WIP Wednesday

Spending the afternoon working on this applique quilt.  First custom order ever!  

Great way to spend my birthday!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

First Day of Spring

My kids have been on Spring Break this past week (and will be next week as well) but today, the first full day of Spring, was the first sunny day.  It was so good to spend most of the day outside.  I was like a magnet, I kept going outside even though I had some house work to do.  The housework didn't get done.  There was lots of bubble blowing, building (a purple coffee table?), walking to the park and library, eating outside, laundry hanging, and soaking up the sun.  Tomorrow we'll be back to rain but we did have one sunny day to remember.

Little Birds Wall Hanging

Every year I intend to make a springy wall hanging to replace my snowman one and I finally did it this year! This little project was inspired by a couple of things.  I saw this ad from Windham Fabrics that I really liked but was trying to come up with a background fabric.  I first thought a linen so it would have texture but my LQS didn't have any.  Then...Alisa posted her table runner and I fell in love :)

The birds don't stand out as much as I'd like (maybe should've made them bigger or used all solid fabrics) but I still love it!

None of the bindings I first pulled spoke to me and then I came across a small scrap of the orange diamond fabric left over from this project, but it was only a tiny piece!  So I decided on orange and snuck that little scrap in - makes me happy.

Now I can walk out of the house (it's hanging right by the door) with a smile every time!

Sunshine in my Livingroom

We don't usually lack sunshine here in the winter but this new table runner and pillow sure add to the brightness of the room!

The new additions coordinate so nicely with the pillow Alisa made me last year.

The pillow was made using the Lone Starburst block pattern from Craftsy and the table runner was based on this Broken Herringbone Block, I just kept going :)

Snuggler for Joshua

A surprise came in the mail this week!  No, not the baby, just the snuggler. 

When I had Joshua, Suzanne was (sort of) complaining that she couldn't even make the baby gift because I'd sewn everything myself.  So I mentioned that I had hoped to make a snuggler but hadn't gotten around to it.  She was off and running.

And it is perfect!  He is starting to wriggle out of his receiving blankets that I swaddle him in so it is good timing.

See, he loves it!  (And do you see his dimple?  I love it!)

Suzanne used this pattern that I had pinned and added 2 inches to the length knowing that Joshua was growing fast.

This is where I'm supposed to apologize for baby photo overload, but I'm not sorry so I won't!

Also, I have started using Instagram to document my sewing and family life a bit so if you want to see a bit more just look me up, I'm @busyquiltmom.  And let me know if you do too so I can look you up.

Pictures of my Scrappy Trip Along

Yes, I know the hype about Scrappy Trip Quilts is loooong over but I'm still excited about mine!  I finished stitching the binding on the night before our Quilt Retreat but finally got a chance to take some pictures of it (now that the weather is above 0 degrees!!).

Quilt stats:
* Made using Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trip block directions but started with 2" x 12" strips
* 54 - 9" blocks
* 1944 - 1.5"squares
* 16 bobbins of thread
* FMQ using Elizabeth Hartman's Orange Peel Quilting tutorial and I did the border with free motion leaves
* Made completely of scraps and stash fabrics except for the light purple used for the borders and on the back
* Total cost $30!!

I love everything about this quilt!  The scrappiness, the texture, the cost, but what I can't figure out is...
Why, after making two scrap quilts this past year, are my scrap bins still overflowing?!

Dresden Plate Table Runner

This project was so much fun!  Another thank you gift, this time for my mom.  She loves everything we make for her and uses them around her house.  This time a colourful springtime runner.

I appliqued the plates and centres on with a small blanket stitch (with my sewing machine).

And then I free motion quilted the entire thing, including each wedge.  A bit tricky to fmq straight lines and there are some wobbly spots but overall it looks okay (to me.)  It's much quicker to fmq than rotate the quilt so many times.  The spirals aren't that great but not bad enough to pick out and do over.

And the back.  

Thanks for reading our blog and have a good weekend!

WIP Wednesday

I thought I'd join up with WIP Wednesday today since that's all I seem to have lately.  I have been enjoying my bits of time in the sewing room though.

Something completed:  A set of pouches for my s-i-l.  Stuffed with some fun stuff they were her birthday/thank you present.  She took very good care of my girls for a few days after Joshua was born.

Working on a table runner for someone special.  It hasn't been smooth sailing but I'm glad that it's almost finished.

 EPP ongoing project.  I pulled out a couple of weeks ago to work on during a snowy Sunday.  I think I'll call it my Sunday stitching project.

Project clean up the sewing room.  I went through my yardage, my fat quarter stash and now the scraps.  These two photos are not all the scraps.  I have several bags going to the garbage and several to the thrift store.

The scraps I'm keeping.  I hope to do some scrap sewing this year.  (I'd better do some!)

My tidy yardage and the messy wall below it.  I think I'll leave it messy though as I like it that way!

So, that's what I've been working on lately.  What have you been up to?  Link up at WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Finished my FAL list!

Here's the last thing from my original FAL list!  It was a short list but it feels good to have actually completed it.

Not the greatest pictures but this is a small baby quilt for the PCC that I practiced my orange peel quilting on.  So summery!