Why, Hello!

I've been DYING to share these with you!
I discovered April Mae's Hello Sun Quilt Along back in October and decided it fit perfectly with the block of the month I was looking for.  So I made a couple for myself.  Then it came time to start thinking of Christmas gifts and I was in charge of finding something for my sister.  She requested something to decorate her apartment with and it still took me a week or two to realize I could make her these darling sun blocks.  My sister loves yellow and these blocks just seemed to fit her personality perfectly!  So I got to work right away.  I posted a sneak peak of the block backs awhile ago, but other than that I have been waiting kind of impatiently to finally post the finish products.
Here they are!

This is one of A's favorite things to say:

The whole set all together.  I had a really hard time giving these away!  I just wanted to keep them for myself!


January

February
I kind of love this text print!

March

April
I used fleece for the cloud.  I wish I had thought of it earlier.  I would have done the same for March...

May

June
I'm a little surprised, but I think this one is my favorite.

July
I like how the frayed edges look like waves in the water.

August

September

October

November

December

To make these mini quilts, I fused the background fabric onto fusible fleece (very carefully), then iron appliqued the pieces down.  Then I did the embroidery, basted a back to each one, and stitched the pieces down.  I used April's easy method for stitching the pieces down - I love how forgiving it is, and how CUTE it looks!  Perfect for these designs!  Then I sewed the borders on "quilt as you go" style and bound each mini quilt by hand (usually while watching a show with the hubby) - I think they look a lot nicer bound by hand. 

I added little hanging tabs on the back of each mini quilt.   
I think the backs look kind of cool with the images reversed. 

The backs are all made from scraps of yellows.  I didn't have very many pieces that were big enough for backings, so I pieced 12 log cabin blocks.  The mini quilts measure about 10 inches square.

For the big one, I added two layers of batting to the sun and letters (Trapunto style), to make them puff out.

And there you have it!  I made a set for myself, but they aren't mini quilts because I had already fused heavy interfacing onto all 12 of my background pieces, making it too stiff to quilt.  So mine will look very similar, only they will be going in a frame, rather than being bound and hung.

Quilt stats:

Started: November, 2012

Finished: December 18, 2012

Fabrics: Nearly all from the stash!  Lots of scraps.

Finished size:  10 inches square

Recipient:  Sister A for Christmas

New Bibs for a Couple of One-Year Olds

My boys are turning ONE today!  We did it!

We didn't throw a huge party, just a small gathering of family members with cake and ice cream and presents.  However, I didn't want to pass up the chance to make them something to show off their new age.

So I made these bibs.  The boys really seem to be going through them quickly lately, so I thought they would be appropriate.  And they are huge, which I love!  I used THIS tutorial from Kim at My G0-Go-Life on the Clover and Violet blog. 

I didn't add an extra layer in the middle, but I used flannel for the backs.  If I were to make them again for someone else, I would either add an extra layer of flannel in the middle, or back it with minky or terry cloth.

The numbers and stars are appliqued on with ultra hold Heat and Bond.  No sewing required!  I'm curious to see how well they hold up in the wash.

I sewed little snaps on them, since Bronx always manages to pull his bibs off if they are fastened with velcro.  I'm not sure how long the snaps will last, since they are just cheap snaps I bought a hundred years ago before I knew what I was doing.

Here's to one more year! Happy birthday babies!!