Stash bee 2014

I joined stash bee this year. I asked for star blocks in red, white, yellow or block. 

These are the lovely blocks I received. I added a few of my own. But here it is laid out. I wanted to make a Kansas City Chiefs quilt for my sister & her husband.  So I added the large KC to the center.

Table runner #2

Here is the fall table runner I made for my mother in law. 

This one has a story. I posted pictures of some leaves I had made in the spring. I made them into a runner, well actually two. I knew where they were in my sewing room until I went to quilt them!

I searched high and low and just could not find them! So I ended up making the one you see above.

Well last night I finished the binding on a quilt. I didn't have any other pressing projects, so I decided to clean up my sewing room. Instead of organizing strips as I cut them I just leave them in a pile. As I was putting them away you'll never guess what I found! The original two table runners!

I was quite amused. 

Holiday table runner

I am not sure how well you can see it, but here is a table runner I made for my mother in law. She actually got three this year!

I will have to get pictures of the other two later, but I thought I would share this one now. 

Fleece Rag blanket

I am a French teacher as is one of my co-workers and I found this fabric and knew I wanted to make her a fleece blanket!

I love how the red compliments the background.

Santa Sack Swap

I am SO excited I joined the Santa Sack Swap this year!!

Here is what I made for my partner

I sent her the kitty wall hanging I made 

We both said we wanted totes.  Here is the one I made her.  I also sent along some other goodies that I didn't take a picture of.

This is the lovely tote she sent me! This will be perfect for carrying Christmas presents to the multiple family Christmas' we have.

Look at this cute mug rug! I will use it on Tuesdays when I go to sit n stitch, it will be perfect so my cup doesn't sweat on the table!

Fabric!!! I LOVE the Canadian fabric! I am not sure what I want to do with it, but hopefully I can come up with something, they are lovely!

And crocheted doilies.  These are lovely! and will come in handy next Christmas (we didn't have time to set up Christmas at our house this year)

This isn't even everything! There was also some chocolate, candies, and other fun stuff that I just didn't get a picture of!

I enjoyed being a part of the swap so much! I loved making a new quilty friend!

Sewing day

I'm at the quilt shop sewing today!!!

Miami Heat Quilt finished!!

 Here is the finished Miami Heat Quilt!! The woman I gave it to loved it, and her husband did too!

Miami Heat

I have a friend that commissioned me to make a Miami Heat Quilt for her husband for their anniversary.  Since it's been given I can show you what I did along the way.

She asked if I could "write" Miami heat in the Quilt.  I was going to use little squares, but I chose to free hand them.  I think they turned out well!

Yellow & Green log cabin

Bow ties!

While in DC for Thanksgiving I made these bow ties as my leaders and enders.  I LOVE these blocks!

November block swap

This is the block I sent to Jen 

 

 And here is the lovely kitty block I received from her!

Kitties block

If you have read my blog at all you can probably tell I love cats.  I was browsing pinterest or instagram and I found this post (picture links to post):

I loved it!  I love how there are so many kitties, the colors, all of it.  So I did some searching and I found Better off thread, who made the pattern herself with partial seams.  I do not like partial seams.  So I went to recreate it myself.

This is just a test block, if I were really going to make a quilt of them I would add quite a few more!

 So for each CAT you need:

4.5" square (body)

3" x 4.5" rectangle (head)

2 - 1.75" x 4.5" rectangles (legs)

2 - 2" squares (ears)

2 - 2" x 4.5" rectangle background - for legs and ears.

4.5 square background for space without a kitty.

To start you take one 2 x 4.5" rectangle, and two 2" squares and sew from one corner to the other.

Then you need to trim the excess off (if this was any bigger I probably would have saved them, but not this size.

Then take the 3 x 4.5 rectangle and sew it to the ears.

Sorry this one is on its side!

Take the two 1.75" x 4.5" rectangles and sew them together with the background in the middle.

This is where having a design wall would come in handy.  I wasn't planning on making this much bigger so my cutting board worked well.

I sewed it together by rows. So I pressed opposite directions for each row.

And voila! Finished kitties.  I think I will eventually make a full quilt out of this!  After I get through everything else I have to finish ;)

Vintage Quilt

When I went home last my grandmother showed me something.  It was a quilt that her mom (my great grandmother had made).  It was LOVELY!!

I liked the fabrics here.

And anything purple tickles my fancy!

Her points were spot on!

And here is a shot of the full quilt! I love the colors on the diagonal!  I posted in a quilting group on facebook, and I was told this was called periwinkle or hummingbird.  I did find a few similar patterns.  I think once I am done with my bow tie quilt I am going to make my own periwinkle quilt.  Granted mine will be slightly different than my great grandmas.  Hers was all sewn by hand.  I will be doing mine by machine.

I was so excited to find out my great grandma had made this because I am a first generation quilter.  My mom sewed a little (I have clothes she made my sisters and I when we were younger).  My grandma used her machine for mending, but that was the extent of it.  To find a quilt that my great grandma made means the world to me.  I guess there might have been more but when my grandma was younger there was a flood at their house and they lost a lot.

Log Cabin

 I love my log cabin that I made myself a few years ago. Here is a link to mine. I also recently finished one in all blacks & whites. 

I think I am going to make these blocks large, bigger than 12"! We will see how I feel with a few more "rounds" on it.

New iron

I greatly dislike this time of year.  I don't have as much time to sew as I would like.  I could go to sit n stitch on Tuesdays, but I have so much school work to do I am at school late, and then I don't have energy for the drive down there (and the prep it takes Monday night).  So I haven't been able to sew a lot, I have been working on a few things, but they are Christmas presents, so I cannot share them just yet.

But I can share this! I have a little rowenta that I have had forever. Well technically I have only had that one for about three years.  Because I'd bought the same model when the first one died.  Well the second one died.  I figured since I had a bigger ironing pressing board I should get a grown up iron.  I went to a few different stores, read some reviews online and decided to get this one.  It's a black and decker, and it does have auto off, which kind of annoys me, but heats up quickly.

I am definitely loving it so far!! Bring on the quilt blocks :)

Table runner

I made some table runners off a pattern I saw on pinterest.  I loved this project because it was a stashbuster.  I didn't have to cut into big pieces.

I just love how pretty the presents are!

 I even went scrappy on the back and used some left over 4" squares that I had.

Best husband!

My husband & I are spending the weekend in Seattle. He asked what I wanted to do. I said I was up for anything, but that I would like to visit a quilt shop. So he found one near where we were staying

It was one of the largest quilt shops I've ever been to. 

It was called the quilt barn. http://www.quiltbarn.com/about_us

Then while we were in pikes place I found another quilt shop

Under cover quilts!! http://www.undercoverquilts.com

I was quite excited!! I bought fabric at both places. 

Pressing board

With my new sewing room I had my ironing board in a different place.

I have had this since 2001 when I went to college. I recovered it in 2010, and it still has that fabric on it, but it's quite dingy.  Where I had put it was kind of behind my chair so I could turn around to use it.  But it was just slightly longer than the table I used.

(I put it right next to the purple drawers).  Since it was longer than the table, occasionally the chair would bump into it, and move the ironing board and often times knock over my iron!  I found a tutorial make your own pressing board, and I have seen many tutorials, but it was never necessary for me to use one.  Since I needed one now, I found a tutorial online.

I couldn't find the sound board that she talked about.  But found this pressed plywood, which is three layers of plywood with something between it.  So I sanded it.  My husband wanted me to use two types of sanding, a courser and finer ones.

I was in a hotel when I did this (glad I did since it was messy and big!) batting and top laid out.

 

Here it is laid out in my room!  yes I still use my tiny iron. 

 

Minnie LOVES it!! I love that she is able to sit there while I iron.  She's not in my way.  I can also fit a 12" block on it!! (I could barely do that on my other one).  I LOVE this so much!!!

Finished tops!

Top #1

 I think this picture shows the colors the best.

Top #2 this one I didn't take as many progress pictures because it was the last one I did and it came together pretty quick.

Top #3 this was one of my favorites of the 4, you can see so many different kinds of fabrics.

 This isn't the FULL top, but close enough.  I love how the star points turned out!

(and these are finish #6, #7, #8 & #9!!!)

I am linking to link a finish Friday!!!