Project complete and Baby booties

Hooray!!! I am so happy I have finished a project that was started before my first son was even in the picture. 

I began this quilt by sewing three 3" strips together and cutting the new strips into blocks. Then, I intended to arrange the blocks so that there were blue and brown "steps" but for some reason I must have had a brain fart and couldn't accomplish this. I began quilting it as my first hand quilting project but had apparently not yet learned how to hide my knots within the batting layer. I now have two knots on the top side of every strip throughout the middle of the quilt. When I picked it back up again I knew I wouldn't sell this one but rather finish it for my own conscience and keep it as a reminder if how far I've come.

I also tried out a new pattern for baby booties. It was a free pattern and I will need to look through my history to figure out which one it was, but I'm not a fan. The sizing is pretty small, and I think it could use more fabric on top. Hoping to have around 10 pairs by September, as well as some baby girl hair accessories. 

I've also gotten a backing for Taine's Quilt. It's a beautiful polka dot batik. I used warm 'n' natural batting which is a very thin, yet also very warm cotton batting. I'm hand quilting large diamonds through the pinwheels and may try my hand at free motion quilting on the inside of the diamonds. 

Ava Claire Designs and The Riverside Trilogy

I'd like to take a moment to showcase a couple of friends of mine who are a couple sources of inspiration for me. I can appreciate the time and effort these ladies put into their work and love seeing the new things they come up with.

Ava Claire Designs is run by Teresa Apel-Heinz. She creates exquisite pieces by hand that are both stunning and conversation-worthy. Here is one of my favorites from her collection. Head on over and 'like' her page to keep updated on all of her new, beautiful and creative designs.

If you're a fan of a hot and steamy romance, check out author Brooke Cumberland's The Riverside Trilogy. If you are a Kindle owner, follow Drake and Molly's escapades from Kitchen Affairs to the newest, Kitchen Scandals to be released July 1, 2013. 'Like' her page to keep updated on fantastic giveaways and news on everything from swag to autographed copies.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BYD1CWM

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.