Triple Blessings!

A friend of mine is expecting triplets soon and I made these three adorable quilts for her much anticipated little ones: Harrison, Leah, and Cara. 

 The boy quilt was made using madras and flannel turtle prints. I loosely quilted it so as not to make it look girly and for extra softness on the flannel.

This one I quilted with my free motion foot and I used various prints. 

This one is also quilted free motion and much of the same prints in the other girl one so they would match, but not be matchy-matchy. 

From the ooohhh's and awww's of those in attendance of the shower and a few tears from the mom-to-be I know these quilts were well received! We all can't wait to meet the new additions!

Vintage Bricks Quilt

 I finally finished the bed size spring summer quilt that I had to put away because I got so mad at it!

 I made a pieced backing with vintage sheets and the bricks are also made from vintage sheets.

 This quilt is huge. It is the largest quilt I have ever done and I can't believe I actually got it shoved under my machine to quilt it. I way overestimated the top. I must have messed up some math somewhere (which wouldn't be beyond me!).

 See how it matches my artwork I had previously made for the wall? Now it is nice and summery!

Pillows!

I have been wanting to make new pillow for the couch for a long time and I finally got around to it yesterday. I used some upolstery fabric scraps that my Dad brought me after picking them up from a craigslist posting from a store who was cleaning them out to make room for new. 

Here is the before picture. These pillows came from a yard sale and I bought them with the intentions to use the pillow forms but they stayed on the couch for way longer than I wanted! 

 

 Here is the after! How cute are they? I am so pleased with how they turned out. I used this tutorial for the round pillows and I made the one in the middle by just cutting random strips and sewing them together.

 Here is the back of the pillow in the middle. It is reversible! The round ones have the same backing.

Close up of pillow in middle

Round pillow

Other round pillow

 Once I made those pillows, I had to made some new covers for the loveseat pillows! They needed to match! Here is the before...

 And here is the after! These are made with 16 4" squares and a 1 1/2" border. They are removable.

Loveseat pillow close-up

They make you want to just sit on the couch all day with them and tell them how much you love them!

Laying it aside

 Me and the quilt have been having it out discussing the idea of laying it aside and moving on for a while. After I made some mistakes like not making the quilt back big enough, sewing things together wrong, and general frustrations I have decided to put it up and move on to something else. I can't handle it right now! So, here is a photo glimpse of the finished top for you to view. I will return to the quilt after I have regained my sanity.

 I decided to mend some old quilts that have been needing it for quite a while. This one is an applique butterfly quilt pieced by my great-grandmother and (after many years finally) hand quilted by some ladies at my grandmother's church. I loved relaxing under it and sewing on it while thinking about where the fabrics came from and how my stitches intertwined with her's that she put in so many years ago.

I found little quirks in the quilt that I hadn't noticed before. It is hard to see in the photo but she had pieced a very small corner of back to complete the butterfly body. Such a small piece I probably would have cut the whole body smaller. I wondered why she had done that.

Some of the butterflies were in bad shape and some only needed a small stitch to keep it tacked down. This one was the worst. Here it is before:

 Here it is after I stitched it down and cut away the fraying pieces. I had to really alter the shape but at least it won't come off in the wash. This quilt now has its washing orders!

I also wanted to share this wreath I made. The whole thing probably cost me a dollar. I bought the vine wreath at a yard sale and got the flowers for free. 

Still working...

 This quilt is one I wish I hadn't started! I want the quilt but I'm struggling to get it done. It is hot upstairs and I just want this thing done! Ya'll ever feel like that?

Numbered rows

 I found a trick to keeping the top on the table. It kept wanting to slide off while I pinned so I found these bag clips and clipped it to the table. 

The top is finished! Yay! I'm almost finished with the back. I had stop mid-sew and just leave it. I was sweating and getting frustrated by the second!  Perhaps once I start quilting it I will feel better.

Work in Progress

 I've been dreaming about a vintage sheet quilt for a very long while. I have browsed patterns, tutorials, and magazines to find the right pattern for the job and I have settled on a bricks design. It seemed fitting for the fabrics and a good way to feature them without being overly complex. The quilt will be queen sized for the bed. I cut the pieces today:

I also finally got around to making these:

They are embroidery hoops in different sizes with vintage sheets showcased. I've seen them many places and wanted to try them myself. I found the hoops at a estate sale along with the sheets. The whole display cost me under $3!

Looks like I will busy at my machine tomorrow! I've got to get this quilt finished before it gets hot outside!

give it away, give it away, now!

 I made these two quilts for a local Child Advocacy Center. The center gives the quilts to children/teens during a medical examination as a means to comfort them during that scary time. The child/teen then takes the quilt home with them. Kids go to the advocacy center if they are abused or mistreated and thinking about that just breaks my heart. No child should ever have to go through the unspeakable horrors that echo off that center's walls.

 The lady I emailed with at center said they were in need of teen style quilts. I went through my stash and came with this cute pink and black combo.

 This was my first attempt of a pieced back and I enjoy it very much! I will be doing that more in the future.

 This quilt is geared towards "boy." I always find it hard to make a quilt for a guy! I just went with solid gray and that cute awesome penguin flannel print. You can just see the softness in it!

Here they are! Ready to be given away! When they are stacked like this, you can really see what a difference different types of quilting make. See how much loft the penguins seem to have? I quilted those very loosely with my walking foot verses the pink and black one that is quilted more tightly with free motion loops. 

Sounds like I'll have the Red Hot Chili Peppers in my head for a while now!