More about Potholders - Potholder Pass 13

I participated in the spring round of Potholder Pass (Round 13) which doesn't seem to be my lucky round.  I over committed myself this spring and sent my potholders a week way late.  I was little overwhelmed by my partner's request and mosaic but in the end I like what I came up with.

This one is my favorite of the two.  I love this bird fabric (Oh, Deer by Momo for Moda).  My partner, Sabie sews, requested woodland crittery, modern, and bright!  I did random straight line quilting on this one.

For the second one, I fussy cut a deer from one of the fabric panels and framed it with a few narrow strips.  The quilting on this one was primarily stitch in the ditch with a little free motion outlining some of the details of the grass and tree.

I included a few extras: some of the Oh, Deer fat eighths and a quilt pattern.

Sabie sews received this last week & I think she liked them but, the package from my swap partner appears to be lost :-(.  I'll be waiting patiently.

Mother's Day, Potholders, & Dishtowels, Oh My!

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there :)  I had a relatively low key day myself which was perfect.  We spent the day gardening and Hubby made us a really lovely dinner.

For Mother's Day this year I was inspired by Rita @ Red Pepper Quilts to make my mom new potholders.  Knowing that my mom's potholders were in rough shape, they seemed like the perfect gift.  I used one of those mini charm packs which was enough for 2 potholders with a few squares left over. 

I layered the potholder top with a layer of Warm & Natural Batting and a layer of the Insul-Bright and did a little straight line quilting.  

Just finishing the binding.

 

 To add a little something to the potholders, I "made" mom a dishtowel.  I followed this wonderful tutorial by Kleio's Belly.  My pleat came out slightly off center {totally my fault} but, oh well, it's functional!  You can get two of these hanging dishtowels out of one full sized (15x24") kitchen towel.

Mom's second towel is still in progress but these literally take only a few minutes to make.  The most time consuming part for me was the button hole.  Well really procrastinating doing it.  I've done them in the past ----you know, on the old machine.  I was so intimidated by the new machine, with it's special button hole foot.  It was soooo darn easy.  You just pick the stitch number (#49 on my Babylock), attach the foot, line up the starting point, and press go.  Sew easy! (HA!)

Woodland Sampler - April & May

I had (what seemed like) a million things to get done in April, so the Woodland sampler was put on the back burner.  Now that I'm all caught up on various other deadlines, bee blocks, swaps, & pattern testing, I had a chance to work on my April and May Woodland sampler blocks.

April brought the jack-a-lope and April showers.  I added little dandelions which I love seeing this time of year.

For May, I stitched up this little gnome guy.  I think he's rather cute hiding in those sprouts.

I can't wait for the release of June's pattern, but until then I have plenty of work to do on the Springtime sampler. I'm over halfway done stitching up the frames and finally picked up the embroidery floss for the pattern. 

Happy May!!

The spring round of the 4 x 5 modern bee is over!  I chose the Arkansas Traveler block using a tutorial and templates by Freshly Pieced for my hive.  It was my first experience with paper piecing and worked out fairly well.  It was fairly time consuming and messy which was not good for my OCD tendencies, but I pushed through and I love these blocks.

For Allison - black, gray, white, pop of aqua

For Emily - yellow orange, turquoise, & gray

For Allison - pink, purple, & aqua

For Lisa - aqua & tangerine

For Ellie - red, navy, & yellow

And unfortunately I was a day late sending 4 of my blocks....I procrastinated until the day before the mailing deadline {because I was a scaredy-cat wimp about paper piecing} and then finally got my cookies together.  Yes, I said cookies....that's the toddler talk coming through!  Made 4 in one night after work...exhausting but worth it.  

Next up:  Blocks received from the spring 4x5 modern quilt bee....

PMQG Spring Retreat

The Philly Modern Quilt Guild is having a retreat this weekend.  This will only be the second time I've ever spent the night away from Emma.  The first time was the fall PMQG retreat!  I'm taking off Friday and spending the entire weekend sewing with friends.  It is going to be glorious!

There is so much I need to do to get ready ---- I have to pack clothes & toiletries, quilting/sewing projects, knitting(??), fabric (you know, just in case), and goodies.  To bake or to buy delicious treats?  And wine/beverages?  You better believe it!  I should go make my lists.  You know, it's the only way I get anything accomplished and not forget anything!  It should be a fun weekend and I'm sure you can join in on the fun on Instagram :)

Spring is here!

I'm not sure what it is about this beautiful weather, but I have so much energy and motivation to get things done.  As the weather gets nicer, we're spending more time outside each day --although I'm sure my allergies are going to start at any second.

Emma & her rock collection

This little girl loves to spend time outside, especially if Maggie and Paige are out there.  That's perfectly ok with us because the neglected gardens need a lot of work.   We're currently working on cleaning up the yard, taking breaks to play with bubbles, and are planning to get a few toys for the back yard once we receive our tax return.  It's fun to splurge every now and then.

When we're not outside, I'm dividing my time between the woodland sampler {April is fabulous!}, my springtime sampler frames {never-ending}, sewing my hugs and kisses blocks, and knitting.  It's craziness.  The weather is almost nice enough to do hand sewing on the porch in the evenings.  Can.not.wait.

WIP Wednesday: On the Needles

Socks in progress for Emma.

It's far from perfect though.  I got to the part of the directions to turn the heel and I just gave it a shot.  I'm not sure I did it correctly (the short rows were weird), but it looks ok.

Sock/heel as seen on Instagram.
Pattern: Jelly Bean Baby socks in Toddler size.

I think from this point forward I should be good, until the Kitchner stitch of course. Hopefully I'll get feedback from my instructor tomorrow night so the 2nd sock is better.

April Just 3

A little March re-cap for you:

1. Finish hand sewing the binding on Emma's Smitten quilt - Done!  Can't wait to get outside to photograph it.

2. Piece blocks for my Hugs and Kisses quilt - Done!

I wish I could rotate this :(

3.  Knitting goal -  Finish finger-less mitts so that I can stop freezing my butt {or hands} off at work - Done!

Having goals definitely keeps me motivated to get stuff done :)

April's Just 3

1. Finish piecing the Hugs & Kisses and Cherish Nature quilt blocks into tops (baby steps here, people!)

 2. Knit a pair of socks (a sock,  maybe? baby socks?).  I only have one more knitting class left and I really need to learn how to turn a heel.  I'm hoping that by knitting baby socks I'll get to the heel quicker and my teacher will be able to show me how in class. {Pattern is Jelly Bean Socks from Spud & Chloë.}

3. Make Miss Emma some clothes - quick change trousers, anyone?  I'm hoping Emma will still fit into the 18-24 month size but I may have to make them a little longer for my string bean.

What are your goals for this month?

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