Happy Spring!

No Ten on Tuesday post this week.  And this is a day late, but Happy Spring!  

Really quickly, I want to show off a bit.  Here's my Spring wreath for this year:

 

And here's the paper-pieced top for my mini-quilt inspired by this quilt.  I just made a paper-piecing pattern and then went with it when it tended toward wonky.  I'm debating how to embellish and quilt it. 

Ten on Tuesday

1.  I love these cute snacks!  But honestly, for us, it isn't worth the effort.  I tried making Lincoln these fun octopus hotdogs, and he decided he was scared of them.  But cut a hotdog in pieces, put a  toothpick (colored, thank you) in it, and ask him how fast he can make it magically disappear (thank you, Stormy (my dad), for that little trick), and abracadabra!  Another trick that works for us?  Divided plates or 6-muffin tins. Go figure.

2.  I finally finished Mason's quilt top.  I just decided it was big enough, and I could stop where I was at.  It's a baby quilt, after all.  And then I did simple straight-line quilting.  I love how the quilting worked out.  Now I just need to pick some binding fabric.  Yay! 

3.  I've finally realized that while I love piecing quilts, I get kind of overwhelmed in the middle.  I think I prefer the more forgiving patterns, like this crazy 9-patch or this strippy quilt.  I think this insight will help me pick quilts I don't get burned out on in the future.  I guess a "basic" patchwork quilt isn't for everyone. le sigh.


4.  But having said that, I'm in love with this gingham pattern.  And I have a devious idea to make it work for me...

5.  Speaking of that crazy 9-patch, it's been sitting on the shelf because I'm paralyzed by indecision on what to use as the backing.  Anyone have any thoughts?  Bright?  Muted?  Neutral?  Solid?  Geometric?  Floral?



6.  Since I'm getting my quilting bug back, I want to make some mini quilts to go around the house.  I want to make a cake quilt (like one of these blocks) for the kitchen, and this book quilt for the living room. 

7.  In fact, let's put them on that ever-growing crafts-to-do list!  But: I have to use them as stash-busters, so no new fabric purchases.  Anyone want to join me?

8.  Did everyone catch my first font round-up?  I particularly love Blackjack.


9.  Is anyone interested in $5 off a roku?  I can give you a referral, and then we both win.  Just let me know.

10.  I updated my Changing Seasons Wreath!  Post with more deets to come.

Ten on Tuesday - and FREE Printable

1.  I got the best email on Saturday!  Someone looking for cake ideas came across Lincoln's Car Cake and followed my tutorial to make one for her son.  She couldn't get the wilton tip for the grass, so she used sprinkles instead.  Doesn't it look uber-professional?  I was so thrilled she took the time to let me know!  AND that she gave me credit for the inspiration! 

2.  The livingsocial deal today is $10 for $50 to spend at VistaPrint.  I bought it, and you can, too!    If three people use my link, I get it for free, but check it out regardless.  I've ordered from them before, and I was really happy with the service and quality.  I'm excited to get some postcards with a picture of the boys to send out.

3.  I really want to make this scrapbook paper tree.  Just add it to the list I'm getting farther and farther behind on.

(source)

4.  I got a root canal last Thursday.  It was my third, but I think my worst.  Never had a root canal?  Read about them here.  It's a pretty clinical description.  See me for a more vivid account, if you're interested.  As my husband described it, when I was wondering if the pain was normal 3 days later, "a great violence has been done to your mouth."

5.  Am I the last one to hear about dot painting for kids?  It's like using bingo markers to make dots to fill in a shape.  Clever!  Here's a roundup of free printable shapes and a link to kid-specific markers (rather than actual bingo markers).

(source)

6.  I started a quilt for Mason while I was preggo, but I got such terrible carpal tunnel syndrome in my last few months that I had to stop for a while.  Then when I got the sewing machine back out, I kind of burned out on other more pressing projects.  Now I'm starting to get the quilting bug again, but that simple quilt for Mason just seems daunting now that I realize how much further I have to go - I keep seeing even simpler ideas!  I need to just suck it up and finish.  And I will.  And I'll post a picture when I do.

7.  I am seriously coveting this iPhone Rangefinder and lenses.  It turns your iPhone into a slightly more robust camera.  Not quite DSLR, but I'm afraid I'd get one and then leave it on Auto.  This way I get some lens options AND ease of use AND portability.

(source)

8.  My FAVORITE author, Lois McMaster Bujold (she wrote the first sci-fi series I ever read, and I have reread MANY of those books upwards of 5 or 6 times), is going to be the Guest of Honor at Deep South Con 50 here in Huntsville in June.  (Is my nerdiness showing a bit?)  At first I balked at the registration fee, but then I got a friend to agree to tag along with me and make an outing of it, so I'm thinking I'll be getting those autographs (one for my sis) after all.  It'll be my first con (is that the lingo?), so let me know if there's some secret handshake I need to learn.

9.  I roughly followed this tutorial (http://www.thesoutherninstitute.com/2011/03/super-hero-cape-and-power-cuff-tutorial.html) and made Lincoln a cape this week.  The changes are that I used a too-small shirt (rather than too-big), so I left the neckline in tact.  And I cut up the middle (rather than the sides) and then just cut off the front corners to leave it as full as possible on the bottom.  Does that even make sense?  It took approximately 3 minutes, and that includes getting the craft scissors out and then (safely) away.

10.  And finally, here's that Alabama printable I mentioned last week.  If you don't like the colors, tough.  War Eagle! 

 

(Just kidding.  I'll customize the colors; within reason.  But I define "reason." Just leave a comment.)

Quilt, Wreath, Lanyards, EAT Tutorial Update, & a Dress

How is it already 2/3 through November?  I kid you not, I still have to catch myself before writing "May" when I'm putting a date on something because it still feels like the year is just getting started. 

I don't have a good excuse for no posts in the last three weeks.  I have AN excuse, and that excuse is that I just started a new job.  But, since it doesn't require any longer hours than my last job, it's a mediocre excuse at best.  And this post doesn't really end the slacking because it's all talk and no pictures.


Moving on, the other day I just really wanted to spend some time piecing a quilt top, so I got started on a stacked coins quilt.  My color palette is a little more muted, but I just got in the fabric I ordered for sashing, backing, and binding, so hopefully I'll finish that up and have some pix to share in the next week or two.

I finally took down my Halloween wreath on Sunday and started working toward a Harvest wreath.  I originally wanted to reproduce this rosette wreath, but I'm pretty sure I would not have that much patience.  Maybe if I win a silhouette and can find a swirl cutting shape...?  I opted for a simpler design involving circles of felt instead, but I haven't made any more progress on that, so I might give up until after Thanksgiving and then put up the only store-bought wreath in my life.

Remember how one of my Thirty Before 30 goals was to make a new lanyard, and that's one of the few I've actually completed?  I found out last week that with my new job I have to wear the bland official lanyard so no-one is in doubt about who my employer is (I'm a government contractor and they're more concerned than my last employers that no one mistakes me for a civil servant).  Typical.  But I guess that means someone may be getting a pretty pearl lanyard for Christmas...

I have finished the new letters for the EAT tutorial.  I still need to take one or two more pics of how to hang them, and then do the tutorial.  Should be simple, right?  So, stay tuned for that.  I solemnly promise I will not go to sleep on Friday without posting that tutorial.  (Someone might want to remind me of that next Wednesday if you're really chomping at the bit for that...)

Finally, does anyone else follow Presser Foot?  Since I don't have sufficient craft projects in my to-do pile, I've decided to join their Mad Men dress sew-along, and I invite you all to join me. I don't watch Mad Men; I've never even seen an episode (I have enjoyed Jon Hamm on SNL, though), but I love the pattern they selected for the sew-along.  I've never made a dress, and in fact I've only made about one article of clothing that I considered a success, but with much more practice under my belt this time (and a renewed appreciation for following a pattern), I have high hopes.  Let me know if you join in, too!

Strippy Quilt or Finally, A Tutorial!

I finally got my crafting bug back! I almost didn't know who I was without it. This weekend I worked on two projects that have been on my to-do list for quite a while: some hooded towels for an order (should be up in an etsy shop in the next few months!) and a Cars quilt for my son.


Lincoln is in love with all things car, so I decided to make him a quilt to encourage his habit. It's on the smallish side because I used a Cars panel for the backing, but this is a super easy quilt to modify to make bigger. It's a style of quilt my MIL has been making for years, and it's one I've not seen elsewhere. It goes together very quickly because you quilt it as you piece, so once you're done piecing you just bind and you're done!


Here's a quick tute:

Gather material - backing fabric and 3-5 (or more) fabrics for strips. I used 10 4" strips for a 35" panel and ended up a little short because I was just winging my seam allowance. You would need more yardage for a longer quilt - I would suggest 1/2 yard of 5 fabrics for a 2-yard backing fabric.

Start by laying out your backing fabric, front side down. Then place your batting on top.

Next place your first strip, right side up. So the first strip is wrong sides together with the backing. Pin that down.


Now, before you sew, place your second strip directly over the first, right sides together. It should look like this:


Sew along the bottom edge, then fold the second strip down so the right side is facing you and iron the seam open. Then move on to the third strip, placing it right sides facing with the second strip, like this:


Sew, iron, and continue for the length of the backing fabric. Notice how the front is being quilted with straight lines as you piece the strips:



When I got to the bottom, I had just a few inches left:


Since the panel is just a checkered piece on the bottom, I decided to cute an inch off rather than have a narrower strip. Depending on your backing fabric, you may or may not go with this option. If your backing fabric is not as forgiving, you'll want to pay more attention to your seam allowance and the strip width than I did.

Finally, bind along the unfinished edge, and you'll all done!


Easy peasy. I would love to make some of these with jelly rolls because the cutting is usually the most tedious part for me. I also think that embellishing the quilting with decorative stitches, stitching along the center of the strip, ribbons, etc, would be a fun variation. If you make a quilt like this, I'd love to see how it turns out!

I'll be linking to the parties on the left.

Crazy Nine-Patch Quilt

By following this tutorial from Oh, Fransson! I was able to turn this pile of loveliness...

...into this fun and quirky crazy nine-patch quilt top (please ignore the mess. and the awful picture. which I blame on the bad lighting in my office/craft-room)...

...that I have no idea what to do with OR which print to use for the backing fabric. On the plus side, that's a lovely dilemma to have. But any suggestions? It's on the smallish side (42"x42"), which could make it a nice throw. Should I keep it all for myself? Or hope that one of my preggo sisters-in-law has a girl so I can use that delicious pink swirl minkie loveliness? As I said, a lovely dilemma.

Also, please take a moment to admire the gorgeous mitered corners:


I can't find the tutorial I saw MONTHS ago that showed how to do these, but I'm so glad I remembered the gist of it. If someone knows where it is, please leave a comment so I can give credit where credit is due. Or even just a similar one, so we can share the joy.

**Edited to add that I'm linking to these parties:

Dresden Plate Bag?

Meg over at Boutique NutMeg Designs just blogged about winning this giveaway which is why I discovered THIS bag:


I love it! Something like this is the perfect solution to getting my feet wet before tackling an entire Dresden Plate Quilt. It's possible that I'll rush home and get started. Unlikely, but possible.

Dresden Plate Quilt?

I've been seeing the Dresden Plate quilt pattern around the blogosphere lately. Meg over at Boutique NutMeg Designs has a great tutorial I bookmarked for possible future use. But the fact is that it looks kind of daunting to do more than one, so I've been kind of ho-hum about getting started on it. I have the wall-hangings to work on, after all (not that I've done anything but buy fabric, but I digress...). But in my blog-walking today I came across this quilt pattern at Michael Miller Fabrics:


Isn't it GORGEOUS? I NEED it. And I might need it bigger, as well. Oh, the colors! The patterns! I love it!

I Heart Paper-Piecing

As I mentioned in this post, I've had some ideas brewing lately for some space-saving seasonal decor. This long weekend I was finally able to make some progress on one of them. It's not entirely done (I have plans involving spray paint, jute, and a wooden sign), but this is the quilting part of the Christmas wall-hanging I made the other night. Sorry the picture is not amazing - I'm learning. :)

I followed this paper-piecing tutorial to make the three tree-blocks. I modified the dimensions slightly, and you can download a pdf of that file here.

The paper-piecing was MUCH easier and a LOT more fun than I had anticipated. I added 1 1/2" strips of the same background fabric between the squares and around the edges. The quilting (which doesn't show up very well) was just a zigzag stitch around the triangles of the trees and then straight stitches in the spaces between and around the blocks.

To make the binding, I followed this tutorial to make binding from a fat quarter. It made more than I needed, but since I modified the dimensions (2" rather than the 1 3/4" she suggests), I have some scraps to add to my stash for the scrappy string quilt I hope to one day make.

My vision for this space-saving seasonal decor involves other mini-quilts such as this that I can switch out from month-to-month. So stay tuned for the final product and my other projects as I get going!