Pillow frenzy!

It seems I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon. It's not that I don't want to blog. But it seems that it has just dropped a little further down the priority list for me lately. Also, when I am working on the same project for big chunks of time, I kind of feel like I don't have a lot of new and interesting things to share. I spent the last two weeks very focused on quilting and finishing "The Bunny Quilt" (my name for the Hop to It quilt by Edyta Sitar). It was a lot of me sitting at my machine. Happily, that is done and it is now (as we speak!) hanging in the Stray Threads Quilt Guild's biennial show. Woo hoo! (I'll be sharing pictures of the finished quilt soon-- I'm hoping to get a picture of it at the show to share.) If you're in the area, the show goes through tomorrow, April 15th-- come by and see the quilts in person!

Anyway, I thought I'd ease myself back into the blogging spirit by sharing some recent Personalized Name Pillows (a fabulous pattern by Kimberbell Kids) that I've made. In February, our preschool held a silent auction fundraiser and I donated a customized name pillow. There was actually a bit of a bidding war! So much so, the fundraising chair asked me if I'd be willing to do two, so both bidders could win (and the school could earn that much more money!). Of course, I agreed.

For the first auction pillow, mama requested pink, purple, and green, "but not too girly." LOL! This is what I came up with (and, fortunately, mama and Taylor both loved it!):

The second pillow was left up to me to decide. I used the Alexander Henry car print as my color inspiration:

And there have also been some birthday gifts. A pillow for Calvin (who is totally into Star Wars right now, thus the black, starry background):

One for Paige:

And one for Claire:

Phew! Despite the fact that I am nearing pillow-burn-out, the pillows have been so well received from each recipient (boys and girls alike!) that I have no doubt I'll be making more in the future as well. I just hope I get a little bit of a break before I start another.

"Whimsy Baby" finish!

And so the blogging/crafting slump continues. But! Since little Miss Maddie has finally received her quilt, I can at long last share the finished project with you. Yay!

This is "Whimsy Baby":

The design is from a Moda Bakeshop tutorial by Lisnaweary Quilts, the "Criss Cross Quilt." I used two charm packs of the wonderful "Whimsy" line from Fig Tree Quilts, which is the basis of the name of the quilt as well.

The charm pack included some light creamy marble print squares. They were so light that I felt like I needed to use them a little differently. So I created some embroidery designs inspired by the style of the illustrations in some of the prints (you can read a little more about their creation in this earlier post). Those embroidered squares really give this quilt a little something extra special.

The binding is a French General fabric I thought coordinated nicely.

The back is made from some fabric I've had in my stash for quite awhile (it is "Paisley Panache" from Northcott). It is not really a match to the front at all, but I think it works.

The label.

This quilt was a long time in the making. I just looked back and am rather shocked to find that I started it last May! The top was done by mid-August. I know I was indecisive about how I wanted to quilt it. But boy... last May? At least I finished it before little Maddie's first birthday! Mostly though, I'm just happy she finally has her quilt and is able to enjoy it now.

A quick and easy tee!

Crafting has been a bit on the slow side lately. Hopefully, my mojo will kick back into gear again soon (because I have a quilt I need to finish this month!). But, I do have a project to share that I stitched up last week. I made a new t-shirt using Simplicity 4076. It was truly a quick and easy project (6 seams!) and I'm absolutely thrilled with the results.

I've been eating better and exercising regularly, and in the last 6 months, I've lost 35 pounds. Yay, me! :) But now much of my wardrobe practically falls off of me. On the one hand, that is awesome. On the other, I feel dumpy all of the time because my clothes don't fit. So I've decided to start re-inventing my wardrobe a little bit at a time. I figured a simple shirt would be a good start.

Because I can't really sew any kind of top right out of the envelope, I had to take a little bit of time to do some alterations. These took longer than the actual sewing did!

In the picture above, I've tried to outline the alterations I made. I started with the size 18 of View C based on my upper bust measurement and then did a full-bust adjustment of 1.5" (using the method described in the book, Fit for Real People by Pati Palmer and Maria Alto). Because the design didn't have a side dart, and I didn't want to add one, I decided to rotate the dart that was created in the FBA over to the neckline. Since the neckline is gathered, I knew I could take up the extra fabric there pretty easily without adding any additional darts. Then I went ahead and lengthened the top by 2" (as a number of reviews I read mentioned that the top is on the short side-- and I don't like short tops!).

Here's the finished top:

I just love the gathering at the neckline. It is a pretty design element. I used a very soft, lightweight rayon/spandex blend fabric. It feels amazing!

In this back view, you can see the bell-shaped sleeves. They're fun and flirty, but also a little annoying. Next time I'll probably look for a fitted sleeve that I can use with this pattern.

Yay for a new shirt (that fits!)!

A new project!

A couple of weeks ago, I celebrated my 38th birthday. Woo! And there were presents. Double woo! The one I am most excited about though is this one:

My husband ordered the wool and Valdani floss kits for me from The Raspberry Rabbits shop so that I can participate in their new (free!) block-of-the-month program, Harrington and Hannah! After taking a wonderful wool applique class last fall, I've had my eye out for projects that incorporate wool, and this is one that I'm really excited about. The first two blocks have been posted so far, and they are so cute!

I immediately got to work on my first block, and put the finishing touches on it today:

This is a little different from the techniques I learned for wool applique in my class. This project suggests fusible web and a running stitch. I found it challenging (especially on the layered areas) to actually stitch all the way through the background fabric (the wool is thick!). Hopefully I caught the background fabric sufficiently that the pieces will all be secure. Between the stitches and the fusible web, it's probably fine. In wool applique quilts, does one usually quilt over the wool too? I'll need to start paying attention to the quilting when I see wool quilts in shows/shops.

I'm looking forward to block two!

Hoppin' along with Hop to It

After all of the excitement of testing out border options for my Hop to It quilt, I realize that I never actually shared the final picks. Doh! So, here is the top with borders and all:

I ended up going shopping and chose an inner border that actually looks pretty similar to my previous options, but it is cooler-toned and more blue/green than brown. Then I decided to bring the lightness I was craving into the outer border. I'm so happy with how they work together and with how the quilt looks as a whole. Huzzah!

This week, I managed to sit down and plan out my backing and get it pieced together. And then...

Basting! That's me in the picture above, keepin' it real with my crazy hair and surrounded by toys. I have to say, there is nothing like basting a quilt on the floor for making one feel old and decrepit. My back was killing me after this. But, the basting is done. Woo!

I took the plunge and entered this into my quilt guild's April show. Here's hoping they decide to hang it; based on my entry picture (of just 12 blocks hanging on a wall), they might decide I'm a lost cause and say no. LOL! Regardless, I'm motivated to get it quilted. I have a plan. Now I just have to get up the gumption to do it.

I won't mess up my quilt; I won't mess up my quilt...

One Thing, One Week Challenge: Gettin' my quiltin' on!

For this week's One Thing, One Week Challenge at Amy's Creative Side, my focus was to quilt my Whimsy project.

Success!!! I went a little out of my box on this one by trying out straight-line quilting with my walking foot. I did end up doing a tiny bit of free-motion around the embroidery (just outlining the stitched circles), but everything else was with the walking foot. I'm glad I gave it a go as it is a fun look, but I learned that it is really not my favorite style to quilt. Free-motion is more challenging for me, but it is also more fun.

Next up: binding!

If you get a chance, take some time to browse through the other challenge participants' successes-- there is always lots of awesome creative energy and inspiration to be found!

Another challenge week + pillow

Amy at Amy's Creative Side announced the latest One Thing, One Week Challenge yesterday. I immediately jumped on the bandwagon!

For the last challenge, I pushed myself to get my Whimsy quilt basted.

This time, I want to get it quilted!

In other news, another birthday party = another Personalized Name Pillow:

Again, I used minkee for the back of the pillow. It has been received so well each time, I think that minkee is going to be my go-to choice for these pillows.

This is my fourth iteration of this design, and I'm finally starting to get the hang of hand stitching the open edge (if you look closely, you can see the line of hand-stitching in the picture above). I'm usually pretty good at this kind of thing, but trying to make my stitches look clean and happy with the combo of minkee and cotton has been challenging.

Seriously, this pattern rocks. So simple, and so happy!