My Favorite Room

I love my sewing room, especially early in the morning when the sun shines in so brightly. Its on the east side of the house so its the first room to get that bright sunshine each day.



A quilt picture bought at a thrift store is perfect for the sewing room.



It makes me sad to leave my sewing room each morning just when its reaching its glorious crescendo of sun rays.....

Dog Ears

You know you're addicted to scraps when your husband sees a pile of dog ears and asks if you are going to make something from them.

I hate to waste any scraps, so maybe some decoupage?

Accentuate the Positive.....

And the negative....



When making the Jacob's Ladder blocks I cut out enough pieces for two blocks from the same fabric and then switch the color of the ladders.







72 blocks done! Only 18 more!!!!!

Friday Night Sew In Results

Here are my results from last night's Friday Night Sew In.

I started working on the baby boy's stacked coins quilt for my cousin, who already has twin girls and is now expecting a boy. Just one boy this time! The girls are about 2 1/2 years old and I thought she would appreciate having a handmade boy's gift.

I have lots of blue fabric, so I pulled out the ones I thought went together the best, with the blue checked animal print as the theme. I have a large piece of that fabric that I will use for the backing as well. I really love the little sheep!

I also really love blue with browns, beiges and tans.



Two rows of the five needed. These are really quick to sew, so I hope to finish it this week.





I also made 3 more of the Jacob's ladder blocks. I now have completed 51 blocks. I will need 90, so I'm doing good.



To see the results of other ladies' Friday Night Sew In, go to Crafty Vegas Mom's blog HERE.

Friday Night Sew In

Today is Friday Night Sew In for January, 2012. Go HERE to Crafty Vegas Mom to sign up.

I'll be back tomorrow with my Friday night sewing results!

The Odd Block and Cheddar Bow Ties

I'm up to 42 Jacob's Ladder blocks as of yesterday. Not sure about that yellow one.... kind of stands out in the picture. It doesn't look that bad in person...



I got to thinking about how said yellow fabric was about the color of the cheddar in the cheddar bow ties Leaders and Enders quilt along that some readers of Bonnie's blog, Quiltville, are doing HERE.

So I made these using leaders and enders while making the Jacob's Ladder blocks today.



Each one finishes at only 3 inches, so I will be doing leaders and enders for a while!

Quilting Surprises

What a nice surprise I received in the mail this week from Penny, a sweet blogger friend.

Three fat quarters in just the right colors for my Jacob's Ladder quilt blocks, a chicken pin cushion and some needles:



I went right to work making these blocks:



Thanks Penny!

Miniature Quilt Table Topper

This post is linked to Amy's Creative Side - One Thing, One Week Challenge HERE.

Last night after work I finished the Miniature quilt/table topper I was working on to go on top of this sewing machine cabinet.





Now, back to the big quilts!!!

Mini Quilt Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of a miniature quilt I am making to be used for a table topper for my grandmother's antique sewing machine shown here.



You might recognize the fabrics as being the same ones used in the Jacob's Ladder quilt blocks I have been working on. Two by four inch rectangles are all I needed for this quilt and I already had lots of two inch strips laying around accumulated while working on the Jacob's Ladder blocks.



I can't wait to post my first finish for 2012..... even if its a tiny one.

WIP Wednesday

Here are my projects in progress for the first week of January, 2012:

1. The grandma quilt. I started back handquilting on it last weekend. This project has been hanging around my house for a couple of years, not to mention the 50 or 60 years it hung around Grandma and Mama's house!

The quilting doesn't show up too well in pictures so I took several in the early morning sunlight hoping to capture it.

My goal is to quilt at least 15 minutes a day. Over time this will add up.







2. Jacob's Ladder Quilt Along:

I've finished 26 blocks and trying to do a few blocks every week. Here are a couple of blocks:




3. Quilter's Block of the Month Christmas quilt. Here are the first 4 blocks.



These two haven't been started yet:

4. A baby boy quilt. My cousin who already has a set of twin girls about 2 years old is expecting a baby boy (just one this time) in March and I plan to make a baby quilt for her. The stacked coins pattern is my go to pattern for baby quilts. I think I've made 4 girl quilts in that pattern and am looking forward to using some of my blue fabric for this one.

5. I'm also thinking of a college graduation gift that will be needed in May! Just thought about this this A.M.!

Using Clothes to Make Quilt Blocks

In my pursuit of making my current Jacob's Ladder Quilt project using masculine fabrics, I pulled out this 100% cotton shirt I purchased at a thrift store with quilt making in mind. I washed and dried it and as you can see if has been stored folded and wrinkled.



After removing the buttons which will be stored in my button jar, ironing the shirt and cutting it into usable pieces, I ended up with a pretty good sized stack of fabric.



Then I combined the really soft shirt fabric and some equally soft beige muslin to make this Jacob's Ladder block.



The blue plaid fabric in this block was made using a pair of my son's pajama pants.



Most of the blocks in the Jacob's Ladder quilt will not be made with clothing! I am making good progress and after a few more seams will have completed 26 blocks.