July Quilt

I finally finished it! (Again). Many long years ago when I was expecting my second child, one of my sisters and I decided to make matching wall hanging quilts for each month of the year.  We worked all summer designing and sewing them and finished all the tops together.  I, then, hand quilted and bound my set in time for each month in which I was to hang them.  Since these were some of the first quilts I made, I now look at some of them and they bother me for some reason or another.  My July quilt probably bothered me the most.  I decided I was going to remake it when I decided on the perfect quilt pattern for it. 

A year ago last spring, I bought a quilting book called, "Scrap Therapy" by Joan Ford.  I loved her ideas as I read through several pages of the sample viewing on Amazon, since I HATE throwing away any useable fabric, so I thought if I was going to use her ideas, I better buy the book so she got the proceeds.  When I had the book in hand, I read though it, oddly enough, cover to cover.  She had a quilt in it, that when I saw it, I knew it was going to be my July quilt - she had even done it in Red, White and Blue, though even if she had done it in another theme, I'm sure I would have chosen it.  I love it.  So, I made it, except for the border which I had bought several years before knowing I was going to redo my July quilt and one fat quarter of dark blue fabric, entirely out of scraps.  I then tried my hand at some new machine quilting techniques.  I'm still not sure that machine quilting is my favorite, though it was good to try them out.  Here it is:

So, how did I finish it "again"?  Well after I finished it last year, I decided that there was something about the way I put on the binding that was not right - the quilt needed to be cut down just a little bit, so I started unpicking the binding.  I was halfway done when I put it away to wait while I finished something more pressing.  And it sat, and it sat, and it sat, sat, sat, sat. Until last week when I pulled it out and finished unpicking it while sitting at my kids' swimming lessons.  Then I was on a roll and I came home and finished it all the way.  There are still mistakes I see.  I couldn't enter it in a show, but the rest of the mistakes are not worth another redo, and I'm happy to have it on my wall.

And the old July quilt . . . I gave to a wonderful lady who loved it and will cherish it.

Service Auction

At the end of April, the youth in our church had an auction to earn money for Girl's Camp, Scout Camp and Cub Scout Day Camp. It began with a free dinner and then moved into a dessert auction, with a few miscellaneous items in there.  The desserts seem to be fancy, try-to-out-do-yourself type thing; last year I made an Angry Bird's cake, this year Emerald made a campfire cake (that looked like there was a burning fire on top with marshmallows roasting on it), there has been homemade ice cream and many other yummy concoctions.  Last year they added work auctions, where the young men would come over and work for 4 hours (or 1 hour depending on the auction). This year they added a silent auction with other services from members of the congregation.

I made two bags to be auctioned during the regular auction as well as an offer to make someone a quilt on the silent auction (they provide the materials). I've been working on the quilt since school got out (the material didn't arrive until then), which unfortunately is slow work with so many people under foot and needing attention.  Luckily there's not a rush on it.  Anyway, here they are.

 This is the "Baker Street Bag".  Pattern by Poppy Patterns (designed by my friend Patti Pinkston).  One thing about Poppy Patterns is that as far as patterns go, they are easy to understand.  The fabric. . . well, it's just a Disney Princesses fabric to entice a young girl.

This is the "Run Around Bag".  Pattern by Lazy Girl Designs. Fabric designed by my friend, Trenna Travis for Michael Miller Fabrics.  So cute!  I almost wish I hadn't given it up.  But it was for a good cause - sending my oldest 3 kids to camp this week.

This is the quilt I'm making.  It's obviously not done yet - I need to put the back on and quilt it, but the top's finally done. It's a queen size.  My lighting's not very good. The colors are a slate grey and a bright white.  The back will be white as well, the binding in grey.  I'll see if I can get it on the quilting frame soon.  I'll hand quilt it - stitch in the ditch, as requested.

Odds and Ends to help with an Adoption

My sister-in-law and brother are looking at adopting a little, deaf boy in Columbia.  My sister-in-law is an ASL interpreter and really feels pulled to this boy.  However, their financial means do not make them able to lay their hands on the amount of cash needed to do all the background checks, paperwork, etc that have to be done.  They have completed the first step, and are looking to raise money to help with the next step in the process.  Here are some things that I made, most of them some time ago, that I am donating to her to sell (on Etsy, I believe), to earn some more money.

Tote bags with "I love you" in American Sign Language.

 Ball ornament, about the size of a softball.

Quilt I designed and made as a potential quilt for Laura Gunn to show off her (then) brand new quilting line - Painter's Canvas.  We ended up designing a different quilt (which is on this blog), but this is a smaller version (baby blanket size) of the one I designed. (My full size pattern, the blocks are still this size, there's just a LOT more of them). The small squares are 1".  It is nice and puffy and is hand quilted. (See photo below).

Nice wide headband. Never been worn.  Made as a demo for Fabric Nosherie.

Graduation Gift - Laundry Bag

We recently went to a friend's son's graduation party.  For a slightly tardy gift (I wanted to make him something that would be useful, but didn't want to call too close to the party since I knew that there were a lot of preparations in the works and didn't want to interrupt), I made him a laundry bag with his name embroidered on the front.  I made it out of denim, since I had denim on hand and I'm anxious to use up what I have before buying anything else.  I wanted it to be good and durable, but in the end, it was probably a little too thick of material for the drawstrings.  It doesn't close as tightly as I would have liked.  But as my sister pointed out, it probably closes well enough for a guy and the sturdy fabric is probably a good idea as college boys are not known for the care in which they treat their laundry bags. 

I handed it (unwrapped - probably gauche, but I'm rather lazy that way) to Mitchel's mom at church yesterday.  She told me later on between meetings, that Mitchel loved it. *Breath a deep sigh of relief.* It may be silly, but I always worry that something I make will not be seen in the same light as I, the maker, see it.  I'm a perfectionist, and though I strive for perfection, it is rather unattainable. There's always some flaw in my eyes, but I hope that those flaws are not so noticeable for the recipient.

It was also good practice for helping Sterling make one for Monica for this coming Christmas. And I want to make a tutorial of this.  So making it a couple time is not a bad thing.

Upcycle Jeans into Place Mats

My sister, Emerald also said I could show you the place mats she made for a friend out of old jeans.  These are super cute.  Love them!

Swim Towel Bag

I wanted to post this right after the swim skirt, but it took about a week before getting around to making it, and then I've been trying to get the older boys ready for scout camp which is coming right up.  I have been making other things in the meantime, and have ideas coming to mind for making tutorials, but as I have said, the tutorials are going to have to wait until kids are back in school. Right now the time I have for sewing has decreased dramatically, though I am trying to take pictures now for those tutorials.

Anyway, my sister, Emerald has made each of my kids a towel bag for going to the pool. That way they can carry their own towel, none of this, "Mom, would you carry this?" with me trying to carry 8 towels and swimming supplies as we walk to the pool a couple blocks away. Porter is now old enough to have a towel bag and she just finished making it.  She made up this pattern after looking at a similar one a boy, for whom she was a nanny, had.

 See, the backpack part is attached to the back of the towel, the straps are inside the bag while the towel is unfolded. Very handy for the kids.