Baste, Quilt, and Cable Knit

My crafty life this week can be summed up by three words: baste, quilt, and cable knit. I finished off my Lotus Pond quilt top, basted three quilts, quilted one, and did my first repeat of a cable knit hat!

Before we get to all that I have a giveaway to wrap up.  Random.org helped me out with this...

#4 Happened to be SuperMomNoCape. Congrats! I'll let Kitty know and she'll send it right over. Didn't win? No problem. The Love Struck pattern is still on sale for $2 until Valentine's Day!

Here are the finished blocks for my Lotus Pond quilt. I used the "Vintage" pattern from Camille Roskelley's book Simply Retro. Please ignore the toys this was the only room large enough to take the picture and I had a tiny munchkin who was not interested in my cleaning up.

Oh, the Vintage pattern. I adored it until I put the top together. You have to trim the squares into triangles to square up the blocks and it made them super stretchy. Then when I added my border it stretched like crazy and I didn't notice until I had it all basted. Now I have to unpick the borders and sew them back on, but since it's already spray basted it will show on the back which means I have to work it into my quilting. Boo! I don't know if it was the pattern or just me and in general I would totally recommend it. It shows off the fabric so well and is so fun and fast and cute. It's just the stretchy triangles and the border that caused me grief.

Here's a bit of the backing for that quilt. Check out that near perfect join on the frogs! It made me smile.

To baste a quilt in my new house I have to move the dining room chairs and table, quite the ordeal, so I always wait until I have three to baste before I do it. Here are the three from my basting party yesterday. All three of these are Sew My Stash projects as I had the material for all of the front, backs, and binding just sitting around waiting to be quilts.

I already quilted the smallest one. It was so fun to do a double echo of the zigzag pattern. I'll definitely have to try this one again.

Here's a closeup of the quilting (not exactly perfect but close enough for me) and the adorable fabric. I got this a long time ago it's Family Tree for Moda. Hurray for another Sew My Stash project!

Since learning to knit in October I've been wanting to knit all the things! However, I haven't been content just to knit, I want to learn a new skill with each project. This time it's a cable knit hat. It's so fun!! Totally not as hard as I thought it would be but not something I can do while watching a show yet. I'm excited to see how this turns out!

 Anyway, that's me for the week. Expect to see a finish on that baby quilt later this week and it will knock off another thing from my Q1FAL list! For now I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

Love Struck Pillow and Crab Hats

I've been having so much fun this week testing out the new Love Struck pattern for Kitty over at Night Quilter. It is going live today and I have a giveaway here for you! More about that later. It's a great paper piecing pattern that's perfect for Valentine's Day! Check it out...

The Love Struck pattern includes printable foundation paper piecing templates including two "printer pages" to help save paper when printing multiples, clear assembly instructions, a coloring sheet on which you can try out color schemes before beginning, and sewing tips along the way. You can find in on Craftsy here or on Payhip here. Best part - it's on sale for $2 until Valentine's day!

Here's what I made with it. A cute cushion for my couch. I did four of the block rotating it around and I added a little 1.5" cut border so it fit the pillow form I already had. I love it! How cute and festive is this?!

The backing is adorable too. It is some old Walk in the Woods print by Aneela Hoey for Moda. The whole pillow, minus the background Cotton and Steel basics, came from my stash! Hurray for Sew My Stash Challenge!

Here it is without the pillow it in. It would make an adorable wall hanging or table topper too!!

When I first saw the pattern with all the little pieces I was seriously afraid of it but it is SO EASY! I whipped up this whole thing in a week while taking care of five kids, one sick, and getting a double crochet hat order together.

Speaking of double crochet hat order, I finished that up too. Aren't these crabs adorable?! They're one of several designs I have in my Etsy Shop ranging from Newborn to Adult (these are adult size).

Once again you can find the Love Struck pattern for $2 on Craftsy here or on Payhip here. Remember how I mentioned the giveaway in the opening? Well, Kitty has offered a free pattern to one of my readers. Simply post a comment here. If you'd like a topic let me know your favorite thing to do with kids on Valentine's day. I have five ages 18 months to 9 and love to include them in my festivities. The giveaway will be open until Wednesday morning when I make my next post and announce the winner.

I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, and TGIFF to spread the love!

WiPing it Up

As always, I'm into a bit of everything this week. It's been crazy and fun around here. There are also a couple of other things that I've been working on that didn't even make this post. All of these things are stash projects, which makes me feel awesome! I'm doing so well at my Sew My Stash goals! There is also a challenge running this week to sew something for Valentine's day from our stash. You can find that project below.

Being the glutton for punishment that I am I also signed up for the Alison Glass Mini Swap over on Instagram and joined the Hazel Hedgehog QAL! Speaking of Instagram I'm really really into it lately. So much good inspiration all in one spot! You can find me there @julieschloemer.

When I finished my Fancy Fox top last week I wanted something quick and super easy to work on to cool down my brain. That fox quilt is awesome but it was a ton of work. I've had these blocks cut, sewn, and ready for nearly a year now and I took the time to throw them together. It was so quick, seriously less than an hour. When finished this will check off number three on my Q1FAL list.

I'm testing a pattern for Kitty who blogs over at Night Quilter. I'm loving this! I saw those tiny pieces at first and thought, "Oh no! What have I gotten myself into!" It's really not as hard as it looks and it works up great!

Here's a whole block done! The pattern is called Love Struck and should be available soon (maybe late this week or next). I'm taking four of these blocks and turning them into a large festive pillow for my couch.

Having tested one of each color I laid out an assembly line to finish off the rest. I made three more teal ones yesterday. I hope to get at least the pillow top finished so I qualify for the Sew My Stash Challenge.

I also got an order from my Shop! It's been so long since my last order I was seriously wondering if it was ever going to happen again. ;) These are two adult-size crab hats for a pair of awesome women going to a crab fest next month. Their story cracked me up. They are nearly done and I hope to ship them today and I'll share a completed picture later in the week.

Last but not least I've made some progress on my Lotus Pond quilt. I've been telling my hubby since the idea was formed on this one that my kids will not be using this quilt. The more I work on it the more that idea is solidified in my brain. I adore it and can't wait to keep piecing it together!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to finish up a few of these soon and show them off later this week. For today, I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

Crochet Blanket and Fancy Fox Top

So I'm already crossing things off my Q1FAL list. I slaved away all day Wednesday and yesterday and finally finished Ruby's crochet blanket. I also finished up the top of my Fancy Fox quilt which was my ALYoF goal for January! I'm so on the ball that this takes pressure off of whatever I choose to create for the rest of the month. Hurray!

Here's my little Ruby with her finished blanket. She'll be 18 months at the end of the month and I'm so happy it's finally done! It was supposed to be finished before her birth. I guess that's what you get being the youngest of five. ;)

It's a good size for a tiny person at 30" by 36" (ish) and the texture is so fun. Since I've had a couple of inquiries about the pattern here's what I know. This blanket is from a kit sold by Herrshners. They have not released the pattern without the kit.

Everyone loves rubbing the scallops back and forth.

Here's another project that I thought I might never get done. I've been working on these foxes since at least September. I'm so glad to finally have the top sewn! I usually take pictures of my quilts outside so the lighting is better but it is currently three degrees and feels like -28* so that wasn't going to happen. This is a twin size quilt on a queen bed.

Here's my little orange lover on it. Alex is obsessed with all things orange. It can be any shade or variety of orange - like his pants that are a little more red than orange.

I asked him which block was the best and he said, "all of them!" Then he proceeded to point to each of the eighty foxes saying, "I like this one and this one, and this one..." Good stuff.

I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

First Quarter FAL List!

As usual for me I have a crazy long but awesome list of projects I'd like to finish for my first quarter finish along goals. I know I won't get to them all but it's every so hard to try to decide what to work on when so I'm popping them all on the list. Adrianne from On The Windy Side has taken over the Finish Along for the year. Check out my list below then hop on over and see what everyone else is working on. If you haven't made a list and want to there is still time!! As always I have this list on my sidebar and I will link them up there when complete so you all can keep up with my progress. I love how this totally plays into my other goal for this year to Sew My Stash! Now on to the list...

#1 Ruby Crochet Blanket - Since she had her first birthday last Summer and I usually have these done before their birth I've feeling a little guilt about this one and need to get it off my list. I think I only have 11 rows which would be three color changes left.

#2 Miss Kate Swoon - The fabric is Miss Kate and I think it would be wonderful as a swoon quilt. I made a swoon block for another project last year and loved it. This one is going to be extra large though so it can go on my bed - four blocks square.

#3 Zigzag Baby Quilt - This one should be pretty fast and simple. I think it will end up being for my shop. Just a zigzag pattern with a print and white rectangle.

#4 Route 15 Quilt - This one has been pushed off for way too long. It will be one for me with the Happy Weekender tutorial I fell in love with.

#5 Route 15 Pillow - Made to match the above quilt. Should be quick, easy, and fun!

#6 - Knit Cable Hat - Since learning to knit in October I've become a bit obsessed and am having so much fun picking up new skills. I bought this yarn and got the free pattern from Purl Bee to stretch myself but it has sat like this for several weeks now. I would like it on my head this Winter.

#7 Peacock Pin Cushion - I loved the hand sewing of making my kids' stockings but wanted something fancy for myself that I could keep in my sewing room. Thus entered this adorable peacock pin cushion. Probably too fancy to use but it would be adorable on the ledge found above my sewing tables.

#8 Serenade Twists and Turns - I've had an on again off again relationship with this fabric and the Twists and Turns tutorial. I love them and would like to see it happen but I keep finding other things to work on. I'd love to have this huge bunch of pretty fabric as a quilt and not taking up so much of my shelf space.

#9 Orange Fancy Fox Quilt - My youngest son adores all things orange and foxes. This quilt is going to be epic for me. I have all the foxes pieced, binding made, and backing on hand. I just need to get it put together.

#10 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.

#11 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.

#12 Halloween Dwell Mini - I know this is totally out of season now but I missed the blog hop this was supposed to be made for and would like to see my idea happen. This is probably the bottom of the list priority wise but I'm leaving it on here anyway.

#13 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.

#14 Hazel Hedgehog Quilt - My eldest daughter is in love with all kids of animals and wanted an animal quilt. I'm in love with C+S Basics so the two combined should be pretty epic.

#15 Primrose Quilt - Ruby is about ready to trade to a twin bed. I was poking through the Fat Quarter Style book with her sitting next to me and she freaked out with excitement when she saw this quilt. She was bouncing around and pointing like crazy then patting and hugging the book. Ruby is currently 15 months old so this is pretty adorable sharing her opinion. I thought it was a one time thing but every time she's seen this quilt for weeks now she gets really excited about it. She even knows how to find it in the book now and won't stop for any other quilt. 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.

#16 Aviatrix Quilt - I'm sure this is biting off more that I can chew (especially considering the rest of the list) but I just can't help myself. This is going to be for me and AMAZING!!

#17 Vintage Quilt - Using Lotus Pond fabric I'm going to make the Vintage quilt from Camille Roskelley's book Simply Retro. I may or may not let my small people touch this one. We'll see how it goes. ;)

#18 Nana Pillows - My mom asked for pillows from this leftover bunch of Papillon that I used to make her this quilt. I'm excited about this!

#19 Simply Woven - I've had the fabric for this cut for over two years now. I really need to whip this one up and send it on its way. It's from the Simply Woven tutorial and will look pretty awesome if I ever get around to it.

#20 Vintage Modern quilt - Just to make it an even 20 I'll add this lovely bundle of Vintage Modern. I have been collecting and sitting on it for a while now and I think I finally decided on a pattern! On a Whim from Thimble blossoms has struck my fancy which is funny because she made the original with Vintage Modern.

Once again a crazy long list. I'm excited about so many of the things on it now and can't wait to get working! It will be fun to see what I get finished and what I end up working on not on the list - there's always something. I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

April Showers Quilt Finish

I was hoping to have this be my last finish of 2014 but due to illness and a fun trip this became my first finish of 2015. Honestly, I wasn't in love with this fabric line when if first came out. I thought maybe I'd over done the whole Bonnie and Camille thing but then I saw someone else make an adorable quilt with it and I needed it. My indecision made it so it was all on a crazy good sale - hurray! This is #8 on my 2014Q4FAL list.

I used this tutorial as a guideline but I seriously don't recommend it. She is very vague about things like fabric requirements, the number of pieces to cut, and layout. Basically I thought, that looks cute and did all the rest of the work myself. My B.A. in English is making me compulsively site my source though.

I just adore the quilting on this one!! The idea just popped into my head while I was looking at my Aurifil thread box called Simplify made to match all things Bonnie and Camille. I used the aqua, green, navy, and red to made a crosshatch on point. I used a gray bobbin on all of them so the back is really subtle and just has a bunch of texture.

Here you can see my cute tag, again from my Sweetwater yardage. You can also see the texture on the back and my fun binding. I had about a half inch to spare after I cut my binding out, it was a close one.

Thanks for stopping by! I know I say it every time but I really appreciate you taking the time to come and read my posts. I also love comments but I'm not fabulous at responding. I do read and enjoy each one and hope to be better at that this year!

ALYoF Roundup and New Goal

I completed nine months worth of goals for the A Lovely Year of Finishes challenges this year. It was a great and productive year! I did seven quilts, recovered our dining room chairs, and made makeup bags for my mom. Without further ado...

1. January's goal was to complete this Triangle Quilt for my little man's bed. He adores all things fire trucks.

2. February's goal was to complete this Charming Lucy quilt with Jubilee fabric. It ended up in my Shop.

3. In March I decided to finish this Line Dance quilt. Also available in my shop.

4. April's goal was to complete this fun quilt with the S'More Love line using the Happy Weekender pattern.

5. In May I made a quilt for me using V. and Co. Color Me Happy line. I adore this quilt from the Honey Honey Layer Cake tutorial.

6. I didn't play along in June but for July I made a quilt for my Niece's wedding.

7. We had a lot of family coming in August and our dining chairs were in a sad state so my goal that month was to recover our chairs with this awesome laminated cotton by Kate Spain.

8. September saw the finish of my Pixel BYU quilt. LOVE!!

9. Then we had a big move making me unable to play along again until December. But I finished the year our well with another goal accomplished - Makeup bags.

I had so much fun doing this last year. This is only a part of what I finished for the year. I made 23 quilts and 19 minis or pillows. I also made several pouches, crocheted a bunch of hats and learned how to knit. I was tempted to write a year in review post but I don't think it's going to happen. If you're curious click here to see my finishes for the year.

As far as the new year I joined up with the Sew My Stash 2015 challenge. I am excited to create and make with these! I'm only going to be purchasing background, backing, and binding this year. All other fabric is going to come from this lovely stash. However, I reserve the right to go crazy on fabric for birthdays and other holidays. ;) It's going to be fun! I usually buy fabric with a project in mind so these already have a job to do and I can't wait to see it take form!

So for my January ALYoF goal I'd like to make these 80 foxes into a quilt top. It would be awesome if I could finish the whole thing but I'll be conservative and just go for the top at this point.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll join me this year as I sew with my stash and it's not too late to make your own goal for January and link up with ALYoF!