Another Finish

I've got another finish to show. This is my Flutterby the Way quilt. I made this with two charm packs of Tula Pink's Flutterby fabric. I used the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern. I just used the fabric in the pack as it was (without cutting them) and the blocks went together very quickly.

If I had made the quilt exactly as the ATC did in her tutorial, I would have ended up with a square quilt. I decided that I wanted to make the quilt into more of a rectangle. So, after cutting the 9 patches into 4 squares, I laid out those squares 5 across, and 7 down. This worked out perfectly because I ended up with just the right amount squares.

My last 9 patch looked like this. Okay, I guess it's technically an 8 patch. But I could still sew it, and still cut it. It gave me 3 squares, instead of 4 - but that was all that I needed.

For the borders, I decided on using the turquoise color - to bring out that color in the quilt. I, of course, needed to buy more border fabric. *sigh* The things we quilters must do. I got the border fabric at Someart Fabric. She shipped the fabric right away. She made a mistake and sent me the wrong fabric - but replaced it almost immediately when I told her. I will definitely be shopping there again.

For the first border I used the plainish looking turquoise, and for the next border I used the stripe. There is actually a caterpillar on this stripe. I used that as the center for the border. The dimensions of the stripe worked out perfectly. They were 3 1/2 inch strips, and after sewing them on, I got that neat little edge of polka dots. In fact, I only had to cut off the caterpillar and then I got my next border strip. I used the last border to try to tie in all of the colors of the quilt.

I decided to sew on the strips so that the bees were circling around the quilt. Now all I have to do is decide what color thread I'm going to use to quilt this baby. Oh, and then actually quilt it.

I really ended up liking this quilt! My husband and middle daughter both said that they really liked it too.

Boy, what a dry quilt description this was! I just wanted to get in details. I don't really know why. LOL

If you've made it this far, to liven things up, I'll tell you that, yes, we did feel the earthquake yesterday. We're about 40 miles from the epicenter, so it wasn't too bad. We felt the initial shake, and then the ground just kept move - like it was rolling. I've been through many earthquakes, but this was the first time I experience that rolling motion. And I swear it lasted for about 45 seconds - which isn't a long time, unless you're experiencing an earthquake (or some other such disaster). The girls were home with me and thought it was cool. That was the first earthquake that really remember feeling. My son was at school and they evacuated the school. My husband was at work - and get this for practicality. He said he was in the cafeteria eating lunch when they felt the earthquake. He knew what was coming, so he scarfed down the rest of his lunch really fast. And sure enough, they evacuated the buildings. He said a bunch of people around him were saying, "what should I do with my lunch?", but his was already finished. I guess this is one of times when it paid for him to learn to eat really fast when he was in the Marine Corp.

Organization - or just an excuse to make something cute

I'm in the process of trying to finish a charm square quilt using two packs of Flutterby charms by Tula Pink. Well, I got the middle finished, and then realized that I needed to do borders - lots of borders - so I would have a decent sized quilt. I grabbed a used sheet of paper and used the back to do my calculations. At some point, however, I realized that I do this a lot. Just grab a sheet of paper, or a scrap of paper, and do my calculations. Unfortunately there are (far too many) times when I don't actually finish the project. And not being the neatest or most organized of gals, the paper gets separated from the project. *sigh*

So I had a great idea! I'd keep my calculations in a spiral notebook. And, to keep me wanting to use said notebook, I'd make a notebook cover! I used this tutorial. Easy Peasy.Isn't that fabric adorable! I love those owls. I got some in browns, too.
This is the inside, and shows what the flaps look like.And, industrious me, I even made a spot for pencil or pen on the front. Okay, so it really doesn't work great - it kind of pulls the fabric a bit. But that's okay.

Will this really keep me organized? Will I really use it? Who knows. But it sure was fun, and it sure came out cute.

And while I was blogging to day, I came across this tutorial. Uh oh, there just might be another cover or two in my future.

Flannel Yummy

So, at one of my fabric forays I let my girls get some fabric. I'm always amazed at their choices. My 14 year old (then 13) got Dora the Explorer, Care Bears, and other very young type fabrics. I guess after they get past the looking young part of being young (and now look like 18 year olds - *oh my hell!*), they can then start liking babyish things again. That being said, we got some "interesting" fabric that she picked out. She wanted a quilt, so she told me what she wanted and I drew up the (very simple pattern) and we got it sewn up. I believe I did most of the sewing - although that was not the original intention.

We decided that we would use flannel for the batting - so it wouldn't be quite so heavy. After having the top finished for quite some time, I finally got it quilted! Again, not the original intention. She was supposed to do the quilting. However, she picked a stitch on my Bernina that needed a bit of finessing to make it through all of the layers.

What do I see? Dora, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Blues Clues, etc. The panel in the middle are embroidery designs that she wanted.

They came from Embroidery Library. I believe they are designs by this wonderful artist. She just started a new store Urban Threads and it has some great designs that younger and fresher than most machine embroidery design. I love them.

I know this quilt isn't going to win any beauty contests, but here's a photo the blanket already in use. We still have to put the binding on, but obviously it's mighty cozy just the way it is.

Friday Finish

Okay, so I actually finished it on Thursday. And I'm posting it on Monday. But I love the Friday Finishes that Nicole has. She is so talented! And isn't it a GREAT title?

Here it is:

The pattern is Jelly Sandwich by Me and My Sister Designs. I used a Fresh Squeezed Jelly Roll. It is really bright and pretty. I'm not sure that this picture does it justice.

I forced myself to finish it because I really wanted to work on the Wee Spin quilt. It is similar to the Merry Go Round quilt pattern by American Jane, but it only has two rounds instead of three. I have to say, I got the Equilateral Triangle Rulers from American Jane, but I'm not real thrilled with them. I'd like for there to be some lines on them so that I could line up the strips to cut easier. While it's worked out okay, I just feel like it's not as exact as I'd like for it to be. Here's a bit of what I have so far.

The colors are different from the Fresh Squeezed, but I really love them. I got a couple more Jelly Rolls of American Jane Fabric - the Look and Learn fabric ones. I'm going to try the Merry Go Round quilt pattern with those. At least I think I am. We'll see how easy the Wee Spin goes together!

I'm officially pretty far behind AmandaJean's Quilt Along. I'm going to try to get caught up on that, too.

And let's remember, it is summer. I have one child taking summer school (to make next year easier), and two children at home. Making me feel guilty. Because we're not doing anything. Geez. So, my girls had each done (mostly on their own) flannel quilt tops. I got one of the tops (spray) basted and started quilting it. I'll get that done, and then get the other one basted. My youngest will (hopefully) want to quilt that one on her own. Well, she'll probably start, and then I'll "help" finish it. So I can stop feeling quite so guilty, right?