April - The Adoption Month

Our adoption was finalized this month. Does anything else really matter?

Well, actually, since that was all done in Korea with no input from us at all, I had plenty of time for other stuff this month, actually.

Like finishing the Little Man's quilt - my AYOLF goal.

And finishing Pretty in Pink, which was one of the several quilts listed on my Facebook page and already sold.

I also finished up a bunch of quilting, mainly of the striped table runners, but also of Cat Tails. I'm saving Cat Tails for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, so only sneak peeks for now.


Since the table runners have hand-stitched bindings, they finish up slowly. This one went to a silent auction for my church, so that's why it's done.

In piecing:

My four weekly churn dashes. Definitely a range of purples!

A couple extra RSC'13 blocks.

Finished the block piecing for Spin Cycle. I'm setting them aside now because I don't feel like sewing sashing I'm waiting for the release of MISS KATE for the borders of this Bonnie & Camille tribute quilt. I mean, really - obviously they named the new collection after me, so it only makes sense.

Some progress on Celtic Solstice. Last month I decided on a new layout and unpicked all of the secondary blocks. This month I actually started on the new design. I like it. The pinwheel was just too distracting, IMHO.

And then I made it all the way to the 29th without a NewFO! Instead of whipping out a kit, I decided to work on a quiet book for the Little Man. No iPads allowed at the embassy, so I have to have some way to entertain him. I know, weird, right?

But it is a sewing project, so I think it counts. The Dude and I have been having fun Pinteresting and designing the pages. The monster is completely his design. Unzip the mouth and unroll the tongue!

I'll have a post on Friday with more pages, or you can catch a sneak peek on Instagram. {@katiemaequilts}

And in family news, besides the whole finalization thing, the Dude became a Webelo. Momma cried. So did the Dude, when we had to rip that mustache off.

And I realized CC is the same size as Tycho now - and she's only eight months old. He still barely tolerates her. She manages to snuggle up with him if she creeps up slowly while he's not looking.

Linked:

Rainbow Scrap Challenge @ SoScrappy

A Year of Lovely Finishes

Fresh Sewing Day @ Lily's Quilts

NewFO @ Cat Patches

Weighted Blanket and Cover

A fairly quick project, once I got the concept. My niece has been pulling at her hair at night, so I suggested a weighted blanket to hopefully curb that tic.

{Someday I won't have moving boxes in the corner of my pictures. Someday.}

The weighted blanket tutorial is on Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

I read it about twenty times before I understood that all those 4.5" folded strips were envelope pockets, not pocket pockets. I'm blonde.

I pieced together several of the 7" strips from leftovers of the 9" strips, because goodness knows I wouldn't want to waste one bit of a $2 estate sale sheet set. I also used the fitted sheet first, which made for a delightfully askew little blanket.

But that's okay, because the cover was done from a not-quite-grain-printed panel, so everything is just a smidge...slanted. {Not just my photography!}

The panel was "Close to my Heart" by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics. I assume the butterflies in the middle are the same, since they match. Brown dot from stash, pink side borders from Connecting Threads. Back is purple dot minkee.

Despite {or because of?} the wonkiness of the fabric, it all fits together well. I quilted the top of the cover, since it was pieced, with more of the purple sheet on the back.

And as a plus - since my mother had to carry it in her suitcase, I got out of having to fill baggies with polybeads! My sister is handling that fun part of the activity.

Oh, and total sidenote - the bridal shower I threw for my sister is featured on Hostess With the Mostess today!

Linked:

Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

TGIFF @ Quokka Quilts

Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Link A Finish Friday @ Richard and Tanya Quilts

Finish-A-Long @ She Can Quilt {FAL List}

Fleece Friday - Yellow Bird

Last Angry Bird for a bit!

He's yellow and he's angry.

Obsessively Stitching tutorial, not as hard as I thought sewing the triangle would be.

Shake ya tailfeather!

And the group shot. 

The Dude asked for a slingshot for his birthday.

Someone help me.

Fleece Friday - Mustache Pig

Things I will not be putting on my resume: can sew pig snout straight.

Still from the tutorial at Obsessively Stitching. I photocopied it at 72% reduction (legal to letter setting) to get a slightly smaller pig.

 This guy is more the "right size" according to the Dude.

Because evil egg-stealing pigs are a certain size. Of course.

Fleece Friday - Green Bird

The Angry Bird obsession is leading to fights over the Fire. 

"Dude. Give me the Fire. I need to check on My Country." 

"But Mom, I'm close to three stars on this level!" 

"I am running a country! That is way more important!"

{Did I mention this is my husband's Fire?}

 From the tutorial at Obsessively Stitching. I think the beak is too low - I'm going to do some plastic surgery and reattach it higher. I'm also going to add a couple stitches in between the two beak pieces to hold it together.

I am apparently WRONG in making the top feathers green. Oops.

Linked:

Sew Darn Crafty

Fleece Friday - Green Helmet Pig

By popular demand...

Actually, just by demand.

Felt Food Friday will be Fleece Friday for the month of February. Specifically, someone NEEDS a full set of Angry Birds.

The nose is very crooked - it's a battle wound, right?

Tutorial from Obsessively Stitching - helmet is makeshift. I also skipped making the eyes separate from the body and just appliqued them like the red bird.

Linked:

Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop?

Finish It Up Friday

Sew Darn Crafty

Sunday Stash Report - Week 5

This week was Krafty Kids at my LQS, so about a half yard in and out for the Dude's pillow.

He's doing pretty well!

My helping payment was the scraps again.

Man, I love a bag full of scraps.

Used this Week: 0.5

Used Year to Date: 2.25

Added this Week: 1.5

Added Year to Date: 1.25

Net Used for 2012: 1.0 yards

Check out more reports at Patchwork Times!

The Rest of My Christmas Sewing

Last Christmas post! Let's just all agree not to look at the date.

I made a little drawstring bag for my niece's ballet and tap shoes. She wanted to wear it as a backpack, so I made buttonholes in the bottom and threaded the ribbon through. Faster than buying grommets, though less sturdy.

And, the present of the year...

Oh yes - we NEEDED an Angry Bird. It's a recent phenomenon for the Dude, as we just put Chrome on our computers. No one tell him it's on Dad's Kindle Fire or we'll never see that thing again.

{The Dude's rendition of an Angry Bird scene}

{I was told I need to make a golden egg}

The fabulous tutorial is at Obsessively Stitching - and yes, I'll be making all of them over the next couple of months.

One note, though. Make sure you use "anti-pill" fleece. As you can see, my red guy is already pretty pilled up from excessive handling in the last couple of weeks.

Sunday Stash Report - Week 49

I am still suffering from a bad cold, but the squadron holiday party is over so maybe now I can recover. I celebrated by finishing the Advent Calendar!

The borders were on for the first day of Advent, and I got it quilted and bound yesterday and this morning. And yeah, I love it. The pockets are the perfect size - Rolos most days, Christmas movies on Saturdays (well, a note to check the DVD player), and Lego mini-figures on Tuesdays.

And the Dude made this! Okay, not completely by himself - he traced, a teacher cut, he sewed, a teacher guided on the curves. And when his teacher was Mom, she tried not to correct his mistakes....too much!

{That's the finished Saturday Sampler behind him.}

On the ins, I won this giveaway at A Quilter's Table. Not only is it a beautiful set of fat quarters - but next year, I'm going to make a Star Wars quilt in solids, so I see some Darth Vader, R2D2 and the Emperor in that pile.

And then there's this! I helped out with the Dude's sewing class yesterday, and my payment was the scraps. Woo!

Used this Week: 2.25

Used Year to Date: 120.91

Added this Week: 2.5

Added Year to Date: 164.70

Net Used for 2011: (43.79) yards

Check out how everyone else is doing on Patchwork Times!

All I Want For Christmas...

...is my two front teeth!

He knocked one out and the other loose at school by hitting them on a table. (His situational awareness is...off...) The second tooth was barely hanging on and didn't survive dinner.

We whipped together a quick tooth fairy pillow - his first two lost teeth were truly lost, so these were the first that needed to be delivered to the Tooth Fairy.

He picked the fabric and picture.

I traced, cut, sewed and stuffed.

And the Tooth Fairy delivered.

{Yes, he has vintage Return of the Jedi sheets. I told you we're Star Wars freaks.}

Fabric is leftover Fruitcake charms by Basic Grey. Tooth is from here.