Work in Progress Wednesday

Good morning!  How is everybody doing in blogland today?

This morning I took a little time to sketch out some ideas, do the math, and of course go through my bin of baby clothes.  That's right, I am just about start my next memory quilt, and since I don't have any commissioned work on my sewing table right now it is the perfect time to work on one for me, ummm... I mean one for my son.

This one will be for my oldest son.  It was kinda fun to go down memory lane with the kids this morning, share stories and amaze at the fact that he was actually that small as a baby.  Being a growing boy of 10 it is hard for any of us to wrap our brains around.  :) 

Also, I have been spending some time teaching my daughter to sew.  She got to pick out the fabrics and help design the layout.  We started small.  Just a wall hanging for this round.  I was a little extremely nervous about her finger being so close to a moving needle, but she did great.  I was amazed at how well her seams lined up.  I had prepared myself for worse, and afraid my OCD would kick in, but I was good and let her have a little creative freedom.

Well worth it, don't you think?  I am very proud of her, so I had to share.

Besides Momma also got to try out cutting fabric with her Cricut.  I had I tough time trying to figure that bad boy out, but I finally did.  So, I am putting together a little tutorial with the things I learned.  Hopefully I can save someone else the aggravation I went through.

Have a great week! I am linking up to Freshly Pieced, Work in Progress Wednesday

We interrupt regular schedule programming…..

....to bring you this little tid bit I happened upon this morning.  I am not much of a baker so if this is something that is already known I apologize.  I was just a little proud of myself, so I thought I would share. 

First a little back story...

Today is my daughters birthday and like the good mother that I am, I wanted to make her some cupcakes so we could celebrate her birthday after dinner tonight. 

Did I have regular cupcake papers in the pantry?  No, of course not just these jumbo ones.

So, short of taking a shower and dragging 3 kids to the store, I popped them into my cupcake pan and filled them a little more than halfway....

...and here is the cool thing I accidentally found out.....

If you use jumbo papers in a regular pan it uses all of your cake mix.  That's right ladies no leftover cakemix.  No having a second round of cupcakes to put in the oven.  How cool is that!?

The other bonus is that they didn't spill over onto the pan, so clean-up was a snap.

Now, I am hoping the rest of my day goes as smoothly and I can actually get some stuff done.  :)

Have a Great Day!

Baby Memories - A finished Quilt

I really enjoy doing these memory quilts for babies.  They are just so much more fun to design than plain old t-shirts.  It is also a great way to save all those cute outfits that, as sappy moms we can't seem to part with.  This quilt I did for a friend.   

I have a very special place in my heart for my friend Rebecca and her daughter Claudia.  Claudia and my daughter Rose are close in age and have grown up together.  As new moms Rebecca and I shared many concerns and milestones as are girls grew up.  Now the girls are 8 and it seems like a lifetime ago.  Some of the outfits that in the quilt I remember fondly as things Claudia wore often.

Including Barney, don't you think Barney looks cuter on the back?  He stands out instead of getting lost in the crowd.  I tormented myself for weeks over this decision.  Which, as some of you might know, can slow down the quilting process considerably.  It is hard when you are making a quilt for somebody else.  Especially knowing  how much Barney meant to Claudia and the many memories he represents. 

Quilt Details:

Fabrics: Baby clothes, quilting classic lavender, Rickey Tims Rhapsodie Coloree on the back, and Dream Green batting
Finished Quilt Measurements: 45" x 60"
Blocks and Piecing: 9" scrap blocks, in a 4 x 5 layout
Quilting: Straight line quilting

I am linking up to Fabric Tuesday over at QuiltStory.

Work in Progress Wednesday

Welcome to Work in Progress Wednesday!

Well, the kids are officially home from school for the summer and sewing has come to a screeching halt, but today is my birthday and I plan to spend some time this afternoon at the sewing machine.  It is my birthday after all and I should be doing what a want, don't you think?

Besides I really need to get this memory finished and off my to do list.  I have been looking at it for far to long.  It has been quite a challenge, but after a couple of redesigns I think I am finally happy with it.

Barney and my nemesis (aka the onsie dress) have been my biggest problems.  Of course, these are important items that need to be included in the quilt.  So, I have decided that I will be making room for them on the back along with the other larger leftover pieces.

Thankfully, I did manage to get my June blocks for A Twist on Tradition quilting bee done.  Liz asked us to make these blocks for a king size quilt she is making.  Wow!  I can't wait to see it done.

Have a great week! I am linking up to Freshly Pieced, Work in Progress Wednesday.

Mosaic Monday - Quilt Backs

If you have been following Chasing Cottons, Quilt Class 101 you probably already know Rebecca is on to backing your quilts, and has asked for us to share some of our quilt backs.  

I must admit I love this new trend of piecing the back of your quilts.  When I first started quilting not much attention was paid to the back.  It was enough for me just to get through the front.  

Boy times have changed!

I must admit it wasn't till I started doing Memory Quilts that I even thought about the back, and if it hadn't been the abundance of scraps I found myself with, I might not have even given it a second thought.  Now when I design a memory quilt as much thought goes into the front as does the back. 

Piecing the back has also found its way into my regular quilting.  I love the challenge of taking the scraps, or leftovers, from the front and doing something with them on the back.  Piecing the back has also given me a creative way to incorporate a quilt label, which also something I never gave much thought to. 

I will be linking this up to Chasing Cottons link party.  If you have a chance stop by and check some of the other fabulous quilts that are there.

Garden Friends - A Finished Quilt

I took a little blogging break this week to work on this quilt.  After a rocky start, a few design issues, and finally a moment of clarity, I made my way through and I am very happy with the results.



I really enjoyed working with this fabric line by Jay McCarroll.  I used a 9-patch block design in the positive and negative, in a 3 x 4 layout with a border.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take picture of the individual blocks.  If you are interested I could make a couple of more so you can see.  Just let me know.

I was really proud of myself because I stepped out side my comfort zone and quilted this using an all over stipple design.  I used a variegated rainbow thread by Superior.  Wow!  What a difference the right thread makes.  My machine really liked this thread much better than cotton for FMQing.

The back was pieced using the leftover selvage and some matching blue and green.  Sorry, but I didn't write down the color names.  This week was all about the sewing not the details. 

Quilt Details:

Fabrics: Garden Friends by Jay McCarroll and a matching blue and green solid

Finished Quilt Measurements: 35" x 45"

Block and Piecing: 9-patch block in the positive and negative, in a 3 x 4 layout with a border
Quilting: All over stippling in a rainbow thread