Me and my sewing table

The long holiday weekend provided me with much needed sewing time, although I was left still wishing for more! I finished up my potholder for a swap I did with the gals from the Madison Modern Quilt Guild. I wanted to get two or three done, but with all the other projects that needed to be done this weekend, it just wasn't going to happen. So instead I just used some scraps to mod podge a few clothespins. I think they turned out quite cute.

That butterfly was just asking to be fussy cut!

All wrapped up for the swap!

I received this potholder made by the talented Andria. I laughed because I was this close to using some of my Amy Butler scraps on my potholder.

It's just too pretty to use in the kitchen where chubby little hands can get at it. So for now it sits on my sewing table. Looks pretty good there, if you ask me.

Finished off the Baby Safari quilt, as well. FINALLY! I whipped up a cute little giraffe to match, too. Now if only that sweet little thing would hurry up and get here already! I know Mama is waiting not so patiently...

I used a higher loft batting for the first time and had some issues with puckering. I'm still pretty happy with the back, though I doubt I will buy that batting again. Speaking of batting, I scored a great deal at Jo-Ann's on Saturday so I am all stocked up for three new quilts in the works!

And since it was in the mid 50s on Friday and Benji had to go to Tennessee this week, the kids helped put up the Christmas lights. The house is ready for Christmas...well, the outside is anyways. Inside...not so much!

I also finished up my gifts for the Craftaholics Gift Exchange, but I will share that in the next post!

Progress

Yesterday I got some sewing done during the girl's nap time. Woo hoo! This is the third week of the Charmed Prints Quilt Along. I stayed up late on Wednesday cutting my sashing, borders, and the pieces for the first two feature blocks. I'm glad I did because once the girl was down for her nap, I got to jump right in and piece these two blocks!

The first block was the star block. I am very happy with how it turned out, especially since this is the first time I have done flying geese. I was probably way too proud when I finished this block up!

The second block was the Greek cross. It turned out a bit wonky, but I'm still happy with it. Because after all, this QAL is all about learning new blocks for me and I think the charm of that cardinal more than makes up for any wonkiness! I'm excited to see how these blocks all come together in the end.

The other project I've been working on all week is the Baby Safari quilt for a dear friend. My aunt asked me to make it for her niece. Sarah is actually not related to me, but she has been part of our lives forever that she just fits in as one of the family. She is due with baby number three at the beginning of December, but the pregnancy has not been easy. She has been in early labor for a good month now and I just hope I can get this quilt finished in time. I have the top pieced and I WILL get it quilted this weekend. My Christmas gift list is growing everyday. Once this quilt, which is priority number one, is finished, I am excited to start sewing for the holidays!

Another project...

Yes, I may be crazy. I am adding another project to my ever growing pile. I bought a charm pack of Kate Spain's Flurry a while back because I simply fell in love with it. I love me some lime green for the holidays! And that blue? I shocked myself by liking it so much. I usually don't like that "Carolina blue". But with all the greens and reds, it seems perfect for winter. I bought the charm pack with the intention of getting a tree skirt made for our Christmas tree this year. I have a lot of handmade gifts planned and in the back of my mind I honestly didn't think I'd get to the tree skirt in time...

Gen X Quilters to the rescue!I came across this blog yesterday and something just clicked. The first thing I noticed was her block library. So many blocks all with tutorials. Perfect for a beginning quilter like myself. Then I noticed...

 I have never done a quilt along but I already had a charm pack to use and I could easily turn the baby size quilt into a tree skirt. How can I not do this?!?!

So, here is a stack of some of my charm squares and the fabric I pulled for sashing, borders, and some feature squares. I plan on using something special for the backing...I'll keep you posted!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2011

I'm excited to take part in my first Blogger's Quilt Festival! Amy's blog is one of the first I started reading when teaching myself to quilt way back in March. Even though I did have two quilts under my belt by time the spring quilt festival rolled around in May, I wasn't quite ready to share any of my work. Sheesh. I think I only had one blog post at that time! This time around, I am thrilled to take part and I have a very special quilt to share for a very special girl.

As part of the Madison Modern Quilt Guild, I created this little doll quilt for the Kona Challenge. We were each given a charm pack of solids to create...something. We could make a quilt, pillow, pouch...you get the idea. As long it was using solids, it was a go!

I had been wanting to try my hand at something using a chevron pattern. I also knew that I wanted to make a doll quilt for Abbie's dolls as part of her Christmas present. What a perfect opportunity to try the chevron! A small, manageable project!

I used some purples, pinks, and blues from the charm pack and, in the spirit of using things I already had on hand, a gray that I had in my stash. I was very pleased with how the chevron turned out, but I LOVED the back. I decided just to piece together some of the scraps I had from squaring off my chevron squares. I really had no idea how it would look, especially once I quilted it, but I love, love, love it! And in the spirit of using every little bit of fabric, I ended up making a little pillow for her baby doll, too. I put a little bit of purple fleece on the back. One, because the girl loves her some purple. And, two, because I will be using that purple fleece to make some diapers for her baby dolls. The quilt, pillow, diapers, and some more baby items will be put in this cute bag I found at Michael's for $3 for her very own diaper bag come Christmas. How fun! I'll blog more on her diaper bag later...

So, there she is! My first Blogger's Quilt Festival entry. Thanks, Amy, for hosting and always providing great inspiration!