First Completed Project of 2019

Its a small finish, but I'm happy about it!  I got so busy during December that I didn't get it done in time for Christmas.  My Granddaughter, Victoria, was only 5 months old so she wasn't concerned about it.

Here is Victoria's quilted Christmas Stocking:

The Front.

The back.

I am linking to Busy Hands Quilts:  Finished or Not Friday.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and that 2019 will be good to you!

A Quilted Spring Table Runner

I wanted to make a Spring table runner and this is the result.  I started out with some lemon fabric scraps and pulled more fabric and scraps to go with it.  I like it a lot better in person than in these pictures.

 

The backing is green and white dotted.  I can flip it over for a whole new look.

I used the sew and flip/quilt as you go method, but I just had to go back and add some more quilting.  I love how the swirls turned out.  I sewed the binding on completely by machine and it turned out great and was such a time saver. 

I added a basket of hand made spring colored cloth napkins and some dollar store fruit on a white platter.

Sometimes you just have to unplug....

Sometimes you just have to unplug for a while.  I haven't been doing any blog posts, visiting Facebook or maintaining my Etsy Shop for a while.

But, I am slowly becoming more motivated to "plug back in".  With the new year of 2015 looming on the horizon, I feel the need to do some new things.  I like new beginnings and making new goals.

I haven't done any quilting lately, either, but I have been in the sewing room the last few days and am really regaining my motivation to create!

These projects aren't exactly quilts, but they do contain some quilt batting, so do they qualify as projects to show on a quilting blog?  I hope so!

I am making key fobs for Christmas gifts, but this one is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Kate Spain Fabric (thanks Auntie M!)

These are Christmas stockings for my five grandsons.  I made the two on the right end recently for the two newest little guys.

They are hung by age.  The oldest is 7, the next one is almost 2, the next one is 18 months, the next one is 5 months and the last one is 4 months.

I hope to be posting more regularly now, so I hope you'll keep reading!

Rag Edge Burp Cloths

Here are Eli's burp cloths. He will be ready for all kinds of spit up! We are going to his baby shower today. It won't be long before he will be using his quilts and burp cloths.

Christmas Sewing on the Fourth of July!

I made my first handmade gift of the 2013 Christmas season yesterday.

A quilted tote bag for my chocolate loving coworker/friend.

Hand over the chocolate and nobody gets hurt!

 

 

 

I will be filling it with items that she likes as I find them on sale and with coupons. Of course there will be chocolate in there!

I will make two more for the other two girls at my office.  One loves doughnuts, so I have some doughnut fabric for her bag.  The other is an NC State fan.... so I won't have to look far to find that fabric in my stash!

Grid Quilting From The Back of a Project

I learned this easy way to make the diamond pattern on purses a few years ago from a booklet that has since been lost. I have looked and looked for the book, but its just not going to turn up!

This method will work for projects where the back will be hidden. For example, the lining in a purse or tote would cover the lines you draw. Just don't use a thin lining fabric that the lines would show through.

You make a quilt sandwich, with your outer fabric, quilt batting and the back fabric and pin baste. The back fabric can be any fabric you have on hand because it will not be seen after you finish the project.    It does need to be light enough for your drawn lines to show up well.   Then using a ruler, draw the lines on the back.  I used a black pen.

Then sew your lines from the back of your pieces starting in the middle and working your way out. You could just as easily mark the front of your project with a regular quilt marking pen,but with the lines on the back, you don't have to worry about removing the marks.

Here are two tote bag panels ready to put together. The lines on this project are 2 inches apart, but one inch lines would be very nice too!

I forgot to take a picture of the finished project, but the bag is an Alabama University bag for my son's girlfriend.

Orphan Block No More

One good use for the odd blocks we all accumulate are mug rugs!



I made a few of these scrappy blocks but wasn't in the moood to make a whole quilt from them. Maybe some day. So for now I'm going to turn them into mug rugs and maybe even some potholders.

Flying Geese Mug Rugs

I've been trying to pick a pattern to make a wall quilt from and am thinking of using the Flying Geese block. I found a website that gives instructions for figuring out how to make the size Geese you need. Its the no waste method HERE.

This method is so easy and very accurate. I made these mug rugs using 1 inch by 2 inch Geese.



This size would make a cute mini quilt.




Happy Friday!

Midnight Sky Table Runner

I got the inspiration for this table runner from a Thimbleberries quilt book that I got from the library. The quilt is called Midnight Sky and the instructions in the book are for a bed size quilt. For this runner I only used three of the blocks, arranged in a rectangle.



Its a very easy block to make. All you do is make a small Friendship Star block like the one in THIS TUTORIAL. Then you add 2 inch wide strips as in a log cabin block.

Easy as can be, as you can see from this close up of the blocks. After making the three blocks, just add borders, quilt and bind. The runner could be made longer, shorter, and/or wider according to the size table it will be used on.



I made a couple of new napkins in matching colors. I'll make some more this week.



The front and back:

Tiny Little Bit Of Quilting

My current quilting project, Gentlemen's Quarters, is coming along slowly. I think a series of posts on how I am cutting 5 1/2 inch squares from shirts would be kind of boring. I'll post an update on the quilt when there's something more interesting to show!



But, for today, here is a mug rug/mini quilt I made this week. I made two, one of which my hubby will be using on his desk at work



Since I am on a John Deere theme lately, here is a small quilted tote/purse.



Happy Thursday!

FNSI Results - Strawberry Tote and Fabric Bag for the Car

Here are my Friday Night Sew In projects for March.

A Strawberry Fabric Tote:



A Fabric Bag for my car that I plan to use for small trash items such as straw covers, receipts,etc., or possibly just to use to hold my sunglasses, a pen, and a small notepad.



This picture shows the bag and the key fob I made recently. I am really enjoying the key fob!





I adapted the instructions for the FRIENDSHIP BAG TUTORIAL at PS I Quilt found HERE, to make the bag.

1 1/2 inch by 5 inch strips:



Ready to quilt:



Some Quilting:



You can see more FNSI results at Handmade By Heidi HERE.

An Orphan Block Finds a Forever Home

When making the Jacob's Ladder Quilt that I finished recently, this yellow block just stood out like a sore thumb.

Its makes a handy, functional and cute pocket on this tote bag!



From this:



To this:




This bag is for sale in my Etsy Shop.Have a great day!

Debbie J.

One Day at a Time

Well, its been a topsy turvy week!

Update on Mama: Her Nephrologist made the decision that she does need to go on dialysis and so today the surgery to insert the Portacath will be done. I'm not sure how much longer she will be in the hospital, but I suspect at least 2 or 3 more days. As much as I dread this new burden for her, I realize that it is a blessing that dialysis exists to help her live a much longer life. So, "it is what it is!".

Last weekend I started 3 mug rugs for gifts. My thoughts were that these would be small portable projects for sewing down the back of the binding, while waiting at the hospital this week. After quilting them and sewing on the binding, these 3 fit into a gallon zipper bag along with a spool of thread, small scissors and a couple of pins. So far I haven't done any of the sewing on the back, but I may today while Mama is in surgery.



I couldn't resist showing you just a couple more pictures of "Razzle Dazzle". I was finally able to download pictures to my computer. Sometimes I think I should have named this quilt "Troublemaker". When trying to take pictures of it, we broke one clothesline due to the wind and here I am fighting with it.



Miraculously, the wind completely stopped for about 2 seconds and I got one picture of it being still!



Ok, I promise that I won't show you any more pictures of this quilt! In my defense, I just don't finish that many bed size quilts, so I need to make the most of it.