A Baby Gift for My New Nephew

All babies love ribbons... and blankies... and ribbon blankies. So I made a little set for my cute sister-in-law Kim, who is about to have her first baby, a little boy. I have made a few of these lately for friends and family having babies (and of course I forgot to take any pictures!), and I think I liked this method, my third attempt, best. I used actual strips of fabric to make the "ribbons" and I love, love the matchy-ness of it. These fabrics are all from Hobby Lobby. The pattern for the ribbon blanket and matching ribbon block are from modabakeshop.com. My cute friend Danielle gave me the idea for the soft fabric chain. Her son Ryan (such a cutie!) was gnawing away on in one day and I thought it was such a good idea. It turned out to be a way harder project than I intended, for some odd reason, but the result was so fun!

Good luck with everything, Kim -- I hope that little guy gets here soon!

Ahhhh! It Finally Came!!

So I'm playing along with Spring Fever BINGO at

the-quilt-shoppe.blogspot.com's blog called In Stitches. Every morning I check to see if any more of my words are chosen. I've been pretty lucky so far: 19 of my words have been chosen, just looking for six more. Every day I comment on that day's blog, entering myself in a daily giveaway. Tuesday, June 15, BINGO Day 14, is the same as the previous 13 days. I scroll down, looking for the words for that day when my eyes freeze on this:

There may have been some serious squealing at this point!!

It came today! My teasing husband made me kiss him first before he would give it to me!

Look how cute!

A fun note

Some serious eye candy. (For those who like fabric, that is!)

I now have the perfect pink, white, and red heart fabric for a cute, cute Valentine runner I really wanted to make last year but didn't get around to it! Eeek! I LOVE getting free things! Thank you so much to In Stitches! Happy sewing to you all!

p.s. I didn't win BINGO, but this made the sting of losing a little better. heehee

What I'm Working On...

It's so fun to tease!

Vintage Denim Quilt

I have a new picnic blanket!

See how cute it looks on the grass...

or on our new picnic table!

Closeup of the quilting (1/2" from intersections, on denim only) and the stripey binding

This quilt was also made from fabric from my stash. A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) we had a free swap table at an activity for the ladies at church. Someone left this gigantic piece of floral fabric which no one wanted, so I grabbed it, thinking I could find something to do with it. It's been like a thorn in my side ever since, moving two different times with me because I couldn't waste a 10-yard piece of fabric, no matter if I could find something to do with it or not. (I'm trying to get over my pack-rat tendencies...) One day I had it against some old jeans and noticed it looked good, so the "vintage denim" theme was born! The binding is a little "out there," but I love it now that it is all put together. It may be intended for a picnic quilt, but so far has been snuggled in the house, waiting for the blasted rain to end so the grass is dry enough for a picnic. This quilt is a perfect summer weight for warming my cool feet but not overheating my whole body!

Specs:

60" x 79"

6 1/2" denim squares -- you can cut 18-20 per pair of adult jeans

2 1/2" sashings and borders

Pink and Yellow Quilt

Finally a finish to post!

This quilt came about out of -- you guessed it! -- scraps. I used the yellow check I found at the thrift store matched with some white scraps on hand and two floral yardages I had no idea how to use. The pattern is a disappearing nine patch, one of my new favorites since there are so many placement options. I liked this placement because a secondary yellow whirligig pattern appeared. This quilt is so wrinkly from being folded, waiting for the sunshine that never appears here in the Midwest. Finally a sunny day to snap some pictures!

Straight-line quilting 1/4-inch from intersections

Yellow bias binding -- I absolutely love plaid bias binding!

A closer view of secondary whirligig pattern

A closeup of a corner, the floral border, and the quilting

Specs:

68"x53"

5" nine patches

5 1/2" borders

The Finished Dollhouse Roof

I've been wanting a dollhouse for the girls forever and I finally scored one at a rummage sale! The previous owners had of course slapped stickers all over the roof and colored all over the whole thing with crayon and pen. Well, trusty old Magic Eraser erased the markings, but could only do so much magic with sticker marks. So I determined a new roof was in order!

The finished product!

Quilting roof scallops

Bias tape to finish the little roof pockets

Closeup of the finished roof back

The finished roof front with scallops

Fun project, but much more in-depth than I thought it would be. And can I just say I followed Fons and Porters instructions on curved binding exactly and I must have done something wrong because it was so frustrating trying to make the curves miter. But I'm happy with the end project!

Now to find a place for it....

What Have I Been Up To?

Two big quilts and a never-ending stitchery project.

Report: quilting is done on both quilts, binding is sewn onto both quilts (awaiting hand-sewing), and only one square left on the stitchery. Pictures to come!