What I'm working on

I haven't gotten as much sewing done as usual this week, mainly because my friend and I went fabric shopping on Monday, which is normally my biggest sewing day. We met at Panera for breakfast after dropping our kids off at school and hit several stores. I was mostly there for fun, as I do not need to be buying any more fabric, but I did score some Denise Schmidt at Joann's - in the clearance rack no less!

The one on the left is actually a Legacy Studios Joann print. Yeah, no obvious color copying there...

Speaking of color matching, though, I pieced the back for the owl quilt yesterday:

I bought the owl fabrics for the top a couple of months ago when they first came out at Joanns. I got the dots for the backing at Hobby Lobby and I know for sure they have been there since before I started quilting, so over a year & a half ago. Crazy how well they match, isn't it? I don't even consider that a common color combination.

My biggest accomplishment this week was getting Aster Manor to a flimsy. I'm on the fence about borders, mainly because the prints are no longer available, so it would have to either be some type patchwork, scrappy border, or I'd have to find solids that matched. I just don't know - I may leave it like it is.

I also haven't decided whether I'm keeping or selling this one. I love the pattern, but I liked it so much better in Tracy's quilt, with more solids and lots of contrast in the colors. I can always make it again, right?

Go see what everyone else is doing this week at Freshly Pieced.

Edited to add: Also linking to Quilt Story, another great source of current project inspiration.

Fresh from the dryer

I finished my Granny Squares quilt on Monday:

I quilted straight lines in both directions, 3 in each block. So, it's pretty loosely quilted. Nice and soft.

I used a re-purposed sheet for the back:

Also nice and soft. And I bound it with Kona navy.

This was my first quilt using pre-washed fabrics, so I decided to pre-wash the batting as well. That worked beautifully. I soaked it in the washer, put it thru the spin cycle and just put it in the dryer. I don't mind telling you that it made me nervous. But it held up great, seemed softer for the pre-wash, and I sure didn't mind smelling it the whole time I was quilting & binding:)

I'm still really loving this pattern, but next time I will make the center square a 3rd fabric instead of just using 2 fabrics per block. Give it more dimension. The only regret I have on this quilt is that I didn't use setting blocks in the sashing. Some blocks are slightly off as a result, luckily only one bad enough to really notice. Setting blocks would have insured better alignment.

This quilt is for a friend undergoing radiation - I understand that makes you very tired. I'll be calling his wife today to see when I can deliver it. I hope it brings him some comfort in the upcoming weeks.

This is what I'm talking about!

I have pretty strong perfectionistic tendencies, so usually at the end of a project I'm focused on one seam, or one corner, but not this time! I'm not sure I've ever been happier with a finished project.

It's not because it's perfect - turning the corner with the gusset just wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done. Maybe it's just so darn cute that it doesn't have to be perfect.

My very favorite image in all the line. Exactly what is she planning to do with that hammer - you just have to ask yourself.

And despite the doll, this one just doesn't look too playful, does she?

I love the way the strap turned out.

Joanna from Fig Tree described the starch applique method that I used for all my recent projects with straps, and I have to say they turned out nice and crisp.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? This just has to have a matching wallet!

What's under my machine

I bet you forgot about my granny squares quilt, didn't you? I haven't done anything with it in a very long time. Quilters ADD strikes again.

But I got some bad news about a friend last week. He has prostrate cancer and is undergoing 7 weeks of radiation. His wife tells me the radiation wipes him out and he needs a lot of naps. I figured he needed something to nap under, so I got busy.

I assembled the top & basted it Sunday, and this week I'm trying to get it quilted in my snippets of free time after work each day.

Here's a pic of the top, prior to basting.

 I do love the top, and since I have plenty of the fabrics left, I can totally see me doing another. 

Linking up to Freshly Pieced. Lots of good stuff on there already today - go check it out.

Infant towels

My friend Tracy wanted 3 infant towels to give as a gift to her babysitter, who is having a girl.

I used the tutorial from A Crafty Mommy and embellished them a little. I also used the leftover chunk of towel and made an hourglass shaped burp cloth to match each one.

The first one I completed is a deep purple with the sweetest fabric trim:

Simple petal shapes arranged with a circle in the center:

Then I found another type flower with instructions by Quilted Fish, but now I can't seem to find them online. Maybe you're a more persistent googler than I am.

I can just picture that poofy flower on top of a baby's head, can't you?

The last towel took some thought. Even though my flowers were different from each other, flowers were done. This one had to be something else. I thought about an E, since the baby's name will start with an E, but I even struggled to find an E I liked. I wanted soft, feminine, and delicate, but needed something sturdy enough to hold its shape during the applique process. And then I found some printable fabric, right in my local Walmart. I designed a quick little applique piece on the computer, printed it right off & had on the towels in minutes.

Tracy loves anything remotely romantic, so I think this will be her favorite of the 3.

I shipped them out today, with no time to spare for the baby shower that is next weekend.

Too good to limit to Halloween

Speaking of the Ghastlies, of course. You either love them or hate them and I fall squarely in the former category.

I saw a messenger bag on ETSY using this fabric that I really liked, but I have no use for a large messenger bag. Coincidentally, the very next week I was somewhere with my daughter wishing I didn't have a big, heavy purse on my shoulder that I had to keep up with while I tried to play with her, so the idea of a mini messenger bag was born. I've seen a few on the internet, but I'm basically making this one up as I go - sized to fit my favorite images from the fabric of course.

This is the front flap that will cover the front of the bag:

And these little cuties will adorn the side pockets:

And I will be using this bag at times other than Halloween!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced for her WIP Wednesday.

I bought a book

When I saw the quilts in it, I just had to have it. Not owning it was not an option.

Here, I'll show you my 2 favorites:

See what I mean? The kind of quilt you could just sit and look at for hours. I should know because I've already spent about that just looking at the photographs.

The thing is, these are not easy quilts. Imagine something in a quilt pattern that would make you afraid to even try - templates, odd shapes, odd sizes - sizes measuring into the 16ths, y seams, partial seams - if there's any sewing technique you're afraid of, these bad boys are full of them. So what am I going to do with these patterns? Am I going to spend the better part of a year making one? Trying to make one? And what would I do with it if I got it completed? Straight line quilt it on my domestic machine? Send it off to a longarm quilter to be custom quilted - on my budget?

I think I bought the book for the privilege of looking at it. That's what I think.

I have a hundred things waiting in the hopper for my few scant hours of sewing time, but I'm considering, maybe, trying to make it a goal of doing one of these in 2013. Not caring how long it takes, or if I get anything else done - relieving myself of all other sewing pressure for the goal of one great masterpiece. Sometimes I think a quilt is worth that, and these patterns seem to fit that bill.

In other news, a weird turn of events involving a 4 or 5 year old e-mail address gave me the opportunity to speak to the buyer of the quilt I sold this week. She was an extremely pleasant person, so I'm not only glad to speak to her in general, but I was also glad to see what was going to be the life of the quilt I made. She purchased it, and one other, to go on beds in her guest room. I know that information is not of any value to anyone but me, but I enjoy having it, knowing my little quilt is going to be gracing the room that her nieces use when they come to visit. That's so much better than just shipping it off, never to hear from it again.