Happy 2013!

The end of 2012 is kind of a blur!  I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but I did a few extra things that made it okay to not finished what I had planned.  Namely, making these pillow cases to send to students of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

I found out about this on Flickr, but a quilt shop in Connecticut started this pillow case drive, and I jumped on board!  The Flickr group that I originally heard about this from is responsible for probably...well, I don't know how many.  But the quilt shop received pillow cases from all over the world!  They had to get the word out for people to stop sending them!  Over 6,000 altogether - that's pretty amazing!  I hope Newtown and the school realizes how much the world is behind them...is thinking about them, praying for them, and loving them.

As far as Christmas gifts go, I made a couple for my niece and nephew.  First up, I made a pillow cover for my nephew's travel pillow.  They take lots of road trips, so he actually uses his pillow a lot.  He's way into Lego Star Wars, so I found some flannel Lego Star Wars fabric for the cover.  I quilted it, and put in some piping and a zipper to make it a little fancier.  I have to tell myself that 10 year old boys, don't really care about fancy kind of things, so I tried to keep it simple, but wanted to add a few extras to it.  So here he is with his pillow.

My niece is really into dolls these days.  For my birthday last year, my husband got me the Wee Wonderfuls book full of beautiful dolls to make.  I chose to make her "Patchwork Penny" (but didn't have time to make the patchwork quilt to go with her...I'll have to do that later).  I tried to make her resemble my niece as much as possible, so I gave her blonde hair and brown eyes.  I also added in some freckles, because my niece has the most adorable freckles on her cheeks.  The freckles turned out a little wonky, but I guess that's okay.  And I gave her a green dress, because Jessica's favorite color is green.

Unfortunately, Jessica picked up a stomach bug on their Christmas vacation.  Here she is sleeping with her new doll, while recovering.  While I'm not glad my sweet little niece was sick, I am glad Penny gave her some comfort!

I also made some mug rugs for my oldest daughter's teachers.  I used this wonderful Paper Pieced Apple pattern by Charise Creates, along with some polka dots, Dick and Jane, and Punctuation fabric.

I realized after we gave them to the teachers, that I didn't take proper pictures of them - just these I put on Instagram.  Oops!

That was it for Christmas sewing!  I was supposed to make two more dolls from the book for my girls, but it just didn't happen.  As I realized my time was running out, I decided that they would be getting plenty of gifts anyway, so I can save the dolls for later.  My new deadline for them is Valentine's Day.

The New Year came, and I got swept up in the Scrappy Trip Along Mania that took over Instagram!  I just couldn't resist the idea of making something all for myself!  And the blocks were super fun to make!  I started out making 4 blocks every day.  Then one day, I made 9.  And the last two days I made 5 each day. I have a total of 30 blocks, and I am so in love with this quilt!

I started the quilting on it, but had to stop due to some tension issues with my machine.  Before I even started the quilting on it, I thought how much fun it would be to use a long arm on it (I got spoiled after making the quilt for John and Sarah).  I had to just step away from the quilt, but I took it with me to the ECMQG meeting this past Saturday, and our new president, Marcy, offered to let me use her long arm.  I'll definitely be taking her up on that offer in the very near future!

I also worked on a QuiltCon Charity Quilt for our guild.  We attempted to do it travelling quilt style, but it didn't go quite as I expected.  Instead of the quilt top growing as it went from person to person, we ended up with a lot of blocks.  By the time it got to me (I was last on the list), I was given two big pieces that were already sewn together, and about 5 other blocks.  As I was laying them out, trying to figure out how to put it altogether, I realized that I could just make one long strip, and then add fabric to the sides.  So regardless of the traveling quilt confusion, though, I am really, really happy with the quilt top, which I finished at our Sew Day on Saturday.  Our members added quite a few blocks that I'm totally in love with!

Marcy will be quilting this on her long arm, just like she did for our other Charity Quilt, and Kathleen will be binding it - again, just like she did for the other one.  I'm excited to see this completed!

I hope your New Year is off to a good start!  My sewing resolution for 2013 is to take it easier.  Make things because I want to make them - not because I feel like I have to.  What about you?

WiP Wednesday

Things have definitely been busy around here!  Can anyone say "Christmas Crunch"?  Every year, I tell myself that I'll do more in advance of Christmas, so I'm not making things at the last minute.  And every year, I don't follow my own advice!  Oh well.

Right now, I'm working on these mug rugs for Kendall's teachers.  My daughter loves her teachers, so I wanted to make them something special.  I thought it would be cool to incorporate an apple into something quilty, so when I saw Charise's paper pieced apples, I knew I had to incorporate those into mug rugs!  A while back, I bought some of this Dick and Jane fabric, but didn't really know what to use it for.  What better way than to use it for teacher's gifts?  I used some Punctuation for the back - again, what better use?  I just have to put the bindings on, and I'm done with these!

As far as other WiPs go, I need to make a pillow for my nephew, three dolls from the Wee Wonderfuls book (one for my niece, and the other two are for my girls), and a stocking for my little boy.

In recent finishes, I made this lined drawstring laundry bag (using Jeni's pattern) for a custom order.  A couple months ago, I participated in a craft fair.  I had one of these laundry bags for sale, and someone liked the bag, but she needed one in yellow and gray fabric.  So she contacted me after the fair, and we talked about fabric choices.  Here's the finished product (which I love, by the way).  I used fabrics from Simpatico and Bliss.

In other news, our family is sick, yet again!  Two weeks ago, Tucker and I went to California for a little visit, and I think he picked something up there or from the plane, and brought it home.  My middle one, Cami, has it the worst.  She's so pitiful, but looks so cute and cozy cuddled up under the Christmas quilt I made last year.

And Tucker is busy tearing up all the Christmas decorations.  His favorite thing to do is take apart the train tracks.

Kendall will be 5 (how is that even possible?) on Christmas Day, so we're busy planning her party.

That's it for me!  Check out more WiPs over at Freshly Pieced!

 

Mug Rug Madness!

Couple of things before you start reading...

*First, I took the Process Pledge (see the button on the left), so this post will be...lengthy.
**Second, I'm going to mention more about this at the end of the post, but since most of you probably don't care about my particular processes, and I don't think you'll make it that far down, check out Erin's Mug Rug Madness (also see the button on the left...I'm getting too many buttons!).

For the past month or so, I've been in a mug rug kind of mood. I love making them, and they make perfect gifts! Plus, I love the freedom you have with them - they're so small, so you can try out new techniques, or just have fun with it!

First up, I actually made this one several weeks ago, but just never got around to sending it until a few days ago. It's for my friend, Cheri. She's super, uber-crafty, and really, she's the one who originally got me sewing to begin with. A few years ago, before I even owned a sewing machine, I would see some of the stuff she would make and I thought, "Hey, I could do that!" Well, I couldn't...then, at least. I still can't really do the things that she does, and my main focus is quilts now. But she's the reason I bought a sewing machine to begin with.

At the end of last year, she suggested that we do our own swap, and she specifically asked me to make her a mug rug. I asked her what colors she likes, and she said greens and blues. So I got the fabric I wanted at Sew Modern, but I still didn't know what I was going to do with it all. Cheri happened to read this blog post about when I went to Sew Modern the day it opened, and she somehow saw a whale fabric in one of the pictures. So one night, on Facebook chat, she said she really wanted that whale fabric because she loves whales. Little did she know that I already got fabric for her mug rug (not the whale fabric, though), and that gave me an idea! So I began my search to fulfill that idea.

I found what was actually an embroidery pattern here, and used that as a stencil for my whale. Appliqued that little guy on a kind of sky/sea scene, embroidered the spout spray, free-motioned some clouds in the "sky," and did a little wavy line quilting in the "sea." I kept the back simple, because Cheri likes things simple, so I really held back.

Next up is the one I did for Marybeth.  Did you see the Pay it Forward 2011 thing that was going around Facebook at the beginning of the year?  I'm doing that, and Marybeth is on my list, and she also requested a mug rug (see, these things are in high-demand!).  Originally she said she wanted blues and greens, too, but when I talked with her further about it, she said she'd like something yellow, because she's about to repaint her kitchen yellow.  I used a bunch of yellow scraps I had, and then bought this great Robert Kaufman print for the back.  And remember that plus pillow I made for Valentine's Day using Melissa & Co.'s pattern?  Well, I kind of did that with this mug rug, except I didn't actually look at the pattern, so I messed it up a little (but I only figured that out when I was piecing it.  It's not an obvious mistake).  And of course, it's way scaled down.  I really love the way this one turned out. 

Next is Michelle's.  I wanted to make something for Michelle, just because she's a good friend.  And then I realized it was her birthday (this was back in February).  So, I had to get on the ball.  She loves the Beatles, so I found some Beatles fabric on Etsy, but it came in way after her birthday, so I gave her the warning that I was working on something for her, but it would be late.  I had wanted to do a Union Jack for the front of the mug rug, but I could.not. get it to look right.  So I gave up.  One of these days I'll try it again, and actually use a tutorial!  So I finally broke down and asked her what colors she liked.  She gave me a few options, one of them being blue and yellow, since her and her husband are UCLA grads.  So I kind of used this tutorial for a starburst block, but stopped piecing when I thought it was big enough for the size I was going for.  That's why I say I kind of used the tute, because I didn't go through the whole thing.  After it was all said and done, I thought it kind of looked like spotlights, like at Hollywood?  Which was kind of cool, too, since we live in LA, and Michelle and I just recently had a Hollywood adventure (I really need to blog about that!).  The back, obviously, I just left simple with the Beatles fabric, and I did some herringbone quilting.  I figured this one is really a reversible mug rug - if she's feeling some Bruins love, she can have the blue and yellow spotlight side up.  If she's feeling more Beatlesy that day, she can have the Beatles side up.

Last, but not least, is for my dear friend, Melissa.  Melissa's awesome, and she's done some pretty thoughtful things for me in the short time we've known each other (see this post), so I wanted to make something for her.  She moved away back in November, but she was going to be coming in town, so I wanted to have it done for her when she got here.  She loves color spectrums, and what do you know, I won a color spectrum fabric bundle at the last LAMQG meeting!  Even before I got that though, I knew I wanted to do something rainbow-ish for her mug rug.  I found this great Kokka fabric for the back on etsy totally randomly, so after I won that bundle, I was set!  She also loves hexagons, so I just kind of went with that and came up with this design.  And of course, I used Liz's machine-piecing hexagons tutorial, because it's the best. To go with the rainbow-theme, I quilted in an arch pattern.  Come to find out, the day before she came in town was her birthday, so it was kind of good timing on my part to have already had this made.

This past Saturday, I had a little sew day at my house, and Katy came over.  She coined the term "March Mug Rug Madness" for our sew day - the boys have their basketball and mustaches, we have our mug rugs.  She actually started and finished a mug rug while she was here!  I was so proud.  She won my giveaway back in February, and since she's the one who won, I threw in a few Bliss hexagons for her, because she loves her some Bliss.  I had already pieced most of those hexagons, but she did a couple, then put the whole thing together.  Go Katy!

I think that's enough mug rugs for me - for now at least!  If you still can't get enough, you'll have to check out Erin's blog March 21-31, for her Mug Rug Madness!  She'll have tutorials and GIVEAWAYS!  So check it out.

Unexpected Sweetness

You know what's really nice?  Someone making you something unexpectedly! 

My friend Marchelle made me a mug rug, which is awesome, because I only have the Christmasy mug rug that I got from the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap, so I didn't have an everyday one (and I didn't sign up for the latest swap round).  She told me about it a couple of weeks ago, and I was totally surprised that she made me something!  When I saw her in church on Sunday, she handed it to me, and I was in love.

I look at it every morning (with my wannabe-Starbucks drink in my wannabe-Starbucks cup) sitting on it, and it makes me smile.

More Mug Rugs

Now that the holidays are over, I can post some pictures of mug rugs I made for Christmas gifts.

This first one is the first mug rug I made. It was for my sister-in-law, who loves tea. I found all three of these fabrics at Quilt Ventura when we were up in the Oxnard/Ventura area a few months back - I liked how they all coordinated, and the Blah fabric just made me laugh. I wasn't sure at first how to put them all together, then I came up with the idea to cut out a tea pot and cup from the backing fabric and applique them on. That was my first adventure in applique, so it's not perfect.




This next one is for my mother-in-law. There's a joke that runs in our family that she always mixes up languages. When we were in Spain about 12 years ago, she spoke French mixed with Spanish to several people, and it always made us laugh. So my original idea was to say "Un cafe" which is French, and "Por favor" which is spanish.

Let me take a break here and say something...I love my husband. He's my partner and my friend, and I value his opinion and ask for his input alot. However, I'm learning not to consult him on decisions related to my quilting projects. When I told him my idea of mixing the French and the Spanish, he said I should just go with all French. I followed his advice, always thinking that it would've been better if I'd mixed it up. Sure enough, when Betty opened her mug rug at Christmas, she said, "Oh, it would've been funny if you threw some Spanish in there, too!" Oh, and then someone on my Facebook pointed out that I spelled "si" wrong - it should've been "s'il" or something like that. Bummer.




In all honesty, I'm not thrilled with this one. I don't love the quilting, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. And now that I know about the misspelling...I'm kind of just over this one. I'll have to make her another one sometime to make up for it.

This last one is the one I made for my mom. Hands down - I love this one, and it was hard for me to give it away! Everything about it just fell into place - I love the colors, the hexagons pieced together easily (I used Lady Harvatine's YouTube tutorial for machine piecing hexies), the quilting went perfectly and the binding, too. At least I'll get to see it whenever I visit my family.




Is it sad that I want to visit a mug rug?

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.

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.