Getting The Pillow Fever Again

---

I have always loved making pillows. They are just so fun and relaxing to make. Especially when just piecing little squares. But be warned. They can be addicting.

This is my latest one. I spent a week on it. 😀 (I hear you. Stop laughing.)

Here’s what happened… Two weeks ago, I made a table runner from some of my leftover Hugs and Kisses blocks. The blocks were collecting dust in a pile in a corner. I always feel bad when I start a new project without finishing sewing some of the UFO’s. So I gave the X and O blocks a bit of my attention.

Making the runner did not take long since the blocks were already made. Just needed stitching together, borders added and quilted. Simple quilting. Straight lines. Plus a bit of stippling. And done.

Then I decided a pillow was needed to go with the table runner. But had to search high and low for the fabrics used in the X & O blocks. That took a day and ended up with me dismantling one leftover Scrappy Trip block for the exact peach fabric I needed. And then, wouldn’t you know it. I got some sort of stomach bug and ended up being all queasy-stomach sick for five days. Didn’t feel like doing much of anything. Certainly not sewing. At least not for long stretches. I would sew a border and then take a nap. That was my routine for days.

Finally yesterday, I was able to sit in the sewing machine chair longer than the loo chair and managed to work on my pillow. It is made with 2 1/2″ squares and several borders. One border is a strip of squares cut in half. Quilting is diagonal lines.

I put binding all around the sides just as I would a quilt.

My machine sewn binding is getting SO GOOD, don’t you think? I may never go back to hand sewing.

Before I got sick, I had finished another doll quilt with matching pillow and a little handbag. Never got to show them to you.

All inspired by one of my leftover Scrappy Trip blocks. I have so many of them left that I could turn each one into a doll quilt. One for each day of the month. But I won’t do that. I have other ideas for them. (Or I could send them to you if anyone wants them.)

I also finished sewing together ten Wonky HST blocks. They sit waiting for their polka dot corners.

None of my other on-going scrap projects got worked on. Need to do that before month’s end. Got to show some progress, right?

Well, that is it for me. That’s all of my Show and Tell.

What have you been working on? Do tell….

---

Linking to.

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/05/pin-cushions.html

http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2013/05/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-lots-of-quilting.html

http://richardquilts.blogspot.com/2013/05/link-finish-friday-68.html

http://aroundtheblockdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/05/really-random-52313-portlandia.html

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2013/05/we-did-it-wednesday_21.html

Wordless Saturday

😀

---

Linking to…

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/05/bohemian-garden-quilt.html

http://www.conniekresin.com/2013/05/linky-tuesday.html

It’s SPRING And Everything Is Growing

---

The month of April was all about digging, cutting and trimming. Nope, not outside. Inside. In my sewing room. Having a love affair with my scraps. Oh how I love thee.

It is so satisfying working with scraps, even the teeny tiny pieces. If you have worked with them, then you know how time consuming the process can be. It takes weeks, even months to “grow” them into a piece large enough for a quilt. I even have names for my latest scrap projects. Hot Pockets. Stairsteps. Wonky HST’s.

Want to see?

This is HOT POCKETS.

At first I was just piecing together scraps. Mixing up the fabrics and colors. Then to make it more interesting, I decided to add a square of polka dots here and there. Little pockets.

So far, I have orange, lime and pink sections. Lots more colors to add. Except for the pocket square, it is 100% scraps. Probably a few more months of piecing.

---

STAIRSTEPS is next. Last month I showed you the beginnings of this project. It looked like this.

It was made with cut off ends from my Scrappy Trip Around The World blocks. Didn’t have many so I created strips from scraps.

At first I named this project Dominoes. But after taking about 30 photos, I started seeing little burgundy steps. Stepping down row by row.

So calling it Stairsteps just made more sense. I LOVE creating these strips. I have pulled from everywhere. Charm packs, scraps purchased on Ebay, fabric from friends, stash. But mostly my scraps. Sashing is 1 1/8″ wide and I get three strips per WOF.

Three panels are completed. They are hanging on my design wall with avocado fabric in the background. I plan to use it for sashing.

This photo shows how I want it to look when finished.

---

WONKY HALF-SQUARE TRIANGLES (HST’s). Except for the white filler triangles along the outsides, this project is 100% scraps.

If you remember my Hugs and Kisses quilt, all those snowball-type corners created a ton of cut off ears.

I wasn’t sure what I would do with them but saved them anyway. There are hundreds of them. So far, I have made 20 of these wonky blocks. The HST’s are different sizes, hence the wonkiness of the blocks.

I haven’t completed the design yet. Working on how I want to connect the blocks. I am thinking 50 blocks should make a nice sized quilt. More details coming. More photos to follow.

---

You may remember me showing you my 5 by 5 blocks last month.

Well, they grew too!! From 8 blocks to 18. I added aqua/turquoise (love them!!), red, blue, mauve and pink.

I will probably do a couple blocks in black/white and maybe gray. Still thinking on this one. The final design hasn’t popped into my head just yet. Maybe add a HUGE border to make it lap size.

---

Even my Block of the Month quilt from my quilt group grew since the last time you saw it. This is April’s block.

I now have six blocks completed. Half way there.

Won’t have the quilt top finished until around the end of November. One block per month. But I have been auditioning fabrics for sashing and borders. Leaning toward more of the purple for the final border and maybe the back.

---

Not too many finishes for April. Just a few. I will post photos on my sidebar. The little doll quilt I showed you a couple days ago is finished. I ended up using the mauve fabric for the binding.

Binding machine stitched front and back.

And the doll pillow I was making turned out human sized so now I have to start over and piece more squares to make a much smaller one.

Just one of these should do it. Squares are 1 1/2″.

Well… that does it for me. I had one Heck Of A Scrappy Month. Happy. Happy. Happy. 😀

What all have you been creating? Do tell.

Being All Loopy Is NOT Easy

---

The bonding continues.

With my new sewing machine.

Hats off to the quilters who make loops seem so easy to make. They are NOT!! The process looks simple enough. Going round and round. But try it. You want to make the loops all perfect and consistent but something happens between Point A to Point B. You realize you have to go left instead of right. The space is smaller than you thought. You get boxed in. And so on and so on.

I wanted to practice on something other than a scrap quilt sandwich. So I made this little doll quilt from one of my extra Scrappy Trip Around The World blocks.

The heart country-look fabric had been in my stash over two years. Some of the first I bought when I was stash building. It had been auditioned many, many times but rarely used. I thought it would be perfect for this project.

Now I have to decide on the binding. Maybe green. And a doll quilt needs a little pillow, right? 😀

What else have I been working on?

I have spent practically all month working with my scraps. And loving it. Will be sad when they are all gone. But HEY. That is good news. It means I need to get busy cutting into my stash.

Will be back tomorrow or Wednesday. Lots to show you.

Regarding my awful loops… practice, practice, practice.

---

Linking to…

http://www.conniekresin.com/2013/04/lunky-tuesday.html

A Ta-Dah Moment… Look At My Chenille

---

Look at this. How did I do?

To say I am pleased with the outcome would be an understatement. I am up on my rooftop waving it like a flag. Come see!! And shouting. I want all of my neighbors to see my Faux Chenille doll quilt. 😀

But seriously… not bad, huh, for my first one?

Don’t know if you have ever tried making chenille but I was surprised (actually shocked) that it didn’t shed in the wash. For real!! I had some casual tops that needed washing but was afraid the cut strips would unravel and mess them up. So I threw in five towels to keep the quilt company as it swished round and round in the wash. Not a single thread on the towels. And only a teeny tiny bit of lint in the lint tray. The chenille crinkled up more in the dryer. I am thinking after one more washing the inside color should open up. But I love it!! Just as it is.

And of course a little girl has to accessorize her doll quilt. She needs a ruffled doll pillow. Made with the leftover scraps.

And a cute little purse for herself.

Could be reversible.

Well, that was fun. Now it is time to tackle a larger faux chenille. Baby quilt size.

These are the fabrics I selected. I will start cutting today. Wish me luck!!

Faux Chenille: Learning What NOT To Do

---

I am so glad I decided to make a little doll faux chenille quilt first.

Even after reading through the links I posted yesterday with all the tips on what to do and what not to do, I still learned a thing or two.

• Don’t piece the fabric and think you can easily cut through the seams when you come to them. (Pressing open may have helped.)
• If your finished quilt will have rounded corners, don’t sew that last diagonal seam in the corners. (The tip falls off.)
• Use huge binder clips (attach to table) to hold the quilt in place as you cut through the columns.
• Use tweezers to reveal the bottom layer as you insert the Chenille Cutter. (Since I did not follow the instructions and add the extra 1/4″ to the bottom fabric.)
• When backstitching at the end of each diagonal line, don’t sew above the area where binding will go. Or you will have to cut those tiny threads sticking up.
• Use less than seven fabrics next time. Was hard to cut through especially with the spray adhesive.
• Use less spray adhesive. 😀

Other than those, the rest of the process went well.

Fabrics used. In this order.

Layering with quilting spray adhesive. Bottom fabric (hot pink) facing down. 2nd fabric facing up.

Continue layering with the balance of fabrics facing up.

And the last fabric. This is the cutting side.

Now, flip stacked fabrics over so you see the first fabric. The hot pink fabric. You will mark your column lines on the top. You will sew on the top side in case there are thread/bobbin issues.

And done.

Ready to cut with the Chenille Cutter (or scissors). It is very easy to use. You select the channel based on the column width. I sewed 1/2″ columns. Half inch matches up with LL on the Chenille Cutter gauge. Rotate the dial to select LL.

Cut through all layers except the bottom fabric. I used my sewing tweezers to lift all fabrics to expose the bottom fabric. Do NOT cut through it.

To keep the quilt from moving as I cut, I used huge binder clips clamped to the table.

Cutting all finished.

Ready to round off the corners.

This is the binding fabric. Now I wish I had used the bottom fabric as the top. (Oh well.) I machine stitched the binding. Both top and bottom. Except for a couple of spots, it lined up perfectly.

All finished!! And headed to the washer and dryer.

BBL… to show you the chenille. Hopefully all goes well. 😀

---

Go here for instructions to make your own faux chenille quilt.

http://www.aestheticnest.com/2010/08/sewing-heirloom-cut-chenille-baby.html

Planning A Faux Chenille Baby Quilt…

---

But first, an update on Sweet Dreams (my charity pillowcase project).

Seven more pillowcases completed in the last three days.

I am really happy with these. And it feels great working with fabric that has been sitting in its color bin, taking up space.

This blue and yellow one quickly became my new fav as I was making it. So happy looking. Festive. Like a party going on in a pillowcase.

And then I started working with this red fabric. I bought it on sale some time ago but hadn’t used it. It is called Happy Homemaker by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman, 1930’s Era Designs.

Two little girls sweeping. Brooms and dustpans. So retro. I had pulled yellow to pair with it but at the last minute changed to navy polka dots. As soon as I sewed on the band, I knew it would replace my prior favorite.

OMGosh!! I like it. I LOVE it. So much so that I made a pillowcase for a doll.

Sorry, My Designated Charity, but these two are going in my Etsy Shop. I’ll make more for you. Promise. 😀

For Week 2, I made 16 pillowcases. Miles ahead of my One A Day obsession commitment. So far ahead that I am going to take a break from making pillowcases and work on something on my Small Projects List. I am going to make a Faux Chenille baby quilt. It has been on my bucket list for a while now.

Ever since Debra, at Deb’s Losing It, sent me this link.

http://www.aestheticnest.com/2010/08/sewing-heirloom-cut-chenille-baby.html

She said she thought of me when she saw it. It DID look like something I would make!! So, off I went in search of more details. How to make it, what fabrics to use and what tools were needed. I immediately found the tools on eBay for a song. I grabbed them.

My creative juices overflowed with ideas. But by the time I got the chenille cutter in the mail, my excitement had moved on to something else. 😀

But the time has come. It is Chenille Time. I will make a tester first. Not a full sized baby quilt. A doll quilt. Just to make sure I have the layers correctly placed. And mainly to make sure the colors shine through as intended.

I cut the fabric yesterday. 17″ by 15″. Here you can see what I selected.

More so for the colors. Colors are more important than the fabric choices. At least for the sandwiched layers. That is why I carefully selected some fabrics with color saturation on the wrong side.

Now comes the fun part. The sewing. Diagonal lines. Then I get to use the Chenille Cutter thingy to create the chenille.

Wish me luck!! Hope I don’t end up with a Hot Mess!!

Have you tried making a Faux Chenille craft? How did it turn out?

---

I found lots of help on the net.

http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-faux-chenille-blanket.html

http://www.maggiemadeit.com/chenille.htm

http://www.sirbubbadoo.com/2011/03/chenille-cut-quilt-for-new-baby-girl.html

https://sites.google.com/site/mamasparksworld/home/chenille-blanket-tutorial

http://www.ourlittlebeehive.com/2011/10/tutorial-hand-cut-chenille-blanket-for.html

I Am Seriously Thinking About Starting a Doll Line

---

Doll Quilt, mattress, pillow and rug.

I got so much satisfaction making this little set, that I am seriously thinking about starting my own line of doll products.

The tops of the quilt, pillow and rug were made all from my black and white scraps.

I used my stash fabric for the sashing, backing and the decorative bubbles. Mattress was made from one Fat Quarter and filled with batting scraps.

Guess what I used as the doll bed? I think this is/was a wine rack. Found it at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for 2.99. Love it!!

I so wanted to start on a second set like this in a different color but resisted. I need to work on some of my already thought about projects. But I will swing back to this set later and make more.

I could call this set Bubbles. I thought about Target but that is already taken. The circles with double layers look like daisies.

What do you think? Are you good at naming stuff? 😀

Spool Blocks, Doll Quilts and Auditions

---

Boy, oh boy!! Have I been busy. It is like a fire has been lit under my bee-hind.

I have so many irons in the fire it is hard to keep track. For you too, huh!!

Well, two sets are finished. They can be used as doll quilts or holiday table toppers.

One more is about finished. Decided I wanted gold polka dot circles appliqued to the quilt back. This is how I will probably place them.

More on the Sneak Peek from yesterday…. I am using some of my scrap blocks to make a Spool Block quilt. The first one will be a mini one. Table topper or wall hanging. Here are the pieces assembled.

And here are six blocks I made using my scrap blocks as the centers. Cool, huh!! The blocks are made using the snowball block technique.

So far I am liking how to make them. Haven’t sewn the blocks together yet. Need to decide on the borders. I am thinking I should use this red dotted swiss instead of the red polka dots with larger irregular dots. Though the irregular is my favorite type polka dot fabric.

---

Two fabric auditions…

Got this green print yesterday at JoAnn’s. Wasn’t 100% what I was looking for but the color seemed about right. At least it looks better than the solid green.

And I think these fabrics will go well together to make up table mats.

Most of this stuff I am making is for my craft show. The only one I have for this winter. It is the second weekend of December. So I have been putting finishing touches on some stuff made but not finished. And making “this” to go with “that”. I still have to get price tags on everything. And I want to do a dry run and set up my display table. Two years ago my display table made the local newspaper. Maybe the same will happen this year.

More photos coming up…

---

Tutorial on how to make the spool blocks can be found here.

http://fredashive.blogspot.com/2010/01/string-spool-tutorial.html

Switching To Christmas

---

But first….

I finished binding these two little doll quilts yesterday.

And since I had LOTS of black and white scraps left, I started on a few more.

Did I tell you how much I enjoy making doll quilts!! 😀

Just about out of the pink so used mustard gold polka dots on this one.

I REALLY love how this is turning out. This will be the back.

I would like to make a second one but am out of the white with black stars fabric.

---

OK… Now on to Christmas.

My first Christmas blocks. I made this for a Block Lottery I signed up for in the Quilt Group I belong to. We are all making the same block using this Moda Bake Shop tutorial.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/05/christmas-packages.html

It is supposed to true up to an 11″ square but mine turned out a bit short. About 1/4″. So I am going to use them myself for something. Not sure what.

Those were the first ones I made.

These next ones, the second batch, were still a bit shy of 11″ square but I am finishing them (made 4) and sending them off anyway.

For the next ones I make, I will remember to add a teensy extra when cutting and then trim down to size when finished.

What sewing are you doing for the holidays? Sprucing up the homestead or making gifts.