Hazel Hedgehog Quilt Finish

So excited about this finish! It is #1 on my Q3 FAL list as well as my ALYoF Goal for September. It feels good crossing things off both lists! Also, it is freaking adorable and my daughter is in heaven finally having it completed.

Here it is! I did the twin size of the Hazel Hedgehog pattern which worked out to be 42 different hedgehogs. We decided together (my daughter and I) to do it all in Cotton and Steel basics with Kona solids for the bodies and background.

Miya had fun picking all her favorite colors and prints for the spines. You can see the quilting pretty well in this shot too. I was going for a kind of spiky meander. Some bits are more spiky than others but I love it anyway. It adds fun texture.

Here's just a fun picture of it flopped over the fence. It was a fun angle I haven't tried before.

I thought these Navy triangles from Color Theory by V. and Co. for Moda was perfect for this quilt! They remind me of the spikes. You can also see my customary tag from yardage by Sweetwater for Moda. It's fun to personalize them like this.

One more just because I love this angle on quilts.

That's it for now. I have a few projects I'm also working on but I needed to get this one done for the ALYoF and Q3FAL linkups. Thanks for stopping by! I'm also linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Mini House and Crochet Hat Finishes

I am amazed at what I accomplished this week. I made four crochet hats and finished off my Mini House quilt for a swap. I also nearly finished three Sailor Tops from Fancy Tiger Crafts. I love them all and enjoyed crossing things off my Q3 FAL list and adding new items to my Etsy shop. Let's start with the mini...

I am so happy with how this turned out! This crosses off #5 from my Q3 FAL list. It's so much better than I thought it would be. Some of my low volume background isn't as low volume as other things but I love it anyway. I enjoyed the process with this one even though those houses were not quick.

Check out this adorable print for the back! When I saw it I knew it would be perfect for this swap. I got some for the back not even knowing what the front of the mini would look like.

Here's a peek at the quilting. It was a teaser for my partner. these are 1/4" ish lines and were pretty fast even though I ended up having to do almost one hundred of them.

At the risk of getting into overshare territory here is my favorite block. I love everything about this one.

This tag from yardage by Sweetwater for Moda was pretty perfect for the back of this mini.

Moving onto the hats. !!! I can't believe the cuteness of this Hippo hat! You can find it listed in my shop here.

Here it is off a person. Wouldn't this be adorable paired with a Sandra Boynton book as a present? I'm also really liking these colors for it but it would be adorable in grays or blues too for a boy.

This was a custom order Sleepy Owl hat from my shop. The customer wanted it in all white except the lashes and the beak. My usual beak color looks pretty bold but the gray I had just didn't look right. It was so different from the colorful owls I usually make and a fun change.

This crab hat is by far my most popular hat. I just love it in all the sizes. It's adorable for a baby and just hilarious for an adult. This baby size is a result of an order from my shop.

In an effort to refresh my shop selection I also added this new hat pattern. This Monster hat was so fun to make and I'm sure will make a great addition to my shop.

That's me for the week! Thanks for stopping by! I was hoping to get my tops finished so I delayed my post but it's not happening. Got to save something for next week, right? Until then I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Paris 241 Tote and Spencer Quilt Finishes

I can't believe how fast Spencer was able to finish his quilt! He started last week and now it is done just a day before his tenth birthday. I also finished my project for my Paris swap which is on my Q3FAL list. We'll start with the swap...

This finish marks off #3 on my Q3FAL list. I had NO idea what to make for my partner for this swap. She didn't post a mosaic for a while and I found this super cute print and grabbed it hoping that when she came up with something it would work. I had a few backups just in case. It's not a perfect match to what she posted but I think it captures the vibe, I hope. I don't know that I've ever been this nervous for a swap before.

I'm really happy with how the 241 Tote came out and the fabric pairings. My kids helped me pick this out. I especially love the Swiss dots in the lining. I really hope she likes it.

Now this I know I love. He started this quilt last Thursday and is already finished. I did the quilting and the binding but he pieced the front and the back himself.

Spencer also picked out the layout. It's got pretty great balance while keeping the prints he liked spread out.

Like Miya, Spencer ran his photo shoot even deciding to take pictures in the front instead of in the back with the grass. I think it works well with the prints and style of this quilt. I love seeing the creative side of my kids!

Here he is pointing to his favorite print and colorway. This is Doe by Carolyn Friendlander. We like the architecture vibe of this print.

Finally the tag. You can also see the quilting and the binding here. Spencer chose both. He wanted straight lines to continue with the feel of the quilt and we decided about 1 1/4" apart was good spacing. The binding he calls it the "trees print." I can totally see it.

Well, that's it from us this week. I love that I've started to share this blog with my awesome kids' creations. We'll see what we come up with next week! Until then, I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

WiP and Finish

I have a knit finish to share today and a few works in progress. I got a Fitbit this week and have been loving the exercise but I've noticed it has been taking time away from my sewing. Not necessarily a bad thing, I was just saying I need more balance. I'm making slow and steady progress and thought it would be fun to share here. Also, my eldest has started to quilt and finished all seven rows for his quilt. Now just to sew them together! Let's start with the finish as it is on my Q3FAL list.
 

I finished my Portland hat. The pattern can be found here. This is #17 on my Q3FAL list. I still think the blue is a little too bright but I like it anyway. It's a fun hat to show off my love for the PNW. It's a bit small but I haven't blocked it yet and that should solve all the problems.

I also sewed the body strips and the ears to the spikes. These spike seemed to take forever as there were so many seams all to be pressed open. Now to sew them to the faces and make the side pieces. I hope to be done with this later in the month as it is my ALYoF goal for August.

This handsome kid started quilting this week. He's doing so well! Spencer is my eldest and nearly ten. We took the tricks we learned for teaching Miya to make her quilt and it's helped so much.

Here he is with his first row. He's using a layer cake of Doe by Carolyn Friedlander and doing simple patchwork. He's done all seven rows and now just has to sew them together. Spencer turns ten on Saturday and thought it would be fun to finish the top by then. We'll see how it goes.

Next up for me - more hedgehogs, helping Spencer, and making this cute owl hat from this yarn pull. You can find the pattern for free at Repeat Crafter Me.

I also finished up my Paris Swap package which I will share on Friday. I had fun making it and hope my partner loves it. Thanks for stopping by!

TB Mini and Miya Quilt Finishes

Miya and I both have something fun to share this week! I finished my Thimble Blossoms mini quilt for the swap I'm in. I also helped Miya finish up her first quilt! It's been a great week. We'll start with mine and then give you a fun picture overload of Miya.

Here's the swap package I mailed out. This is #6 on my Q3FAL list. There is a little pad of paper in the green dots bag. The little zipper pouch has some washi tape, wonder clips, and my favorite chap stick.

I love how this picture shows off the quilting. I went in the ditch around the pieces then filled with pebbles. I adore pebbles! They are so fun and much easier for me that other kinds of free motion quilting.

I also sent a little pouch. I made this with the trimmings of my flying geese for the top. It's small, about five inches square, but great for holding things like wonder clips.

Now on to Miya with her finish! We're so excited that we managed to get this quilt done before her ninth birthday later this month. I love so many things about it! She did all the cutting (except for the big strip down the middle) all the pressing, and all the piecing. I quilted it and bound it.

I even had the perfect tag on hand for this quilt! Miya wrote her name but had me do everything else. The pattern is Daydreams from the book Sunday Morning Quilts. As I was looking up the name of the pattern I noticed we forgot the very outer border. Oops. Oh well, the quilt was already finished at that point and plenty large. You can see the quilting the best in this one. I did a stipple pattern in Miya's choice of variegated thread.

Miya directed the photo shoot for her quilt and I love all the different things she came up with. Here she was showing me how it's plenty big and she has room to grow.

This was her fun way of showing off the backing. It is a print from Color Theory by V. and Co. for Moda that she picked herself. We recently got to spend the afternoon playing with Vanessa and Miya is more in love with her stuff than ever now.

This one just makes me laugh. She went crazy far from me, plopped it on her head, and then had me take a picture. It was supposed the be the amazing floating quilt but you can still see most of her body. :)

We're all pretty excited that this one is finished and ready for use. After she slept with it the first night she said it was the best quilt ever!

Thanks for stopping by! We sure had a fun week. I've started teaching my eldest how to quilt too and it's going well! I also am finishing up a few things that will be fun to share next week. For now I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Sailor Tops x3 plus Quilting Starts

I finished my new Sailor Tops this week. They are number four on my Q3FAL list. I also made one for my mom because she ran out of time while she was here. The swap mini is coming along nicely and I have begun quilting. I also started quilting Miya's quilt. It's been a fun and productive week!

Here they are! Two more Sailor Tops for me and #4 crossed off my Q3FAL list. I really really love these! They are pretty easy to sew. As a point of reference - these are the only tops I've ever made. I've made some skirts and dresses once previously with a lot of hand holding. The Sailor Top also comes out so great and flattering! I love how it hides any kind of mommy-post-five-kids belly.

I also had time to whip this one up for my mom. She left before it was finished and luckily we are the same size and I love sewing them. I told her to leave it behind and I got it shipped off the next day. My mom fully planned on making this and another herself but started off with the other one. The fabric was a bit slinky and kept sliding and puckering on her. After we both declared it a fail beyond repair she didn't want to take the time away from the grandchildren to try again. Julie to the rescue!

I began quilting this one this week after I pieced it together on Wednesday. It was a fast and fun little block and I hope my partner will be pleased with her mini. So far I've quilted in the ditch and now I will fill in the white areas with pebbles, my favorite lately!

While waiting for my mom to arrive and finish cutting her tops I started quilting on Miya's quilt. I've completed about half of it but this is the only picture I have so far. She wanted me to do a large-scale meander in variegated thread. I was a bit nervous at first, I didn't want to mess up my baby's hard work, but I got about this far into it and loved it! She loves it too and after my swap package is done I'm going to dive right back into this.

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to finish both the bottom projects to show off next week. Miya is so happy about how her quilt is turning out and already has number two planned. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Bags, Pouches, and a Miya Quilt Top!

I had no idea I'd been away from the blog for so long. Life has been busy with trips and guests. I've done some great things this week but I'm most excited for my little girl. Miya finished her first quilt top today! I made some scripture bags with my friend, pouches for my SIL, and finished off my knit cowl. My first finish from my Q3 FAL list. Let's start with the cowl and pouches and end off with a bang.

I love this cowl! This is the same pattern that I learned to knit from and I taught my friend to knit this week and we each made one. I finished mine pretty quickly so I could show her how it was done before she had to go. She made great progress too and was over halfway when she left. I was amazed at how quickly she picked it up!

This is #16 on my Q3FAL list and my first finish of the quarter. I think the color variation on this yarn is so wonderful. It is "kettle dyed" and I may need more in my future. I had this lying around for years waiting for the perfect project and tada!

My friend also loved the scripture bag I made for my son and brought the supplies to make three for her three boys. She made the brown and I made the other two. All I wrote from the original was cutting instructions so we just winged it. They turned out pretty well but kept torquing. As it turns out we were supposed to turn 1/4" in from where we did. Oops. They still look good and the boys loved them.

My fun Sister-in-law is my best customer and she loves these bags. I love them because they are different every time with the different mini charm packs from Moda. She buys these for teacher friends and I just love whipping them up for her. You can find the tutorial here for the Quilted Patchwork Pouch.

Now on to my adorable munchkin!! I have been working on teaching all my kids to sew. They've all made a bean bag and a pillow case. Miya showed the most interest in quilting so we started with her first. This is her first quilt top! We're in love!

This is from the book "Sunday Morning Quilts" and was so easy for her to do and great for the scrap busting. We had a few struggles at first but two tricks really helped make this happen. First we used Wonder Clips in place of pins. That way they were easy to remove without shifting the fabric and poking herself. Also, I put two contrasting pieces of washi tape on my machine. One marked the 1/4" seam that she was supposed to keep the fabric lined up with. The second butted up against that and she wasn't supposed to let that one show. I was amazed at how straight her seams were with the addition of the washi tape and the whole thing went much much faster.

We worked together to spray baste it this evening. We did it outside which was a first for me. The grout in our tile floor kept leaving bumps and folds so we thought the cement might work better. It was murder on my knees but this quilt is quite flat. Miya enjoyed helping me smooth out the quilt but still can't manage to press the button to spray the glue which makes me smile.

That's it for this week! I'm going to whip up some Sailor Tops with my mom this weekend (hurray for a visit) and I hope to get Miya's quilt finished quickly. We want it done by the time she turns nine around this time next month. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Q3 FAL Goal Post

 I am so excited about my list of projects for this quarter! I have a tendency to overshoot and I think I may have this time as well with 18 on my list but I'm really excited about them so it should go pretty well. Many of these are for swaps or presents.

#1 Hazel Hedgehog Quilt - My eldest daughter is in love with all kinds of animals and wanted an animal quilt. She was so excited when this finally came off the on deck pile and I started it. I hope to get this finished this quarter. You can find the Hazel Hedgehog pattern here.

#2 Color Dive - I have been obsessed with the Color Dive pattern since I first saw it. I love so many things about it. Then one night it hit me that I could do the Color Dive with V. and Co. prints and it would be amazing. I have every line Vanessa has ever made and she has such great value and prints that I knew it would be so fun! I'm going all out and making the King Size version. It will cost an arm and a leg to get it quilted but so so worth it! This will probably bump all other projects.

#3 Paris Swap - I'm in a Paris swap on Instagram and have been having a pretty hard time deciding what to do for my partner. She was quite vague on her form and only recently posted a mosaic even though the signups were months ago. I bought this fabric thinking I'd made a bag or a pouch and I'll probably go that route. I hope she loves it.

#4 Sailor Tops - I adore my octopus Sailor Top. I wear it all the time and get a ton of compliments. People are always surprised that I made it. I have these two prints to add to my collection. My mom is visiting in a few weeks and she wanted to make one with me so it should totally get done this quarter.

#5 Mini House Quilt - My partner loves Carolyn Friedlander and the Outhouse Pattern is so fun I think I'll go that way for this mini swap.

#6 Thimble Blossoms Mini - I joined a swap all about the Thimble Blossoms patterns. My partner says she like all Bonnie and Camille prints so I'll use some of this loveliness and probably several more to make her something awesome. Probably the mini swoon but we're still in the planning stages.

#7 Yellow Baby Quilt - I found this random yellow fabric and charm pack while I was cleaning out my closet and thought they would make a perfect baby quilt. I have no plans for it yet other than to whip it up and see how I like it.

#8 Sparklettes Quilt - Using Far Far Away II and Cotton + Steel Basics I'm going to make the first quilt in the Fat Quarter Style book. My middle daughter is over the moon excited about this one but she keeps getting bumped since I made her one more recently than the others. It's on the list in case I get ambitious.

#9 Charity Quilt - I found this charm pack I got at Quiltcon and thought it would make a perfect quilt for the quilt drive my local church group is doing. It looks like a bunch of fun prints and they would stand out nicely with this Kona Snow.

#10 Preppy The Whale Mini - I won this kit on an Instagram giveaway and I'm excited to add it to my growing collection of mini quilts.

#11 Riley Blake Challenge - I got the fabric for the MQG challenge and I've been struggling with a plan. I'm thinking something to do with hexies, maybe this tutorial here.

#12 Dottie Mini - This was a total impulse buy at my LQS. I usually don't do that. It should be fun though. I think I'll try the pinwheel one in the middle. Another one for my mini wall.

#13 Primrose Quilt - Ruby is really excited about this quilt and it has been on my list for about a year. I need to just get it done because all she has is her baby quilt from me and she is no longer in a crib. I decided to use the Miss Kate fabric from Bonnie and Camille because it will coordinate well with her baby quilt made from Ruby by Bonnie and Camille.

#14 Scrumptious Baby Quilt - I've had this fabric all cut out and ready to piece for over a year now. It just needs to happen. I'll be using this Pinwheel Baby Quilt tutorial.

#15 Flamingo Mittens - It gets kind of drab here during an Iowa Winter and I love fun pops of color to liven me up. This Flamingo Mittens should do just the trick. I found the pattern and yarn on Knit Picks.

#16 Orange Cowl - One of my oldest and closest friends is coming to visit me next week with her family!!! While here she wanted me to try to teach her how to knit. I thought it would be awesome to show her on the pattern I learned from. I'll be making an orange one for me. My orange-loving son has really created a love for orange all over our house.

#17 Portland Hat - I spent most of my youth in the Portland, Oregon area so when I saw this hat I got so excited. I love knitting color work and this looked great. I'm having fun with it already and should have no problems finishing it.

#18 Big Owl - I'm knitting my first animal. The Big Snowy Owl from the Purl Bee. It's pretty giant and is going really fast but I haven't been really motivated to finish it. I'm also worried about how I'll get the stuffing to stay in as it's not incredibly tight. I may have to line it. Honestly I debated even poking it on the list but you never know.

 I am excited about this list. I usually finish half or maybe a little more. There are some that I know I will finish because of their swap deadlines. Otherwise, it should be fun to see what I work on from this pile. Thanks for stopping by! Check out other people's links here.