WIP Wednesday!

I'm having a crafty angel on one shoulder/crafty devil on the other shoulder debate with myself. I have lots of things I should be working on, but the crafty devil is insisting I make myself a Modern Maples table runner, like, now. Any guesses on who will win?



Finished:
Nada.


In progress

Cartwheels Quilt


I'm a remedial paper-piecer at best, so these are slow-going. I've finished 6 and am halfway done with 4 more. Then I have to make 10 more. (Can that be right? Note to self: Check math!) I'm using Lee's Cartwheels block for this one.


Christmas stockings

Hooray! These are almost finished! I just need to see if my mom and her embroidery machine can help me with the cuffs. (Hi, mom!)

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Swoon
Tracey's French Kisses
Christmas stockings
Dilly Dally quilt
Sew Beautiful block for Lee
Block for Tracey

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

And thanks so much to anyone who voted for my Rainbow Stars quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival! I was thrilled to find out I won. Now I really want to make one for myself!

WIP Wednesday! Time to get back on track.

I was not productive on the sewing front last week because I was busy doing this:
And it was awesome. My husband ran the US Half Marathon, and we went along with him. Our friends and their little boy went too. Other than my son getting a stomach bug, it was just about perfect. But, now we're home, and it's 47 days until Christmas. I don't think it's quite time to start freaking out, but it's definitely time to get moving!



Finished:
Central Park Baby quilt



do. Good Stitches blocks for November

I'm the quilter for November, and I picked this Date Night tutorial from Moda Bake Shop. Hope this is a quick and easy one for my circle! (Ignore the colors in this photo! It's prettier in real life.)


In progress

Cartwheels Quilt

I'm using Lee's Cartwheels block for this one. Very fun!

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Swoon
Tracey's French Kisses
Christmas stockings
Dilly Dally quilt
Sew Beautiful block for Lee
Block for Tracey

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

There's still a little more time to vote for the Blogger's Quilt Festival! You can find all of the nominees (including my Rainbow Stars quilt under Group or Bee Quilt) here!

Time to vote!

The nominations are posted for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, and my Rainbow Stars was nominated for favorite Group or Bee Quilt. Please head over and cast your vote! It would be swell if you voted for me, but all of the nominees are excellent!

Central Park baby

My friend had a baby last week. She didn't find out the gender ahead of time, so I waited until she had the baby to make the quilt (quilter's conundrum, I know).
I made her older kids these quilts, so I knew I'd go with Central Park. Still love this line.
She had a girl, so I went with the pinks/purples/blues. I chose the green binding because I like it.
I had enough of this zoo print for the backing.
My friend lives across the country, so it was especially sweet to give this to her in person!

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Rainbow Bright

I'm getting this posted just under the wire, so I'll keep it brief! I don't have anything new to share for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, so I figured I'd show you my favorite recent finish. This quilt is the work of the Peace Circle of do. Good Stitches, and it's off to its new home with help from the folks at My Very Own Blanket, an organization that provides quilts for children in foster care. I LOVE this quilt and really need to make one for myself!

To make the star blocks, we used this tutorial from Diary of a Flutter Kat. It makes 17.5-inch blocks, so the quilt came together really quickly.






Be sure to stop by the Blogger's Quilt Festival for endless inspiration! Voting starts soon!

*Quilt Measurements: About 51x68
*Special Techniques used, if any
*Quilted by…Me!
*Best categories: Favorite Group/Bee Quilt, Favorite Throw Quilt, Favorite ROYGBIV Quilt

On kindness.

Need a reminder on how awesome and generous our little online quilting community is? This post is for you! A few weeks ago I sent out an S.O.S. to some of my friends. I needed help with a quilt for Wrapped in Hope. Wrapped in Hope is an excellent organization (part of Margaret's Hope Chest) that provides birthday quilts for children with a parent in prison. Well, due to a miscommunication, the quilt for an 11-year-old boy fell through the cracks, and it was already past his birthday.

The kids who receive quilts from Wrapped in Hope get to give a list of their favorites, and the quilters try to fulfill them. This boy asked for red, green, black, football, and cheetah. Not only was I under a time crunch, but I really didn't have many fabrics in my stash to match his wishes. So I sent out an email in hopes that some of my friends could pitch in with a block or two. They made 53. I was overwhelmed as these blocks arrived in my mailbox. These women all have very busy lives, and I'm really grateful that they took some time to make these blocks for an 11-year-old who could use some encouragement.

I can say with 100% certainty that this quit could not have been possible without help from Marla, Kim, Becky, Toni, Laura, Deb, Meg, Marci, Elizabeth, Lisa, and Dawn. THANK YOU! I'm sending you all virtual hugs. People who know me in person know that I'm most definitely not a hugger, so even a virtual hug is a big deal from me. :)




I chose the snowball block from Cluck Cluck Sew, because it's pretty quick and showcases lots of fabrics.



I know low-volume quilts might be all the rage right now. This is a high-volume quilt. I admit, I thought the recipient's picks were a little out there at first, but it definitely works! For the back, I pieced together some green, cheetah (maybe leopard?), red, and pirate skulls for good measure.
Thank you again to my friends who made this quilt possible. I know this 11-year-old boy will find comfort in this gift!

Going batty.

This weekend is the fall festival at my son's school, and they have a huge silent auction to raise money. Each class has to put together a themed "basket" to be auctioned off. I am Room Mom (Extraordinaire), so I'm in charge of our class basket. First job? Pick a theme. I chose Batman. Stick with what you know, right? Each kid in the class brings in something for the basket. Of course, a Batman quilt was in order.
 
I didn't give myself much time to finish the quilt, so I went simple!


I included some strips of solids and some batman yardage. Plus, creepy Joker face. I quilted it in an all-over robotic-type stipple in yellow thread.


This is evidently the best photo I took of the back? No explanation here.
Yesterday, I spent several hours assembling the basket. You see, it's not really a basket at all. They have to be able to move it around the gym, so everything is taped within an inch of its life. I took this picture before I wrapped the whole thing in cellophane. Oof.

WIP Wednesday

I feel like it's getting to be crunch time! Can I just say 75 days until Christmas? Zoinks!



Finished:
Rainbow Stars

Yep. Still in love. Details here.


do. Good Stitches blocks for October

On the ball for once! Tutorial from Jeni.

Ninjago Halloween costume
Dang, my kid is cute!

In progress
Quilt for Wrapped in Hope

Should be done and headed to its new home this weekend, thanks to LOTS of help from my friends!

Foxy!

This little guy needs some more attention.

Batman quilt
So I'm making a Batman quilt for my son's school auction. It's next weekend. Have I started it? No, no I have not.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt

To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Swoon
Tracey's French Kisses
Peace Circle swap
Christmas stockings

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

Rainbow bright

At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I'm really tempted to keep this quilt for myself! But this is the work of the Peace Circle of do. Good Stitches, and it's destined to find a new home with the help of the folks at My Very Own Blanket. I guess that just means I need to make another one for myself!

To make the fun star blocks, we used this tutorial from Diary of a Flutter Kat. It makes 17.5-inch blocks, so the quilt came together really quickly.

On the back I used these bold prints from Heather Bailey's Pop Garden, along with some lime dots and a strip of rainbow argyle (because it fit? And it's rainbow?).
More rainbows on the binding. Felt like the right thing to do!

I'm excited to send it off to its new home! Was that convincing? :)

I'm adding my quilt to the 100 Quilts for Kids link-up at Swim, Bike, Quilt! There's one week left to join in!
I'm also linking up to Sew Modern Monday!

DIY Ninjago Halloween Costume

My 5-year-old is obsessed with Ninjago. If you're not familiar, the clever folks at Lego have found a way to combine their Lego blocks and ninjas, to the delight of little boys everywhere. There's a Ninjago show, countless toys, and clothing, but not a Ninjago Halloween costume! The closest we could find was this (clearly a Ninjago knockoff), but it seems to be sold out everywhere. I decided against buying one for $80 on eBay and instead took matters into my own hands.


And it was so easy! And cheap! And he loves it!



We started with a white karate uniform (found here for $9.99) and a bottle of kelly green Rit dye. Followed the instructions on the dye, and presto! It took him about a half a second to get into character.



Not sure what we'll do for the headgear, but the green jersey tied around his forehead just might do the trick! For about $15, we have a Halloween costume and a very happy ninja!

WIP Wednesday

I skipped last week's WIP Wednesday, so this post is really more than a week's worth of progress. It's kind of like cheating, but it makes me feel super productive, so I'm going with it!

Finished:
do. Good Stitches blocks for June

Yes, June. Oh, the shame! I was waiting on one late block to arrive from overseas, so I didn't feel rushed to complete mine. But the other block came, so I ran out of excuses! I've since put together the quilt top and finished about half of the quilting, so this one will be off the list soon. Tutorial from Diary of a Flutter Kat.

Tula Pink quilt


I finished this one up for Sara's Tula Pink Sewalong. It's patiently waiting to be gifted...might have to wait for Christmas.

Improv Hexie block for Sew Beautiful Bee

Done!

Sew Beautiful fabric for October

I made a test block (tutorial from AMH) and sent out the fabric to my bee friends.

Cut up AMH charms and gray charms for swap

I made a big trip to the post office last week. Oof.

In progress
Quilt for Wrapped in Hope
Snowball blocks have been showing up in my mailbox! I'm sewing this together asap.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Arcadia Quilt


To do:
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Swoon
Tracey's French Kisses
June block for do. Good Stitches
September Sew Beautiful block Peace Circle swap
Christmas stockings

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