You Are My Sunshine Baby Quilt

My niece is expecting her fifth child.

If it was up to her, she would have ten!

Her husband is not in agreement, however.

I just finished the baby quilt for this new little one

and will deliver it when I am in Pennsylvania next week.

This started as two jelly roll sets.

I sewed them in sets of three strips,

one set was color, white, color

and the other was white, color, white.

The white as little yellow/orange pin dots in it.

I cut the strips into wedges and sewed them into squares.

 

It isn't your typical baby quilt palette,

but my niece likes different things.

 

Plus, I like to make the baby quilts out of fabrics

that will grow with the child.

 

She is having a girl,

which will make two girls and three boys....

all under the age of six!

 

The backing isn't quite as dark as the photo is showing,

but I love the stripes with the florals on the front.

I quilted it using straight lines and squiggly lines.

This quilt is so soft and cuddly already.

Another baby quilt checked off of my list!

Happy Quilting!

Patriotic Pillows

In my last post I wrote about making a

Patriotic table runner or table topper

for my mom and siblings each year for the past

8 years.

This year's table topper is a flag I made

altering this pattern just a bit.

After making the table topper flags,

I decided to make some pillows for 2 friends and myself.

I liked the pillows made at Cluck Cluck Sew

and pretty much followed her idea.

The pillows are quilted, bound and stuffed.

There's something about red, white and blue that just makes me smile.

 

I needed the light blue border to make the pillows fit a standard size form.

It brings a little more light into the pillow, too.

 

I love this swirly fabric I used for the back.

There is a hidden zipper so the form can be removed

and it can be used as a topper instead of a pillow.

 

The 2019 Patriotic items are done!

Happy Quilting!

2019 Patriotic Table Topper

For the past 7 years I have been making a 

Patriotic table runner or table topper

for my mom and my siblings.

My dad was one of the most patriotic people I know

and he died in July.

It started as something by which to remember

our father and I had no intentions of making one each year.

Well, 8 years later, I am still making something

patriotic to give to my family around July 4th.

The first runner is in the upper left hand corner of this photo.

Last years are at the bottom.

I had a plan for this years table topper and started creating the 2019 version.

Very quickly I realized what I had in my head was not going to work in fabric.

Plan B was found and here is this years table topper.

My original plan was to use buttons for the stars with a blue background,

but my buttons were too small.

I would have needed a lot more than 50 to fill the space

and I couldn't do that.

 

I had the red and white stripes cut and sewn already

and needed to find a star that would work.

Finally I found this star idea and altered it to fit my needs.

While the buttons would have been fun,

this is much more functional for a table topper.

I'm not sure the little quilt could have been hung

if it had a lot of buttons sewn to one corner,

so this ended up being the better way to make this years quilt.

 

The quilting is very simple

and I love the wavy lines on the flag.

 

The date needs to be added and then these will be ready to give

to my family.

I've already started thinking about next years quilt!

Today I'm linking to Design Wall Monday.

Happy Quilting!

Pot Holders

A few years ago I made some pot holders

for a church bazaar and a friend bought a few to give as gifts.

Recently, she asked if I could make her some more for 

her and her cousin.

These go together so quickly and are a fun project to make.

The only request she had for fabrics was that she wanted

a couple out of Christmas fabrics.

The finished size is about 8" square.

I used two pieces of batting and one piece of the insul-bright inside the pot holders. 

Both my friend and her cousin have campers,

so I thought this fabric would be a hit with both of them.

It's the only piece that wasn't in my stash.

My friend's kitchen is yellow and blues.

This is perfect!

They will be delivered in the next day or so.

Another project checked from my list!


****Edit****

Libby asked what the contrasting stripe was for about 1/4 of the way
down on the pot holder.
I made the pot holders with a pocket for your hand.
I saw one like this somewhere and thought it was a great idea.

It protects the front and back of your hand.

Or it's doubly thick if you don't put your hand in the pocket.

 

 

The pocket is a 6"x8" piece made the same way as the 8" square part.

Happy Quilting!

Sea Life Baby Quilt

Happy Monday morning!

I have another finish to share today.

My piles are slowly disappearing and so far

I haven't been making new piles!

We will see how long this lasts.

I finished another baby quilt and

absolutely love the fabrics used in this one.

I had a layer cake of these beautiful fabrics called

"Calypso" by In the Beginnings

and then found this pattern that calls for a layer cake.

I had the blue polka dot grunge for the background

and started cutting the pieces.

 

It didn't take me long before I had the quilt top finished.

There is an outer border that I didn't add because I didn't

want the quilt to be that big.

 

 

This fabric is digitally printed

and is so vibrant and beautiful.

 

I had to really think about how to quilt it and am pleased with

what I came  up with for this one.

It's nothing fancy and was fast and pretty easy.

While making this baby quilt,

the directions called for 52 HST's for the border.

I read that as needing to cut 52 4" squares to use

for the HST's.

Yep... you guessed it... I had 52 HST's left!

When life gives you extra quilt parts,

make another quilt!

Pinwheels were made from the HST's and I had enough

layer cake pieces to fill in with those.

 

My photo is slightly blurry, but I love the fish in this print.

 

This one will be sewn together and borders will be added

to make another baby quilt.

Woohoo!! for mistakes!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

Graduation Quilt Finished

The last week has brought a lot of rain to my neck of the woods.

Rain means I can't be outside working.

Rain means I get to play more in my Hidey Hole!

I have four quilts that need to be quilted and finished,

so one day I had a basting party.

The first quilt is finished and ready to give to the graduate.

This quilt was made from a kit I purchased

last year on sale from Craftsy.

A friend had made it and I loved her finish.

When I started cutting the pieces,

I couldn't quite figure out why I liked it so much.

Maybe some of the fabrics in my quilt were different,

but I'm not sure.

 

I am much happier with it now that it's finished,

but I don't think I would purchase this kit today.

 

 

It was quilted with swirls and loops 

and bound in the same fabric as the backing.

The backing looks like a beautiful garden at night!

Gorgeous colors and flowers.

The label will be sewn onto this finish

and given to the special graduate.

Happy Quilting!

Baby Quilt #4706 (not really!)

It seems like lately that I am making one baby quilt

after another.

This summer we know of a number of babies being born,

which means there are a number of quilts that need to be made.

The other day I found this pattern for a baby quilt

using a layer cake and some yardage.

I just happened to have this fun layer cake

just waiting for a quilt idea to pop into my head.

It went together so quickly

and is so much fun to look at!

I just love the sea designs in this line of fabric.

The colors are so rich and vibrant, too.

If I was using yardage, the waves would have been matched

but I couldn't do it with a layer cake. :(

 

Look at the whale and the fish!

It's like we are snorkling and seeing all of this wonderful sea life.

 

I'm not adding the last border because I don't want it that big.

This is about 40" square now.

I've added it to my

"to be quilted" pile.

UGH!

I REALLY need to get some of these quilted

and soon!

Happy Quilting!

It's a Pillow Kind of Week

The past few days found me finishing up some

pillows for a raffle at my church.

For the past 5 years or so, a group of us at church has 

been making quilts to be raffled.  

The proceeds of the raffle go to one of the missions

we support through the church.

This year we decided to change things up a bit.

Instead of making one large quilt,

we decided to make a small lap quilt,

a table topper, a table runner and 2 pillows,

all from Christmas fabric.

This way more people have a chance to win.

The group gathers and makes the tops

and then several of us quilt and finish them.

I offered to finish the pillows since I enjoy making pillows so much!

I had so much fun quilting each of these, using

feathers, arcs and meander.

 

 We thought this fabric would appeal to most people.

It's traditional, but has a little spark of something  new to it.

All of the quilted items use these same blocks.

 

I had just enough to make the backing with the hidden zipper.

I do have a question....

When did pillow forms become so expensive??

Even with a coupon, they cost a lot more than they used to,

but, then, what doesn't??

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

Pillows and Such

Things have been slow in my Hidey Hole

since I returned from my trip to China.

I haven't been motivated to do too much.

Maybe it's because my schedule was off,

but I'm back on east coast time and sleeping normally again.

This week I've finished up a couple of odds and ends

and cut the fabric for a new quilt.

A couple of months ago

I made a Christmas tree skirt for a wedding gift.

In making this tree skirt,

I had some big pieces left

and couldn't just throw them away.

I started playing around with the scraps and made this table topper.

My mom loves it, so it's going to her!

In March my mom, sister and 2 sisters-in-law

met in Pennsylvania for a girls weekend.

We had a blast!

While we were out and about my sister found some dish towels

she really liked and asked if I could make her some pillows 

out of them.

This week the pillows were made and are ready to pass onto her.

The thing with making pillows from some dish towels

is that the design is printed closer to the bottom

of the towel rather then more in the middle.

I like to make 18" pillows,

so the design isn't centered.

I think these turned out cute

and I love the sayings on them.

 

 

This one is my favorite.

 

I had this fabric in my stash.

It's my sisters style and she loves these colors.

Woohoo!!

The new quilt I started is a baby quilt for a little one due in September.

You know me....bright and bold for a baby quilt!

 I need to get a couple of solid reading fabrics to add to this

collection.  All of these fabrics have been aging in my 

stash and were ready to come out and play.

 

The pattern was a free one from Moda Bake Shop,

but it isn't coming up right now.

I'm not able to find it on the designer's blog, either.

Here is what the finished quilt will look like.

(Image taken from the internet.)

That's it for now!

It's nice to be back into the sewing groove

after being gone for a few weeks.

Happy Quilting!

China, Part 3

My two favorite days in China were the days we visited the

Terracotta Warriors

and

The Great Wall of China.

A few of the Terracotta Warriors had come to my city

last year and we were able to see them up close.

Nothing compared to seeing them where they were found, though.

Each warrior has a different face and

body type. They were modeled after real people.

Their uniforms denoted their rank in the army.

There are horses, chariots and weapons among the warriors, too.

 

This is pit #1 of 3 pits! 

The government covered them with a roof before they were opened to the public.

The excavation continues to this day.

The estimate is that there are at least as many warriors still buried as

have been uncovered.

 

 

Some are headless.

Some are missing other body parts.

 

This warrior was positioned like he was holding

onto reins for the horse.

 

I didn't realize until I was on this tour that all of the warriors

were destroyed by the Ming dynasty.

They were found in several hundred to thousands of pieces

and have been painstakingly restored and positioned back in their original place.

 It was an amazing day to be able to see these where they were found in 1974.

 

In Beijing we enjoyed  a rickshaw ride through

the old part of the city.

The day we went to the Great Wall was a gorgeous day.

There aren't many "blue sky" days in Beijing,

but we were blessed to have several.

We were at the wall early

and were able to see it without mobs of people.

 

It is truly amazing that we were there!

It was difficult to walk along the wall.

The steps were very uneven

and the flat area was anything but flat.

We trudged along and saw as much as we could.

 

Can you imagine building this long before power tools,

vehicles and modern technology??

 

What a view!

We ended the trip with a tour of Tiananmen Square

and the Forbidden City.

 Above is the South gate in the square.

That is an oil painting of Mao Zedong.

It's replaced periodically with an exact copy.

I have to say,

this was my least favorite day of the trip.

There were mobs of people here,

pushing and shoving and taking our pictures.

My daughter stood out in this crowd,

being a redhead!

It was difficult to take in the meaning of the area

with all of the people.

 

 

This sign gave me the biggest laugh!

The government gave the bathrooms here 4 stars!

Maybe it's because they have toilet paper, soap, paper towels

and western toilets.

Believe it not,

these things were hard to come by on the trip,

especially toilet paper and soap.

I was prepared, though!

 

These photos are of the palaces in the 

Forbidden City.

The colors were so vibrant and beautiful.

 I kept picturing batiks as I was walking through this area.

:)

 

There is an Imperial Garden in the Forbidden City.

These rocks were taken from under water

and placed in the garden.

They were quite interesting, to say the least!

 

It would have been a peaceful place if it weren't for the

thousands of people there.

My daughter and I will have these memories forever.

It was wonderful trip

and the best part was being together.

Happy Day!