Nursery Versery Pillow

When I first saw Heather Ross' new fabric line, Nursery Versery, I immediately fell in love with it (which usually goes without saying, when it comes to her fabric), but I didn't need to buy it - I'm trying to be better about buying fabric, and only buying what I absolutely need.  Trying being the key word.

But when I heard about the Nursery Versery contest that Rachel over at Stitched in Color is hosting, I finally had needed to buy it!

As far as which print to pick - it was a hard one.  I love "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", but currently, I'm singing a lot of "This Little Piggy" to Tucker, who's 6 months old, because I can't resist his little laugh at the "Wee wee wee" part.  It's just too cute.  So I went with those little pigs and the patchwork print in the yellow and gray colorway, and made this pillow.

I fussy cut each pig, and made two strips out of them along with this gold linen blend I found at Joann's, in kind of a wonky, improv style.

For the middle section, I used Yarn-Dyed Essex Linen in Black, and quilted "This little piggy..." and just left it at that.  I thought I would quilt more all over the pillow, but I liked it just the way it was.

For the back, I used both prints, and put in a hidden zipper.

I have to give a huge shout out to my mom for this pillow even happening!  Along with trying to be better about not buying fabric, I'm also trying to really stick to my "must-do" list...and it's a long one!  I'm still new at this three-kids thing, and I'm finding that my sewing time is not that often.  I cut the fabric on Monday, started piecing it on Tuesday (but only got one of those piggy strips done), and finished the whole thing yesterday, while my mom was here, watching the kids.  I could not have done it without her!

I was so proud of actually finishing something quickly and before a deadline (the contest ends this Sunday)!  You know that high you get?  Well, right after I stuffed the pillow form into the cover, I showed it to my oldest daughter, Kendall.  And that's when I felt like I got punched right in the gut.  I was explaining that the fabrics used in the pillow were designed after the nursery rhyme, and I started saying it to her while pointing to the pigs.  I said, "This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed....oh."  I realized that I put one of the pigs in the wrong order.  Not once, but twice!  I kinda felt like that last little piggy.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement!  However, Kendall assured me that it was still really beautiful, my husband said it could be a statement on post-modernism (he was being funny), and my dear friend Melissa encouraged me to use this as an example to my girls (who are showing an interest in sewing) that mistakes happen, and it's okay!  Isn't she wise?

So, I'm okay with this mistake!  At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Hope over to Rachel's blog to see the other entries in this contest!

Adventures in Stippling

See this little baby?

I found a free motion foot for my machine on Amazon for $3.75! The normal price is $20! I'm not gonna lie, I did a little happy dance when I saw that price. You see, my husband and I are on the cheap frugal side, so this really just made my day. I never really wanted to get into stippling because it really intimidated me, but recently I've been dying to try it! So I jumped right in.

That's a good thing, and a bad thing.

I was making a quilt for a friend's baby (who's shower is this Saturday), and I decided to have my first stippling go on that.

That's the bad part.

Unfortunately, either the tension was off, or I had a bad bobbin, but for whatever reason, the stitching on the back is not great. I did a little section, saw the bad stitching, so I took it all out, switched out my bobbin, and tried again. I only checked the back at the very beginning, and it was great! However, it didn't stay great during the whole stitching session. And I did kind of go a little crazy! I didn't know stippling could be fun! So I got carried away, and when I came to a stopping place, I turned it around and saw the yucky stitches again. I stitched WAY too much of it to want to turn around and tear it out.

So I came up with a scheme plan.

I failed to mention that I used some out of print Heather Ross fabric for this little quilt (and it is
little), and I had kind of started falling in love with it as I was working on it, so when I realized how bad the back was, I thought instead of ripping all of that stitching out, why not just keep this one, and give it to Kendall for a doll quilt? I already had the idea to make both of my girls doll quilts for Christmas anyway, and this is just getting a head start.

Right?

Yeah, that's it!

When I showed Kendall the quilt, her reaction just solidified my scheme new idea. She gasped and said, "Good job, Mama! Give me five!"

By the way, me getting to keep this quilt is the good part...I think...Right? Is it good to keep something you intended to giveaway?

Sure, why not!

So it won't be a perfect little doll quilt, but it will be super cute. And she loves it already. And this is one less thing I have to do for Christmas (I do plan on actually giving it to her at Christmas).

Now I just need to figure out what's causing my stitching to go bad, and finish the quilt. In the meantime, here's a little peak at what it looks like.

By the way, I realize I have a long way to go in my stippling skills, but I'm happy with what I've done, and I'm eager to do more!

Completed Swaps!

I was recently involved with two swaps that are now over. I'm really starting to like swaps, so I hope to be involved in more in the future.

The first was the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap Round 2. I blogged about what I sent, but not what I received, and it was a great little package! We are supposed to show sneak peeks and completed pictures of our mug rugs during the time of the swap. When I saw this one posted on Flickr, I just knew it was mine, because it fit what I said I liked perfectly! But since this swap had about 130 people involved, I did have a little doubt, so I was very excited when I got it. Oh, and it came from quiltinkimmie.





I already posted about the mug rug I made, but here's a picture of everything I sent to my partner.



The next swap was for the LA Modern Quilt Guild. We meet the first Monday of every month, so at our November meeting, we got our partners, and we were just supposed to make something that they wanted. It could be holiday themed, but it didn't have to be. My partner was kind of vague with what she wanted, but she did emphasize that she really likes Japanese fabric. I don't have alot of that, so it meant a trip to one of my favorite stores (oh, darn!), Momen+ in Torrance. They have tons and tons of Echino, Kokka, Heather Ross, etc, and it's just a beautiful store. So I picked out two Echino prints and some linen, which I've been wanting to work with, and went to town!

I came up with a pillow and matching mug rug, and I'm really happy with both! At last night's meeting, we swapped with our partners, so I hope she's as happy with them as I am.



Here's a picture of just the pillow, front and back...




And here's the mug rug. It was my first time working with circles, which I absolutely love now, and it was also my first time trying pebble quilting for the mug rug - I did it in a very cheaty kind of way. I used the fabric on the back as a guide, and I just traced the circles! I love the way it looks on the front. One of these days, I'll get a free motion foot for my machine and I'll be able to try the real thing.




I was so excited knowing who was going to be making something for me. It was Chris of Izzy Inspired! She's amazing, and I knew whatever she made I would love.

She definitely did not disappoint! I told her I wanted something for Christmas, and suggested maybe pillow covers. She asked if it had to be with Christmas fabrics, and I said absolutely not! I love the idea of creating a Christmasy look without actually using Christmas fabrics.

Just look at what she came up with!



These pillow covers are so beautiful! And the quilting - amazing!! Here's a closer look at the quilting for each cover.




And the back of each had these little hexies.



She used the ever-popular Flea Market Fancy line by Denyse Schmidt, which I don't have anything of, and I'm only really just now learning about it. I love everything about both of these! I felt so lucky that she drew my name!! I definitely think I'll stick with this swapping thing.

Jessica's Quilt - DONE!

If you could see me right now, you would see that I'm doing the happy dance.

Why?

BECAUSE I FINISHED SOMETHING!

I'm seriously so excited right now!

Jessica's quilt is done, and I'm a happy camper. I can finish everything I need to before Christmas!!

Part of the reason I'm so excited is because I was able to finish the binding quickly! I saw on one of Chris' latest posts that she did the binding by machine and without a foot. I thought you needed a special foot to complete a binding by machine, so when I read her blog, I decided I would try it! I used Red Pepper Quilt's tutorial, except I went Chris' route and decided against pins. Needless to say, the binding is by no means perfect, but I'm happy with it. And it's given me this fresh new outlook on all of my projects that need to be completed SOON!

I was able to find a nice little perfect spot on the binding to take a picture of...I'll spare you what the not-so-perfect spots look like. Oh, and I use this hand quilting stitch on my machine for the quilting, so it's supposed to look like that.




Here's some pics of the finished product.

I used Heather Ross' Far Far Away II, mixed with Kona Ivory for the sashing, Kona Curry and Natural for the binding, and on the back I used Kona Daffodil, Pink, and Plum.

New Favorite

As I was putting together the back of my niece's quilt, I discovered I have a new favorite color combination, but it's kind of a weird one.

Alot of the popular color combinations right now are red and aqua, orange and teal, normal kind of colors. Mine is whatever this is (and keep in mind, the colors don't come out right in any picture I've taken...I've tried different times of day, different kinds of light...none of it reads true to how it looks in person).




The purplish fabric is a Kona cotton called Plum. And the background color for that rose fabric, I discovered is Kona Curry. I know that, because I just bought fabric for the binding, and curry was an almost exact match for the background of the rose fabric.

But saying "Plum and Curry" is not normal! And "Purple and Gold" just isn't quite right. That sounds Lakers-ish.

I don't know, but whatever it is, I'm really drawn to it, and all I want to do is make quilts in this combo.

The Quilting

Okay, the suggestions were not exactly pouring in, and I got really antsy to get started, because the it's almost Christmas, and I'm trying to get this one done, plus another one that I haven't even started yet, plus the other little projects I'm working on, oh yeah - and planning my daughter's birthday party. I'm overwhelmed! So, I just dove in and started working on it.

I decided against the pebble quilting. Mainly, because that would mean buying a quilting foot, and for my husband's sake, I'm trying to not buy anything else that I absolutely don't need right now.

So I went for a wonky straight line.

I'm not super thrilled with it (let's just say it's very wonky, but maybe that will change after it's all done. I'm almost halfway done with the quilting now. Here's a sneak peak.

Suggestions, Please!

I FINALLY finished my niece's quilt top. My sister probably won't be happy to hear this, but this thing has given me serious grief! But the top is done, and I really, really love it. Now I need to work on the back, so I need to start thinking about the quilting. I was thinking about trying out pebble quilting? But I'm definitely open to other possibilities. That's where you (my two readers) come in! What do you think?

Mug Rug Mania!

I joined the second round of the "Scrappy Mug Rug Swap" on Flickr. We're supposed to mail out our mug rugs by November 29. I should be able to mail mine out today, but I'm thinking about making something extra. Just a small something. I don't know, though.

Anyways, here's the mug rug I made for my partner. I really hope she likes it.




And here's a close up of the quilting. The idea just popped into my head, and I wasn't sure how it would look, but I really love it.




My thought is that it can be reversible, so I don't really think of the back as a "back." Does that make sense? I also don't want to put a label on it, because I think that will just totally take away from the look of the rug, and will make the back the "back."

Hmm, maybe I won't send this out today. Too many decisions left to make.

Well Hello There, Heather Ross!

For a Christmas gift, I told my sister I'd make my niece and nephew lap quilts. She recommended Star Wars for my nephew and princessy for my niece. I immediately thought of Heather Ross' Far Far Away II for Jessica's. I already bought some of it at the Quilt Festival, but at that time, I wasn't really sure what I was going to use it for. Once I knew I was making a quilt, I needed to get more.

Well, it came today, and I'm in love. I want to start cutting into right away. I have an idea in my head - I just hope I don't screw it up!



I have to say, I'm a little more excited about making this quilt than the Star Wars one. I mean, the fabric is just gorgeous! I hope she likes it, but I won't be mad if she doesn't - I'll just keep it for myself!

By the way, I bought the fabric from Sew Deerly Loved on etsy.