Spring Swap

I participated in the Springtime Mug Rug swap hosted by Michele at the Quilter's Gallery.  These are the two mug rugs I made for myself. 

Here are some pictures of the front and back of both mug rugs.

In hindsight, I can see that the label works so much better with a dark color thread on these batiks.  I still love the batiks for this project.  Bright colors are just so much fun!  I fussy-cut some of pieces to make the fabrics work for me.  I love these flowers.

Both patterns were designed by The Patchsmith.  You can find her patterns on Craftsy in her store.  They are reasonably priced, so click through and check them out.  The butterfly trail was free-motion stitched before I layered the top with the batting and backing.

The appliques were stitched down by machine with Masterpiece from Superior Threads before I layered the top over the batting and backing.  

While Masterpiece is not intended for quilting, I did quilt with it in this case.  Since I did all the quilting free-motion on my sewing machine, I could stitch slowly and get good-looking stitches without thread breaking.  I don't think I could get this good a stitch with the long arm with this thread.  I would have used So Fine! #50 for long arm quilting with this level of detail.

The binding was attached by machine on the top and hand-stitched to the back.  I don't usually use a narrow binding, but these mug rugs finish at 5.5" by 9" and I thought a binding cut at 2.5" would be entirely too wide.  This binding was cut at 2" and finished just a hair over 1/4" on the front and right at 3/8" on the back. I could have cut the binding at 1.75" and gotten a great result on the front and back.

Holiday Stocking Swap

Mishka over at the Quilting Gallery is hosting another swap.  This time, we're making Christmas Stockings to trade with our partners.  Since part of the swap was the pattern, I won't share anything about construction though I will share some pictures during the process.  The pattern is from Lenna over at the Stitching Cow.

I used up some leftover batting to make these cute little stockings.

I free-motion quilted the outer stockings in a coordinating thread.  The blue stockings were done with a simple meander and I attempted swirls on the red stockings.  Some of what I've learned on the long arm carried over to the sewing machine.  Not all of that was good.

After stitching the red stocking, I found that it was quicker and easier to change the construction order a little.  On the blue stockings, I stitched the lining to the outer along the top of the stocking before I sewed the two halves together.  This made it so much easier for me.  I didn't have to fight to stitch across the top of the stocking with so little room to work.

I did add a little bit of length at the top of the stocking.  This made it possible to fold over the tops of the blue stockings.  I love to take a pattern and make it my own.  I'm still trying to decide if I should send one of each or a matched set to my partner.  I hope Kerstin likes them.  Now I need to decide and get them packed up for shipment to Sweden.

Swirls Galore

I sent a quilt kit home with my friend.  She has discovered the magic of using the serger for quilt piecing.  I just like that I have another set of hands to help with Quilts for Kids.  This is the Jumbo Coins quilt I modified to be more Quilts for Kids friendly. 

When I set up to quilt it, swirls were recommended as the quilting design.  I'm all about the swirls, so I went with it. 

I need to practice my swirls, though.  I have a tendency to make them huge.  Not everyone likes swirls that are almost 6 inches across. 

I should be able to get the binding on this one soon so I can get the binding finished.  Maybe I should revisit the machine finished binding... I'll think about it.

I've been so horrible about posting to the blog, I figured I should share this little wonder.  This is what I got in September.  My charm packs from Fat Quarter Shop's charm pack club.  Every month I find new inspiration in my mailbox.  Love it.  Also pictured is the fabulous pack of hand dyed fabrics I received as a prize from Quilting Colors for the Pet Quilts contest over at Quilting Gallery.  I love these vibrant colors.

Coaster Swap - the applique

I pressed all of the little pieces of fabric onto the plain, black Kona cotton I chose for the backing.  I didn't pay too much attention while I was pressing the outlines onto the fabric, so I got to play a little mix and match with this part.  Made me think I should have made three sets instead of only two.

Here are the two sets.  I think I like all of them.  I'll have a hard time picking which set to share.

This shot has slightly less wash-out from the flash.  I took the majority of these pictures well after sunset, so they lighting is less than ideal.  I'm so excited about the coaster swap.  You should stop by the Flickr group to see what others have made.  That is half the fun!

A crib quilt named Dino

A friend has a little one that will be entering the family.  She wanted to make sure her sister gets a hand-made quilt for this new little addition.  She asked if I could help her with the process and of course I said yes.  The fabrics are from Dinosaur Jungle Club by Benartex Fabrics.

I made simple changes to this great quilt pattern to make the quilt more of a crib size and we worked together to cut, stitch, press and quilt this little beauty.  I think it is just perfect for a little one even at this smaller size (around 38" x 45").  I wanted to make the back as much fun as the front.

This size would be ideal for a Quilts for Kids quilt, and I've asked Natalia at Piece N Quilt if I can resize the pattern for this and she kindly agreed.  I'm still working on the pattern, so you'll have to wait a little longer.  (Yes, I know, I just showed you that the pattern can be done, I just need to actually write all that down.)

Coaster Swap... backing up

The pattern calls for some simple blocks for the back.  I have to admit, the friendship star is one of my favorite blocks.  It is also one of my least favorite blocks when it comes to sewing.  Yes, I can sew a HST, I just don't like the squaring up.  Just seems so darn fussy to me.

Anyway... I put together some of the blocks from the pattern using some more batik scraps.  I don't know that the backs will always match the fronts, but what is the point of scrappy if I can't mix and match?

I also sewed up som of my scraps into these wonky, log cabin blocks.  Love making these.  The small 5" x 5" size makes them super quick and fun.  I wish I'd take more pictures of these, but you'll just have to pick them out of the stack.  (Yes, there are way more than I need to back four coasters, don't judge.)

Coaster Swap

 
I decided to jump into a swap being held by Quilting Gallery.  I've seen them before and been interested, but just didn't have the time.  This time, I wanted to play along.  These cute little coasters are keeping me entertained and I love how they're turning out.

I'll just throw some pictures in here and scatter them throughout the coming week.  I traced the shapes onto the paper side of the fusible and laid them all out.

I dug through the scraps and found pieces that fit with the little bits of fusible.  I really just went with it and didn't worry too much about coordinating.  I like scrappy and batiks just sort of "work" together anyway.

I had to set everything aside to work on another project, so I stacked everything neatly in this great box that was designed for scrap-booking supplies.  Best project box ever!

The pattern was created by Vicki over at the Quilting Lodge.