I decided the first maze I showed would be the one I would make. I counted the blocks and found it to be 25 wide and 37 long. Odd numbers! I’ll put the characters in the border, so I’ll think about them later. I have a large version of the maze printed and posted in my sewing room to refer to.

I dug out all the bright and dark scraps I had, plus a few on the lighter side. I didn’t want anything too light, as the path will be white and I don’t want part of the wall to look like path. I discarded some of the fabrics as too heavy, or not appropriate for a baby or child. The squares will be 1 1/2″ square finished, so I started by cutting 2″ strips.

2" strips

At my sewing machine, I stitched together two random colors/prints. I left the strips whatever length they were, and didn’t care if the ends matched. Next would be trimming them.

trimming strips

Over at the cutting mat, I decided to trim the strips into 4″ lengths where possible, and 2″ if needed. Nothing smaller would work. My goal is to have a very random and colorful arrangement of fabrics as the wall of the maze.

stacks

I’m ready for the next part of the piecing. I’ll probably toss all the pieces in a small box and mix them gently so I’ll grab out two and have all different fabrics showing. Then I’ll stitch them together. (I started to describe the next step, but I think I’d better show it when I get there.)

If you plan to also make a maze quilt, I’d love to see it and hear about your ideas!

I wanted the walls and paths to be equal widths, so I can use a postage stamp-like piecing method. In fact, the more I thought about it, I’ll even use strips of white for the paths, so there isn’t quite as much cutting and sewing to do. I’ll make the walls from brightly colored scraps from my stash, which I’m still trying to whittle down.

Here are some mazes generated:

left entrance, right exit

I think I like this one best. Each time I hit the “back” button I could generate a different random maze, so I did several more.

top entrance, left exit

left entrance and exit

I think that one will not feel balanced. I like the chevron effect in the lower left portion, though.

top entrance, exit

All I could think was, why go through the maze when the goal is next to you? Again, I see a bit of design in it, this time a Grecian key effect.

I’ll have a wide border of a single fabric around the maze, and at the entrance point will be the “thing” and the exit point will have the “goal”. What should they be? Frog and a lily pad? Princess and a castle? Race car and checkered flag? Puppy and a ball? I’m thinking baby quilt, so I’ll take any suggestions you may have. I may like yours better than any of mine!

inspired temporary storage of fabric

I have some plastic bins on the floor with various craft supplies that I can’t seem to live without, but never open the box to access. Anyway, I decided to tape together some of the boxes we have saved for the next big pack-and-move, and use them as fabric storage. All this is supposedly set aside for doll clothing and accessories. I keep going to thrift stores and stumbling onto fantastic sales so I come home with another bag full of tops, tablecloths, and fabric remnants that I just know I can turn into something absolutely cute for a doll.

I stacked the boxes in the corner, and it also inspired me to rearrange most of the rest of the room. I think I can walk through it again. Even though I resent using valuable sewing time to clean, fold, and reorganize, I know I’ll appreciate it the first chance I need something and can immediately put my hands on it.

I used the rotary cutting machine to cut the strips and the bias tape maker to fold and press them. Once I got a rhythm, it was much faster than even rotary cutting on the mat, and pressing with my iron.

I used them to make binding for this star quilt, which is my first finish of the year for quilting. Baby shower today, so it’s done just in time. I finished the hand-stitching on the binding on Friday.

Here is a close-up look at the pieced binding. The tape maker machine didn’t much like the seams, but if I helped pull it through it worked okay.

The second time I used the gadgets was to cut and press the binding for this doll quilt. It all went much more quickly, and with very few seams in the binding I had it pressed in a jiffy.

I was wandering through Pinterest posts today and the thought hit me – I want to do a child’s quilt that ends up looking like a maze. A real one that the child can trace with her finger and find the prize at the end.

I started my Google image search for the maze design I will use, and found a few possibilities. What I love about the internet is that I can usually find what I’m looking for. These will be good places to begin to design from.

Stay tuned! At some point I’ll be posting photos of the one I have completed!

(more posts about the maze quilt HERE and HERE)

I found a girl’s pink t-shirt for a quarter. I knew I would repurpose it for doll clothing. I wish I had a before picture, but here is the after:

• one doll’s tank top
• one knit ruffle scarf for dolls
• one knit ruffle scarf for girls
• two knit braided headbands for dolls

Just think what I could have made with a larger t-shirt! I also saved a bit of pink knit fabric to use later, and the sparkly M (for Missouri) to applique on something else.

This past weekend I found these two 18″ dolls at a thrift store, for a combined total of $6.50. I already cleaned the skin of both of them using lens cleaners for glasses. I figured (correctly) the alcohol would rid them of most of the smudges. I need to figure out something to use on the purple marker that wasn’t easily removed. The picture above is an almost-before picture of the dolls. I have to do something about their hair, and I’m going to use the ONE shoe as a pattern for making shoes for dolls.

Now that we’re back, I have projects to start and finish. I’m hoping I’ll finish more than I start!

paper-pieced star quilt

Here is one finish for the next couple of weeks: a baby quilt for my third grandson. I completed the quilt top last fall, but it’s one that I started several years ago. I choose challenging designs so that I can grow and learn, and possibly use it again when I want to. This is a paper-pieced star. I used all star fabrics, in different scales. Last night I pressed and laid out the layers, and pinned them for machine quilting. I received a baby shower invitation in the mail, so that’s my new deadline for completion.

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.

The plus sign quilt top is one of them. It has been fun, and a challenge. I started with an internet photo of someone else’s quilt. At first I had wider strips, but decided to make it a smaller pattern. I ended up cutting strips at 2 inches wide. I figured for a baby quilt, I would need 20 squares wide (some of the fabric pieces count as 3 squares) to make it 30″, and 30 rows to make it 45″ long. I’ll add a border before I quilt it.

The challenging part was keeping track of which piece would come next, and also spacing out duplicate fabrics so they don’t dominate an area of the quilt.

Here are a couple of close-up views of some fabrics. I’m very pleased with this quilt. I think future granddaughter will sleep very well under it.

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.