Halloween Quilt Finish

I finished my Halloween quilt Thursday morning and am so thrilled! Quilting went faster than expected and my smallest one cooperated so well for my rush job. This quilt is #1 on my Q4 FAL list and was also my ALYoF Goal for October.

Completed Halloween quilt! I love how this one turned out! I bought this fabric probably a year and a half ago and it has just been sitting in my stash waiting to become something. Hooray for sewing my stash!

I got the idea for the block layout and construction from a tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop. I've made this quilt before in April Showers fabric. It's amazing to me how different they look!

I've never made a quilt with this much black. It was a fun change and a good excuse to use up a whole bunch of black thread that I had on hand from a brand I don't love anymore. The black fabric is Sprinkles from Cotton and Steel. I think it kind of looks like stars. I kept the quilting super simple. I just outlined the blocks in glow-in-the-dark thread. I was thinking of doing more but loved the minimalist thing for this one.

The back of the quilt has a totally different feel from the front. I did this intentionally so it was really a reversible quilt. I love fun backing fabric and this Spellbound print from Cotton and Steel really grabbed me.

Here's a closeup of the back as well as the binding fabric. It's so fun to snuggle under a festive quilt for Halloween!

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad I finished up the quilt with days to spare! I've been a crazy productive woman lately too and have several things ready to show next week as well. This blog is going to be all about finishes for a while. Until then, I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday and TGIFF.

Halloween Pillow and Quilt Progress

I am running a bit behind and have just now finished my Halloween pillow. The quilt is ready for basting too. These are both on my Q4 FAL list and the pillow is #2. I hope to have the quilt finished and posted by Halloween.

Here's the finished pillow! Love! The block is a Mummy and is from a tutorial I wrote back in 2012. It's just been sitting an orphan block for three years. Well, no longer! I quilted it with fun glow-in-the-dark thread which, it turns out, is really cool in person but impossible to photograph.

Here it is which the other two Halloween pillows on my couch that I made last year. I love having festive pillow covers and have made some for several holidays and seasons now.

Next up, a blurry picture of my WiP this week. I wanted this done much earlier in the month but have had a fun influx of hat orders for Halloween and am just now getting to it. It has been going really fast and I even have it all put together now.

Here it is hanging out with the backing waiting to be basted. In this house the only hard floors I have are tile. I've found that the grout lines make for wrinkles and creases in the back of my quilt. Thus, I have begun to baste outside. Well, it's raining and has been for a couple of days now. I sure hope it lets up like it is supposed to so I can get this basted and quilting before Halloween! Here's hoping!

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

Bags and Hats

I stepped out of my comfort zone a little this week and I'm so glad I did! Stretching myself earned me some amazing finishes and a great sense of accomplishment. One of them also marked something off my Q4 FAL list but first the crown jewel of the week...

Isn't it stunning! This is the Geometric Quilted Tote by Vanessa from V. and Co. The fabric is two ombre prints, also by her, and a solid white. This bag is actually at Market right now and I feel so special that Vanessa asked me to make one for her to show. It was fun to make and I highly recommend the pattern. Isn't it classy?

The inside is also done in ombre and I added a fun pop of color with the zip. I had the hardest time picking a color because they would have all been fun. Also, the leather handles are a dream and were so nice to work with. I had never done leather before so I felt quite intimidated by the task. It turned out to be easier than expected and it really adds to the bag.

Fresh off the victory of the above bag and leather handles I decided to do a leather accent foldover clutch. This was for my Around the World Craft swap and is #5 on my Q4 FAL list. My partner loves Australia and asked for something sewn because she's new at it and can't make things herself. I had so much fun with this and again, while new to me, the leather wasn't as difficult as I assumed it would be.

This was the package I sent off to my partner. It was lighter on extras than I usually do but the two homemade projects were either expensive or time consuming so I hope she doesn't mind. Extras weren't required so it's just a fun bonus anyway.

In other news I've been getting such fun orders from my shop lately! For a while there I just made crab after crab and it was a fun change to get something else. I'm just in love with this Cabbage Patch Kid inspired hat. Isn't it adorable on?! I had one of these in a smaller size for this sweet girl and I may need to make one for her again. You can get one at my shop!

I think adult hat orders are always fun. I try to imagine the fun people who order them and where they'll wear them. The top is a sheep hat and it is so adorable from newborn all the way to adult. The gray and pink variation was a fun change from the usual white. The bottom is a Gingerbread Woman. I so love these! Especially in toddler size. Check out my shop for more pics.

Last but not least I also received an order for a newborn apple hat. This was a fun and fast finish and it is going to be so adorable on this teacher's new baby!

That's all for this week! It's been fun and productive. Definitely getting out of my comfort zone and ruts with things! Next week look for some table runners and hopefully a Halloween Quilt or Pillow. For now I'm linking up with Finish it up Friday.

Yarn and Back to the Future Finishes

I am so happy with all I have been able to accomplish this week! Most of it has involved yarn in one form or another. My two year-old has been less than cooperative of late with me sewing. She loves it when I knit or crochet next to her though. I've been keeping up well with shop sales, swaps, and even made something for myself. We'll start with the thing for me since it's also #7 on my Q4FAL list.

Another cowl for me. This #7 on my Q4 FAL list and I'm so happy with it! I have several cowls now but it gets so cold her in Iowa I'm sure I'll use them. I had this one on as I ran around town today and it was so nice!

This is better light for that yarn I used. Isn't it amazing?! It's from Knit Collage and called Pixie Dust. The pattern used US 19 needles so needless to say it went very quickly.

I've also been having fun keeping up with my Etsy Shop orders. As you can see, all crab hats! It is my most popular hat by far and there is still time to order one like it, or any other design, in time for Halloween.

My last finish for the week is my Back to the Future swap package. I had so much fun making this one and even more fun hunting out the extras. At the bottom of the picture are a tiny Hover Board and cute little earrings. I can't wait for my partner to get them!

That's me for the week! Next week I'm going to have two awesome bags to show off and maybe another hat or two. Until then I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish it up Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Q4 FAL and ALYoF Goal Post

 So, you should think of this more as a wishlist to finish and not a list that I intend to complete all of. As always I have many things on my list. I know I will finish at least half because they have very specific deadlines, however I hope to finish more if possible. When looking at the list I thought, "Ain't nobody got time for that!" Here goes my 2015 Q4 Finish Along list...

#1 - Halloween Quilt - I would LOVE to have this finished by the end of the month. Thus, it is the perfect project for October ALYoF. It's one of the only things I have to work on right now so it will most likely happen. I have finished the small blocks with borders and need to do the 16-patch blocks and finish it up.

#2 Halloween Pillow - Like the quilt I'd love to have this one done. I made this block many years ago as part of a Halloween themed blog hop. It was fun but now it is beyond time for it to become something.

#3 Amelia Quilt - Technically this is my daughter's project. However, she is six and can't quilt or bind it on her own and it is nearly to that stage. Since I have to finish it up for her I'm totally putting it on my list.

#4 Ruby Flower Quilt - This one keeps getting pushed off and my poor baby just needs a new quilt. Her baby quilt doesn't cover her body any more. This needs to happen soon. I have everything but the background fabric and I can start whipping it up.

#5 Australia Pouch - I'm in a swap where we got to pick our favorite places and people made you something based on that. It's pretty fun. This is my project for my partner who is a fan of Australia. I'm making a foldover clutch.

#6 Flamingo Mittens - In one day I over doubled what I had on this mitten. I'm hopeful that it will be completed soon. I'm excited for the fun pattern and the pop of color to my otherwise drab Midwestern Winter.

#7 Knit Cowl - I love a good cowl. This yarn is so fun! The needles are size 19 and HUGE! It should make this one a fun and quick finish.

#8 Whale Mini - I won this kit online. I'm really excited to make this as my swaps are winding down and I can put up my mini wall. I wanted to wait until they were all here to hang them so this one kept getting put off. Now's the time!

#9 Dottie Mini - Same story as above. Love the idea - time to get cracking.

#10 Hello Darling Mini - I just adore the Hello Darling line. I bought a Fat Quarter Bundle of it but have no idea what I want to do with it yet. This little mini should be a fun way to play with the fabric without cracking into my bundle.

#11 Road 15 Mini - I bought a lot of this fabric when it came out for me. As it turns out I used all of it to make things for other people. This is all I have left and I'm excited for it to be my turn.

#12 Christmas Sampler - My favorite quilt shop ever, Stitch in Des Moines, has this exclusive embroidery sampler and I picked it up while in town for the AQS show last week. I can't wait to have some fun with this one! Until earlier this year I hadn't done any embroidery or cross stitching for almost 20 years and now I find myself loving it again.

#13 Christmas Quilt - Holly's Tree Farm, need I say more? You had me at the trees in the trucks. I'm so super excited for this one. It is one that WILL be completed because you don't even know how much I need this in my life.

#14 Christmas Swaps - I'm in two separate Christmas Swaps and as luck would have it my partners have exactly the same tastes. So, I'm making them the same thing. A table runner based on this pattern that I'm making my quilt from. It should be great.

#15 Kid Minis - My kids have all recently expressed the need for their own personal mini quilt for their animals and dolls. I thought it would be a fun Christmas present so I'll be turning these into simple patchwork minis for them. They should be super-fast and easy so I'm counting all five as one thing.

#16 - I won both of these charm packs with ALYoF and I'm excited to put them to good use. I'm trying to decide between two lap quilts but this will live on my couch when completed.

#17 Farm Quilt - I've had this jelly roll for what seems like forever. I don't actually know how long. However, I found some binding yardage on a crazy sale at a quilt shop last weekend and now I want to make it into something. I'm tossing around a few ideas but haven't landed on anything other than twin size.

#18 Knit Sweater - I've come to the point in my knitting where a sweater doesn't seem like a super crazy idea so I'm going to go for it. I really love this pattern and though the yarn is tiny I've used it many times before and think it won't be too awful. Maybe I should have started with something chunkier. We'll see how it goes.

#19 Care Bear X-stitch - My youngest is obsessed with all things Care Bear. This will become a Christmas present for her. I'll have to work on it when she's asleep or she will never leave it or me alone.

#20 Stuffed Pigs - I need to make two stuffed pigs out of this for my Sister-in-law. I have the pattern and the eyes all picked out and cut. I just need to sit down and do it. I'm not crazy about this project so hopefully putting it on my list will ensure it gets done quickly.

Well, that's my crazy long list. I know I will finish half of them and it will be exciting to see what else I come up with along the way. Thanks for stopping by!