Bucilla Snowpeople

 As you know, I love working on Bucilla felt kits.

I go in phases where I work on them for a while in the evenings.

I'm in one of those phases right now.

 

My daughter saw this kit last year and loved it.

The kit was ordered and I started working on it

about a month ago.

 

I do handwork in the evening while my husband watches tv

and I listen.

 

 

The front is finished!

 

Are they not the cutest?!?

We've had more than enough snow this winter,

But I still love these people.

 

 

The kit directions have us finishing this in a very strange way.

Instead of following the kits directions,

I'm going to make a small neutral quilt and stitch this to it.

It will be easier to hang this way.

This took a while to make, but was so fun and worth the effort.

 

Not much may be coming from my hidey hole for a while because

we are moving!

We are staying in the area, but moving to a smaller house.

Packing up a house after living here for 31 years is a JOB!!

And my hidey hole will be smaller, so I'm really having to purge.

It feels sooo good though!

 

 

Happy Quilting!

(and cleaning and sorting and purging!)

:D

Valentine's Day Sewing

 We are not big on Valentine's Day at my house.

It's usually just like any other day around here.

Yesterday, since we couldn't get up our driveway

because of the ice storm we had on Saturday,

I played in my Hidey Hole.

The portable heater was plugged in,

making the room nice and cozy.

While this was going on outside....

(This is my only Valentine Decoration. The Be Kind sign stays out all of the time.)

this was going on inside....

 

 

I usually web sew blocks together,

but yesterday I just took my time

and slowly sewed these blocks into rows.

 

 

The sewing begins with the bottom row in my Hidey Hole

because I'm short.  This way I don't knock blocks onto the floor

reaching for the top rows.

 

 

I wasn't totally liking the gray sashing when I started,

but it's growing on me.

This will be a little like an I spy quilt with the different

fun figures on some of the squares. 

Hopefully this will be a finish soon and will get quilted

and ready to give to the new wee one.

 

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

Scrappy Baby Quilt

 

This is what I awoke to this morning... again.

It's pretty and all, but I do not like snow.

We are forecasted for ice tomorrow and more snow next week.

The one good thing about snow days is more time for sewing!

With all of these baby quilts needed for my extended family,

I have been thinking of what to make.

I am not one to have orphan blocks laying around,

but I did find 10 of these scrappy blocks that I had made

several years ago and decided to add to these for one of the

baby quilts.

I'm not sure if this block has a name

(I'm really bad at knowing names of blocks!),

but it's a fun block to make with my bucket of 2 1/2" squares.

I have five more to make for this to be the size I want it to be.

In addition, I'm trying to decide on sashing fabric.

I like this bluish gray and think the colors pop against it.

 

This white with silver lines looks good up close,

but gets lost from a distance.

 

When I went to the quilt shop yesterday,

I was hoping to find a cute polka dot that would work,

but had no luck.

I have a white with yellow pin dots,

but they disappear from a distance, too.

 

What do you all think?

 

 

Happy Quilting!

Blooming Butterflies Finished

 I never thought I would be posting about this quilt being finished so soon.

There is a lot going on with my family and some very close friends,

and I've needed to escape to my Hidey Hole to recharge,

so I've had some very concentrated sewing time.

 

This quilt, Blooming Butterflies,

went together much more quickly than I anticipated

and I love the finish.

 

 

This will be given to my niece at her Drive Through Baby Shower tomorrow.

 

 

This was a kit from Shabby Fabrics and as soon as I saw it,

I knew I would be making this for this particular niece.

One reason for it going together so quickly and easily is because

the pieces were laser cut and had the fusible on them already.

 

I followed the pattern placement exactly because I liked it so much.

 

 

 

The fabrics in this kit are so fun and cheerful.

It will be such a sweet baby quilt

for my grand niece.

 

 

The backing is such a fun fabric, too, and looks like it's in motion.

 

I'm sad to see this one go, but know that my niece will love it.

I'll have to make sure my sister doesn't take it from her, though!

 

 

Happy Quilting!

Next Baby Quilt

 I've mentioned before that I have two nieces,

who are sisters,

both due on March 3rd. 

One niece is having her third son and will, most likely,

not make it March 3rd.

The other niece is having her first... a daughter.

This nieces LOVES butterflies.

 

After I heard that she was expecting, but before I knew the sex of the baby,

I saw this kit on Shabby Quilts and knew I had to order it.

It would either be a baby quilt or a quilt for my niece.

It has been patiently waiting to be made for a few months.

It came out of the cabinet last week.

The middle section is done. It went together pretty quickly,

especially since I made it just as the kit suggested. 

Usually I change things up to make the quilt my own,

but I love this quilt just as it is.

Next is to make the praire points and add them to the 

outside border.

They are all pressed and ready to put into place.

 

 

I'm hoping to have this one done by the end of the weekend,

but we shall see. The quilting could take a while.

Happy Quilting!

Kaffe Hexagon Finish

 This little quilt was made from extra triangles I had cut

to make another Kaffe scrappy quilt.

I couldn't let these triangles go into the scrap bucket

because they may never see the light of day again.

 

 

I decided to leave the points at each end of the quilt instead of 

straightening the edges.

Binding these points was pretty easy since the inside angle

was not too sharp.

 

 

 

 

 

A simple corner to corner quilting was done.

I really like the white with black fabrics used for the

fill areas. I may have to do something like this again!

 

 

 

This one may be donated to Hands2Help,

but I need to measure it first.
 

Happy Friday, All!

Happy Quilting!

Dinosaur Finish

 My family is very prolific.

My daughter and a niece had babies in December.

Two nieces (Sisters!) are due on March 3rd,

and a fifth niece is due in June.

This will make 18 great grandchildren for my mom

from 13 grandchildren.

 

Needless to say,

lots of baby quilts have been needed.

 

My latest finish is the baby quilt for one of the babies due March 3rd.

 

He's a boy. :)

 

 

 

 

 

This quilt was made with one of Elizabeth Hartman's' patterns 

and was fun to make.

I had not used one of her patterns before and can see more in my future.

 

I was going to quilt it with a grid design,

but Ann at Straythreads suggested using leaves.

I loved this idea and that's how it was quilted.

 

 

These guys have their food and shelter right there

and are ready for this little guy to be born soon.

 

Onto the next baby quilt!

 

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

 

Happy Quilting!

 

Dinosaur Hunt is Over

 This past week found me trekking through the countryside

looking for dinosaur parts and I found them all!

The blocks are finished and sewn into a quilt top.

 

This was made using Elizabeth Hartman's pattern and

fabrics all from my stash.

I have never made a quilt like this and really enjoyed the process.

It sure slowed me down, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  

I didn't have enough of one background fabric to make the

entire quilt, so I used a different background for each dinosaur.

The colors in the photos are off a bit,

but I love all of the greens.

 

 

After finishing the top, I've been pondering how to quilt it.

I'm leaning toward using a diagonal grid

or a straight grid, but we shall see.

These guys are pretty cute... for dinosaurs.

 

Hopefully this will be finished soon!

Happy Quilting!

Odds and Ends

 These past few days have been spent getting things that have been

languishing around here finished.

I've had this quilt on my design wall for a couple of weeks

and have been slowly sewing it into rows. 

I woke up at 4am today (😒) and decided to get this top finished.

This is another Kaffe scrappy baby quilt.

It was dark and dreary here today,

so the color in the photos is off.

You get the gist.

 

 

I used three different black on white prints from my stash 

for the fill triangles and love how they look with the Kaffe.

I am going to leave the points on the edge and quilt it like this.

Maybe I'll be brave (or crazy) enough to bind it this way, too.

We will see how much time I want to spend on it when it

comes time to bind it.

Two of my nieces, who are sisters, are due on the same day in March.

One is having her third boy and the other is having her first child.. a daughter.

The knitting needles have been busy making baby sweaters.

Neither has been blocked yet and both are waiting for buttons.

These yarns are so soft and cuddley!

 

 

For you knitters out there....

I had to save the sleeve stitches and pick them back up after

the body was completed. I used the same size DPN's as the circular needled

used for the body, but why do the sleeve stitches look smaller?

Maybe my knitting is tighter using the DPN's?

I didn't notice this until they were finished.

:(

These two hooded baby towels have been cut out and waiting

to be made. They were both finished today, too!

It has been a productive couple of days here in my hidey hole.

Back to Dinosaur land!

Happy Quilting!

Dinosaur Parade

 The dinosaur construction has begun!

The pattern is divided into 8 blocks for the baby quilt size

and I have finished two blocks.

 

I've decided to cut all of the pieces and kit them up 

before proceeding with the construction.

 Cutting all of the individual pieces is a bit time-consuming,

but each block goes together pretty quickly once that is done.

 

 

 

 

 

The fabrics have been selected for each block and are waiting to be cut.

 

 

 

Each block will have a different background,

and I'm using all batiks.

This guy looks more like a turtle to me,

but once he's with his friends,

he will look like a dinosaur... I hope!

Let the fun continue!

Happy Quilting!

Dinosaur Baby Quilt

My family ended 2020 with two births...

a niece and her husband had their third child

and my daughter and SIL had their first.

This year will bring three more births to my family.

Two nieces are expecting on the same day and they are sisters!

The third niece is due in June.

The sisters are two in a couple of months,

which means I need to keep going on baby quilts!

Today I pulled fabric for the niece who is having a boy.

This baby quilt will be unlike any that I have made before

and I'm excited to be starting it.

Green batiks will be used to make the smaller version of this quilt

pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

The first six blocks are done.
Many more to go!

(And the fabrics aren't Kaffe!)

😊

Happy Quilting!

First Kaffe Finish of 2021

 At the end of 2020 I pulled backing fabrics

and cut batting for four quilts that needed to be finished.

All of them were made with Kaffe fabrics. :)

One was finished at the end of 2020

and the second of the four was finished yesterday.

I pieced this top back in the summer, I think,

and love the grayish/purplish/tealish

Kaffe fabric with his prints.

 

 

This design is so simple, but so pretty. 

I love how it appears that you look back into

the quilt to see the print pieces.

I quilted the prints with feathers,

which you can't see very well.

The quilting should have been reversed...

feathers in the solid areas and

straight lines in the prints.

Oh well... 

This great fish print was in my stash.

I think I had bought it to make a bag that was

never made.

My husband said he likes the back of the quilt

better than the front.😊

The smallest of the three remaining quilts 

is finished.  Now onto the other two!

 

 

In the evenings, another Bucilla kit has come out to play.

These snowmen are just too cute!!

 

Happy Quilting!

One Last Finish

 Today is the last day of 2020 and I don't think

anyone will wish that this year could have lasted longer.

On this last day of the year,

I have one more finish in my Hidey Hole.

The quilting mojo has not been here recently,

even though I've been working on other crafty things.

Then this past week the itch started...

I pulled out a pile of triangles I had cut from Kaffe scraps

and started to play with them.

More triangles needed to be cut to add some more color

and fabrics and the neutral fabric was chosen.

 

After playing around with the pieces on my design wall,

this is what came to be.

 

 

There is something about triangle shapes that just draws me.

Maybe it's the simplicity of the design... I don't know.

My original thought was to add more rows to make the quilt longer

and have the triangles pointing down.

Then I decided that I like them pointing to the side.

 

 

I had this piece of Anna Maria Horner fabric in my

stash and it made the perfect backing.

Some simple straight line quilting was done

and the quilt is finished.

This will go in the donation pile.

 

 

While I was looking for backing fabric for this quilt,

I pulled backing fabrics for three other quilts that have

been waiting to be finished.

 

Making the backs for quilts is my least favorite part of quilting.

The backing fabrics were found and sewn together, batting was cut

and now these three quilts are ready for basting.

The thing that struck me with these four quilts....

(the three waiting to be basted and the one I just finished)

all of them have been made using Kaffe scraps!

I do have other fabric in my stash,

but these Kaffe scraps keep multiplying and NEED to be used!

 

 

 

And since I had triangles that didn't get used for the first

quilt mentioned in this post,

Another quilt is on the design wall.

 

 

I pulled some white with black fabrics from my stash for the

neutral places in this design and really like the look.

 

Maybe one of my goals for 2021 should be to use fabrics other than Kaffe!

(But they are my FAVORITE!!)

 

 

I pray that everyone has a blessed and joy-filled 2021. 

Peace be with you.