Back from the dead with Baby Pinwheel and New Wave quilts!

So, I've been out for the last year and a half, and away from my sewing machine for most of it! We bought a house, have been working on the house, pregnant (again), 2 surgeries, illness, and all around insanity. I did manage to finish 2 quilt quilts I started before all this insanity.

The first is a baby blanket that I have already done once called "Charming Baby Pinwheel." This time the solid pink squares are textured. I have something for the centers of the pinwheels but haven't sewn them on yet. I just LOVE this pattern!!! It's sooooo easy and cute!

The second one I finished is a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman that is also easy! It's a great pattern for fabrics you love and don't want to cut up into little pieces! My picture doesn't do it justice!

I have one more quilt I need to finish and then I'm hoping to start sewing some clothes again! Fingers crossed that I can finish sooner rather than later!

Busy Boy Quilt

This is my first little boy quilt! I know typically most people use primary colors for boys but I wanted to do something else. I picked out a variation of browns and greens and voila! I got this out of a book so I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to put instructions up or not. This was pretty much cake though, easier than the bargello in my previous post but more along the lines of organized chaos.  I LOVE it!  The dog print boarders give it just the right touch :D

The pattern came from this book: Dealers Choice and the pattern was called "Royal Pairs."

Wavy Bargello Quilt

At last, the Bargello (pronounced bar Jello) I made months ago before Christmas for Tekara. I really need to put up a clothes line or something to display these a little better.  I pulled this straight off her bed so it's a little wrinkly....  It's actually quite an easy quilt to make, ANYONE can do it! I saw this idea when I was looking for something fun and simple, yet striking. I pulled some of the fabric out of my stash and the rest came from an awesome sale on fat quarters from Joann's. I've been wanting to do something really colorful and happy and this was just the pattern to fit that. I couldn't find free instructions anywhere and (being pregnant at the time) didn't really want to spend time looking for a book with this specific pattern so I figured it out on my own.

For the design I did, I just cut out a few strips from each color 2 1/2 inches x 21 inches. Then I arranged them in the order I wanted them to appear, from top to bottom (40 different fabrics) and then sewed them all together In one long row. Then I sewed the ends together to make a tube. This is the fastest and easiest method for this specific quilt.  I made sure to iron all my seams flat and then folded the tube so that I could cut strips from each tube.

x6  ~  3 1/2 inch
x5  ~  3 inch
x7  ~  2 1/2 inch
x7  ~  2 inch
x11~  1 1/2 inch

The strip sizes from the tube are what give the quilt the wavy look. You can create a subtle wave, or something more dramatic depending on your preference. How to make the wave is to seam rip on the color where you want the wave to start on the bottom left corner. The next strip you seam rip between the next two colors, slowly moving your starting color up each row. Then voila! You have a wave! It took me a little bit to graph out a good size variation because I wanted a smooth wave. You can work something out on your own, or you can use the one I figured out already. The order I used by size I cut (not the finished size) from left to right was:

Row 1:      3 1/2
Row 2:      3
Row 3:      3
Row 4:      2 1/2
Row 5:      2 1/2
Row 6:      2
Row 7:      1 1/2
Row 8:      1 1/2
Row 9:      1 1/2
Row 10:    1 1/2
Row 11:    1 1/2
Row 12:    2
Row 13:    2
Row 14:    2 1/2
Row 15:    3
Row 16:    3 1/2
Row 17:    3 1/2
Row 18:    3 1/2
Row 19:    3 1/2
Row 20:    2 1/2
Row 21:    2 1/2
Row 22:    2
Row 23:    2
Row 24:    1 1/2
Row 25:    1 1/2
Row 26:    1 1/2
Row 27:    1 1/2
Row 28:    1 1/2
Row 29:    1 1/2
Row 30:    2
Row 31:    2
Row 32:    2 1/2
Row 33:    3
Row 34:    3 1/2
Row 35:    3
Row 36:    2 1/2

Because of the movement, this design is very forgiving if any of your corners don't match up perfectly.  So don't sweat it!

The border was 3 1/2 inch cut black with white polka dots sandwiching a 1 1/2 inch cut lavender.

If you have a question or I need to clarify something or am missing something, please leave a comment!

Life after another baby!

    So for the one person who might still follow this blog, here's an update. Things have been C R A Z Y. To put it mildly.
    I have 2 projects to post that never got put up before we moved so look forward to that in the next couple of days. The last several months have involved moving, moving again, organizing, and a flooded basement. That just about covers all the major things!
    The last thing that needs to happen is for me to get a sewing table and I'm all set to start getting intimate with my sewing machine again. In the mean time I've been learning how to knit. Tricky considering I have a baby on me all the time.  Either way, we're getting back on track here!

Sewing While Pregnant

Just an update on the current status of my sewing life and the lack of posts:

Ugh.  I have so many things to post and more projects to do but haven't been able to do much in the last couple of weeks.  I haven't been on bed rest, but I have been advised to not do much for a bit because I've been having A LOT of contractions.  I've been doing waaaay too much.  At my last NST (non-stress test) I was having contractions 5-7 min apart even after spending a week chilling out.  Drinking a ton of water and just sitting have lessened it a little.

Last night my sister helped me tie the last quilt of the 3 I've been working on and I'm paying for it today so I will have to wait a couple of days before attempting another sewing project!  I have 3 tutus, 2 more quilts, and one other project I finished that's escaping my pregnant brain right now that need to be posted.  Hopefully I can get these posted up here in the next several days after I get some help setting them up in some decent light for pictures...the house is so dark!  I wish I had some more lamps...  Time is just going by too quickly and I have 8 more projects that I really want done here in the next few weeks!   Fortunately most of them will require minimal movement.  

Anyhow, we'll see what I can do with 3-4 appointments per week till this baby comes (thankfully not all for me) and the ability to do them without getting down on the floor or walking around a bunch.  Who knows, maybe I can bribe my sister into cutting them out so that all I have to do is sew them together!

Wish me luck!

Christmas Tree

So life happened and things have been busy these last few days.  I haven't even had time to sew (Gasp!)  But, here it is, the long awaited Christmas tree centerpiece that I've had done for a while now.  I have so many other projects to post it's just sad.   I took this picture really fast last night so it's pretty blah...

I love how lopsided this turned out!  I'm going to add some little balls on there for some ornaments and a star later if I get a chance.  Overall, easy breezy and a piece of cake.  Total time for this was probably 45 minutes...
There are variations of this type of stuffed tree in Simplicity and McCall's patterns that are just as simple, if not more so!

I think just about anyone could do this!

Wow, I've been busy!

So I've been caught up in several projects at once.  I've completed a few but haven't gotten around to posting them yet...I have 4 I need to put up on here so I'll do my best to get those up here over the week.  But for now, more good news!

This week at JoAnn's you can get 60% off Cozy flannel solids and Snuggle Flannel prints if you dare to make one of those flannel blankets I put up a few weeks ago.  McCall's patterns are also only $.99 this week!  If you don't like sewing clothes they always have craft patterns toward the back of the books.  If you're into quilting their fat quarters are also only $.99.  Which reminds me, I have a super easy quilt I just made for Tekara with fat quarters and some stuff I had from my own stash that I will be posting soon with instructions!!!  If you have been wanting to get into quilting all of their rotary cutting tools and mats are 40% off.  Their Blizzard Fleece is also on sale for 60% off.  And also worth mentioning I think is that their entire stock of thread is 50% off!   Here is a portion of their ad online: Moonlight Madness

Look for the Christmas Tree centerpiece I sewed from my Mom's fabric stash tomorrow!