A Very Productive Day!

Hello!  :)

Yesterday I was in the mood to sew! It's been a long time since I've wanted to just sit and sew. I actually managed to get quite a bit done. Every time I finished a project I picked up another one and worked on it. I made my first bag yesterday. Yes I've never made a bag before. Here it is . . .

Isn't it adorable?!!! It's made from all Ruby fabrics except for the inside which is just a red plaid I keep on hand. (You can never have too much red plaid laying around!) Here's the other side . . .

I finished them both the same so it doesn't matter which way it's facing.  :)  Here's a side view . . .

And the other side . . . 

Since I love red so much I quilted it with red thread.  :)  Did you notice? Here's a view of the inside . . . 

It's an awesome sturdy little bag. I love it! I got the tutorial from Sharon over at Daisy Cottage Quilting. You can find the tutorial for the bag at the following links:

• Part One . . . http://daisycottagequilting.com/2012/09/03/daisy-tutorial/
• Part Two . . . http://daisycottagequilting.com/2012/09/04/daisy-tutorial-part-2/
• Part Three . . . http://daisycottagequilting.com/2012/09/08/daisy-tutorial-part-3/
• Part Four . . . http://daisycottagequilting.com/2012/09/08/daisy-tutorial-finale/

I didn't follow the above tutorial for the handles. I used this tutorial she just posted the other day for them.  :)

The tutorial I followed showed a Halloween bag. It was funny . . . every time I showed my hunky dude the picture of the bag he kept asking why I was making a Halloween bag the day after Halloween. I kept showing him the fabrics I was using but he just didn't get it. In his defense he was tired.

The next project I worked on was the Fat Quarter Shops 2012 Designer Mystery Block of the Month. It started back in June. I have the supplies for the first 5 blocks already and the 6th one will be out soon. Since I'm so far behind I figured I'd better get working on them. I started with Block One.

It's not perfect but it's done. I'm really loving the Vintage Modern fabrics, which I knew I would. I can't wait to play with the leftover scraps from the blocks.  :)  Here's Block Two . . .

This one is off too. Oh well . . . at least it's done. I might go back and fix it as it does bother me. Here they are together . . .

Looking good!  :)  I wanted to work on more of them but I wanted to get another project done first so I moved on. I'll get back to the rest of the blocks another day.

The last project looks pretty simple but it's for someone I love very much . . .

My little Doobie!  :)  I always seems to kick his water dish and spill the water all over the floor. Then I wipe it up and put a towel under it. I decided he needed a doggy food mat so here it is . . .

I found the cute dog bone fabric at JoAnn's. The batik came from a traveling stash box. It reminds me of little paws (okay maybe bird feet . . . lol). Here's the back . . .

It's just a simple little mat to put his food and water bowls on. Maybe I won't kick the water now. Of course I need to mop the floor before he can use it. Nothing but the best for my boy!  ;)

That's it! For yesterday anyway. I got a lot done, huh?! It felt really good. There's still a big pile of things to catch up on so hopefully I'll be able to start again on Monday. If I can get some of this finished and off my mind I'll be able to start on the quilts I need to make before Christmas. I'm quickly running out of time. At least I'm enjoying it again.  :)

Have you heard about the . . .

Cheryl over at Gone Stitchin' has started another Friday night for us to all sew and craft together. It's a great idea with us being so close to the holidays. She has the blessing of Heidi and Bobbi from Friday Night Sew-In. This Friday Night With Friends will take place the 1st Friday of the month which happens to be today!  :)  I'll be participating! Will you? Be sure to go sign up and craft the night away! Later this afternoon I will be taking my new bag filled with cross stitch supplies to my friend Karen's (from Sew Much 2 Luv) house to stitch and spend Friday night with her. I'm really looking forward to it.  :)

Until next time . . .

I'm Still Here!

Hello!  :)

Yes I'm here! Really I am! I've been working hard too! The problem is that I can't or I'm not ready to show you what I've been doing yet. I figured I'd better stop in and let you know that I'm still alive and breathing so no one would worry.  ;)  Besides . . . I missed you!  :)

So what have I been up to? For the most part I've been working very hard hand quilting my "My Favorite Things" quilt.

Of course this isn't a new picture. I want to wait until I finish it to show it to you. I hope you will hang in there with me and be patient. I worked on it all last weekend as part of the

Even though it wasn't cross stitch it was LOTS of stitching!  ;)  I finished all the quilting on the blocks and the flowers between them that I started on last week. It took quite a while as there were many blocks and LOTS of stitches! Here's the picture I showed you last week of how I was stitching them . . .

I also managed to quilt all the strips between the rows yesterday. I actually ran out of white perle cotton and hand to run to JoAnn's and buy another ball of it. I couldn't believe I got it all done in one day!  :)  When I finish this post I'm going to start quilting the borders. I'm hoping to have them finished quickly. My plans are to finish them by tomorrow afternoon and put the binding on tomorrow night during the

It's always fun to sew together on Friday Night with people just like me all over the world! If you'd like to participate just go to http://handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com and sign up and sew.

So if my plans go as planned I'll have my quilt finished tomorrow night!!! I hope, I hope, I hope!!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!  :)  I'm really loving this quilt and can't wait to be done. I have to admit that I've already been using it even though it's just a work in progress. Sometimes as I sit and stitch I get tired and take a little cat nap under it. It's so warm and cozy already!  :)

During the last week I've also been working on a few other things too. I had to sit down and put the finishing touches on my Fall Exchange piece for my Stitched With Love Exchange that went out Monday. I love the way it turned out. I can't show it to you though until I get the okay that everyone has received their gifts. I actually received my gift and goodies today! I love all of it! Of course I can't show it to you yet either.  :(

I also made up a couple of blocks for my monthly quilt block exchange. These blocks were for August and September (yes I was behind) and are the last of the year long exchange. They were sent off and should be arriving to my partners soon. After they're received I will be able to show them to you. I received my blocks from one partner but haven't from the other one yet.

If you're still with me thanks for hanging in there. Hopefully I'll be back soon with lots of pictures and things to share!

Until next time . . .

Ready for B-I-N-G-O!

Hello!  :)

Hope you're having a good weekend! I am! I'm getting a lot of sewing done. Yea!  :)  Today I actually worked on 3 different projects I have going on. I'll share one of them with you now.

Do you remember that I said I'll be participating in the "May  for Me"? Part of the "May for Me" is a game of B-I-N-G-O.

The other day I gathered my fabrics together to make the card.

I managed to cut and sew the squares together on Thursday. Then I had to decide on how I wanted to do the lettering. I thought about embroidering it. Then I decided to just applique the letters. This is what I came up with.

I'm really happy with how it came out.  :)  I think the black polka dot really sets it off nicely. I added the colored blocks below the letters to set of the columns. I really think it adds a lot to it. What do you think?

Until next time . . .

Made Some Progress!

Hello!  :)

My friend Karen, from Sew Much 2 Luv has been having an "After Christmas Sew Along" all month. I wanted to participate from the beginning but I just couldn't get my rear in gear. Now that I'm moving along I'm participating this week. Today, Friday, is the last day. Better late than never . . . right?  ;)

I've made some progress on putting the Birdie's quilt top together. I sewed the four rows together with the sashing in between the blocks. I only got a picture of part of the first row though . . .

It's the January and February blocks so it's appropriate, right?!  :)  I'm hoping to get more done on this tomorrow. The only problem is that the hunky dude is off work every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (he works 4/10's). I love this schedule but sometimes it's hard to get sewing done. He seems to want to run errands and spend time with me on his days off . . . crazy, huh? Just kidding! I love it!  :)  I just wish I could fit some sewing time in there too. It's my fault though as I get lazy after we run errands and just want to sit, watch tv and play on the computer. I'm a total computer addict! There I admitted it!  ;)

Remember this pile I showed you the other day . . .

Did you guess what I was making with it? I turned it into this . . .

I'm very happy with how it turned out.  :)  It's for a Block of the Month Swap I've been participating in through Mary Jane's Farmgirl Connection. January's block was to be a snowman. I think I got it right!  :)  Hopefully my two partners aren't reading this. I will be getting their blocks in the mail to them real soon. I also made a couple extra ones for myself. I'm considering using this design for a surprise project later this year. I just have to decide exactly what I want to do. For now I'll keep my idea a secret. I'll let you in on it when I know all the details, okay?!  :)

Hope you have an awesome weekend!  :)

Until next time . . .

Friday Night Sew-In Results!

Hello!  :)

I had a very successful Friday Night Sew-In last night! I hope you did too! Before I show you what I did I want to share some awesomeness with you! I checked my email this morning and it turns out that I won another giveaway! Must be my lucky month!  :)  Kathy from "It's Only Natural" was having a giveaway as part of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day 2011. I won 3 fabulous prizes! Here they are . . .

The first is a group of 6 fat quarters of Dream On by Urban Chicks of Moda! So Yummy!  :)

The second is a Charm Pack of Cape Ann of Oliver + S! So Adorable!  :)

And the third is a Charm Pack of Soiree by Lilla Tueller of Moda! Lovely!  :)  I can't wait to see them all in person! I'm such a lucky girl! Merry Christmas to me!  :)

Do you remember me telling you that I'm making quilts for my two older kids for Christmas? I finished Jay's quilt top the other day and showed it to you here. I started Jessie's quilt on Wednesday. She loves bright lime green. She also loves the whole 60's & 70's vibe. So that is my theme for her . . . lime green with vintage sheets from the 60's & 70's and peace and love. I'm going to call it "Remembering Peace & Love".  :)  Here are the fabrics I'm using for the quilt, all cut and ready to go. All the fabrics are sheets.

I'm not following a pattern for this one. I made a rough drawing of the quilt before I started but then basically made it up as I went along. I laid out all the squares to figure out the placement. There are going to be flowers appliqued to the green squares.

Then I numbered them and stacked them.

I didn't take pictures of the next few steps (bad blogger!). I traced and cut out flowers and centers from the same sheets I used for the blocks. I then ironed them onto the green squares.

On Thursday I machine zig-zag stitched around the flowers and centers. I am going to be hand-quilting this quilt but I went ahead and used the machine to stitch around the flowers to save time.

At this point I had to lay them all out again to figure out placement of the flower squares. It would have been much easier if I had done the flowers first and figured out the placement all at once instead of twice but I didn't think of that until I it was too late.  :(

Once the placement was set I numbered the green squares again and stacked all of them up ready for sewing.

I forgot to take pictures (again) of the next few steps. I sewed all the blocks together then laid the quilt out. There was a problem . . . it was way too small! I would be adding borders but they would have had to be really big borders and that just wouldn't do. I was really frustrated! I was trying to get this done quickly and it just wasn't working out. It would have been much easier (and quicker) if I had only followed a pattern. Of course I had a vision and had to go with that and make it up as I went along. I decided to add another row to the side and bottom. It would have to wait until the next day though as it was very late and I was very tired!  :(

On Friday I was refreshed and ready to go backwards and cut, applique, and piece the additional rows together. They actually went together pretty easy!  :)  I then attached them to the quilt and laid it out again to view and measure.

 

I went out and ran a few errands and came back home for the Friday Night Sew-In. I cut and attached two borders to the quilt top.

It was now finished! Hooray!!! I do love how it turned out! To me it's very 60's - 70's-ish. What do you think? Here's a close up of part of it . . .

Did you notice the block with ducks? I know it doesn't really go with the theme but Jess loves ducks and I found this vintage duck sheet and just had to include it!  :)  When I hand-quilt it I think I'm going to add some "peace" and "love". I can't wait to get started on it.

Today I've been working on the backs of Jay and Jess' quilts. I'm hoping to get them sandwiched tonight or definitely by tomorrow if I run out of time. Then I can begin quilting them. I'm excited to see how they turn out. My goal was to get both of the quilt tops done by the end of this week and I did it! Now I just have to get them finished by next Friday. Can I do it? Stay tuned!  :)

Until next time . . .

Christmas Gifts Progression. . .

Hello!  :)

I've been a busy bee over here.  :)  On Sunday I went and got the thread I needed to finish the last pair of Jammie pants. I also put the elastic in all of them and stitched them closed. All 6 pairs are officially finished!  :)

I still have two more Christmas presents to finished in the next two weeks (actually less than that now!). I need to make two twin size quilts. Sunday after I finished the jammie pants I cut the fabric for my oldest son Jay's quilt. I can share it with you now because I haven't told my older kids I have a blog yet. I will do so at Christmas.

Anyway . . . I'm going to back up a little bit. I knew I wanted to make both of my older kids quilts for Christmas this year. They both live at their Grandfather's house (on their father's side). He doesn't have a working heater and I know they could use something to keep them warm. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do for my daughter Jessica's quilt but I had no idea on a theme or color scheme for Jay's quilt. Then all of the sudden it hit me. Hawaiian! He loves Hawaii and all things Hawaiian, beach themed, etc. I go to thrift stores all the time and began looking for cool Hawaiian shirts to use for his quilt. There were lots of beautiful shirts in all kinds of fabrics but I stuck with the 100% cotton ones. I forgot to take pictures of the shirts while they were still shirts (sorry). There's actually quite a bit of fabric in the shirts, especially the 5x one I found. I couldn't believe I found one so large. Anyway . . . In the picture below you can see the squares already cut from the shirts in a circle (ignore the center fabrics for now).

For the quilt I'm using Amy Smart's Lattice Quilt pattern that I got from her Bits and Bobs Etsy shop. I laid out the fabric squares in a pleasing arrangement.

Then I labeled them and stacked them up ready for sewing.

Before I continue I'll share the sashing, border and backing fabrics I chose to use.

The fabric on the bottom is a really cool sheet I found while thrift store shopping for the background. I love it! The blue fabric is a wonderful Hawaiian batik print I found to use for the second border and the cornerstones. It really ties all the fabrics together. I'm using Kona Cotton in bone for the sashing and first border. I think I'm going to use a black batik for the binding but I haven't gotten it yet.

On Monday the quilt top sewed up pretty quickly. Amy has great instructions. When I finished sewing it I laid it out on the floor to view it. I actually squealed in delight and jumped up and down. I was very happy with it! It was great satisfaction after a long day sewing.  :)  This is only the second quilt top I have ever made.

Tuesday I woke up with a sore throat.  :(  I have been pushing myself pretty hard to get these things finished up before Christmas. After I took my son to school I came home and went back to bed for a few hours. It helped. I woke up without a sore throat but now I have a cold. Oh well. Someday I'll learn to take care of myself better. :)

I did manage to get the borders on the quilt top today. I'm very happy with the results! The blue really brightens it up but not too much. I think I made the right decision in using the same blue for the cornerstones. It really carries the colors throughout the quilt to complete the look.

What do you think? Do you like it? Does it look masculine enough? Here's another view. . .

Tomorrow I will cut the fabric's for Jessica's quilt and get it started. As soon as I have both tops finished I'll sandwich them and hand quilt them. I've never hand quilted before but I think I can do it. I love embroidery. Isn't it similar? If anyone has any pointers, tips, tricks, suggestions please share them with me. I'm hoping to be able to start quilting them by this weekend. By the way, what color (or colors) would you use to quilt Jay's quilt? I just can't figure it out. I appreciate all the help and advice I can get! Thanks! :)

Until next time . . .