So Sophie Fat Quarter Quilt

When Jana and I were in Utah helping The Quilted Fish with her Delighted launch party (October 2011), we had the opportunity to visit Cindy and Jina at Riley Blake headquarters.  I believe the day we were at RB headquarters, was the day that So Sophie made its debut, therefore Jana and I were gifted some So Sophie.  I had honestly been waiting for the perfect quilt, to use my So Sophie, and in my eyes a quilt for Kia's sweet Grandma fit the bill.

Just like the Parson Gray World Tour quilt for Kia's Dad, time was extremely tight, so I opted to make a quick fat quarter friendly quilt (Fantastic-O Fat Quarter Quilt, by my friend Gina Halladay). The front is pieced using 12 fat quarters, and quilted with big bubbly flowers, in a rose colored thread.

The back is simple, as I used the small yellow flower print, and used the linear polka dot print for the binding.  Kia's Grandma was over the moon when she opened the quilt, which is reason enough for why I create and sew for others.  :)

Parson Gray World Tour Fat Quarter Quilt

To say that I busy with Christmas sewing this past December, was an understatement.  I'll have to do a couple of blog posts to recap everything I made, but here is a quick breakdown:

2 Lap Quilts

5 Pillowcases

22 Quilted Holiday Pillows (with zippers!)

The first lap quilt I made was for Kia's Dad.  I had planned on making him a quilt for his birthday, as he mentioned that he was interested in a quilt of his own, but during a weak moment, I convinced myself that I could whip one up for him in time for Christmas.

 

Time was tight, so I opted to make a quick fat quarter friendly quilt (Fantastic-O Fat Quarter Quilt, by my friend Gina Halladay).  It's really become my go to quick quilt in a day pattern.  The fabric is World Tour by Parson Gray, which I love as it is very manly, and even has a Persian touch to it.

Needless to say, Kia's dad was stoked when he opened up his quilt, which brought a huge smile to my face.  I love to sew for others, as the recipient's joy always warms my heart!

Simply Color Plus Quilt

Its so hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone!  This beauty of a quilt was a Christmas gift for a very special guy.  I've always found it hard to select fabrics for a manly quilt, let alone a Christmas present for someone special...like a boyfriend!

I went to a local quilt shop one day at lunch, looking for the perfect "manly fabric" (although I was skeptical that such even existed), when I stumbled upon a selection of Simply Color by V and Co. (only green, blue, and gray - paired with Moda Bella Solids).  I went home and thought about what I had seen at the quilt store, and while rummaging through my stash I found an unopened fat quarter bundle of Simply Color, that I had picked up at Sample Spree in Kansas City, MO (Spring 2012).  With that, the "manly quilt" was born.



I used In Color Order's Plus Quilt Tutorial for the pattern, and most definitely recommend it.  I'll be the first to admit that cutting 320 4.5" square is not something to write home about, but the end result most definitely is (wouldn't you agree?)!

I started this quilt well after Thanksgiving, with the goal of having it completed for Christmas (which I accomplished- thank.you.very.much!).  The cutting took time, sewing the quilt together was quick.  My sweet friend Joyce did the long arm quilting for me, and I took the time to hand stitch the binding (which I finished Christmas Eve morning).

Detailed view of the long arm quilting, the chevron stripe binding (my favorite) and the backing.

Another detailed view of the pieced top and long arm quilting- love!!!

Outfoxed + Be Merry

It's not quite the end of January and I have already finished two quilts!  (Its hard to believe as I'm usually such a procrastinator and its not abnormal for quilts to sit months/years before getting around to bind them.)

 

The first quilt is a fun baby quilt, made using Lizzy House's Outfoxed fabric collection, and my tutorial (although since the quilt was for a baby boy I simply omitted the circles and ric rac!).

 

I chose the main fox print for the back of the quilt, as this quilt was made for a very special little boy.  My friends just adopted a baby boy whose middle name is Fox, which is his mom's grandma's maiden name (following me?).  With that, I took one glimpse of the Outfoxed fabric and knew that I had to make him something special.  :)

Close up of the quilting, done by me!  :)

The second quilt is a fun lap quilt, made with Riley Blake's Be Merry Christmas fabric line (circa 2009), and The Quilted Fish's Sassy Squares No. 2 quilt pattern.

The backing is flannel, and the quilt was quilted with white snowflakes!

I have two more quilts in the works, and hope to be able to share completed versions with you in the near future!  I'm using this tutorial for one of the quilts, using Robert Kaufman's Pick a Bunch fabric collection, and this fun tool for the other quilt, using Riley Blake's So Sophie fabric collection.

Are you working on any quilts?  If so, I would love to hear about them!  :)

Handmade Christmas Gifts

I've always dreamed of a 100% handmade Christmas.  What about you?  Hopefully one of these days I'll get there, but until then I have two Christmas gifts to share with you!  First up is the fun doughnut quilt I made for my Grandma B.!  (It makes me hungry just looking at it!).  :)

 

I used Threaded Pear Studio's Modern Day Diamonds quilt pattern.  I absolutely love the simple design and size of the finished quilt.  I'll admit that matching the diamonds was a bit tedious, but towards the end I came up with a couple fail proof shortcuts, which eliminated a lot of seam ripping!

The back has a fun doughnut stripe along the bottom.

A close-up of the long-arm machine quilting, which I did myself- woo hoo!  :)

The next handmade gift I have to share is this quirky mustache pillow, which I made for my friend Thomas.  Mustache home decor is hot right now, so I figured who wouldn't want a pillow with an appliqued leather mustache on it?

I used Free Spirit's Designer Houndstooth fabric, in Hot House Blue, for the pillow.  The leather was a scrap I had laying around.

I also used a scrap piece of coordinating brown Moda fabric for the zipper cover!

 

This pillow marks the first time I ever worked with leather, with that being said I think the applique looks awesome!

Did you sew (or receive) any handmade Christmas gifts?

'HO HO HO' Holiday Bunting Tutorial

I'm so excited that the cat is finally out of the bag (I have a hard time keeping tutorials under wraps!!).  Are you ready to do some Christmas sewing and/or interested in a Bunting tutorial?  Either way, make sure to hop on over to Notes From The Patch, as I'm guest posting on Suzanne's blog today- woo hoo!

If that's not convincing enough...here's a little sneak peek!

Christmas Coffee Tote Bags!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas (I think I'm still recovering from all of the food and visitors!). :) I did a bunch of Christmas sewing this year, and wanted to share the latest version of the hot selling Coffee Burlap Tote Bags!


The first generation of the Squirmy Worm Studio Coffee Burlap Tote Bags were designed as a stylish and eco-friendly solution for beach bags, work bags, weekend/overnight bags, etc. The second generation of Squirmy Worm Studio's Coffee Burlap Tote Bags are more compact, measuring approximately 14" tall x 14.25" wide with a 5" gusset. These bags (as shown below) are perfect for an everyday tote and grocery shopping!

Front of my Aunt P.'s bag, with a red and white polka-dot lining.

Back

Front of my Grandma B.'s bag, with the same back as the bag above!

I also made two Brazil bags for my Grandma M. I only got a photo of one (with me in the background), but I can confidently say that she LOVED the bags! :)

Snooze Fest!

Not much sewing/crafting has been going on in my house, thus not much posting has been going on here! This is the first year that I decided to gift a couple of handmade items, and I'm procrastinating like the gifts are for next Christmas- not good! For example:

• I'm working on a tote bag, in which I cut out the pattern pieces 3-4 weeks ago (plenty of time before Christmas), and the pieces are patiently waiting for me to attach the interfacing (which is not a task I enjoy!).

• I'm also working on another half apron. I picked up the project Saturday, after weeks/months of not touching it. I'm probably about a third of the way complete! I know I'll make the deadline for this one, I just have to buckle down!
  


• On a brighter note, I did finish the remaining clutches from my Christmas order! The seven clutches were delivered this morning and were well loved- which brought a smile to my face! If I've calculated correctly, I've made a total of 31 clutches since August- crazy!

As for Christmas preparations:

• All of the Christmas presents are purchased and wrapped under the tree- woo hoo!


• I sent a flat rate box to Georgia on Saturday and was notified that it was delivered today- go USPS, go! (Yes you read it right, the pajama pants and child's apron were finally sent out!)


• I'm participating in my first cookie swap with my women's small group from church on Thursday! I'm looking forward to tasting all of the cookies and bringing home the recipes (and some samples) to share with Mr. D!


• Sunday afternoon I got together with my women's small group from church and delivered food and hygiene bags to the homeless as part of our Christmas project. Yesterday was the first time I came in contact with the homeless in these circumstances, and it was definitely an eye opener. The entire time we were driving around looking for individuals to donate to, I wished that as well as the food and the hygiene products that I could have provided handmade blankets for each of them, but it wasn't in the cards this time around. I learned a lot about myself, what I take for granted, what I'm thankful for, and most of all that a stranger is able to make a difference in someone's life. Sunday was a good day!

Monthly Craft Challenge- Christmas Edition!

If you're looking for my Sew Mama Sew giveaway post, scroll down or click here.
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After missing out on Blue Eyed Blessings, Fall Craft Challenge I'm super excited to be participating in this one, as I whipped up some Christmas tree fabric napkins! I used four fat quarters and a pattern that I received at the Holiday Shop Hop (not to shabby!).


Head on over to Heidi's blog to check out all of the participants! Also, if your interested in winning a set of napkins, scroll down and enter my Sew Mama Sew giveaway!

Orange County Holiday Quilt Shop Hop

Hello faithful readers...it's me again, remember me? :) I'm using the same excuse as I did last Friday- blogger's block (it's the worst!).

I briefly mentioned the Holiday Quilt Shop Hop here, and am back to give the locals more details! Friday, November 20th through Sunday, November 22nd nine Orange County quilts shops (Bear's Quilt Shop, Cozy Cottage Fabrics, Flying Geese Fabric, Fresh Picked Fabrics/Cranberry Quiltworks, Orange Quilt Bee, Quilter's Garden, The Calico House, The Quilt Cupboard, and Timeless Quilts) are participating in the 2nd annual Holiday Quilt Shop Hop in which each shop will be giving away a free pattern and free fat quarter. Get your passport stamped at all nine stores and be eligible to win 45 yards of fabric! In addition, each shop will be giving away a basket worth $100, and a $25 gift certificate.

I'll be participating in the Hop on Sunday with my Mom and Grandma M. (my Dad will also be joining us as it is my Grandma's birthday weekend- how sweet is that!). Perhaps I'll see you there...

Child's Apron- Complete!

With Mr. D out of town I was able to spend all Saturday sewing, and completed a child's apron for a Christmas present (I mentioned it here some time ago)! With the two pairs of pajama pants and the apron complete, all I have left to complete is the family's handmade present and then the package will be off to Georgia (I'm thinking this will be a 'Christmas in November' package).

I love how the apron turned out, although it almost ended up in the trash a couple of times as I had a very difficult time achieving a nice subtle curve where the top of the apron transitions to under the arm. Thankfully I didn't take any drastic measures as I think the apron will be a hit come Christmas morning!

10/28/09 UPDATE: P.S.- I may have been the only one bugged by the floppiness of the top of the apron (look at the photo above- do you see how the top of the apron hangs off of the straps?). No worries- I sewed a little extra 'support' where the top of the apron meets the straps now everything lays nice and pretty! :)

Productive Weekend...and Then Some!

The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful (more so today than yesterday as the air conditioning was on constantly Saturday)! I was able to snap some photos outside of my recent projects. The first is the Thanksgiving decor plaque I mentioned on Thursday (cute, isn't it?).


I also finished both pairs of pajama pants, which will be sent to Alan's best friend's kids in Georgia (I still have to make the apron for the sister). Side note for my faithful readers- I figured out why originally the crotch of the pajama pants I made was 3 inches longer than my pajama pants...according to my mom its because I don't know where my waist is! :o) I'm so thankful to have my mom close by to help!!!



I also must confess that I broke [chipped] a cereal bowl while loading the dishwasher Saturday evening. I was/am so sad...thus I'm posting about the incident for everyone to read! Looking back it is quite coincidental as just last week I was reading the archived posts of NieNie Dialogues (is anyone else a faithful reader???) and came across her postings from December 2005 where Stephanie posted their wedding anniversary tradition of buying latte bowls from Anthropologie, as with a house full of kids and a dog, bowls are bound to break. As I read Stephanie's post I remember thinking to myself that it was such a cute anniversary tradition, but that Mr. D and I wouldn't have to think about buying new bowls for a while as we're the only two in the house that use them- I guess a chipped bowl is what I get for thinking like that! :o)

P.S.- I owe my mom a HUGE thank for retrieving the chipped bowl piece from the inner workings of the sink!

One Way to Cut Shipping Costs!

Mr. D is headed to Tennessee next weekend for his Dad's birthday (Stuart and I are staying home to hold down the fort while Mr. D is away). With Christmas being a little over two months away, I've decided to send my in-law's Christmas presents with Mr. D, as shipping is costly and I hate paying for it (hopefully that's not too tacky!). Not to mention that I'm usually late with shipping our Christmas presents. ;) I have fabric picked out for my step-mother-in-law's handmade item, however I'm stumped when it comes to Mr. D's dad (is it just me or is it super hard to sew/craft for men?). If you have any ideas you can offer up, I'd love to hear them (just remember I'm on a tight deadline as all projects must be done by 10/22!).

One last thing, remember when I posted about Blue Eyed Blessing's Craft Challenge? I unfortunately didn't quite meet the October 7th deadline; however I did make a little Thanksgiving decor plaque (which is a miracle as I tend to not decorate for any holidays!). As you all know the lighting in my house is a disaster, so once the rain storm passes I'll be able to get outside and shoot a photo or two (stay tuned!).

Puzzled!

I'm proud to announce that I cut out two pairs of pajamas Friday night- woo hoo! The first pair of pajama pants are starting to look good (I'm using a simple Butterick's pattern which is only supposed to take an hour!)...that is until I held up the 10 year old's pajama pants against the pair I was lounging around in last night and the ones I'm making are roughly the same length as mine, and the crotch is about 3 inches longer than my pajama pants- slight problem. Looks like I might be going to Target to get a sample pair of pajama pants to measure the ones I'm making against! :) My goal is to have the pajama pants done by the end of the week.

I also picked up Mr. D's Steelers quilt from the long arm quilter, and my oh my the quilt job is awesome (there's nothing like a custom quilt job to start out a week!).


P.S.- I'm sorry I don't have a new recipe to share with all today- next Monday, I promise!

P.P.S.- Just a quick poll to satisfy my curiosity. Do you sew with your seam ripper out on your sewing table or with it put away? I personally sew with my seam ripper put away and tend to get very irritated when I have to get up and get it...just one of my sewing idiosyncrasies! :o)

First Christmas Craft Order- Complete!

I'm excited to announce that my first Christmas craft order (also my first craft order ever-- thank you Kim!) is complete and will be delivered tomorrow! Five Amy Karol Artsy Clutches adorned with unique buttons- what more could a girl want? :)

I Found My Mojo!

I'm happy to report that since Friday's post I have officially found my mojo! It's been a busy sewing weekend...just the way I like it! :)

The baby bib I mentioned on Friday was completed last night (thankfully I didn't TOTALLY wait until the last minute)! Just a quick little "I'm thinking of you gift". As mentioned before, my Mom did the wonderful embroidery, and I assembled the bib (the back is a red solid with white polka dots).


I also made some great progress on Mr. D's Steelers quilt. I finished and trimmed all twenty blocks (see photo below for samples of blocks A and B), which are now ready to be sewn together! The Steelers print shown below will be the thick outside border (I'm still in the market for a thin inside border, but will decide on that after all the blocks are sewn together!).


I went to JoAnn's with my Mom on Saturday (she is so patient)! The patterns were on sale (Butterick=$0.99 and McCalls'= $1.99), so we sat down at the pattern table in hopes of finding patterns for Christmas, as I wanted to send something handmade to three special kids (Mr. D's best friend's children).

We walked out of JoAnn's with a pattern for pajama pants and fabric for the boys (ages 10 and 4).


We also walked out with an apron pattern for for the little girl (see below- the full body apron on the girl with the pink shirt and jeans). We searched high and low for perfect apron fabric (something bright, fun and festive) but didn't have any luck. Low and behold I found the fabrics below in my stash, and they are perfect! The citrus print for the body of the apron, the yellow for the ruffle and pockets, and the orange for the straps!