NewFo - Sept 2014

Hosted by Barbara at Cat Patches

 

Okay, yes I know it's October now:) This is being posted a day late because I really thought I couldget more done on it today. Didn't happen, but it was a nice thought:)

I started out on Monday morning scrambling around the house looking for a project to start. Let's not discuss that I waited until the day before the end of the month to even start looking for a project. It needed to be something I already had the material for since I can't make a quick trip into town (town is around 25 min away) and then get back and wash material, iron it, etc, etc, etc.

So after a mad dash around the house I came up with this pile of fabrics...

I had originally bought some of these fabrics to make a summer-time beach bag with. I knew these weren't the colors I would normally choose for myself, but I did like how bright and happy they are. But I never did end up making a bag with them. So I decided that these bright, happy fabrics would make a great cuddle blanket for a toddler:) My friend that does foster care has three little ones right now and I am thinking about trying to make each of them a little blanket for Christmas gifts.

This project started out so good too!! I got all the blocks (4 1/2 inches) cut up in one sitting and then a little later on Monday evening I started sewing them into rows. My plan was to do a simple patchwork style that is truly random in placement. I got all the blocks sewn up into rows in almost another setting.

I want to stop here and say that I must be getting more patient with sewing with a machine. A few months ago I don't think I could sit at the machine long enough to have gotten that much done (even though it really didn't take that long). That is pretty exciting to me!! The whole reason I started this NewFo challenge was to build my sewing skills - which are pretty basic - and to build my patience with machine sewing. :)

Okay, so now just to sew together the rows and I would have had the top all done - in ONE DAY!!! That would have been a major accomplishment for me!! But here is where things started to become a challenge. In trying to make the pattern random, I didn't pay any attention to what order I was sewing the blocks together, other than to make sure that the same fabric didn't touch. When I went to putting the rows in some kind of order so that the same fabrics didn't end up right on top of each other, I found that I had inadvertently put the brown fabric in the center of about half the blocks. Then I saw that I had the white fabric be either the 3rd from the beginning or the 3rd from the end on about half the blocks. The pink was on either one end or the other of over half the blocks. So I couldn't put the rows together to save my life!!!

In the end, I deconstructed a few of the rows and found a way to make it work, but it was almost midnight by then. So I decided that I would just work on it for a bit today and still have a whole top to show off. Well.... :) This morning was dd's day to volunteer at the zoo. She got out around noon and then wanted to look at Halloween costumes, so we did that and I had a little grocery shopping to do as well. We got home around 1:30 and I took a short nap while she worked on some school work. When I got up dd told me that the costume had a little problem, a couple of the ribbons hadn't gotten sewn in very well and came all the way out. So I fixed that and then had some house work to get done (before hubby came home:). Then it was dinner time, and well, I was just done for the day, so.. No finished top, but I do hope to have that to show off soon:)

I even know what this month's project is going to be, and it's only the FIRST DAY of the month!! :) I will be working on another cuddle blanket, this time in more muted colors for the baby of the family of kids my friend has.

FNSI - A Little Progress

For more info or to join in, visit Wendy at Sugarlane Quilts

 

Yesterday evening really got away from me, but I did find some quiet time this morning to get a bit of sewing done. Not a lot of progress this time, but a little is a little!!

Last month I spent much of my Friday night cutting all the gray and the white fabric up, but that work set me up to just get right into sewing this month, so 'Yea, Me'!!

I ended up with 6 more squares done all in the gray fabric...

 

And here are the three colors I have worked on so far....

Next time I need to decide on what fabric will come next or if I will just stick with the three blocks I have. I have a fabric that has the green, blue and gray in it, however it isn't as bold of a print as the others and I think it might get lost in the design. I'm thinking it'll make a good binding and backing for this quilt though, so it won't get wasted. I will need to do a little shopping and see if I can find anything else that I like:)

March 2014 NewFo Project

 

Another month came and went and another quilt got started!! I *think* I'm starting to enjoy quilting, maybe, just a little:) This challenge is hosted by Barbara over at Cat Patches and is a lot of fun. You are to just start a new quilt or quilt-like project each month and post about it on the last day of the month. No pressure to actually finish any of you projects!! Now that's my kind of challenge!!! :)

 



Well, I am just squeezing this one in. I had started on this project a week or so ago and posted about it HERE, but I was determined to get a bunch more done before today's post. That never happened:) However, today I had some time on my hands and once I got started (in between schooling, housework and making food!!) I just didn't want to stop. This isn't usual for me when it comes to sewing with the machine. I'm all for handwork, but put a sewing machine in front of me and I lose my cool pretty quickly.

Today went very smoothly. I already had the fabric cut that I was going to use, and I had a few of the 3.5 in blocks done. I finished up enough of the 3.5 in blocks to be able to put together the first 5 9.5 inch blocks (this is the block's finished size). And that went so well that I decided to start cutting up the next color:) Then it was after 9:00 pm and I decided that I needed to stop, clean up and finally get on this blog!!

So here is what I have done so far...

These are the first 5 9.5 inch blocks, obviously they are stacked on top of each other:) I'm so happy that these actually look like they should. This is the first time I've done anything like this, or really any block that wasn't just patchwork, so this is super exciting for me!!!

 

Here are my blocks with the other fabrics that I will use in this quilt. I'm thinking of putting a narrow white sashing in between each block to break it up a bit.

And here are the blue pieces I cut out tonight. There is enough there for 6 9.5 inch blocks so long as I don't mess any of them up:)

 

I'm doing this project along with AuntMarti at 52 quilts. This is supposed to be a 'Block-a-Day' project, so I'm super behind as we should be on block 12 now, but that's okay, I didn't expect to keep up with that. She has a great tutorial on how to put these blocks together, which has made all the difference for me. I'm one that needs to see how something is done to be able to do it so I LOVE tutorials:)

 

I have two different projects that I want to start for next month's NewFo challenge. One of them was going to be this month's project, I even bought the fabric and got it washed and ironed. Then I found this Block-A-Day challenge, and I thought I would combine it with the NewFo challenge, as it is a perfect challenge for a newbie quilter like me. Not a problem, I thought, I can just do the other project in April:) WELL, then I bought a quilting magazine.... I need to not do that:) So I found another project that I am just in love with. And it has applique which is something that I want to give a try this year. I'm going to have to fight with myself to see which one gets to be April's project:)

 

Stay tuned to see which project wins out!! 

NewFO Quilt Challenge February 2014

Another month of New Quilting Projects!!! To join along, visit Barbara over at Cat Patches and learn what this is all about!!!

This month I decided to continue on with another small quilting project in the form of some potholders. The basic idea and instructions can be found HERE. I didn't follow this exactly, but did get the basics and the idea here, so I wanted to credit the original.

I found the cutest kitchen themed fabric in colors that I really like.

 

I also found this really cool batting to go in between the fabric layers. I have a homemade potholder that was given to me as a gift years and years ago. I love that it is homemade, but I can't use it much because the heat goes right through it. So I went looking for something that would work a little better and I found this....



 

It's the same thickness as regular batting, but it has a very thin foil layer in it that should help with the heat issue. It does have one drawback as the lady that cut my material repeated several times - it can't go into the microwave!! Apparently she had a customer that did just that and ruined her microwave. Well, I would have thought that would be a no-brainer, but it's just as well, we don't have a working microwave, and haven't for years, so it won't be a problem here. And just for curiosity sake - how many of you actually put your potholders in the microwave while you're cooking anyway? I've never heard of anyone doing that until now, so I was just wondering. :0)

 



Okay, back to the project... This was a very simple project that included cutting the fabric and batting a bit bigger than you intend the potholder to be, drawing sewing lines, quilting down the sewing lines and then cutting the fabric away at the outer edges. The original instructions said to mark lines 1 inch apart, but as I was trying to quilt them, the fabric kept bunching up, so I did mine 2 inches apart and it worked much better. You see that I got two of them quilted above.

 

And after a few failed attempts, this is where I stopped. I will cut the kitchen themed fabric into strips that will be sewn over the top of the potholder to make it cute:) and the brown will be used as the trim around the edges. I am pretty sure I already cut the kitchen themed fabric, I was just sure I had, and the fabric looks like it's been cut, but I can't find the pieces anywhere!!! I have plenty more fabric so it's not a problem, just a bit frustrating:)

 

I really need to take my machine in and have it looked at. I know there are a few problems and I'm pretty sure that is why I was having trouble with the fabric bunching up on me. Maybe I will get it in next month.

 

I already have an idea and most of the fabric for next month's project. It'll be a little bigger, but still manageable for me:) Happy sewing!!!



January - NewFo

I'm really excited to be part of Barbara's of Cat Patches' NewFo Challenge. This is a quilting challenge, or rather, it is a challenge to start a quilt or quilting project. For more info, follow the link and JOIN IN!!!

As most of you know, I love to cross stitch, I really like to crochet as well. What you might not know is that while I LOVE the idea of making quilts, I really don't like to sew. Hand sewing is fine, machine sewing..... not so much. I can do quilt tops if I have to on a machine, but I don't enjoy it. Straight line sewing doesn't give me too many problems, I just never have the urge to get that machine out and get started. BUT I do still want to quilt, so I joined the NewFo Challenge anyway!! Hopefully this will give me the motivation to push through and get more experience which might make things more enjoyable. And I can always hand-quilt if needed:)

If you follow my blog you will know that I've been super busy this month stitching a couple blocks for LoveQuilts and so most of my time this month went to that. I was going to go to the fabric store on Wednesday to pick up a few pieces of fabric for this project so that I could get a start on it yesterday, but then I fell and sprained my ankle (which must not have been nearly as bad as the dr said because it is already feeling better- not great, but better). I was able to pick up the fabric yesterday, but was all worn out last night, so I've only had a little time today to work on this, but I'm glad I got it to this point:)

So here is my progress so far...

Step 1- Go through my pathetic and small stash of fabric. CHECK - I will really need to work on this stash:)

Step  2- Go to the fabric store and ogle and drool over the pretty fabrics. Then get a bit overwhelmed over what I should buy, but end up choosing a couple. One that I really liked, one that my dd really liked. I also bought batting and some ribbon:) CHECK

Step 3 - Set all fabrics together and decide what I want to use. CHECK

Step 4 -  Cut strips of the fabric and the batting. CHECK

That's about as far as I got. I may have some time later this evening to get those strips sewn together. I am making a Valentine's Mug Rug - or a mug mat or large coaster, whatever you want to call them. My inspiration came from HERE which I originally found on Pinterest (of course, where else would I find 'my' creativity?!?!?).

My plan is to sew the strips together, then cut them and sew them back together, maybe at an angle to make it look a bit like a crazy quilt, but I'm not sure about that yet. I did decide that I LOVE this fabric...

So it will be the backing and will make the 'rugs' reversible. I will be making two and giving one of these to my mom for her birthday which is Feb 18th, so the Valentine's theme works too:) The other I will keep for myself!!

Next month shouldn't be quite so busy with my crafty time, so I'm hoping to get started on my next 'quilting' project earlier in the month. Either way, I have already added fabric to my collection, so it's already a win-win!!

NewFO Challenge

I've been spending some time here lately looking into what kind of challenges and Sals I want to get involved in next year and decided that I would like to work on my quilting skills in the coming year. Now, don't get me wrong, there will still be lots and lots of stitching as well, but I have been following a few quilting blogs for the past several months and they have inspired me to learn more about quilting.

 
The 2014 NewFO Challenge is run by Barbara of Cat Patches. Barbara blogs quite regularly and is always showing off her beautiful quilting skills (and incredibly witty kitty cats:). It is always a joy to read at her blog!!  The goal of this challenge is to start a new quilted piece each month, create a blog post the last day of the month and link up to her 'party'!! What's great is that there is no pressure to actually finish the quilt in any particular time frame. And it doesn't have to be a full sized quilt either. Your project can be anything from a potholder or mug rug to a wall quilt or full sized quilt. That works great for me!!! :)

As part of this challenge we are to post some of the quilts we would like to start this year. Barbara has her whole year planned with pics of each of her planned quilts. I'm really a beginner quilter so most of mine will probably be fairly simple, patchwork and the like. But I want to stretch myself on a few of these as well. I would really like to incorporate some embroidery on at least one of them too:)

So here are a few quilts I'd like to start this year....


Winter Wonderland

Merry Merry Snowmen by Bunny Hill Designs

 

 

Hope Valley Quilt found at Diary of a Quilter blog

 

This last one I would do in other colors but I like the look of it overall. There are a few more quilts I found that I couldn't link up to and give proper credit to the owners/designers, so I'll just wait until I've started them and link up another way. I do like some of the modern quilts and would like to do one hexie quilt as well. Hmm, lots to think about and plan over!! Really getting excited about this challenge:)

 

EDIT: OOPS!! I forgot to add that if you want to join and win a prize as well, go over to Barb's blog right NOW!!! and join in. At midnight tonight (12-21-13) the contest will end:)