Practice makes perfect...

I haven't had the time lately to go out and buy new supplies for new projects so I'm a little at a stand-still. I have been working on some of my scrap bin, though. I started a new tote, a bit taller than the past few. It's called Anchors Away! because of the lovely anchor fabric I featured on it. I'd like a matching lining and so it will be until my next trip to the fabric store before I can finish it. 

I've also been quilting my strippy quilt...I think the reason it's taking me so long is that I'm just not in love with it. It's an old project that I didn't give the time and patience it deserves as I was still learning when I began it. I'm about 2/3 done with it and would like to see the binding on by the end of the week. 

Two of the things I've been practicing with are a feather block  from Anna Marie Horner (http://www.annamariahorner.com/Feather.Bed.Quilt.pdf) and also a couple blocks of a Winding Ways quilt to test out my template. 

Hello Kitty Herringbone and WIPs

I originally made these 2 herringbone strips to work as sides to the MHKL quilt but didn't care for the pink shades against the purple and blue. Instead, I sandwiched the two strips together and decided to do a pretty horizontally stacked border on the sides. This quilt ended up being perfect for baby's crib. It was quilted by hand and features a cozy, soft Hello Kitty backing. I even decided to go with a nice, hand-stitched binding that I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out. I had always thought that hand binding would be a very tedious project, but instead I found it to be a nice way to pass the time and found my happy place. I am very happy with how it turned out and hope that it makes a little baby very happy in the near future! Click here if you are at all interested in purchasing.

Now that this is completed, I have a few more things up my sleeve to keep me (crazy) busy. I've started cutting teeny, tiny little hexagons for a project I have yet to determine. I also dug up two quilt tops I made back when I was first learning how to do this stuff. There are some MAJOR flaws in these, but I believe I'll keep them the way they are to show character. I can always look back at them and show my growth, if there is any.

These projects are: one strip lap quilt, and one lazy log cabin queen-sized quilt. I may try my hand at machine quilting on the queen, but I'm not committed to that idea. The corners are nowhere near matchy-matchy, but it holds a special place in my heart. The strip lap quilt may end up being pet-bedding on my Etsy shop, or for our cat - Sam, the queen. Who knows? Maybe it will look nice at the end. The pictures I have aren't pressed as I had just dug them out of my storage box, so please disregard the wrinkles.

Embroidery, baby quilts, and Br Ba

I have had a slow week for production due to my latest obsession with Breaking Bad. I'm on season 3 right now. I'm so addicted - I wait for the boys to go to bed and watch 3-4 episodes at night and 1 or 2 at naptime.

Yesterday, my mom and I took a lovely trip to Kohler and spent the morning in the spa before doing a little window shopping in the afternoon. I saw a Vera Bradley display and after reading comments about how my work resembles hers, I've found a bit of inspiration. I even went to pick up more goodies today to get chugging along on.

Somehow between all of this, I did manage to finish up another quilt top, a pink baby girl chevron that, in my opinion, needed a lot more planning before I started. It actually began as an idea for a very wide border on the Meadow Hello Kitty Lilies quilt, but I was not fond of the pinks on the top of that quilt. I sewed my sides together and ended up with a not-so-terrible quilt top with a cute stripey border. It's on the hoop right now and I will post pictures once it has been completed. 

I also began a patch for the MHKL quilt that has the recipient's name embroidered on it. It's going to have a solid fill, I'm considering trying ombre but I have yet to commit to that idea.