I’m in the process of hand stitching the binding on the Cool Breezes quilt, and I can’t wait to get it done, because I keep adding more projects to my must do ASAP list!  I think I’m adding way too many to my list, but it will be fun to see just how many I can get done.  I’m definitely in the “I want to get lots of projects done” mode.

A queen sized quilt is the biggest quilt I’ve ever made.  It was a lot of work, but it was also very rewarding.  It’s been about 1 year since I’ve finished that quilt, and now I’ve got the itch to do something big all over again.  But this time I’ve got my eyes on making a KING sized quilt for my bed!  Am I crazy?

So here I am curled up under a quilt, with the fire in the background, and reading up about quilting large quilts.  I must admit it is intimidating, but I think I may just go for it.  I toyed with the idea of just making the quilt top and sending it out to be quilted, but part of me wants to accomplish this daunting task so that I can say this quilt is made 100% by me (and my beloved sewing machine).

I started collecting the Al Fresco line by Marcus Fabrics about 18 months ago.  I got the fat quarters and yardage that I have out this morning and looked at them (and petted them ), and then I went through one of my over flow drawers (read: hubby doesn’t utilize one of his dresser drawers to its capacity, so I sort of stash fabric there) looking for something else and discovered that I have an additional 16 fat quarters!  I did a happy dance!!  Not to self: look at fabric more often to have a better idea of what I actually have.

Fat Quarters

So here we are.  Do I attempt this task?  I just may, and since I just ordered some extra wide backing just for this project, that may be the incentive I need to actually do this!

Now I’m asking for a little bit of help.  I’m using a pattern by Atkinson Designs in the Happy Hour pattern book, and the cover picture is of the blocks that are 14.5 inches, but there’s also a pattern for 9 inch blocks.  Shall I go the 9 inch route or 14.5 inch route?  The 9 inch blocks would mean I need 143 blocks and the 14.5 inch blocks would mean I need 56 blocks.  I’m thinking that the 14.5 inch blocks would be easier because there would be fewer seams, thus less quilt weight, but I do love the look of the smaller blocks.  So what do  you think I should do, the 9 inch blocks or the 14.5 inch blocks?

I completed the Giddy quilt top a few nights ago, and on Tuesday evening while we watched the Sugar Bowl (and sadly watched the Hogs lose), I decided to pin paste the quilt.

I got to the very last corner and finished the pin basting and realized this:

The top right block was sewn in the wrong direction!  I let out a very loud “Oh, no!!” It was PG since my kiddos were still awake.  This seems to be a recurring problem for me…sewing directional blocks.  I did the very same thing with the Ellie Fun quilt.  My hubby kept telling me not to worry about it especially since Giddy is for us (really, it’s for me ), but I couldn’t, because I knew it would bug me, and I love this fabric so much I wanted it to be “perfect.”

So I unpinned that section and got out my handy seam ripper, and I got to work.

I then rotated the block and sewed everything back together, and then repinned that section.

Now that looks better, and more importantly I feel much better!

Dearest loyal commenters,

I have been bombarded with spam, and my hubby tried to fix the problem, but I just realized that all my loyal commenters’ comments went into the spam file.  So sorry!  I tried to pull all the real comments out of the 3,000+ spam comments, but I do apologize if I missed your comment.

My hubby promises that he’s fixed the problem, so now when you hit the submit comment button you’ll see a box where you have type in some nonsense letters.

Here’s to no more spam problems!!!!!

The NJ Blizzard of 2010 hit while were there, and since we were trapped in the house for 3 days, one of the things I did to occupy my time was shop.  What did I shop for?  Fabric of course!  Above All Fabric was having a fabulous sale, and I just couldn’t resist.  Today my mail man delivered my goodies, and well, I’m drooling!

Some of the fabric is to make some skirts for my daughter, and hopefully I’ll have time to do that really soon!

Here’s the layout for the Giddy quilt I’m working on.  I’m so loving this line!!!!

Oh it’s so good to be home.  I missed my sewing machine!   I missed being creative.  This afternoon I was able to retreat to the playroom/sewing room and I continued to work on the blocks for my next quilt.  I started the blocks before we left for vacation, and it was nice to get back into the swing of things.

This is going to be a fun quilt.  How could it not with this very fun, happy fabric called Giddy by Sandy Gervais?!?!  It makes me happy just looking at it.  Best of all, this quilt is for me, and it’s been quite awhile since I made something for myself.  I have a (long) list of quilts to finish or make for other people, but I really want to make this one for me first.

The blocks are done, and now I just need to arrange them and sew the top together.

Who doesn’t love making things for babies?  Baby stuff is just so stinkin’ cute!  I made some bibs, with matching burp cloths and did some applique on some tiny 0-3 month Onesies.

The bib pattern is the Little Bitty pattern.  I didn’t use batting, and I used a terry cloth back.  I just bought a towel and cut it, which was so easy!

I used flannel for the front and terry cloth for the back.

I used the tie pattern that’s included in the bib pattern and appliqued it to the shirt.

Bib, Onesie, and 2 matching burp cloths

Love this guitar fabric!

I used soft edge applique with this one and it’s so soft.

Bib, Onesie, and 2 matching burp cloths

Here is a quilt for my nephew, who’s expected to make his appearance in April.  I was going to wait until closer to his birth date to make and deliver the quilt, but the family decided to throw a baby shower on Christmas Eve, so I had a lot of motivation to get this done quickly.

My daughter named him “Hoot” when the parents-to-be came to visit, and that kind of stuck, so I just had to do an owl theme…but it’s certainly not overboard on the owls.

It’s really cute, and the pattern is Pure Baby Boy.  The pattern calls for using a Jelly Roll, but I opted for a charm pack and a single fabric backing.  The fabric is Hooty Hoot by Riley Blake.  The post wash measurement is 31.5″ x 39″.

I also had to make some coordinating burp cloths, because you can never have too many, and who doesn’t love some custom birth cloths?

I just love how this quilt turned out!  And I’m excited to deliver it in person!  Woohoo!!   China Blue is done!  It has a post wash measurement of 56 x 67.

I also really like the back, and I’ll admit that it was a mistake…the rectangle block of the 5 x 5 squares was supposed to be a square, and it wasn’t until after I finished the quilting that I realized it was a rectangle.  Oops…but that’s fine, because I like it lots!

The Breath of Avignon quilt is finally done!  It will be on its way to its new home in the next few days, and I hope the bride and groom like it!  It’s a late wedding present, but hopefully it was worth the wait…my mom would say better late than never.

The bride and I are childhood friends, and we were also roommates in college.  She always loved everything from France.  Anytime I see anything that reminds me of Provence I think of her, so I chose the Breath of Avignon line for this quilt because it completely reminds me of her…just so fitting.

I used Carolina Patchwork’s Sweet Garden pattern.  The pattern uses 1 layer cake plus some yardage, and I love how the pattern shows off the beauty of the entire line without feeling like it’s busy.  That’s my biggest issue with many layer cake patterns…they feel busy to me, but in this pattern, the addition of the solid sashing is very pleasing and calming, and yet it allows the fabric line to stand out.

The backing and binding fabric  is not from the Breath of Avignon line, but it looks like it fits perfectly!

I do love how it turned it!

Post wash measurement approximately: 60.5″ x 61″