W.i.P. Wednesday: True Prep

A while ago the fabulous Oh Frannson! posted her Preppy the Whale quilt on Instagram.  This quilt couldn't be more me if it had my initials monogrammed on it so when I heard she was looking for pattern testers I immediately begged her to pick me volunteered my services.  Given this is a test I wanted to try making one of these before cutting in to my "real" fabric just in case there were any problems.  Inspired by the Vineyard Vines logo I pulled some pink and navy from my stash and started cutting.

I needn't have worried, Elizabeth's instructions were as detailed and precise as ever and I quickly whipped together my first whale, Murray.

I loved him so much I decided he needed a quilt of his own:-)  A few stripes later I had this cute little flimsy together just begging to be basted and quilted.  Now I can't wait to start cutting a whole pod of whales!!!

Checking in at this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)

Failing the Seven Seas

I've been planning this project ever since Audrey failed to correctly identify all 5 oceans on a geography test.  That's right, she incorrectly labeled the ocean she has lived alongside her entire life.  Sigh!  I immediately designed a notebook cover using this adorable Out to Sea panel but that seemed a bit like cheating:-)  The class moved on to other topics and I moved on to other projects but while organizing my fabric stash I stumbled upon this panel and decided it was time to finally use it.

I cut out the panel and then added triangles from my stash to look like bunting.

The quilting was the hardest part of this project.  I've never spent so much time adding quilting that is virtually invisible when you look at the pillow.  I was really worried about doing the FMQ around the continents but it went really quickly and white thread on white fabric disappears.  From there I quilted over the gridlines.  It wasn't difficult but with all the breaks for the design it took forever!!!  In the end it was worth it, it adds a wonderful sense of texture to the pillow.

For the back I added a vertical row of triangles to look like burgees and used this cute pirate girl printalong with the narwhal.

Now it can hang out on Audrey's bed with the rest of her pillows.  Hopefully she can learn by osmosis;-)

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished pillow cover is 17" x 22"
Fabrics: Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, Stash
Thread: Aruifil 2021 and 2605

Thank You, Teachers!!!

I was inspired to make pencil cases this year after seeing Allison's adorable pencil case for Stephanie but after my son and I got to talking about the trials of handwriting this year and I had to go with some old school cursive.

I've been a tad overambitious with the teacher gifts in the past so I was a little worried about doing all that handwork. I had to make 5 of these but they worked up quickly and it was actually really relaxing.  It was also fun to practice some of the embroidery stitches I learned from the fabulous Kate.  I used a backstitch for the blue lines, a running stitch for the pink lines, and a stem stitch for the writing.

I also used this as an excuse to indulge my latest obsession, Aurifil 12 weight.  The colors are beautiful, it doesn't twist up while you're stitching, and it has a beautiful sheen.  I'm already planning my next hand quilting project so I can get more;-)

The pouches themselves are based on Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch, obviously without gathering the front panel.  I loved how easy the zipper installation was for my Neptune version and I know from experience they are the perfect size for holding pencils.

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts and Sewjo Saturday at My Go-Go Life.

W.i.P. Wednesday: What a Weekender!

This weekend I headed down to the beach with some of my favorite quilty peeps.  I know from past experience I'm more likely to chat than sew so I brought along my patchwork Weekender pieces to quilt.

It doesn't really matter if I get distracted while quilting these and they go together so much faster with good company.  It's also convenient to have generous friends on hand who will let you shop their stash;-)

Everything is quilted now so I'm ready to start assembling the bag for my class at Quilter's Way next week.  I love how this is coming together and can't wait to see it finished!!!

Checking in at this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)

Sewing Room Swap

Another recent gift, the Boston MQG was running a Sewing Room Swap and I was lucky enough to get Trish as my partner.  My Noodlehead Berry Basket obsession started when I made a prototype for this Very Berry Berry Basket.  When I first met Trish she was told me about the wonderful strawberry farms near her home so I thought this adorable Lecien print would be perfect.

Then I stumbled across the Strawberry Pincushion Swap and knew I'd have to make one of those also;-)  Imagine my surprise when I realized I already owned the Heather Bailey pattern!  These were so quick and cute I had to make one for myself.

In return I received this fabulous sewing tote from the lovely Gretchen.  It's just perfect for corralling all the stuff I like to have next to my sewing machine and I adore the matching Keep Calm pincushion!!!

Check out more of the fabulous swap items at our May Meeting Recap.

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Boy Oh Boy!!!

So one of the reasons I haven't been blogging much recently is I've been making gifts that I couldn't show on my blog until I gave them to their intended recipients.  The adorable Pippa Patchwork is having twin boys later this summer and I was lucky enough to be invited to her shower.

I knew she'd already made quilts for the babies so I went with a couple practical and cute items.  The diaper clutch is loosely based on Cluck Cluck Sew's Changing Pad Kit tutorial, which is to say it looks the same but I made mine totally differently.  It's nice not to have to take your entire diaper bag every time you leave the house.  This is perfect for a pack or wipes and a couple of diapers.

I'm trying to get better at using my stash so I dug out this adorable Ann Kelle corduroy for the outside and more of the Joel Dewberry laminate I got at Marden's last summer with a layer of batting in between to make it a bit more comfortable.

I basted the 3 layers together and then added binding to the edges.  It was a little tricky sewing down the binding on the laminate but I took it slow and was pretty happy with the way it came out.  Amy Butler has some great tips for working with laminate!

In my experience you can never have too many burp cloths so I whipped up a few coordinating ones also.

I can't wait to meet these guys!!!

Linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

W.i.P. Wednesday: Weekender In Progress

Now that my Toes in the Sand BOM has wrapped up Quilter's Way asked if I would teach Amy Butler's Weekender Bag.  I love the Where in the World Weekender I made for Sewdown so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make a patchwork version.

Despite it's reputation for being tough to construct I honestly think the hardest part of making the Weekender is just cutting out all of the pieces...

I fussy cut this awesome Melody Miller Ruby Star Sparkle print for the main body and straps and then pulled coordinating fabrics from my stash to make patchwork pockets.

Of course as I was prepping for the class I realized I was going to need to show how to make the regular version also so I also pulled out this fabulous Dear Stella Anchors Away canvas.  Two more Weekenders coming right up:-)

If your local it's not too late to join me...  Sign up now on their new & improved website.

Checking in at this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)