Fractured Hexagons

 Last week, I was able to turn a UFO into a finished quilt. 

 Fractured Hexagons is a 40"X40" quilt designed by Jen Eskridge from Modern Baby. I made the top, sat it on a shelf and, sadly, just now got around to quilting it. 

 Since I'm planning to donate Fractured Hexagons to the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild's charity program called Birthday Blessings, I kept it simple and did stipple quilting on all of the background area. The hexagons each sport a little lazy daisy.

The backing is a favorite Ikea number print. (I'm anxious for Ikea to open in KC in the fall so that I can replenish my backing stash!)

 The peach-colored bicycle print binding is Weekends by Erin McMorris from a few years back.

All of these photos were taken before I have popped the quilt into the washer and dryer. I'll do that before donating it next month for a little one-year-old child in foster care. The quilt will be donated in memory of my friend, Sharon Brandli, who started the charity program for our guild. She passed away a few months ago after a courageous, years-long battle with cancer.

 Every little one should have a quilt to call their own, don't you think? I sure do.

 Do you have a favorite charity that you enjoy making quilts for?

Artist's Rolls

On Christmas Day, Santa has a big order to fill when it comes to stuffing 15 stockings at my house...well, 16 counting mine, which always seems to get chocolate-covered-cherries every year! This Christmas, I managed to add something handmade to most of the stockings. (Sorry, guys.) 

All of my grandchildren are quite the little artists, but three are particularly passionate. Artist's Rolls, to hold markers, crayons or pencils seemed the perfect stocking stuffer for them. Do you recognize that leftover Batman fabric from the twin quilts I was making this time last year? Now, Ollie and Ezzie have art rolls to match their quilts! 

 And, four year old Maelie, who is a flamingo fanatic, can look at her favorite pink bird every time she decides to draw one (which is often!).

 She assures me that she loves me more than flamingos, though!

 If you'd like to know how to create an artist's roll for a little person, or, perhaps, for yourself, (I think that I want one) I found this great tutorial at Ellison Lane.

 Now, back to your regularly scheduled program!

 Happy first weekend in 2014!

Teeny Tiny Quilts

A little elf has been pretty busy whipping up some tiny gifts for some tiny girls...

Oh my, there she is! And is that another one popping up out of that other pocket?!

At 12" X 14" with bitty pockets for little sleeping dollies, the Dream Doll Quilt, makes a sweet gift for tiny girls and their stuff.

 Moda Candy packs are perfect for creating this cute mini doll quilt.

 Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts by Cathy Gaubert contains 24 darling quilt projects to keep any elf very busy!

 If you have a little girl on your Christmas list this year, there's still time for a bit more sewing...

 and maybe one of Santa's elves will even show up to help!

 Have a lovely weekend!

Welcome to 1234 Cupcake Lane

Hello? Did I hear the doorbell ring?

Oh, hi! Yep....we're home.

You say you want to look around? 

We'd love to show you.... Lolly got the shutters painted, roof on and the landscaping finished just in time for the the home inspection!

Look! The mailman has even dropped off some letters!

 Shhh....don't tell Lolly, but we are trying to figure out how to pack this house into our suitcase.

 Oh, bummer! She must have heard us whispering and said, "No, 1234 Cupcake Lane stays here." 

I guess that means we'll have to come back to visit soon! She said to tell you that she used plans from Empty Bobbin Studio to build her house... in case you want to build one too. 

Bye...thanks for stopping by!

House Specs:

Walls: painter's drop cloth from Lowe's

Windows, door, roof, mailbox: decorator fabrics

Tree, bushes, leaves, flowers: felt

Pattern: Card Table Play House by Empty Bobbin Studio

Co-builder: Vicki N.....didn't we have fun!

Three Sewy Things

I've been a busy girl this week, with not as much time for sewing as I would like. The rain is going to keep me out of the garden for a while it seems, so next week there should be more finishes, I'm hoping. I did manage to get three "sewy" things done to show you:

 I've had the pattern for this darling sleep sack cut out and ready to go for a couple of weeks now. Since I was going to see the mommy on Wednesday, the approaching deadline for making my gift for a sweet baby boy kicked me into action and in just a few hours it was completed. I love the Kate Spain Central Park zoo fabric so much, don't you! This is my second try at using this well made pattern and I like the way it turned out as much as the first! You can read my pattern review here. For summer, I did not add a fleece lining this time, but did interface the tab closures.

 Last night was the monthly KC Modern Quilt Guild meeting (Shea Henderson, the genius behind Empty Bobbin patterns, was our great speaker!) and I was once again on the wire to get my block finished for a swap I'm in. This time Parthena asked for wonky houses in bright colors. It was a fun little project using my stash fabrics.

 Wednesday afternoon, as promised, the resident random generator (my husband) selected a winner in the Cover Up give away. Number 22 is Val who said," I love Shea's patterns - so great and always so detailed (and usually lots of color pictures). I use the hard plastic cover that came with my machine, but I'd love to dress things up a bit! " 
Congratulations, your pattern is on it's way, Val!

I wish that I had a lot more patterns to give away because it would seem from the entries and comments that most sewing machines are standing around naked. Oh, my!

Weekend Stitching

In between helping my son's family move to a new home over the weekend,

 I had some fun in my sewing room...

 Little Jane is teething and in need of some cute new bibs.

 Hopefully, little Janie Sue will feel very stylish wearing

 Sherbet Pips and Denise Schmidt!

It was fun to add a little decoration to the front of each bib.

I made the pattern by tracing a purchased bib 

and adding seam allowances.

 I like to use a snap as a closure on the back, rather than velcro.

 Flannel makes an absorbent backing.

 I also had a couple of Bee Blocks for April to finish up.

This wonky star for Andie, in the One Block Over Bee, is made from

 gorgeous blue and black fabrics

with white linen as the background.

It was my first experience with using linen in a quilt block....I like it!

 

"April Showers" fabric by Alexander Henry is the perfect background print

for the April block in the Calendar of Houses Bee.

Mary's tutorial at Molly Flanders was the inspiration for the cute house.

So far, 22 quilters have officially signed up for the

 I SPY SWAP!

There's room for lots more, so let me know if you would

like to play along and I will send you my address.

See this post for the guidelines.

I have a couple of entries that did not leave me an email address.

Plima, from Canada and Emily Sands, please contact me again

with your email, so that I can let you know my info.

Thanks!

Hoppy Easter

My Easter baskets are full and running over!

No time to get them emptied right now, though.....this little one needs an Easter dress for her very first Easter! And guess what! Her Lolly (that's me) gets to make one. Yay!

I found this pattern in my archives....(that means that I have had it for a few years and have no idea if it is still available.) Easy peasy!

Jane's mommy picked out the fabric and the genius color combo of aqua and orange Ta Da! dots by Michael Miller. 

 I can't take credit of the adorable ruched flower either. Her mommy made that using this tutorial from Andie...except that Megan gathered it on the machine rather than by hand.

(Mommy's of two little ones have to do things FAST!)

 Jane always  needs to be wearing a bib. (You probably can guess why!) There was just enough fabric to make one to match.

Oh, I do love sewing for little girls!

Hoppy Easter!

P.S. Don't delay in entering the charm pack give-away. Tomorrow a special bunny will draw a name!

Sleep Sack Pattern Review

Over the weekend, I managed to sew up an adorable sleep sack pattern by Favorite Things called Hushabye Baby.

 I've been saving a yard of Spotted Owl by Alexander Henry for something really special and this little number seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Soft light-weight fleece, that I also had on hand, was used for the lining. I interlined the sack with some scraps of quilt batting to make it extra cozy. 

 My daughter loves to use sleep sacks at night to keep the covers from coming off of the baby while she sleeps. I've made several in the past using fleece and a zipper up the front. This side zipper version with Velcro shoulder straps will be even easier to use when changing diapers in the middle of the night. And using cute cotton fabric on the outside makes the whole thing like something right out of a baby boutique!

 I found the pattern very quick and easy, after tracing the pieces onto tissue paper. (I never enjoy that part.) There are only 4 pieces to the pattern including the accent strip. A separating zipper is used for the side opening. It couldn't have been easier to sew in and turned out very nicely. The pattern instructions are very brief. For instance, there is no mention of using a zipper foot, which might have been helpful in the construction for someone new to the process. A little more clarification of where to clip the seam at the bottom of the zipper would  have been nice as well. I found one mistake and that was in the sizing. On the outside of the pattern, it lists the sizes as S, M, L, XL. However, the inside pattern itself is sized XS, S, M. L. I wanted to make the 3-6 month size which would have been M on the outside. I decided to go with the S on the actual pattern and it seemed accurate. At $14.00, the pattern is not cheap, so better editing before production seems reasonable. Hopefully, future patterns will be corrected.

 All and all, I love this pattern with it's side zipper and roomy coziness.  It would be just as nice with a cotton lining for summer. I think I've found a new go-to shower gift for all the future babies in my life! I recommend it, if you want something a little bit different.

Best of all, Jane seems to like it too!