Quilt Re-Do

This quilt top was finished a week before Christmas.  But I wasn’t happy with the original.

That blue & red sawtooth line seemed to divide the quilt and there wasn’t enough white in that area.

So, after a little seam ripping, I am much happier with the new look. 

The top is made from a layer cake of Wee Folks.  But since I had used all the pieces already, I substituted a brown floral on white from Sew Cherry in the sawtooth row.  It blends right in.

The little gnomes and toadstools are so adorable!  The blocks are pinwheels and stars.

Now I’m not sure what to use for backing and binding.  As usual, there is nothing suitable in my stash…so I’ll need to buy something!

A new year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  It was exciting at our house—Santa left lots of presents under the tree for the girls. 

Someone was especially happy to get her own sewing machine and several books for making doll clothes.

The machine is a Janome DC1050 and it works great.  It is the perfect first machine for a kid or adult.  It’s the most basic computerized Janome.  Bea has already made a quilt and two sundresses that I will share as soon as I take photos.

Christmas included some handmade gifts from an aunt.

Some sweet knitted hats for the girls

And Bea requested a “mysterious” black cape.  She loves it!

Looking back, I sewed a lot more this year than in years past.

And looking forward, we are doing some organizing around the house.  Thank goodness for Ikea!

Have a safe and happy new year!

A Small Finish and a WIP

This is technically not “my” finish.  Bea sewed this bag on Friday night for her sister.  Ever since we rehabilitated a baby robin this past summer, Esther has loved birds and really wants a cockatiel.  So when I saw this Japanese linen fabric with cockatiels, I had to have it to make something for her, but Bea beat me to it!

Bea traced a heart onto Heat n Bond lite and fused it to the outside of the bag, which is a print from Joel Dewberry’s new Notting Hill line.  She picked a blue flower print for the lining and handles.  The pattern is from Diary of a Quilter and uses two fat quarters to make the entire bag.

She sewed all the parts of the bag except the decorative stitch used as topstitching around the opening of the bag.  It is currently employed to tote around My Little Ponies.

I also have a pic of a WIP to share.  These are the first few stars for my Modern Quilt Guild Madrona Road Challenge entry.  I’ve never sewn y-seams before! 

Linking up to Plum and June’s Monday Link Up.  She’s shared a super cute fabric bucket and now I’ve just got to make one for my girls’ hair ties.

Another baby quilt

Lots of my friends and family are having baby boys this winter.  I’ve made quite a few little boy quilts the past two months.  The latest is a little different than the log cabin quilts I’ve been making.

Of course the fabric is elephants!  The line is called “Bungle Jungle.”  I love the primary colors.  Each sashing strip is from a line by Jenn Ski that I just had in my stash.  The binding is a polka dot on blue by Connecting Threads.  The finished quilt measures 42 x 46. 

I was able to pick up some matching backing fabric at a great price at one of the many Black Friday sales events. 

I used the seams for a guide and quilted a 1/4” inside all the seams.  I like the look of the straight lines across the backing.

Who couldn’t use a ginormous bottle of wine and cute baby blanket to celebrate the birth of baby boy #2????

My daughters sang in church this past Sunday.  Bea stood by Esther even though that meant she had to stand with the preschoolers (which she wasn’t thrilled about because she is in first grade, don’t forget!). 

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day!  Linking up to Tuesday at the Table and Freemotion by the River.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winner!

Mr. Random has spoken and he chose

who is

Congratulations, Deb!!!!! The book “Pretty in Patchwork Holidays” and 16 fat quarters will be headed your way as soon as you send your address.  I have already emailed you.

Thanks to everyone who entered.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Two Pillow Finish

This past week I’ve finished up two Christmas pillows. 

Katie of SwimBikeQuilt posted a modern Christmas tree wall-hanging/pillow on the Free Spirit blog this week.  The tutorial was easy to follow. 

It was amazing to see how the texture of the straight line quilting changed the total look of the Christmas tree.  I decided to bind the pillow after adding the envelope back.  This gray polka dot fabric is one of my favorites. 

This Ho Ho Ho pillow is straight from the book “Pretty in Patchwork Holidays” by Quilt Dad.  I am giving away a copy of the book and 16 fat quarters here, and there are a few more hours to enter the giveaway.

The fabrics are mostly Connecting Threads and a few favorites from my stash thrown in.

I used Finca Presencia Perle thread size 8 to quilt around each letter.  I didn’t have an embroidery hoop at first, but I bought one after doing two of the letters and it made the stitching a lot easier.

The Santa buttons were the perfect finishing touch!

The pattern suggests using linen for the back, but I substituted this cute bird fabric I’ve had in my stash.

So now I think our living room is sufficiently decorated for the holidays!

What have you been working on?  Any Christmas projects?  Linking up to Finish It Up Friday on Crazy Mom Quilts.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Giveaway Day!

Would you like to win your own copy of the book “Pretty in Patchwork Holidays” and a pack of 16 fat quarters?

The book is by John Adams, aka Quilt Dad, and it contains 30+ different holiday projects by talented quilters such as Monica Solario-Snow.  This cute pillow caught my eye immediately.

The fat quarter pack is an assortment of 16 fat quarters from Connecting Threads called “Technicolor Christmas.”

This is the pillow I made from the book with the same fat quarters and a few fabrics from my stash.  I will do a post about making it later this week so we can get to the GIVEAWAY!

My friend Kelie and I have organized a new online quilting bee called Make It Modern.  This is a fast-paced bee that lasts 6 months instead of 12 and each bee member makes 2 blocks per month.  The theme is modern!  Modern fabrics, colors, and designs.  And it involves a prize every month and multiple prizes at the end of the bee.  We have sponsors already lined up! If this bee is something that you think you might be interested in, check out the Flickr page and fill out a Google form here.   The bee and alternate spots have been filled!

Ok, now to the really important part!  Here’s how you can enter to win the book and fat quarters.  Open to US residents only.

1.  Leave a comment  telling me if you’ve ever participated in an online bee and, if have a spare moment, any advice for making it fun and a great experience.

2.  Get an extra entry for being a follower, new or old.  Just leave a comment telling me you signed up with Google Friend Connect on the right hand side of my blog.

And check out all the other great giveaways on the Sew Mama Sew blog.

Good luck, friends!