Happy New Year, Ya'll!

Two more quilty projects coming in here at the end of the year! First, the 15 little Christmas mug rugs all got bound, and I have a few left to put in the box for next year. The other is this round one ~

 It lays flat, but you cannot tell from this photo!  :-}

This was going to be a table topper for Beth's round coffee table, so here was the starting place. Using only cherry prints and 'pokeydots' I created strata, and then cut with the cool 10 degree wedge ruler. 36 wedge pieces later, there was the finished center.

 

I was showing it to her before it was finished, and she loved it so much, she wanted it for a tablecloth. Wow, that took the circle from 45 inches to 72", quite a difference! So, I went to my stash, and found the tiny red pindots, and the cherry print gingham. Now there was extensions to add to the circle, but my match worked---amazing, huh?

 There may be a bit of the gingham left, but it took every bit of my red pindot--do you see the piece that I made do with? I felt the color was what was most important. There is that "Why NOT?!?" factor, too...
it adds visual fun ~

 The next challenge was how to go about getting it quilted. She only wanted it to be finished with flannel since it was to be on the table and not as thick as a quilt batt, so I made a big square of cloth by sewing the selvage side edge together. You know, the quilt frame doesn't accommodate circles, lol! I taped the flannel to the floor...

then, I used this spray adhesive to attach the circle to the flannel square. Who wants to mess with pins while you quilt? It held the circle beautifully ~

Now, it's finished and on her table, 
oops- without a finish photo! But, it was a learning project, and I love the challenge to grow in our craft. 



Yippee, one more to have on the 2013 finish list!

  ~ finished 
Christmas
Ticker Tape
mug rugs ~

Happy New Year 2014!

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Debbie's Quilt, '7's and L's'

 Since my quilt frame doesn't truly have a 'long arm' sewing machine, sometimes it is a challenge to try a design on a quilt. This quilt is my friend Debbie's, she called it 'Sevens and L's'. The pattern was one that let me work a stitch line that worked for my 4-6 inch throat opening.

 Debbie had won a fat quarter stack at her guild, and chose this quilt.

 Her background fabric is perfect, and one of my favorites!

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."  Hebrews 10:23

Christmas is a' Comin'

 Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here's some Christmas presents getting finished. I felt like I was visiting old friends with these two projects. The floral table runner is made with some leftover pieces from a large half hexagon quilt...see my header on the blog? Yep, that's the one ~

 I love the pieced back, if I were keeping it, this side would be showing the most ~

 

This one is a 'Christmas prints only' Ticker Tape project.

 One piece of muslin, grid drawn it to mark 15 'mug rugs', and glue stick the little pieces down.

 Quilt, wash, cut apart and bind.

  Voila! 15 mini gifts ~

I've been giving them away about as soon as they are bound, 

sorry there are no pictures of a finished one ~

Merry Christmas, everyone!

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. " Isaiah 9:6

Hats for the School Christmas Musical!

 Sewing is always occurring, but projects are in various stages. Is that normal? Well, it seems to be for me!

 

These sweet hats were a project for the K, first, and second graders at my school. They are part of a penguin costume. Can you believe that 70 hats were made in one week?

Caught solid color fleece on a one day sale, great deal at $2.49 a yard! 
The "accent" prints were $6 bucks. After I figured out the first 2 hat measurements, there was two days of cutting the pieces.

These would be a quick and easy gift! I worked with 3 or 4 you tube videos, and then made my hats using these guides:

Main body of hat was cut 11 inches by 24 inches, the 24 inches are the stretch.  I was able to make 6 hats from one yard. 

Accent/brim piece is 6 inches by 24, again the long side being the stretchy side.

 

I took them to my Monday night quilting class, and did a quick demo for the class. Then my friend Debbie helped to sew the pieces into "tubes", both the body and the accent/brim parts...

 

 (we left about 2 1/2 inch opening on one end for the fringe, 

I liked that better so there wasn't a stiff piece of the pom pom)

and Kathy cut the threads and stacked the pieces so I could get it all back home. "I get by with a little help from my friends ~" sing along...

 It was fun to put the colors together! The mix I was going for was bold contrasts...made me think of Dr. Seuss....

  Here is the assembly. Fold the 6 inch accent in half, with the seam on the inside. Pin it to the wrong side -seam side- of the body part. Sew around to attach.

  This shows the accent flipped up, but not turned to the right side yet.

  This shows the accent/brim turned up, and now the seam you just made is hidden! I gave them a little steam at this point, half heat, the fleece will melt on cotton setting!

The fringe is cut at 2 to 3 inches, a little wider than 1/4 inch. Nothing like quilting, fleece is so forgiving!

I didn't take a picture from this point, but you need to take a big gathering stitch -1 inch stitches- just below the cut fringe. If you use a big needle and double thread, you can draw it up and tie it tight. 

The last step is to take 2 pieces of the front fringe, cross them over and then tie them in the back, bundling the fringe into the pom pom. This is where you might be glad you you cut the fringe more toward the 3 inches, cuz' those shorter fringe pieces barely reach around ~


Hey, let me know if you try these. I hope it is easy enough to understand!

These are some of my kiddos with their hat of choice. 
I usually take their picture and frame it for a Christmas gift to their folks. Some of the pictures didn't show the pom pom top, so this is just a few of the photos ~

Thank you to my praying friends. Larry came through the surgery well, and is on the mend. His Papa is coming for Christmas! We are hoping he feels great by then ~


I'll leave you with a picture and a link of what we had around here this past week, mm-mm, Sour Cream Cranberry Coffee Cake ~

"Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all."
 II Thessalonians 3 : 16