Star Wars R2D2 Quilt

I just adore this quilt! I made it for my cousin after she pinned this quilt as the inspiration. I did basically the same as the pinned one with a few subtle changes and I love how it turned out...

Here's the finished R2D2 quilt. It's about 42" by 45", just perfect for a baby!

The quilt was so fast and easy to put together. I'll run you thought my process. From start to finish it was less than two days of free time.  First I found an image of R2D2 off google I liked, it was hard to narrow it down. Then I printed it off 200% as a poster print so it was the size I needed.

I then traced all the different pieces onto fuseable web to do some raw-edge applique. I made sure to over lap the big pieces about 1/4" to make them more secure.  Here they are all cut out and pressed together.

I then appliqued the R2D2 to the quilt top. I didn't want the top taking away from the awesomeness of the applique so I just used some solid gray. It took a lot of embroidery to make the R2D2 look right but it was worth it.  There is a larger picture a bit further down.

This is the backing fabric for this quilt and might I say that it is just perfect!! I found it at Spoonflower where they actually print your fabric to order. It also comes in yellow and blue.

I also used the pink on the binding and I love it with the gray. I quilted some straight lines every three inches. It was the first time I tried this and I used my chalk pencil to draw the lines. It turned out really well. I avoided the R2D2 with the lines and went back and stitched over all the embroidery to quilt it. I love how it makes him pop more and there is the pattern of him on the back too.

Finally a fabulous closeup of my R2D2, didn't it turn out great!  I love it!!

A Few Fun FInishes

I have been working hard over here crossing off things on my to do list before the baby comes. It's going great! I finished a set of crochet hats that I donated to my local NICU and I also finished up the pirate quilt top. Woohoo! I'm linking up with Finish it up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

First the crochet...

These are the newborn size hats. Aren't they adorable!! I love them all! As it turns out the NICU has a lot more newborn size babies than I thought so now I'll have to concentrate on making these as opposed to the preemie size.

These are the preemie hats. For a size comparison they fit in my hand from end to end. So adorable?! Which one is your favorite so I can know what people love and make more. I like the bunny ears and the bows. The earflap ones are also cute, okay I just like them all. They go so quickly because they are so tiny. I made eight of these yesterday and two of the newborn hats in my spare time.

I added the last of the borders and finished up the pirate quilt too!!  The pattern came from the book Simply Fat Quarters and is the Marble one. My little man is so excited. He says that since it is Summer he doesn't really need the fluffy stuff in the middle and he can just use it like this without the back or the fluffy stuff until it gets cold. I love it! I actually don't have the batting on hand so I'm tempted to let him use it until I can pick some up and start the quilting.

Also a giveaway update and question. The giveaway winner Ida happens to be a no-reply blogger. In the rules I said... "- Make sure you have a way to contact you either with an email in the comment or ensure you are not a no reply blogger. If I can't email you then you can't win." So do I give her until Monday to come back and notice she is a winner or do I just draw again and pick someone else?

As always thanks for stopping by! I've been especially loving my faithful followers lately and those lovely comments!!

WiP Wednesday: Fabric Ecclecticity

Yeah, so I totally made that word up in the title but it fits for this week's post. I was all over the place this week but it was all fabric related. I finished up Ruby's quilt, got some fun fabric in the mail, made a bag, and very nearly finished the pirate quilt top. It's been a great week and I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday.

First the mail...

For once someone was more excited than I was about fabric mail! This bundle of goodness is All Fired Up by Dan Morris for RJR Fabrics and will be a twin size quilt for this little man. He found it in my craft room brought it out and with a little help set it up for gazing. He's in love with fire trucks and this couldn't be more perfect for him. He is three and sat there for probably a half hour telling me all about each one. Then, he had to bring it upstairs and have it sit by his pillow as he slept and lugged it around with him the next day. Now that's love! I also got some pigeon fabric in the mail this week see this post.

Now for the finishes...

Ruby's quilt became a finish this week when I added the binding. I adore it! I can't wait to put her on it and get a picture next month!! For more about this one see the full post here.

I also made this fabulous tote bag. I'm in love!!  It is going to carry our toys and things for church. Although it could probably fit more than just that, it's huge! (13" x 14" x 7") I took the measurements from this market tote and put it together like the open wide zipper pouch finally I added handles in a way not listed in either of them. I am so happy with the results.

It was a bit tricky in the middle there getting it together because it is so large with so many different layers and it needed a zipper and handles. I detest bags that can't close especially when, like this one, they need to hold lots of little things that could end up getting lost in my car. So I decided to add a zipper which made following the pattern I got the measurements from impossible but luckily I had just made these pouches (you'll have to scroll a tiny bit) and followed that one instead.

Finally the fun pirate work in progress...

On Saturday I finally got all the pieces put together for the pirate quilt. It seemed like this step took forever!! I wasn't really motivated and my little man stopped checking in every day and thus it took longer than it really should have. When I reached this point I was pretty excited though and quickly picked a layout and got ready to sew them together.

Now I have a very nearly finished pirate top! I love it! All I need now is to press the vertical seams and then sew on the top and bottom border, so close!! I have no idea how to quilt this one though. Maybe a meander like the Ruby quilt or some straight lines? Hmmm, we'll see.

Thanks for stopping by! I have a crazy week without including crafting this week but I hope to finish up the pirate quilt and quickly put together the Star Wars quilt that is calling my name! Maybe pictures of that next week!

Happy Mail Day and a Giveaway Winner

I love when I get fun things in the mail!! I also love that I have found a winner for my first giveaway! It was fun! Without further ado the winner of the jelly roll chosen by random.org is...

#18 - sorry I'm not cool enough to know how to get the picture of the random thingy.

IdaJune 14, 2013 at 2:25 PM

Love it!! The name is the middle makes it so special. I may have to put that pattern on my list to try soon. Thanks for the giveaway.

Now on to the fun mail...

My wonderful sister-in-law always crochets blankets for my babies. I love them! They are all different and fun and she puts so much love into them. This is the one for Ruby. I saw this pin and knew I had to have it and without instructions she managed to copy it really well. It's so fancy!

I also got this fabulous fabric in the mail!!  LOVE!!! It's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems for Cloud9 Fabrics. I just fell in love with this fabric and knew I had to have some! Apparently everyone else did too because these where the only three prints left on the Fat Quarter Shop two days after its release.  Luckily they were just the ones I wanted to make this divided basket.

 As always thanks for stopping by!

Ruby Quilt Finish and a Giveaway!

I bound and finished up Ruby's quilt this morning and I'm so excited! I love everything about how it turned out. I used Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda with the All Framed Up tutorial found at the Moda Bake Shop. I quilted it using a meander all over the quilt. Also, with a few hits from this post I will hit 20,000 pageviews so I decided to celebrate with a giveaway! More about that later. I'm linking up with Finish it Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts. Which is, typically, where I get most of my hits from.

Giveaway Closed

First the pictures...

Here's a closeup of one of the corners. I took this planning on using it to show off the quilting but you really can't see it all that well, sad! It is pretty fun anyway and it was the first time that I did a whole quilt in a meander. I also love the red binding on it!

Here's the whole quilt finished, quilted, and bound. I'm in love! I can't wait until Ruby's birth and I can get a picture of her on it! I think the applique with her name in the middle is my favorite part!

I think I love the back of this one nearly as much as the front. I used the big flower fabric with the aqua background. I just adore aqua and red right now and the red binding is just so fun!

 Now for the giveaway...

One lucky winner will get this Jelly Roll of Sentiments by 3 Sisters for Moda. I will include shipping and international entries are welcome!

Rules:
- One entry per person.
- Enter by commenting on this post.
- I adore my followers and would love to have more but you don't get another entry, sorry.
- Make sure you have a way to contact you either with an email in the comment or ensure you are not a no reply blogger. If I can't email you then you can't win.
- Giveaway will close Monday at 8pm central.
- I will update this post with the winner.

The winner is posted here.

As always thanks for stopping by!

WiP Wednesday: All Over the Place

This week I just couldn't decide what I wanted to work on and I jumped from project to project and from craft to craft. It was fun and really helped the burnout feeling I've been getting. I did a lot of scrapbooking, then I basted and quilted Ruby's quilt (LOVE!) and then some crochet. I also got a bunch of fun new fabric in the mail! I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Let's start off with the quilt because I'm the most excited about that one...

Here it is all spray basted right after I took the painter's tape off. Seriously love painter's tape for this job! I probably should have put a pin or two in but I'm getting big pregnant and really didn't want to get up off the floor again. It worked out okay.

Here it is all quilted up, LOVE! I did an all over meander with my free-motion quilting foot. I've never done a meander on a whole quilt before, just a few blocks or a mini, and I was a bit nervous. It started out okay but by the middle I was totally confident and having a lot of fun with it. I kept thinking of all the money I saved not taking it to a quilter and how I got to practice something new to me at the same time.

Here's a closer up shot of the quilting. Once or twice the quilt slipped from my hands and I crossed over a line or two but really it went rather well. I'm very happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to try this again on another quilt.

I got this fabulous fabric in the mail yesterday. I'm so excited about it! It's two and a half bolts of Kona white!! Seriously, twenty yards folks! That's the love of a hubby right there. You see, the plan is for me to go on a fabric diet and not buy any more until I finish at least three projects I already have all the fabric for but haven't started. This should help along the way. I have so much stash to make stuff I just needed a bunch of white, check!

Here's some of the other fabric goodness I got in the mail this week. The purple chevron is from the Simply Color line by V. and CO. for Moda it will become a maxi skirt for me, so excited! The other is from Comma, by Zen Chic for Moda. It will become a tote bag for church.

I didn't get as far on this during the week as I wanted to but I did a ton of other stuff so the three colors I did finish feel like a pretty big deal. Just two more until I'm halfway.

I did a ton of scrapbooking this week. So much that they got their own post. I made 30 two-page layouts and those 60 pages finished out the year for my oldest child. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment with this and don't have very much to go until I finish my other four scrapbooks for that year.

Well, that's it for last week. It was sure fun and relaxing to work on all of that. This week I hope to bind Ruby's quilt and get some more work done on the pirate quilt as well as make the tote bag. It should be fun! Thanks for stopping by!

Scrapbook Success!

One of my major goals before the baby is born next month is to finish everyone's scrapbooks for 2010. I really would love to start all five scrapbooks on 2011 too but I need to be realistic because I have four quilts I also need to finish up along with a tote bag and a skirt. I don't want to push myself to hard. So after a major scrapbooking push this week I finished of my oldest child's scrapbook! It took five days of hard work and 30 two-page layouts. I'm so excited!

This is the first batch of 12 layouts. I do them in batches so when I type up all the captions it doesn't take forever to proof read them, print them out, and glue them on. I finished these on Thursday.

Here's my favorite page from the first batch.I love the colors and the balls along the side. I especially love the ticket that I managed to keep for nearly three years and remember where it was.

This is the second batch. They were fun to make with Halloween. I always love scrapbooking the holidays. I finished these on Saturday.

Here's my favorite from that batch. I don't know if you can tell on the computer but the burgundy paper perfectly matches my little man's tie! I have paper stash like some people have fabric stash and it was just perfect!

Here's the last batch of the year. I finished the pages for these on Sunday night and wrote out the captions but didn't get them glued on until this afternoon. I feel such a great sense of accomplishment!

Here's my favorite page from this set. These pictures were so fun to take and even more fun to scrapbook with my fancy fall paper.

Here's the finished scrapbook all ready for the shelf. It ended up being around three inches wide. I sure make them big! My hubby says I probably have more pictures of my kids in one year then he has of his whole childhood and we love it!

I hope to have the other ones finished soon. I wasn't as far behind with the rest of them and only have Thanksgiving to the end of the year to do for the other four scrapbooks. Piece of cake, right?

WiP Wednesday: Pirates and Other Progress

 I've had a lot of fun sewing the pirate quilt this week. My little man has been pretty jazzed about it too.  He loves to come in my craft room and talk to me while I sew but he loves it even more now that I'm working on something for him. I also made some great crochet projects too. I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday.

I got the pirate quilt all cut out this week! As a bit of trivia my hubby always likes to know how many pieces go into a quilt. This one has 653.

I detest when patterns tell me I need too much fabric. I don't know why but it just seriously rubs me the wrong way. This pattern gave me a whole extra yard of the border fabric. Seriously, a yard! So I made a pillow case out of it. At least it was enough to do something with, right? There was also an extra yard of the white but at least that is super useful.

The pattern also wanted me to draw a line on the back of all 236 white squares so I could sew them corner to corner. I wasn't really feeling that so I used the fabulousness that is painter's tape and put in on my machine lining up with the needle. Then I just had to keep the corners lined up with the tape. It was a breeze and probably ended up being more straight than if I would have used the line on the fabric.

I didn't really have a goal for sewing this week but then my bobbin ran out and I could see the core of my spool of thread. I thought, okay, I just sew until the spool runs out. Little did I know how much thread these Gutermann 1000m spools can hold when it looks like they're running out! I did about 69 more feet of sewing. That is nearly all you see here. 42 are on the right and I did all those. The middle pile has 24 and I sewed all 48 squares to those. Then I also did 2 sides of all 59 in the last pile before I ran out of thread. CRAZY!

I also whipped up this adorable sheep hat for the baby. I thought I was done making hats for her but I saw this pattern and couldn't resist!

I'm also making good progress on her crochet blanket. The pattern goes from blue to pink six times with an extra blue row on the end so I'm just over a third finished.

Also I reached the seven month mark this week. I take belly shots once a month and just couldn't resist sharing the cuteness. I love how round I am and while I never get really big you can sure tell she's in there! As of this post only 56 more days until baby!

This week I hope to finish all the components of the pirate quilt and land on a layout. I also hope to make more progress on her crochet blanket and do a bit of scrapbooking. Thanks for stopping by!

May Recap and Fresh Sewing Day!

I just adore Fresh Sewing Day over at Lily's Quilts. It's so fun to see what people have been working on over the past month and to link up with fellow bloggers. I did a lot in the month of May. I'll break it up into categories to make it easier.

I'm also linking up with the Small Blog Meet for bloggers with less than 50 followers to get to know each other and show support. LOVE!

Quilts/Sewing:
2 Finished Quilts

I make this quick quilt for my friend's baby due later this year. I love it! See the finish post here.

This Skill Builder Sampler was quite a long time in the making. I finally finished it up this month with the help of my good friend. See the finish post here.

1 Quilt Top

This quilt is for my baby Ruby coming the end of next month. I made it using Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda, seriously couldn't be more perfect. See the top finish post here.

I couldn't resist a closeup of the center. It's so fun!

1 Pillow

I am making my oldest a pirate quilt and had a bunch leftover from his fat quarter bundle. With it I made this pillow and the baby quilt above. See more pictures of the pillow here.

2 Triple Zip Bags

Oh my goodness the triple zip love! I had only made things with zippers three times in the past (two earlier this month) and so I was a little nervous but it was easy and so fun! See the post here.

I couldn't make just one! Here's the tutorial.

2 Open Wide Zipper Pouches

I saw this open wide zipper pouch on a blog I follow and I needed to make one for myself, or two. One now holds all the girls bows (quite a feat) and the other will go in the diaper bag to help keep it organized.

Crochet:
1 Sock Monkey Hat

I just adore these hats! This is the fourth one I've made from this pattern and I love them all! I was unaware the gray was variegated until I was working with it but I think it turned out alright.

1 Sleepy Owl Hat

The same woman designed this fabulous Sleepy Owl Hat. I bought the patterns at the same time but this is the first time I got to use this one. It was so fun and fast to make.

2 Sweaters

I thought I would love this sweater a lot more than I do but I bet it will still be cute on the baby. The proportions seem way off even though my measurements are spot on. The arms are crazy long and the variation in the yarn is crazy. Anyway, you can find the pattern here and maybe just use different yarn.

I just adore this sweater! It turned out bigger than I expected but still fabulous! I can't wait to poke it on the baby!

1 Dress

I was so excited about this dress! It looked so cute and fun and was pretty easy. The pattern is here.

1 Blanket

This blanket seemed to take FOREVER! I was so happy when I finally finished it! I love the pattern (found here) but I don't know that I would attempt it again.

10 Flowers

I whipped up these cute little flowers for my Mom for mother's day. They were just perfect for the tree she keeps up all year and decorates for each month.

Paper Crafting:
20 2-Page Layouts

I started my son's scrapbook for 2010. I am a bit behind but it's not too bad. I just love the look of these layouts!

These layouts completed the 2010 scrapbook for my eldest girl. It feels like such a huge accomplishment!

1 Finished Scrapbook for 2010

This is how I keep my scrapbooks straight on the shelves. They have a color-coded ribbon with a little tag that has the child's initial and the year stamped on it.

This month I hope to quilt my Ruby quilt. Finish twin-sized pirate quilt for my little man. Start and finish the Star Wars quilt. Complete my rainbow crochet blanket and do some scrapbooking. It should be a full month again! Thanks for stopping by.