Foxy Quilt Finish with other bonus Finishes

My goal this week was to finish up my Foxy quilt which is #2 on my Q2FAL list. I did that and then some! Hurray for more productivity! I finished the foxy quilt, a cross stitch project for a swap, a blanket and burp cloth set, and a curvy clutch. At the bottom of this post is my focus for July and my ALYoF goal.

The little guy LOVES orange. Someone recently asked him what his second favorite color was and he said orange. I think that's pretty accurate. I've been working on this quilt forever. Like nine months. It kept getting pushed back and this sweet little guy was so patient with me. Here he's loving it right after I finished the quilting. It still needed to be trimmed and bound at this point but he didn't care.

We had a lot of fun for this photo shoot. The sun was a little bright be he didn't care.

I love this shot of the foxes! There are so many for the twin size.

This quilt sat for so long waiting to be quilted because I wanted to try something new. I was nervous that I would mess it up and so it sat for six months. Then I decided to just go for it and I'm glad I did. I took a quilting class at QuiltCon and the teacher showed us these connected boxes. I loved it for this. Mine are far from perfect but I love them anyway and they were so fun to do. Once I accepted that they'd be wonky I had a blast quilting this one.

Here's the quilt in all it's foxy glory. There are 80 different foxes in 14 different orange prints. My son picked out each one. The background is Kona Ash. Hurray for another crossed off my Q2FAL list!

Also finished this week was this white tiger eyes cross stitch. I really love how this turned out. White tigers aren't really my thing but this is cool. I debated at one point about adding the gray and I'm glad I did. It adds so much depth. This on is on its way to my partner.

When my good friends have babies I make them blanket and burp cloth sets. They are a fun shower gift and so useful. Well, one of these friends loved them so much she bought a set for her cousin. These flamingos and flowers are so fun and I made these in a nap time this week.

A few weeks ago I had a giveaway here and on Instagram for a curvy clutch. One of my local friends won the IG one and she came over today and picked some fabric. I love the pop of color with the pink on this one and that navy print is one of my favorites. The inside is poking out so you can see the lining fabric.

So I have a bunch of little things going right now like the Farm Girl Vintage QAL, swaps, and a secret project or two. I'm also about to start another twin-sized quilt this one a Hazel Hedgehog. I had a hard time picking my ALYoF goal for July with so much happening and then I saw these languishing on my cut table. These are to become the last four swoon blocks for my giant swoon quilt. They white is already cut and most of them marked. I just have to cut the colored prints and sew them together but they keep sitting there so I'm making the completion of these blocks my goal for July.

So that's me this week. I hope to make a lot of progress on things but I'm not close to finishing anything right now so I may have to go back to writing WiP posts. Catch me on Instagram @julieschloemer where I am always quite active. Thanks for stopping by! I'll be linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Road 15 Pillows and Elephant Hat

I marked some great things off my list this week. I finished up my Road 15 pillows which are on my Q2FAL list and also the knit elephant hat that I've been working on. I also started my AMH mini which I know I am going to love. Let's start with the pillows.

Here they are! I used the Candy Dish pattern from Jaybird Quilts with the Hex N More ruler. The fabric is Road 15 by Sweetwater for Moda with Kona Snow for the background. How's that for source citing! ;)

I originally had these pillows planned for my couch but after I finished the quilt that was to match I wasn't as in love with it as I hoped I'd be. Enter my mom who needed fun, bright, and modern pillows for her basement couches that included deep red. Winner winner chicken dinner! She even has a thing for houses so this is perfect. Also, enter Father's Day for my step-dad as the perfect gifting opportunity. Don't worry he'll love them too and gets really excited when I make them things.

I love this text-ish grid print and used it, in various colorways, on the back of all three pillows.

I finished the pillows before dinner and then jumped right into cutting my Anna Maria Horner swap mini. Excuse the dark picture. I haven't touched it since this other than to mark the lines on the back of the squares. I hope to make great progress this week.

I did finish the elephant hat though! This is the Tembo pattern but a little altered. I removed the big elephant because I wasn't feeling it. I love it like this though. I will have to make more of these. This one is being sent off on another swap adventure.

Just for kicks I gathered up all the things I have knit thus far for a fun photo. I started mid-October 2014 and have been fairly obsessed with it ever since. It wasn't a whole hour after the elephant was done before I was itching to start another project, which I have.

Thanks for stopping by! It's been a fun week. I'm linking up with my favorite stops at TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Finish It All

 I had a crazy busy week this week in the crafty world. My husband is on vacation but the kids still have a few more days left of school because of snow days. So I've been taking this time to make all the things! I'm excited to show them to you but first I'll take care of the giveaway that I posted about last week.

The winner came out as comment #3 who happens to be Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans! Congrats Amy! I have sent you an email.

I also finished up my Alison Glass mini for my mini swap. This is my ALYoF goal for May as well as #2 on my Q2FAL list. I am so happy with how this turned out and just love the colors and the quilting. I used the Sea Breeze mini pattern for this one and will definitely use this one again.

I alternated quilting with straight-ish lines in the three colors that appeared in each section. I think the back looks so neat and it is as awesome as the front in my book.

Here's a closer shot of the quilting. I love how it looks and how the different colors of thread really create a different feel. Speaking of feel the texture is pretty amazing.

I added my Sweetwater tag as usual but had to cover up the name. She hasn't posted that she received it yet so I don't want to give anything away.

Here's what I ended up sending to my swap partner. She is a school teacher and asked for supplies. I had fun going through my stash to pick out some good stuff for her.

I may have developed a bit of a Curvy Clutch obsession. I made seven this week and they were so much fun! I love them!

I'm amazed at how different they all came out. I am also amazed at my use of pinks for the top. I would not have said I was a particular fan of pink but this would say otherwise.

I think this one turned out pretty neat. It is double-sided. I made it with scraps I had leftover from a mini.

This one is for me and the only one I plan on keeping. I love the multicolored zip and the pop of color on the inside. I have been saving this tangram print for a while now as well as the zip for the perfect project. LOVE!

Speaking of love my littlest girl got an upgrade this week. I really wish I would have taken a picture of the sad state of her toy stroller before but you're just going to have to trust me that it needed this. We went to the fabric store together and she picked this cute whale print. With the help of double fold bias tape it was finished in less than an hour and she has been dragging it all over the house ever since.

I think this Hour Basket may be my favorite thing I created this week. Once again with Alison Glass scraps (I may be obsessed) and some quilters linen. The inside is one of my favorite prints from her Handcrafted line. This is also for a swap but let me tell you it was so hard for me to ship it out.

My partner posted several times about how she didn't need any extras so I tried to keep it light while still being fun. This was a great swap and I can't wait until she gets it!

As if all that wasn't enough I also finished up this adorable sheep hat from a shop order. This one is adult size and they look so cute on! You can find this, and many other styles, in my shop.

Thanks for stopping by! I can't believe how much I was able to finish this week! We're going on a trip next week so I know it won't be as productive but it may just be more fun. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Big Week of Finishes

I finished several fun things this week and I'm so excited about them. Some of the fabrics are not my usual taste but they are perfect for the people I made them for. I finished two pillows for my Mom for Mother's Day. A table/bed runner for my Mother-in-law. A pincushion for myself and another for a swap partner. All of the fabric, batting, and thread for all of these projects came from my stash. Feeling pretty awesome about using what I have lately. I'll start with the pillows since they were on my Q2FAL list.

Here are the finished pillows for my mother. These are #4 on my Q2FAL list. I'm so excited to have these finished and sent off to her. One of the pillows is flipped so you can see the back fabric too.

Here are both the fronts. I love the texture from the quilting on these. I made her this quilt for her bed back in 2012 and sent her the extra fabric to play with. Recently she mailed it back to me to make her extra things with it like pillows. I can't wait to see what they look like on her bed.

I love the pop of color with the red binding and how I had the perfect thread to do my usual zigzag camouflage binding.

This is what I made for my Mother-in-law. She loves deep red, green, and cream. They also own some land in Wyoming so I thought the farm theme would be fun for them. This is the Silo Barn Table Runner from the Farm Girl Vintage book.

The fabric is not my usual go to - probably why it has been in my stash for 4+ years. I do love the pattern though and sheep are one of my favorites.

Also a big accomplishment this week I cleaned up my crafting space. Check out all that desktop showing! I have since moved my iron away from the back of the couch and put it up against the wall under the window just to the right.

So I've been in love with the Farm Girl Vintage book and have already made another project from it! The apron strings block was the assignment for #farmgirlfridays and I whipped up this little one with my current favorite fabric.

Then I made it into a pincushion! LOVE! I cannot tell you how much I wanted this to happen for years now. Not this pattern, since it's new, but I've been rocking one of those tomato pincushions for about 11 years now and have been over it for a while.

I'm also in a pincushion swap started on Instagram. This is my offering for my partner. I'm pretty in love with it. Check out the awesome wheels that look like tire tread! They are metallic silver too. Pretty fun. The pattern, which I changed a tad, can be found here.

Thanks for stopping by and hurray for super productive weeks! My hubby has been working afternoons so I get to be all crafty in the mornings now too. It's sure helped get the Mother's day projects finished and shipped off. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Yarn finishes and Mother's Day progress

I finished up a few yarn things this week. A pair of mittens for myself and a tiny fire hat for an order. I also started and made great progress on mother's day presents. One of them is finished and already in the mail the other is pretty close. I'll share what I can today and the rest later in the week. This is also the post to set my ALYoF goal and we'll start with that so it's easy to find.

My goal for May is to turn this lovely little bunch of fabric into a mini quilt top. I don't know if I can get it quilted as there are many other things on my list but I want at least the top done.

These mittens are #14 on my Q2FAL list. I'm excited to have them done but bummed that it took me so long. The day I finished them it was 80* outside - way too hot for mittens. They'll be ready for Winter though and they are so cute! The pattern is the Cozy Purl Ridge Mittens.

Isn't this tiny hat adorable?! This is the Newborn size Fire Hat and was a custom order from my shop. The buyer is starting up a photography business and I can't wait to see her pictures of a sweet little baby in it!

In 2012 I made this quilt for my mom. She asked for my leftovers to make pillows and stuff with. Fast forward a couple of years later and she has mailed the fabric back to me to do something with. Enter this fabulous Mother's Day present! These are the same blocks she has in her quilt. I'll show you the quilting, back, and binding later this week so it is still a surprise for her.

Being so active on Instagram I get sucked into a lot of awesome. One of which is the #farmgirlfridays with the new Farm Girl Vintage book. I got my book this week in the mail and picked out my fabric, all of it from stash - score! I hope to finish the first block and a little pin cushion before the next assignment is posted on Friday.

I saw this project in the book and thought it was perfect for my Mother-in-law. I'm nearly finished with the table runner and although the fabric is really not my style I'm loving this. The fabrics are all from my stash and totally her style. I will have to do it again in more modern prints.

Sheep are one of my favorite animals and I'm pretty in love with this. I am, however, annoyed at the quilting. I read somewhere that when quilting straight lines you're supposed to alternate what direction you go from. Well, I tried that, I'm sure you can see where, and it was super-annoying with the shifting. So then I went only from one side and it is so smooth. I really don't want to unpick all that quilting so we're going to call it texture and lesson learned.

Well, that's me for now. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back later to share the completed Mother's Day projects and hopefully a pin cushion or two. Until then I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

Assorted Finishes

I've had a few finishes this week. Only one of them was on my Q2FAL list so we'll start with that one. They are quite the assortment.

The Octopus Sailor Top was number 13 on my Q2FAL list. I gathered my supplies and collected all my bravery. I've never made a shirt before this but was so excited.

I just ADORE how it turned out! Seriously, let's just take a minute to bask in the greatness. ..... Yeah.

I look so skinny in it too! So there are so going to be more of these in my future. I already have the fabric for the second one but I have other things in line ahead of it.

I just love this print so I bought extra on purpose. Well, my middle daughter is having a big project at school where she picked a zoo animal and is doing a presentation tomorrow. Her animal is an octopus and I just had to make her a shirt with my left over. She is so cute and we're both excited to wear our shirts tomorrow and hang out at school. I still have almost a yard remaining too so expect to see more goodies from this.

Excuse the awful picture. It was taken late at night with my phone. This is what I ended up sending to my Open Wide Pouch Swap partner. It was fun gathering and making things for her and I think it turned out well. I was worried it wasn't fancy enough but all the pictures in her mosaic were plain pouches that showed off the fabric.

This is what I got in return. SCORE!! This was given to me by the fabulous @spoolgoods. Seriously cannot tell you how much I love everything here. I adore hexies and all things Bonnie and Camille so the pouch was perfect. The candy and key fob were both things I love and I've been itching to get back into paper crafting and those other extras are throwing me that way in a hurry.

Last up for this week is my social tote. This was for the Sew My Stash Bag Challenge. All of the fabric and the interfacing came from stash - score! At this point I was really hoping I'd done the hard part. Not so much.

Getting to this stage I was feeling pretty confident. I love how the pockets and handles turned out. This is seriously one of my all time favorite lines of fabric.

Going from the last picture to this one was a nightmare. All told, I'd call this a successful failure. It reminds me of Apollo 13 in that I succeeded in getting it finished but nearly everything in the in between stages went awry. It was awful. There was stress, tears, stress and tears. I don't know if my interfacing was too thick or what but it was not good. Nothing would lie flat, trying to get the inside to attach to the outside was awful. Don't even get me started on the binding of it all. I sincerely hope it's me and not the bag and at the same time I hope it's the bag and I'm not a lost cause.

I'm amazed at how passable it looks in the pictures. You totally can't tell that me, the bag, and the seam ripper had a confrontation. I'm excited to have this sitting on my table and organizing my crafty tools. Right now they are strewn about and really hard to find. I'm going to make the matching pin cushion too. I imagine that's a lot less stressful. I'm linking this up with the challenge post.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my finishes for the week! I feel super on the ball and ready to attack my to do list even more! Next up are my Pin Cushion Swap project and the Alison Glass Mini Swap quilt! Until then I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.