QUILTING newBEEs April Blocks

Here are the blocks I have received back so far from hosting QUILTING newBEEs in April.  I still have a few to receive and plan to make a few more to fill in.  I am considering using the "quilt as you go" method since this will be a larger quilt.  Have you ever tried that?  There is a tutorial/quilt-along from "sewtakeahike": Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

I am planning on an arrangement like this alternating between brown border and scrappy borders of the log cabin blocks and no sashing in between.

WIP Challenge (Week 3)

Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?  Here's what I got done this week:

Hooray for another item that can be checked off the to-do list!  The pattern for this quilt is from Oh, Fransson!  She has the greatest (free) patterns! 

WIP Challenge (Week 1)
WIP Challenge (Week 2)

Link up for the first time or continue to link up to show your works in progress!

(I'm also sharing on Amy's Sew and Tell.)

WIP It! WIP It Good! Challenge (week 2)

If you missed last week, you can check out all the details of my WIP (work in progress) challenge here.  I've also crossed some things off the to-do list on that post too!  Basically, I have a list of things I want to get done over the next month or so and am nosey about what projects everyone else is working on too.  I was feeling pretty productive this week and even did a mid-week post of my progress.

So, here is what I got accomplished this week:

1.  Finished the Quilts for Kids quilt and mailed it (see mid-week post for pictures). 

2.  On the "I Spy" quilt I cut squares, created a layout and sewed squares together in to the 13 horizontal rows.  There are some pictures on the mid-week post of this as well but here is one to show you how long the strips are.  There are 13 of them that I need to sew together now.

3.  I cut the vintage sheets I found in to fat quarters (an 18x22" piece of fabric).  Here is a sampling of what I am sending in for the swap.  As soon as I mail these I can cross that off my list too!

4.  I added to my to-do list, "Make a special present for someone I know".  Here is the fabric all cut up for that project.  I'm using the Charm Squares Baby Quilt pattern from Oh Fransson! (one of my favorite quilting blogs).  I didn't buy a charm pack though, I just picked out some fat quarters and cut them in to 5in squares.  Aren't the hippos, lions, birdies and flowers cute?!

Go ahead and link up for the first time or, continue to show your progress!  If you don't have a blog, let us know what you are up to in the comments.

I'm also sharing over at Sew and Tell!

Spiderweb Block

Today I did a lot of fabric cutting as part of my WIP Challenge (sign up if you want to join me!).  I had lots of scraps so, I decided I would practice the spiderweb block or, rather, try it for the first time ever.  I love this block and have even signed up for a swap (you can still sign up for this too) of them.  I found the tutorial super user friendly but I do have a few questions if anyone has ever made them (see below).

When do you remove your paper?  I removed them before sewing the four triangles together but had issues with a few stitches coming out (see top right corner).  I also want to play with my stitch length to see if that helps the paper come off easier.

Have you ever tried phonebook pages?  I used regular computer paper and it worked just fine but I recall reading about using phonebook pages but I wonder if they would be strong enough.

Elephants on Parade Quilt (Part 1)

Me and my box of 96 Crayolas got crafty tonight in hopes of an elephant quilt for Ray.  Here is what I have come up with so far.  An early birthday present for little man is in the works...

Tackling the To-do List

This week I have been crossing off items on my to-do list! You probably don't care about things like: catch up on laundry, dust, clean the ceiling fans, etc. but here are a few crafty things I have done.

Finally, finished the Road to Spring quilt. It's been done except for binding for 2 weeks. Last week the binding was half way on. Now, it is done! I haven't decided what to do with it yet. I'll probably just donate it somewhere since the colors don't match anything in my house and I don't want to look at my first attempts at free motion quilting.

Remember when I gave away one of these reusable snack bags a month or so ago? Well, I never finished the ones for my own boys! All I needed to do was sew the outside and inside together. 15 minutes and they were done and the boys love snacking out of them!
I dug the Quilts for Kids kit out of the closet yesterday and have the top made and the layers sandwiched. These go together so quickly! I love these super girly Michael Miller fabrics that were in the kit too.
Mike and I are going on a mini road trip tonight so, I've been trying to get lots done this week!

QUILTING newBEEs - April Blocks

April is my month to host the virtual quilting bee, QUILTING newBEEs. Yesterday, I sent out fabrics to the 11 other ladies to make blocks similar to these.
Most of the fabric is Debbie Mumm for JoAnn fabrics. This style of block is called a log cabin and is very simple to make. If you would like to see step by step pictures check out my flickr set here.

I'm looking forward to receiving all the other blocks that the ladies create and putting them together to make a picnic blanket for this summer!

"On The Road To Spring" Quilt

The "On the Road to Spring" quilt along I have been following is coming to a close (and hopefully winter is too).

This past week I tried my hand at free motion quilting on the machine for the first time. It's not perfect by any means (the stitches are a bit long and the free motion isn't so "free") but I am cutting myself some slack because I know it will take lots of practice to get just right. Yes, I am actually managing to put my type A/perfectionist side away for this.

I made up my binding using scraps from the quilt and plan to attach it tonight by machine.Speaking of the "Road to Spring" check out our half grass half snow backyard.

I started an online quilting bee.

Did you know that there is a such thing as virtual quilting bees? One of my goals for 2010 is to learn more about quilting so, I started one! I decided to call it QUILTING newBEEs since most of the members are new quilters. (And, in case you didn't know that newbee or newbie is a word, read this.)

Here's how it works: There are 12 members and we each take a turn hosting a month over the course of a year. When we host we send out fabric to the other 11 members along with the type of quilt block we would like them to make and then they send it back to us.

If you want to check us out you can go to our flickr group. We even have a cool icon that one of the girls came up with! And she turned it in to a fancy button for our blogs too so, whenever you want to see our flickr group, just click on the button!There isn't much in the flickr group yet but, I am hosting the first month (April) and will be posting a sneak peek of the fabrics I bought soon! If you are new to quilting, follow along with us to learn some beginner friendly quilt blocks (our group is full now but you could still learn the different blocks with your own fabric if you would like) or better yet start your own virtual quilting group!

Here's who is in the group: Me, Melissa, Judy, Nora, Trina, Brooke, Elizabeth, Susan, Cindy, Ruth, Leah, and Alek!

Quilt Along - Week 3

I finished up week three of the quilt along I am participating in. This weeks agenda was piecing together the 200 pieces of fabric that I cut last week.

Here's how it looks as of last night at midnight:

Quilt Along: Week 2

I am following my first QAL (that's what the hip people call a Quilt Along). Yesterday, I cut 200+ pieces of fabric. It actually didn't take nearly as long as you would think. If you are interested in learning to quilt I think that this is an easy, beginner friendly one to follow.

Here is my fabric before I cut the 100 white squares.

Learning To Quilt

While working on the Blankets for Haiti project I have had several people mention to me that they do not know how to quilt but would like to learn.

Let me continue this post by saying, I am not an expert quilter by any means. I am very much a beginner (you'll see lots of imperfections in the photos). One of my goals for 2010 is to become a better quilter. I have found the blogging world a valuable place to find tutorials, patterns, Q&A's, and lots of inspiration. I've also checked out tons of books from the library and even splurged on a few quilting magazines.

If you have never made a quilt before I think this, "Me and My Girl Tutorial" would be a perfect first. The quilt was actually made by a mother and her young daughter using bandannas.

I have really been enjoying the quick and easy to follow tutorials on the Missouri Quilt Co.'s site. Reading blogs like "Red Pepper Quilts" and "Oh, Fransson!" are also really inspiring. You may also want to peruse the posts from "Sew, Mama, Sew's" quilting month; they cover a wide range of topics and skill levels.

I've found that when it comes down to it plain old practice is what really works. I just finished up this quilt last night for Quilts For Kids. There are several patterns listed on the organizations website that are easy to follow. This quilt uses the "Four Patch Quilt Pattern". If you would like to see other quilts I have attempted to make, use the google search on my blog and search, "quilt" (I tried it myself and they all pop up).

This is by no means an exhaustive list of resources; there are lots of amazing sites, blogs, forums, etc. out there to venture to. If you are a quilter, what sites do you like to visit? Do you have a favorite quilting book? How did you learn? What new skill do you want to learn in 2010?

Goodbyes and Winter Sewing Projects

My lack of posting does not mean a lack of activity in our household.

After being in NW Ohio for two weeks over Christmas we went back again this past weekend to say "goodbye" to my Brother and his family who live outside of the US. We had a wonderful time with them while they were here!

I've got several sewing projects going to pass the winter months.

Quilts for Kids quilt. I need to finish quilting it and put the binding on.

I used up some JoAnn's gift cards that I received as (awesome) Christmas presents. Here is some of my new stash (both of which will eventually become quilts). The JoAnns near my Moms house is closing so I have even more fabric that I didn't photograph! I am open to quilt pattern suggestions!

I am calling this grouping "Be Mine" even though there are no hearts involved. The reds on top are fat quarters and the others are yardage.

And this "Birds at the Lemonade Stand". I'm looking to add some green to this grouping. These are all fat quarters. I LOVE the birds and I wish there would have been more of them. (These didn't photograph well.)

I'm hoping to use some of my stash to do this quilt along and if I can scrape my change together to get the fabric for this one then I will do it too! Have you ever done a quilt along that you enjoyed?

And after seeing this quilt in a magazine, I played around on some graph paper.

Now What? Pieced Jelly Roll

I pieced this together from a jelly roll (a group of 2.5" x 44" strips of fabric) but I'm not sure what I want to do with it next....

A tote or two...
A small lap quilt...
Throw it in a drawer and find it in a year...

Homemade Christmas Gifts - part 1 - Moms Gift

My Mom requested a crazy quilt for Christmas to which I responded, "You're crazy!". I've never made a crazy quilt let alone a block for a crazy quilt, I'm new to quilting, etc. etc.

I decided upon a crazy quilt wall hanging in black and white and found this tutorial extremely helpful since I had no idea what I was doing!

Quilts for Kids

If you like to sew, even if you are just starting, consider making a quilt for this organization, Quilts For Kids.  They will even send you the fabric (or you can provide your own) you just have to buy the batting and ship it back.  All the quilts go to kiddos that are in the hospital in hopes of bringing them a little joy!

Isn't this fabric cute?!  It's even cut already!

Sams Birthday Quilt - Parts 3, 4, 5, ...

When I last posted I had just completed the patchwork portion of Sam's Birthday quilt.  Well, it is finished now (hence, the lack of posting).

I went with an orange border around the patchwork.

Apparently I skipped taking any photos of my "quilt sandwich" but I decided on a solid blue back for the quilt and the batting was Fairfield Family of Cottons 80/20 blend in purple packaging (sorry, that was for my reference). 

No pictures of the actual quilting either.  Apparently I was in a rush to get this done.  The quilting is simple - around each square of the patchwork.

I also didn't take any pictures of the binding process.  I decided on solid blue for that too.  I watched several tutorials that were helpful and made it much easier but I didn't make note of the links to share them with you.  With Ray's quilt I had made a double fold bias tape which was a real pain.  With Sam's I made a single fold tape (you should have seen how long it was!) and lined the raw edge up to the edge of the quilt (on the top of the quilt), sewed a 1/2 seam and then just folded the tape to the back edge and sewed again.  (Again, more information for myself.)

 

Tahda!  Here is the finished quilt.  Sam really likes it and has been sleeping with it the past few nights.  I guess my stress about getting it done for his birthday turned it into an early birthday present!  I'm happy with it but would have liked it to be a little thicker (I'll have to research batting). 

 

I especially like the "secret" message I "wrote" with some embrodiery floss on a scrap of orange fabric and attatched to the back of the quilt.

Sam's Birthday Quilt - Part 2

I just finished up the patchwork for Sam's birthday quilt.  I'm happy with the way it turned out and the patches are nicely lined up for the most part.  Next step - cutting and attaching and orange border around the patchwork!

Sam's Quilt Part 1

Little man, Sam, will be turning three very very soon (October 4th)!  I'm hoping to complete a twin size quilt for him by his party on the 3rd.  Ambitious?  Yes!  Here is what I have done so far....

 

Yes, that is about 150 squares (5in) cut and ready to go.  

Well, it's 152 squares after I added solid red to the mix too.

I also used my handy dandy little notebook (my equivalent to my Grandmother's steno pads) to map out the rows of the quilt because quite frankly 150 fabric squares and three kiddos is not a good combination for the floor!  The patchwork part of the quilt will be 10squares x 15 squares.  I have 10 nice little stacks of 15 squares lined up on the mantel for sewing.  (This paragraph kind of sounds like a story problem from 5th grade...)

I haven't decided what color/pattern to use as the border of the patchwork or the back of the quilt.  I'm open to your suggestions.

Will I complete this for Sam's birthday?!  Stay tuned for part 2...

Ray's Quilt - Finished

We had a nice long weekend.  I spent a lot of time sewing which I really enjoyed.  Here is the finished product.  Notice Ray claimed the quilt as his (again) as soon as it hit the floor!

I made my own "bias tape" for the edges.  Not perfect but also not bad for a first attempt.  This is after all my first official quilt.

 

The back side is solid red.  The quilting goes around each square.