Two Simple Baby Quilts

 I have not been quilting very much so far this year!  I just haven't been able to get in the mood to work on them.

But, I finally finished two simple baby quilts for two sisters who were having babies.  One was for a boy born in March and the other is for a girl who is due in September.

Both quilts consist of a top that is one piece of fabric.  Both are Winnie the Pooh themed!

Here is the boy quilt made for Max:

The girl's quilt made for Aliza:

This one consists of pre-cuts from Walmart.  The Winnie the Pooh fabric comes in a one yard pre-cut and the backing is made from 4 coordinating fat quarters.  The fat quarters picked up the red, gray and yellow colors in the top.  With some careful cutting and sewing I was able to make the binding from one fat quarter.  It was so close to not being enough though!

Confession:  I had a small area of pleating on the back of this one.   I noticed it, but really don't think a non-quilter would.  But, I was able to strategically place the quilt label over that area!

I feel that when Fall and Winter weather arrive, I will be back to my normal quilting self. 

Repairing the "Gentlemen's Quarters" Quilt

 

This post is linked to Alycia Quilts-Quiltygirl - Finish or not.

Here it is April 2nd in a new year!  So far I have no new quilt finishes, but one baby quilt is in progress and one OLD quilt has been repaired.

The old quilt is the very well loved quilt I made my son years ago, using his old jeans and flannel.  It has always been one of my favorites.  Y'all!  It is so soft and has a little weight to it.  It has been washed and dried so many times!

You can see a post from 2007 showing this quilt HERE.  I also posted a tutorial for this pattern HERE.  I really love this pattern

Here are pictures showing how it has been well used!

 

 

Below are pictures of how I made the repairs:

I now know better than to use recycled denim for binding....  I removed the old binding which was very worn and was a very time consuming job.

I would never hand quilt through denim again, but I did on this quilt.  Lots of the hand quilting stitches had come loose or the threads had broken.  As a result, there was no way to make the top lay flat EVER again.  In a few places I simply folded over the excess and sewed it down.  I also sewed straight quilting lines with the sewing machine across the whole quilt.

Here I was sewing on the new binding and thought I'd share how close I came to having exactly enough binding.  Had to sew some more on there!

And look how much thread was left on that spool as I came to the end of sewing on the binding. 

Here I was hand sewing down the binding on the back of the quilt on a cold day.  This is probably the coziest quilt I've ever made.

In the process of machine quilting lines on the quilt.

I hand sewed new patches on top of the ripped ones and also hand sewed rows of blocks back together.   Also, some holes were patched in several places.  Then all the new fabrics were machine sewn down as well.

I somehow must have deleted photos I took of the quilt after the repairs were all completed, but I'm sure you get the idea.  It definitely wouldn't win any awards for beauty or precision piecing, but its back together and back in use by my son and his wife.  I really should make him a new one with the same pattern and similar fabrics and that is on my mental list of new projects to dream about.

Final Project Finishes for 2021!

Here are a couple of final finished quilts for 2021. 

 First of all is the doll quilt I started over a year ago.  I finally finished it and gave it as a Christmas gift, along with a doll, to a granddaughter. 

Project number two is a Christmas quilt made in the same string quilt pattern that I have made several quilts from this past year.  The only difference is the fabric placement and using the same fabrics in the same places in all the blocks.  It makes a completely different looking quilt.

 

Here is the back.  I used what I had!
 

 Whew!  I set a goal for 2021 to make quilts without buying any fabric.  Mission accomplished.  I made 5 quilts during 2021 and only purchased quilt battings.

I want to make more Christmas quilts in 2022 using only what I have on hand.  I also think some Christmas pillow cases for the grandkids would be appreciated.  I could give them the pillow cases at Thanksgiving and they could enjoy them until after Christmas.

 

 

October Sewing and Quilting

I saw a pillow pattern on Quilting Digest.Com that I loved.  The one shown with the pattern is made with Fall colored flannel fabrics.  Since the last several quilts that I've made were using the same pattern, it seemed like a quick project that I would enjoy making.  Mine's not nearly as pretty, but I used the Fall flannel scraps that I had on hand.

 

See that cute little owl head?

Here is a link to the pattern., found on Quilting Digest.Com.  I felt like the pattern was way more complicated than it needed to be, so I came up with my own way of doing it.

In other sewing and quilting news, here is my most recent quilt, in progress.  Its ready for machine quilting which I'll start hopefully today. 

This one is made with all blue winter and Christmas fabrics.  I keep thinking about the song, "Blue Christmas".  Or someone who has the "Winter Blues". ...... A possible name?....Nah, I don't think so!

Maybe I'll be able to post the finished quilt soon.  I still haven't purchased any fabrics this entire year, but I did use the last quilt batting that I had on hand in this quilt.

A Rustic Christmas Quilt / "I Spy Quilt"

This post is linked to the following linky parties:  From Bolt to Beauty, Alycia Quilts, and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

This is my second Christmas quilt finish of the year!  I have been able to continue making quilts using this same pattern, using only what I have on hand.  I have only purchased quilt battings in the year 2021.  This means that I have purchased no new fabric to supplement what I have on hand, nor any backing fabrics. 

This quilt is being made for a family whose home has a cabin feel and I was thinking these fabrics would be cute in their family room.  My vision is that it would be a great throw size quilt and could lay folded on the back of the couch when not in use.  

As I was making the quilt, I realized that there are lots of Christmas items and words in the quilt.  So I decided to type up a list of all of them, put the list into a sheet protector and include it with the quilt when I give it to the family.  It might be a quiet activity during the time leading up to Christmas to find these objects in an "I Spy" kind of game.  There are 3 children, ages 5, 7 and 8, who will be using the quilt.   At the end of this post I included the list of items and words.

 

 

Close ups of some of the fabrics:

I incorporated this panel into the backing fabric.  You might remember that I made a Christmas Tree Skirt using an identical panel which was my first project of the year 2021.  Also, some of the backing fabric has tiny U. S. Flags on it.

Soy Beans are growing in the background.

List of I Spy Christmas Words:

Wreath

Santa

Christmas Tree

Truck Tire

Deer Antlers

Teddy Bear

Ice Skates

Log Cabin

Star

Smoke from a chimney

Snowman

Scarf

Sweater

Sheep

Red Truck

Bird House

Mittens

Bird

Bear Foot Print

Moose

Noel (word)

Christmas (word)

Snow Flake

Mistletoe

Holly

Rabbit

U. S. Flag (In the backing fabric)

Apple

 

I have another Christmas quilt in mind, coming soon, I hope!

Victoria's Big Girl Quilt

I finished the scrappy string quilt I have been working on for my granddaughter!  My inspiration was the monthly color of the month blocks that are hosted by the SOSCRAPPY BLOG HERE.   I wanted 5 colors and so I made 4 pink blocks in January, 4 yellow blocks in February, 4 green blocks in March, 4 blue blocks in April and 4 purple blocks in June.  I didn't do any in May.  

I've still been following my plan of not buying any fabric in 2021.  This quilt is completely made from fabric I already had on hand.  Many scraps were used, but hardly a dent can be noticed!    I love to keep lots of 2 1/2 inch strips on hand, sorted by color, which makes these blocks so easy to make.  If I didn't have enough of the color I needed, I then moved to larger pieces of scraps and fat quarters.  I love doing this!

I used my trusty clothesline for this picture.  I hardly ever hang out actual clothes, but I don't ever want it taken down.

More picture taken around the yard.

  

I pieced the back with yellow and purple/lavender pieces.

I tried a different way of binding this quilt, trying to save time.  I sewed the binding on by machine to the back of the quilt, folded it over to the front and used a decorative stitch to finish it.  I was much quicker and I think cute, but in my opinion, you just can't beat a traditional binding.

The pros of this type of binding:

> It's fast and easy

> It's cute

> It's very sturdy

The cons:

> Choose the decorative stitch carefully!  The one I chose has very tiny stitches and are nearly impossible to remove if there is a mistake.  Ask me how I know this!

> Its a little fiddly go across the corners.

> I don't feel like the edges are as straight and are a tad "wavy". 

I will definitely be using this type of binding in the future, especially on baby quilts.  I plan to use ric rac under the edge on the front which I think will be adorable.

Blue Scrappy Blocks

The scrappy color of the month of April at the SoScrappy Blog is BLUE.  Light and bright blue.

Here are my 4 blue blocks which are going to become a part of the rainbow colored quilt for my granddaughter.

The number of blocks for the quilt are accumulating slowly, but surely.  I now have 16 of the 20 needed.  I also started cutting the sashing strips.

I worked on quilts nonstop for the first three months of the year, but have slowed down some since the first of April.  My plan is to start pulling fabrics for another Christmas quilt for a Christmas 2021 gift.   I am thinking of more of a rustic cabin type quilt.  The fabrics will have some brown, beige and rustic reds in them.  I don't know if that makes sense!

Happy Sunday!