My Favorite Thing

Recently, the ladies in my church group got together for a night of sharing our "favorite things."  Everyone was asked to bring something that was their favorite, with the intent to give it away to someone else.  It was a really fun activity, especially for me, since I am still so new to the area and don't know a lot of people.

Of course, my favorite thing is sewing, so I had to make something handmade to take to the party.  In the end, I went with potholders, because they are the easiest thing to make from a favorite block or two, they are quick, and don't cost much to make.

I even used some of my favorite fabric!  Leftover Me and My Sisters fabric from THIS quilt.

I had fun choosing designs that I love right now and ultimately ended up making two hot pads, so that I could make four blocks.  Two with triangles and two with squares.

 This was a fun project to use scraps on.

I kept the quilting simple on the chevron hotpad, and ended up doing an off-center spiral on the squares hotpad.  Different, but fun.

I tried something new and used a thermal fleece (kind of like insul-brite, but I have the feeling it's not quite as good) and a layer of terry cloth inside my hot pads.  I haven't been too impressed with the quality of thermal fleece I have, but I still have a bunch and I need to use it.  I read about a lady who uses only two layers of cotton towel in her hot pads and never gets burned.  So I compromised and used both.  I hope it was a good choice.  I tried testing them out before taking them to the party, and they seemed to work better on one side than the other.  Hopefully the lady who picked them doesn't have any problems.

I hand stitched the binding down because I wanted it to look really nice.  Machine binding just seemed too risky. :)

I love my Sketch fabrics!  They go great with everything and they make wonderful bindings.  Plus, using different colors of the same fabric helped my two hot pads appear more as a set.

For the loop, I tried this little ribbon technique I found at Chasing Cottons.  I felt like it would be easier and have a more finished look than the traditional looping of the binding.  The ribbon is sewn in with the binding on both sides.

The party was so fun!  It was great to get to know some of my neighbors and to have a chance to tell them about my favorite thing to do.  Now I know who all the quilters are in the area and I found out there is a guild here in my tiny town!  There are a couple really amazing quilters here.  And the best part?  My hot pads were the first item taken!  Wahoo!  I was really happy that someone actually liked my work.  I guess I'll keep sewing.

Speaking of which - did you hear I'm starting an Etsy shop?  Things are moving right along.  I've got materials to make a whole bunch more baby items, packing supplies, and a whole system for keeping track of everything.  Just need to nail down a name.  Do you have any ideas for me?  Would you mind taking my little poll at the top of my sidebar?  Thanks so much!  I'm excited to get this thing going. :)

Birthday Bibs and Some Thoughts on Etsy

I made more bibs.  ;)  I know you've seen a million of these, but I need to document them so I don't forget I made them!

These were for my nephew, who just turned one.  My boys are 20 months old and we use ours ALL THE TIME.  I love that they are really big, and they are easy to throw in the wash when they get dirty (I'm not really a fan of those plastic bibs).

Anywho.  Here they are.  Since we love Connor so much, he got three:

 My brother and sister-in-law have a little dog, so I went with some dog themed fabrics I've been saving up.

 I couldn't just use one whole piece for this one.  I had to add the strip down the middle and quilted some pebbles into it.  I've found that my favorite bibs are the ones that are a little more heavily quilted (but not too much) - enough to help the bib hold it's shape a little bit and not turn floppy.

Connor's nursery is Noah's Ark themed.  This is the best "Noah's Ark" fabric I had on hand.  It's not my favorite - it was given to me by a friend, but it does have all those animals on it. 

I tried something a little new and free motion quilted Connor's name on this one.

This last fabric was actually too cute to break up, so it got to remain whole.

For this bib, I quilted around each of the ovals, giving the bib a kind of bubbly feel.

See the bubbles?

And NOW for the OTHER part of this post.  I need some advice!
When these bibs were opened at Connor's birthday party, several people (including a grandma who frequently shops at Etsy, and an uncle - believe it or not) commented on how I could totally sell these.  It really got me thinking.
I've been toying with the idea of starting an Etsy shop and selling things for awhile now.  I think those comments were the push I needed to get serious about it.  I've mentioned the idea to several friends and family members and everyone seems to think it's a great idea.  At this point, I think I'm going to do it!  I'll probably stick to smaller things that will hopefully sell easily - bibs, burp cloths, onesies, maybe even some quiet books.  I'm thinking of making a few baby quilts - maybe rag quilts because they are easier (and thus cheaper) or puff quilts, because they are a little more novel.  I've always been a little nervous about making quilts to sell because I would have to charge so much in order to be compensated for my time.  What do you think?  Is it worth it?  Will people pay?
Well, the ball is rolling in my mind and I think there is no stopping now.  Except for one thing.  I can't think of a good name!  Help!  What is a good name for an Etsy shop selling mostly sewn baby items?  I've considered going with my blog name, but I'm not sold on the idea.  What are your thoughts?

*ETA*  I've done a little research into what names are still available on Etsy.  These are a few that I am thinking of:
ModernBabyStitches
BabyStitched
AlwaysSewinSomethin
SewinSomethin
StitchedForBaby
BabyMaking (hubby's idea - he said it was more memorable)

I've added a poll to the top of my sidebar, if you have a second - go vote!  I'd love to know what you think!

Chevron Baby Girl Quilt

I'm so excited to share this new baby quilt with you!  It's been finished for two weeks already.  As soon as I heard a friend of mine was having a baby girl, I knew I had to use up some of my precious Me and My Sisters charms.  Everyone else around me seems to be having boys, so I jumped at the chance to make something girly.  Everything else was put away for two weeks while I focused on this quilt and finished it with plenty of time to spare. :)

I peeked at my friend's pinterest board and found a few chevron inspired items.  That was all it took to get me started!  I've been dying to make a cute little chevron quilt!

I forgot to take a picture of the completed top, but I did take a few of it after it was basted.  I almost went with white (or tiny dots on white) for the negative spaces but that would have required a trip to the store and I was too impatient.  So I pulled out these two grayish fabrics and used every last bit of them.  I LOVE how the dark, scrappy background looks against the bright colors!

I attempted to arrange my HSTs so that the quilt had an ombre effect to it.  Can you tell?  Squint a little and you will see it. ;)

The quilting for this quilt was inspired by Christa's Charming Chevrons quilt.  Of course, mine has a different spin on it - I quilted lots of straight lines with a row of pebbles in the background and kept the quilting to a minimum in the colored parts.  I think it works great!

I really love pieced backs and debated doing something cute for this one, but I had this piece of pink dot flannel that was the perfect size and just seemed to fit so I ran with it.  Doesn't the back look so fun?

I tried something scary and quilted all my straight lines with gray thread on top to match the neutral colors and pink thread on bottom to match the back.  Thankfully, it worked!  No pink dots on top or gray dots on bottom.  Whew.  Then I decided to quilt the colored zigs with matching thread on top and bottom, so if you look closely you can see a few lines in different colors on the back.  Of course, when it came time to FMQ the pebbles - using a FMQ foot instead of a walking foot, I could NOT get the tension right and was forced to use gray thread on top and bottom.  Otherwise I had scary little dots poking through where they weren't supposed to be. 

I love how the pebbles add so much pretty texture to the quilt.  Pebbles are awesome like that.  

 For the binding, I auditioned several different prints from my stash, but ultimately I had to go with the same pink dots as used on the back.  The plan was to save time and fabric and fold the backing over to the top for binding, but of course when I was trying to trim my quilt top and batting after quilting, I managed to cut a huge hole in the backing.  Ah well.  So I tried out Alyssa's technique for Perfect Binding.  I think it turned out okay, although I still ended up with 3 or 4 pesky sections that didn't get sewn all the way down.  The tutorial is great, and I'll probably try her method again (she used Elmers glue instead of pins or clips!) although it is time consuming and it was a little difficult to work with the thick flannel fabric.  Hopefully the quilt will be nice and soft.

You can see some blue stitched lines in this photo...

I tried one more new thing this time around - I prewashed my batting!  (Actually, I prewashed the flannel backing as well because I know how much flannel shrinks.)  I really love the clean lines you get on a freshly quilted, unwashed quilt.  Sometimes I feel bad when a quilt is washed and all the hard work I put into quilting it sort of fades away, you know?  So I prewashed the batting/backing.  Since this is a baby quilt and is going to get washed lots and lots, I wanted to do a test wash before gifting it.  Here are a few more photos pre-wash:

And finally, fresh from the dryer:

In my opinion, prewashing the batting didn't really make a difference.  (NOTE TO SELF:  Next time try hang drying instead of machine drying.)  Although the quilt still looks basically the same when you take a step back, it has lost it's "fresh, new" look and has adopted the "wrinkly, old-fashioned" look.  Ah well.  I suppose I should call it "crinkly and cuddly."

 You can see the crinkly look better here.  What about you?  Do you prefer fresh and crisp or crinkly and cuddly?

Quilt stats:

Started: August 5, 2013

Finished: August 18, 2013

Total hours (I was curious, so I kept track this time):  11 hours (5 hours piecing the top, 4 hours quilting, 1 1/2 hours binding, 1/2 hour designing/layout)

Fabrics:  Amelia and Favorites by Me and My Sisters; Kona Steel and Bison

Finished size: 31 x 25 (post washing)

Recipient:  MM baby girl due in November 

Edited 6/13/14:  Linking up with Fort Worth Fabric Studio's "Oh Sew Baby" series.  Check it out!

Curling Iron Travel Case

My sister just had a birthday and I had the perfect idea for her gift this year.  I made her a curling iron/flat iron travel case!

So now whenever she goes on a trip and needs to pack her curling iron that is still hot because it was the last thing she used - she can put it in this!  It's insulated with insul-fleece, so it is safe to use while the iron is still hot.  My other sister has one and we are both a little jealous of it.  I guess I need to make one for myself now.

I used THIS tutorial from Sew4Home.

I tested it out and it works great!  Plus it's nice and big.  

 I was a little limited in my fabric choices because I wanted to use a thicker, stiffer fabric for the lining (something that would help keep the heat insulated), but I think it worked out.  I've been waiting to use up the last of this blue print.  I hope the sister likes it!

It even has a second pocket in the back to hold the cord. 

Happy Birthday Kim!

Back at it!

It's been awhile since I have sewed, but things are starting to settle down and I have some progress to share!  Yay!

July was a BUSY month.  We moved at the very end of June, so there was lots of packing, cleaning, unpacking and cleaning going on.  Followed by two separate vacations, two weeks of swimming lessons (Mommy and Me - so fun!), and a whole month of working here and there to get our apartment ready to rent.  Ugh.  But once we started settling in, I picked right back up where I left off.

But first, I have to say that we are LOVING our new house!  We moved from a duplex apartment to a 3,000+ square foot house practically up in the mountains and it is amazing.  I have so much SPACE!  And I have a SEWING ROOM again!!!  Yippee!  Check out the awesome view from my sewing machine.

Every now and then a little family of deer or wild turkeys will walk past.  That's kinda cool.

 And the amazing TWO closets I get all to myself!  Now I just need to fill them up. :)

Crazy picture!  My sewing room isn't THAT big - I was backed clear into the window trying to capture both closets at the same time.

Even with all that space, I can't help but keep my actual fabric stash out on the floor in my plastic drawers so I can see it all the time. :)

Now that we are living in a real house and plan to stay here forever, I decided it was time to get rid of our ghetto grocery bag dispensers.  You know the ones:

I used THIS tutorial from Gen X Quilters to make some super cute new ones.

I made the first dispenser following the tutorial exactly, with the exception of the scary grommets.  I just attached my handle on one side and sewed some velcro onto the other side so I can hang it from the rods in our laundry room and closets, rather than installing hooks.

I used the same super cute fabric I used on my favorite bibs for the boys.  It's going to look great in their room, hanging from the changing table.

I wanted to practice some FMQ designs, but this fabric DEMANDED to be quilted with straight lines.  SO I obliged.  I did, however, use some fun variegated thread.  

Complete with decorative stitches at the bottom and the top to reinforce the bag.

 

For the second dispenser, I decided to go a little smaller, since the first one is SO LONG.

It didn't take long for me to pick out this blue African fabric.  I used it in my skirt and I've been saving the leftovers for the perfect project.  It's so pretty, I'm glad I'll get to see it all the time now.

This time, I was able to do LOTS of fun quilting!  It was so fun, and I definitely need more opportunities to practice and get better at it. ;)

I used Angela Walters' Tiles pattern for the first sashing strip, swirls in the fussy cut circle strip, and a simple back and forth in the next sashing strip.  For the main panel, I couldn't bring myself to quilt over the design, so I just stitched around the flowers and echoed them.  The next sashing strip is Leah Day's Modern Art design, and the next fussy cut print strip had diamonds following the pattern.
The bottom section is left unquilted, because it is the part that holds the elastic.

Here's the inside of the panel before I made the bag.  You can see the quilting better. :)

Also,  I'm still plugging away on my Storm at Sea quilt.  I'm making Snail Trail blocks for the borders, using some of my lovely and precious Oakshotts.

I'm also stocking up on solid remnants from Joanns (50% off!) for the backing.  I've got almost 12 yards stashed now and I think I have enough to put together a quilt-as-you-go King size backing (sorry for the fuzzy pic.  I'd hate to give TOO much away now, wouldn't I?)

And lastly, I've started a brand new quilt!  A friend of mine is having a baby girl (FINALLY!  A GIRL!), so I broke into my long hoarded Me and My Sisters charms and whipped up some HSTs.  This quilt is going to be darling.

Stay tuned!  I've got a couple of birthdays coming up as well and you know the birthday people need something handmade!  :)  I'm so glad to be back.