First quilt finish of 2010!

Over the weekend, I finally completed the Project Linus quilt that has been basted since last October.


The design comes from a tutorial offered by Amanda Jean of crazymomquilts, Elia's Quilt. (I'm missing her blog already! *sniff*)


I had a lot of fun trying out a new quilting design on this one. It is from Leah Day's blog, 365 Days of Free Motion Quilting Filler Designs, and is called "Super Daisy." My daisies are far from perfect (or consistent... the flowers have anywhere between 5 and 8 petals), but I think they are fun and I feel like I learned a lot from doing them. I'm excited to try some more of her designs in the future. She's got some great alternatives to the just a plain ol' stipple!


After I washed/dried the quilt, it crinkled up quite nicely. My friend Evelyn commented that she was really surprised at how soft the quilt was, considering all of the dense quilting. The batting is Hobbs Heirloom 100% Organic Cotton.


Another new trick I learned in making this quilt is machine finished binding. Wanting to get the quilt finished up in time for the Project Linus workday, I used the binding tutorial from Red Pepper Quilts (fabulous, fabulous tutorial!), and was really happy with the results, especially considering this was my first attempt. It will take a little bit of practice before my bindings are as pretty and clean as Red Pepper Quilts's. But I'll definitely be using this technique in the future.


The back is a print that I've had in my stash for a few years. I think I still have another 4 yards, so it will probably make another backing appearance in the future.


And, of course, the label. In some ways, it seems kind of weird that I put a label on my donation quilts. But I feel a connection to the quilts I make, as well as pride. I think that if I were ever to receive a quilt from an organization like PL, it would be kind of neat to have a little insight into its origins. And so I label. But I try and keep it simple.

I finished the quilt just in time for the January Project Linus workshop and was able to turn it in then. Woo hoo!

A little at a time

Over the last couple of nights, I've been plugging away at quilting the Project Linus quilt that has been sitting, basted, since the beginning of October.


Inspired by Leah Day, I'm trying something new. It's taking longer than I anticipated, but I think it looks fun. I'm also definitely expanding my skills, so that makes the additional time extra worth it.

Anyway, 12 blocks down, 8 to go!

Vacation and more

Last week, my family took our first-ever family vacation! Papa, the boy, and I drove down and spent four days on the Oregon coast. It was so much fun! I thought I'd share a few pictures. (But not to worry, there's a little craftiness to follow...)


We arrived on Sunday, just in time to walk to the beach and see the sunset.


It was the Boy's first time seeing the "big blue water" (aka-- the ocean). He was entranced. Rather, he was entranced until he fell into the very cold water the next day. After that, it was kind of a fascination best appreciated from a distance.


Sleeping arrangements were a challenge. The Boy had a tough time settling down in the new environment. Every evening pretty much ended sometime between 9 and 10, with a little dude face-down on the family room floor. At that point we could pick him up and put him in bed, where he would sleep fine. So, it worked out in the end.


Mmmm... Tillamook ice cream!!!


We didn't end up with too many mama/boy pictures (I think because I was the one taking most of them)-- but here's one of them.

I did manage to visit a couple of quilt shops on our trip. I only made a purchase at one of them though, Creative Fabrics in Wheeler, Oregon.


They had a sample of this pattern hanging in their window that was just spectacular. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. Actually, I was really impressed by just how many wonderful samples this store had hanging (and even more impressed at how current and fresh they were as well-- some of them featured brand-spankin' new collections). They also had a wonderful fabric selection. I just had to pick up a few greens. If you're ever in the area, this is a shop well worth visiting!

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation. It was so good to get away for a little bit, and be somewhere new. The weather wasn't ideal, but it didn't stop us from having a great time. When we came home on Thursday, I was tired but at the same time felt so refreshed and energized. It was awesome!

Today, I actually spent a little time at the sewing machine and finally got my Project Linus quilt top put together. I even got a back prepared and basted it all together.


Who knows? Maybe I'll even get it quilted soon!

I need an energy infusion

Ugh! My energy level has been in the basement lately, so not a lot has been getting done (and thus, my lack of posts). But here's a glimpse at what little I've managed to accomplish in the last week.

Because my husband had to work on Sunday (and I had to stay home and watch The Boy), I missed out on the September Project Linus workday. But, this just motivates me even more to be ready for the October workday (and to get going on Evelyn's Project Linus Challenge!). So far, I have managed to make a bunch (20) blocks.


These blocks were created using one of Amandajean's friendly tutorials. They went together very quickly, and look very happy. I hope to get them put together soon!

Also, I was so motivated last week that I managed to cut out another quilt!


I'm using a pattern from M'Liss Rae Hawley's Fat Quarter Quilts called "Parallel Paths." The pattern includes long strips of a focus fabric-- perfect for my crazy roll o' fabric! I think it will be a lot of fun and should come together pretty quickly. Of course, the trick is sitting down and doing it. I'm hopeful that I'll get out of the stitchin' slump soon though.

And then, over the weekend we attended a birthday party. The invitation requested that if we wanted, we should bring a generic gift to be exchanged with the other guests. So, I whipped out the ever-awesome Child's Coloring Wallet pattern (from JCasa Handmade) and stitched it up in a jiffy:


And the inside:


I've made enough of these now that they're pretty quick. This one took about 40 minutes from prepping the fabric to stitching on the button.

My other projects are beginning to collect dust at this point. But I am determined to do something this week. (Not sure what, at this point, but something, dang it!)

Fresh cut

Way back at the beginning of August, at the last Project Linus workday, my buddy Evelyn threw down the gauntlet. You see, a company had recently donated some fabric to PL. The company makes baby slings, and they don't use the entire width of the fabric. So what they do is take an entire bolt and just trim it down to the width they need, resulting in this:


It's like a tiny mini bolt! This one is about 5.5" wide and who-knows-how-long. It is also not regular quilting weight cotton. It's more like a lightweight canvas. And it has a little bit of lycra. Most people at the workday were giving this stuff a wide berth. But not Evelyn! She grabbed a roll for each of us and challenged me to use it. How could I say no?

I've been busy. Lots of other stuff going on. Lots of other projects that need to be finished still. So, the roll just sat. (Evelyn, of course, has already put together nearly 3 tops, I think!) But, after staring at my pile of UFOs and to-dos, I decided that I needed to just start something fresh and new. Re-energize! And out came the roll.


I went to my stash and picked out some bright, happy colors to coordinate.


And then I cut.

Fresh and fun! It's just what I need.