WIP Wednesday 01/11/2012

My first WIP Wednesday of 2012! I'm going to start my list fresh.

My favorite ongoing project! These are 1 inch hexagons. I've actually made a couple more flowers since I took this. If you haven't tried hexis, they make a great TV watching/car riding project.

This is going to be a gift for someone who reads my blog, I think, so I'll just give you a little taste!

This is an I-spy quilt top. It's only partly finished. I'm going to finish it. Really, I am.

Some half square triangles that I started months ago for a quilt.

Christmas HST destined to be stockings.

Forrest friends string blocks. I have everything cut to make more of them, so hopefully soon these will become a baby quilt.

Embroidery 101 quilt. Basted and just waiting to be quilted.

Birdie Stitches quilt. Top done. Back almost done. Needs to be sandwiched, basted, and quilted.

I spent a couple of days since New Year's Day cleaning up my sewing space after the tornado of Christmas hit it! I had just been sticking stuff where it would fit or just piling it up. I put each of the WIPs in a ziplock bag with all the pieces that go with it. It's much easier to keep them straight. Plus when I want to work on one, I just grab the bag. The only WIP I didn't get a picture of is my Skill Builder Sampler, which I am terribly behind on. It's in the top clear box.  

Completed Projects: 0
Currently in Progress: 9

Be sure to check out what Lee is working on at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday

I didn't get a lot of sewing done this week, but I did get our Christmas tree put up and was in a Christmas parade!  I've been super busy, even if it wasn't at the sewing machine!

I finally sat down to finish my neglected Birdie Stitches blocks.  Up until October, I had been faithfully finishing one each month.  I think because the end was in sight, I just waited to finish the last 3 all at once.  Hopefully this is going to become a Christmas gift for my husband's aunt.

December.  I love the little Santa bird.

October.  The spiders look very cute in person.

I couldn't find the print out of the November block last night, so I just did December instead.  November will get done during my TV time tonight. 

If you don't follow them, Sew Mama Sew is hosting Giveaway Day again.  It's one of my favorite blog holidays!  I've discovered the best blogs that way.  I'm not sure what I'm going to giveaway, but I'm definitely going to participate!  Even if you don't blog, you should definitely check out some of the great giveaways and visit some new blogs.  Check back on Monday to see what I decided to giveaway!



WIP Wednesday 11/30/2011

I've had a very productive week. I have been trying to get a few finishes. I made this bag:

It's kind of a strange size, rather tall and skinny. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for, but it came together quite easily. I used this tutorial for the instructions, but obviously not the size! I think I'm going to made some more, but follow this tutorial for the size too! The bag was really easy to make. It would be great for almost anything.

The other side of the bag. Again I used the Connecting Threads Christmas Cheer Charms. They are 5 inches square, so that give you an idea of how tall the bag is!

I think this is going to be the second baby quilt. I'm not sure how many string blocks I have enough fabric for, but it's a start. They are so fun to make.

This pile of little half square triangles is going to be a stocking when it grows up!

I also got my gift for the week finished, but you'll have to wait until Friday to see what it is!
Jump over to Freshly Pieced for some more project inspiration!

WIP WEdnesday 11/23/2011

I had a very busy weekend, and I still managed to get lots done! When I took my pictures last night, I was feeling quite proud of myself!


I got this baby quilt quilted. Who knew that pebble quilting took sooooo much thread? It took two extra trips to the store to have enough to finish. I love the way it turned out, though. A new technique to add to my list! After I took the pictures, I was determined to finish this quilt, so I sat down and got the binding on. Come back on Friday for the full finish!

I also finished another rice bag. My father-in-law is a big Alabama fan, so the houndstooth was the perfect fit. My daughter has requested something made out of it as well. I think she like Alabama because it burns her daddy up!


I used the envelope closure on this one too. I think I like it better and it's just as easy as the velcro, maybe easier. I still need to do the rice part, but that's quick and easy.
I've linked up, as always, over at Freshly Pieced. Be sure to check out some of the links!

WIP Wednesday Already

Where do the days go between Wednesdays?!?  I don't feel like it's been a week already.  I don't have a lot of progress to show this week.  I did make the gift bag/tote that I posted before:

 I pieced the back for the baby quilt and started quilting it.  This weekend was Second Saturday Sewing, so my kitchen table is all cleared off and my sewing stuff is spread out all over the kitchen.  I had planned on quilting both my Embroidery 101 quilt and the forest animal baby quilt while I was all setup in the kitchen.  Once the kids were settled in bed, I went to the kitchen to finish quilting the baby quilt.  I flipped on the light and it burned out!  Who doesn't have more light bulbs?  Me, of course. Who also forgot to get lightbulbs at the store last night?  Me, again.  Once I can manage to get some light again, I'm going to finish up this darn baby quilt!

On Friday I'll have my next finished Handmade Christmas gift, which I made at Second Saturday Sewing.  I'll also announce a winner of the Christmas Cheer Charms.  What have you made this week?  Be sure to check out my giveaway and then click over to Freshly Pieced for some inspiration!

100th WIP Wednesday

Today is the 100th WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  I think I started following Lee right after she started her link up for Wednesday.  It has been great for me to think about what I've worked on all week.  It's helped keep me motivated to get projects finished and also provided a ton of inspiration.  More than half of the blogs I follow, I found because they linked up on WIP Wednesday.  So thanks, Lee, for starting this and keeping it up! 

This week has been tough with the time change on Sunday.  I can't seem to get my internal clock straightened out and neither can my kids!  I also overexerted myself playing field hockey on Saturday, and I'm not sure my body will ever recover from that!  There has been lots of lying on the couch this week, so I've made quite a few more hexagons.  They look exactly the same as the other hexis so I didn't take a picture!

I did finish the quilt top for on of my baby quilts.  I think I'm going to bind with the orange, but I'm not sure about the backing.  I used to just pick a fabric and buy enough to do the whole back with one thing, but now I feel like the back needs to be a cute as the front!  I'm still thinking about it. 

I'm trying to make a few surprise gifts, so I practiced a little free motion quilting on one piece of this project.  I think I want to stipple the Embroidery 101 quilt so I need the practice! 

I also made 2 more of the braided scarfs, but I didn't take pictures.  Why, I don't know, because my daughter looked too cute in her hot pink and blue scarf... with her black dress with neon colored hearts and splatters on it... with blue tights.  I wish I was as cool as she is! 

I hope make a Christmas gift/bag tonight to share on Friday.  I think I've decided on a giveaway for handmade Christmas gifts.  Check back on Friday for more details! 

WIP Wednesday 11/02/2011

I felt like I didn't get anything done this week until I started taking pictures for this!
Yesterday started Handmade Holidays over at Sew Mama Sew! I love this series. It's full of great ideas. There is a braided scarf that I really like, so I decided to try it.

I think this will look really cute with a black shirt. I'll post a picture when I'm not in my pjs at 11 p.m. taking them! I would make another one. While they are both knit fabric (Hobby Lobby), the pink stretched a lot more than the black and white. I think the very stretch would "braid" better. Maybe a game day scarf is in order...

The biggest thing I worked on was the back for my Clover and Violet quilt. I've done a simple pieced back before, but this one had to be a bit more complicated so I didn't have to buy more fabric. I really like how it turned out, and I'm excited about quilting this. I'm going to try to stipple it, I think. I haven't had much luck with my machine, but I've read a few things that I think will help.

I worked on a few of the block for this baby quilt. I can see it starting to come together in my head.

I've also done a ton of hexis. I forget how satisfying these are. I've made 3 more of the large flowers and a couple of the green fillers. This is such a good project for when I'm just sitting around watching tv. I think after all of the hand sewing to make the top, I might try hand quilting this. I'm not even close to having a top that big yet, but maybe this time next year!

I guess I found my sewing mojo again. I hope you had a productive week too. Be sure to check out some of the links at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednedsay

I seem to have lost my sewing mojo. I don't know what has happened. I decided I was going to sew last night. I didn't have anything planned when I got home, and I was going to feed the kids dinner and put the little one to bed and then sew away. My husband had dinner going and I was cleaning out the 3 folders of school stuff that come home EVERY day. The power flickered. A minute later it flickered again. Then it was out. Thankfully dinner was just about finished. We tried to go have a picnic dinner, but the mosquitos tried to carry off the baby. Who can blame them...he has the juiciest legs! We ended up eating in the semi-dark kitchen.

While we were eating, we decided that we would go to CVS. I had to get a couple of things and who wants to chase kids in the dark? We went to CVS and got what we needed (and maybe some candy), and drove back to our neighborhood to see if the lights were on. Nope. The whole neighborhood was dark. We took that as a sign that we should go get some ice cream! Dairy Queen here we come. My daughter didn't know where we were going and kept asking what we were doing. After a family treat of lemonade, an Oreo blizzard, and a strawberry sundae, we decided that the little one needed to go to bed.

After we put the baby to bed, my daughter and I got the candles all lit, and I talked her into reading a few chapters of the Little House on the Prairie book we've been reading. I made it seem really great that we didn't have power, just like Laura didn't. Genius mother, I am. Just as we were finishing up, the power came back on. Hurray! Determined to keep my goal of sewing something, I decided to make some of the Skill Builder Sampler blocks I'm behind on.



I've done string blocks before and I love them. I am thinking of adding a whole quilt of them to my to do list...

My house improv block. Kinda blah.

I also tried the paper piecing block and messed it all up. FAIL! I'll try again. I have plans for sewing again tonight. I think if the power is off for 3 hours again, I may just give up!

Click over to Freshly Pieced and see what's linked up!

WIP Wednesday 10/12/2011

I spent the weekend had sewing more hexagons. I had made a whole almost 3 layered flower when I noticed that I used the wrong fabric for the VERY CENTER! FAIL! I was so mad! I did keep working while watching The Walking Dead on Netflix. I told my husband I wasn't going to watch it with him, but now we've finished the whole first season. It's good. I recommend it! I managed to finish a whole 3 layer flower and enough hexis to make another one. I forgot how much I enjoy making them. Maybe in about 2 years, I'll have enough for the whole top I started!

I finished this block for the Skill Builder Sampler. I've mostly lost interest in the quilt, but I'm going to keep at it. I have one pretty bad point in this block, but it's ok. I really don't like all the thick seams. I still have to do the house block and the string block. I love string blocks and have in my head the idea of a rainbow string quilt.

I got a little work done on the baby quilts last night. I have an idea so I was motivated!

This past weekend was another Second Saturday Sewing day. I worked on this purse until I ran out of thread! UGH! Don't you hate when that happens. This is the Blossom Bag. It's a pretty intense pattern, but I'm getting it!

Be sure to check out the great projects other people are working on at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday 09/28/2011

After a very busy weekend, I haven't made much progress this week! I've been working on my embroidery blocks to stay all caught up. I didn't have my camera last night or there would be a picture of my favorite Birdie Stitch block yet! Maybe tomorrow ;-) I also started a new project that I'm going to try to keep top secret until Christmas.

I also started the Blossom Bag for myself. It took FOREVER to get all the pieces cut out and interfaced! I haven't worked on it since then, because I needed a different colored zipper.

My other new big project is 2 baby quilts. My sister is fostering 2 little babies, one 3 months old and one 2 weeks old. Crazy, right? I am hoping to make them each a baby quilt with these cute forrest friend fabrics from Jo-Ann's.

I think I have an idea for one, but I'm not sure about the other. I don't want them to be the same. Any good baby quilt ideas?
Be sure to visit Lee over at Freshly Pieced. Is anyone else so excited to see her fabric collection?!?

WIP Wednesday 08/31/2011

It's been a while since I did a WIP Wednesday, but I've been working away. I've done several of the Skill Builder Sampler blocks and will try to post about them later this week. I learned that I don't really care for Flying Geese. I haven't finished all of those blocks yet, but they are on the list for tonight!

I've been working on the Farmer's Wife blocks, but I think I'm going to stop. I don't really have the patience for the tiny pieces and I still can't figure out how to paper piece them even though I've read 10 tutorials and printed off the paper piecing templates. I don't get it. I don't love all of the blocks and I hate to keep making them, knowing I'm never going to make a quilt with them. Here are the latest 3 I've made:

I like this one. It turned out great and mostly all lined up!

I also like this one.

I don't like this one. The green goes from dark to light, but the way I pieced it looks like I just ran out of light green. You also can't see the elephants well. I hate to quit in the middle of a project, but I just don't like these. I'll have to find something to do with the blocks I've made. Hmm...

My one huge finish is the Plus Quilt for my daughter. I love it and so does she.

Before I start another big quilt, I'm going to finish a couple small ones that I have already started. I'm also hoping to get some Christmas presents made, so I'm looking for ideas! Do you have any great handmade gift ideas?

Be sure to stop by Freshly Pieced and see what Lee is working on!

WIP Wednesday 07/27/2011

We have been sick at my house...again. I'm pretty sure that the baby brought home some horrible cold germs from the pediatrician's office that were spread around to everyone else! Before I got sick, I did manage to get almost all caught up with my quilt alongs.


The Skill Builder Sampler is coming right along. I was missing the instructions for one week, but I'm going to go back and do it.

The most recent block is the Arizona. I really like how it all came together, but I am tired of HST for a while. I'm working on another quilt top of them and I've had enough for a while!

I went ahead and made up 3 more of my embroidery 101 blocks. I LOVE they way they all look together. I'm very excited about the way this is working out. I was a little unsure about my fabric choices at first, but I really like them now.

I also completed two more of the Farmer's Wife blocks. I like both of them, but the pink and orange points didn't match very good in the middle. I think I'm going to undo it and try again! I am having a really hard time getting the pieces accurately cut for these blocks. I think I'm going to have to just trace the templates and then use the scissors to cut the pieces. I've been using laminated templates and trying to rotary cut them with the help of a ruler, but I think there is too much slippage. The blocks come together so easily, but if the pieces are exactly right, they don't look great. Any suggestions from anyone who's working on this?
I've also been slowly working on the quilting for the plus quilt. I can only do a little bit at a time before I get so frustrated that I have to stop!

Be sure to check out what everyone else is working on over at Freshly Pieced!

WIP Wednesday 07/06/2011

Back in January I made a list of my quilty goals. Since the year is half over, I thought it would be a good time to check in on that list! These are my finishes.


Cuckoo Clock
Noah's Rainbow quilt
Ballerina Dress
Zigzag Quilt
Easter egg shirts
Tie onesie
Apple purse
4th of July wreath
Car cozy
Kindle covers
Sew Fresh Fabric Bee
Libray Bag
Green scarft
Thrist Store skirt
Knitted face cloths
Mad Hatter embroidery
Pin cushions
Margaret's Hope Chest Quilting Bee

These are my projects that are in progress:

Fairy Quilt (Top finished, needs back and quilting)
I-Spy (half of a top)
Hexi (will probably NEVER be finished)
Charm baby quilt (Needs an border and then a back)
Birdie Stitches (Finished through June)
Embroidery 101 (Everything cut and first block embroidered)
Skill Builder Sampler (Have first 2 blocks done. 3 posted)
Plus Quilt (Just need to finish quilting and bind)
Margaret's Hope Chest Quilting Bee (Need to finish one more block)

Of my Lofty Quilt Goals, I've been faithfully working on my Birdie Stitches blocks. I also made a zigzag quilt. I haven't done the orange quilt with the Jay McCarroll fabrics, but I haven't forgotten about it either! I used my reproduction fabrics for the plus quilt instead of a grandmother's garden, and I'm happier with that! I feel like I'm doing pretty good. My goals for the rest of the year are to finish the fairy quilt, the Birdie Stitches quilt, the charm baby quilt, and to keep working on the Skill Builder Sampler and Embroidery 101. I also have a confession to make...I've become a farmer's wife. I bought the book and have the templates all made. I'm just waiting for a little bit of fabric to get the blocks started. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll have half of the blocks made!

Please go check out the links at Freshly Pieced!