Two New Quilts

 This is my baby quilt made with Denyse Schmidt's Hadley jelly roll. I used the Kate Spain Lost City Pattern. I'm still new to machine quilting, so I have been keeping it simple with waves. 

This quilt is for my mother in law for Christmas. I used the Reflections pattern from Kate Henderson's Strip Savvy book. The fabric is a cream background with a Denyse Schmidt Shelburne Falls jelly roll.

Quilt Updates!

Hi! I know its been a while. I have still been crafty, just not bloggy. Thanks to some new inspiration, I've finished 4 small quilts since the summer. The horizontal strip ones are from jelly rolls using the lasagna quilt method. The chevron baby quilt was from three jelly roll packs purchased from Joann. The string quilt is my personal favorite. I love using scraps and I free motion quilted for the first time! It was slightly stressful, but I got the hang of it. 

Swoon Quilt Top

 My Swoon top is finished! I had a really fun time making this top. I had no idea how big the squares were until I actually assembled one. I think I started this last summer. I'm happy to have it finished. I still need to find a backing fabric. 

Quilt and Run

A gorgeous view of White Rock Lake

 Square 7 of 9

 Square 8 of 9

I tried to cram as much stuff in my last week of vacation as I could. I have one more quilt square to go on Swoon and I went running at the lake twice. I was so bad about exercising over the break. I just ate sugar cookies instead. Oops! I hope to get the last square done tonight or tomorrow and get the top completed. 

For Cathy Jo

Guess what! I have been so busy! This is the longest blogging break I've ever taken. I have a confession, I haven't been reading blogs either. I checked my Bloglovin after two weeks and had 300 unread posts. I got so overwhelmed that I marked them all as read. Sorry guys! Well, Hank moved to Dallas and school started. I became co-chair of my department so my work load and late hours doubled from last year. Hopefully my five readers are still around. In other news, I have been bitten by the cycling bug. I got a hybrid bike in March and have since upgraded to this roadie right here. It has been really awesome to have Hank here to ride with. We have discovered some new trails and we think we might be able to ride a trail or not so busy road all the way to Plano. That's about 20 miles one way! I pick up my new bike this weekend from the shop. I cannot wait. My first big ride will probably be with Cathy Jo in Austin this weekend. It's just us girls, so I am looking forward to hearing her expertise. She has been riding for four years. She is my inspiration! 

After finishing my first queen size quilt this summer I took a little crafting break. I have a market coming up, so I need to get busy. Though I think after the markets, I might focus on making more quilts instead of making small stuff for extra cash. Here are a couple quilts that have inspired me lately. 

(Noodlehead)

(Ginger Monkey)

I feel a knitting season coming, too. Thanks for reading and checking back every day for over a month to see if there's anything new (Cathy Jo).

My Very Own Quilt

Finally! This quilt has been at least three years in the making. I started making Ohio Stars (or Texas Stars depending on what book you look at) and finally finished the squares two years ago when we had all those snow days. I hand quilted it and would go through phases and then put it down for 6 months. I powered through this summer and finally finished! It's a queen size, all scraps (except for the solid back and the plain squares. I estimate this quilt took me over 100 hours to complete. I can't wait to wrap up in it this winter. Yay!

Swoon and Stuff

I've reached summer boredom. This is a good thing (no complaints here). This is where I do all the things I've put off all year. 

 I made Bitsy two skirts. The butterfly fabric in the back is almost three years old with the plan of making her a top.

 I've had this IKEA fabric and pillow form for two years now, took care of that...

 I have had the Swoon pattern for over a year now and have been too intimidated to start it. Also, I had no idea what kind of fabric I wanted to use, so I just used what I had and went scrappy. Lots of pieces to cut! 

 I made this one last night in about three hours. I only seam ripped once! 

 Here's my second one. I shaved about thirty minutes off the time. This one was way easier to do than the first one. I knew they were big squares, but I am still amazed at how big. It only takes 9 to make a huge quilt. 

You can find the pattern here.

Grayson's Quilt

I made this toddler sized quilt for baby Grayson in Boston. I found the inspiration for the plus pattern here. I'd love to make a larger one with more colors. I had a hard time not using flowers or pinks and purples! The pattern comes together so easily. I machine quilted along the seams. I hope he wears it out.

Summer

It's summer! Friday was my last day, and I have been at home soaking in summer ever since. I have only left my house this weekend to play soccer and go to the store. I didn't even leave the house yesterday. It's so great. I made a toddler sized quilt for someone special. I won't show it all yet until he receives it. I also made a tote bag with some fish fabric I've had for over a year. I saw Purl Bee's 40 minute tote. So I followed their pattern and made one yesterday. I didn't snap a picture of it, but the lining is bright orange. I'm on an orange and blue kick I guess. 
I have the White Rock Local Market on Saturday, so I have also been making little things for that. I have a new batch of clips made and some napkins to hem. I do have to go into work today. There's jazzercise involved and my coffee maker decided to quit, so I can grab mine from work. Problem solved! 

Hexies

I've been English Paper Piecing! If you have read my blog for any amount of time, you know I go through obsessive phases of crafting. This week it's hexagons. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with them yet. I'm thinking applique on some wristlets or dish towels. It is such a great way to use tiny scraps and revisit fabric you've forgotten about. I've searched tutorials for months on paper piecing, but it just seemed too tedious. It's not. It's super fast and addicting, like making yo-yo's. I have to admit I'm a bit nervous to remove the basting stitches and paper. I'll let you know!

Fabric List

                    Half Moon Modern Tangerine fabric bundle by Moda                    

Echo Fat Quarter Bundle from Lotta Jansdotter

LouLouThi Fabric Bundle by Anna Maria Horner

I've been window shopping on Etsy for new fabrics. I have found that buying bundles is the way to go if you like to make lots of little projects (which I do). I also shop on fabric.com, but they don't have the bundle selection that small fabric Etsy shops do. My go to fabric shops on Etsy are Fresh Squeezed Fabrics, Fabric Shoppe, and Sew Fresh Fabrics. I can't wait to order some for the spring.

A Quilt!

I made a quilt for TJ and Katy for Christmas! This is the gift I am most excited about giving. I used all scraps and quilted as I went (machine quilted squares and then joined them). I used a vintage sheet for the back that is so soft. It's about a full size, though I didn't officially measure it. It will be great on their sofa or to wrap up in on a cold morning.