Works in Progress Wed (6.29.2011)

Finished:

QAYG Rainbow Tablerunner

(more about this here)

Charm squares cut and ready to go, for the GenXQuilters Spoonflower Swap!

I'm so excited to see what comes in the mail!

Practice layout for the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along:

AMH Loulouthi and kona cotton -- a bundle from Sew Fresh Fabrics

(thinking about adding a few more colored solids to this)

What do you think, so far?

Still playing around with possible layouts for the Warm/Cool Quilt Along -

this is my favorite so far.

And finally, I cleaned up our "loft" - a cozy spot at the top of the stairway for reading/relaxing.  I figured that if it looked inviting, maybe I could cozy up here after the kids go to bed and work on hand quilting this double hourglass quilt.

(It hasn't happened yet, though!)

Happy Wednesday!

Head over to Lee's blog to see some more works in progress!

Blogger's Dinner Party

Have you seen Kate's blog Needle & Spatula?  Well, I'm a big fan.

I love knitting and cooking/baking in addition to quilting,

so it's always fun to see what she comes up with!  Her latest project is this:

Pretty fun idea, huh?

And here is what I made:

This idea of a quilt-as-you-go-tablerunner has been on my list for awhile, and so with the help of 2 little people, I sorted through my scrap bin and found a rainbow of colors!

  It was pretty quick to whip up, and fun, too!

My initial plan was to arrange our colored pencils in little jars according to color, and display this on our dining room table (which is mostly our art space).

But see that little white paw in the corner?

Unfortunately, our adorable fluffy friend Tallulah decided that the tips of the colored pencils would be fun to snack on, and she broke off a bunch before I decided that this little display idea was NOT going to work.  Bummer.  So the pencils are going back to a different shelf, and we'll just have to enjoy the table runner by itself!

play. eat. sleep. repeat

I finally finished up this baby quilt!

I usually try to have a few baby quilt tops done, ready to go,

for when we receive news of a new baby.

So I quilted this one last week, using an all over stipple for the center

and loops for the edges.

This quilt is going to a family we know who just had their 3rd baby girl.

Doesn't a 3rd baby deserve something special, all it's own?!

Pattern at Moda Bake Shop, by V & Co

Linking up to:

WIP Wed 6.22.2011

Finished projects:

Stuffed Animal Sleeping Bags

read more here

Bottled Rainbows,

finally hanging in my sewing space!

In progress:

Small Pips Quilt, in need of quilting -- any thoughts on this?

Quilt alongs:

Warm/Cool Quilt Along at In Color Order

HSTs all ready to go, just need to decide on a layout

I decided to join in on the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, too!

I figured that the Warm/Cool Quilt Along was nearly over, and Elizabeth's Kaleidoscope Quilt Along hasn't quite started yet, so I needed another one!

It's nice to be able to just make a block or two at a time, and use up scraps in the process.  I'm trying to use mostly Sugar Pop scraps left over from my Supernova Quilt.

Head over to Freshly Pieced for more Works in Progress:

Going Camping

Meet Sammelia Sheep and Daisy the Bunny.

They like camping, too.

Stuffed animal sleeping bags were a fun little project to make with my little artists!

This was what we decided on for our first "crafting with Mommy day" last friday.

Our summer sewing/project list is here -- one down, many to go!

Doesn't she look happy?

This project was inspired by these sleeping bags at Flossie Teacakes.

I hear that she might be writing up a pattern for these -- aren't they fun?!?

The only bummer (in the girls' minds) was that these sleeping bags don't zip up.

Maybe I'll figure out how to do that for the next set of animals that plan to go camping with us.  Good thing we bought a new (larger) tent this year!

Bucket Hat

My nephew Henry has the cutest little feet,

and they look even more adorable in his little orange Crocs.

So for his 3rd birthday, I decided that he needed an orange hat!

I used the bucket hat pattern from the

Oliver & S book 

Little Things to Sew.

LOVE THIS BOOK!

Fabrics: the orange is Kokka "Hello my friend",

and the black is a home dec weight Michael Miller

Teacher Gifts

These "book bags" were inspired by Elizabeth's mini bookshelf quilt

and Amy's library pillow --

I liked their projects so much, and thought this "bookshelf" idea

would work perfectly for a bag!

I couldn't think of a more perfect gift for the AMAZING teachers

 who taught my little girls to read!

I added pockets along the back side of the bag,
and on the inside, too -- for library cards and reading lists!

I'm really happy with how these turned out.

I think I'll make some more for us to use for our trips to the library this summer!

It's so much fun to have kids who READ--

(thanks so much Mrs. Olson!!!!!!)

--we can't wait to join the summer reading program at our local library.

Linking up to:

Summer Sewing

Bottled Rainbows, finished!
Blogged here

Next on my list:
Finish teacher gifts (by Thursday -- yikes!)

A few projects for the summer:

• Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don't Call Me Betsy
• Amy Butler Style Stitches Sew Along -- June, July, August Projects
• do. Good Stitches -- make blocks for June, July, and design my circle's August quilt
• Blogger's Dinner Party
• make something with all the HSTs I have left over from the Supernova Quilt Along

Mostly, though, I want this summer to be about having fun with my little artists!  I've missed them while they've been in kindergarten!  They finish on Thursday, so our first day of summer together will be Friday.  The girls have decided that they want Fridays to be "crafts with Mommy day" and "pajama day."  Could I be any more happy about this?!  I don't really think we'll spend the entire day in our pajamas every week -- but I could see going straight from pajamas into swimsuits for an afternoon at the pool!

I still need to come up with a plan for what we should do each week -- I want our crafts to be fun and simple, not too frustrating (for any of us!) -- so I'll need to stay one step ahead of them and really get to know the instructions or pattern for whatever we're making.  This worked pretty well for the Ruby Lou dolls I made for their friends this spring.  I think I'll try to do a weekend post about "crafting with kids" after some of our days together, highlighting our favorite projects.

So here's my list of summer projects (so far!) for "crafting with kids":

• Kidlets (free download by JCasa handmade)
• Bucket hats (from Oliver & S Little Things to Sew)
• Wide brim hat (pattern by Susanne at Susanne Loves--I offered to be a pattern tester and have not gotten around to it yet!)
• Drawstring bags for toy storage
• Felt Memory Game (tutorial here)
• Felt food (didn't Kate make these look yummy?!)
• Stuffed Animal Tent (tutorial here)
• Ruby Lou Dolls for my girls
• More Doll Quilts
• Library Book Bags
• Kid-sized Messenger Bags (Thursdays this summer are going to be hiking days with Daddy, and they'll need somewhere to stash the "treasures" they find!)
• Hiking Club T-shirts -- decorate with fabric crayons
• Doll/stuffed animal sleeping bags like this
• More pillows for their beds -- made from outgrown clothes
• Doorway Puppet Theater (from Oliver & S Little Things to Sew)

Whew!
As I read over this, I realize it sounds totally crazy!
But it helps to at least have it all organized and in one place . . . we'll see how it goes!
Hooray for summer!
Linking up to:

Bottled Rainbows

What started out as this:

The first block I tried

Blocks laid out, ready for my little artists to help out

Ready for basting and quilting

I made a huge mistake cutting the zig zag fabric on the bias,
so I went with the black dots instead!

Has become this:

Thank you, Rachel for coming up with this amazing idea!

I love storing my small fabric scraps in old jars, 

and I'm so happy with my Bottled Rainbows Quilt!

The finished blocks are 10 inches square,

which makes this quilt a perfect size to hang on the wall above my sewing machine.

Linking up to: