Twin Girl I Spy Quilts

I made these two I Spy quilts for my infant twin great nieces earlier this summer, but forgot to take photos of the finished items before gifting them. I like to keep photos of the quilts I make, so even though these photos are far from great, they are all I have to record by posting here.

It drives me nuts when people dress twins identically. They are each unique people, and should be treated as such. So I made their quilts similar but not identical. I used different fabrics for the pink sashing; one quilt has a solid and the other a patterned pink. The backings are two different green fabrics, and the I Spy fabrics are put together in different orders. I wanted them to be similar so that in addition to playing "I Spy", the girls can also play the "match game" with their quilts by finding the matching squares on each of their quilts if they want.

I originally planned to make one pink and one purple, but my own twin daughters said they each would have wanted pink, so using 2 different pink fabrics was the better way to go.

I machine quilted them using stippling.

Sleep Masks

     I am always interested in ideas to improve my sleep. I have no trouble falling asleep; my problem is staying asleep. I tend to wake up numerous times each night or else I wake up at 3:00 a.m. and can't go back to sleep. I have discovered that using a sleep mask improves the amount of sleep I get. We were meant to sleep in darkness, but in today's world we never have it. There are street lights outdoors that cast their light through our windows. Indoors we have alarm clocks and electronics throughout the house that give off light. So it is never truly dark. This project helps solve that problem, and is a great way to use up scraps.

     I cut rectangles and mask shapes out of scrap fabrics, sewed two layers, right sides together, left a small section unsewn for turning, turned right side out and top stitched all the way around to hold the layers together and close the opening. I used 1/4" elastic for the band, sewn into the seam. I have seen fancy versions done with matching fabric used to create a sleeve for the elastic. Cute, but that makes it too bulky and uncomfortable to wear. I used 2 layers of  100% cotton, dark colored fabric, with no batting in between. I want the mask to breathe. On the dark brown one I used a layer of super soft cotton flannel on the back side (the one with the teddy bear hugging a pillow)- the dark side blocks the light and the flannel side feels nice against the skin. I'm hoping to sleep like a baby tonight!

Quilts for Kids

     I finished my last quilt of the summer today, washed it and packed it up for shipping off to the local chapter of Quilts for Kids. It's a smaller I Spy made with the leftovers from my son's quilt, I had cut extra pieces planning to make this. I threw it over another quilt which is hanging in my living room and tucked it in to make it stay for the photo, which makes it appear somewhat distorted, but in reality it isn't.

    It's always a great feeling to finish a quilt, but this one was bittersweet since it will be a long time till I get to make another with school starting next week!

I Spy Quilt



    I spy with my little eye....... This quilt was fun to make, it's a twin size I Spy quilt for my son. It has all his favorite things from bowling and spongebob to pizza and strawberries, and lots of yellow! I free-motion quilted it on my machine with a meandering pattern. I've been collecting I spy fabrics for some time, and got a charm pack on ebay to top it off. I had enough squares left over to make an I Spy quilt to donate to Quilts for Kids, which I'm working on now. I only have one week of summer vacation left to finish it and then I go back to school, so it will be the last quilt I do for a while.

     I don't think I can go a whole semester without doing something creative if I wish to keep my sanity so I precut some pieces for a scrappy star quilt, I have a Take Five quilt that I'm in the process of hand-quilting and blocks for a crazy quilt that I'm hand embroidering and embellishing. Cutting is the part of quilting I least like; it's so boring and time-consuming, so having some precut pieces will allow me to do a little piecing from time to time. I have projects in each stage of completion along with a cable sweater to knit on so I should be able to squeeze in a bit of creative fix when the stress gets too high.
    
    

Baby Quilt

     Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I posted here! I made this baby quilt for my nephew's daughter, my first great niece, back at spring break.  I used a rough approximation of the rectangle squared quilt pattern found here: http://www.filminthefridge.com/2010/10/20/rectangle-squared-a-quilt-block-tutorial/ . It was a fun easy quilt to make. I machine quilted meandering and a few large butterflies into it, but couldn't get the colors to show true in any of my photos.

Quick Weekend Bag

     I needed a bag with some pockets for school and while I have a large reuseable bag collection, as I mentioned once on my other blog, none of them had pockets. I never leave home without either my water or my reuseable drink bottle filled with herbal tea, and my water bottle leaked onto one of my school books when I didn't realize the cap wasn't all the way tightened.

    I solved that problem by using some leftover blocks from the turquoise quilt in my header and some fabric from my stash. I quickly put this bag together on the weekend and it has a bottle pocket for my water or tea, a pocket for my pens, pencils, highlighter, and flash drive. I squared off the bottom and lined it, it stands up perfectly and now I'm set for school. 

 Here's the other side-

I am trying to keep little projects going as often as possible, I feel so much better when I do something creative!

Organizing Scraps And Stash

     When I'm sewing I throw all of my scraps into the basket above. It became an unusable hodgepodge which sat there until it was overflowing. The pieces are all sizes and shapes, so they just sit there gathering dust. I decided it was time to get them organized, so I spent a few hours over break cutting them into uniform, usuable sizes that I will use and sorting them out. Here are the results:

 

I now have labeled boxes containing 2" squares, 5" squares, 1 1/2" strips, 2" strips and 3" strips. These are the sizes that I use most, now all ready to go. My scrap collection is tiny compared to most that I've seen online, but now it's usable. And with time at a premium, I may still be able to squeeze in some small projects during the semester by using my precut scraps.

 I am trying to build up my 1 1/2" scraps in order to do a scrappy log cabin later this year. I need to go through my fat quarters and cut them into strips for this when I get a chance. 

I also organized the rest of my stash while on break. I recieved a gift of money from my parents for Christmas which I used to buy this awesome cabinet-and it was on clearance too!,  for my fabric at Ikea.

Again, my stash is tiny compared to most I've seen, but I love having it out of the plastic storage tubs it was in, and behind glass. I can see exactly what I've got and it  still stays clean. Who else wants to show off their stash?

Special Olympics Scarf

 Long story, but the scarves I was making in the Michigan colors for the Special Olympics which I posted about here and here were ruined in my home disaster last summer. When I contacted Special Olympics, I was told they had enough of those and that I should knit using the National colors. So I managed to get one scarf done in time and mailed it today on my way home from school. Hope it makes a special athlete happy!

Done Just in Time

     Here's Sarah's quilt before washing. And here it is on her bed after:

     This was the first full-size quilt I machine quilted, and it was somewhat of a struggle pushing that big thing through my machine, but I am happy with it, my daughter loves it, and most importantly it was tremendous fun making it!! I got it finished last night, which was just in time since my classes resumed today.

Here's the back:



I love how soft and crinkly it is!

 Quilters are split into two groups, those that pre-wash their fabric and those that don't. I am of the camp that doesn't. I like the crispness of unwashed fabric for piecing and I am much too lazy to starch it all. I also like the extra shrinkage I get from using unwashed fabric, it makes my quilts more crinkly. I threw 2 Shout color catchers in with this quilt when I washed it, and had no dye run at all. In fact, I have never had a problem with dye bleeding in my quilts. Pre-washing or not, it's all a matter of personal preference, what's yours?

Quilt Basted

     Here's Sarah's quilt, all basted, my 15-year-old quilt inspector giving it the once over. I made it with  7 "pretty pansy" charm packs from Connecting Threads (thanks for the heads up on their sale, Dolly!),  along with a few fabrics from my stash.  I used the 10 minute block pattern and flipped the edges back so it resembles the cathedral windows pattern.

Here's the directions on a  YouTube video:

I've finished machine quilting it, all that's left is to finish up the binding and that should be done today. It goes perfectly in her room and she can't wait till it's hers!

Hot and Cold Packs

     Here's the last of the small projects I made while off from school. These hot/cold packs are simple muslin bags filled with about 2 c. uncooked white rice and some dried lavendar to make them smell good, then placed in a fabric "pillowcase" which can be removed for washing. You can freeze them to use as cold packs or heat them in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes (depends on your microwave-check so they don't burn) and use as hot packs. They are great for sore, aching muscles and joints, and for migraines. I've read that some people also use them as bedwarmers. (I may take one along as a seatwarmer since I don't have heated seats in my car and it's going to be in the teens for the next few mornings!) I made some long rectangular ones for wrapping around the back of the neck, and some shorter, wider rectangles for use on other areas.

These get lots of use at my house, we all love them. It was time for some new ones though, they were long overdue for replacement.  The old ones didn't have removeable covers that could be washed, so they were pretty grubby after years of use.

I sewed channels into the muslin bags to keep the rice from shifting around too much, filled them a little, sewed, filled and sewed:

The "pillowcase" covers are just overlapped to make them removeable for washing:

 I was also organizing my fabric stash and this was a good way to use up some old small oddball pieces.

Memory Pillow

     One of the small projects I've managed to squeeze in this week is a gift; a memory pillow for the hub's aunt. Her hubby died a few years ago and she still misses him terribly.  I found this idea online somewhere while surfing. It was perfect since my hubby still had an old shirt that belonged to his uncle in the closet. I used it to make this pillow, using the snaps on the shirt front as the closure on the back to insert the pillow. Easy peasy, no zipper to insert!

I just cut out a square 2" bigger than my pillow form (pillow form was 14", so I cut a 16" square from the shirt front and back). I wanted a loose fit. If you want a snug fit, just cut 1" bigger than your pillow form. The front has a photo I printed onto computer photo fabric, then I added borders and then appliqued it to the pillow along with the heart. The pillow front could also be pieced if desired, but I'm not that good with skinny stripes and plaid, so I just appliqued it ;) Then I sewed it all the way around with right sides together, unsnapped the snaps , turned it right side out, and inserted the pillow.

Finally Some Creativity Time

     I have been working this week on a full-size quilt for my daughter, pics to come later. It's been a much needed release for me. Going for too long without working on something creative makes me feel like I am "starving", and I know that those of you with a creative bent understand this. Along with the quilt I'm making, I also managed to squeeze in a few small projects including the above pillowcases for my son. I only have a short break from school, so I am trying to squeeze in every last bit of creative time possible, it's good for my sanity ;) During the last semester I managed to get my creative fix by keeping watch on my cousin Dolly's blog and living vicariously through her. Thanks Dolly!!

     My son picked out the fabric, and who doesn't love Spongebob?! So I serged up the pillowcases for him in about 10 minutes. Simple, yet satisfying. And of course he loves them. I usually just sew pillowcases on my regular machine, but the orange fabric I used for the edging wanted to fray, so I used my serger. I like how they turned out and I think I'll do this all the time now.

     I have a few more small projects done that I'll post later this week, along with my progress on the quilt. Wishing you all the Happiest of New Years!

Found a Great Giveaway

Retro Mummy is giving away 20 fat quarters- yes you read that right, 20! For details go here.

Knit Tardis Dishcloth and My What Big Feet You Have

   It feels like forever since I have posted here. I haven't had time for anything creative since returning to school in September, but remembered that I was knitting this dishcloth from Dr. Who during our home repairs back in August and never posted it. I found the pattern here: Tardis dishcloth . My daughters and I really enjoyed the show when David Tennant was the Dr., but have kind of lost interest now that there's a new doctor.  Matt Smith is funny, but it's just not the same. I also have a dalek in progress, maybe someday I will finish it;)  I love British t.v. when I get the chance to watch, my favorite show being As Time Goes By with Dame Judy Dench. The BBC rocks!

   I have been desperate to get my hands into something creative, so I have been trying to sneak in a few rows here and there on these fiber trends felted slippers:

I now have one done, one to go. I made a pair of these a few years back and actually wore them out, they were so toasty and warm. It is amazing how much they shrink when you felt them. Right now it looks like one of Bozo's slippers;)
 And now it's back to homework, that's all the time I have today for fooling around.

It's In The Mail

I finally had a break to get out of the house and mail in the package containing the Quilts For Kids kit along with a quilt from my stash. Fortunately I had finished both quilts before my home disaster and they were in a room that was undamaged. So it was just a matter of finding a time when the post office was open and no work was being done on my home. 

It's funny that both quilts ended up with a cat theme. I picked out the fabrics for Wild Cats from my stash before I received the kit for Sun Cats.  I machine quilted this one with meandering also. I used a bright textured yellow for the backing fabric. It crinkled up nicely after washing.

 Here's a look-

                                     

And a closer view-

Even though my machine quilting is less than perfect, I know how much my son would have loved receiving one of these when he was going through cancer treatment, so I really hope they bring a little joy to someone.

Great Hat Pattern

I am so excited, I won the Red Velvet Hat Pattern designed by the talented Robyn over at the minimalist knitter.  Thanks Robyn, I love it!!! She has it for sale here and it comes with directions for both worsted and sport versions, appropriate for both men and women.

It is a really cute cabled hat and I long to get started on one for me and each of my teenage daughters! But as I mentioned on my other blog, we have had a home disaster involving major damage to all three floors of our home, so it will be a while before I can accomplish anything. It is no fun having your whole house torn up. But winning this awesome pattern was a real bright spot, so thanks Robyn!!

One Down, One To Go

I finished the Quilts for Kids kit that was sent to me, I used a low loft cotton/poly batting per their directions and I machine quilted it with just meandering. The backing fabric they had in the kit would have just looked hideous rolled to the front and used to bind the quilt. Luckily, I had some lime green left from the other quilt I am making to go along with this one, and it was a perfect match. So the binding problem was solved.

Here's the front of   "Sun Cats"-

And here's the back-

I really like the cat fabric they chose for the front, but I have to admit I'm not crazy about the back. I hope some little girl likes it.

The fabric for the other quilt is from my stash, and I like it better. It seems to me a little more boyish, so maybe my quilts will go to a girl and a boy? Anyway, here's the other one, pin basted and waiting to be machine quilted.

WIP Updates

Here's what I've been working on today, not bad for a morning's progress. I was up at 3:45 this morning in order to take my hubby's aunt for her cataract surgery. So I started scarf number three for the special olympics while I sat in the hospital waiting room. All went smoothly and she is at home now.

 I like to keep a small project going to take with me whenever I know I'll have to wait. I get very cranky if I don't have something to work on while waiting. And I get nervous once I've finished something, if I don't have another project in queue.

 It has been too hot to do much outside, so I've had a chance to get some sewing done on the "quilts for kids" kit. The top is all pieced,  just waiting for me to baste the layers and then machine quilt it. I haven't decided yet how I am going to quilt it.  Pink is not my color, but I think the cat fabric is very cute and I'm sure some little girl will love it.

 Tommorrow, when I'm not so tired, I hope to browse around the 'net at some quilting ideas for this.

Quilts for Kids

When reading the blogs entered  in the Blogger's Quilt Festival back in May,  I came across a number of bloggers who had made quilts for Quilts For Kids.  This organization gives handmade quilts to kids in the hospital with life threatening illnesses such as cancer, and to children who have suffered abuse.
If you contact them, they will send you a free kit with all of the pieces precut, directions included. You need to supply the batting, construct the quilt per their directions and mail it back to them. They ask that you also donate a quilt of your own, so that more children can recieve one.

The photo above shows the kit I recieved this week. Here's another shot-

There are local chapters as well, so the quilts you make can go to your own community. I discovered that my local chapter donates quilts to the hospital where my son was treated for cancer when he was little, so this feels really right to me. After I finish the kit sent to me and mail it back to the national group, I will be making a few for our local chapter.