Hair today, gone tomorrow!

I cut off 12 inches of my hair to donate to Wigs for Kids! Wigs for Kids is an Ohio-based organization that provides hair replacement systems to children under the age of 18 who have lost their hair as a result of medical treatments, health conditions, or burn accidents. Emily told me that she has donated to Wigs for Kids and her niece has benifited from the organization, so I knew it was the way to go.

It didn't seem to drastic at the time, but it does when I see the before & after!

Easy Going Modern (Football Style!)

A few months ago, I picked a name off of the Wrapped in Hope birthday list. Wrapped in Hope (a part of Margaret's Hope Chest) provides birthday quilts for children with a parent in prison.  I made the Dirtbike Quilt for a little boy last year, and this year I chose a 13-year-old boy who lists his interests as "football." Cool, because that's one of my interests too.


I wanted the quilt to be simple, masculine, and (most importantly) not lame. I landed quickly on the Easy Going Modern pattern by Felicity of Felicity Quilts. She developed the pattern for a workshop and is releasing it soon as a stand-alone pattern. I sweet-talked her into letting me try it early (Thanks, Felicity!). It's a great pattern. Felicity's directions are thorough and clear, and she gives some really helpful tips and tricks. The pattern would be great for a beginner or for a more experienced quilter looking for a quick project without having to do any quilty math. (Felicity's pattern is layer cake friendly too! Check out her gorgeous layer cake version here.)


Now, as football-loving person myself who lives in a place where football reigns supreme, I knew color choice was important. I wish I knew what team this boy cheers for, but that information wasn't available. I made an educated guess based on where he lives...and I'm hoping the red/white/black color scheme is acceptable. (Fingers crossed!) The fabrics are Kona White, Black, and Rich Red. I followed Felicity's lead and quilted in wavy lines.


Now, the back is where you'll find the football bonanza. I found this Sports Life print by Robert Kaufman and thought it was the perfect backing.


I went with a simple striped binding. (Play Ball Stripe Red)


I'm relieved to have this finished in time for this boy's birthday! Wrapped in Hope is a great cause. It looks like there are a few kids left on the list for 2012. Check it out if you can help!

W.I.P. Wednesday!

Well, I didn't finish much this week, but I definitely made a little progress. To the list!

Finished:
Zakka Style Pincushion
My only finish of the week. Little but cute!

In progress
Graduation quilt

Unfortunately, this one looks the same as it did last week.

Birthday quilt for Wrapped in Hope


This was my main focus of the week. I started the quilt this week, and I'm finished with the quilting. Good thing, because the deadline is looming.

Echo quilt


I'm excited to cut into this stack to make a gift for a friend.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Orange/navy chevron

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt
Block for Brooke
do. Good Stitches April
Swoon (Sigh.)
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!

Gettin' My Zakka On

I finally got a chance to join in the Zakka Style Sew-Along, hosted by Lindsey and Amy. They're on project 3, the Zakka Pincushion. It's a cute and quick project. We're making projects from Rashida Coleman-Hale's book Zakka Style, so using her Washi Tape fabric seemed like the polite thing to do. I don't have any fancy trims or doo-dads, but I added a purple button and appliqued my initial on top.

There's still time to join in the fun!

W.I.P. Wednesday

Before I get to my list, I have to tell you about my most triumphant finish of the week. On Saturday evening, we were outside, and my neighbor ran over with his daughter's prom dress in his arms. The zipper broke, and they needed my help. And, oh by the way, her date was due to arrive in five minutes. The dress had two layers--a satin gown with a chiffon overlay. Or something like that. I don't really know, because I know nothing about sewing clothes! We decided the best plan was to sew the zipper closed--she *thought* she would still be able to get her dress over her head. So I made like a Project Runway contestant in the work room, with Tim Gunn urging me to make it work! Of course, my sewing machine needle broke, my bobbin thread got jammed, and I sweat profusely, but I finished it before the date arrived, and it held up all night. I got a text the next day saying I'd saved the prom! I'm still patting myself on the back.


Okay, on to my mortal feats of the week.



Finished:
Kaleidoscope quilt

Done. Hooray!

In progress
Graduation quilt



I finished up this orange/navy chevron quilt top this week using AmandaJean's tutorial. It's going to be a graduation quilt for my neighbor. (Yes, the same neighbor with the prom dress. I'm the best neighbor ever.)

Birthday quilt for Wrapped in Hope
Not going to lie...I let this deadline sneak up on me. But I have the fabric I need, and this is now a top priority.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt
Block for Brooke
do. Good Stitches April
Swoon (Sigh.)
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
Zakka sew-along (I WILL make the pincushion!)
Echo quilt

Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!

In a bind?

I had a few questions about the Anna Maria Horner premade binding I've been putting to use in my last few quilts. Here's some information about it (it should be noted that Kelly is responsible for enabling encouraging me to buy this).



Anna Maria Horner, clever woman that she is, has started selling continuous bias-cut binding. Right now, she just has a few prints available, the XOXO and Stockings prints from Loulouthi (both of which make excellent bindings).

It doesn't seem to be widely available. AMH has it for sale on her own web site in 12-yard rolls, and you can also buy it by the yard from Fabric.com. If you know of any other sources, feel free to post them in the comments.

The binding comes in two widths--2 1/4 inches and 1 1/8 inches. Note: This is the measurement after the fabric has been folded in half. The 2 1/4-inch binding is a piece of 4 1/2 fabric folded in half, and the 1 1/8-inch binding is a 2 1/4-inch piece of fabric folded in half. For binding a quilt, you'll want the 1 1/8-inch size (on Fabric.com, it's 98 cents/yard).

I know, because I bought the 2 1/4-inch size. It worked out fine, because I just cut it down the middle. That took away some of the convenience factor, but it gave me 20 yards of binding for about $15, which seems fairly reasonable. It felt like a frivolous purchase (I really don't mind making binding...although bias binding isn't my favorite), but it really is quite a bit of binding for the money.

(Sorry if this sounds kind of like an ad--it isn't! Just my personal opinion. And in my personal opinion, everything AMH does rocks, so I might be a bit biased. Ha! Biased! Get it? Sorry about that too.)

I hope that answers your questions! If you have any others, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

Kaleidoscope, take 2

When I made my blocks for Elizabeth's Kaleidoscope Quilt-Along *cough* almost a year ago *cough*, I decided to be practical and make two baby-size quilts instead of one larger quilt. I finished the first one right away and sent it off to my cousin's new baby. The other, well it sat and sat...until now!


The fabrics are mostly from Paradise from Pat Bravo, with a few extras from my stash added in.


On my first Kaleidscope, I quilted in straight lines. This time, I used an all-over stipple with light gray thread. The stippling seems to make my not-so-pointy points a little less noticeable.


For the back, I used more Pat Bravo, plus some Kona Solids to make it long enough.


What's that? More AMH premade binding? Yes, it seems to be lasting forever.

Elizabeth's quilt-along ended months ago, but the instructions are still posted on her blog if you'd like to make your own!

WIP Wednesday

Here we go again!



Finished:
Peeps Shirt

Just in time for Easter!

iPad Sleeve

Made using Faith's tutorial (minus the pocket)

Sleeping bag



I sent my nephew his Lorax and made a sleeping bag for him too (using the Three Bears Sleeping Bag pattern from Flossie Teacakes). I'll be making more of these (in Batman fabric, of course).

In progress
Kaleidoscope

Almost finished with the binding!

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt
Block for Brooke
do. Good Stitches April
Swoon (Sigh.)
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
Zakka sew-along
Football quilt
Quilt for Madison

Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!

Luke's peeps

I finally got around to making a Peeps shirt for Luke.


Easy project! I just cut out some Peeps using Eastery solids and Dana's template, added eyes and a nose with acrylic paint and a pencil eraser, and raw-edge appliquéd them to a shirt.


He likes!

WIP Wednesday

This post brought to you by "Git R Done."



Finished:
Flower Sugar baby quilt

Done! More here.

Sew Beautiful block for Elizabeth

She had me at "voile."

Lorax

Finito

Minky/Ribbon blankets

My sister likes to have these Minky baby blankets at the ready when her friends have babies, and I'm her supplier. I sweatshopped 10 this week. P.S. Minky is the devil.

In progress
Kaleidoscope

Quilt and bind

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Kaleidoscope baby quilt #2 (got this one basted)

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt
Block for Brooke
do. Good Stitches April
Swoon (Sigh.)
teddy bear sleeping bags
Tracey's French Kisses
Zakka sew-along

Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!

He speaks for the trees.

My nephew requested a stuffed Lorax after seeing the movie. Luckily, the Lorax is just a lump of a fellow, so I didn't think it would be too hard.


Here's version 2 with his predecessor (and my helper).


The original skewed a little more Grimace than Lorax, so we made a few tweaks.


Luke told me he needed to be fatter, and his mustache should be yellow instead of white (duh). Just some flannel and fur, but I think he's cute!

$25 Art Gallery

Luke comes home from preschool with new masterpieces every day. I throw them in a pile or (gasp!) sometimes throw them away. I turned to Pinterest in search of a way to display children's artwork, and I found some great ideas, including this one for hanging artwork from a curtain rod. I also considered these vinyl decal frames.



But when I found these frames on the 90% off aisle at Hobby Lobby, my decision was easy. I got home, grabbed a hammer, nails, and a level, and ta da! Preschool art gallery in our blank canvas of a hallway.


Luke helped me curate the collection. He's very proud of his work (gotta say--I'm a little proud of myself too!).


His "Tree of Life" is the prize of our colletion. Each of the frames cost in the $2-$5, except for the center square, which was a little more. Still, the total for the project rang in under $25. Not bad!