Winter Stitching

I know what you're thinking.  Winter stitching - it's only Fall, Mitzi.  Yes, but before you know it the time is going to change and it will be getting dark at 6:00 and the nights will be cold and chilly - just the perfect weather for quilting if you ask me.  My favorite day of the year is the end of daylight savings time which just so happens to be right around the corner on Sunday, November 6.  I love getting an extra hour of sleep and since it gets dark so early all my family is gathered in the house with the garage door down for the night.  What a great feeling.  One of my most comforting sounds is hearing the garage door go down with all 4 of us inside all safe and sound.

Sarah, of Fairy Face Designs, has had the great idea of setting up a sewing list to help us keep track of our winter stitching/sewing plans.  My list is going to be two parts.
Part 1 to be finished by/for Christmas:
1.  Mug Rug
2.  Lined Drawstring Bag
3.  Pot Holder
4.  Dish Soap Apron
Now, those are 4 items that I have never made but really want to make so I can have that experience under my sleeve.  This list will help keep me on track (fingers crossed).

Part 2 to be finished by mid March or so:
1.  Finish Kitchen Windows quilt
2.  Finish Plus quilt

3.  Find fabric for and create a Swoon quilt.
4.  Kaleidoscope - I've wanted to make one of these ever since I saw Elizabeth's gorgeous quilt!
5.  Dutch Pinwheel - make for my dear sweet babysitter.
6.  Pepper Cory Georgia quilt - for The Grandmomma.
7.  Finish Bottled Rainbows - fun!
8.  Baby quilt for my cousin's baby boy that is due in the Spring.
9.  Baby quilt for Erin.
10.  Make the backing for the Single Girl quilt.

I feel like I'm forgetting to list some projects but for now this is it. Whew!  Does that sound like a lot? It sounds like a lot to me but I'm still going to go for it.  Wish me luck!

Wip Wednesday - #18

Good Morning.  I haven't updated my WiPs in a couple of weeks so it feels good to sort through and figure out what I have completed and what needs to be worked on.

Finished:

I finished both of my donation quilts for 100 Quilts for Kids.  I loved participating in such a special event.

 The boy quilt - blogged here.

The baby girl quilt - blogged here.

In Progress:

Kitchen Windows - I have all the center pieces of the blocks together but I still have to attach the sashing and complete the top.  

Dead Simple Quilt - All 320 squares are cut and I have assembled 4 rows but I still have 12 more rows to go.  They sew up pretty quickly though.

I made myself two charts to refer to while I am assembling this quilt, one in color and one with the color name written in the block.  There are so many shades of purple and green in this quilt that I kept getting them confused so it was necessary to print the color names and put a label on the stack of squares so I could be confident I was choosing the right color to attach to it's neighboring square.

Bottled Rainbows - no progress made on this one lately.  I have all 16 color frames made but I need to sew them onto the batting and let the fun of attaching the ticker tape scraps begin.

Begging for Binding:
My Loulouthi Quilt is waiting so patiently for a binding.  I will do it before Monday so I can take it to show & tell at my quilt guild meeting.
Hooty Hoot - STILL sitting in a pile waiting for binding.

Begging for Backing:
Single Girl - I wish I hadn't lost interest in this quilt.  It will be such a cute little quilt.

New Projects:
I'm happy to report that I haven't started any new projects this week.

On the Bubble:
Even though I haven't started any new projects my mind is swirling around with some ideas for making some little handmade gifts for Christmas.  I would like to make a couple of small bags, pot holders, mug rugs, and dish soap aprons.  There are a lot of ideas floating around in the quilting blogosphere to provide lots of great inspiration.

At the long arm quilter:
Summer Sampler

Linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced.  I know there's a lot of great inspiration from some very talented quilters on her linkup page.  Hope you have some time to check it out!

The Sewing Center

Welcome to my home...I mean, the sewing center.  Come in on, if you can get in the front door that is!  Doesn't everyone have a foyer full of sewing machines and a computer desk?

Both of my daughters now have their own sewing machines and sewing tables thanks to The Grandmomma and Poppa.  My oldest got her sewing machine when she turned 6 and now my youngest has turned 6 and look what she got...

Complete with her very own custom built sewing table that was made especially to fit her.

This is my oldest daughter's sewing machine and table.  She got her very own custom table as well.

I am so thankful to my in-laws for these super incredible sewing centers.  They are just so very nice and will last the girls for a very very long time.  The Grandmomma didn't scrimp when she bought their machines.  Thank you!

Now I just have to get myself in gear to rearrange my house to accommodate two more little sewers.  I don't want to leave my foyer set up as the sewing center.  I have a bonus room that would be be enough room for all 3 of us to use as a nice sewing room but it has temperature issues.  That room is just never the right temperature, either too hot (which I can't stand) or too cold.  I really like having my dining room sewing room on the main level of the house because I can still sew and be right in the middle of anything else that is going on in the house.  In other words, I can keep an eye and ear out on the happenings of my kids whatever they happen to be doing at the time.

Happy Tuesday!

A Handmade Christmas?

I have always wanted to have a Christmas where all the gifts given were handmade by me.  Usually I decide that about a week before Christmas and then it's waaaay to late for that to happen.  This year, however, maybe that could happen if I start working on those gifts now.

Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts is hosting a blog hop of 12 different bloggers who will be showcasing a lot of super handmade gifts and tips just in time for Christmas.

Check out this post for the blog lineup.

Have a great weekend!

Dead Simple Quilt

I am in!  100% in on making a Dead Simple Quilt with Lynne.

A while back I showed this palette that I have been completely enamored with and still haven't quit thinking about.  I love love love this palette from Design-Seeds.

That was my starting point to gather fabrics.  I knew I wanted to add some shades of gray and more greens and purples so this is what I came up with.

I tried a million times to get it larger and then I just said phooey and decided to post it anyway.  

The basic premise of the QAL is to focus on a color palette, not the actual pattern of the quilt.  The fabrics will be cut into squares and then sewn together.  Nothing fancy about the pattern but the effect coming from the colors chosen.  However, I have been wanting to make a plus quilt for quite a while and once I decided on a palette, decided to use solids, and would be cutting charm squares for the quilt,  it just made sense for me to kill two birds with one stone and make a plus quilt.  After making my Summer Sampler and loving working with those solids I just feel drawn to use more solids right now.  I am excited to start cutting this fabric and get it all sewn up.  I love the design so far!  It might just be my new favorite quilt.

I am once again amazed at just how much usable information is available by means of google.  I mean, seriously.  Between this post and google, I was able to come up with a palette, and a layout for my Dead Simple quilt.  Then I was able to convert the Word files into PDF files and then into JPG files to post here on my blog and on Flickr!  I just love learning new geeky/techy things.

Happy Thursday!

100 Quilts for Kids - #2

I'm so happy to show you my second quilt for 100 Quilts for Kids.  I had a great time making this quilt.  I've had this fabric for a while and could never find just the right pattern to use it with until I came across the {mini} Modern Rose Garden by Carolina Patchworks.  The fabric is Woodland Delight by Paula Prass.  I just love the big huge floral pattern, oh and the aqua/red/gray color combination is just so pretty.  

This precious little girl quilt will also go to the Coweta Pregnancy Services along with my other donation quilt. Just look at those HUGE flowers on the back, I just love that fabric so much.

I pray this quilt can be a blessing to a mother and daughter who could use a little extra love right now.

Happy Tuesday!