TGIFF - More Cushion Covers

I'm preeetty sure I said I'd put my sewing machine away for the season not too long ago, didn't I? Ah well, humbug. On Wednesday my colleagues called on a secret mission. You see, another colleague is expecting a little boy with his girlfriend, just a few days after I'm due, and just like they got us a little something they were looking for something for them.

They'd been thinking along the lines of a onesie and a t-shirt with some cute applique like "little brother/big sister", only they couldn't find something they liked which got them wondering whether I might not applique something onto bought clothes if they got me the fabric and utensils. I gave it a thought and said I could.

When I got off the phone I got thinking some more. I don't have any experience with applique. Would it turn out well enough? Is "well enough" enough for me? They'd have to buy the things. And get them to me before I could start. Do I even like working with things that I didn't choose?

So I called them and proposed to make two samey yet not same pillows from my ample stash if they sent me batting. Whilst they deliberated I already pulled my fabrics and got playing - like we do. Shortly afterwards a courier brought me batting and a gift card to make up for my stash expenses.

for the baby boy

for the big sister

So yeah, I whipped up two sibling pillows in two sessions on Wednesday and Thursday and sent them to the office on Thursday afternoon. Hope they'll be well received.

Happy sewing!

Quilting Those Babies

Those delicious baby quilts I've been making, I mean.

I've been quilting away both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, taking my time and burying a lot of threads. Basically I'm sticking to easy straight line quilting next to the seams to accentuate the prints whilst keeping it simple.

Initially I was scared that the flannel back of the first quilt might pose some trouble but, thankfully, quilting has been a dream.

The second quilt follows mostly the same pattern but the centre piece is dealt with slightly differently.

To keep thread changes to a minimum I quilted the blue bits of both quilts before changing to grey. Both quilts lack only a few more lines. I badly want to get started on the binding because that is certainly something I could occupy myself with during the evenings after work. Most times I'm too tired to do anything creative much. However, I'm more confident than ever to make my deadline and deliver these quilts on time.

I hope you're all having a fantastic week and happy sewing!

WIP - How I Spent the Last Weekend

I enjoyed my sewing weekend oh so much! I'd assembled my squares into this top on Saturday but wasn't quite convinced yet. It was small-ish, clocking in at 78,5 cm² / 31'' inch², and I didn't want to distort the square blocks too much with the 1 cm wide binding I plan on making.

So I had to add a border and bring up the size to healthy 88 cm² / 34 ⅔ inch². I put my tag in the bottom right corner. The red dots really pop out this pic.

I chose this flannel for the backing. So soft and perfect for this quilt. T is a tiny baby boy and I want this quilt to be extra cuddly.

Since I didn't feel like jumping right into quilting once I'd spray basted the quilt, since I still had a lot of squares left and since there's another little baby boy, little D, that hasn't received a birthday gift yet because I've been way too busy last year (he's a November babe), not to mention that his elder brother got a me-made quilt a little over two years ago (I feel like I've come such a long way since then!), and since this pattern is way too much fun and so quick to sew (whew, that's a lot of "sinces"), well, since there were a ton of reasons and no objections I simply made another quilt top.

I love it! I love how different both of them look despite the similar colour scheme of the squares. I love them so much more than the original quilt I intended to make eight months ago which proves that breaks are sometimes just the right thing for our creativity.

I hope little T and D will love their quilts and I hope I can gift both of them in person during my trip to the UK in a couple of weeks. I booked my flights yesterday and am soo excited to see so many of my friends and their boys. It'll be just wonderful.

Happy sewing!


Linking up here and there.

This Weekend Is Sew...

...dedicated to my sewing machine and having fun with gorgeous fabric.

After spending the first three weekends of 2014 with friends and family and awesome activities such as going home for my grandmother's birthday or dancing the night away at my favourite club I'm finally picking up the squares for that baby boy quilt again. Huh, three months since I last did so? Geesh, well, I guess the little one's birth and a potential visit of the family in 5 weeks is a rather good reason to get it done.

Right, back to my love affair a.k.a. stash and machine. I need to pick some backing and sew on.

Happy sewing!

W.i.P - Slow Progress

I really enjoyed the long weekend after my first full week at the internship and this is what I've been working on when I didn't take care of a poorly husband or household chores.

1) Trying to find the perfect layout for the blue-grey squares. Still not there.

2) Turning my new Nanette tote from this...

...to this and some more.

The topstitching on the zippered inner bag pocket (tutorial) isn't perfect but I was eager to go on and it's a) a detail that 99 per cent of the population won't ever get to see and b) I can deal with it. I decided to add a key fob this time around because I've always got troubles finding my keys, even if I throw them into pockets. Thanks to my sis for always letting me harvest her old bags for hardware!

Hopefully, unlike last week, I can make time for a little sewing in the evenings and finish this baby until Friday. I love it already.


Stats

Finishes - 0

Ongoing Projects - 7
Fish & HSTs
square baby quilt
Nanette tote bag - nearly finished!
baby things
Red Riding - erm, yeah...
Grecian Waters/Emerald HST quilt - finished the top! - still pinching pennies for batting
EPP hexies - 52 finished flowers + 14 nearly-theres

Stalled Projects - 1
EPP parallelograms/stars

Planning Stage - 5
Wedding Anniversary quilt
Quilt for the husband - downgraded to a cushion cover, still needs to be made, oops
Two summer dresses & a skirt

Happy sewing!

W.i.P. - Square Central, or Central Square?

Last weekend I cut lots of 5'' squares (and some rectangles) from this pretty stack for the blue and grey baby quilt I'm planning for my nephew. Yep, the one on top of the Fish & HSTs quilt. Lol.

I love that fawn so much, Carol used it in one of her projects and I just had to have it, too. Doesn't it look too cute?

Nearly forgot to add these as I'd put them in a different box.

So, a blue and grey baby quilt featuring vegetation and animals from all party - sky, earth, sea. Anybody got a catchy name for me? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Stats

Finishes - 1
two loop/infinity scarves

Ongoing Projects - 7
Fish & HSTs
square baby quilt
Nanette tote bag - more soon
baby things
Red Riding
Grecian Waters/Emerald HST quilt - finished the top! - still pinching pennies for batting

EPP hexies - 52 finished flowers + 14 nearly-theres

Stalled Projects - 1
EPP parallelograms/stars

Planning Stage - 5
Wedding Anniversary quilt
Quilt for the husband - downgraded to a cushion cover, still needs to be made, oops
Two summer dresses & a skirt

Happy sewing!

P.S. The intern is going well. So far I'm definitely enjoying it.

Thank Goodness I've Finished Cutting These Squares

I love the colours for my latest quilt so much that I just have to share more pics!

From this...

...to this...

... some gratuitous close-ups of the gorgeous colours and shading...

...to finally this...

...300 beautifully coloured 5'' squares to be turned into half square triangles...no daylight shot but still so gorgeous...

...and some very pretty scraps...

Happy sewing and stay tuned for my blogiversary post tomorrow!