Schoolhouse Tunic Finish and WiP Update

I stepped out of my comfort zone again and made myself two shirts this week. They are #6 on my Q1FAL list. I also started another knit hat and made good progress with my quilt.

I started with this one first. This is the Schoolhouse Tunic in Mammoth Flannel. I saw someone else with this shirt in this very fabric shortly after I bought mine and I got all excited about it. Clothes are out of my comfort zone but I am so happy with it! It went together easier than expected and the pattern was clear and easy to understand.

I also made the shirt version using Loominous by Anna Maria Horner. This fabric has a bit of shine woven in and is so fun!

I made some great progress on my To The Point quilt. Pattern and fabric by Vanessa of V. and Co. I made it a little wider (I can't help myself) and it will a little longer to fit my over-tall people.

In my knitting world I've started another Jul Hat for myself. I love how easy this one is and how it shows off this amazing Madelintosh yarn!

Here's a little sneak peek of what I have finished to share Friday. I super love how this one turned out!!

That's me for now thanks for stopping by! Only two active WiPs which is a nice break. Be sure to come back Friday for my Hello Darling Mini.

First Quarter Finish Along Goals

Once again I have a long and happy list of goals! I'm excited to finally be getting to more of my stash projects. These project are almost 100% stash which is why they're on my list this time. I need background for one of them but otherwise I have everything I need. I've already finished two projects this year and hope for many more to come. Without further ado - my Q1FAL list...

#1 Cotton and Steel Mini - I'm planning on turning these into a B&C sampler mini just like the one Sewlux made. It should be fun for my partner in the B&C mini swap. This is also my OMG for January.

#2 Tula Pink Mini - This bit of lovelies will turn into a kaleidoscope mini for my Rainbow Mini swap partner.

#3 Hello Darling Mini - This will be a mini for me so I can play with Hello Darling while I figure out what to do with my amazing FQB.

#4 Road 15 Mini - This will be a row house mini for me with the black print as roofs. I'm excited about this one!

#5 Cloth Basket - I made my youngest a whole cloth quilt out of these prints and have enough to make some cute little baskets next for her treasures.

 

#6 Schoolhouse Tunic - After my seven Sailor Tops last year I decided to branch out into a new pattern for me. I will have a Schoolhouse Tunic in each of these prints.

#7 Girl Pajamas - It seems we have a major shortage on pajamas that fit. My LQS was having a remodeling sale and I got enough to make four pair for $35. The three girls and I will all match.

#8 Sparklettes Quilt - This is a quilt for my middle child. I have all the prints cut out and just need to pick up some background before I can put it together. This is the Fat Quarter Style book.

#9 Valentine's Quilt - These two lovelies will become the I Heart You quilt pattern from V. and Co. The top is an ombre print from one of her older lines. I'm really excited about his one and hope to finish before Valentine's day.

#10 Norway Quilt - This bunch of awesome is going to become a scrappy Norway quilt with a low volume background. I'm so excited about this and have been planning and collecting for a while.

#11 To The Point - Another ode to V. and Co. project. The top print is for the quilt top and the bottom for the back. This was also a remodeling sale find and should be a fun addition to our beds.

#12 Star Quilt - I may be the most excited about this one. I finished this quilt nearly 2.5 years ago and haven't been able to afford to get it quilted. One of my IG people was asking for quilts to practice on (she's amazing already) and I volunteered this one. It should be done in time to poke the binding on a have it finished this quarter!!

#13 Primrose Quilt - My youngest has been patiently waiting for a quilt of her own. I have all the prints, back, and binding ready to go I just need to hop on it. It's going to happen this quarter!!

#14 Boo Boo Bunny - I've been wanting to expand my knitting again to try shapes. So, when I saw this kit at my favorite shop in Des Moines I had to have it. It should be a pretty quick finish.

#15 Cable Hat - I just finished this hat in aqua this week. I loved it so much I'm now making it in pink! With the right needles, Addi Turbo, cables are going so well for me!

Well, there's my wishlist for the quarter. It's actually usually longer than that by at least five projects but I wanted these to be all stash this go around to help save money. Making all the things can be expensive! I'll be linking this up with 2016 Q1 FAL as well as WiP Wednesday.

Care Bear Finish, ALYoF, and other WiPs

This is a multi-tasking post today. I finished another thing off my Q4 FAL list - #19 the Care Bear Cross stitch. I'm also going to cover my ALYoF goal for the month and my Christmas Quilts I've been working on. First, the pillow...

My youngest is two and she adores all things Care Bears. These are her two bears, well, one she commandeered from her sister. She drags these little things around everywhere and cannot sleep without them. I saw this Care Bear pattern and had to have it for her. I ended up turning it into a pillow for her bed.

Here's a closeup of just the bears. This was such a fun pattern to work on. I love the detail on their little belly badges.

I used a Micron pen to write on the back of the pillow like a quilt tag. I think it's fun to know when and why things were made. You know I make so many things I can't possibly keep them all in my head. This was also a cute way to preserve my handwriting for her.

Next up is my ALYoF goal for December. My kids all want mini quilts for their animals, dolls, and things. I figured I'm make it really simple since I had to make five. I'd like to finish these before Christmas. They are all made from a mini charm pack and just need to be quilted and bound. Easy peasy, I hope.

Speaking of Christmas this is my Christmas quilt I'm working on right now. I super puffy heart love this!! I have one row complete and have to make nine more for a lap/twin size. I already have all the stuff I need to finish it but time. I hope to find some of that too before Christmas.

I had a bunch of strips left over from the above quilt and didn't want to add any more to my stash so I sewed them up into a nice lap quilt. Here it is all basted with a minky back.

I read somewhere that less is more when quilting on minky so I went with a serpentine stitch every 3"ish. I used a variegated thread from Aurifil and really love the colors and texture it gave.

I'm up to the binding stage on this one. I have attached it now I just need to flip and stitch. I hope to have it finished by Friday to share.

That's me for now. A lot of Christmas themed or Christmas gift sewing going on here. That's means more finishes to come! I also have several cowls to share later in the week. Until then I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday. Thanks for stopping by!

ALYoF Goal post and Pigs Finish

Another thing off my Q4 FAL list with the Pigs out of the way. I am on a roll and even have something to share on Friday too! But first, my ALYoF goal for November and another little something I've been working on.

My middle daughter Amelia finished her quilt off this weekend. I'm so proud of her! She is 6.5 and while it took a little more teamwork than her older sister she did do a ton of the work by herself. To finish this off she picked the layout, pushed the pedal, and together we guided the fabric through the machine. Several times she felt confident enough to do it completely alone. I'm so happy with her progress! Since she's so young I'm going to quilt and bind this for her. This is my ALYoF goal for November. The backing and binding are in the mail and should be here by Friday. Woohoo!

I've also been doing a little cross stitching. I used to do it all the time which feels like a million years ago but was really just the 90s. Randomly I picked it up again for my Back to the Future swap and have been playing around with it ever since. It's great to do while watching tv and was especially helpful during the 5 hours of online BSA training I did this week.

The pigs are finished and aren't they adorable?! This is #20 on my Q4 FAL list and I'm so happy with this one! I found the pattern here. I picked up some pink fleece as a remnant on sale at Joann's and these pigs were born.

My Sister-in-law teaches third grade and is reading Charlotte's Web with her class this year and asked if I could create two pigs for her. I was a little worried about making them since 3D objects are not typically in my wheelhouse but I made it happen and they were much easier and faster than I expected. I made three all in one day!

This one was the prototype and extra so we are keeping for ourselves. My baby girl just loved it so much it will probably become a Christmas present.

That's me for the week so far! I've been loving this stint of getting things done! More to show on Friday! Until then I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

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.

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!

WiP Wednesday: Hedgehogs and Paris Swap

I've had a fun and productive week so far leading to a swap finish and a quilt finish which I'll show later in the week. I've already started on the next swap in line - the Paris swap. I'm making a bag for that. I'm also linking up my ALYoF goal for August which I'll get to first.

My ALYoF goal for August is to turn these pieces in to actual Hazel Hedgehog blocks. They've been waiting patiently in this art bin for me while I finish up swaps and a few other commitments first.

Speaking of other commitments - the Paris swap. Once again I have a partner who isn't especially active on Instagram. I'm not sure if this 241 Tote will be her thing or not but I'm loving it already. It is all cut out (not all pieces are shown) and ready to assemble.

That's it for my WiPs this week. I also hope to do more in the Farm Girl Vintage blocks but we'll see how it goes. I'm chomping at the bit to get to my V. and Co. Color Dive quilt but it keeps getting pushed back in favor of deadlines. I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

WiP Wednesday: Thimble Blossoms Edition

I seem to be having a thing with Thimble Blossoms pattens lately and all of my progress on quilty projects have been on those things. I also made a little time to knit and I finished three Sailor Tops which I will show off on Friday. The big news this week is that I finished my ALYoF goal for July which was to complete the last of my Swoon blocks! I'm so excited! Take a look...

This is my finish for ALYoF for July. I am so super in love with these! I finished them in between rain storms yesterday and as I was taking pictures it started to rain and the wind was crazy. I grabbed a picture one at a time and made a collage later. It was pretty fun. These are done in Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

Here are all sixteen together. The Swoon pattern calls for nine blocks in a three by three grid. However, that quilt only comes out to 80" square. For a tall girl like me (six feet) with a super tall husband (6'6") that just wasn't going to cut it. I added the extra squares to bring it up to queen size. This of course means I can't quilt it at home and will have to send it off to someone else to make it fabulous.

Now that those are finished for a bit I am focusing all my energy on the next swap in line. I'm in a swap for Thimble Blossom patterns on Instagram. My partner posted the Fireworks quilt three separate times in mosaics so I took the hint. She said the swoon was her favorite but it didn't show up. Maybe it's one of those actions speak louder than words things? I hope so. As it turns out I didn't need to cut the big floral squares but I'm sure I can find a use for them. This is already starting to take shape and I hope to finish it quickly as the deadline for this is Aug. 10th.

Finally, I have been working on my Portland hat. I'm excited about this one but not really happy with how the blue turned out. Shopping online can be so hard! I bought a different blue at first but it was too light and there was no contrast with the gray. I tried again and this one may be too dark or something. I keep telling myself I love it but I don't believe me. Maybe when it is all finished I'll love it more, I hope.

 Thanks for stopping by and be sure to hop on back on Friday where I'll share my finishes from this week. For now I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

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.