Counting Sheep

Crafting has (once again) fallen by the wayside over the last few months (years). But I have been trying to make time to do more. Because when I do, I feel happy. Yay, happiness!

My PTA work finally quieted down enough for my creative juices to flow a bit right at Thanksgiving. My husband's cousin had a baby in June 2018 and I got a wild bee in my bonnet to make the little dude a quilt. Because every baby needs a quilt! But it had to be simple and something I could finish quickly as we were going to meet baby in person for the first time at the family Christmas party on December 8th. My other goal was to try and use my stash and avoid purchasing any additional fabric.

Success!!! I even finished with a whole day to spare. ;)

The design is "Hyde Park" from the book Super Simple Fat Quarter Quilts by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith (see amazon.com listing). The instructions were straightforward and clear and the top came together very quickly. I didn't have enough full fat quarters, so I went a bit scrappier. I purchased this cute sheep fabric in 2013 (a Hamil Textiles fabric, designed by World of Susybee). It was great to finally be able to put it to good use!

I quilted it with swirls through the center and then did a fancier border treatment-- I try to embrace opportunities like this practice and build my quilting skills. Babies don't judge. ;)

Here I've added in some lines to show the design a bit more clearly. I love how it turned out! My one regret though is that, because of the scrappy nature of the fabrics, the quilting doesn't show up very strongly. However, had the design turned out not-so-great, this would have worked to my advantage. So, not a huge regret.

The back isn't ideal-- but it was available in my stash and I had enough of it that it only took one seam (important as time was of the essence!). The binding was finished by machine (I used Red Pepper Quilt's binding tutorial).

Little sheep on the label! Yay!

The 56x67" size is perfect for playing on and as he gets older, it will be excellent for snuggling.

It was a joy to meet our new baby cousin and to be able to give him this quilt.

Glad Tidings

A few years ago (2004 maybe?), while on the Bluebonnet Patchwork Trail Shop Hop in Central Texas, I saw a sample. It was on display at a wonderful San Antonio quilt shop called Las Colchas. It was an Advent quilt from the Nancy Halvorsen book Glad Tidings Advent. I instantly fell in love with the quilt. I have no idea why. I’m not particularly religious. I’ve never been into the primitive/folksy look. But there was something about the design that just sang to me. I actually waited a little while before buying the book, just in case it was a momentary thing. But I couldn’t get that quilt out of my mind. So I did buy the book, as well as a special button set.

As I was straightening up my quilty room in September, I found the book and decided that this year would be the year. I worked on it for a bit, took a break, worked a little more, another break, and finally completed it this last week.


I love it.
I pretty much followed the given instructions. My only big regret is that I went ahead and did the suggested “Quick Quilting” finish of placing the top and back right sides together, sewing around, turning, and stitching closed, and then quilting. As a result, I’ve got some rippling going on. I think I would have been better off to do a traditional finish, quilting first and then doing a binding. Other than that, I think it came together pretty well.


Another change I made was in the hanging tabs. Instead of sewing both ends in, I only attached one and then finished the other. I then went and made buttonholes on the finished ends so that they can button around onto the back of the quilt. The hanger I wanted to display it on is closed—so there is no way to slide hanging loops or a sleeve onto it. Now I can button around the hanging bar. The hanger was a Christmas gift from our friends Ruth and Patrick. How perfect is it with this quilt? Thanks again, Ruth and Patrick!


The little ornaments were very simple to make. Just fabric fused onto wool felt with some embroidered and button embellishments. I used perle cotton for the hanging loops (I couldn’t find any black crochet thread, as was suggested in the book). The book instructs you to hot glue the hanging loops to the ornament. I did this, but am not thrilled with the result. It’s a little messy looking. It’s on the back so it’s not like anyone is going to see it. But if I were to do it again, I think I would maybe cut the felt a little differently, leaving enough room for an eyelet at the top to thread the loop through.


The book has some other cute projects using the same elements that appear in the Advent quilt, including some mini quilts and a little pillow. But really, I kind of see it as a one-trick-pony kind of project book. It is also focused on speed with regards to the techniques—the fastest ways to get to a completed project. It’s definitely not about best practices. I think the end products evidence this. But with some creativity and forethought as supplements, this is a fun little book with very cute patterns.


Despite its faults, I love this quilt. I look forward to making it a part of our family holiday traditions, and using it to help us better experience the spirit of the season and remember the story of Christmas.

Guild night!

A new month, another guild meeting! Tonight I'll be bringing along my latest block exchange contribution, a couple of blocks to enter into this month's block lotto, and a quilt for show and tell.

For this month's block lotto, we were given an 8"x10" piece of a cute snowman print flannel. I don't feel like I was especially creative this time around, but I think my blocks are pretty:


I made the one above using amandajean's instructions from Week 5 of her Star Quilt Along.


This block is a traditional one called "Corn & Beans." I found it in the book Quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift by Joanne Larsen Line and Nancy Loving Tubesing. What I love about the book is that it takes traditional blocks and puts them together with very modern aesthetic—bright colors, exciting prints, batiks, and more. For every quilt in the book, multiple size options are offered, along with detailed, illustrated instructions (including suggested backing layouts—very handy). The more I look at this book, the more I want to make every quilt in it! And, if you haven't seen the picture book, The Quiltmaker's Gift, you should check it out too. The illustrations are just gorgeous.

I think I must somehow have some good quilting karma built up, because after winning in June's block lotto, I won again in September:


How lovely are these? Mmmm... they all just scream out "Fall!" to me. I'm thinking that I might make them into placemats and/or a tablerunner. I think they would be just perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. I love how even though they are all different, they have the unifying theme that really ties them together.

Last, but not least, here is the latest block for the block exchange:


This month I got to pick my own fabrics to use. The only only request was that we choose muted colors. I gave myself fits with the house fabric I chose... I just felt this need to make sure all the stripes matched. I'm a glutton for punishment sometimes. Also, as it was suggested that we could do some embellishment, it seemed only appropriate to decorate the house with a little Halloween spirit. It was October after all. I fussy cut and then appliqued the pumpkins and attempted a little stitchery in the form of the spider. Hopefully she'll like it!

Some reading

Eek! I only just realized that it's been a week since I've posted. I guess I was hoping that my next post would be a completed Star Quilt Along top. Alas, I'm not quite there yet (still working on borders). I have been busy doing stuff, but really there isn't much in the way of excitement to share. I've been working on my hexagon flowers (keeping my hands busy during the Dear Baby Jane break). I've finished cutting out the Prairie Pinwheels fabrics (that took way too long... ugh). Last night I started on the last posted Dear Jane block, H-6. And I've been thinking about quilt tops.

I have a pile of quilt tops in my closet. Most of them have been there for at least 3 years... waiting. One still needs a final border, but the rest are just waiting for quilting. My main reason for not having quilted them is that I spent so long putting these tops together that I was afraid of messing them up in the quilting. I'm finally feeling like I'm confident enough to tackle at least a couple of them. To help myself along, I've been doing some reading.

Machine Quilting by Sue Nickels

In 2005, I took a class from Sue Nickels at the Houston International Quilt Festival. It was eye-opening and really boosted my machine quilting skills and confidence. This book offers much of the same information that she provided in the class, as well as similar practice sampler projects. It's almost like having her with you. She addresses everything from needles and thread to deciding what quilting designs to use on your project. I also appreciate that it includes not just free-motion info, but also valuable wisdom on stitching in the ditch which is often completely glossed over in many machine quilting books (though it sounds so simple, it can in actuality be very challenging). This book is a great resource for anyone interested in growing or enhancing their machine quilting skills

Mastering Quilt Marking by Pepper Cory

A number of the tops I have in the closet are large... I think there are three queen-size, and one king in there right now, and the Star Quilt Along quilt is not small either. Though I like stippling and free-motion meanderings, I also really enjoy traditional patterns like feathers and wreaths. One of the keys to doing those well is getting them marked on the quilt. I bought this book years ago, but only last week picked it up and really looked at it. In fact, I read the whole thing cover-to-cover over the course of a morning. The book focuses on the art of marking the quilt in preparation for quilting. The author discusses the tools, a variety of techniques, when to mark what (before basting or after basting?), and how important marking is. The book does NOT discuss how to quilt a quilt. But it does offer advice on how various styles of quilting have different effects and can serve different purposes.

After spending some time with these books, I'm feeling much less intimidated now, and am anxious to start in on one of my tops. I even have one in mind... now I just have to find somewhere to baste it!