Ahhh

I love the holidays, but I got to admit it feels so good to be back to our regular routine.  Perhaps my sugar bear will actually get a good nap in.  He's napping now and the house is quiet.  Unlike the last 2 weeks.  We had my stepdaughter, her boyfriend, and her 2 year old staying with us.  It was rarely ever quiet.  Except when the whole lot of them were sleeping.  But then I couldn't sew, because my machine and notions were in the room that the boyfriend was staying in.  I did a lot of blog hopping.  My goodness a lot of you were very busy and got a lot of quilting done.  Wow.  Prior to the family visiting I did manage to get a few quilty Christmas gifts completed.  I gave my sister the pot holders from my previous post, and a christmas pillow (following this tutorial).  

Pot holders.

Tree pillow.  I quilted it all by myself (this is a big accomplishment for me).

My sister had the perfect reaction.  She told me how the pot holders were in her "dream" colors, like some fabric she picked up in Africa, and she cried when she saw the pillow.  I love her for that.  Makes me realize that I need to make a quilt for her.  She would appreciate it.  I usually don't get such a profound reaction when I give a quilt, which is fine.  I think I would be scared if everyone cried when I gave them a quilt or other handmade gift.  But, it is sometimes so nice to get that OMG reaction.

My sister with the pillow.

 

Thanksgiving TNT Thursday

 Happy Thanksgiving!  First, I'd like to express gratitude for my family, especially for my Sugar Bear.  I am so happy to be a mom and I love my little guy.   Now on to quilty things.  I just finished up a couple of pot holders.  This counts for a few new things I've tried.  1) making pot holders; 2) quilting the top; 3) making a pineapple block (super easy with this special ruler I got at the local quilt show this summer).  This is also the first time I've linked to TNT Thursday.  Enjoy everyone's posts.  

W.I.P. Wednesday #1

Now for the unfinished business.  I have a few works in progress, so I'm joining W.I.P. Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  I don't have many, since I have had as hard of a time starting a quilt as finishing one.


Here is my list:

Cheryl and Steven's wedding quilt.  They married in 2004.  I've completed 4 applique blocks.  Why did I think it would be a good idea to try hand applique for the first time with that one?  I. Really. Dislike. Hand. Applique.  Or at least I did.  I started working on it again a couple of months ago.  I decided hand applique was not all bad.  However I'm not so happy with my color choices.  Now I don't know if I want to start all over or trudge through with what I've got.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Rose

Random swirling pinwheel thing.  I made a block in a quilt class to learn a new technique.  That was maybe 3 years ago.  I don't remember the technique I supposedly learned.  This will most likely stay as is.  Or become a pillow.

Hedgehog baby quilt.  The top is finished.

Little Apples baby quilt.  The top is finished.  (Oh, Fransson! pattern).

Green and Blue premie quilt for the local hospital's NICU.  Cut, and begun piecing.

Even scarier than listing my W.I.P.s is the fact that now I've put my blog out there.   Heck, I haven't even told my mom, husband or friends about it.  I'm new to this so be kind.

Monday, Done-day #2

I finished another quilt.  This is one that I pieced together years ago.  It lived as a quilt top in the closet for a long while, and then this summer I got it quilted.  Yep, I've been one of those quilt-by-checkbook ladies.  Now that I am at home with my Sugar Bear I am hoping to try my hand at some straight line quilting.  This is the last of my quilts that just needed binding to be complete.

Sharon Ainsworth gave my quilt some great sea turtles.  I love it.

I guess I am done with "Monday, Done-day" for a while.  I'd better join W.I.P. Wednesdays.

Monday, Done-day #1

Here is the quilt I just finished for my Sugar Bear.  I used minky fabric on the back to give it that extra cuddle factor.  I used a 3 inch binding that the lady from my local quilt shop talked me into trying.  The jury is still out on that one.  I think I like the look of the wider binding, but I felt it was a bit trickier to work with, since you trim the quilt after you machine sew on the binding.  You give the quilt an extra 1/4 inch of batting and backing from where the binding fabric ends.  Perhaps the tricky bit was actually due to the minky, which was also a first for me.  I guess all that matters is that Sugar Bear likes it.

One Week Later- Progress!

I have been working on quilts while Sugar Bear naps!  This is big for me.  One baby quilt is finished, ready for a cousin's baby due in November.  Two more quilts are in the process of being bound.  My house is in a bit of disarray, however.  The sewing machine, rotary mat, quilts and ironing board have taken up residence in the living room and kitchen.  I'm sure Hubby is not thrilled about that, but he keeps  quiet.   

I found a cute stamp to use on the label.

This is probably the first time I remembered to take a picture of a quilt before sending it to the recipient.  

Hello Blogging World

     So here it is, my first post.  There are a lot of blogs out there, so why start another one?  Well, at this point I'm not to sure.  In my dream I would post something interesting/brilliant here several times a week, have thousands of followers, show pictures of a bunch of quilts I have made (need to make said quilts first), and maybe sell some quilts.  Reality?  I'm a mom of a one year old (which means my only quilting/blogging time is when he is asleep).  I've only made about 10 quilts in 10 years.  Though I am proud to say about 4 of those have been finished this year.  Slow start, I guess.
     I have a problem with over thinking things.  This puts a damper on getting anything finished.  Or started for that matter.  I think I'm afraid of making some kind of mistake.  I want to be fearless about making quilts.  Maybe by putting my fear out there and having some imagined reason for letting it go (i.e. knowing someone may be reading this and seeing if I ever get another quilt made) might help me.   Perhaps this blog is just for me, to give me the courage to cut up fabric, sew it together again, and not care if it isn't perfect.  Or perhaps there are other people out there, like me, who just need some motivation to get started and the permission to mess up along the way.