Busy, Busy, Busy!

I've been so busy sewing lately that I haven't taken the time to blog my projects. Nothing fancy...just fun little things that I have been working on to beautify my home. Here's a longer version of a pattern I have for a table runner. Our kitchen table is pretty long, so this is perfect for it. I have decided that Nancy Halvorsen is my favorite fabric designer...I LOVE all of her lines of fabric, especially her Christmas ones. This is her "Garden Song" line, which makes a lovely spring table runner! (easy quilting on this one...)
This is a Nancy Halvorsen pattern, but the fabric is the "Tranquility" line. I have had this top, bottom, and batting pinned together for months...I don't know what I have been waiting for, but I finally got this to my "go to" quilter, Pat, for her to do an "all over" on it. I LOVE this piece of yumminess! (and it hangs right in my living room over my chair so that I can always see it)

Same pattern...different line of fabric. Nancy's "Cedar Mill Road" charm pack. I love that I can make a nice sized table topper with just one charm pack! Will not have a hard time finding a home for this one either...

I've had this Schnibbles top done for months too, but finally put a back to it and got it off to Pat's for quilting. I love the colors of this line of fabric - "Nature's Chorus" by April Cornell. Another Spring-y wallhanging.

And this little gem I put together in about an hour. My housework was done, it's Memorial Day (so no school) and I had time to spare before fixing dinner for the family. So I gathered my leftover charm squares from my "Glace" line, and whipped this 16-patch topper up in no time!

I even had some "Portabello Market" strips leftover from a strip quilt that I had started probably 2 years ago. I love how designer's lines of fabric go with each other!

I'd say it was a pretty productive day!

Revealed Secrets...

For Christmas this year, I made a lap quilt for each of my girls, 5 in all. They were all different, from different fabrics, and kind of specialized just for them. Kira's, on the left, is made from "Gypsy Rose" and worked up pretty quickly. Michaela has been eyeing my "Aviary" charm packs for months and has always wanted a pinwheel quilt, so that is what she got. Tibi, on the right, got a cute, funky quilt from the "Objects of Desire" line. My son, Landon, is thrown in there just for fun! He got a rag quilt last year for Christmas.

The two girls in Arizona got their quilts when we got there on Christmas night. Lexie's was done in "Hello Betty" and Connie's was done in "Spring Magic" by April Cornell. Connie's quilt took the longest to make because I used the Confetti Cake pattern. Lots of fun, but very time consuming. I had so much fun doing these quilts, not necessarily because of the piecing and quilting, which I LOVE, but because they were going to the most important girls in my life. There's just something about making something for someone you love. It's giving part of yourself.

The girls have been using their quilts ever since they opened them up. They cuddle, sleep, and canoodle with their quilts, which is why they were made. I told them that they could do anything with them and not have to hang them or not use them. It was definitely a labor a great love for me.

I also did my very first stippling job on my new Janome machine since I bought it. I was very nervous about doing this, as this is Lexie's tabletopper I have been promising her for months. I was busy trying to get all of the quilts done for Christmas, so this ended up taking a back seat for a while. I gave it to her unwashed and dried so that she could decide herself whether to do that or not. I actually think it turned out okay. It definitely takes practice, practice, practice!

Another One of These...

Got another table topper "top" done yesterday. The kids were gone, the husband was gone, and I was looking around the house for things to do, which is pretty sad. I figured I'd better get started on another project. This one is for my daughter and will end up on a black kitchen table. Should look pretty cool on black, I think. I used a tradition line of "Collections for a Cause" and just need to back and bind. The sashing and border is actually done in a tan color, but it didn't show up very good in the photo. Off to the next thing...

Lost Pictures...

Sorry I've been gone for so long. Between having grandkids all month of June and a quick trip to the beaches of Carlsbad, California where I grew up, it's been pretty crazy, with no time to blog. At least it wasn't my top priority. I looked through my camera disk and found these pictures. I must have forgotten about taking them, because this project has been done for quite a while. I still have to have it quilted, but it's pinned and ready to go. Just a fun tabletopper that was fast and easy... I love those kind.

I love the cream in it. This was done with a "Tranquility" charm pack.
And of course, I am incorporating the scraps into the back. I'll post the finished product when I get it back from the quilter. She's been out of the hot Nevada heat and up to her cabin in the Utah mountains for the last 3 weeks. I have a pile stacking up just waiting for her...

The Biggest Jelly Roll I've Ever Seen!

I finally got the binding on my tabletopper and can call it done. Yay for me! I'm glad that I went with the check for the binding, I stewed over it for a long time before settling on it. I need to get faster and better at deciding on fabrics - and this was only the binding. I also got my new Jelly Roll in the mail at an incredible price...I love THAT part, and it is the biggest thing I have seen in a long time, when you're talking fabric. It is the new line of flannel that Moda came out with. Yummy! I am going to make a rail fence quilt with it that my church group is getting ready to work on. Should be soft and toasty just in time for a hot Nevada summer!

My newest project

I used one of my charm packs and the pattern that I got in the mail to make this cute little tabletopper. It's only 17" by 17", but perfect for my family room table that we use for games, puzzles, or just snacking in the afternoon. I only have to put the binding on it and then it is finished and adopted into the family for good.

I used every little scrap I could. I'm not very good at throwing them away. They are too beautiful, and I always think that I could use them for something. So for the back of this tabletopper, I just sewed every little strip together to make a few long strips and incorporated them into the back, just for a little pizzazz. Cute, huh?