Chinese Lantern Quilt :: Finished!!

This is me, sewing on the binding to the gifted quilt...the day AFTER Christmas.  I gifted the quilt sans binding.

And then I worked on it some more the day after that.  

But, I finally got it completed!  This was a completely improvised quilt.  I had the strips sewn together in sets of two and three (from left to right).  It was suppose to be a quilt all on the diagonal.  But I got bored piecing it.  So I cam up with this instead.  By happy accident it looks like a chinese lantern, perfect for the asian Michael Miller prints. 

Then we got snowed in.  And I had NO fabric to choose from.  Luckily I had this other Michael Miller print (green/black) and some of the flower print left.  It worked perfect.  I even got a label stitched on this quilt.  The binding is all pieced from left over strips from the quilt top.  It turned out really well.  I wish I had a more zoomed in look at that. 

My sister (age 11 - the baby) was very happy to have it done before their drive back to California.  I think she was a little perturbed to hear me tell her on Christmas: "I'm going to need your present back tonight."  But I promised to finish it before they left, and that's better than the oldest of that bunch, who had to wait another month after Christmas to get hers a few years ago!  Christmas was delightful and i'm still recovering.  I have more to show you, so hopefully i'll be motivated enough to do so this week. 

Bah-humbug!

I love the snow and i'm super jazzed to have a "white" Christmas this year.  It makes my least favorite holiday a little more enjoyable.  This made me laugh, and I hope it does for you, too.  The visual is great.  I have so much crafting to do, and you guessed it, binding is NOT done.  *Sigh*  

New Quilting Pattern

I know I promised pictures of this quilt all finished, but I haven't got the binding on yet.  I don't work well unless i'm under pressure.  So since it will be Christmas Eve when I wake up, I will be under pressure to get it done before Christmas afternoon.  Although, I bet you bucks (my husband hates that I say that...he also hates that I say "Cool beans!" so of course I say them both all the time) i'm sewing on the binding Christmas morning.  That's just how it goes with me sometimes.  So many projects still left to do, and not enough hours to do them all.  I will have some IOU gifts this year.  

The fabrics used in this quilt are of an Asian flare and coincidentally, it looks like a chinese lantern.  So I needed a quilting pattern to match with that.  So far, my standby's just wouldn't work.  So I gave this new design a try.  The top photo shows best what it should be, and this second photo shows what ended up happening most of the time.  That's what you get with the pattern first time around.  It's a variation on a pattern I saw online called "Popcorn".  I want to perfect this and offer it.  It's really quite versatile and not hard now that I realized just what the pattern is.  Of course I wasn't happy at all with the quilting after I finished it.  But a good nights sleep put a whole new perspective on it and I love it!  Funny for the day found here.

Sunday Stash on Hold

Still snowed in.  Another few inches on top of our 10" of snow + 3/4" ice.  My husband tried to make it out here today to see Brice and I.   That didn't turn out so well.  He's going to empty the driveway of snow tomorrow and get the chains on and try again.  I did get my last quilt quilted today...but can't do any other projects until he shows up with some of what I need.  I hope to share quilt pictures tomorrow.

Snow Day

And what a snow day it was for us in the Pacific Northwest!  I've been out here at my moms since Thursday and it doesn't look like i'm going anywhere until maybe Monday.  We're not use to this kind of weather here.  There looks to be about 8" at my moms (I guess about 7" at my house in town, husband reports) and the freezing rain is on it's way, to arrive here sometime tomorrow.  That's what makes our weather different than other areas.  The few inches of ice we'll have layered on the foot (or more) of snow we should have by tomorrow.  

But it's all good for me!  That just means more crafting getting done.  I finished a project for a friend last night, so no pictures yet.  And i'm about to load another quilt, the last of my quilts for Christmas.  I hope to get it quilted tonight and binding on tomorrow.  Cross your fingers for pictures tomorrow.  The picture above is my foot prints getting out to the mini-fridge in my moms outdoor kitchen.  That's where she keeps her soda.  Had to dig the fridge out a bit.  Ok, back to crafting!  More pictures here and a posting about Brice's first snow here.

Eye Candy

In short: (1) Made it to the funeral, (2) Stuck at moms (ice + tiny bit of snow), (3) Look at all the great Favorites from my Flickr!, (4) started another Christmas project - hope to make this a pattern to sell in my Etsy shop.  Yea!  **Click on the photo to follow the link to find more about each photo featured in this mosaic.**

Quilting For Mom

My contribution to another Christmas present for a family member. But I can't share the full picture until after Christmas. Sorry. But nice quilting, huh!

This is a quilt full of a lot of love. Because if it weren't for a very special family member, it wouldn't be sitting here quilted. At least not in this final state. Every turn of the way, something went wrong. Including me sewing the binding to the back of the quilt and having to hand stitch it down to the front. Good thing I have an invisible stitch. You can't even tell. That's one quilt i'm glad to see find its home. I was sure something would go wrong in the wash. It didn't. Phew!

Baby is on the mend, but i'm feeling worse. Graveside is at 11am tomorrow and it's flippin' cold here! I can't decide if I should go. I hate indecision. We're suppose to get more snow tonight and tomorrow...a few days break, and then another storm on Sunday. And, of course, in true Pacific Northwest fashion, rain is predicted for Christmas day. Lucky us.

Finshed! :: Lemonade Quilt

Someone come be sick for me...oh, and watch over my poor, poor baby who has a cold, too. I have too much crafting to do. And could you please go to the funeral for me on Thursday? Thanks, that'd be great. I just remembered one of my sewing projects. And it's a must do. And it's something I have to design myself. So that always adds a little time. *Sigh* Crabby, sick baby has kept me up the last two nights. I really need to sleep tonight. But there is so much to do!

Here is another quilt finished. This one is a gift, so just in case this family member reads this blog, you just get peaks at color and quilting. I did my all over loop pattern. I've never done it this concentrated before, and I REALLY like it.

After the beginning of the year i'm going to offer my quilting services. It will just be for four of my basic designs. Since I freehand everything on the longarm, I want to make sure i'm very comfortable with what i'm doing for other people. As I get more comfortable with designs, i'll add them to the options. So far it will be this (loops), stippling (or meander), stars and daisy chains (haven't uploaded this picture yet). I think i'm going to also offer binding services. But, that's for the new year.

Tutorial :: Rachel's Crochet Hook Case

Well, i'm stuck at my moms tonight.  We had some snow here today - finally - and the roads are icy tonight.  But, that isn't going to stop me from posting the tutorial.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Rachel's Crochet Hook Case - Enjoy!

*Update*  This could also be used for other items, too!  Make the "pockets" a little bigger and you can hold a few pairs of knitting needles.  You could make a small art case out of this to hold colored pencils, artist pencils, pens...  I'm sure there are more ideas.  If you have one, leave a comment so I can add it to the suggestions.

*Embroidery pattern for acorn found at O.F. Patterns & Tutorials.

Left My Brain Behind

I left my brain somewhere in my first trimester when I was pregnant with Brice. I don't suppose there's any getting it back? Well, I have a new *FREE* tutorial for all of you. But, of course, I forgot my camera at my moms house today, so I don't have the photos to post it. It's really cute. I have been racking my brain, trying to think of something I could post on here for free. Well, with a suggestion from my mom on a gift I was making for my brothers girl "friend" I have a quick tutorial. But i'm going to keep you in suspense until it's posted. Hopefully tomorrow, maybe Sunday...but I would just count on Monday. I hope to get the oldest of my little sisters gift done this weekend, so I can share what that is, too.

On a side note, this cute little red + white mini quilt is for sale in my Etsy shop...isn't it just calling your name?!?

A Night of Reveals!

Remember this picture for some time back? Well, I can finally reveal what it is!

Here's a little bit more of the image...you can see it's pin tucks. But what is it that has pin tucks?

Why this coffee press cozy I made, of course! I was working on a tutorial to sell and I FINALLY got it all finished. It's been hard with Brice being so needy these days. I've had some long nights. But it's finally done and in my brand spankin new Etsy shop! The cozy itself is also in the shop for sale, just in case you don't have the time to make your own.

I have lots of patterns in the works that I hope to add to it soon. But, I am also trying to think of more tutorials/patterns to add to my blog for free. So if you have something you would like created, let me know...maybe I can figure it out and provide it for all of you.

Ok, back to Etsy Shop talk. I have good news and bad news. The good news, I listed my Red + White Hour Glass quilt last night, the one that is in my header. It was my first item, and only item until this evening. So, now it's time for the bad news...it sold already! Ok, well bad news for you, great news for me! Go on, take a look. You know you want to!

NEW Binding Tutorial

Remember those video's I posted a little while back on binding a quilt? I have been doing it this way for the last 3 or 4 quilts and just LOVE this method. It takes a little more time than a usual binding, with a few added steps, but to me, it's well worth it. If you don't have time to watch all of the video's, I took some pictures on the quilt I bound this weekend and made a quick tutorial. I found that it really helped to keep my binidng in place while sewing, without bunching. It saves from pinning in place (not that I ever did that) and makes it so I don't have to stop every few inches to line up the edges of my binding to the quilt if i'm not pining. Go HERE and take a look, you might like what you see! If you have questions you can either watch the video's or email me and i'll help how I can. I'll post the above quilt after it's washed and pictures are snapped.

On a side note, my neighbor Heather of Craftastic Times and my Stampin' Up Demonstrator, nominated me for this lovely award! You all know i'm not very good with the "rules" of awards, but I sure do love the recognition from others.

Following is the translation of the Portuguese words and the rules for the award: "This blog award invests and believes in proximity -(creating friendships)!" [meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy]. These are the other words to be included with the award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these awards are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Thank you, Heather and know that I want to give this award to everyone of you out there. I take a peak once in awhile at the traffic to my blog and i'm amazed. Sometimes I come across bloggers that count me in their list of "Favorite Blogs" and it makes me feel so good to know others appreciate the time I put into this. And there are others that are frequent commentors here. I enjoy your blogs so much. Here are a few that I think you should check out that I haven't mentioned to you yet - I know they are on my Google Reader list: Common Place, Aux Petits Oiseaux, Just a Quiet Place to Be, Quirky Parsnip (student + crafter ...ahhh, those were the days!), and Wee Pereas ...just to name a few for now. I nominate you girls for the Butterfly Aaward. Follow the rules link above should you wish to continue to pass it on.

Sunday Stash

Planned for a new diaper bag, based on my own pattern. I am going to make some changes from the last one I made and get the pattern finalized. Tired. Seems to be the running theme with these posts on Sunday night.

Swell Quilt :: Washed + Crinkly

I know you've already seen this quilt completed, but you haven't seen it washed and crinkly. ...and i'm too tired to edit photos and post them at the moment. I've been working hard on that mysterious project I mentioned before...and I finally got it done, just awaiting some comments before I can unveil.

And THANK GOODNESS!! I need to get some Christmas sewing done! ASAP! I have way too many things to make on my list of gifts. I was so super excited and giddy the other day...I learned how to smooth lines in Illustrator. Hopefully you'll find out why in my next posting!

Quilt is made from Swell fabrics by Urban Chicks in a Disappearing 9-Patch pattern. Quilted by me with swirls and curls. More photos on Flickr.

Crow Quilt :: Done!

Well, I got this one bound quicker than I thought! And I took some pictures out at my moms place the other day. I just love it out there, living on the forest. I miss living out there sometimes. It's nice to be back in the city, closer to everything, but I liked the quiet, the space and the forest.

Some thoughts on yesterday's post - thank you all so much for your comments! I'm sure you all know, but it means the world to me to have the feedback. If you read me through Google Reader or the such then you might not have noticed my new header...I felt it was time for a photo header instead of a graphic header. I took the photo at my moms house at sunset with the fog settling in. I love the warm glow of the late autumn light.

It was mentioned in the comments that there is something you can add to the wash to help with the color bleeding, and actually, I just read about it yesterday on Crazy Mom Quilt's blog post. She said it didn't really work, and she had to scrub out the red that bled onto her quilt. I'm not that serious about it. I will probably try this next time, along with what I did this time, just to see if it helps a little more. This time I washed the quilt, by itself, in my moms front loader on the delicate cycle (cold water) with 1/4 cup vinegar. Then I washed it again, on the same cycle (cold water) with detergent (All Free & Clear) and that really did help get some of the red out that bled the first time around. So, maybe with the Shout Color Catcher, it will go better next time...? Because I think I need to make another.

On a side note, I am totally hooked on Weeds. I just finished watching Season 1 on Netflix instant watch. I've been putting it on when I make it down here to sew/compute. Who ever thought i'd be rooting for a drug dealer? Very cute series, you should check it out.

Red Hour Glass Quilt :: Done!

It's been washed...but this is a pre-wash photo. I first washed it in vinegar, then I did a second wash with laundry detergent. It still bled a little. The red didn't bleed onto the white triangles, it was the white and red squares that bled. Not the red and white. Weird. They were quality quilters cottons, too...so i'm not all together sure why they bled. Don't you think fabric manufacturers would understand that red bleeds and make sure to minimize that? Guess not. Lesson learned.


Another interesting thing to note: it shrunk 4 inches in length! 4"! I've never had that happen before. Very weird.

For those of you that don't read the family blog, but want to see some old pictures of moi...go here.