Baby Elephant Dance Reprise

I had so much fun making the boy version of my elephant quilt that I just had to make it in girl colors.

I used pink and green and then added some orange because I am really digging orange lately.

The elephant print is also Kharma Baby in the girl colorway.  The other fabrics are mostly Riley Blake and DS Quilts fabric with Kona white sashing.  Of course I went with striped binding!

Don’t they look so cute together?  If only I knew someone who was having girl/boy twins!!!  Now I just need to sew labels to the backs of them. 

I’ve got some blocks made for my newest project with Summerlove that I can’t wait to share put together.  I am using linen for the sashing this time!

 

Linking this up to WIP Wednesday.

Tuesday at the {Herbal} Table

I am linking up this post to Tuesday at the Herbal Table. Debbie makes the most beautiful quilts, but she also loves recipes!  I love Caprese salad in the summer, but there’s really nothing to that except using really good quality balsamic vinegar. Something else I love is tortilla chips and fresh guacamole.

We grow cilantro, and then I mix together onion, bell pepper, and avocado. Add salt and pepper to your taste and a dash of both lemon and lime juice. Mix with a potato masher.

Voila! A delicious summer treat!  Now I am feeling hungry…

A good day

At about 1:30am yesterday morning Bea and her dad got back from a father-daughter vacation to San Francisco and Santa Barbara.  This is my favorite photo from their trip.

And today was also Bea’s first day of first grade!  It was a bittersweet moment, and I can’t wait to see her when she gets home from school.

But, only having two kids with me this morning allowed me to get the binding sewn on my newest quilt.  It is in the dryer right now.

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Trying New Things—the doll edition

The girls got an American Doll knock-off last weekend, and I made my first foray into the world of making doll clothes.  I feel like I’m learning this sewing thing all backwards…I should have followed the natural progression of sewing by making doll clothes as a kid and moving up to eventually making quilts and more complex things.  Instead, I am a thirty-five year old making doll clothes!

It’s been a real learning curve for me.  Amazingly, none of it was much of a challenge though.  Maybe my quilting experience paid off.  I just drew out a shirt pattern and it worked!

I did make one silly mistake.  I finished the seams on both the back parts of the first shirt exactly the same, so on one side they are on the side that shows.  Nothing new there!  I make mistakes like that all the time even when I’m following a pattern.

I attached the first shirt in the back with velcro.  The second one I made out of an old t-shirt.  This was my first time sewing with knits.  On one hand it was a success because it did come out looking like a shirt.  But on the other hand, I need to learn how to sew knits without getting the fabric snagged down under my throat plate a hundred times.

On this second attempt, I even made a little matching trim for the bottom of the skirt out of leftover t-shirt material. 

I never really understood the allure of making doll clothes until now.  The dress she came with is made of the same substance as gauze—I’m sure it wouldn’t survive the washing machine and the velcro would never hold up to my kids’ handling.  So I’m proud to say that while not perfect, both these outfits will last.

Linking up to Trying New Things Thursday.

Baby Elephant Dance Complete!

This quilt measures about 39” square. 

The fussy cut fabric is called Kharma Baby, most of the log cabin fabric is DS Quilts and Metro Circles, and the sashing is Kona ash. I used warm and white batting and the backing is a wonderful fabric from Connecting Threads from their Quilter’s Candy collection. It is light gray with little stars all over it.

I used a zig-zag stitch to machine bind this quilt and you can see it’s getting more and more accurate on the back as I’m sewing from the front.  It’s just taken a lot of practice.  This is probably my tenth quilt I’ve completely machine bound.

Here is a peek of the next project I’m working on.  The fabrics in this one are from the Maya collection. 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday!

Baby Elephant Dance Quilt

I just went through my stash to pick out green and blue fabrics appropriate for a boy’s quilt to make this month’s Stash Bee block.

Those fabrics became this stacked coins block.

The colors seem to be wildly popular these days, as I’ve made quite a few bee blocks in this same color scheme.

I ended up loving it so much, those fabrics became this quilt top.

And that’s where the name came from.  My mom was a flute teacher and so the song kept getting in my head every time I worked on the quilt.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Greek Cross Quilt

This past weekend I showed my cousin how to do machine binding and used this quilt as demonstration.  I started it last year as part of a quilt along.  I got the top done, but never went any further.

I’ve seen a few quilts with black/white binding so I thought I’d give it a shot on this quilt.  It looks fab!

I had a few crosses left over (actually I found one more after I’d already made the back) so I put them in a scrappy backing.

Some of the backing fabric is a DS Quilts print and the pink is a cheap Joann’s fabric that I got a loooooooooooooong time ago when it was on clearance.  It has glitter in it.  This quilt truly is a WIP!

I used my quilting bar to try to quilt straight lines.  For some reason, though, the quilting bar seems to go on the right which dictates that the quilt has to be squished under the arm instead flowing of out the side.  I tried to use the quilt bar backwards, but that wasn’t as successful as I hoped.  The binding is a black/white floral print from Bernatex.

This cute little fox fabric is my favorite block.  The finished quilt measures 44 x 70.  The background fabric is Kona ash.

Now, here is the quilt my cousin made!!!

I am a bit jealous of how fantastic her quilt turned out.  Look at her first time ever FMQ!

I am linking this up to WIP Wednesday.  Have a great Wednesday!

Two finishes

I finished up two quilts this past week.  The first is this flannel WIP from a few years back.  After a run through the washer and dryer, it looks almost as good as new.

I think it might be my favorite quilt I’ve made, even though while I was making it I wasn’t sure how I felt about the funky fabrics and bright solids.

The purple backing and striped binding really make me love it even more.

The final quilt measures 63 x 78 inches.  It is made from Joann’s flannel and doesn’t have any batting.  It’s a good weight without being too heavy.  In this photo of the binding you can see how I machine attached it with a zig-zag stitch.  I highly recommend this method.

I’ve got another finish from last weekend.  Here is a sneak peak and I’ll be posting about it later this week.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday and Quilting by the River.

Exciting News

I am an animal lover as it seems many of us quilters are.  I have a special love for box turtles and spent many springs driving around with a box in the back of my minivan to store them in a closet in the school library (I was a teacher) so I could relocate them off the highway and into my backyard when I’d get off work.  A few seem to be thriving, but who knew how often turtles have sex?  I do…

This was the first time we witnessed it.  My kids said they must be sisters since they’re hugging so much…

And then yesterday we witnessed this…

I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on in this picture.  I’ve seen lots of box turtles in real life, but never quite like this!

Today we were playing outside and our little cousin found a bird nest on the ground with one survivor.  After consulting a wildlife rehabilitator, we decided to give it a go and see if we can keep this baby bird alive.  She gave us lots of practical advice that has been really helpful.  A newborn bird has to be fed every 20-30 minutes from dawn till dusk.   And in case you’re wondering what we’re feeding him, he really likes kitten chow soaked in water.

So hopefully we will have happy news to report in the next couple weeks.  I think it’s a robin, but I’m not positive.  My kids are loving this, especially since Bea has been interested in being a biologist.  Wish this baby bird some luck.  PS.  His name is Lucky.

Pets on Quilts

Have you seen this contest?  Pets on Quilts is hosted by Lilypad Quilting and so far, some of the entries are pretty cute!

I am entering two categories.  The first category is “cat on a quilt”…

That’s Mickey, whom we usually deferentially refer to as the “Prince on a Pillow.”  I was taking photos of some quilts I finished lately and made him pose for this photo.  I’m not sure if you can tell by his expression, but he is not thrilled.  Interestingly, the quilt is fish-themed.

I tried to get a snapshot of two cats on a quilt, but our other cat Oreo was not going to cooperate today.

Then I also have an entry for “other pet on a quilt”…

The fish on the bigger bowl on the left is my daughters’ fish, dubbed Featherfin.  The one on the right is a friend’s daughter’s pet we are fish-sitting while they are at Disney.  His name is Sparkle.  Interestingly, they are also on a fish-themed quilt.  This little mat I made specifically for the bowl to sit on the dresser.

I’ll be checking out the pets after the 9th for voting…maybe I’ll see yours!

Just Three For August

I’m linking up to TraceyJay’s “Just Three” linky party.

Here are my goals for August:

1.  Finish up Esther’s Across the Sea quilt—made last year.  It’s basted and ready to  go.

2.  Finish up Bea’s floral coin quilt.  It’s also basted and ready to go.

3.  Make some bibs for a friend who is having a baby boy later this month with some stash fabric (of course!).  She lives in Turkey so I need to get these in the mail asap.

I hope to get all these projects out of the way within the week. 

The winner of the book Pretty Little Potholders is

#6 SUNNY!!!!

Have a fantastic weekend!

WIP Wednesday

I finished up a quilt a few minutes ago.  It’s a WIP from a few years ago…maybe three?  I let my oldest daughter Bea pick out the fabrics at Joann’s from their “snuggle flannel” fabric section.  I have to be honest, I’m pretty sure she didn’t pick out the backing since it’s purple and purple is my favorite color and has never been anything she likes.

A good striped binding is always my favorite.  I had this one in my stash.

I just did criss-cross quilting with purple thread (three different shades that were close enough to use together) and used up two whole spools from my stash!  Woo-hoo!

I’m also going on a fabric fast.  To keep my favorite shops in business and at the same time encourage you to use your stash, I’ll be giving away a $25 gift certificate to some online shops I frequent over the course of the next year, with a grand finale next August to see how much of a dent I’ve made in my stash.
Anyone who wants to participate can add a link to a finished project to my linky party starting August 7th.  You need to either have a blog or Flickr account and link back to this giveaway on either.  Open to US and international entrants.

To be entered for the prizes, simply look at your stash, then sew something—anything—from it. Past projects cannot be entered. Then either mention this blog post on your blog or in your Flickr description, then link it up. You can enter any finished project that uses fabrics from your stash.  You can purchase Kona white, thread, batting, basting spray, or notions, but no additional fabric.   I won’t be checking up on you, but you get the idea!
For myself, I will abide by the same rules but I can buy fabric needed to meet the requirements for the bees I am in—but nothing extra!!!  I can swap with others.  Also, I will continue getting my two monthly club fabrics.  I want independent fabric stores to stay in business!
What will nearly kill me?  Missing out on Sew Mama Sew.  But I’ve been living my challenge for the past week and it’s been a little tough but I’ll live.  When I decided to challenge myself, I made a frantic & desperate fabric.com purchase of a bunch of Kona solids, Laurie Wisbrun’s Brrr, and some Essex linen.  Now I will be only sewing from stash fabrics. 
I can’t wait to see what people make!  Are you working on a stash project now?  Link it up on the 7th thru the end of the month!
Linking up to WIP Wednesday.