Big Hero Skirt

My granddaughter, Avery loves the movie Big Hero 6. Yesterday I happened to stop at the fabric store to buy some quilt batting and I just had to peruse the sale fabric. Lo and behold, I see this cut Big Hero 6 fabric and it is 40% off! Plus with a military discount it was going to be pretty cheap so I bought a yard. Not that I knew what I was going to do with it.

This morning I decided to make Avery a skirt. I looked at a few tutorials that I've used in the past from other bloggers but they didn't scream make me. So I took the features I liked from each pattern and designed my own.  I really wanted to incorporate multiple colors from the fabric and I think my pattern fit the bill.

Aviatrix Medallion - WIP

I've been in a creative glut. I've been wanting to start a new project for a very long time and I just haven't been inspired. That is one of the reasons I went to a quilt show yesterday; I was aching for a new project. And there it was...a completed Aviatrix Medallion quilt. And those gorgeous bundles just stacked there on the table.

I already had the pattern but not the ambition to pick out the fabrics so when I saw this bundle I knew I had to have it. Everything was in one neat stack ready to go.

I've never worked with all solids before so this will be new and I am totally looking forward to getting started. Finally! Inspiration is here!

Winter Quilt Show - 2015

I attended the Winter Quilt Show today at the Washington County Fairgrounds. It's only 42 miles from my house, not a bad drive even if it were snowing. Although luckily, it was neither snowing or below zero today. The quilt show was buzzing with more excitement than I've seen at other shows. I think it had something to do with people having cabin fever and finally being able to get out of the house. Or maybe it had to do with the great vendors and their great sale prices on fabrics. I certainly did my share of shopping today.

The quilts on display were gorgeous. I took a few photos with my cell phone so the quality isn't so great and I don't like making people stop when I'm taking photos so I was sort of taking them on the move.

Baby Shower Quilt Gift - Completed

I finished this quilt for a baby shower that I will be attending tomorrow. It's not that I procrastinated about finishing it, it's just that my schedule was so packed with other obligations that I only had yesterday to quilt! I was never worried, except that maybe there would be some emergency that would keep me from my sewing room but there was none, yay for that!

I used the Zebra Parade pattern again. I really love its versatility. I had a Jungle Bungle layer cake and the pattern was a nice fit. In fact, I think I could make 3 versions of this quilt with the layer cake since there's so many squares left over.

I quilted it by starting in the center and continued going in a circle. It only took me a few hours since I really didn't have to mark the quilt lines. I hope the new parents like it.

Baby Quilt WIP

I am attending a baby shower next week Friday for woman who is a teacher. Of course, I planned on making a quilt for the baby. Since the new mom is a teacher it seemed appropriate to use the Jungle Bungle fabric collection because of the fabric with the printed lines that looks like the paper we all practiced our letters on when we were in school. I am in love with the Zebra Parade pattern from the July,2014 Quilty Magazine so I thought I would use that pattern to make this little cutie.  Since I've used this pattern before, it went together so very quickly. Now I just have to decide what to use on the back.

Quilts for Kids - Peeps Quilt

In an effort to help out our Quilts for Kids chapter leader, I've been spending tons of time updating their website, specifically the photo gallery and the blog. Phew! What a project! There were two years worth of photos to crop, label and categorize, not to mention post to the website. So with that said, I am finally getting back to updating my own blog.

Speaking of Quilts for Kids, I do have a nice stack of completed quilts to take with me to our next meeting. It's a really good feeling to get them all done. After a year of surgery recuperation I am happy to start feeling somewhat more productive, even if it takes me lots longer to complete a project these days.

I finally finished this peeps quilt to take to our next meeting/sew day. It was a spring challenge quilt that was supposed to be completed in time for Easter last year...well, I guess it's just in time for Easter THIS year (ha-ha). Better late than never.

Quilts for Kids - Zebra Parade Quilt

I picked up this really cute sports fabric collection at a Quilts for Kids meeting a few months back. It was enough fabric to try something with bigger blocks in it since I actually had yardage instead of little scraps small pieces from the donation bins. So wouldn't you know it...the one pattern I want to try is a simple quilt that takes 8 fat quarters and 1 yard of solid fabric. But the pattern was so fun, the sports theme stuff is well-suited for it. So I cut out the blocks and pieced the top in just a few hours. I seriously think it took me longer to arrange and re-arrange the blocks on my design board than it did to sew them together.

The instructions can be found in the July, 2014 issue of Quilty Magazine. The pattern is called Zebra Parade. It was so easy to make I am certain I will use it again.

What's on the design board?

January was a busy month. I still had many post surgical physical therapy visits and my mother spent lots of time in the hospital and in a rehab center recuperating from COPD earlier in the month. With that said, I tried to squeeze in some sewing when I could but I wasn't all that motivated to do big things.

I look forward to February and a decrease in my physical therapy visits which in a way seems silly. After all, I still have to do the exercises twice a day every day at home so not much will really change except I won't have to leave the house as often. Since it is February and very cold, I really am thankful for that.

So I have one quilt started on the design board. I made it from a photo I pinned on Pinterest and guessed at the sizes of the borders. All I knew was that it used charm squares. I think it will turn out ok once I get the borders finished.

Another Valentine's Day Table Topper

My Valentine's table runner went together so quickly that I decided to make another one with the leftover fabric. This time I cut the squares just a half an inch smaller than the original so the finished size will be a little smaller than the original. I also decided to only put the white background squares in the center of the patchwork so the white border would stand out more. I think I was successful.

Valentine's Day Table Topper

Yesterday I plotted out a simple table topper for my coffee table. I really wanted something with hearts, pinks and reds to reflect valentine's day so I quickly measured the table and wrote up a pattern. I got out my fabrics and whipped up this little gem that fits the table perfectly.

I also had some cute little tags laying around so I stitched one on the back near my label. This entire project took me about three hours from design, cut, layout, sew, quilt and bind. Not bad for a quick winter's day project.

Quilts for Kids - Airplane Quilt

I took this kit home from our December Quilts for Kids chapter meeting and the day before yesterday I was inspired to put it together. Since everything was cut out, it was a snap to piece together. Especially since it was nothing but sewing strips together - I just had to make sure I sewed them together in the correct order!

Yesterday I quilted the layers and added the binding and this morning I put the label on. And viola!...a completed quilt. I am happy to report that I am finally feeling more productive since my cervical fusion surgery last October. However, I did pay for all the hard work - I was in so much pain yesterday afternoon that I had to take some really strong pail killers. I think I have to learn to pace myself a little better physically but emotionally it felt really good to get something done.

Quilts for Kids - Ladybug Quilt

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Today I finished the ladybug/flower quilt from a kit I picked up at our last meeting. I learned a new binding technique for machine binding and I was really planning on trying it on this quilt. However, I ended up hand-stitching it on then doing an machine zig-zag over the top, as usual. The hand stitching part gives me the opportunity to sit with my husband while he is recovering from surgery. At least that's the excuse I am going to use for now (for not being brave enough to try something new).