What's on the go:

- My wonky stars quilt (my first foray into quilting, inspired by Jenny!). At the quilt retreat a few weeks ago I finally got the top pieced together. This week I hand-stitched around all the stars with variegated thread, about the weight of embroidery floss.  Next up: I want to echo-quilt in white around all the stars.



 

- Pink square in a square (not sure on the name!) quilt. I have so much pink!  All from stash.  These blocks went together so fast! I chain-pieced just a couple at a time, during naptimes.  I'll probably move them around a bit more before sewing them together.



 

And one finished item!  My sister gave me a couple of bolts of tulle, and I had this black/white polkadot organza on the shelf from another project.  I'll be posting a tutorial for this circle skirt style tutu.  (excuse my crummy photos and bad lighting today!)  This has been nearly done for several weeks - today I finally had time to sew the ribbon on the hem.



 

A Scrappy Trip Around the World!

Finished!  I finally managed the free motion loops borders at a quilt retreat my friend organized a couple weeks ago - I think my machine behaved because it was intimidated by all the nice machines there!  My first large machine quilted quilt!  A learning process, for sure - I learned the importance of scant 1/4" seam allowances and accurate cutting, that using some cotton/poly blends is not the best idea, how to add borders and piece a backing, how to make a quilt sandwich, how to wrestle a large quilt through a domestic machine, how to free motion quilt swirls (though somewhat unevenly), how to add a label to the back...

 



 

Closeup:

 

 

Back:

 

And here are some interesting numbers for my quilt:

quilt top before quilting/binding: 53"x77"
number of blocks: 24
number of 2" finished squares: 864
total yardage used = 8yds:
- [24 blocks x 6 strips (144) @ 2.5"x16"] 4 yards (counting fabric at approx 40" wide, 16 2.5" wide strips can be cut side by side in one full width. 144/16=9 lengths of 16", so 144", which is 4 yds exactly)
- backing and binding = 4 yds

All the fabric is from my stash!  The biggest part of it, mostly "ugly" fabrics. The batting is part of a queen I bought for $14, and maybe a couple dollars on thread, so this quilt cost me maybe $10-12?

 

Bunny doll quilt & bedding

My inlaws pulled out my SILs old doll cradle for Abigail to play with at their house.  They also bought a doll for her for there.  The only problem: the cradle didn't have bedding anymore.  No longer a problem:



 

My MIL had also given me a stack of fabric, among which was this Daisy Kingdom fabric.  The bunnies I cut from a dress or pinafore panel, and the pale green with roses is the rest of the panel.  The wavy plaids are also Daisy Kingdom and coordinate great.



 

I made a simple white mattress with some poly batting inside, a set of tapered canopy curtains from the end of the dress panel, a patchwork pillow, and a little quilt.  The quilt was fun!  It was a fun chance to try my free motion foot again.  I did several different borders - a random wavy one, an orange peel design, and spaced scallops.  Then I outlined the bunnies and fence post and a few things...



 

Here is a close-up of some of the borders WIP. My machine actually had no problems doing free motion quilting this time!!  The only issue here is my unsteady hands.  By the time I was done the third border I felt like I was finally getting it!