Picnic Quilt

Here it is completed! Sorry it's a little wrinkled in these pictures it has already been used a bunch... and I hadn't had a chance to clean it when I had the opportunity to take the pictures

 I am SO happy with the way it turned out-- taking the pictures was the first time I saw the back laid out and I think I might like the back more than the front! It's just so yummy and simple! So the pattern, appliqué designs are all mine... but it is all super simple stuff

 I ended up hand quilting the hole thing in loopy swirls that come out of 3 of the bee's bums- it's random and funky stitching, I probably could have kept my stitches smaller but we've been using it and it hasn't been a problem yet

 I painted on the bees stripes- the bee's were impossible to find before and now they pop out at you.

 I added embroidered detailing to the flowers.. I could have gone for days doing this but I tried to keep it simple. I ended up machine stitching my binding on- so much faster and this quilt will be through the wash so much I figured it would hold together better that way.

 And just in case you were wondering 4 grown ups, a baby and a dog fit easily

 Micah enjoyed us all being together so much that he decided to sit up on his own for the first time while we were taking the photo below

 Then Grandpa let him ride Brinkley!

So much more to show you guys!

Quilt in Progress

Well one week became two... my bad

I thought I would share more of my planning process... I had been wanting to do something with bees so the picnic quilt seemed like the perfect place

Yes I did make the gargantuan quilt more complicated... and I kicked myself the whole time I did it but it just HAD to be done this way... 

Here's a peek  of the top. Mum and I spent a good two hours pinning it in place... the whole sandwiching process is my least favorite part- even over quilting- and misery loves company so mom helped and the guys entertained us... much more fun then doing it on my own! (oh Uber undid the safety pins for us...and dad watched Micah in addition to entertaining us I don't want to forget that part- very helpful)

As for the two weeks part things just got crazy busy around here - I did in fact finish the quilt completely on Thursday and about a hundred other things... so I will be back to play catch up and show you everything next week- promise!

Picnic Quilt Planning

It's been lovely outside so I decided to take Micah out to splash around on the patio and while I was at it I started  planning a picnic quilt that I have been collecting fabric for. 

 I couldn't find an average size for a picnic blanket so I decided 100"x100" seemed like plenty of room, and it could be a layer on our bed in the winter. I wanted to keep the blocks large so here's what I came up with...

 I've been collecting yellow and green fabrics for a while. So I got to cutting and seeing what would fit where. It came together pretty quickly since there aren't that many pieces

 Unfortunately I REALLY underestimate the size of a roughly 100"x100" quilt.... just over 8'.... SAY WHAT? I now have to figure out what on earth I am going to back it in a how I am going to quilt it.... But at least it will fit on our queen bed in the event I never want to take something this large outside.... 

Hope you all have a good weekend... I may or may not be back next week... depends on if this quilt eats me for dinner

Butterfly Quilt

I may have to join a support group this baby size quilt is just so much fun to make. 

This one is 27"x27"

More Recess fabric but this time the back is Kona Cotton

Maybe I am done... maybe I'm not... 

Giraffe Quilt

Wait there's two?! Yes I am on a role... Another crib quilt size 35"x 28" 

I LOVE this one (the elephant one is everyone else's favorite) The elephant and giraffe are actually graphics from the fabric that I made that I still haven't ordered...

The front is linen and Recess by American Jane for Moda and the back is some of the new Denyse Schmidt line. 

It's also in the shop

elephant baby quilt and OCD-ness towards bobbins...

I have been having the urge to make a quilt so I finally gave in ---

It's baby quilt size 35"x24" 

And it's now in my shop.

Here's Micah modeling 

When Heather posted about needing bobbin storage it reminded me how unhappy I am with the mess of thread currently in my sewing box so I did some goggling and found this idea and decided to try it out

It's fantastic!

 I actually bought 3/8 tubing because they were out of 1/2 and to me the 5/8 looked too large. It was only $.38 per foot and out of the 1 foot I cut about 40 rings... super cheap and awesome... it's sad how happy this makes me!

Baby MAC's Quilt

I finished this up Friday afternoon and I am SOOOO happy to have it completed!
Linen and shirting fabric make up the patchwork on the front
The back is baby wale corduroy in brown with blue polka-dots, so soft and yummy!
The 3 Sea Turtles are appliqued and then hand embroidered.
The quilting is just two alternating blue heavy duty embroidery floss running stitches spaced about an inch apart. I love the look this gives the quilt.

I had SO much fun making up the design (not the quilt pattern or anything I know that's been done...haha) and putting the quilt together. Though I definitely wont be doing another one for a while!
The Nursery isn't going to be turtle themed though. Hopefully I will be showing you more of that project soon! Meanwhile you get bits and pieces!

Hard at work...

We should find out what baby uber is tomorrow morning... but I started this project Monday to get a head start just in case it's a boy (girl quilt will be the peacock one from last summer) And I am really glad I am done with the piecing because getting up and down from the floor just isn't comfortable anymore!

Uber picked the pattern (I gave him 3 options and this was his favorite) All the blues are different shirting material... which is much harder to find than you would think. My mum located almost all of it and finally just sent me some new men's shirts. Of course it would be better if you could use discards from your husbands wardrobe... but that wasn't a possibility for us... Uber didn't have anything that was worn out. Because of the lack of material I decided to do the alternating linen and shirting stripes.

I am pretty stoked with how it turned out (the picture being the wrong way is annoying!). It is a little quieter and mellow then I was really going for... but I am not done with it yet so we will see what I can do to liven it up.

Hopefully tomorrow we will finally know what it is so I can really start planning the room.

I already have a lot of girl stuff done. But at least this way I have a head start if it is a boy.

Something New

I actually managed to not show this project before I finished it (can you believe that?) so this is going to be a picture heavy post.
I have been wanting to do a growth chart in the same style as my pillows for quite a while and I finally got around to marking it off my list.

The animals are a mix of embroidery and felt. I wanted them to be more on the realistic side I think it turned out pretty well.

The fox. I was a little worried about the fact that he is supposed to be a fox getting across because the felt is a little more brown then I wanted but a friend saw the chart at the shower and knew what he was right away so whew! Hopefully people won't think it's a dog or something.

I second guessed myself a LOT on doing the birds in full embroidery but I think they turned out.

Bees. I love them, but not in real life!

I am digging hives to. The Black Apple had a sketch a while back that had a girls skirt as a bee hive and I have been even more jazzed about them since... it would be a really cool costume or just to make a skirtthat looked like that... too bad I dont make clothes... or maybe it is a good thing because I think I would try it! Mum? What do you think?

Totally digging the nest. The twigs making it up were a lot of fun to do.

I used Song bird in Teal by Holly Anderson for the back and gave myself two ways to hang it since I couldn't decide what I would like more.

Well I am off to get another project started. It's totally going to be copying someone else (Jennifer) so I hope she doesn't mind! I will be back later with pictures!