Charm Square Quilted Purse

Another finish!!!

I won a charm pack of Summer Breeze II several years ago and I eventually made myself a charm square tote out of it. It isn't perfect, but I like it and it matches our school colors. I had enough charm squares left over to make another one, as long as I used a solid color on the bottom to make it stretch. I pieced the squares and then it sat on the shelf above my sewing table for the last three years. I am so glad to have this one done!

The outside is free motion quilted on batting, the lining is interfaced, and the straps and pockets are made with fusible fleece. It is a nice, sturdy bag.

You can see the difference between the bag being tied at the sides and left open.

 

The pockets inside are my favorite part! They are a bit of extra work, but so great for attempting to keep my purse organized. This one is for my sister, and I think she is going to love it!!!

You can see my list of Finish-A-Long goals for this quarter HERE.

Scrappy Squares Doll Quilt

The other day, since I had a few minutes before an appointment, I pulled up Netflix to finish an episode of Fixer Upper and sat down to hand stitch the binding on this doll quilt. Spring sports are upon us, so with the rushing around all of the time, it was awesome to just sit down and relax for a little bit. AND I got another finish done from my Finish-A-Long goals (see HERE). Double win!

I don't know why I procrastinated for so long!

Anyway, I love this little scrappy patchwork quilt. I look at it and see bits and pieces of old projects I have made. From old quilts and my sister's apron...

...to my son's first bedroom curtains when he was only 2. Now he is 16. *sigh*

This was also my first attempt at free motion quilting. It isn't perfect, but it was good practice. I love how it got a great texture when I washed it!

Oh, and not sure if I ever showed this before, but my daughter and I made flannel nightgowns for her and her doll. (They often ask for PJs for their dolls.) This gives a size perspective. The quilt is only 24 inches.

I am really plugging away at these finishes, but I found even more unfinished projects in the process! I am trying to focus on one thing at a time so that I don't get overwhelmed. With practices and games 5 days a week, craft projects should be the last thing stressing me out! It does feel like a weight is lifted each time I finish a project, though. There are several more I completed that will be on the blog next week, so please come back to see them!

Red and Aqua Sampler Doll Quilts

I give up. I am tired of waiting for the doll bed to be fixed. I am tired of waiting for decent lighting. I give up.

Even though it was overcast and raining today, I took some plain pictures inside of those doll quilts that I finished almost a month ago so that I could post them here. I am too much of a perfectionist sometimes!

I got the over-achieving idea to make sampler quilts for these. I started out with 8" blocks before I realized they would be too big. Then, I changed to 6" blocks, but with the sashing they are still a little too big. Oh well.

The red and aqua color scheme matches the backing fabric, also used for sheets, that my daughter chose. It matches the red bunk bed and their bedroom very well, too.

Here are some of the best blocks I made. 6" finished blocks are pretty difficult to make. I don't plan on making such small blocks again for a very long time!

I also put the wrong binding colors on the quilts. I wanted to balance out the reds and aquas and totally messed that up. But I didn't feel like taking it all off to fix it. Are you noticing a progressively non-perfectionist attitude with these quilts? They took about a year to make so I just wanted them DONE!

The names of the sampler blocks from left to right- Churn Dash, Jacob's Ladder, Pinwheel, Sawtooth Star, Contrary Wife, Shoo Fly, Clay's Choice, Friendship Star, Carrie Nation, Fox and Geese, Anvil, and Welcome. Some of them probably have more than one name, though.

These quilts were part of my Finish-A-Long first quarter goals! Hooray! I don't think the last project is going to happen, but 2 out of 3 isn't bad!

I also enjoyed trying out free motion quilting and I plan on doing more project with that in the future. Maybe one day the bed will get fixed and I can show you the matching sheets and pillows, too. :)

Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

Sew Can Do, Monday Funday, Motivate Me Monday, Inspiration Monday, Show & Tell, Naptime Creations, The Gathering Spot,  Take a Look Tuesday, Carolyn's Homework, The Winthrop Chronicles, Handmade Tuesdays,Tutorial Tuesdays, Your Whims Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesdays,  Weekly Homemaking Party,Create It Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Wildly Original, Thriving on Thursday, Grace at Home, The 36th Party, Freedom Fridays, Feathered Nest Friday, Simple and Sweet Fridays, Craft Frenzy Friday, Think Pink Sunday, and Threading Your Way

WIP Wednesday ~ Productive Week

I thought I would do another WIP Wednesday post to share what I have been doing around here lately.  I may not have blog posts up to prove it, but I have been super productive!

I finished up 2 out of 3 doll quilts, but did not get any pictures of them yet. Those sampler ones took so long that they deserve a full blog post. :) Plus, there is a piece on the doll bunk bed that needs fixed and nagging has not worked thus far. I may have to do it myself.

I made two stuffed bears from outgrown baby clothes (that was the sneak peek at the end last time!) and even a little blanket for one bear. I plan on posting the pattern I made for those, but I didn't get it perfected yet. I might even do another one just to test it out.

I started a crochet cow hat! It is almost done. I made one of those last year while I was on a blogging hiatus, so I never posted about it. Maybe I will show those pics when I get this one done, too. The first one is better because it is a brown cow. :)

Oh, and I am trying to do the 40 bags in 40 days challenge to declutter my house. Yesterday's task was my embroidery floss. It was all over the place, so my sewing table is much cleaner and the floss is super organized! I only got a sandwich bag worth to throw out, but I am counting it. :)

Speaking of organizing sewing stuff, I got this bobbin tower on clearance at Michaels a few weeks ago and it is awesome! I love being able to just reach up and grab the bobbin I need and the threads aren't hanging all over the place. I highly recommend it!

So, that is a little peek at what I have been working on this week. I am linking up with Silly Mama Quilts.

WIP Wednesday ~ Doll Quilts

I have a lot of sewing projects going on right now.

A few weeks ago, I did my first ever free motion quilting! Now, don't laugh...

For a first time I don't think it is too bad. I still need to add the binding to this scrappy doll quilt. 

After my practice round, I quilted two more doll quilts that I am making for my daughter. These sampler blocks took for. ev. er. so I didn't want to mess the quilts up. I definitely got better at FMQ as I went. I still need to finish these bindings, too!

I am also working on a free pattern for an 18" doll version of the ruffle apron I shared last week. I just need to find the pattern and scan it... I misplaced it. That happens a lot around here.

Finally, a friend of mine had a special request and I just finished it last night. I need to take better finished pictures, but here is a peek of the work in progress...

 Any guesses as to what it is? And, more importantly, what it is made of?

Linking up at SillyMamaQuilts.

Finish-A-Long Goals Q1

I have been proudly showing off all of the things I have actually finished lately, but for each one, there is probably 2 things that are unfinished and 10 things in the grand ideas stage. That is how it is for me in this stage of life. One day I will have lots of time to sew, but that day is not today.

However, there are some things that my girls are waiting on, and I want to get them done before they grow up any more than they already have. It would be nice if I could just hit the pause button on that growing stuff while I get some stuff caught up around here, but I can't.

My youngest is almost 2 1/2 and her baby quilt is still not finished. I actually made it larger because I know myself better than that. I want to quilt the top by hand and that will be a great project for winter- snuggling under a warm quilt on cold days!

My 4yo is waiting on a new apron. She has been using her sister's old one, but that one is getting small and is ready to be passed down to the youngest. She wants to match my apron, so I will share pics of both when I get it done.

Last year, my 7yo got a doll bunk bed for Christmas and I let her choose fabric for the sheets and pillowcases. I am also making two sampler block quilts to match and I want to get those finished up, too.

I am linking up with the 2016 Finish-A-Long so that hopefully I will be a bit more motivated to get these things done! I have a lot more unfinished projects, but I am just focusing on these three for now!

Vintage Sewing Machine Mini Quilt

When I made Grace's quiet book sewing machine page a friend of mine joked that she would take a wall hanging like that, so I made one for her as a surprise.

I added some hand embroidery on the "table" below the machine. It says:

Good friends are like quilts- they age with you and never lose their warmth.

I even tricked her into choosing the saying. Heehee!

The background is leftover from Halley's retro apron and the border is pieced from my scraps.  The backing is a cute novelty print I got at Joann's and I thought it went along perfectly! I know it will be against a wall, but it is still cute.

So, there is another quilt I made this year - back in February- that I never blogged about. I doubt I will finish any large ones this year, but there is always next year!