Early Birthday Gift

I got an early birthday present. :) I've spent hours just looking through it deciding on the first project to make from it.

So far, these are my favorite projects that I hope to make this year.  Ambitious huh?

Harvest Star, Delectable Mountains,  Amish Inspired Shoofly,  Prairie Baskets,  X's and O's, Feedsack Flags, Use A Napkin Only For Your Mouth (and the best part is I have a charm pack I've been saving for the perfect project. So I'll use that for this project)

The UFOs are getting finished..

Three more UFOs are done and off the list! :)  I'm so happy.  

First up in a miniature Panda quilt.  Quilted on a really crappy machine mostly by me (in 2011 - thank goodness that I've improved!!) and partially by my hubby who was trying to fix my tension issues.  It's cute, but I'm not in love with it (hence why it was a UFO for so long). Started it in 2011, finished on June 16, 2013.  *Jumping for joy* it's done.

 

Next up is another fairy quilt.  It's my own pattern, quilted mainly by my 4 year old.  She wanted to help me, so I let her.  This one was going to be my sample quilt for my Craftsy shop, but I'll probably be making another one for the display picture.  Kiddo wants to use it as a doll quilt (and it's already in use)

A little Halloween.. on Easter?

Happy Easter!!

Since it's Easter, I only had a tiny little time to sew today - and it was all hand stitching. While putting some things away before company I found a teeny tiny miniature block that I think I might have been planning on using for a center of something, or for a crumb block. But yea, I didn't.

So I put some stitches into this one and then added the keychain piece.

New Miniature Machine

It's cute, and pink. And I just won it on eBay. I actually bid on it so my little friend can sew with me, and it wasn't too expensive so if she doesn't like it, it's just precious. There's a little bit of wear and tear on it, but still, how precious is this? I know.. I know.. I'm gushing.

When she's asleep I might just have to make some of my Dear Jane blocks on it..  wonder what DD is going to name this gorgeous little one?

These are the pictures from the eBay auction - I paid about 10 minutes after winning the bid.

It measures 4.5" x 7"!  So I'm not out a lot of space if my little one doesn't want to sew.

But when I showed her the photos, I was told that I am "the best mommy in the whole wide world" and that "we're going to make some quilts together right mommy?" Makes me so happy!! :-)

Maybe I should start cutting up some fabric into manageable squares for her, huh? And cut some nice batting fabric so she can quilt her own doll quilts. :-)

Quilting Practice - Reversible Candle Mat

Practicing my quilting.  The quilting pattern is a free one from Forest Quilting. Doesn't it quilt up beautifully?

It measures about 14"x14"

Currently in use as a candle mat.

Having a "Crumby" time..

Well, not really. I'm not in a bad mood or anything! While blog hopping again, I found Bonnie Hunter's awesome tutorial on crumb blocks again.  Naturally, I just *had* to try them again.

I think at one point I started making crumb blocks, but they got put to the side, and the scraps just went into a Rubbermaid bin. And I kept making bigger things, and the scraps kept adding up. So I went digging into the pile and started randomly sewing pieces together.

Instead of trimming the blocks at 4" (because that's way too small for me!) I made mine 6.5" unfinished - the size of one of my most used rulers.

Because I'm super geeky, I'm putting a little sticky tab on the back of each block with the row it should go in, and the total number of pieces used. I'm hoping to embroider the number on the label when I finally get the quilt done. It'll be my big work in progress, but I'll get there eventually.

Week 4, Jan 22-28, 2012

Phew. Last week was so busy. I'm *almost* done with the quilt top that I started with princesses. I'll have to post it later.

Anyway, this weeks theme is "Little Bits." Yep, just Little Bits. Interpret it as you wish.

Jan 15-21 - Week 3, 2012

Here we go again! New week, new theme. This weeks theme is PRINCESSES/PRINCES.

My DD received the movie Tangled for Christmas, and she has been seeing the commercials for the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast on TV. I told her that if she could watch Beauty and the Beast (DVD version, non 3D) with me, and actually sit through it and not get super scared that DH and I would take her to the movies to see it in theaters. Her first ever movie in theaters.

By the way - Tangled is such a cute movie. If you've never seen it, you should.

She's so obsessed with Princesses that I thought I could do a miniature for her wall for after we actually go and see the Beauty and the Beast.

Paper Pieced Mini Doll Quilt

Here's a small paper pieced miniature quilt I made for a swap.

The pattern is from It's Raining Cats and Dogs. What a cute book! Very easy patterns to follow.

For this one, I wanted to go with the seasons - cats of the seasons.  My partner loves cats.

Autumn Cat

 

Spring Cat

 

Winter Cat

 

Summer Cat

 

And this is the full miniature quilt. I'm not sure why it's sideways - but you get the idea.

Week 2: Jan 8-14, 2012

Here we go again! Are you getting back into the swing of things?

This weeks theme is scrappy. :) Now go forth and have fun and create!

Week 1: Challenge Complete! Blue and White

Phew.. pulled this one under the wire. Here's the completed top for Week 1, 2012: Blue and White.

Please ignore the wrinkle in it - it really is straight. It's 16"x16". I'll post it again when it's quilted.

I'm planning on waiting until I get a snow day and then I'll quilt them and bind. But, no snow yet.

Week 52: 25-31 December

We've made it to the last week of the challenge. Can you believe it??!! 52 weeks of miniature quilts after this week is finished. I've had a ton of fun doing it, and I think I'll be switching it up a bit in 2012.

Since people are still traveling and having family over, we'll keep this one short and sweet too.

Theme: ONE BLOCK. Pick one quilt block, anything goes, and make it into a miniature quilt. This would be great to use up any orphan blocks that you've got (and don't most of us have an orphan or 10.. ;))

Happy quilting!!

Week 51: 18-24 December

Lets keep this one simple too, especially since a lot of people are doing a lot of traveling or having parties and family over. This is a great time of the year.

Theme: GIFT

Week 49: 4-10 December

Let's make a miniature quilted Christmas/holiday decoration! It can be a mantel scarf, a table topper, an ornament - up to you. Lets use a color combination of blue and white or red and green.

Let's have this weeks challenge be a three fold challenge:

Theme: holiday decoration
Color challenge: blue and white, or red and green
Extra challenge: It must be functional.

Week 48: 27 November- 3 December

The holidays are almost upon us! Lets get all the last minute holiday sewing done, and make a super small miniature this week!

Size requirements: Anything SMALLERthan 12"x12"!!
Theme: anything goes. :) No rules as long as it's smaller than 12"x12". :)

Week 45: 6- 12 November

Do you put labels on your quilts? What do your labels say? I typically put my name (including maiden name), state, date completed and who it's for on my label. It's tough to fit that all on sometimes.

So lets go with a theme of Thanksgiving this week. It could be something that you're thankful for, could be something that represents Thanksgiving or anything you want it to be.

Week 44: 30 October - 5 November

By the end of this week, we've hit November! Whoo hoo!! We're doing great. This week, how's about we do a theme of our favorite book. I love reading, so this should be a real challenge. I've got over 150 books on my Kindle. Most of them were free reads - I just love classic books!

So, this weeks challenge is to think of a book that you love (or your favorite, or one that you think would look awesome in a miniature quilt form) and make it into a miniature quilt!

When you're done, post a link to your completed quilt top, or finished quilt and share!! I'd love to see what you've done!

Week 43: October 23-29

Uh oh! I'm starting to run out of ideas for this weekly challenge! I'm sure that I've got a ton of ideas, just need some more time to write them all down in my journal.

My daughter came up with this weeks theme of BUBBLES. I'm constantly amused by her playing with her bubbles outside.

Here are some links if you want to quilt in bubbles!
Bubble Path from Free Motion Quilting Blog

Bubble Path Spiral from Free Motion Quilting Blog

Bubble Wand from Free Motion Quilting Blog

Week 41: 9-15 October

The fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the fall, getting up with crisp, cool air, no allergies!! And the best part - getting to sleep with the windows open, nice breezes, and waking up and just taking in huge deep breaths of cool air. And it's not too hot, not too cold, and wear jeans, a t shirt and a sweatshirt or sweater.

What I love most though, is the nights that I can watch some movies after a nice walk outside. I love watching movies in the fall and winter. There's just something amazing about curling up on the couch with one of my quilts, having a cup of hot tea, coffee or hot chocolate and watching a nice movie. Depends on the day what kinds of movie I feel like watching.

This weeks theme: MOVIES.

Week 40: 2-8 October

Try something new this week. Anything goes, no rules, just try something that you haven't before. It could be a new way of binding, a new quilting technique, using a tool for the first time - anything goes. Heck, it could even be finishing a UFO!! Or, if you've never tried free motion quilting, why don't you try it? How would you know if you don't like something till you try it?

It's only a miniature, so why not just give something new a try?