.

A baby quilt is quick to make. This one measures about 36"x45". It isn't quilted yet but I was able to cut and sew it together in a day. It started with quarter yard cuts of three fabrics in one line and ended with this! I have enough 2.5" strips to possibly make another baby quilt.

What's on your design wall?

Receiving Blankets

A family member is preggers and I found yards and yards of white flannel in the Great Fabric Sort and Organization. There was 6 or 7 yards total. I pulled out the serger and using wooly nylon and a narrow hem, I whipped out these 6 receiving blankets. What a great stash buster!