Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Busy Sewing

Hi!

I'm busily sewing.  I have lots of projects to finish before Christmas, and I've been doing weekend craft fairs, too.  Some things I'm making just for the fairs, like the recent group of mug rugs aka snack mats.

Some are just 7 1/2" strips of width of fabric, layered and quilted, then cut into 4 sections and bound.
Easy, fast, and a great way to practice free-motion quilting and play with thread.  I used gold metallic thread on top; it just adds an extra sparkle.  What's a mug rug or snack mat?  Basically a mini place mat or jumbo coaster.  It's roomy enough for your beverage and snack, and is washable.  It protects the table, adds color and they are fun to make.
This is another style.  I made some small pinwheel blocks (each 1/4 of the block is a 2" half square triangle unit).  This one was a gift for my son.  Some can also be used as mouse pads.   Any novelty type fabric would be fun in these.  I made this one about 8 by 10", and have a second listed in my Etsy shop.   I think it would be a cute gift with a mug or gift card to your favorite beverage place.
 I've also been using scraps from other quilts and making doll bed size quilts.  This was from 2 1/2" strip sets that were sewn together.  I made 4 patch blocks and just sewed them together, added a border and quilted it.  It's pretty for a table topper, too.

This one was from 2" squares left from another project, too.  The customer requested purples and a doll size pillow to match.
Doesn't it look adorable on a bed from Dietrick Woodworking?  They're made to fit 18" dolls (American Girl or similar).  To see more of Jeremy's products, visit Dietrick Woodworking.

Just a side note, he also custom builds quilt racks.  I love the one he made for me.   He even put in hooks on the sides so I can hang my purses and aprons for shows.

I also finished a flannel baby quilt.  I had gotten the panel a few years ago, and added the Hourglass blocks on the side, and then it sat for a while.  I decided to get it finished and figured it needed more borders, so I added a pink flange border and then one in the blue stars.  It's quilted with stars and swirls around the sweet characters in the panel, and curves to accent the blocks.  I used a solid white flannel on the back, and the batting is 100% cotton, Katahdin Autumn by Bosal.  I had been given a trial package of it, and it's really nice to work with.  It quilted and washed beautifully.  I used Aurifil Mako 50wt cotton for the quilting in 2710, a soft blue.  I think it's so pretty!
The panel features a teddy bear reading to his friends.

And I've been working on a Frozen quilt!  I made blocks in various shades of the panel to surround it, and then added a border.  This is about 70 by 84".  I still need to quilt the white parts, but had fun quilting details of the Elsa and Anna characters in the panel.  I have 2 more panels like this, and one Olaf panel to make into quilts.  I'm going to offer them as custom options on my shop.  This is a gift for Jeremy's daughter, from him for Christmas.  I love the aqua blue backing I found.  It has snowflakes and a little glitter. The edge fabric has lots of glitter, too, and the white background fabric has tone on tone snowflakes.


Yes, it's bound and not completely quilted.  I wanted to bring it to the show I did at Msgr. McHugh's Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday, and show Jeremy.  I didn't want to display it without binding, though.  I didn't want the edge to get ruined.  This one used so many colors of Aurifil!  I changed threads about 16 times.  Some colors were just in 2 blocks.  I used 2588, Light Magenta, in the pink blocks, Anna's cloak, and the frame around the panel.  1243, Dusty Lavender, is in the 4 purple corner blocks.  2692, Black, is the bodice of Anna's dress, 2775, Steel Blue is her skirt, and 2330, Light Chestnut was used to accent her hair.  Elsa's dress is 2815, Teal, which is also in the bobbin and most of the background of the panel, with 2000, Light Sand, for her hair and around her face.  2510, Light Lilac, and 2710, Light Robins Egg, are in their matching blocks, and I used 40wt 4660, Pink Taffy, a variegated thread, in the outer border.  I still need to use 2024, White, in the white areas.  I'm so glad that I've been collecting Aurifil, and that the colors really add to this quilt.  I'm putting this aside for a few weeks, though.  Other things need to be finished first.

I have more to do, including a custom order, and some pies to bake.  Thanks for stopping to read!  If you want details on how to make a mug rug, just let me know.

I do hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving!  I'm thankful that you read my blog.

Maryellen

1 comment:

Christine said...

You have been very busy! Beautiful projects.