Tuesday, June 24, 2014

At LONG Last: An Update!!

Once again, life just gets busy with caring for 2 boys.  Preschool is now finished and so are soccer lessons... and just in time for water parks, swimming, play dates and camping (which means ?less? time to update).  Sigh  Oh well.

Despite the lack of blog updates, I have been sewing.
Sometimes I have 5 minutes and do what little I can.
Sometimes I have a few hours to really catch up on things.
Usually my catch up time is in the evenings or on a Sunday afternoon...
but sometimes I actually manage an hour in the afternoon when...
wait for it... BOTH boys are napping or are quiet!  That is a treat!

Whether it is 5 minutes or a few hours, each opportunity to sew is soooo relaxing! 
Definitely Mommy Therapy!

So... here goes the list of items I have been sewing:



A baby blanket I made for Samuel last fall/winter... but I am not sure if I posted a pic of the quilt itself.  Backing is a brown chenille.  (My older son loves to snuggle under it, too.)
I got this mystery quilt pattern a year or two ago from Sheila @ Blue Patch Quilter, and I FINALLY finished it.  I love it!

61" x 63"

We visited my family in BC in April, and I lugged 2 quilts along.
This small quilt was for my parents.
They had asked me for a quilted tablecloth for their 5th-wheel so they have something nice to look at and touch while playing cards!  LOL.  
They even gave me specific dimensions!  


My niece "A" had requested a quilt.  These are the "Freebie 15" quilt blocks from the 2012-2013 year and the theme was "Vintage Plates."  My niece loved her quilt.



Gifts for the preschool teachers:
Flower pot with glove flowers.
Inside each flower pot: flower seeds, DIY sugar hand scrub, hand cream and a thank you card.
(Thanks to Pinterest for the idea!)

I decided to sew a bag for my stroller baby change pad... and then I decided to sew a baby change pad as well.  The whale fabric is cotton, the blue fabric is a waterproof PUL.  The bag interior is also made of PUL.  It was my first time sewing with PUL fabrics... and yes, I did use polyester thread. 
The change pad has a poly fill batting inside and I machine sewed the binding on the change pad.


Since I was working with PUL fabrics, I decided to also sew some bags.
I tried a few different styles.  


I made some PUL swim bags.  
The bag on the top right holds my son's towel and swimming trunks no problem.


My friend J has 3 little girls.  The baby was the recipient of one of my favourite baby quilts, and I whipped up 2 pillowcase aprons for her 2 eldest girls.  I didn't use a pattern, just winged it (which is pretty good for me!!) and I love the final look... but the aprons look so nice on these 2 gorgeous, precious little girls!!
Too bad you live so far away, J!!  Miss you!!


I had another baby quilt that I made lying around the house and I donated it to some friends who had a fund-raiser benefit to raise money for a private USA adoption.  They have 2 biological children, one adopted from Florida, and they are now in the final stages of adopting another child from California.


I paid for the annual block of the month from Prairie Chicks (Saskatchewan) and I am enjoying it so far.  Each month I make two 8.5" blocks.  So perdy.  

February blocks

March blocks

April blocks

May blocks

I am not sure I took pix of all the "Freebie" blocks from Traditional Pastimes, but here are a few of the latest blocks:



The cream fabric is "Osnaburg" - I TOTALLY detest the fabric!!  This block is so NOT match up, and I didn't like the cutting/sewing instructions.  I might rip this block apart yet.  


This quilt block looks quite orange, but it is actually quite reddish.



I didn't feel like being piddly with this block so I improvised.  

All the blocks so far for the Freebie 15 blocks:


I participated in the annual Spring Mystery Quilt by Heather Spence.  
I think this is the 5th or 6th or 7th quilt I have done one of her quilts, and they are fun!
Here are the fabrics I selected... earthy tones which remind me of a beach then looking toward a tree.


This quilt is called "Elevation" and I finished it just this past weekend.  


While digging around in fabric, I found this John Deere fabric and made 2 bibs, one for my little one and the other for his little cousin cuz my baby sister loves John Deere items!  (Yup, they live on a chicken farm in BC.)


Another quilt: "Diamond in the Rough", a Freckled Whimsy quilt along.
This was a fun quilt.

Measures 42" x 42"
Backing is a fun, modern blue striped fabric.

And finally...
I got so tired of my ironing board cover.
I bought this ironing board at Walmart because it was a lovely 18" wide board, and I like the wheels on the bottom, but the ironing board cover was made of thin, crappy fabric.
I have been procrastinating doing anything about the worn cover and the holes on it, but I found my energy and made myself a lovely new ironing board cover.  


Ta-da!!!

I put a piece of batting over the original yucky blue cover then this bright, fun floral cover.  
Best part?  
It was easy-peasy.





Sunday, February 9, 2014

Happy 2014 & a New Baby in our Home!!


It has been a LONG time since I have last posted anything on this blog.
I have been "puttering" and slowing putting some projects together, and I am now at a point where I can start catching up on some other projects.

First of all, the BIG day arrived!
Our second son, Samuel Erik, was born on January 2.
He is a growing boy, already (this week) weighing in at 9lb 4 oz at 5.1 weeks old.  


I added some straps to an extra blanket to make this carseat cover: cotton on one side and fleece on the other.
It is perfect for the cold Canadian winter we have had.
It is also perfect for keeping dirty hands and snotty noses away from our newborn child.  :)


Last Fall, I made this cotton panel with green chenille backing for baby.  


My dear friend Dalene, who does my quilting, made this gorgeous quilt for Samuel!!  
I LOVE it!


 This is the quilt I made for Samuel...and I botched up 2 blocks!  Sigh!  :(

'The back of the quilt.
Neat, eh?!


I couldn't resist a pic of Samuel on the quilt while he was still so little.


It was late last year that I finished this quilt & binding.
This was my Spring Mystery Quilt.


Cute puzzle quilting pattern.


Backing for the orange/green/blue Spring Mystery Quilt. 


Samuel posing on my Aim-for-Accuracy Quilt


A4A (Aim-for-Accuracy) Quilt.
January 2014



My friend Lou made this fun, cozy flannel & minky baby burrito wrap.


Samuel on the "Dan's Climb" quilt I made last year.
Backing is brown chenille.


In the last few weeks I have been catching up on some quilt blocks.
It will be awhile before they are ready to be put into a quilt, but I'm ok with that.

January "Farmer's Wife" QB from Prairie Chicks BOM/quilt-along.
8.5" square each.


The last few months of Traditional Pastimes "Freebie 15" BOM & Companion.





This last block is adapted from the original instructions: where each red block is, there was supposed to be a red-&-tan coloured 9-patch, but I just don't have the time nor patience to be dealing with piddly measurements.  These blocks are supposed to finish up at 12.5" square, but I am lucky if I get them to finish at 12.25".  The gal that runs this BOM seems to LOVE those pesky x/16th measurements, so I round the numbers up or down to make them x/8th measurements...and that throws the entire block off in final measurements.  
I am planning to make 2 quilts out of these blocks b/c there will be 24-12.5" blocks when all is said and done in the Autumn, and I am not needing another queen or king size quilt!