Christmas projects

Here are a couple of Christmas projects I have been working on.  I wanted to make these ornaments for a while now, but got motivated when I saw some posted on another blog that I follow.  There are YouTube videos describing the process -- very informative and way easy to follow and do.  Mine are strictly Christmas colors but they are very cute with any old scraps of fabric you might have. I also saw a picture of this wreath and asked the lady who made it how she did it.  I had these scraps of fabric and just went to town.  Had a lot of fun doing it, but now I don't know whether to keep it or list it on Etsy for sale.  Any comments or opinions are greatly appreciated.  Take a look!!!

ANOTHER SCRAP QUILT

I have LOADS of scrap material and keep accumulating more.  I love love  love to re-use, re-purpose, whatever you want to call it -- in other words, I can't stand to throw out stuff -- especially my lovely fabrics.  Soooo, this is one result.  I love geometrical patterns and stuck with a kind of checkerboard style.  It turned out pretty good, even though it's still a work in progress.  I need to add a couple of borders, quilt it, bind it, and then voila!!!  Tis done and maybe post on ETSY for sale.  We'll see.  Sometimes I fall in love with my creations and can't let them go.

NEW SCRAP QUILTS IN THE WORKS!!!

I had a "free" Saturday where I didn't have to work and wasn't planning on seeing the grandkids.  It was a glorious Fall day -- crisp air in the morning, sunny in the afternoon -- and after my walk, laundry, grocery store, etc., I sat down to my sewing machine.  I had just finished a quilt for my granddaughter and I was inspired to go through my scraps and start a new quilt.  As I started sewing with no specific design in mind, I came up with a checkerboard theme.  Unfortunately, I now have two quilts started as I have both pastels and harvest-type fabrics in the works.  It will be two quilts because those two color schemes just do not work together.  I also made a few cloth napkins for my daughter for her birthday -- don't tell!!  A truly productive day of sewing for this lady.

Quilt for sister in law

I was vacationing in Newport Beach this summer with my sisters, nephews, brothers in law, etc.  I brought along an apron that I made for my younger sister who was hosting all of us.  I made aprons for my two sisters at Christmas but not for my sister-in-law who doesnt cook.  At the beachhouse, she told me she would LOVE to have one of my aprons so I promised to send her one.  Well, I decided to finish a quilt I was working on and sent her that instead -- SURPRISE!~!!!   She loved it.

New Grandson

My new grandson will be born in August this year so I just had to make him a quilt.  I used two charm packs -- great invention, the charm pack.  It is pre-cut squares that are 5" and I love love working with this product.  One of the most tedious steps to quilting is the cutting out of the pattern.  The sewing goes pretty quickly, the quilting takes a bit longer because I do it by hand.  I haven't learned machine quilting yet which seems to be the trend these days.  I don't want to lose the "art" of quilting like it was done so long ago so I stick to my hand quilting.  Granted my designs are pretty simple but the results are always pretty good.  At least that's the response I get. I am just looking forward to holding a new baby in my arms, wrapped in his new "blankie".

Its an oldie but goodie!!!

Here is one of the first quilts that I made -- can't even remember the date it was so long ago.  I just dug it out of the linen closet so I could show it to my quilt friends.  I used some material that wasn't the best combination.  The green is fine, but the other print is a very flimsy material and bunched up a bit after washing.  I think that's why I have kept it hidden away, so it won't get wrecked.  I am a little nostalgic about my efforts from long ago.  Things are so different now -- better materials, better methods, etc. etc.  I used to make templates out of cardboard -- now I just use a straight edge ruler, rotary cutter and matt.  So much better and faster!!! I am the most impatient when it comes to completing a quilt -- not a good attribute to have!!

Baby quilt

Here is a baby quilt that I am doing for a co worker who is having her first child -- a girl.  I discovered Missouri Star Quilting Co recently and just love all the tutorials they have available.  Their shop specializes in pre-cut material of which some examples are the Charm Pack which is usually 40 - 5 inch squares of fabric from one design line.  The fabrics are all coordinated so they move well together inside of a quilt.  I used two charm packs on this quilt and I think it is turning out very cute.  It is in the process of being hand-quilted and I'm having a lot of fun with it.  Size is approximately 44x49 inches. The backing is a soft pink flannel print with the words "I love Mommy and Daddy" all over. Take a look!!!

A BIG SURPRISE!!!!!

I had leftover fabric from the quilt I did for my sister. My niece Susan had admired the colors and sooooo -- here is a quilt I made for her -- it's in the mail, Toots!!!!

A BIG SURPRISE!!!!!

Attached is a quilt that I did for my niece who is going to be so surprised!!!  I had fabric leftover from my sister's quilt that I did -- subject was one of her favorite artists - Frida Kalo.  So, here is my efforts with the "scraps" left.  I still have bags and bags of fabric just waiting to be put to good use.  I will put up another picture in a couple days to show you my stash.

New project in the works

I am working on a new project that I am very excited about.  I discovered Missouri Star Quilting Co recently and am just loving their video tutorials and FABULOUS selection of fabrics.  I have been watching tutorials on "jelly roll" quilts.  A jelly roll is a bundle of fabrics in 2 1/2" x 40" strips of cloth from one designers line.  My favorite so far is Moda designs because of the variety of print and color.  I am attempting a "strip" quilt and have placed the blocks randomly to see how I want to put it together.  I love the colors and the brightness of this quilt and it's definitely stretching my limits.  I tend to stick to traditional designs and very basic colors but am loving the look of this. What do you think?

Project in progress

Hi all, 

Attached is a project I am working on.  I discovered Missouri Star Quilting Co website -- wonderful  video tutorials and absolutely FABULOUS material for quilting.  I watched a tutuorial about how to use "jelly rolls" which is a bundle of  fabric strips 2 1/2" wide and 40 " long.  They are all from one line -- Moda is my favorite -- and different themes to each one.  There are many types of quilts to make from one bundle and one of them is "strip" quilting which I am attempting.  I just love the colors and I am really stretching outside of my comfort zone with this one.  I usually am pretty traditional with colors and design so to leap outside of the box is a challenge for me.  I have placed these squares in a random design but haven't sewed together yet. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Kathleens quilt

I made a quilt for my sister for her birthday.  Her birthday was in November and it was not nearly put together, much less quilted, sewn, bound, etc. etc.  So I told her it would be ready "soon".  Holidays rolled around and I just didn't have the time to devote to it and I didn't want to rush.  I finally got it done and sent off and she called over the weekend to tell me she "loved" it!!  I love the colors and the figure is Frida Kalo (for those of us who are not "artsy").  I have many many large scraps left over and I am making another quilt for my niece, who loved the fabric when I gave her a peek back in November.  Worked on it all weekend and am very excited about this one, too. Take a look.

Back to the Basics

Here is a picture of basic tools that I use for most of my sewing projects.  When I started quilting years ago ( a long long time!!! 33 years), I used to cut out templates from cardboard and my measurements weren't always exact.  I had some disasters along the way but how else do you learn, right?  The tools I use now are so much easier, exact and gets me to the finished product oh-so-much faster.  What is pictured is a self-repairing cutting board that is marked in a grid, a transparent straight edge, rotary cutters in two sizes and little nine-patch scrap block.  Also pins in a magnetic holder ( I always dropped and spilling pins all over the floor -- this helps to eliminate that). 

A WORTHY CAUSE

I would like to promote a very worthwhile cause, maybe one that is near and dear to your hearts -- It's called Soldiers Angels, http://www.soldiersangels.org/, I made two quilts in the last couple of years to send overseas to a wounded soldier.  The idea is to support our troups by giving them something from home, especially our guys and gals who have been wounded.  Check out the website -- there are simple blankets to make, and many other ideas if you are not into sewing that much. Here is a simple quilt that I sent recently, made mostly from scraps of fabric that I had, adding to it with some red and blue.

Aprons, aprons, aprons

So I have an ongoing project with apron-making.  Last year, my daughter requested an apron for her birthday present.  I found a couple of patterns online -- for free!!! -- and was off and running.  When I discovered how easy and fast they are to make, I was busily sewing to my hearts/ content.  I made her two aprons - both reversible -- so she actually had four!!  When I took them to the office to show off, everyone oohed and ahhed -- adding to my very inflated ego -- and my boss was especialy enamored.  So I made her one for Christmas with her name across the bib on one side. She loved it!!! I ordered more fabric online -- here is the greatest site for fabric:  http://www.equilter.com/, and Luana Rubin does a blog along with that -- here is her email: equilter@equilter.com.  Pictured is one apron that I made with the fabric I bought on that site. It has the cutest puppy dog pattern on it and it is solid black on the opposite side.  Sorry, ladies, my co-worker already purchased it.

More new stuff

Hi All, Thought I would let you in on a technique that I learned last year -- I am big on putting my scraps to good use -- I just can't throw anything away if it looks usefull!!!!  I stumbled upon a tutorial online using your scraps in a very constructive way --it's easy and fun!!!  Try looking at http://www.how-to-quilt.com/.  Here is my version:.  As soon as my grandson saw it, he said, "Granma, can I have it? Of course I couldn't say no because I have plenty more "crumbs" to make many more of these types of quilts.

SUSANS QUILTS

I am going to start out this blog from advice given to me by an experienced blogger.  I love to quilt and would love to share what I am doing and possibly gain some insite from others.  I love to quilt and sew and feel very honored and proud when my work is praised and admired.  Of course, my family and friends are quite biased but I think I have definitely improved over the years.  Here is some of my recent work:

Blue is my favorite color and I was experimenting with the flying geese design which I had never done. I think it turned out pretty good.
This quilt is for sale, by the way, if anyone is interesd.