WIP Wednesday: Commissioned

A few months back, one of Hubby's really close gal-pals kinda cornered me and begged me to make a baby quilt for her soon-to-be niece.  The criteria.... "Non-baby, non-girly, non-pink, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it."  Seriously?!?!?!  Talk about a quilter's challenge!!

I racked my brain, scoured the internet, and read every quilting magazine I own cover-to-cover trying to find a pattern that would be easy, yet able to incorporate a large variety of fabrics.  I had settled on using "Happy Dots" by Michael Miller as my patterned prints, plus I had some TMNT novelty prints that I needed to incorporate.  Finally found a pattern that would show all of it off nicely...  

Bow Tie Baby Play Mat by Chris Malone for Quilter's World Magazine

Pattern is a very basic (easy!) one that shouldn't take too long, and it's a prefect one for the prints I picked :-)  Started the cutting back on August 1st and had all the solid and print squares done, as well as fussy cutting enough TMNT fabric for 8 blocks.  One layer cake was plenty to do this one quilt, plus quite a bit leftover so possibly a smaller one down the road :-)

Lotsa squares!!

Once all the squares were cut, I got to assembling the first part of the block... snowballing one corner of each of the 165 white squares :-D  Keeping the color sets organized proved to be a bigger task than I thought.  (Don't mind the mess on the floor behind my ironing board... I've been "organizing" for weeks and still have a ways to go... Lol).

Getting all the blocks fully assembled took no time at all thanks to some mega chain-piecing!  Got them all sewn together and then re-organized into colors.  Each color technically had multiple prints (just different sized dots), so I just piled them all up by color and was ready to go!

Now, I must diverge for a moment and just talk about what little shortcut I did that made my life SO much easier!!!  Used my Martelli Roundabout with the ironing pad on it on a TV tray right next to my machine.  WHY DID I NOT DO THIS SOONER?!?!?!?!  I LOVED how convenient it made pressing these blocks as I went without having to get up a million times to go over to the ironing board.  Lol.  I know this is far from a new trick.. but it's new to me and quilting won't be the same for me ever again!  Lol

One all the blocks were organized by color, it was time to play with the layout.  This proved to be harder than I thought it would be!  I was going for kinda a "scrappy" look, so I was just putting the blocks up randomly... but my OCD kicked in and I couldn't have two of the same-sized dots next to each other, or the same color more than once in a row or column.... I was starting to pull my hair out when I finally gave in and just let things lie where they were and that was it.  Lol.  If I kept going.. I'd end up bald!

All laid out and ready to go!

 

 

 

 

Since this one is only 45" x 45" square when finished, assembling the top took no time!  Literally about an hour or two one evening and I was done :-)  Cleaned off the kitchen table and had it basted and ready to quilt in less than about 45 minutes!  I love doing baby quilts for just this reason!

Now came the fun part... trying to figure out how to quilt it!  After way too much thinking on this, I decided to go with just plain echo stitching around the bow ties.  Short and sweet.  But those white blocks that were created from the placement totally needed something... I just didn't know what.  My FMQ other than meandering still needs some work and I didn't want to practice on a quilt I was getting paid for.  So... at the suggestion of my mom, I pulled out the embroidery machine and that fancy hoop Hubby bought me for Christmas last year and decided to give embroidering the blocks a try :-)

Hooped up and ready to go!

I decided to use the Dr. Seuss font to add outline alphabet letters to all the white spaces.  I digitized the font using my Embrid software and then stitched it out.  This Viking Quilt-It-All hoop is specifically made for quilting and has s special inner hoop that is smaller to accommodate the thickness of all the layers in a quilt.  Added bonus.... when embroidering on a quilt, you don't even need stabilizer as the three layers of the quilt are plenty to keep it stable :-)

My current status on this project is "nearly done."  I got the quilting all done on Monday with it being a holiday, and have been working on the hand-binding portion as much as I can when I get home from work.  Thinking this actually should be wrapped up tonight when I get home :-)  Just will need a quilt label and it'll be ready to send off, and then I can "officially" check this commissioned quilt off my To Do list :D

Linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday and Sew Fresh Quilts' Let's Bee Social

Also, linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

Actually Making Progress!

It's been what feels like years since I've actually quilted!  Between all the shirts and vests, and then the Bionic Gear Bag... Hubby's poor "Family Guy" quilt has been on a back burner.  I think the side projects were partially to blame, but also my indecisiveness on the quilting was also a major factor.  I think I was over-thinking the process and making it out to be more difficult than it needed to be.... resulting in it sitting for the past 6 weeks or so.

So... this weekend I was determined to get it done.  I pulled it off the shelf, dusted it off, and got to work.

Just simple straight-line stitching in the smaller blocks and rectangles, then some diagonal lines in a couple of the larger rectangles.  Then it was time to tackle the 12" square blocks and the 8" square blocks.  Didn't want to do something too crazy or intricate, but they definitely needed something.

On the 12" blocks, I just used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a star shape out of cardstock that was about 8" x 8", traced it on the block, and then used my FMQ foot.  They're far from perfect, but they look OK.

Then, for the 8" blocks, I used my loopy swirls stencil and just did some FMQ in the block.  Again, far from perfect, but doesn't look terrible.

It's now about 95% done with the binding attached and just needing the hand-stitching done.  Add to that a quilt label (which I still have to make), and it'll be ready to go.  Figures... I am finally going to finish it and we have officially entered Spring here in NE Ohio with temps in the 50s.

Linking up to Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River, Fabric Tuesday at A Quilt Story, and Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts

Also linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday and Sew Fresh Quilts' Let's Bee Social

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

WIP Wednesday: First Project of 2015!

With having all my WIPs done and getting my room moved... I couldn't wait to get started on a new project.  Only one problem... I couldn't decide on which one.  Lol.  Too many on the list to choose from, and honestly it became overwhelming to even think about it.  I didn't sew one single stitch from the Tuesday before Christmas to this past weekend.  I was starting to get antsy, but just couldn't settle on a project to start.  Should I start the wall-hanging I want to do?  Or the quilt for my mom?  Or the quilt for my living room?  The decision making was driving me nuts!  I finally just decided to just stick my hand into my project tub and just pick one.... so that's what I did.

The winner is......


"Family Guy" Quilt for the Hubby!!! 

I bought these fat quarters some time ago from the Fat Quarter Shop when they had them as their daily flash sale.  I bought two of the FQ bundles and I think they were only around $12 each!!  I grabbed two because I had no clue what I was going to do with them yet and I wanted to make sure I had enough.  Thankfully I did as they're not available on their site anymore :(

The pattern is "Jack's Blocks" by A Bright Corner and I got it off of Craftsy.  I needed a pattern that would allow for the large prints in this set, and this one fit the bill nicely.  I had to make some modifications for the cutting as I had about double the prints than the pattern called for.  I just kinda winged it and started cutting the blocks as they fit.

I used some black County Classic Solids I got from JoAnns.  Hubby chose red for the binding, so I grabbed some of that while I was there. 

Started cutting this one out on Saturday, and by Saturday night... I already had two rows complete :-)

The top was done by Sunday night, and basted by Monday night.

Now it's time to figure out how to quilt this baby.  Hubby requested yellow thread for the quilting.. but that's as far as I've gotten.  Can't really do my habitual "echo quilting" on this one as most of the blocks are too big.  Thinking I may just do either a large meandering or stipple.. but I'm not sure.  Haven't FMQ'ed anything without a stencil so far, so I may need to practice a bit before I attempt it on this one.

It's in the single-digits here in NE Ohio, so I'm hoping to get this one finished up this weekend so Hubby can enjoy it while relaxing on the couch!

Linking back to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday and Sew Fresh Quilts' Let's Bee Social

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

Decisions, Decisions

Well, the Garden Party quilt is well underway. After 2 hours of playing with the layout last Friday night, I think I finally got it!

Attempt #1 - REALLY not liking it yet

I guess I didn't plan this one out properly and I REALLY struggled with how to get it evenly balanced between lights and darks. 5 tries later... I found one I thought worked so I just bit the bullet and went with it. 

Attempt #5 - Went with it and it's all pieced and ready to go

Got the "inner quilt" done and added the borders.  So... funny story...

When I was getting it all laid out Friday night, I realized I was short quite a few cornerstones and like 21 posts! Couldn't figure if I couldn't count or if the directions had the wrong numbers on it. Anywho, got it all pieced together and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was 5" bigger in each direction than it was supposed to be. Yea, I added extra sashing and cornerstones around the WHOLE quilt when it was supposed to be just on the inside (does that make sense?). Added the first white border before I figured it out. I just rolled with it, adjusting the pieced border accordingly. Instead of adding a 2 1/2" white border around the whole thing, I cut it down to 1 1/2" instead... Too much white.

After all the mishaps with this quilt, I was so thankful to get the top done and this baby basted on Sunday :-)

I've spent the past few nights working on the quilting, and I'm planning on getting it wrapped up this weekend, permitting nothing comes up ;-)

I also managed to get a finished project done this week, so make sure to check back tomorrow and check it out!

Hope everyone is having a terrific Thursday!

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

Puppy Shower

My girlfriend lost her poor, sweet four-legged baby a few weeks ago. Shortly after, she went and adopted a new "baby" (not quite a baby at 9 years old). She decided to throw a little "Puppy Shower" for the dog this weekend, and I wanted to make her a little something.

After HOURS of scouring the Internet for the perfect pattern, I came across a tutorial for a really cute dog bed. Being as though I'm on a time crunch to get it done, I decided to use the tutorial to make a small quilt instead. 

Picked up the materials from Joanns last week and got started on this over last weekend. 

The blocks came together really quickly, and with only 12 needed, I had the top done in no time!

All the patterned fabric with the exception of the white with flowers came from a fat-quarter pack. The white with flowers is some Keepsake Calico cotton. It'll be backed with plain black cotton, and the binding is going to be hot pink. 

Worked on the quilting between Tuesday night and last night and managed to get the binding started. All that's left on this one is to finish the hand-binding to the back, add a label, and wash it. :). I think she's going to like it. 

Also on the agenda is a self-binding receiving blanket for the pup.  Again, I found some adorable flannel at JoAnn's to use, and I think it's going to come out SO CUTE!

Off to go finish up the binding and get the receiving blanket done tonight.  Should have finish photos tomorrow for you!

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

Grrrr.....

Monday night I finished the borders on my Lattice Quilt, made the binding, pieced the backing, and pressed the batting (W&N). Came home Tuesday night all excited to get it basted. That's where things went south....

1. 3 of the 6 clamps I bought to clamp the backing to my table snapped before I could even get them on! Just got them last week and this is the first time I went to use them.

2. I ran out of curved safety pins while basting. Went thru two whole boxes and it still wasn't enough. I'll have to re-pin before quilting the borders.

3. Got it all basted and went to cut the excess batting off and low and behold.... My backing wasn't long enough!! I'm gonna try and just add a piece to the end (about 3" or so). It's on the back so hopefully it won't be too noticeable.

4. Now I have no clue how to quilt it!! I've not done enough FMQ to attempt it on such a large quilt. Thinking I may just do echo stitching in the lattice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All basted

After sewing about a 3" strip onto the backing where I was short, I got my brand spankin new Machiner's gloves on and started quilting on Rosie.  After spending WAY too long contemplating how I was going to quilt it, I just decided to wing it.  I already had the walking foot on my machine, so I just changed out the feet to the open-toe one and got to stitchin.

Got the first pass done on Tuesday night and am hoping I can get the rest of this quilting between now and the end of the weekend!  I can't wait to see how it turns out, and it's going to feel awesome to have another Christmas present checked off the list!

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

Also linking back to Sew Fresh Quilts' Let's Bee Social

Wowzers! Over a Week?!?!?!

I'm SOOOOO sorry!!  I feel like I've been neglecting everyone over the past few weeks.  I've been swamped with housework and projects, many many obligations, plus I haven't been feeling well at all.  Makes for a crazy Rosie.

I have been sewing up a storm though!  I've managed to get the "inner quilt" part of my Lattice Quilt done with the help of my new baby "Rosie."  OMG does she sew like a dream!  I am seriously in LOVE with her!

This picture is from last week, but it'll have to do for now until I can get Hubby's help taking a full-size picture :-)  I LOVE the colors and the way it's coming together!  I was honestly scared to even attempt this pattern, but once I got going and found my "rhythm," it all came together quite quickly.

I also have a new addition to the sewing room.... a brand new PINK sewing chair!!  Up until now I've been using an old card chair as a sewing chair.  Worked fine with my scrapbooking and with my Janome.  However, once Rosie came into my life (along with her extension table), I found it rather awkward to be sitting so low at my table.  I did a LOT of research trying to find a nice but affordable chair and I found one.  I ordered the Office Star Mesh Task Chair in pink from Overstock.com.  Reasonably priced (plus I had a coupon) and free shipping.  Just what I was looking for.  Ordered last Thursday and it came on Monday :-)  Took a whole whopping 15 minutes to assemble and I was on my way.

Hubby picked up a 3rd job (yes, he's nuts!) at a coffee shop a couple of nights a week and he's working tonight and tomorrow.  Planning on getting the borders on my quilt and hopefully basted this weekend, and I've also got to prep the fabric to make a couple of button-down shirts Hubby requested of me.  Going to be a busy, but productive few days!

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.

Chugging Along

All the strips are cut into squares and ready to start sewing for my Jolly Jelly Roll quilt.

I love how detailed Christa's directions are, however I decided not to pair them together before piecing into strips.  I wanted to lay out each row, ensuring that there wasn't any duplicates touching each other.  I'm not quite sure that was a good idea or not.  I think I just made more work for myself.  Lol.

Notice all the pre-packaged batting in the background?  Lol.  I kinda went nuts my last visit to JoAnn's since they had them for 50% off.  Unfortunately, I don't have a design wall (but I'm quickly realizing how desperately I need one and am now researching portable ideas), so I'm lying it on my ironing board and lining up the rows.  I'm sure there are a million other easier ways to do this, but for now this will have to do.  

I got three rows done and sewn together before I had to call it quits for the night.  After sleeping on it, I'm not 100% sold on it.  I don't know if I just think its too busy.... or if its the fabric not blending the way I had hoped.  I don't know.  For whatever reason, I'm now having second thoughts on it.  I think I'll just keep plugging away at it, and who know... maybe once it's all done I'll change my mind.


Hope everyone is having a terrific Thursday!

Linking back to Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins.