baby quilt. simple.

strips of bug & frog material

with a little green thrown in

applique'd babies name on back

stippled and poof... a baby quilt

I like to roll quilts and tie

with extra fabric when

giving as a gift.

and i want to finish this.

I just need to put the BINDING on this one.

I'm even finished quilting it.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

[FINISHED-- January 5, 2009]

and i want to finish this.

AHH. It's almost 2009. I have to finish my 2008 quilts.

I need to quilt this and bind it.

I'm scared to quilt this one.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

[still not quilted... still scared... 1/13/09]

Cracker Snackers

My daughter picked out this pattern (Cracker Snackers) from Quilt Soup Pattern Co. when we were on vacation during the summer of 2007. She also picked out all of the fabrics. I was hoping to convince her to sew it up herself, but she was always "too busy" and when home this summer said all she wanted for Christmas was this quilt DONE. So, I decided to do it for her for Christmas and have my friend, Cathy, quilt it (click on picture to see quilting). I think Kali reminded me every week (sometimes daily) that this quilt was all she wanted for Christmas and I had x-number of days to complete it. I tried to tell her that we could work on it when she was home for the holidays, etc. (knowing it was already done). She was very surprised when she opened the box containing the quilt -- she really thought I hadn't done it. And, yes, she did get some other things for Christmas too! Sadly, both daughter and quilt are back to college in a few days.

polka dot wonder.

I LOVE this quilt.

I had so much fun collecting polka dot lights and darks for it. One baby quilt I made used only black and white for the background and bright polka dot fabrics for the circles. hmmm. Black and White Challenge?

Yeah, if you make it, use this how to that Bliss wrote up.

AND, don't sew each individual piece for the sashing and border... sew long strips together and then cut them. My sweet sisters told me this trick AFTER I sewed 5 of these quilts...

Ikea towel... I mean quilt... racks

One last picture of Christmas quilts! Last spring my quilt sisters and I went to Dallas for a (very fun!) girl trip. We stopped by Ikea and ALL bought these towel racks. They are very cheap and come in two sizes.

This is in my living room and I trade out quilts during the year. A great, inexpensive way to display your treasures.

The top quilt is the rag quilt Julie blogged about a few days ago. The bottom one is a Sandy Gervais panel and pieced quilt.

Happy Day after Christmas!

blossoms.

So, this is the quilt that I usually have hanging by my front door. It's pretty much my favorite quilt. And, it's my mom's favorite quilt too. So, I'm giving it to her. Today. I do have a little tear in my eye as we say goodbye. I know that I can make another one. I mean, I know that I WILL make another one. And, I'll love it just as much. I hope.

[Note: The pattern for this quilt and pillows comes from a book called, My Garden Best by Cheri Saffiote... The original quilt pattern is for a small quilt- I just made it bigger...]

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I'll post my Christmas quilt from 2006. I liked that this pattern had presents under the tree and a star on top, as opposed to other rag Christmas tree quilts I have seen (the poor lighting on my photo doesn't do it justice). I borrowed the pattern from Judy, so she'll have to tell us what the name of it is.

remembering grams.

Sorry this is blurry-- It is a picture of my grandma wearing one of the dresses that I cut up for these quilts. It says, In loving memory of Mildred Elisabeth Lefferts "Grams".

My Grandma died at Christmas time two years ago.

Last year for Christmas my aunt sent me all my grandmother's summer dresses and I cut them up and sewed these memory quilts for each of my grandmothers 4 daughters and 1 son. In an odd twist of fate, the quilts arrived at their homes on the exact one year anniversary of my grandma's death.

This year, I sent a gram's quilt to my little sister.

She cried.

She said it is her favorite gift ever.

I love quilts.

I love my Grams.

I love the thought of family still wrapped up in her love.

(I love remembering the HUGE clearance sale where I found the backings for the quilts. I KNOW my ever bargain-shopper grandmother was on my shoulder for that find.)

May you have a day of warm remembering!

jean rag star quilt.

This was a fun, easy picnic blanket for my husband. And, you should be done with Christmas prep, and poor, so you need a new old jeans quilt idea. Right?!

Free fabric giveaway!

I just found this on Shari's Blog (from Australia!)

"A great new online store, WINFABRIC.COM is giving away two yards of FREE FABRIC every week beginning January 2, 2009. Simply visit the store and enter the drawing. You could be the first winner! Plus, in addition to great fabrics at the best prices - 5% of all purchases will be donated to charity."

If you don't see the enter button - it is the box with the X in the middle of the page. I'll also put this as one of the "places we shop" on the right column so you can enter every week! This truly says that I am a loving "Sister" otherwise I wouldn't tell anyone to increase the chances that I win! But you do have to share if you win :)

Now I can buy more fabric...

I have a friend that, for years now, has tried to get me into couponing. I've tried a few times in the past and it just drove me crazy. Well... I decided to try it again because our self-inflicted spending freeze has cramped my quilting habit. There are two sites that help you find the deals and coupons to go with them. http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/ and http://www.refundcents.com/.


Here's what I got today with KMart's double coupon: $70 in groceries (30 items) that only cost me $10 - after coupons and a $20 gift card for transferring a prescription. Cool!

Who wants to go fabric shopping with me?

The Stars at Night....

....Deep in the heart of Texas....

[did I mention we have a little state pride down here?]

I have made several of these quilts now and have done different style blocks on each one. Nine patch, rail fence, whatever. Each section is 4x8 and each block is 6.5 inches (including seam allowance) so it makes a nice size lap quilt.

The star is appliqued on leaving a 0.5 inch border which I then clip fringe style so it 'rags' nicely when washed.

Everything's bigger in Texas! ~

Caitlin's Quilt

I made this for my daughter for her high school graduation this year because she is really into fashion. I started with a pattern called "Pretty in Pink," but expanded and modified it quite a bit. I also took some ideas from a pattern I picked up in Utah called "Girl Talk," designs by Lori Holt. It is an all hand applique pattern, and y'all know I would never do any of that tedious stuff. My quilt is all machine appliqued (I use satin stitch applique). I have since added some more embellishments, but the quilt is at college now, so I can't get anymore pictures. :(



Here is one of the blocks I designed on my own.

Twister Circle tutorial

Call me crazy, but I'm going to attempt to explain how to make the circles for the twister quilt.

1. Draw a 7" circle on cardstock (I used a kitchen bowl - use same bowl for final trim down)

2. Cut into fourths and make another template using one of the pieces and adding 1/4 inch to the straight edges and about 1/2 inch to the round edge

3. This is your template

4. I'm on a spending freeze, so I pulled these from my stash. Yellow is for the foundation piecing. Cut (96) from #3 template above. The white will be background pieces cut (24) 11 x 9.5. (original quilt was done with muslin for both the foundation piecing and block backgrounds)

5. I love using my scraps for this quilt, but am low on green and yellow so I'll have to dig into my stash for those.

6. I try to find pieces about 4" x 5" but since I'm using my stash, I also use skinnier pieces. You may need 3 fabrics for each quarter piece if you do this.

7. Place first piece right side up on foundation. Place second piece right side down and centered on foundation. Sew 1/4 seam on second piece.

8. Iron second piece over so entire foundation is covered.

9. This is what it looks like face up.

10. Trim to match foundation piece. (yes, there is a lot of waste this way, but I'm mostly using my scraps so I don't mind.)

11. Finished quarter piece.

12. Sew 2 quarters together to make 2 halves.

13. Sew 2 halves together. Use bowl to draw 7" circle

14. Trim to 7" circle

15. Center on background fabric and machine applique.

Here's another quilt that uses the same technique:

Close up of one block

lost socks.

just finished and shipped out this pile o laundry...

(notice the other pile o laundry that is still on the floor waiting)
ho ho ho

Duct tape and Snowmen

This is the door to my laundry room and garage, which is usually left open. But when I'm having a party I don't want my messiness to show (I spent all my time cleaning the rest of the house!)

Right before a big party last Christmas I closed this door and, of course, thought "This needs a quilt!" I wanted to show a quilt without marking the door...

TaDa! Duct Tape!

I folded over four pieces of duct tape - one for each corner. The best part is this... it stood the test of time! I didn't take it off until October of this year. No paint came off the door and there was no tape residue on the door. And the quilt back didn't seem any worse for the wear.

This wall hanging is one of the first quilts I did four years ago... I know it was on the cover of a magazine, but can't remember which one. If any one knows where this pattern can be found, let us know!

Holiday Redwork Quilt

Only 13 months in the making! This Holiday Redwork was my first venture into embroidery. I loved having something to work on in bits and pieces. Judy is doing one as well that has a flying geese border - so I'll post her pict when it's done. Nudge, nudge, Judy :)

lily's quilt.

I love this quilt. It was easy and so fun to make.

NOTE- 3 of my 6 kids are pictured above

(anna,6-top; leah,2-middle; lily,3mos-bottom)

isn't that funny? i didn't even notice it till later...

You need-

Front: 45 in. of fabric (just over a yard)

Back: 45 in. of fabric

Stripes: 9- 2.5 inch strips of cute contrasting fabric

Big Ric Rac: 90 inches

Small Ric Rac: 180 inches

Binding: 15 inches (or 6- 2.5 inch strips)

Directions-

Use spray basting to connect the batting to the back and the front pieces of fabric.

On the front, pin...

2.5 in. fabric strip

2.5 in. fabric strip

2.5 in. fabric strip

small ric rac

large ric rac

small ric rac

2.5 in. fabric strip

2.5 in. fabric strip

2.5 in. fabric strip

small ric rac

large ric rac

small ric rac

2.5 in. fabric strip

2.5 in. fabric strip

2.5 in fabric strip

Sew to the top using 1/2 in. seams on the fabric. (This attaches the strip AND quilts the quilt.)

Attach the binding using a 1/2 in. seam... just iron the binding in half and sew it on leaving the raw edges. (See the picture.)

Note: The first time you wash it, there will be a tangled mess from fray. Trim the threads and next time you wash you'll be fine. Don't forget to wash it BEFORE giving it as a gift!!

Easy. Peasy.

love it.