Now I’m ready for Christmas!

I just had to make another one of the super-quick lap quilts. We have a new step-granddaughter who is 4 and I think she will absolutely love the pink sweetness and rainbows on this bright flannel. To avoid a sugar coma, I backed it with white fleece instead of trying to match the pink.

I made the label myself. I fused interfacing to the back of white cotton, then printed what I wanted it to say. I heat-set it with my iron, trimmed, and hemmed it.  Not all printer inks will be colorfast, and I originally tried something with color in it. The black held, but the color washed away. Always do a test patch! As a sweet added touch, I couched pink ribbon around the edge with extra at the beginning and ending, and tied it into a bow.

Making do with what it is

I love thrift store shopping, and crafting. The two go hand in hand, quite often.

I am an elementary reading teacher, and right now I have 50 students. I always put up a small Christmas tree in my classroom, and usually have ornaments on the tree that students can choose to keep.

I found a bag full of small round “gold” rings, and my thought was that they were snap-together frames for a craft project. Knowing there were plenty in the bag for one per student, I bought it. Little did I know, they were actually curtain rings. No snap together parts.

No worries. I got them home, fiddled around a little, and decided there was plenty of gluing surface to cut paper in a circle and glue to the back. I got out my new crafty circle cutter and found 1 5/8″ is the right measurement.

I plan to print a photo of each student to put in the center of 50 of the rings.

I counted out 50, and found at least that many remaining in the bag, so I found some scraps and this is what I did. Simple, cute, and I may revise it at some point.

I had a small scrap of pine tree fabric and it covered the backs of three of the rings. A little bit of ribbon, and it’s a simple ornament. I will probably work up a small tribute on the back saying it’s a gift from Mrs. M.

Where has the month gone?

I’m finally feeling better, but this post isn’t about my health issues. I’ve found a few minutes here and there in which to sew, and I finally have something to show (you) for it.

crescent Santa tree skirt

Since the beard was the last thing I did, besides stitching down the various parts, and it was freehand and spontaneous, it took me a while to plan out the spontaneous part. Yes, I’m that much of a planner. The final part was to place the stars. The book suggested painting small wooden stars with gold paint, drilling two holes, and stitching them on like buttons. I chose to use 3 different colors of yellow and embroider them. I did few, so they didn’t overpower Santa, and none on the back side because it wouldn’t show.

doll quilt

I also worked on another doll quilt. This one used scraps from this wall quilt I made for signatures at a 50th wedding anniversary party.  I found 4 matching half-square triangles and arranged them as a pinwheel, then sewed the pinwheels together. This will go into the Etsy store for sale, and I plan to make more. I found a doll that could model the quilts for me, but still am lacking a bed for more polished-looking pictures. Of course, since the doll needed a nightgown, I made that for her, too.

I worked a bit on the circle quilt, but I’ve found that I’ve done too much unnecessary work. I will have a future tutorial to explain the shortcuts I’ve found. Since I have at least 3 more to complete, I don’t feel like I’ve learned these things too late.

3 projects going at once

I have several projects going right now, and three that I’m trying to work on through this long weekend.

First, I had copied the pattern pieces for this Christmas tree skirt from a book, Deck the Halls. I currently can’t find the book, so I’m winging it when I have to. The background is blue felt, with Santa’s face curving around the circular edge. The directions say to use small wooden stars, paint them gold, drill a couple of holes and attach them as buttons for the stars in the night sky. I plan to use my home embroidery machine to embroider gold stars in the sky. This is an overdue wedding gift for a nephew who was recently married. I figure the gift isn’t late until Thanksgiving, and I plan to have it completed and sent well before then.

I also have circles. Lots of them.

I had cut these circles about a week ago for my friend’s quilts for her daughters. Instead of using her late husband’s jeans for these, since he didn’t have the numbers that 4 quilts would require, she had bought blue cotton fabric. I need to mark the squares, purchase and cut the batting, and start cutting the shirt fabric squares.

The other project I sewed on today was a doll quilt. I haven’t made one before, but I have the occasion to do so now. My stepson is marrying soon and will acquire a stepdaughter of his own. She’s only 4 and I look forward to meeting her. They are expecting a baby, and because the big sister will likely feel a little left out of things, I planned to make her some doll accessories.

I had bought some “quilter’s grid on point” and I couldn’t wait to use it. The amount I bought was the perfect size to cut into four pieces and each can be used for a doll quilt.

I used pink fabric and some of the floral bedsheet fabric I still have, and made 16-patch blocks. I broke up the blocks with solid blocks from the sheet fabric. I fused the blocks to the grid.

After I took this photo I realized the one-way direction of the white blocks would be going the wrong way. I found that I could peel each off, reposition, and press again. Good to know, I often have to adjust something as I go.

This is the back view of the grid. It is “grid on point” and would be very handy for stitching on a line, but I didn’t use it that way. I folded it between the blocks and sewed each direction. Incredibly fast and easy! I think I may love using this stuff.

I backed the quilt with white flannel, used low-loft batting scraps inside, and bound it with plain pink fabric.  I think Lamb Chop got very comfortable and I think my new step-step-granddaughter will enjoy it as well.

Something vintage and fun

I was reorganizing papers in my sewing room and came across this pocket folio. This shows my old way of getting and keeping patterns! Most of what I found was in one of two women’s magazines that I read at the time.

This was in Family Circle magazine, dated 12/3/85. The pattern pieces were drawn on a grid, and it was up to the seamstress to  transfer the lines to a grid drawn according to the instructions. I used a couple of different types of papers, even a spare legal pad.

It took a bit of time, but we had no desktop computer, printer, or access to a copy machine with a zoom feature. I drew the grid lines, and added the pattern lines. It was like an old art class exercise, and having had that experience came in handy.

That year, for Christmas, I made a dolly for each of my 6 nieces. Each doll had hair similar to the recipient. Cabbage Patch Dolls had made an entrance on the toy store shelves, and this was a handmade answer to that craze. The clothing patterns were sized to fit either this doll or Cabbage Patch Dolls.

It’s funny that I’ve kept the pattern and instructions all these years. A few years ago I made a doll for myself with this pattern, to carry as a prop for a Halloween costume.

Busy otherwise, not busy quilting

I have been really busy lately, but not with quilting as much as I would like to be. We have decided to move, and we’ll be selling our house and many belongings at an auction scheduled for March. This means I am very busy with packing boxes, moving items to a sale staging area, and getting the house ready for an open house.

The good news is, in the course of cleaning and organizing the sewing room, I put all my unfinished projects in one box. Now that most of the intense work is done, I can spare some time for sewing and quilting. I don’t really want to start a new project, and seeing my old unfinished ones gave me a little incentive to clear out the box soon. It’ll be easy to pull out a project, work a bit, and it can go right back in the box if I don’t have time to work on it.

I pulled out two Christmas table runners last weekend, and finished them. One is for my niece and one for myself. I rarely make two items the same but I loved this design. I saw a project, but I never purchase kits so I made one that was similar. I had most of the squares together, the large white blocks cut out, and was stuck with deciding what to fill that large white space with. I noticed I had two different holly patterned fabrics so I appliqued holly leaves and berries. I’m very happy with the result, and in two days was able to complete these two table runners.

This weekend I noticed a tutorial by Noodlehead, which came at exactly the right time. I have three co-workers having babies, and I needed a fast project I could finish within a week, when the shower is scheduled. I made some diaper pouches using scraps from my closet. The color portions are flannel, leftover from previously made baby quilts.

What makes me happy? Two great weekends of sewing!

Mustard, relish and…

Catch up! I know, corny joke, but I had to do it.

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to sew much in the past few months, but I’ve been busy. The thing about teaching is that it takes up my whole day, and I have errands and other such things to do on the weekend. I have to make a concentrated effort to find the time to sew.

Since I have a grandson due in February, I knew I would spend a bit of my Christmas break from school in the sewing room to make the quilt for the new baby. I started thinking about designing it, and searched the internet for a few designs. I fell in love with this one. I like how the colors are bright, and mixed with white. I like how I could make it from stash and scraps. I like how it looks like vertical zippers.

I printed the picture, which is marked as 1930s baby quilt, and figured out the dimensions of the bricks by what size I wanted a baby quilt to be. I decided to cut 4 1/2″  wide strips of color. Each color brick would be 4 1/2″ by 2 1/2″, but I sewed strips of white to the strips of color before cutting the bricks.

These are the bricks after all cutting was complete. I know it’s heavy on the blues and greens, but I seem to sew a lot in those colors. I have a few bright colored bricks to toss here and there.

Not wanting to have too much of the same color bunched together, I laid out all the bricks, but I overlapped them to save space. Still, it took almost all the space on my cutting table. Here’s how it looked when I knew I had the right combo.

Now to sew. I spent much of today on the cutting, laying out, and sewing part of the top. I have 4 strips out of 7 now sewn together vertically, and enjoyed non-stop Christmas music as I worked. I don’t have a design wall, but I do have a hanging roll of batting, so I pinned the strips to the batting to take a look.

I anticipate some time tomorrow to do more sewing to get it together. The reason for beating the Christmas vacation plan is that the baby’s mom has pre-eclampsia and may be delivering the baby a month early.

Bits and pieces

Oh boy, do I have some catching up to do.

Here is a picture of the Christmas table runner I started a couple of weeks ago.

I have not worked on it any more than I did that day. The next step is a 10″ square with an appliqued poinsettia in it, one for each end. Here’s a close up of the fabrics I chose.

I got distracted a bit. I made the book purse for my niece for a graduation gift, and haven’t got it sent out yet. I also still have the baby quilt on my couch, waiting for a box and a trip to the post office.

I’ve decided to make more of the book purses and list them in an Etsy store. I’m still setting up the store, but I noticed I’d be able to have a link from my blog directly to my store. Each item I finish making will be posted on the blog and then in the store, in case my readers should decide they can’t live without my purses!

Of course, that means I really must go to the thrift store tomorrow for their great weekly clearance sale. I’ll need belts, ribbons, purses (for their hardware), scarves and sewing notion grab-bags, plus anything else that catches my eye.

Starting Christmas

Today is the day I started Christmas quilting. My first holiday project is a table runner.

This will be a gift for my niece. I want one also, for myself, so as I cut the strips and blocks for my niece’s table runner, I cut an equal number for my own.

Have I said how much I love chain piecing? It gives me plenty of time to think, plan things out ahead, or just let my mind wander. Before I know it, that huge pile of cut fabric pieces has become something recognizable as part of a project.

Here is a look at the fabrics I chose for this project. Now that I have the strips complete, I would like a do-over. Have you ever done that? In fact, now that I think of it, I’ve often changed how I created a second project based on what I didn’t like or thought I could improve as I finished a first one.

I don’t have a photo of the project half-complete, but I think I’ve got time to be working on it again tomorrow. I’ll see what I can do.