Another WIP

About a month ago I felt the need to get back to my sewing machine.  I had a nice little stack of fat quarters, so I pulled out my Fat Quarter book from M'Liss Rae Hawley.  I've wanted to make her "Garden Gate" quilt for a long time so I finally did it.

It came together very quickly. It's small, but I think it will be perfect as a wall hanging in little L's room.  The walls are a nice yellow and this will go with them very well. Sorry the picture is so dark! I took it back when Chicago was still experiencing non-Spring.  Summer is finally here so I'll be sure to snap a pic outside when it is finished.

I'm a winner!

Also during my blog hiatus, I won two different giveaways.  One was from Sheree's Alchemy and was this lovely half yard stack of fabric.

The other was a fat quarter bundle of Bella Solids from Shruti at 13 Woodhouse Rd!

Have I done anything with them yet? No but the possibilities are endless!

Catching up...

I'm back! My little girl L is now 3 months old and we are really getting a good rhythm. I went back to work a few weeks ago and that seems to be going ok so far.  Here and there over the last few months I've managed to find a few moments for quilting and projects, so I need to update things here. First up is a baby quilt for a darling little girl born last week.

I am currently quilting it and will show it when completed, but here is the top prior to quilting.  I used the "Big Dots" pattern from "Quilts Made Modern".  I didn't really need a pattern, but it was good to have an explanation of the freezer paper technique  I really like how the circles have that nice turned under look. I've done applique before but usually just raw edge.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms out there--happy mother's day!

why I haven't been blogging...

My precious baby girl L has been taking all my time!  I figure I can teach her to quilt in about 3 years, right? :)

dad bag

I mentioned previously that I made a nice diaper bag for myself. Well I had to make one for DH as well.  I used the "dad bag" pattern from Anna Maria Horner's book "Handmade Beginnings".  The instructions were very clear and I had no problem following them.  The cool thing about this bag is that it is almost totally recycled! Most of the fabric came from furniture store sample books.

The strap was taken from an old computer bag of mine that for some reason came with an extra strap. I did have to purchase a zipper, but the lining was from my stash (not sure where it came from though--I think a scrap swap with a friend).

And....I conquered my fear of the zipper!  I will admit that the zipper is still not as lovely as I'd like, but it was my very first experience with a zipper EVER, so it'll get better the next time (and the time after that, etc.). One of these days I'll even do an invisible zipper (like the kind you use on pillows).  But we'll take things one day at a time!

deep breath baby quilt

At the CMQG retreat I finished this quilt top, so I wanted to quilt it as soon as possible.  I used the "Deep Breath" quilt pattern from Weeks Ringle available here. I ended up making it much smaller than the pattern calls for, but it still finishes pretty large for a baby quilt (54.5"*41").

It was pretty simple, I got to use some more scraps, and it's super modern. 

Plus I hope the blue hides stains well for the new baby.

 

I had originally planned for it to be bigger, so I had some extra blocks that I put together for the back.

I highly recommend the pattern if you need a quick modern quilt for any occasion.
**Edited to add--this is not for my baby--another friend is having a baby, so this is off to its new owner now!