Assembly Line Sewing

I have been sewing a lot, there just hasn't been a lot of blogging or finishing to go along with it.  Until now, this is a big project that I finished up ahead of schedule.  Here are 132 bags in all their glory.  I was going through my fabric and I have so many large scraps, I needed a big scrap reduction project.  So I made these bags-they have a purpose, I'm just not expounding quite yet.  Anyway, first I cut out all the rectangles, about 8 1/2 x 11.  Then I stitched them together on my serger.  Then serged around the top, ironed a hem, pinned on handles, and sewed the hem shut and handles on at the same time.  At the beginning I made myself a schedule so as to have them all completed by the end of November.  The ironing and finishing went super fast, so I got ahead of schedule and finished up-rare in these parts.  Now that I have these done, I can move on to other things-phew!

Last of Sultry, Modern Quilt Finished

A long while ago, I made tons of whirly gig blocks from some Sultry charm packs.  I made two baby quilts and a twin sized quilt with them all.  This was the last of the blocks.  The ones that look all white are not really, they are a white tonal and can be seen in person, just not well in pics.  I had a yard left for backing and a little for some borders.  This quilt is about 36x44.  I do still have some sultry scraps, but all blocks are used.  This quilt is off to my newest niece.  I would be shocked if my brother reads this blog, so I am not worried about the surprise being ruined, and really quilts are always better in person, so just seeing a pic is like having a fun preview!

This is my finish for the Broadbents Modern Quilt group.  I have conflicts this Saturday and am sad to be missing our meeting.  This is a nice sized lap quilt.  I have gotten a lot of great feedback and want to do another similar to this one.  It's great for scraps.

I quilted big butterflies in the meandering of this quilt.  I really love how it all turned out.

More baby pants

I love making these, they go together so quickly.  I need to get into my knits and make some really soft baby pants.

I also finished and bound my modern quilt.  I will try and get some pics of that.  I have a few projects in the works right now and am anxious to get working on them.

Mermaiden

We are big mermaid fans around here. So when I saw this mermaid pattern by wee wonderfuls, I knew I wanted to give it a go.

The directions were clear and very easy to follow.  I used scraps for the whole doll.  Perhaps I should make more.  I love that I am finding ways to use up scraps.  This one was for my middle girl for her fourth birthday.  It was a success!

Three Little Owls

I bought this kit at the Quilts Etc. sale.  It was half off and Sophie really liked it.  She thought the big owl should be for her big sister and the little owl should be for her little sister.

The owls are super easy to make. The instructions were clear and there was plenty of scraps. The pattern is by McKay Manor.  You could really use any scraps to make the pattern, but the minkee is so soft.

Black, Pink, and White

This is an easy quilt/blanket.  It's not really a quilt, I backed it with soft minkee type fabric, so I didn't add batting, too much bulk.  I used a bunch of black, pink, and white fabrics I had on hand.  The result is super soft.  The momma I gave this one too liked it, which is always a plus.

Broadbents Modern Quilt Group

I got an email about a month ago that my local quilt shop was starting a modern quilting group.  I waffled over it for several days, really wanting to join, but seeing we have so many things going on already, I just wasn't sure I should try and fit it in.  But I am so glad I did.  The first meeting was in August.  We got scrap packs to make a strip quilt.  This is what I made:

I think it looks like steps and like how its turned out so far.  I have a backing that is orange with flowers and butterflies.  I am quilting it with a large stipple and throwing in some butterflies for good measure.  I haven't decided on a binding yet.  I will bring it to the next meeting and see if anyone has any suggestions.  The background is a solid called woodland I believe.  It looks a little gray in the picture, but in real life it's a pretty warm color.  I am using variegated thread for the quilting.

The Loot!

Every year just before labor day Quilts Etc. in Sandy as a huge clearing out kind of sale.  The sale runs for three days and they supposedly bring out new stuff everyday.  I have only ever made it to one day-so I can't verify that information.  I don't want to subject my kids to that much fabric shopping, seems like I would be pressing my luck.  This year I put Tessa in the wrap and Sophie held my hand.  She behaved so well!  Ladies were complementing her left and right about how good she was being.  She's my most mischievous-so I was pleasantly surprised.  Tessa slept almost the whole time.  The top row are all 3.99 fabrics.  A few years ago they had a lot for 1.99 and 2.99.  No such luck any more.  The bottom are Kate Spain fabrics and they were half off.  I always leave knowing I could pick out so much more but I try and restrain myself.  It's a great time to get some backings, you can't beat the price.  The one thing I was looking for were solids, I didn't see any.  Maybe they put those out on the other days....

Itty Bitty Pants

I have noticed that my newest addition has an abundance of onesies and tops, but not a lot of pants or bottoms to match.  I wanted to whip up a quick pair for her, but didn't have a lot of time. I had some baby cord on hand that a dear friend brought me back from Germany a few year ago.

  The pants barely took any fabric and turned out so cute.  I want to make a lot more, I love that they only take about a half an hour from start to finish.  And with all my kids clothes that I make, I just use a scrap of fabric to make a tag so we can all tell which is the back and which is the front.

 

I plan on making a few more of these soon.  Especially when I want to sew but don't have a lot of time and still want to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Pillow Case Nightgowns

Last year I brought home a stack of pillow cases from my grandmothers house.  They were all made by my great grandmother Violet Green, isn't that a great name.  There were so many, I knew I wanted to use some to make something.  A month or so ago I came across a tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew making pillow cases into nightgowns and knew I had hit the jackpot.  So I picked out three sets of pillowcases and got to work.  I used muslin for most of the tops as the pillow case didn't really have enough fabric for the largest size.  I also used a white quilting fabric with stars for the blue set.  The girls are thrilled.  These nightgowns feel cool and comfy on them and they have been wearing them every night since they got them.  I love that I can hand them down and that the girls are wearing something their great great grandmother and I made. 

Art Gallery Quilt

I have had an art gallery sugar charm pack for quite some time.  In the interest of not taking everyone to the fabric store, and using stuff from my stash, I have been really focusing on easy projects I can quickly do.  I love to sew and it relaxes me greatly, but it's summer and I have all these kids to play with, so in order to have the best of both worlds, easy and fast projects are the way to go.  I have a small quilt I made about seven years ago for my oldest.  It is the perfect size to fit in the pack and play, or to lay a small baby on.  I decided I wanted another for Tessa, and this charm pack was perfect.  I also added some hot pink minkee.  My niece has a blanket with textures that she loves, so I thought maybe Tessa would like that too. 

                          

I really only had a little minkee, so it is just in the middle.  The fabrics are bright and cheery and the whole quilt measures 35" square. 

 I quilted an all over stipple.  I love the back, I almost considered making it into a bag instead.  I only had a yard, so not much is left over.  I had a stripe for the binding and decided to do it on the bias just to be sure I remembered how.  Sometimes when you don't use a skill you lose it, and I could tell I hadn't made bias binding in a long time.  But I love stripes on the bias, it really makes a difference.

Gratuitous baby shot, she wasn't thrilled about being on the wood floor I don't think.

Burp Rags

If you have a baby that spits up at all, you know the value of a good burp rag.  I have had two babies that spit up a little and two that spit up a lot.  I wash burp rags more than anything else.  I decided to make a few pretty ones as they will be my fashion accessory for the time being.  They are all made of scraps from other projects, which was nice.  I am terrible at utilizing my scraps and making these motivated me to try and think of a few scrap projects. Suggestions are welcome if you have any great scrap ideas as well.

Top row: Russian Nesting dolls by Hallmark, Blush by Moda, unknown.

Bottom row: Pop Garden by Heather Bailey, Chocolate lollipop by Anna Maria Horner, Westhill by Heather Ross

Neptune Finish

I took my time getting this quilt done.  I really only worked on it in little spurts, it takes me a while to get back in a sewing groove after I have a baby.  Anyway, here is the finished product, I really love how it turned out. 

 

 The pattern is from Moda Bake Shop.  I did add a few inches around the outer border that aren't in the pattern on the website. I know the sashing looks white, but it isn't.  It has an almost taupe shade to it. I quilted it in what reminds me of ripples in water, but in a non concentric design.  The backing is Neptune also with a strip down the middle. 

Waiting to be quilted

I put this Neptune quilt together the week before I had my baby.  I had hoped pinning it and putting it all together would throw me into labor-no such luck. Anyway, I have everything ready to go, I just need to get going on it.  Sewing always takes a back burner to having a new baby, and I am okay with that, so this project may take longer than usual. 

Baptism Dress

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you can get baptized at eight years of age.  I have a daughter that is coming right upon eight and I made her a dress to wear to her baptism.  She won't be wearing it during the actual baptism (they have white jumpsuits for that), just before and after.

I used a modkidboutique pattern, Kyoko.  The fabric is a white with white embroidery lined with muslin.  I used white linen for the sash and grosgrain for the ties.

 The skirt is much more full when she wears the dress.  I also got her a white hair flower and necklace to wear.  I can't believe how quickly she has grown!

Girl or Boy?

I took my oldest daughter to help me pick out fabrics for this baby girl quilt.  She and I picked out a dozen combination's before we settled on these fabrics.  She had fun and wants to sew, which makes me happy!  We liked the nesting doll fabric because we were nesting dolls last Halloween.  She said nesting dolls are like being pregnant, and my husband speaks Russian.  The other fabrics are Riley Blake and Michael Miller.

 

 I quilted this quilt with a meandering daisy pattern.  It just went with the fabric really well.

The overall effect is a bit busy, but I really like the way it turned out.  My kids still use the baby quilts I made them and so it's nice for them to be bright and cheery.

I also made a blessing dress for a baby girl.  I wanted to go with the kimono theme again, so I used a side snap shirt and attached a fabric skirt to the bottom.

  I also added some lace to the top.  It is really simple and light, but should work great for tiny baby.

Now it's just a waiting game to see if I will use the boy stuff or the girl stuff.  Any guesses?

Boy or Girl?

First up boy-I made a quilt with Michael Miller's baby line for my possible baby boy quilt.  It is a basic brick pattern and goes together really fast.  I love all the prints and didn't want to make any of them too small.  I love the bicycles so much that the quilt is backed in them.

I also made a blessing outfit for a baby boy.  In the LDS church we bless our babies when they are small, it's really a beautiful ceremony in which my husband will give the baby the name we have decided upon and then a blessing.  I had a vision of a cute little white linen kimono for a boy blessing outfit.  So I set to work on it and ended up with a very small Karate Kid outfit.  But is is very soft and cute in person, so I will just go with it.

I do really love kimonos on babies, but we won't know for a few weeks if we get to use this outfit or not! Next up girl....

Whale of A Backpack

My kids don't actually ask me to make stuff for them very often.  Either they are inundated with what I do make for them, or uninterested.  I took Isabella fabric shopping with me to get some baby quilt fabric.  She saw this fabric by Ann Kelle and just had to have something made out of it.  First she wanted a dress, I thought it would be quite a dress for an almost eight year old, but no big deal.  Then she was having trouble with the zipper on her backpack and decided she needed a whale backpack.  Yikes!  I looked around for some backpack patterns to no avail.  There are some out there, just not quite what I was after.  Finally I decided to make my own and just went for it. 

It was one of those moments where I could see in my mind how everything needed to come together and I couldn't stop until it was all finished. 

There are things I would change if I did it again (aren't there always), but I am so far pleased with the outcome.  The backpack has three exterior pockets, no interior. I think the straps will need some further reinforcing at some point, we will see. 

And I think I would have liked to buy a piece of leather to cover the bottom.  Just for the sake of durability.  The pack does have a purse zipper, so there are two pulls, and I really like that.

  Bella was very satisfied and will be wearing it for the rest of the school year she says. 

 

The main fabric is Ann Kelle Urban Zoology by Robert Kaufman.  The polka dot is a Michael Miller print and the solid orange is a Kona Cotton from Jo-Ann's. 

Ready to go

Both of these just need to be quilted and bound.  I am slowly chipping away at the baby-to-do list.  I am trying to do things concurrently so stuff for a boy or girl will be ready. 

Rouenneries Progress

I bought the fabric for this quilt last spring when the Deseret Book at University Mall cleared out their fabric section and had an amazing sale.  The solid is the turkey red from the Rouenneries line by French General. The light is a print from the same line. Usually when I quilt, I am very uniform, I cut out everything, including binding at the beginning, then piece, then put it all together.  This time I didn't do that so much. I cut out the blocks, then pieced them together.  Then it was time to work on the border and I quickly realized I was going to be short on fabric!  Yikes, this is an older line and I bought it on sale as it was.  First I did an internet search and found it, but it was a bit spendy.  So I decided to check a few local stores.  The first one I stopped at had it!  And they had just the amount I needed, on a bolt, less than a yard.  I got it at Quilting Cottage in American Fork.  I guess I hadn't been there in a long time, because they have moved into the house next door to where they were.  They are older houses with narrow stairs and all sorts of little rooms.  At first I thought they just remodeled and wandered around a bit confused, but no, they moved.

Anyway, I have all the borders pieced, just working on ironing them and then I will get around to attaching them.  This project is just not on the top of my list, even though I really want to get it finished.  I have two baby quilts ready to piece, a few dresses to make, and some other odds and ends I would like to do before this baby arrives.  And this quilt is going to be pretty big, so I am honestly thinking of sending it out to be quilted.  We shall see, I really hate to leave it in an unfinished state for too long. 

Apron and Hot Pads

I got to go to a bridal shower last week and decided to make an apron with some matching hot pads for the bride-to be.  I love this pink polka dot, my girls call it Minnie Mouse fabric.  It's from Jo-Ann's, and the ruffle and backside of the hot pads are an Alexander Henry fabric that I have had for quite a long time.  I think I bought on clearance years ago because of the amount I seem to have!  Anyway, this was a quick project to whip up and I really liked the result.  The bride-to-be seemed to also, which is always great!

Hannah Bella Dresses

I have had this fabric for years, so it's about time I started using some of it.  I think Bella was a baby when I bought most of it.  And I still have quite a lot left.

The pattern is McCalls 6202.  The blue dress is an eight and the pink/purple is a four.  I would do a few things differently if I made them again.  Each skirt has an under slip with the ruffle on the bottom.  For destashing purposes I used coordinating prints.  I would use the lightest muslin or voile for this in the future.  The dresses are pretty heavy.  Also, the ties that go around the waist are short, so the bows in the back are a bit forced.  I would have added at least six inches to each. 

Sophie is a bit obsessed with wearing dresses lately, so I am sure she will get a lot of use out of it.  And Bella has reached a size that makes finding dresses extremely difficult.  I really need to make a her a bunch of skirts and easy dresses for the summer.  I am glad she doesn't really like the current styles in her size too much either.  But it does make for a bit of work.

Maternity Skirts

I always get to the point where I am tired of wearing the same clothes all the time.  Maternity clothes are so short lived and so I never really want a huge variety.  I decided to make a few skirts with the intention of changing the waistband to be non-maternity whenever that applies. 

The one on the left is a knit Marimekko fabric I found at a local store a few years ago.  I bought it without a purpose in mind, so it's good to finally de-stash.  The fabric on the right is a Kaffe Fassett that my mom sent a while ago.  I still have a lot left over, so it could become dresses for the girls or a quilt back, who know.  Nate thought it looked nice and springy.  I just guessed on the panel sizes.  I used some white lycra two way stretch fabric.  They both should last the remainder of this pregnancy, then I can take off the maternity waistbands and add a regular one.  However, not being too naive about these things, I know it could be months before I do that and months before they would fit.  Both skirts are mid-calf in length, so I have a lot to play with there if I need it.  And they went together so fast, I love my serger for clothes, so fast and easy.

Penny Lane Quilt

This quilt was made for a sweet baby boy. I totally didn't take a picture of it finished?  Pregnancy brain I suppose.

Anyway, I quilted around the squares and pinwheels overall, then it is backed by this cute letters, numbers, and symbols fabric from Riley Blake's Penny Lane line. 

The solid is Kona khaki, then there is some more Riley Blake and some Kaufman fabrics.  I bound it the in the green stripe, I do love stripes for binding.  Hopefully baby and momma are enjoying!

Bibs

I finally put together a bunch of new bibs.  The church I belong to really does a good job of taking care of one another.  And as part of my calling in the Relief Society, I get to visit brand new babies and their moms and give them a small gift.  This gift is up to my discretion, so far as I can tell, and I have chosen bibs. 

 

 This isn't my entire stock, just the latest I have made.  There are many many babies due to be born in my neck of the woods in the next couple of months, and I have an outside hope that what I currently have made will last through this year, that could be sketchy though.  I basically cut the bottom off a bibster and used that as a pattern template.  Then I picked from my large stash of scraps some cute prints.  They are backed with terrycloth for absorbency and have velcro closures

Bliss Quilt!

 I began this quilt the first of the year.  It is the Polka-Dot Parfait pattern by Cotton Way.  The fabric is Bliss by Bonnie and Camille.  I bought the kit in September from Broadbents, then was too sick to really sew, so it took me a long time to get to it. 

 But when I finally did, it went together really quickly.  I love the ric-rac.  All the circles are the cheater fabric, so no applique.  I used a blue thread to quilt throughout, the fabric has so much movement, the quilting is pretty simple.

I really love how it turned out.  It is sitting folded in the sewing room right now, and everyone that has come over has commented on how they love it!