Fresh Finish

This quilt pattern is from Fresh Lemons Quilts, and it's called Lemon Squares.  

 I LOVE IT...  In fact, I put this quilt aside to make a second one, earlier in the month.. Check out  the OWL posts.......if...  *giggle*.... you didn't see any of them earlier.    I am very excited to get this finished.  The pattern goes together easily.  I finished the top last night, just in time to get some decent pictures between rain drops. *wink*.  

The blocks are 9 inches finished so the quilt will
finish approx 80 x 54.  Great size for my Sofa. 

I love to see all the projects over at Crazy Mom Quilts on Fridays.  Amanda hosts a great Linky Party called,  Finish it Friday.  Thank You so much Amanda for hosting a great place to check out projects.   I am hoping to get this quilt completed in time for the Yester-Year Challenge that is here, on the 5th of the April...seeing as this fabric has been in my stash for a LONG TIME!!

Do you have a Yester-Year Project needing finished????  

You can read all about the challenge under the Tab at the top of my blog.  

Would love to have you join us!!!!  Once a month we are going to showcase 

those projects that haven't been touched for YEARS!

I am going to name this Quilt......
Spring Fresh,
 in honor of spring being just around the corner.

These fabrics have been in my stash for a long time, over 5 years....  I bought them at Sewing Expo and kept waiting for a project to call them out of my closet....(you could almost call me a hoarder).  I kept them bundled so nicely so I could admire them..and not get them mixed up and lost as a collection.  *giggle*  NOW they are in a completed top that once quilted is going to look fabulous in my living room! Which I can admire and snuggle under, while watching movies with Mr Fantastic.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend..Thank you so much for stopping by!!!

 I look forward to quilting this quilt and finishing up my March blocks for the Craftsy BOM Challenge...Since April is just around the corner!

What will you be working on this weekend????

Cave Cleaning Day

Today Mr. Fantastic was studying for an upcoming test he has to take, so I decided instead of running the machine all day long… It would be Cleaning Day in the Sewing Cave… It’s been getting a bit out of control lately. 
 

Quite a few weeks back {maybe even a couple of months now} I ran across a great way to organize the fabric stash.  Fabric Organizer Cards seemed like a great way to organize your stash and keep your fabric easily viewable.  But I decided they were too expensive for my budget.  


Then I ran across Comic book cards, suggested by another blog, Clover & Violet.  She mentioned she was using Comic Book Boards..they are archival safe and about the same size as the short Fabric Organizer Cards, but no tabs.  I goggled Ultra Pro Comic Boards and found them on AMAZON for pretty Cheap...   

100 cards per pack at around $12.00 a pack.
Much better BUY!!

I ordered three packs awhile ago and they have been sitting on my bookshelf.  I played with them when I first got the packages and they are quite a bit thinner than the Fabric Organizer Cards, but if I double them up and use a staple when folding a larger fabric cut ....they work just fine…So with Mr. Fantastic studying…today was the day to clean up and organize my stash.
  

I’ve had fabric piling up in my cubbies and needing to address the issue, 
but have been too busy sewing instead.

  

I measured each piece as I folded onto the card...

I kept to 1/4 yard increments and just did a + or - sign , if they were off by a little.  I marked each card as I went along.   I have to admit I didn’t iron each piece.  
I figure I will have to iron when I use it anyway…

For my ¼ yard cuts I doubled them up on the card..

I have a couple small cubbies in a upper bookshelf, and I used those for fat eights and smaller. {I cut the card in half fit perfect in the little bin}

Now I am all organized... Under my ironing board I have 

pieces that are 2 ½ yards or smaller.  

And In my cubes that are at the end of my cutting table

 I have my batiks & pieces up to 5 yards stored…

and...

  

 NOW I HAVE 6 EMPTY cubbies!  

Whoo hooo Room for More FABRIC!!!

I have a total of about 20 cards left out of the 300.  I didn't realize I had so much fabric, but NOW I can see it all and look forward to more fun in my Sewing Cave.   

Hope you all have a wonderful week!  

Hello Sunshine!

My Saturday Sewing....was minimal. There was too much Sunshine to be inside.  First thing this morning, we went to see "The Hunger Games".  "WOW" what a great movie..they did a great job, I think, keeping in line with the Book.  The rest of the day was spent outside enjoying the sunshine! First day we have had in a LONG LONG time...

Last night, I worked on upcoming fun projects that I can't wait to share... here's a SNEAK PEAK!   I took a few pictures outside while the sun was a shining!! *giggle* You'll have to come back around when we have our Table Topper Blog Hop. {see button at top right of sidebar, for details} These were so much fun to work on!!

Arnold popped in for a PIX

   


I do want to share a great tutorial.  A few days back I helped a blogging buddy with her First Tutorial.  I made a couple Kindle sleeves from her directions and Tonight I will share a few pictures... KrisD, blogs over at In Stitches On the Compound.  She did a GREAT JOB for her first Tut.  Some of you know how tough it is to write a tutorial, so KUDOS to KRIS!!!!   So, if you need a quick gift for a Kindle Loving Friend.. This is the Perfect Project!  I used some scraps I had left over from a different projects and made two different sleeves.  One for My Kindle..and one for my SIL who has the Kindle Fire.  

My Kindle Sleeve...Left Over Strips from my
Red & Blue Coin Quilt

Cherished Nature Scraps for the Kindle Fire

Thank you Kris for letting me be a Beta Tester for your wonderful Tutorial.  You did a great job!  I look forward to more sharing in the future!


Till Next Time....

Blog Hop Party Ends with a Bang!!

What a wonderful Blog Hop!   I can't say Thank You enough to all the wonderful Visitors I had at my blog!  I loved hearing all the wonderful ideas for charm packs, and to learn where many of you were visiting from, was AMAZING!!!  If you started following my blog, I am excited to share and learn from each of you!  What a compliment!   Please check out the Yester-Year WIP Challenge starting in April. :)  I'd love to see all your projects.

Mr Fantastic was shocked when I told him all about the places people visited from and all the comments that were left.  I am still trying to catch up on replies...I will get there...I promise.
He was very surprised when I asked him to pick a number between 1 and 244!  So he looked at me seriously and said {in my deepest voice imitation}  "11".

Comment 11 is from  Emily H:

Ooooo.... fun and pretty!! I would bring these on the quilting cruise I'm taking with my mom in June... so that I could learn something new with them!! Love your blog!! Emily from Kalamazoo, MI :-)

I have sent Emily an email to get her address.   Lots of Fun prizes out there.. Thank you again for participating in the Blog Hop and for stopping by my blog!

Till Next Time,
Christine  

Blog Hop & Updates

 

WOW!  I have finally made it through the entire Blog Hop Participants list.  There are so many great blogs out there!  I limited myself on how many more I can follow... I mean...I spend hours every night during the week on the computer... Mr Fantastic is starting to think evil thoughts *wink*

SO many Wonderful Wonderful Blogs out there!  I can't say thank you enough to all the new followers and visitors that I have had during this HOP...I am still trying to catch up on all my replies!  THANK YOU SO MUCH For visiting!!! and if you're a new follower, I look forward to sharing and getting to know you :)

There is just one day left to get all those Entries in for the fun products being awarded to Lucky Leprechauns!  Lots and lots of fantastic prizes out there!   A Big THANK YOU to QUILTING GALLERY for hosting a GREAT BLOG HOP!

*****

I'd like to also let everyone know that I have posted a Page at the top of my blog for the Yester-Year WIP Challenge.   Hope you all can join us for a Linky Party on April 5th.  It's two weeks away from today....Click on the page at the top of blog for all the details.... I've even managed to make a button again..nothing fancy, but hey it works *wink*

No sewing to report..I've spent toooo many hours on the puter trying to figure out that button.*giggle*.  But Hey...I'll be having my own FNSI tomorrow night..Mr Fantastic is going to a Sounders Game....so I'll be sewing like a mad woman late into the night.... WooHoo... can't wait can't wait.

Till Next Time...

Design Wall Monday 3-19-12

Well after I finished my Aunt's YesterYear Wall Hanging, I started thinking about all my WIP that are YEARS old...Off to the Sewing Cave's deep dark (somewhat scary) corners I went.   Here's a Gem of a project I found tucked away in a Zip Lock bag.  

A Folk Sampler that I have had for a very long time as well.... I don't have any desire to finish the project, the way it was patterned....but  I can see it on my Table Topper... *wink*

I did all the hand-stitching, way back in the day (atleast 8-10 years ago)  There are a total of 12 blocks, but I am going to use just 9 of them and make it into a little mini quilt for my Table Topper. I have to trim the blocks all down a bit, So it will finish a size that will fit into the table topper frame.  I trimmed as many as I could but the last three are a bit TOO big.  

Perfect for the back *giggle*.

Have a great day!  Linking Up to Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times.  Make sure you check out all the other great Design walls out there!!

20 Years Later...

My Mom, Aunt and Cousin came to visit this weekend... They had a busy weekend visiting Seattle & checking out the Art Institute of Seattle.  Not sure if it's where he'll end up going, but they had fun while they were visiting the campus.  He has a great idea of what he needs to get done, in order to attend.  

 On a quilting note, my Aunt brought a project with her...... This project was started while she lived in Scotland, while stationed there with my Uncle.  A good friend of hers was teaching her how to quilt...She was in Scotland in 1992. Yes that's 20 Years waiting for this WIP to get Finished!  *giggle* Her friend was re-stationed state-side and she never got any further with her project.

She brought me the Top finished, the Batting cut to size...and the Backing cut to size.. This wonderful little gem just needed to be basted and quilted.  Unfortunately they had to head home today so it was a short visit, but before she left I showed her how to pin baste the quilt and then she asked me if I would just go ahead and quilt it for her.  I was happy to help.   I can't tell you anything about the pattern or the fabrics... if anyone knows the name of the pattern, I'd love to know.

I had to make a trip to the local fabric store for binding fabric.  I also added a sleeve to the back so she can either use this as a table runner or hang it as a wall quilt.  

I am happy with how the quilting went...Here's a picture of the back so you can really see the quilting...

I stipple stitched around all the red pinwheels, so that they float and then straight stitched the flag.  Then on the border I practice my Free Motion "Star" Quilting, and then did a few more tiny stars in the Blue part of the flag.  I am really happy with how it turned out.  I am sure she'll be super surprised when she gets it in the mail this week.  {They are not big internet fans, so she probably won't see this post anytime soon. *wink*. }

I bought a LONG extendable Curtain Rod so I can hang these from my fence *SMILE* So excited now for pictures..*giggle*  Here it is... Kinda windy today, but I think I got a pretty straight shot.

I am not sure if that bottom left corner is a mistake or not, but I like it...It looks to me like the pinwheels are forming... Pretty neat.  I still can't believe she's had this ready to go for 20 years. :) 

What's the Longest WIP that you have in your Sewing Cave?

I'll go first... Mine is a King Size Quilt from a swap...The Swap was in 2000.  {Right before I put the Quilt Monster in my Closet..and quickly shut the door..*giggle*}  I held onto fabric and projects back then thinking one day I would quilt again. :)  So glad I started back up... But to tell ya the truth...I was, and still am, afraid to try and quilt it because it is soo big.  My little machine would be a battle...I am not sure I want a fight like that just yet. *wink*.  I have the backing and top finished. I just have to get the batting and quilt it.. I will probably continue to hold on to this project until I get a real quilting machine *wink*  So mine may be 20 years too.. haha

Linked up to Quilting By the River &  Crazy Mom Quilts
Check out all the other Fun finishes!!

Check out the Yester-Year WIP Challenge this quilt inspired me to start
There's also a tab at the top of blog with details!

Till Next Time....

Quilting Restriction..

Well I happen to have today off from work.. I took it off so that I could work around my house...SO I am on quilting restriction until I get done cleaning and prepping.  We have a puppy coming to stay with us for 10 days while her Owner is in Florida visiting Family.  :)  Pretty excited to see how Jasmine (my boxer) does with a tinyball of Energy *giggle*.  Gidget is a 5 lb papillon and is probably going to run the house.  

And I also have My Mom, Aunt and Cousin coming into town for the weekend to visit the Art Institute of Seattle, My cousin was accepted and they are going to go check out the campus and see how it might work out for him to attend.  So..."Chateau de Quilt Monster" is going to be open for the Weekend... that would be our Travel Trailer ready for visitors to use..*giggle*... Since I haven't shown you the quilts I keep in my Travel trailer... and I am taking a small break to eat some lunch.   Here they are...

This quilt is the one that started my addiction to quilting again and let the Quilt Monster out of my Closet...*wink*... When SIL asked if I wanted to start quilting again, we had just bought our new travel trailer and I thought what perfect idea to make a new quilt for.  (I made the pillows too)

This quilt has flannel on the backing and warm & natural batting, so it keeps us extra warm..(the electric blanket does too, when we can hook up... I have it setup for my family this trip since we have snow in the forecast this weekend).


This next quilt is a Rag Quilt made of my old Jeans.  They are 6 inch squares and flannel on the back, I did a couple four patches to break it all up...and added some blanket stitched patches to the denim side to bring the flannel out a bit more.  And used Pockets in various squares...They are perfect to hold cards in while we use this blanket on the beach.   Heavy enough too that the wind doesn't blow it around. :)  One of my Favorites.

Folder over one side, so you can see the flannel :) 

This last quilt, I think I have shown you before, but it's still one of my all time favorites, I made this quilt back in the 90's with my dear friend Kim S. she now blogs over at Sew N Sew Quilting .. She was teaching this quilt in a class and designed this Twisted Rail Fence pattern.   I had this quilt top for a long, long time, before I ever quilted it... It works perfect on the extra bed we sometimes make in the trailer.

Well.. My lunch is gone and I should get back to cleaning...or I'll never get to sew...  Good news is... The Chateau de Quilt Monster is Ready...just have to do a little more in the house for the Puppy.  :)   and off to the Sewing Cave I can go...

I got this fun little BOM in the mail today...From Carriage Country Quilts..  Challenging myself to do a little hand-stitching..... Something NEW!

Till Next time...

Bucket of Owls

I took most of the day off from sewing yesterday… While surfing the blogs I ran across this idea that Lynn CC had reminded of in a comment from an earlier post.. (Thanks Lynn!!) The tutorial was right there in front of my face... So what an awesome way to use up the remaining scraps of Owl Fabric. I know, I know you guys are sew tired of hearing about this fabric, but I have to say… It was $20.00 a yard!  I have to use up every last bit of it, that I can… I hate to throw any of it away…not even 1 ½ x 1 ½ inch square…So I am making this last project for my co-worker (he bought the fabric, so I have to get him his money's worth)   *giggle*.   

The instructions for this great project are at See Kate Sew's Tutorial. 

Coordinating Burpee Cloths

It was a perfect use for the remaining bigger scraps I had.   After reading about everything I would need… Off to Fred Meyer’s and Michael’s I went.   I picked up some Pre-Folded Diaper’s by Gerber.   I got the Bucket I would need for packaging...I had a coupon too, cheaper, even better *wink*.  And then home to make some Burpee’s.  (easy straight sewing so not to hard on the sore hand).

Now Kate has you cut one solid piece 6 x 20 piece, but I didn't have any that  big, except the binding fabric.  I did a little piecing to make mine work *wink*. 

I think these guys turned out Fantastic!!!!   My scraps were a bit narrower than she advised to make, and just a tad short to wrap around the edges, but I made it work.  I had enough big pieces left to make 5 burpees, I have a few diapers left for when I make another baby quilt... I see myself making these to go along with every baby quilt now.  They were Super Easy and Super Cute!! 

LOVE THIS PACKAGING IDEA!!

Definitely want to give a Thank You Shout Out to Kate, over at See Kate Sew...What a fun Idea and Thanks SEW much for Sharing!!!!  The packaging idea with the Bucket is Super Fantastic!  I only wish I had an ALL white label to print, (instead of the transparent) but I didn’t want to go out again.  It had started to snow, and I’ve spent more than enough of my own money on this project. *wink*    

Sew...if you need a quick baby gift Idea, or making a baby quilt and want to make a coordinating Burpee...Remember this one.. 

PS... This is all I have left of the Owl Fabric scraps...

6 (4 inch squares) and a few smaller pieces... not bad if I do say so myself.  *smile*. 
Will save these pieces for some scrappy kid's quilt...


Linking up to at Patchwork Times...make sure you check out the other Design walls!!!
&
I also linked to Crazy Mom Quilts.. Hope you check out all the other finishes

Till Next TIme.....

Owls all around this SewFest weekend

Well I am pleased to announce Saturday was very productive.  {BUT I am NOT sewing any today... My Hand is Killing Me... I think it is from all the Free Motion Quilting.. Oooiie..}  I think today I will have my very own Blog Hop...*wink*

Real quick before I talk about Saturday...

Here's a pix as promised of Friday night's completion... I worked on the CarSeat/Stroller Quilt and Here's how it turned out.... Finished size is approx 24 x 30. Remember I saw this idea over at Clover & Violet and loved it... I just had to change it up a bit due to limited amounts of fabrics left.. :)

There are two straps/strings attached to the sides
so that you can secure it to the carseat/stroller handles.
Love this idea will probably make a couple more.. *wink*

Now back to Saturday's SewFest...

I have completed the Owl Quilt for my Co-Worker, and I hope he likes it as much as I DO!  He is surprising his wife with this quilt as a gift to her.. How sweet. I was excited to have been asked to make it for him. BUT before I do the big reveal..I have to share the rest of the Quilting Process that I promised my Non-Quilty Friends... This is the last post on the PROCESS. You'll have a very good general Idea of all that goes into the process of Making a Quilt....*wink*,

(To my Quilting/Blogging Friends...you don't have to go thru this..unless you want to..*grin*..... you can skip to the end..... *giggle*)

First thing..Iron the top and Bottom so they lay nice and flat.  

Some people press the seams open, but I am still one of those that presses the seams to one side. 

Don't think I'll ever change my way either .. *wink*

Then Lay the backing face Down on floor, using masking tape secure to floor and make sure you surface is tightly placed across floor, This will prevent any puckering on the back side later. 

Then cut batting same size or just a bit smaller than backing 
and smooth from the center out...

Then Place Top face UP on batting making sure that it's square with the backing and lined up the way you want... Smooth out fabric and make sure there are no wrinkles.

Get your basting Tools Ready...

I made a $5.00 investment and bought knee pads at the hardware store..similiar to what they use when laying tile or carpet.  SAVES the KNEES!!  *giggle*.  My Kwik Clip tool which is a must and saves the finger nails, and pins.  I spread my pins out on the lid and move that around the quilt with me...easier to keep track of the loose pins *wink*

I am a safety bin baster.  It works for me, Some people prefer to thread baste.  (I've always pin basted and had good success with it.)   I usually safety pin the quilt into four big squares and the pin to from the center to the opposite corner. Helps keep the quilt smooth and prevent Puckering again *wink*  You do want to take into consideration how you are going to quilt it so that you don't  put pins where you are going to need to sew.  

Once done pinning..I trim quilt so that there is about 3/4 inch of batting and 

backing incase I need it from the top shifting.

Then OFF to the Sewing machine for quilting......

This quilt I used my freemotion foot and 

went at it with a Giant Meandering

 Stipple stitch (it's what I call it anyway) 

VIOLA.. Here it is before binding....

haha... you thought you were going to see the whole thing already..*evil giggle*
Not done yet.. have to add the binding which is the finishing part.

I found a fun fabric to use..not a fabric that was in the quilt.. but the
colors are great and I just loved the circles *giggle*

These are 2.5 inch strips that I fold in half, iron and then
attach to one side of the quilt.  This time I am
attaching to the back first.

Once secured to the back I folded it over to the front
and machine stitching it to the front as well.

Some times I hand stitch the other side of the binding instead, 
but this quilt is going to see a lot of washing and want it to be nice and secure.

Ready.... here it is.....

This is before I washed it.  I prewashed the fabrics, but didn't prewash the batting.
I was hoping for a bit of crinkle effect.




Here is a close up after Washing it

After Washing it... looks more Crinkled!  LOVE IT!!!

It turned out fantastic.  I am very pleased with it. I am totally in love with these colors and I really Love how it crinkled up a bit after washing!  Remember this Pattern is Called Lemon Squares and you can find it over at Fresh Lemons Quilts.

To my Non-Quilty Friends... let me know when you are ready to start a new addiction.. I will be happy to help you with that.  HAHAHA.   And to my Quilty/Bloggy Friends.  You are all awesome and the best!  Thank you for letting me share this IN-Detail step by step Process.. I was a bit long winded..hehehe.   Thanks for visiting and I hope to share more fun stuff soon.  Look what the postman brought me yesterday from Burgundy Buttons..

 OOOH...so very YUMMY!!!! 

Fun Moda fabrics called Sassy!!! 

 *giggle*

Till Next Time!