Little Elias and I did some binding in the afternoon sunlight. He is great at holding my thread!
Here’s a future re-make project that I am really excited about. This piece was left in our house when we bought it and I have held on to it because I think it has some fun potential. I am going to paint it white, put some paper or fabric along the back paneling, and put some new knobs in. ohhh, I think it will come out swell!
Tony was gone for most of last week on a little fishing adventure, so you’d think that I would have lots of posts on creative happenings, but alas…I was content to eat Chinese take-out and watch movies.
I did get the top done to the quilt I am working on. Next step is to get it loaded on the quilting frame and quilted up.
Tonight I made a quick diaper changing pad. It is oilcloth (basically plastic) on one side and cotton on the other. This way if there is an especially nasty diaper we can use the easy to clean plastic side.
Fabrics and ribbon are picked.
Assembly done. 3 layers–oilcloth, cotton batting, cotton fabric. Ties on the end.
All rolled up! 2 weeks from today is the big day…ahhh!
I was inspired by the Pleasant Home blog to use up some of the fabric that I have in my stash. She says she is not going to buy any more new fabric until all of her projects are caught up…I’m not going that far, but it does feel good to get a 3-year shelf sitting project started!
So here is the project of the weekend. I bought this fabric when I worked at The Calico Shoppe in Eau Claire WI. As I was ironing the fabric, the smell of the fabric brought me right back to the shoppe. Oh, how sweet! A little trip down memory lane…
The pattern I am using is “Twist and Shout” (I modified it a bit) by Terry Atkinson. I was again reminded why I like her patterns so much–she does a fabulous job of making everything as easy and fast as possible. If you are a beginner quilter I highly recommend doing some of Terry’s patterns as your first projects.
First I made my “strip sets.”
Then you do a secondary cut.
Here you see my 3 piles from my different strip sets. (strip sets=fast cutting!)
Your blocks go together just by sewing the strips together in different ways. I started this last night and I already have all the blocks done!
I am using Civil War fabrics for this quilt. After I wash it and it gets all crinkly, it will look like it has been around for years–love it! This quilt will actually be a gift for a special someone…can’t wait to get it done in time for the big day!
This weekend I was in a total mood to get some projects done. Now this doesn’t happen all the time, so I was delighted with myself for the motivation! (I have fabric for a custom quilt arriving this Friday so I’m trying to get some things done before that arrives.) Looking at my stash, (shamefully, you only see about 1/3 of it), I decided on some Christmas fabric I bought earlier this fall.
I really liked the vintage look at the time of the purchase, but since then I have been wondering if maybe I was being a bit silly and not so practical. (Practical…who am I kidding.) Here’s a look at what I came up with… You have to be creative when you buy fabric before you know what pattern you are going to come up with. I think I like it. I think my future children will like it. A Christmas quilt that is just a bit off from the typical red and green. 
I also got 3 quilt backings pieced and 3 matching bindings all set to go. Hopefully tomorrow I will set the frame up and get some quilting done. My goal is to do a little video blog on the actual quilting for you. Possibly tomorrow’s post…
This weekend I had a wonderful time creating. I made this very simple fall table runner in a jiffy to get my quilting fix in…the rug continues to grow…and the baby vest I started just needs a few wooden buttons to finish it up.
I’m thinking this will be a gift for someone. It uses what quilters call a Charm Pack, which is simply a pack of pre-cut squares from an entire line of fabric. If you are new to quilting it is a great beginner project.
Tony decided to put up the crib on Saturday morning. It is fun to have it up and begin dreaming about the look of the room. I think it will be rather eclectic with lots of homemade touches. The rug will soon have another color change. It feels fab on the feet!!
Saturday morning I also ran to the knitting shop quick. (Seems like I always need exactly what I don’t have when it comes to knitting!) I started this darling baby vest, and like I said yesterday, could not stop. I need to pick up some wooden buttons for the side and shoulder and then it will be complete. Easy pattern for this self taught knitter and I am so grateful for the fact that you don’t have to put it over babies head to get it on. You can find the free pattern here.
