Done, done and done!

So this is what happens when I don't keep up with the blog.  I get sewing done!!  I should be doing 5 posts, not one but hey well...

 Two 'Little Chef' aprons for my daughter's preschool silent auction.  Both made from fat quarters I had on hand.  Renamed 'panic aprons'.

 THE queen size quilt.  Looks like little fingers have smudged sunscreen on my lens.  Sigh.  Oh well, you get the idea of what the quilt looks like.  The quilting itself was kept simple- 'organic' (ie, not so straight) lines and then squares in/around the squares.  A little boring in the end I think....

 The back is more interesting- perhaps even manic!   Thrifted sheets and pillow cases, one extra square, old curtains and a bit of grandma's unfinished blouse (it's for a cousin of mine).

And do you suppose this 4 year old appreciated her quilt?  Got me all teary eyed!  She smooshed her face into it and hugged it for many minutes- the star gift!!  Unbelievable.

Progress!

I'm making serious progress on that little girl's quilt.  The Queen size quilt for my cousin is languishing.  Mostly because I can't figure out where to sandwich the thing in my small house.  I've asked a friend for help- her house is significantly larger and she has copious amounts of floor space.  Yay friends!  Now we just have to find a moment (or 157) to do it!

But here's the single bed/ primary colours quilt so far!  Bought and cut on Saturday, pieced on Sunday- added top and bottom pieces on Monday, shopped for and pieced backing on Tuesday, added more to backing and pin basted the quilt sandwich on Wednesday.  Hooray!  That's gotta be a record.  On to quilting tomorrow (Thursday).... maybe!

Mind starting to wander to binding now...

Something New

Why oh why would I start something new when I'm in the midst of my biggest (literally) project ever?  Because my best friend asked for a quilt for her daughter's 4th birthday.  At the end of the month.  This month.  Yikes!! 

She asked for primary colours for her artistically inclined girlie- and I threw in some green.  Because I can't resist and I'm sure that she said add green and orange- while acknowledging that they are not primary colours.  I know, I know, there's no orange.  So be it.  I did what I could with an hour free in the quilt shop around the corner and I think I did pretty well.

It's going to have to be a simple quilt with this much time ahead of me.  I'm thinking wide strips. 

These two (mother and daughter) had a discussion (some might call it an argument) last week about Red.  Where does it come from, mummy?  How do you make it?  The final answer (with help from an artist friend):  RED JUST IS. 

I'm at That Point....

...where the stitch ripper has been brought out.  So close and yet so far... This is what I get for going 'off piste'- not using a pattern, but trying to duplicate something that is not my own.  The 'shadow box' seems too wide, it's getting narrowed.  The expanse of green blue in the link) is too expansive in a bigger size- it's being truncated.

But soon, soon, soon, there will be a queen sized quilt top!!  And my thoughts are already turning to the back side, and the quilting.

Here's what I'm thinking for the quilting...

Straightforward, modern, manly.

The Beginnings

Usually I have a pretty simple pattern in mind when I'm making a quilt.  I feel like I'm not up to triangles yet- all that 1/4" measuring!!  So my uber-urban cousin asked me for a simple, modern quilt (how does this guy know what modern quilting is???!!) that is 'green'. I'm assuming he means colour, not ecological friendliness- though we might get to that too.

These are the fabrics I've chosen so far...

I can never resist sneaking a little Anna Maria Horner into the mix.  Sigh.  I love her.  Also some Chicopee from Denyse and the rest is from my stash- hand me downs, bought without purpose or leftovers from other quilts.  Oh, and that old shirt at the top from the thrift store.  So it's kinda 'green' too.  And of course there's the 'main' print Joel Dewberry's Woodgrain- mentioned in the last post. 

And here's the pattern that I'm cribbing-

well, it's not really a pattern is it?  Just a guide... so the Woodgrain would replace the light blue on the left hand half and the rest will make up those squres.  Not sure what I'm going to do with the squares background- possibly undyed linen.

We shall see!

The Next Big Thing

My first queen sized quilt.  Ack.  Size does matter.  My uber-cool-urbanite-musician-cousin (male! mid-twenties!) randomly asked if anyone wanted to make him a 'green' quilt.   I'm assuming he means green in colour cuz I just bought 5 yards of Joel Dewberry's Woodgrain in Dill.

New Bag, New Blog

Two firsts- one a finish and one a beginning.  How do you like my new purse?

(Pattern is the 'Retro Bag' from Creative Handbags @ http://www.myhobbystore.co.uk )

What am I thinking starting a blog?  So far, I'm considering this as mostly just a spot to record my creations.  Facebook pictures just aren't doing it for me anymore and I feel like I'm sharing my sewing with a lot of folks who don't 'do' sewing there.  So here we are!  Well, here I am, and perhaps you'll join me somewhere along the way.  

A neighbour of mine calls blogs 'brags', he's not wrong... but I'd like to think it will be a useful place to brag, and along the way I'll probably also bitch, bore you, wonder aloud (ran out of b words) and perhaps even learn something new.