Christmas Quilt 2014

Hello!

I have been around, don't worry! ;)  I actually have been working on lots of things behind the scenes here, I just don't always keep up posting.

I made this Christmas quilt top this year in August.  It came together rather quickly, the tedious part was cutting and chain piecing all the little dresdens.  It's a pattern from Gigi's Thimble.  (I added an extra row to the square quilt).   I've had this pattern a year or two and have been waiting for the perfect Christmas fabric, nothing too dark, and bright cheery reds and greens.  This fabric, Solstice by Kate Spain for Moda was just the perfect match.

I started early on this because I'm working on hand quilting this cute little guy.  The quilt will end up about 53X68.  I  nice lap size to snuggle with.  I've never hand quilted before and wanted to try it at least once.

I have one square completed and hand quilted.  I stitched a snowflake I bought a template) in the center of the dresdens and then holly (I made my own stencil) on the corners and swirls that connected the holly.

Snowflake in the center of this dresden

Here in the bottom right corner you can see a little peek of the quilted holly corner.  You can also see how I"m planning on quilting the borders.

I tried using a hoop, but I didn't like it.  Maybe my hoop was too large for me to handle, but I actually like quilting without a hoop, I feel like I can move it more easily and get exactly where I need to see.

I also made my own holly stencil with swirls for the 5 inch border.  I couldn't find anything I liked or that was big enough.  I like a challenge. :)

Last I LOVE the backing fabric- it looks a bit like a fern pattern with berries.  I made my own paper-piecing pattern for the Christmas trees.  I haven't made my own paper piecing pattern before either, that was fun!

Jenny

Zippred Pouch

Hello!

I've made several zippered pouches following this awesome tutorial from Noodlehead.


She has a wonderful and easy to follow tutorial on how to create these.  I've followed them and have also played with a few different sizes myself to get a taller of skinnier bag.  It all depends. 

Here are a few pics of ones I've created.


Here they are:

for my sister

I added a little hexie flower and hand stitched around it

For mother's day gifts

for my son's preschool teachers at the end of the year

I've had fun making these super cute pouches, I bet you will too!
Jenny

Taggie Blanket

Hello!

I know there are man y tutorials out there for these awesome baby taggie blankets.  I thought I'd just show you a few extra tips that I use when making my blankets.  I like the make my blankets a bit longer than just the 12x12 size.  My blankets usually end up about 36 x 44.  Just about the exact size of a yard of fabric (minus just a bit for 1/2 inch seam allowance).

After I measure up and cut the fabric, I turn the fabric right sides together to get ready to sew.  I divide my fabric into sections and then pin the ribbon facing to the inside, so that it sews the right way later.


I sew using a half inch seam allowance and turn them right side out.  I give them a little press and tuck in the area i left open for turning. I then sew all around the outside to close to blanket.  Easy peasy, just like the other awesome tutorials out there. 

But here comes my own next steps that I use:

I use a wide masking tape (about 1.5 inches wide) and measure In 6 inches from the seam and tape all the way around.  I use my long quilting ruler to help keep it straight.

measuring 6 inches in from the seam

I also tape another line on the other side of the ruler, this would be about 12 inches from the outline of the blanket.  This will eventually give me two outlines of boxes on my blanket.

full picture of how I measure my tape lines

Then I take this all to my sewing machine (with a few pins holding all the fabric in place, but out of the way of tape lines).  I sew on the outside of my tape lines.  I try not to run over the tape with my stitching, but if it happens, I don;'t panic because the tape will still come off-remember, it's just masking tape!

Then I peel off my tape and enjoy my blanket!  The masking tape doesn't leave any residue.

You can see the outline of the two boxes.  This type of sewing just keeps the blanket together, like quilting.

Hope that helped you find a new way to make a large taggie blanket more stable!

Jenny :)

Baseball Pants Patch

Hello friends!


I don't know about you, but my little boy has a way of putting holes into his pants.  But he only puts a hole into the left knee. every. single. time.  At least he's consistent :)

So, I've gotten creative with making a patch to cover said hole... enter- the baseball patch!

I made the patch from the twill jeans iron-on patch, but used white.  I used a small bowl to trace the size circle I wanted.  I used red embroidery floss/thread to free-hand the ball stitches.  Then, just iron on over the hole.  Voila! :)

My little guy absolutely loves it-plus it already has some grass stains now to accent the baseball patch.  We put things to work around here...


Enjoy!
Jenny