Coming Soon- A New Nephew

My nephew John, who is almost 6, is getting a baby brother soon, and I am getting ready for the new arrival by making his baby quilt. My new nephew will be named Joseph, after my grandfather, and I found the cutest animal fabrics for his quilt. Here is the bundle of fabric before I got started... 

(Aren't those little whales so cute? My friend found the perfect whale invitation to match for his mommy's surprise sprinkle!)

Here is the border on the design wall.

I appliquéd his name on the front using more of that dark blue whale backing fabric, and I cut out one of the boats as an accent. 

I used heat 'n bond fusible web and a zig-zag stitch around the letters and the boat for the appliqué. 

I've decided to quilt it with horizontal wavy lines, to represent waves in the water. 

Here's the whole quilt top:

Now I just need to get it quilted and bound before the sprinkle!

Ali's Place Mats

My friend Ali forced me to brush the dust off my sewing machine by asking me to help her make some placemats for her new house. What a great Sunday afternoon project!!

She found the perfect pottery to go with the fabric she picked!

They are reversible. They look awesome on her table!

Caterpillars...DONE!!

The Bug's Caterpillar quilt is finally done! Thanks to my friend Ali for the amazing photos!! 

Ali and another friend, Terry, gave me some great ideas for quilting the final three sections. I meandered in the white spaces behind the butterfly and caterpillars, and I made loops in the log cabin sections. They helped me decide on butterflies in the skinny red border, lollipop swirls in the food border, and rectangles in the outside border. I'm so happy with how it turned out, and super happy that I finished sewing on the binding. 

Caterpillar Quilt

My Bug's caterpillar quilt is almost done!! Thanks to some wonderful friends who came over today, I got some awesome quilting time and finished the quilting and binding. Now I am just hand sewing the binding down and it will be completely done! I am so happy!!🐛🐛

Here are a few shots of me working on the final stages, and of the Bug with the quilt and kissing the "pill-pills."

I can't wait until it is all done for her!! 

Teal Squares: Done!!!

The Teal Squares quilt was delivered to its recipient yesterday, and I can finally publish all of my posts from the last 6 months! 

I used the Goose's bed to model the quilt...

Here are some close-ups that show the quilting...

...and here it is in its new home!

YAY!!!!!

***UPDATE***

The new home got a makeover to match the Teal Squares!! Look how gorgeous it is!!!

Teal Squares: Quilted!!

January, 2014 (published later because the deign is a surprise)

I can't believe it, but I finished quilting the Teal Squares quilt!!! And it wasn't as tough to wrangle as I expected. I also decided that I really love my machine! Here is a picture of me quilting....excuse the blurry shot, my photographer is a first grader who is learning to sew and likes to watch me!

I am so happy with how the quilting design turned out. Here is a picture to show the quilting details better...

I stippled the black background with black thread, and I used a variegated teal thread in the diamond patterns on the squares. 

Teal Squares: Binding

January, 2014 (published later because the design is a surprise!)

Last Friday we had a snow day (after only one day back at school), and I finished up the quilting on the Teal Squares quilt! After looking at both of the backing fabrics as options, I decided to bind the quilt with the solid teal. This quilt is huge and took 10 strips to make the binding! By the end of the weekend, I had the binding sewn to the front, and I've spent evenings this week hand-sewing the binding to the back. I am so happy it's done!! 

I'm really happy with the way the sold teal color looks. I think it gives a nice finishing touch. Now I just need to add the backs to the pillow shams, and the whole set will be ready for its new owners!