Applejack

I've had these 5" charm packs for an embarrassingly long time. I cut some more coordinating squares, added that fabulous red and got to sewing some nine-patches. The red became the center of my nine-patches.

I cut those nine patches into quarters to make these great disappearing nine-patch blocks. 

This is pretty forgiving design and a great way to showcase your fabrics. I quilted it using the design Plus from Longarm League. This quilt traveled across the United States to my littlest cousin. 

My favorite tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle Fiskars Rotary Cutter

Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler

Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

Juki TL-2010Q

Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion

Dritz Craft Pins, 1-3/4-Inch (250-Count)

Electric Quilt

Project box: IRIS 12" x 12" Portable Plastic Storage Cases with Built-in Handle, Clear (storage)

Letter Openers

Fiskars Rotating Cutting Mat 14 inch x 14 inch

Creative Grids Stripology XL Ruler

Creative Grids Triangle ruler

Flannel Blankets

I needed a couple small flannel blankets to use as gift wrapping. I had a couple squares of flannel (about 30" by 30") already cut out so I grabbed my circle cutter and trimmed the corners. 

I set up the overlock machine, threaded with wooly in white, and stitched around the edges.

I had two finished blankets in no time.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle 

Fiskars Rotary Cutter

Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades

Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

Creative Grids Circle Savvy 11-3/4in x 18-1/2in Quilt Ruler

Fiskars Stick Rotary Cutter, 28mm

Superior Threads Polyarn Wool-Like Thread 1,000 Yard Cone

Machine Knitting

A friend of min had some Lion Brand Mandala she no longer wanted. She gave it to me and I decided to turn it into hats. This is what it looked like on the machine before I started the decreases for the top of the hat. 

This photo, and the next, are more for me than you. Tension can be a tricky thing for a machine knitter. This is my tension setting on the yarn mast. I almost never change it. I just set it there and leave it alone. 

What I do change, is the stitch length selector. This gives me a big change when forming stitches. This is the setting I use for the body of the hat. I use a slightly smaller setting (4) for the brim. 

Here is an adult hat next to one of the baby hats I've been making. I think these came out great! I'll have to make a stack. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook
addi Express Hook

Silver Reed LK150

Knitting Claw Weights

Stanwood Needlecraft Large Yarn Ball Winder4

Machine Knitting

Last week I did some machine knitting. I knit up baby hats in yellow. 

I knit up hats in gray. I knit them up in gray and yellow. 

I used up the last of my baby yarn on these nine hats. Such a great little project.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook
addi Express Hook

Silver Reed LK150

Knitting Claw Weights

Stanwood Needlecraft Large Yarn Ball Winder

Charity Knitting

I set up my knitting machine this week and managed to make three little newborn hats. These are quick little projects. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook
addi Express Hook

Silver Reed LK150

Knitting Claw Weights

Stanwood Needlecraft Large Yarn Ball Winder

Machine Knitting: LK150

Look what I bought!

After borrowing my friend's LK150 knitting machine I decided to buy my own. 

This machine is really a great way to get into machine knitting. This is what it comes with. Machine and carriage, row counter, yarn mast, comb weights, and more. Everything you need to get started. 

Stitch transfer tools, spare needles, claw weights, ravel cord, latching tool, clamps, machine oil. 

I added in some clamps and more claw weights. Now, I'm ready to get back to knitting tiny hats. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook
addi Express Hook

Silver Reed LK150

Knitting Claw Weights

Stanwood Needlecraft Large Yarn Ball Winder

Heavy Duty Metal Spring Clamps 10 Pieces

Machine Knitting

More charity baby hats!

Hats are quick projects that can make you feel like you've done something great. 

I had ten to drop off with Annapolis Quilts for Kids last Saturday. This is the machine I borrowed from a friend. I like machine knitting enough I've decided to buy my own LK 150 so I can keep making these charity hats. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook
addi Express Hook

Silver Reed LK150

Knitting Claw Weights

Stanwood Needlecraft Large Yarn Ball Winder

Machine Knitting

Last week end I pulled out the LK150 and knit up some more baby hats for charity. 

These little hats work up quickly, with the knitting taking about 30 minutes for each hat. I then spend another 10-15 minutes seaming them. These will be headed to Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook
addi Express Hook

Silver Reed LK150

Stanwood Needlecraft Large Yarn Ball Winder

Finished Objects

In the crafting world there are many UFOs. Un-Finished Objects. This photo from a couple weeks ago shows some of mine. I finished the mesh tote and shared it on the blog last week. I'm going to keep wandering around my creative space, finding some of those UFOs and trying to finish a few. 

These hats are from a machine embroidery design I picked up from Urban Threads Embroidery. I had the applique pieces and even some silly horns and ears cut out for I don't know how long. I decided it was time for those to be finished. They won't keep anyone's head warm until they become hats. 

I finished this green monstah hat first. This one is my favorite. 

Then I worked through the other pieces I had prepared. That makes four finished hats perfect for little monsters.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q

Tiny Monster

Friends of our recently welcomed their first child into the world. Darling Husband wanted something with dragons. Sadly, the big box fabric store wasn't very helpful. They did have some fun, tiny monster fabric that we decided would be perfect. I decided to make another disappearing 9-patch. Because it is an easy pattern and you can do some fun things with it.

The tiny monster fabric and three solids became eleven 9-patch blocks. Then, they got cut down into 42 blocks. That odd-ball block ended up being only two blocks, the other half of that unit got put in with some of the other orphan blocks.

Since I had two distinct units, I tried a new layout and I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. There are so many ways to get a great quilt out of this simple block.

After stabilizing the outer edge, I loaded it all up and got stitching. If I don't add a border, I stitch around the outside edge at about 1/8". That way I'm less likely to distort the edges or pull apart the seams when working with it. A border also does this stabilization, if you use a solid (not pieced) border.

I quilted with a right-angles meander that I hope mimics the tiny skyscrapers.

Labeled with the little monster's name and bound.

The last thing was to make a tote with some of the leftover fabric. Now it is ready for gifting.

Tools (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Vitessa Advanced Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

Monkeying Around - A Baby Quilt

I call this colorful quilt Monkeying Around. I had a stack of coordinating prints in fun colors and Darling Husband requested a baby quilt for a friend that just become a new father for the second time. Babies are stressful. Making quilts for them shouldn't be. I cut a stack of 8.5" by 8.5" squares and set them up in a simple diagonal pattern.

The bad news is that the top was wider than 40" so I had to piece the backing. I like to say that I rarely piece a quilt backing, but it isn't as rare as I would like. I used some of the squares from the front and realized I would be cutting it exceptionally close if I didn't add another piece. I had this strip of fabric that was leftover from another quilt that was perfect. I try to always piece long sections like this with the grain going the same direction. It really makes a difference in the finished piece.

I quilted it with the humble but sturdy meander. The stitch density is loose enough for what should become an amazingly snugly quilt when washed.

The binding is this awesome stripe. I like a stripy binding. I also like polka dot binding, and diagonal binding, and scrappy binding. Maybe I have a binding problem.

I machine finished the binding for durability and a quick finish.

Quilted Cuddles

A friend asked me to quilt this darling panel quilt for her. I said yes. I also may have gone a little overboard with the quilting. I think it was worth it, though.

Why would anyone restrict themselves to using a single thread for a project like this when six different colors is so much more fun!

I hope the quilt provides loads of warm cuddles for the little person it was made for.

Quilting up Leftovers for Charity

I was going through a bin of scraps to hand over some scraps to a guild member that asked for scraps for a paper-piecing project and pulled out these leftover 4-patch blocks. They were sewn into these chunks. I think they are leftover from a quilt I made about 15 years ago.

I dug through a pile of fabric Aunt Betty (this time from my Tia in California) had sent me and thought this purple was perfect. I cut some wider strips for the middle and framed it all with a 2.5" border. It came out to a nice crib-size quilt.

I pieced some batting leftover from a different project and loaded it all onto the quilting frame. This turned out to be a really Make-Do project.

I used the flower power motif that can be found in the book Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters: Choose & Use Quilting Designs on Modern Quilts. This is a great all-over or filler design that is easy to quilt and creates wonderful texture.

I pulled another piece of fabric from my growing collection of fabric for the binding and finished up this little quilt over the weekend. I added a label and it will be off to Annapolis Quilts for Kids in a couple weeks.

2016 Charity Quilt Count: 47

Day 5 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge.

Charity Quilting Update

Yes, I am an update person. Even if you didn't know what I was doing I'm going to give you an update.

More quilts for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.  I love to see the quilts put together by new quilters. They have such enthusiasm and put together quilts that want to be loved and used.

These two were fun little quilts with a bit of whimsy.

One of my favorite quilting motifs, the flower. This one is so quick and fun. I've passed these over to another member of the team to have the binding added. You can join in the quilting and giving by joining Annapolis Quilts for Kids on July 16th to stitch up some quilts. Come for an hour or just stop by and say hi to pick up a quilt kit to finish on your own.

2016 Charity Quilt Count: 24

Charity Quilting Update

Before we went on our camping trip a friend dropped off three quilts for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

I found some time to get the quilted up.

This one is super-snuggly flannel!

Each of these quilt tops was made by other members of Annapolis Quilts for Kids. They were handed over to another member for binding.

2016 Charity Quilt Count: 21