Tuesday, December 29, 2009

After Christmas....projects finished...mostly

I don't know why I wait to the last minute to work on Christmas projects! I kept thinking of new things I wanted to do for someone and thought I would never finish....still have a couple things to finish! Bags.....I received a bag like this as a gift a couple years ago, and decided to copy it for some family and friends. So without the pattern, I just "winged it" and figure out how to make this. It really is simple and if perfect for "charm packs" if you have those. I got a nice deal on a fat quarter pack right before Christmas and made 3 in the adult size and one half size one for a little girl to match her mommy's bag. All I had to buy was some lining fabric to match, which I found locally.
I started this black and white vest for myself to wear over the holidays....but didn't finish it until the day after Christmas....oh, well.

It is reversible, so I put a beautiful batik fabric I love on the inside for my "wilder" days :-) You can see my one unfinished table runner hanging behind the vest. I sold one runner to a blogging friend and still have one that is finished and this one that needs to be put together yet.

The little squares pinned next to it and the green one on it are little "jewels" that I'm making that can be pinned on here and there if I want them for decoration....an experiment. I haven't finished beading them all yet, but intend for them all to be different.
I had a whim to make this little Christmas wall hanging and didn't finish it until after Christmas...but it's done! Now what do I do with it??? I got the idea from a card that I saw that had white squares with circles of Christmas motifs in each square. I hand quilted it, which is why it took me so long, even though it is small! I should have displayed it somewhere other than on this curved couch back...distorts its shape.
Been making a lot of coasters for gifts and also prizes in my other blog. This coaster and tea wallet were for a little gift exchange we had among some quilters at a luncheon. I put some tea with it. I made one coaster with a paper pieced cardinal and one with a rose and forgot to take photos of either one....sigh.
These orange coasters are yet to be mailed prizes...headed to Russia! (Are you reading this Alexandra?) I did some similar red ones and forgot to take photos.
I had a piece of printed fabric with winter animal motifs on it and turned them into coasters for a bunch of people. I think I have enough left to make myself a couple! I really liked these little animals and they were just the right size.
Turning one of my Sudoku quilt tops into a lap quilt for my sister....she will get this late...sigh. I just need to get some backing fabric and attempt to quilt it myself.....straight line probably. I just can't get comfortable with the machine quilting yet and am always afraid to try it on a gift!

I usually begin the year with an inventory of my UFO's from the past year and a resolution to get them finished! This year I think I will begin the year with a new project and let the UFO's take care of themselves for the time being. I'll try to post some resolutions on what I will try this next year in my next post....got to think about this and pull some fabrics out.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Sew Saturday November....

There were 6 of this month at the Sew Saturday after Thanksgiving. I finally completed 2 of my Christmas runners that I now hope to sell, if I can figure out what a fair price would be. Both runners have the same center blocks which I machine pieced last month. I lightly machine quilted around them and did a bit of decorative hand stitching on the tops with embroidery thread.
The backs are different.

I love the rose fabric on the back of this one.
June is doing beautiful applique work on this quilt top she bought on the Treasure Table.
Earlene was sewing blocks together for a quilt with a spring look.
Rosie was making a raggy blue jean quilt.
Mary Jane had put her Krazy Quilt blocks together for a small lap quilt and was adding borders. She used the lovely black floral for the outer border and I wish I had a shot of it...very pretty!
I always manage to miss someone. Charlotte was cutting out pieces to make paperback book covers for Christmas presents. Nice little gifts! I didn't get a picture of them.
Sew Saturday is always a lot of fun and it makes me get busy and work on things that I put off when I am at home. Sewing with friends is always more fun :-)

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Christmas stockings done!....

I finally finshed the 4 Christmas stockings that my sister commissioned from me to go with the one that I made her granddaughter last year. Click on any photo to make it larger. Here are the 4 toes :-) The fronts get a patchwork look and fancy hand stitching.
The backs get a striped look and just a few added details other then the lace trims.

Mary's was the most unusual because of her choice of colors and fabrics and harder to work with. I try to make each one different in some way. She got a wreath with ribbon roses, fancy buttons, silver snowflake buttons.
Dorothy's got that unusual piece of lace trim that I put on the toe and a ribbon wreath, poinsettias and candles and musical notes (she sings and plays piano)
Peter loves castles and such. Also, he is a strong Christian, so he got a "Strong Tower" and a couple of shields (the sheild of faith to ward off the enemies arrows).
Abi likes irises and I had a lot of fun learning to do ribbon irises on hers. They chose their basic colors. These were fun, but doing 4 at once was a job. Of course, I had an entire year and didn't have to wait until the last minute!.....but I did. Will mail these as soon as I take them and show them to my quilt guild. I hope to make a couple of generic ones without so much stitching to sell before Christmas. No names. I hated doing the names most of all. Very hard to keep the thread tight enough and I was not real happy with the names.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

FFP Quilt Corner wishes you a Happy Halloween!


Happy Halloween!

Krazy Patch workshop......

Saturday I spent the day at one of our guild workshops. Rosie was going to teach the Kwik Krazy II pattern. Many of us were there to make them into Christmas runners and some to make quilts. (I've done this pattern before and the quilt I made is the one in the header photo above and also on my sidebar.) Rosie showed us this gorgeous quilt top that she has made from the pattern!
Isn't this cute?.....she cut a block down and put it at each corner in the border. Nice touch, Rosie! I love these colors!
Rosie did these Christmas blocks for runners......
.....and also these beautiful black and white blocks! She has made a bunch of quilts from this pattern.
These are mine.....I wanted to do Christmas blocks and hope to make them into 3 Christmas runners and then sell them....watch my blog if I put them up for sale :-)
I tried to get photos of everyone's projects before they left, but I missed one person. This was a lovely set done in pink and greys.
M. was making hers for a quilt for a grandchild...very colorful!
Trying to figure out the proper way to line up the pieces.
Mary A. did Christmas fabrics and was testing them against possible sashing or border fabric.
Mary J. is not in the photo, but is standing back trying to decide if she liked this layout! It can be hard to position them so that certain colors don't end up next to each other if you don't use sashing.
A very "Spring" looking set of colors that will be a quilt eventually.

C. was still sewing hers up when I took the photo.

Her colors were very "country" looking and dramatic.
I think there were 9 of us working on the Krazy patches and one other person hand-quilting on a small quilt (which I failed to get a photo of!). We had a wonderful day all quilting together and accomplished a lot.
Now I have to get busy and decide how to finish up my runners......pointed ends or squared off.....sashing between or not.....border fabric.....binding.......Hmmmmmm....maybe I still have a lot to do!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Going "Crazy-Patch Christmas Stocking" Crazy.....

With the quilt show over and out of the way, I'm heading full tilt into my Christmas stocking frenzy.....I am making 4 stockings for my sister's family. I made one for her granddaughter last year and now they all want one. The cutting room floor......what a mess!
Laying out Peter's

Stuff for Dorothy's....red, green, white, and gold.....not started yet

Trims and lace and ribbons everywhere I look....

....I love all this stuff!
Abi's in progress
Peter's in progress.....I still have to do hand stitching and fancy stuff on all of them once the fabric and lace are in place.

3 in progress.....Mary's didn't photograph well, but it will be beautiful when it is done! 1 more to get the fabric on and then I can relax and do the fun stuff.....beads, ribbon embroidery, crazy stitching, buttons......
I'd better get busy if these are going to be done by Thanksgiving!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Posey County Quilt Show....

Right before we headed off to Seattle for vacation I went to a small quilt show and antique tractor show in Posey County, IN. A nice mix for our family....I like quilts, Mike likes tractors :-) I can't show them all, but here are a few of them. Nice old fashioned looking quilts. Beautiful!







A weaver showing how to spin wool.











A very nice small quilt show!