Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Two Birthday Projects Delivered!

I made a table topper for a friend who celebrated her birthday today. Here it is all quilted and bound.
 
This is how I ended up quilting it. The leaves are simply quilted a quarter of an inch inside the leaf. And the border has simple lines. But the sashing....well, I tried free-motion quilting for the first time. I had to rip it out quite a few times, but in the end I felt satisfied with the job. It was not so easy!
 
 
The birthday dinner party was held tonite, and I said I would bring the cake. And what a cake it was!!!
 
Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Ganache
and Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.
This five layer cake was decorated with chocolate shards that I produced myself, using a tutorial I found on YouTube. It was delicious! 

Friday, October 19, 2012

Two Filmsy Finishes

An invitation to a surprise birthday party meant the quick production of a special quilted gift! Here is a small wall hanging or a table topper for the birthday woman. It is roughly 24" square.
The fabrics all came from my stash. I especially like the border fabric, which is a Thomas Kincaid print from Joann's. It is gorgeous in real life! I must figure out how to quilt it this weekend, as the party is on Tuesday!!!
 
On to the baby quilt I was working on last week. Here are a few of the personalizations that I put together...

baby's name

 a little bus
 
 a little car
 
 And here it is, all put together!
 
It turned out so cute!
 
Now, how am I going to quilt this one? ! ! !

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Baby Quilt in Progress


My niece and her husband are expecting their first child in November. Of course I must make something special for the new baby who will make me a Great Aunt.
 
For the nursery, they picked a transportation theme; Target carried just what they wanted and in some great colors:

So, for her baby shower, I made two crib sheets, trying to reflect the theme and colors. I found these matching fabrics at Joanns, and they made up nicely into solid bedding that will endure many many washings.

Now I am working on a quilt to match. I googled baby quilts, found a few ideas that I liked and went to work. I cut some basic rectangles, plus a white strip for personalization of the quilt.
Kinda boring, huh?

Look what happened when I added horizontal sashing. Wow! It pops!

Next up is the personalization...adding the name and a little something else, I think. Stay tuned...

Friday, October 5, 2012

I'm keeping TOO busy...

This...
(food preservation from an abundant harvest)
 
and this...
(Daughter's driving and homeschooling)
 
have been keeping me from this...
(poor lonely dusty Juki)
 
Every once in a while I have a teeny break. I've been making a few blocks that are destined to become potholders:


 
Here is one I finished for myself. It was an orphaned "oops" block.
I am looking forwards to (hopefully) life slowing down a bit in November...