Am I Crazy?

I started another quilt. I'm not finished the one I'm working on. I have lots in my WIP bin. Does anyone else do that?

Paintbox Quilt-along Quilt

I've made my first blocks for Oh Fransson's Paintbox Quilt-Along. Mine won't be a true Paintbox as my print is the same in every block and I only have about 12 colours. I've made my first 24, 4 pairs of 3 colours so far. Another 75 to go...I hope to make it a twin size for my son.

Pretty bright and wild!

I'm thinking ahead a little, debating whether or not to make more blocks and leave out the sashing or not. I think it may be too busy without anything "calmer" between the blocks but maybe not.

Any thoughts on my conundrum?

A's Coat

I finished my oldest daughter's coat yesterday (except for some buttons on the cuffs) - yea! It is a Burda pattern, #9596. I had initially hoped to use a thrifted wool blanket but after trying to felt it a few times I could never get it to lay flat anymore. Too bad, but I picked up this cordouroy at Fabricland. Then I had to figure out how to make it warmer so I stuck a layer of flannel to the outside and used fusible fleece on the bodice of the lining. It worked out well. The fusible fleece might be a bit boxy but I think it works pretty good.

The arms are long (that way hopefully she can wear it next year too) but not as long as it looks. She really didn't want me to take pictures and is all scrunched up although as you can see she did loosen up a little :)

I'm linking up to Sew and Tell Fridays. Go on and check out all the other fun stuff!

For Monica

I don't know if anyone ever dedicates there quilts to anyone and then keeps it for themselves but that's what I'm doing :)  Monica is (or shall I say "was" as we are now across the world from eachother) a great friend of mine and almost two years ago we decided to both make a table topper using the same pattern but choosing our own fabrics.  Well, with good intentions we both pieced them together and took them along on a combined family holiday to these lovely cottages

but got very little done as you can only imagine.  I'm not sure what I was thinking :)  A few weeks after this my family and I moved across the country and this little table topper came along for the ride.  I did a bit on our long drive and then it got tucked away and every once in a while over the year I would pull it out and do a few stitches (I didn't have my weekly quilting group to go to to keep me going).  In the meantime Monica finished hers

and then moved to the other side of the world!!  I finally finished it before Christmas with a lot less quilting on it than I had intended, and put the binding on last week!

So...I dedicate this to you Monica and will think of you when ever I put this on the table!

New Fabric, a Baby Gift and an Award

First off, the new fabric! Who wouldn't love to have these beauties in their possession?



I stopped at Quilt Essentials on my way home the other day. I LOVE that store! Of course I had three kids with me and limited funds so this is all I came home with.



I made a couple of recieving blankets for baby gifts. I only took photos of this one. We are having a baby boom in our church (this is not unusual!) The last 5 have been girls. I have some more gifts to get busy on too!



And a photo of the binding, because I like it! It's the perfect shade of pink.

Our blog was nominated by two others for the Lemonade Stand award. Thank you so much to Leslie and Heather! We aren't going to nominate anyone else this time but I'm going to mention a few blogs that I like to visit (besides the 2 ladies who nominated us.)

SewChic A mom and daughter who blog about their sewing projects.
Siestas and Sewing A mom of 4 who sews beautiful clothing for her kids.
Presser Foot Sisters who blog about their sewing adventures (hey that sounds familiar!)
and
Use the Loot She makes amazing stuff from thrifted vintage linens.

These are just a few of the blogs in my reader. Hope you all have a good week. I should be back in this space later this week with a Thrifty Threads post.

Working with Knits, Again

I had planned on doing alot more sewing with knits but checking back I noticed that August was the last time I touched my stash of cotton knits. Yesterday I put together this number for my Carolin.

I borrowed Ottobre from a friend and made one of the patterns (Autumn 2009, Reversable Raglan-Sleeve Top.) I'd like to try one more pattern in the magazine to see if I could see myself spending money on the Ottobre Design magazine (is it really a magazine?)

/I used my twin needle for the first time! What a great way to finish it.

Sewing with a knit fabric is a whole different ball game from sewing with woven fabrics. The fabric tends to curl and stretch, yet when the article of clothing is finished it is very forgiving of any minor errors, unlike a crispy cotton. It's also very comfortable to wear.

As always, sewing for Carolin is rewarding because the photo shoot is so much fun. Love that girl, mischief and all!

This was a fairly thrifty project. I bought the aqua knit at Liquidation World way back for $1.00/metre (I only used 1/2 of a metre) and the gray heart cotton jersey knit from an online store that was clearing out for about $5.00/metre including shipping costs (I only used 1/2 metre.) That makes the shirt about $3.00 to make.

A Quiet Week

Yes, it's been a little quiet around here but it doesn't mean we haven't been busy :)  Just haven't completed anything.  I've been working on a Sunday coat for my oldest using Burda 9596 pattern (Alisa made two of them last year for her daughters so the pattern recommendation made my choise easy!).  And I know Alisa's been busy working on another quilt.

I've also got my head churning as I am going to join Oh Fransson in her Paintbox Quilt-Along.  I plan on making a twin size quilt for my son - I'm excited!

And, just so I don't post without a picture...this is the quilt I made when taking my first quilt class (I had made a baby quilt before).  It was supposed to be a small wall hanging or table runner but I made extra blocks so it could be a kids quilt.  It's machine pieced but hand quilted.  I took the course in the fall of 2006 and finally finished it sometime in 2008.  While I enjoy hand quilting it takes way to long for me!  In the end I don't really like it, I think it would've looked a lot better with sashing but I did learn a lot and you gotta start somewhere, right?

Sew & Tell

I shared these in my year end review but I thought I'd do a separate post for Sew and Tell and Fabric Friday. I made the rectangular runner for my brother and sister-in-law as a very late wedding gift. I quilted it diagonally, two lines one way and one the other - inspired by Film in the Fridge.  I pieced the back so that it's double-sided and I think I like the back better!

I made this one as I was teaching a little quilt class and gave it to my Mom (and Dad too).

With both I gave a set of 6 coasters. Thanks Linnet for sending a picture!

I also made a runner for us the same as the top one that I meander quilted.  I think that was the extent of any gift sewing this year.
Head on over to amylouwho and Rosebud Quilting to check out the other sew and tells!

Thrifty Threads # 8

So...I wanted a one piece suit for Sophie for going in the van but didn't want to spend lots. I also didn't see anything above 12 months that wasn't snowsuit material. So I dug out this fleece and flannel that I've had for 5 years or so and made her one. I started out with a sleeper pattern, added the hat and mitts, lined it, and lengthened it. I've never really adjusted a pattern so much so it was a bit challenging. It turned out pretty good but it just barely fits her. :( Seeing as it's cold here until April it may not last the season!
The nice pink snaps were put on by a friend with a nice snap press - it really finished it off nicely.

She's standing by herself here and looking so proud of herself!

Quick Peek

What are you working on?

Zachary's Quilt

Zachary is 8 months old and I'm finally finished his baby quilt. I sized it generously so it will work well when he's a toddler too.



I got the inspiration for the pattern from an advertisement for a rug in a Home Depot flyer a long time ago. This quilt looks nothing like the rug.



The back. I only had 1 metre of the flannel with the cars on it, so I had to improvise. It worked out pretty well.



The label incorporated into the back. Quilted on the diagonal, 2 lines one way and 1 line the other way. Inspired by Film in the Fridge. If you've never seen her blog you should check it out.



One of my favourite prints.



And of course, the little guy with his new quilt. He's just crawling!!