Snow Mum Finished

I've been wanting to make one of these for so long and even had the materials but for some reason couldn't get the motivation. So finally here it is finished and I think it's rather cute. Simple and Elegant at the same time. The pattern was really easy to follow and I only made a few substitutions.

Pattern: Amy Butler Snow Mum Pillow

Fabric Used: White Wool Felt Bought at Joann's with a 40% off coupon (wool felt is really expensive, I'd recommend saving your coupon)

Notions Used: WonderUnder, Interfacing and a button and embroidery floss from my stash.

Pattern Alterations: Used 16″ instead of 18″ pillow and needed to add several petals to the second and third "rings". Otherwise exactly as written.

Patrick gives it his Himalayan seal of approval (where's my lint roller?)

K-

Fabric Baskets and Snow Mum

I've been wanting to make one of these since I saw them a week ago on flickr. I used a great tutorial by Pink Penguin that can be found here. I adapted the size a little to make mine larger. The blue print is Bohemian Rhapsody by Blue Meadow Designs RJR fabrics and the brown used for the bottom and lining is scraps from a new brown flat sheet that I had from another project (oh the joy I get from up-cycling). I might make a few of these for Christmas gifts. All total with the cutting and sewing it probably only took me an hour and a half to make. They would be a nice little gift with a bottle of wine tucked in, or maybe coloring books and crayons for little ones.
I also started making the Snow Mum pillow (Free pattern from Amy Bulter) that I've been wanting to make for forever. It's a little tedious with all the cutting (in fact I had to stop several times because my thumb was going numb), but I think it's going to be really pretty when it's finished. I'm using 100% wool felt in a snowy white color.

K-

Summer Cleaning

Scrap Quilt Blocks WIP
Originally uploaded by Little Gray Dog

The past couple of days I have been on a cleaning tear. That includes reorganizing all of my fabric and craft supplies and making sure all of my scraps are sorted and ironed. Is this normal quilter behavior, probably not, but I've never been accused of being "normal".

While sorting I found a bunch of Heather Bailey and Amy Butler scraps. To make good use of them and clear out my stash a little I made up 6 12"by12" blocks. What I will do with them...not sure yet, but I'm thinking maybe add a thin green border around each of the blocks then line them up horizontally (across what would be the lower middle of my bed when the quilt is finished) and add solid cream above and below the row of scrappy blocks. I've seen a couple of these quilts and it really gives a chance for the quilting to shine. I wish I could find a photo because I just re-read that description and I'm not even sure I know what I'm taking about.

E, little gray dog and I are headed up to Maine for the weekend/week. Both of my sisters will be visiting and it will be the first time I've seen my one year old nephews since Christmas. I'm looking forward to a little relaxation, some tasty scallops and perhaps a few Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ales.

Until next week (or access to the Internet, which is doubtful in DownEast Maine)!

K-

Baby Coin Quilt Finished

Today I finally finished the baby coin quilt I started last summer. This quilt was made with scraps of amy butler's lotus collection that I had left over from the Brick Path Quilts that I made last Spring. The cream colored sashing is quilter's only cotton from Jo-Anns. The blue binding is also quilter's cotton. I really like quilter's cotton because it is reasonable priced and good quality. It washes well and holds up to lots of wear and tear. I wash and dry all of my quilts in my home machine so good quality cotton is key.
This is the first quilt I have quilted myself. I used masking tape to mark diagonal lines and quilting down both sides of the tape using a walking foot. I purchased the walking foot from a seller on e-bay before my old machine broke, and fortunately it also fits my new machine. The stitching was a little uneven but I think that was because I was fidgeting with the fabric too much. If I had just let the foot pull the fabric through without applying any resistance I think I would have had more even stitches, but live and learn right? I also wish I had remembered to back stitch a few stitches at the end and beginning of each quilting section. I'm a little worried that the stitches might pull out, but am hoping the binding will prevent that from happening. Overall, I'm pleased with this little quilt for a first go around at home quilting.

Back story for the Brick path quilts...One was for my grandmum before her heart surgery (which went perfectly) and one for me. Unfortunately she wasn't allowed to bring hers to the hospital (which was probably a good thing given all potential quilt spoilers at a hospital), but she uses it now around the house. Grandmum is a beautiful quilter and talented artist, and was thrilled to see and feel my craftiness while she was recovering. Ironically, she didn't quilt much while I was growing up so I never really learned any techniques from her, but I do have several of her beautiful quilts and a couple of antique quilts from her aunt that are some of my most prized possessions.

Feels good to finally finish a project, hopefully many more will follow (as long as the sewing machine gods cooperate).

k-