Next Project

Now that my Halloween quilt is all but finished, it is time to start thinking about my next project. 

As soon as I saw Little Black Dress, I knew I had to make a quilt from this line! So pretty!

The pattern is Marigolds by Fig Tree & Co. I think these two will pair up nicely. Don't you?

Can't wait to get started!

Quilt for Abuela

Last summer my husband started making plans to go visit his Grandmother. When he started making his plans, he requested that I make her a quilt. The only information he gave me is he wanted it to be her favorite colors: pink and purple. I picked up this fabric at a local quilt shop that was having a moving sale. It is Eden by Lila Tueller for Moda. The pattern is Diamond Diva by Heather Mulder Peterson. I love her patterns. I originally picked up this pattern to make a quilt for my family room (which I haven't done yet). This pattern was so easy to piece and went together nicely. While this quilt isn't done in colors I would choose for myself, I am very happy with the results. I will be using this pattern for my family room quilt.

In other news, I picked up some beautiful Christmas fabric today that will match my family room perfectly.

What to do when it's too quiet?

This is the first week of school. I don't like it. With my little-girl-who-isn't-so-little-anymore in Kindergarten, I have found myself counting down the hours until I can go pick her up. This also makes me realize, I like my house full of people and noise (even though the noise part makes me crazy sometimes). At least I have my new little man who will eventually start filling the house with noise and activity. But until then...

I have a few sewing projects I am working on. I am only going to show you one today. The others will make appearances as they are completed.

I am particularly pleased with this BOM I am doing. It's Tonga Nature by Wing and a Prayer Design. This is the first month and I waited to start my block because I was worried that it was way beyond my skill level. To my surprise, this block came together nicely. Future blocks may be more challenging. And the fabrics are bold, beautiful batiks.

Birthday Girl

Every girl needs a new outfit to wear on her birthday, right? I thought so.

This year I got this crazy idea to make my daughter's outfit, complete with a matching purse. She loved it. The fabric is Clementine by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda. This is one of my favorite fabric lines for little girls. My daughter has a pair of pajamas from this and I still have a layer cake of this fabric! Sorry, there is no pattern for the skirt.

This is the matching bag. She loves purses and has many. The best part is she uses them all. By the time I got around to taking a picture, she already had her bag filled with the essentials: chap stick, lotion, coloring book, a box with her Polly Pockets and toy ninjas.

The pattern is Quilts Illustrated Deli Desk Tote.

Holly Jolly Snowmen Quilt

I just finished this quilt top tonight, and I love it! I love the fabric, Holly Jolly Snowmen by Kathy Schmitz for Moda. The colors are absolutely beautiful and the designs are so fun and happy. This photo doesn't do justice to the beautiful fabric. If you don't already have some of this fabric in your stash, get it while you can!

The quilt pattern is Done in a Jiff by Heartspun Quilts. It wasn't too difficult, and I love the results. I made some mistakes in making this quilt, but I learned some new things that would have made the final result much better. Just new knowledge for the next quilt.

Rag Quilt

No, there's nothing wrong with your computer screen. The blue flannel bled all over everything else. I used color catchers and Retayne. I bought this fabric 8+ years ago at a quilt shop and just never got the blanket finished. Because I bought the fabric at a good quilt shop, I thought everything would be just great when I washed it. Well, I was wrong. Oh well. I'm sure my little guy will use and love it just the same.

Gift Bags

I had planned to make these gift bags from Christmas fabric, but an opportunity presented itself which requires the use of a cute gift bag. These were so fun to make! I can't wait to make the Christmas gift bags. I think I may try different sizes. They turned out cuter than I thought possible. I think it would be really hard to ruin these. You can find the tutorial HERE on Moda Bakeshop.

The fabric is from the Zippity Doo Dah line by Sandy Gervais for Moda. I had some scraps left so I covered some little notebooks to match that I will give with whatever else ends up in the bag.

Halloween PJ's

My daughter loves fun pajamas, and I'm such a pushover that I make them for her. Also, she is so grateful whenever I make anything for her, it makes it even harder to say no. I intended to have these done before the start of October, but considering I was only in town for 6 days in September, I think I'm excused. I don't like sewing clothing with stripes, but this fabric was so much fun and the pants pattern so simple that it didn't bother me at all.

The t-shirt is from Target, and I machine appliqued the jack-o-lantern. All the fabrics on the t-shirt are from scraps, so I can't tell you what they are. The face on the jack-o-lantern turned out scary instead of happy when I tried to sketch it by myself, so I got out a quilt pattern with a cute jack-o-lantern, Halloween Fun by Angie Stevenson. The fabric for the pants is from Scary Night by Laurie Godin for Northcott.

I made a list of all the projects I need to complete, and there are 20 that need to be completed before Christmas. There will be more to come in the days ahead.

Fabric & Retail

I was catching up on one of my favorite blogs and reading a debate via the comments about whether or not you should buy only fabric from local quilt shops or if it's OK to buy fabric from Walmart or Joann's.

I definitely think you should buy from your local quilt shop whenever you can. It's not because I'm a fabric snob. I firmly believe in supporting local independent retailers. One of my biggest complaints/disappointments when I travel the country is how everywhere looks the same. The local Macy's is just the same as the one in Manhattan. There is nothing special about going to the Macy's in Manhattan anymore. I think it's sad that America has become so homogenized. I like to support local fabric shops, bead shops, bakeries, restaurants, etc. whenever possible. Plus, do the large corporate chains really need more money?