2020-5 Whale Sleep Pants

Often there is a category for sleep pants at the fall fair.  So, planning ahead, I made these size four flannel sleep pants for my grandson.  He is only one year old, but will grow to fit these pants someday! In the meantime, I can use them as an entry in the fall fair competitions.

I remember buying this flannel at the Joanne’s Store in Olean, New York when we were on a ski trip nearby at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, New York well over a decade ago.  About time to use this thick heavy flannel!  I think the print is one that any young boy would love.

The seams are all nicely finished by serger.  The waistband has both elastic and a tie.  I added both the tie and elastic at the same time, attaching them with a safety pin and threading them through together.  It worked much better doing it together rather than separately.

Because my eyes are a bit challenged right now, I have been spending my time sorting fabrics and tidying my sewing room.  I am finding wonderful pieces of fabric I had forgotten all about.  Touching and folding fabrics is a wonderful way to get the creative juices flowing.  My sew-jo is set on high!

 

 

2020-4 Hot Water Bottle Cover

 

This cozy hot water bottle cover was made for two reasons – to help keep my toes warm during these cold January winter nights and secondly to have another entry for fall fair competition.  Usually there is a class for a bazaar article and this would fit well in that category.

I made it with pre-quilted fabric, a scrap I bought at a thrift store.  It took me a bit of effort to figure out the best way to make it because I chose to have only one side seam.  As a result, the flip down portion of the fabric envelope was a bit more tricky than the other side.   As it turns out, I will not enter this in a fair, because I feel the inside is not finished as neatly as well I would like.  One thing I have learned over the years is that the inside matters almost as much as the outside.  Neatness counts!

So I plan to make another one for the fair.  The next one will have seams down both sides, which will make the construction much simpler.  I will round both the bottom and top corners of the cover.  I will custom quilt some fabric for the cover to make it a little bit nicer.  I’m tempted to piece the fabric for the cover, but I think it would be better to have a smooth one piece surface in case the texture is bothersome to my feet.  I tested the cover last night. One hundred percent of my toes were very happy.  When my toes are warm, I fall asleep much faster!

 

 

 

2020-3 Christmas Boxer Shorts

 

These boxer shorts were made from a Sporty Santa themed VIP printed panel that was gifted to me many years ago.  It remained in my stash for many years.  There is often a category for boxer shorts at the fall fair, so I have wanted for a while to make this garment.  I doubt that any of the men at my house would want these shorts, but perhaps one of women would!

I recently had eye surgery and my vision is not yet back to normal, so I am going to be sewing more and quilting less in the interim.  Sewing is a bit more forgiving when one cannot see well.

 

 

2020-2 Candy Apron

 

This apron is made from a short piece of candy themed fabric I bought at 40% off day at Value Village.  I ended up paying a grand total of $1.80 for the fabric.  I did not realize until after I got it home that the design created with pieces of candy.  Fun and intriguing.  Makes me take a second and third look!

Once I trimmed up the fabric to the length needed for the skirt, I had a very small remnant left over.  I used the two end pieces to trim the ties, a larger piece to piece and applique onto a bib pocket and then a small slice of a medallion which I appliqued onto the waistband.  For the rest of the apron, I selected a black cotton with pairs well with the background.  I also faced the sides of the apron skirt with the same black so I would not lose any of the design.

This project was fun because it required a lot of thinking to use the fabric in the best possible way to decorate the apron.  Thanks to  my friends Nancy and Barb for their creative thinking and enthusiasm for the project.

 

2020-1 Palm Tree Mug Rug

After a year and a half of very challenging and time consuming family responsibilities, I am determined to reclaim my life and get back to quilting regularly.

So to start off the year with progress, I finished this small mug rug today.  The project began as a trial block using interleave technique.  I loved the technique and went on to make several interleave quilts.  This sample remained in my orphan block pile.  I felt the pieces resembled a forest with upright stems, so I free-form cut some palm branches and appliqued them on to create a tropical forest.   Then binding was applied and hand stitched to finish up my first project of the year!

While I was not posting, I did complete a few projects during stolen moments, but I actually started more projects that are nowhere close to finished.  So this year, I am going to concentrate on turning my UFOs into completed projects,  My goal is 52 projects = one per week on average.  Many are quickies, but others will take a significant investment of time.  However, I will keep at it to make good progress on my goal.  Posting and your comments will keep me encouraged!

 

 

2018-8 Bear to the Moon Quilt

 

This little quilt is a panel I quilted as a quick gift baby quilt.  This panel was quilted with a cute design that includes bears, moons and stars.  Added a binding and voila, a finished quilt.

It is really nice to have a finished quilt on hand for spontaneous baby gifts.  Some baby will enjoy snuggling with this one.

2018-7 Batik Tied Quilt

Batik Tied Quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This lap-sized diagonal batik quilt was made specifically to enter into a class for tied quilts at the fall fair.  I like the bold graphic lines of the quilt.  I tied the quilt in the center of each square with matching embroidery floss.  So yellow floss on the yellow squares, blue on the blue, etc, so that it is not immediately apparent it is a tied quilt.  My quilting friend Judy told me the top was too nice to tie, but I explained I have a longer term plan.

This large lap sized quilt is backed with fleece, so it would make a cozy little TV watching quilt.  However, I actually do not like tied quilts, so I am on to part two of my plan.  Because the quilt has now finished the fair season, I intend to cut all of the ties and remove the binding.  I will add more blocks and a border to the quilt top to make it queen size.  I have lots more fabric, so I have design flexibility.   Then I will quilt it on the longarm.  I know the result will be a quilt that pleases me more than a tied quilt.

 

 

2018-6 Stained Glass Wall Hanging

 

This little wall applique hanging was made using the stain glass technique.  It sat in my UFO pile for quite a while until I decided to quilt it up for a fall fair category for applique wall hangings.  I quilted it using my domestic machine with walking foot.  I matched the threads on top and used Superior MonoPoly in the bobbin.   I entered it in a few fall fairs and it won a several ribbons.  I still feel I should add a bit more quilting to the Iris leaves, but so far, have not felt the inspiration to do so.  Maybe someday.

2018-5 Sarah’s Christmas Stocking

Pieced Christmas Stocking

 

This Christmas stocking sat in my UFO pile for a few years before I finally pushed myself to complete it.  The stumbling block was how to finish the top edge.  I kept imagining a cuff on the stocking.  I hired a friend to embroider a cuff for the top, but once completed, realized I would have to quilt the cuff to achieve the same density of the quilted stocking.  I thought that quilting the cuff would detract from the embroidery, so waffled over that idea for a couple of years.   Because I needed another entry for a fall fair, I decided to quickly finish it up.  I was pressed for time so I elected to simply add a coordinating binding to the top, reasoning I could add a cuff later.

To my surprise. the stocking won first prize ribbons at several fall fairs, so I decided it really did not need a cuff.  So it stays as finished and my daughter Sarah is happy with her Christmas stocking.

This stocking was made with little strips from my scrap bin. i store my scraps by colour, so it makes it easy to pull a bunch of coordinating fabrics.   Once the fabric had been strip pieced into  a shape that would accommodate a stocking, I densely quilted the fabric with a Christmas tree bulb design in a gold thread.  After a couple of years of marinating in my UFO pile, I cut out the stocking to the desired shape and assembled it.  I added a simple binding around the top and now consider it done.

The lesson learned here is to avoid overthinking a project, that simple sometimes is better.  Entering a fall fair can be a great incentive to get things done!

Now I plan to make a coordinating green stocking for her husband.  They have been married for two years now, so it has become a much higher priority!

 

2018-3 Circus Panel

Hand Quilted Circus Panel Quilt

 

This little hand quilted printed panel is a well travelled quit!  It was my companion for every trip for a full year.  It went to Northern Ontario many times, to Cuba twice and to Kingston once.  I mostly worked on it during travel time.  It is good to have something handy to keep me busy and my mind occupied.  When I am at home, I prefer to machine stitch or quilt on the longarm.  Since I only work on it while traveling, it takes me a long time to hand quilt a panel.  Typically about a year.  I like to make one of these each year as it gives me another entry for the fall fair.  Since babies are always being born, it is also very good to have a baby quilt on hand to gift.