100th post!

Wow, I can't believe that I'm already at 100!

There's a lot of words in this post, so I'm going to put in some pictures of quilts from 2009. If you don't want to read the words, just look at the pictures.....

Since I've made it to 100, I'd really like to share with you why I created this blog.

You see, I love to sew. But there's more to it.

I started this in May after my 2nd child was born in March. She was premature and had some health problems. She spent weeks in the NICU, and she came home on a monitor that sounded off like a fire alarm every time she stopped breathing or her heart stopped beating. She was on it for 6 months. When she was 5 months old, it only went off 88 times in a month and we were elated. She had colic and acid reflux and she was super-sensitive. The meds she was on made her extremely cranky. She couldn't travel in a car for a few months because it made her stop breathing, so we were confined to the house.

So when I started this blog, I was in the middle of some pretty dark days.

Through this, sewing was a constant. I couldn't do anything for my daughter to make her better. But I could sew for her.

Sewing was the thing that made me feel better. Somehow the fact that I still had the ability to create something beautiful gave me hope that the dark days were going to turn around. But I was stuck here. So creating a blog gave me a way to share what I was doing with others, and that made me happy. I always wondered if anyone would want to read anything I wrote, but that was ok either way.

Little by little, my baby got better. We got her problems worked out, and miraculously we all survived.

And my little blog kept going. I loved that it was a way for people to build on each others' ideas. That maybe some little project I did would be an idea for someone else to take and use and add to and transform as their own. Or that someone might be inspired to sew themselves. And you guys were so sweet. You read my jumbled words and said nice things about my creations.

So I am so grateful to every one of you guys out there! Your kind words have helped me through a rough year. And I'm looking forward to sewing up a wonderful 2010 with you!

And so to celebrate my 100th post, I'm doing a giveaway. It will be a couple of cuts of my stash. At least 3 fat quarters, if not more. I'm working on de-stashing.... you see, one of my new year's resolutions is to be a better housekeeper.

So to enter, just post a comment.

And Happy New Year's to you!

Tutorial: square on point in square.. out of triangles...

In my last post, I showed the blocks I'm working on for a quilt for my master bedroom, and I've had a request for a tutorial on the block,

so here goes......

Cut out 4 squares. Mine are 6".

Just depends on how big of a block you are going for.

Pair them up, right sides together and pin.

Even if you're not a person who usually pins stuff, I'd pin here since you're going to be sewing on the diagonal.

Take a straightedge and draw a line corner to corner. I use black ink so I can see it.

You're going to cut on this line later, so don't worry about using permanent ink.

Using the line as a guide, sew 1/4" away from it on one side,
then flip it over and sew 1/4" on the other side.

(Chain piecing works really well here. I generally sew 20 or so at at time, all the way on one side, then back on the other side)

Cut off the corners to take out excess bulk.

We'll be doing this a few times. It makes it easier to quilt later.

Use your rotary cutter and cut down the line you drew. Now you have 2 triangles.

open them up and press them, and voila! magic squares made up of 2 triangles each!

Arrange 2 of these.

I like setting the dark next to the light here, with a medium tone on the outer corners.

You can create a lot of different looks with this technique depending on how you choose fabrics and arrange the blocks.....

Lay them right sides together and pin.

Even if you're not a pinner, the pins will help you know which side to sew.

My seam ripper would tell you that it's easy to get it confused.....

Sew them.

Again, chain piecing is really efficient here, so I pin a stack of them and sew them all at once.

Cut off the little corner excess.

And press them out.

They should be exactly the same.

Turn one around, and voila!

You have a square set on point!

Lay right sides together and pin. Again with the chain piecing....

And cut off the little corner excess.

And press it out!

My block measures right at 11"

What I'm working on this week...

I love Christmas. I also love the week after Christmas. It's when you get to start on all the fun things you were putting off until after Christmas.....

I'm separating up the squares for the fall and Christmas swaps. So fun. I LOVE swaps. I LOVE doing the work on them. All the giant piles of squares just bring me joy. And I love packaging them up to send out to the swappers.

I'm working on a quilt for my bed. I have the basic block laid out and I'm happy with it, and I've been steadily working on cutting out the squares. I bought the coolest fabric to use for the backing. Very excited about that.

And you'll notice I'm using more of my Michael Miller Word Search. I tell you, I'm obsessed with that fabric.....

And if I didn't have enough to do, I am now compelled to start this project because it seems like a good option for the tons of artwork produced at my house every day.....

I'm getting ready to post 2 things I'm very excited about: my 100th post and a Valentine's swap! And there will be some sort of giveaway on the 100th post.... and I'm going to tell you a little more about why I started this blog. And for those who don't want to read about that, I'll put in some pretty pictures!

So what are you working on this week?

Skidding into Christmas on two wheels...

Finished! I just finished the binding on my girls' quilt for Christmas. That was the 3rd quilt that had to get done this week.... whew!

This was my I-Spy quilt from the I-Spy swap earlier this year. It was so much fun working with all the different squares. I really enjoyed putting this one together.

These were some of my favorite parts of the quilt. Love the buttons!

and the singing pigs are awesome!

Here's the backing. I had a few extra squares that I put in the middle with a dancing vegetable print on one side and my beets on the other. The dancing vegetables make me laugh, and my older daughter will think they are funny too.

I tried 2 new things on this quilt that I had never done before:

1. no sashing.

2. a scrappy binding.

2 finishes and 2 days to Christmas!

Finished up 2 quilts in the last 24 hours. Not that I'm cutting it close to Christmas or anything..... Yikes! I still have one more to complete before Christmas Eve.

The first one is my first I-Spy quilt. This one isn't staying with me--it's for my cousin Monica's little girls. Monica participated in the I-Spy swap and then commissioned me to make her quilt. It was a lot of fun!

This is one of my favorite squares--the green with black and white shoes!

For the backing, I used a vintage-y kitchen-y print and a beet print. I LOVE the beets. Not sure why.

This one.... well I'm kind of in love with it. It's a jelly roll... wait, no. It's a honey bun. Moda Oh Cherry Oh! Love it. I did a basketweave pattern and then a border. Backed it with the same pattern as the border. The binding was an unrelated red and white dot.

It's a baby gift for my cousin's little daughter who is 12 weeks old!

I-Spy a Christmas present....

{click photo to make larger}

I'm planning on finishing my girls' I-Spy quilt in time for Christmas.

Here's the top.

I have the backing.

I even have sufficient batting.

I also have a bunch of responsibilities this week that are going to make sewing a challenge!

So one thing I tried out this time.... I knew I needed a way to break up the sheer busy-ness of this quilt. I did another one for my cousin with sashing, and I liked the way it came out. But I don't like to reproduce anything I've already done..... so this time instead of sashing, I worked in a neutral print (Michael Miller's Word Search in black and cream--the link is to the pastel version, I can't find the black and cream one anywhere.....). I have a crush on that fabric. I think I bought the last of it on the internet (or at least I attempted to) and I'd buy a bolt if I could get my hands on one! Anyway, I added in squares of that fabric to have a "grounding" effect on the quilt. I used 1 square of the Word Search to every 7 or so of the other squares. And Word Search is the only pattern that is repeated in the whole quilt.

P.S. I think we should plan on I-SPY SWAP PART 2 in the next few months! It was so much FUN!

Just in Time!

Well, here's what got finished up today. I'm so excited about it! It's our family Christmas quilt. The top 2 are my husband and me, and the bottom 2 are our little girls. Love it!

finished up this week....

I finished up some small quilts I've been working on this week for a small craft show I'm participating in. I hope these sell, but if not I'll put them on etsy I think!

I like the pink one best. Big surprise there.
These were all improv-y designs. Me and my scrap box getting to know each other.
I really enjoy that kind of sewing.

monkeys finished!

Sock monkeys are finished and delivered. I love how the center section seems to "float" out in the middle part!

I backed it in the red dot.
And here's a closeup of the prints. I really enjoyed this one!

Mint Chocolate Chip challenge

So a while ago I got an order for a sage green and brown baby quilt. I started from a Michael Miller sage and brown check.

And then I asked my mom to pick up the coordinating dots on a trip to Oklahoma. She was really kind and got me more than I had asked for. Probably because no one was going back to Oklahoma soon and estimating yardage is sometimes not my gift......

I was very thankful and I decided to show my appreciation, I'd be sure to use every single last scrap of it up. So here's what 2 1/2 yards of Michael Miller sage and brown will do!

1. the original quilt. I love it. Zigzags are awesome!

2. Had some leftover blocks from the quilt, so they got transformed into "car seat blankets" That's what I call a blanket that's the right size to use in a car seat but not so big that it falls off or drags the ground. These are quilted and backed in minky. One white, one green. Cause that's what I had around here....

3. Still had scraps. So I made them into 3 loveys. I have a show in a couple weeks, and I think they will be nice to go in it. All the are backed in the rest of my green minky.

So I ended up with one scrap. It's about 2" by 6". I think it's ok to let that one go!

Oh, and my husband thinks all of it looks exactly like mint chocolate chip ice cream......