Quilt #11 - Memories of the Southwest

I made this in a few hours with some fat quarters that I picked out at JoAnn Fabrics.  I wanted to find fabrics that reminded me of my trip to the southwest this past June.  I found some pretty turquoise and brown fabrics and threw in a little purple.  I like the different size square blocks.  This was a fast and fun one!

My inspiration... a picture I took at the Grand Canyon...

Rick and me at the Grand Canyon...can't wait to go back!

Quilt #10 - Gingerbread Man

I had this gingerbread panel that I didn't know what to do with but I found this really cute red plaid at a quilt show and made this quilt top in a few hours.  It is really basic but I think it turned out cute.  I love the small squares with the tiny gingerbread men!

Lots and lots of binding!!!

Three of my quilts are finished being quilted and so I have been doing ALOT of binding to get them finished before Christmas.  I still have to put labels on them.  I love the way the quilting turned out.  Here are some pictures...


Winter Parade - quilted with small snowflakes

Black & White - quilted with red thread flowers

Red, White, & Blue - quilted with stars

Finishing Touches and scrap busting....

I picked up two quilts from the quilter earlier in the week and they are beautiful! She did an amazing job and I am so excited, I'm not sure if I can wait until Christmas!

The first time I sewed a binding, it turned out horrible! Since then, I have been looking a many blogs and websites that offer photo tutorials about how to easily deal with the binding. This time, it went much more smoothly! It only took me a few hours to put the binding on the Jim Shore Angel quilt. Here are some pictures of it:

The quilting pattern is a flower (sunflower-ish) and I made the binding from scraps of the quilt.

I also did some scrap-busting this weekend.  My cat is always laying all over my fabric and my quilts as I am trying to work on them.  He just loves laying on them and rolling around.  I took some of my scraps from my Christmas quilt (currently at the quilter) and made him a little blanket/liner for his kitty  bed. 

I figured since this was for the cat (and he wouldn't mind mistakes) I decided to quilt it myself!  I used spray adhesive to put together the "quilt sandwich" and masking tape to sew the first set of lines.  The second set of lines I did free hand and they are fun and wavy.  I also tried to machine sew the binding and the results weren't that bad!  Instead of starting the binding on the front, I started it on the back.  Then I folded it over and sewed the binding to the front with a decorative stitch.  It actually looked quilt and was MUST faster than hand-sewing. 

wavy quilting

Machine sewed binding and part of the sewn name (not the best picture)

He loves it!

Pumpkin Time!

Ok, this has nothing to do with quilting, but I wanted to post a picture of my pumpkin. This year, I did Max and a monster from "Where the Wild Things Are". One lucky student will go home with this pumpkin tomorrow. Happy Halloween!!!

Projects using Scraps

My scrap bag is getting full and I wanted to use my scraps for an additional gift for those I made quilts for. The first "scrap-busting" project I found was cutting up your scraps into little squares and filling glass ornaments. (See the picture below.) I love this idea so I started small baggies with scraps for each person I made a quilt for. I am also making a mini-ornament from each bag of scraps for myself so I can celebrate each and every quilt I make.

The 2nd project I found was a cute, fabric envelope - PERFECT for giving packets of hot cocoa. Here is the free pattern.


3rd project I found was an adorable purse - well actually a great set of 7 projects - but I love this purse! I started on one using the black & white scraps from the quilt I made for my sister. Check out these free patterns.


Patterns for other ideas:
Casserole Holder / Pot Holder
Scissor Satchel

Make every scrap count!

Free Patterns

Here are some great websites that offer free patterns:

P&B Textiles
Classic Cottons
Andover Fabrics
Robert Kaufman
FreeQuilt.com
Quilt Blocks Galore (one of my favorites)
United Notions