Little Ruby Swiss Quilt Finish

When Camille from Bonnie and Camille posted previews of Little Ruby I knew I had to have it. Then when I saw the Swiss Quilt pattern all done in reds and white I knew my little Ruby needed one in her life. I so love how it turned out and as a bonus it was so fast and easy I've made two! I share the blue version next week. For now the red one...

Love!! There are not words for how I feel about this one. It is so perfect for my sweet girl and she loves it as much as I do.

I had so much fun with the quilting on this one!! I always quilt with Aurifil 50wt on my domestic juki. This time I tried a bit of a flower design. I'd never done this one before but after drawing it a few times on some blank paper I was ready to roll. The red thread seems like a bold choice but since the backing and most of the quilt was red it really hid my mistakes well.

I love the backing and binding on this one too!! Those biased scallops have my heart and this floral print was my favorite in the original Ruby as is even better all little! The tag fits so well and came from yardage by Sweetwater for Moda.

 

My little Ruby just loves it!! She kept coming over and giving it loving pats as it was in progress and then when it was finished she did lots of hopping and jumping and said, "It's so comfy and rosey!!"

Here are my Ruby's two ruby quilts together. The top is from the original Ruby line and was made in anticipation of her birth. They are so fun together!

Another shot of the two ruby quilts.

Here are the backings of the two quilts together. When Bonnie and Camille first told everyone about Little Ruby they said how it was sweet and miniature, here you can see the size difference between the two.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Swiss by Camille of Thimble Blossoms
Fabric - Little Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda and Bella solids 98
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - free motion flowers on my domestic Juki
Size - Lap 56" by 64"
Stash Report - 0% stash. In fact the whole thing came in a kit from my new favorite Etsy shop Handmade is Heartmade.

Thanks for stopping by and checking this one out. I'm excited to show you the blue version next week but until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Hello Darling Hexie Mini

I am so excited with how this mini came out! It is even better than I imagined, which doesn't happen often enough. This project is #3 on my Q1 FAL list. This post is a lot later than I usually post because we've been super busy going around to home improvement stores doing a bit of recon. We bought a house and close in early April. Check it out...

We're so excited! There are going to be a few projects, like paint, that I think will make all the difference. We're excited to have a home of our own again after renting for a while. So, I've been trying to get a lot of stuff done before the move while also sorting and pre-packing. Thus, the mini.

Here's the mini in all its glory! I love it so so much! The chambray background is so fun and I love the shape I came up with for the hexies too. I've always been a fan of Bonnie and Camille, especially with a red binding.

Here's a closeup of the hexies and quilting. This was my first attempt at modern hexagons and I'm a huge fan. I can see more of these in my future. They'd be great as pillows.

As always the cute Sweetwater tag and the zigzag binding with matching thread.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Modern Hexies
Fabric - Hello Darling by Bonnie and Camille for Moda and Chambray background.
Thread - Pieced and Quilted with Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - Straight line quilting every inch to line up with the hexies.
Size - Mini about 19" square
Stash Report - Mini charm back and binding stash. I had to buy 5/8yd for the back and background.

That's my finish for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

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.

Nesting Buckets and Crochet Donkey Finishes

I finished up several little things this week as well as a quilt top. I wasn't feeling particularly productive so working on little things really helped keep me motivated and on task. I finished my nesting buckets which is #5 on my Q1FAL list. Here are my projects...

Here are the Nesting Buckets from the top. This pattern is by Svetlana Sotak and is so fun and easy!

Here they are together. I love them!! These were 100% stash from the Knuffle Bunny fabric I had leftover from making a lap quilt for my smallest. They'll be a cute addition to her room to control her toys.

Here she is with her collection of Knuffle Bunny awesomeness. She's so cute!

This week I also finished a custom order for a crochet donkey. I love how it turned out. The process was a bit tricky but a fun change from my usual hats and quilts.

Here's a side view of the donkey. I really like the hairdo and tail. I was worried they would be so tricky but they weren't! You can find the Simply Cute Donkey pattern here.

I also was able to finish up with twin-size Primrose quilt with Miss Kate fabric by Bonnie and Camille. This project was also 100% stash. The pattern is from my favorite quilt book, Fat Quarter Style. I've made two projects from this book and have fabric for three more!

 That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to baste and start quilting (maybe even finish) the flower quilt this week. I might sneak in a shirt or two for me as well. Until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

2015 Year in Review

I'm so excited about this post as I have so much awesomeness to share!! I have broken down all of my finishes from the year into categories and made mosaics for your viewing pleasure. ;) I am just amazed at how much I finished. Figuring it out I completed something - from a small simple pouch to a quilt - about every two days!! However, I finished one more thing after I made my mosaics so it will be listed separately. Also, I finished all twelve months of goals for ALYoF! Hurray for productivity!!

First my ALYoF Goals. I finished all twelve months and they are in order here. You can see all the finish and goal posts here. I'm sad to here that ALYoF is going away but I sure love what it has done for my productivity the last few years.

Speaking of productivity I finished up this mini last night!! This is #9 on my Q4 FAL list. It didn't make it into the mini mosaic below. I tried doing free motion paisley quilting again and I love it! I think I'm really getting the hang of it now.

Here are the rest of my minis and pillows for the year. Counting the one above there are 21 minis I finished this year. Seven of them were for swaps and the others were gifts or for our home.

I finished nine quilts this year including the whole-cloth Knuffle Bunny quilt I made this month for my daughter. I tried some new quilting motifs with many of these and love how I'm branching out this year.

I helped each of my three oldest kids make themselves a quilt this year too! They pieced them together and I quilted and bound them. We all feel so proud of our accomplishments here and it's probably my favorite group of finishes.

I made 42 bags and pouches this year!! Crazy! A few of these were fairly simple but many were more complex. That's a lot of zippers!

I fell in love with the Fancy Sailor Top this year and that led to more confidence in garment sewing. I made seven sailor tops and eleven pieces all together.

These random little projects were hard to classify so they got a category all their own. There are 22 projects here from pillow cases to pin cushions and stroller makeovers. I got out of my comfort zone here too trying new things all over the place like 3D sewing and rope bowls.

I also advanced like crazy in my knitting skills. Since learning to knit in October 2014 I have been driving to learn and grow. I completed 19 knitting projects this year and taught myself how to cable and do color work including some pretty fun fair isle hats. I found a quick and easy favorite in the Cowl and made 10 this year for gifts.

Since I have an Etsy Shop where I sell crochet hats it's not surprise I have a lot of finishes here. I don't think this is all of them but it is all I could find pictures of. There are 37 projects here from tiny newborn hats to adult hats and even a crochet blanket. The crab hat is my most popular by far.

That's my year! Wow! I feel crazy productive! 29 of these projects were made mostly if not all from my stash. That's 164 projects completed in all! That's a project finished every 2.23 days. Thanks for being a part of it and I look forward to another awesome and productive year! Thanks for stopping by and keeping up with me!

Christmas Project Roundup

This is the post where I show all the things I made for Christmas for my family. It's one of my favorites and has the added bonus of a bit of review. I'll do a year in review post on Friday. I have one more thing I hope to finish first! As a bonus one of the things I'm sharing was my ALYoF goal for December. I'll start with that one...

Here is my finished ALYoF goal for December.  These are also #15 on my Q4FAL list. I made these five minis for my kids. They're always swooning over the quilts and minis I make and they each have small animals or dolls they adore so I thought it would be fun to whip them up a little something to put in their stocking.

I tried a different quilting motif on each one. This is my favorite! I've been really afraid of branching out and trying new fmqing but I love it! I'm so glad I was brave.

We have a tradition every year that the kids get to pick fabric and we make a pillow case together. They sleep on it the week of Christmas to help them get all excited. I love to see their personalities come out in the fabric they choose! I try to steer them away from mostly white but otherwise let them have free reign.

Last year my Mom and Step-dad told me they'd be coming for Christmas this year. I knew I wanted to make them quilts. It seemed like a great opportunity. I got started early and finished this one way back in March. I used two layers of batting and it is extra warm and cozy, which is great because my Mom is always cold. I love that it's no longer a secret!

I used the same pattern but different fabric for my step-dad's quilt. It's fun how different they look but how they are so connected.

I went a little crazy making all the cowls this year. I'm pretty sure I've made eleven. Six of them were Christmas presents. Here's for my four oldest kids.

I didn't think the baby would want one. I should have known better. I finished the last one and she came over to try it on. Then she was looking in the mirror saying how pretty she was. We went to the store and picked out yarn that day.

Finally my Mom got one too. She's all about this mustard color lately and was excited to find just the yarn she wanted in the store. It went so fast and she kept saying the whole time how she loved that color. It was pretty cute.

Well, that's me for Christmas. I'd say it was a pretty good set. Most of that was from stash which made our dollars stretch quite a bit further this year. I may have to get going for next year! Until then watch for my year in review post on Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Knuffle Bunny and Crab Hat Finishes

I finished up a couple of quick things this week. During Black Friday I went to Fat Quarter Shop and picked up some Knuffle Bunny fabric. It came the next Friday and I finished it by Monday afternoon. My smallest one and I are pretty excited about this one. I also got another order for an adult-sized crab hat. LOVE! First, the quilt...

These prints are Knuffle Bunny from Cloud9 Fabrics. I had a really hard time narrowing down which prints to choose. I wanted this to be a quick and easy whole cloth quilt. I enlisted my Mo Willems obsessed two year-old to help me pick and these are the ones we ended up with.

My littlest one was so excited to match up the fabric with this page in her book. She kept dancing around on my fabric while singing an usual song consisting of the word, "match!"

Since all I had to do was baste, quilt, and bind this went super quickly! I got the fabric on Friday and finished Monday.

I really love both of these prints and the binding is so fun! I love a pop of color or interest on the bindings. You can see I did my regular zigzag method for the binding stitch. I love this because it makes them so sturdy, especially on quilts that I know will be loved and used by my small people.

Here's my smallest, the one this quilt was made for, all ready to read. Ruby just loves this book and having a quilt to match is perfect!

At 40" by 60" this is a great child or lap size quilt and I hope it will be cherished for years to come.

Also this week I made this adult crab hat. You can find this, and many other styles newborn to adult, for sale in my Etsy Shop. This is by far my most popular hat and I just love it still! It cracks me up and I'm getting so fast at whipping them out.

 That's it for me this week. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have several mini quilts and maybe a cable knit hat to share next week. Until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

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.