Christmas Gift- Pincushion Organizer

Yay a finished Christmas gift!  My mom kept mentioning that she really wanted a thread bag for by her sewing machine, so when I saw this tutorial for a pincushion organizer on Sew Mama Sew I knew I had to make her one for Christmas.

The directions were great and I was able to make the whole thing in one night!  I will definitely be making more of these as gifts and for myself :)

The top is weighted (I used rice) and has a spot for needles made of felt.  The panel has pockets for a seam ripper, thread snips, a marking pen etc.  My favorite part is that the thread bag detaches so you can dump it out or take it somewhere else without moving the whole thing!  I used three fat quarters of Kate Spain's Terrain which is my mom's favorite fabric line right now.  I didn't have any buttons in my stash that matched so I made a fabric covered one from the scraps. 

The rest of my mom's gift is quilty too- A trip to the International Quilt Festival in April!  We live in Northeastern Ohio so the drive to Cincinnati isn't too bad so I'm taking her down for the weekend as a Christmas/Birthday gift :) SO excited to let her know!

I also went and used a long arm machine and quilted the quilt for my mother-in-law on Saturday.  Now I just need to get that binding on there and wrap it up!

Kelsey

Gnome Ornament

I'm alive!  We've been so busy and I've been trying to get lots done around the house to get ready for Christmas but I have been doing some projects.

The first was decorating our tree :)  I LOVE going to pick out our tree, cutting it down and bringing it home and decorating!

Then I joined my first swap!!  I signed up for the Sew a Holiday Ornament Swap over at Lindsay Sews and had a great time making this ornament for my partner.  She mentioned really liking Gnomes so I was on the hunt to find a Gnome ornament to make.  I tried a freehanded version and it was terrible!! So I found a great pattern on Etsy, and went to work.  It was a little ambitious since I've never embroidered anything but I did some googling, taught myself some stitches and I love the way it turned out.

I've got a few more Christmas gifts I'll hopefully finish in time and be back to post about before the holidays :)

Kelsey

WIP Wednesday

I've been busy sewing and clearly not blogging!  Since I missed last week's WIP post this will cover the past two weeks:

Finished-

• Subversive Cross-Stitch-  I wrapped this up and just need to give it a good pressing and buy a cute frame to put it in.  I've decided not to post a picture since I'd like to keep things friendly here; but if you'd really like to see it just email me and I'll send over some pictures.

• Crochet Infinity Scarf- Well this counts as a new project and a finish!  I whipped this up one night watching TV and it came together really quickly.  I am, however, going to make a new one, because I hadn't crocheted in a long time and I'm not 100% happy with the results (and the size/it's a bit too big on me).  But this one will be great to have around for shoveling the driveway and playing in the snow!  I used this pattern, if you're interested.

In Progress-

• Jellybean- Oh the nightmare that is this quilt!  I finally got the top almost done after some seam issues which meant I got to go back and trim every single block to be the right size.  I still need to get some fabric for the border/backing/binding.  I'm going to do a white inner border and then a solid (or very subtle) outer border since it's such a busy quilt already.

• Swoonerific Wall Hanging-  Nothing yet.  I need to add the white border, and I bought the backing/binding fabrics last week.  I also bought some embroidery floss since I've decided to try out hand quilting on the top. 

New-

• Rectangle Block- I mentioned this quilt back in October and I finally got to work on it.  I cut out all the triangles and have half of them sewn back together already.  Hopefully I'll have a top to show soon!

• Pincushion Organizer-  I just got some Kate Spain Terrain in the mail yesterday (From Sew Lux Fabrics- super fast shipping!) and I'm using it whip up one of these for my mom for Christmas.  I had mentioned in my Winter Stitching list that I was going to make her a sewing kit; but then we went to some quilt shop and she kept talking about these, so now I'm making her one of them instead! 

• Charmed Prints Quilt-a-Long- I really need to get started!  I have a bunch of charm packs, I just need to pick one to use, get some neutral fabric and get going.  A must do this week so that I don't fall behind (more than I already am!)  Check out the link to see if you may want to join in too :)

• Long Arm Quilting-  Not a new project, but a new tool at my disposal!  My mom and I took an introductory long arm class at a local quilt shop last night, and now I can pay per hour to be able to go in and use the machine to quilt!!! I'm so excited!  The class was great, we quilted a whole charity quilt as practice during the class.  I can't wait to get a top done so I can go in and use it on my own quilt.

Finished-2
In Progress- 2
New- 3

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced today- be sure to stop over there to check out what everyone else is working on this week!

Kelsey

Coming Home for Christmas!

Ah the joy of finishing your second quilt.  I learned so much from this one...like that you should use pins when you piece things together  :) 

I got the pattern, Coming Home, from Camille's book, Simplify.  It is listed as a table topper in the book, but at 36" x 36", I've deemed it a perfect wall hanging for our dining room.  I decided to use a mix of Christmas fabrics (all from Joann's) for the main part and I used a dark green with gold snowflakes for the border and the backing.  I pieced it opposite of the book so mine looks like Os instead of Xs. 



Coming Home for Christmas

The pattern was great, very easy to follow, and quick to put together.  I straight-line quilted it diagonally in both directions and did machine binding (solid green).  It washed up so nice and I can't wait to get it hung up for the holidays.  **Side note- does anyone have a favorite way to hang wall-hanging quilts?**

Coming Home for Christmas Stats:

Fabric- Christmas mix from Joann's 

Pattern- Coming Home from Simplify by Camille Roskelly

Finished Size- 36" x 36"


Did you finish any projects this week?

Kelsey

WIP Wednesday

I sewed my booty off this week :) 

Finished-

• Coming Home- Laziness banished! I finally finished sewing the binding and gave it a wash and I'm thrilled with the results!!  Here's a quick picuture but I'm planning a post on Friday with all the details.

• Stockings for Kids- Finished my stocking up and sent it off to Lyanna this weekend.  Read all about it in my post here.

In- Progress-

• Jellybean- I made a lot of progress here this week.  I finished cutting the rest of the jellyroll strips and have about 2/3 of them sewn up into blocks.  This week I need to finish the blocks, cut the white and add that to the blocks.

• Subversive Cross Stitch-  Down to the final four letters (d-a-y-s)!  I should be able to finish it tonight since I love to work on it when Criminal Minds is on (side note- that's my favorite show!!)

New Projects

• Swoonerific Wall Hanging-  Yep started something new this week and am in love with it!  I decided that I wanted to practice the Swoon pattern since it's the hardest pattern I've ever tackled before I bought nice fabric to make the whole entire quilt.  So I grabbed some fabric from my stash and set out to make a wall hanging out of one block for our upstairs hallway.  I got the whole top done and I'm in LOVE with this pattern :)  I bought the backing/binding fabric so I just need to get some batting and then put it together.

Finished ~ 2

In- Progress ~ 2

New ~ 1

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced today- be sure to check out the other WIP Lists too! 

Kelsey

Stockings For Kids/Finished it Friday

Finally the weekend is almost here!  We had a busy week but I have managed to finish some projects!

One of them that I finished up is my stocking to donate to the Stockings for Kids program that Lyanna at Purple Panda Quilts has set up.  I used scraps and fabrics from my stash (all were from Joann's) and used ric-rac for the hanging loop.  The back is just a solid piece of Christmas print fabric (never even thought to take a picture of the back!) 



Ohio- Please stop raining so I can take nicer pictures outside please!

I loosely followed this tutorial to make the zig zag panel for the front. but it took me several tries and cuts until I got them to be the size I envisioned.  Then I made a pattern from a stocking we had at home and added red to the top and bottom.  The front and back are quilted with batting and then I used a green for the lining.  I opted for ric-rac for the hanger for two reasons 1) it looks cute and 2) I was so into following the directions to make the lining that I completely forgot to add a loop so I decided to just stitch on the ric-rac and not take the whole thing apart.  But seriously, when I realized I left off the loop I wanted to cry!  I used this tutorial to make the lining and the cuff (which I just did in the same red) and it was very easy to follow (as long as you remember your loop!)

If you have the time please consider making a stocking to donate!  I had a great time making mine and am thrilled that it may bring some Christmas cheer to a child this holiday season.  If you need some inspiration check out the Flickr page, or the Purple Panda Quilts page for some great tutorials!

I'm linking up at Stitching by Starlight's Finished it Friday!  Be sure to stop by and check out what others have finished up this week too!

Kelsey

WIP Wednesday

I didn't get much done this week!  We've been busy around the house and raking loads of leaves, but I have made some progress.

Finished- Gah! None this week but I'm so close on so many!

In- Progress-

• Coming Home- Seriously- It's just laziness at this point!  I just have to sew the binding on the back.  I'm going to do it by machine since it's just a wall hanging so it shouldn't take long at all.  I have to finish it this week!

• Jellybean- Still nothing; but I am planning on cutting the rest of the strips and the white squares tonight

• Subversive Cross Stitch- All the snowflakes are done and so is one of the three words.  Should definitely be able to finish it up this week too

• Stockings for Kids- Almost done and I'm so excited about this project!  It's for such a good cause (if you haven't checked it out you should, and consider making a stocking too!) and I'd never made a stocking before so it was fun to make something new.  I just need to do the lining/cuff using this tutorial so this should be wrapped up soon too. 



Now I even have it sewn together with the back - almost done!



New Projects

• Sewing Room Organization- My sewing room is a disaster!! So although not an actual sewing project, cleaning it up and organizing all my things is a new project!  I got a new bookshelf built on Monday night but now I actually have to organize everything and put it on there.  I took some before pictures and I'll be sure to share some afters once I'm done.

• Patterns!-  Not necessarily a new project but Fat Quarter Shop is having a big pattern sale so I added a bunch to my collection! 

In case you can't see which ones they are I got the following:

• Itsy Bitsy Spider by Carlene Westberg Designs
• My Simple Kitchen from Thimble Blossoms
• Wild Thing from Thimble Blossoms
• Peppermint Twist from Cluck Cluck Sew
• Simply Sixties from Anka's Treasures (4 patterns in 1)
• Fons & Porter- Easy Quilts Sept 2011 Issue (really cute ideas in this one!)

Finished ~ 0

In- Progress ~ 4

New ~ 1ish

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced today- be sure to check out the other WIP Lists too! 

Kelsey

Quilt #1 Complete!

As listed in my WIP Wednesday post last week I have finished my first quilt!  I'm over the moon about it and couldn't be happier (or more addicted to quilting).

I started this quilt *probably* in about January!  But then we bought a house, got engaged, moved, re-did most of the "new" house, got married and had the reception at our house, so it got put away for a while.  I used this tutorial which was very helpful and clear to follow.  Allison has tons of great tutorials on her website (including the one my mom is using for her first quilt) so be sure to check out her site when you have time- very inspirational!  I did some straight line quilting horizontally across the rows and then around the white center squares and the white borders.  Then I machine bound it using this tutorial because I am one of the most impatient people ever so hand sewing wasn't happening!

 

Stack n' Whack Stats:

Fabric- Random mix of bright fabrics I like from Joann's for the front, back and binding 

Pattern- Stack n' Whack tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew

Finished Size- Approx 52" x 66" 

Number of times I cut the backing wrong- 1,000,000 (there's a reason it's patchwork- you'd think I never took math! 


Be back Wednesday with another work-in-progress post!  Now I'm off to attempt to organize the disaster that is my sewing space :)

Kelsey

The Big Winter Stitching List

So here it is; my current Big Winter Stitching List!  A handful of things need to be done before Christmas but the rest I have all winter to work on.  Which lucky for me and my list lasts about 5 months here in Ohio :)

· Cross-Terrain In Ruby



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· Finish the Jellybean for my mother-in-law (Christmas Gift)

· Make 3 foldover clutch totes for my sister-in-laws (Christmas Gifts)

· Finish the Subversive Cross Stitch- Happy Holidays (Christmas Gift)

· Finish Christmas Wall Hanging- just need to finish the binding

· Make a sewing kit from for my mom (Christmas Gift) and maybe one for myself too

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· Pick fabrics and at least make 4 Swoon blocks

· Pick a pattern and fabrics, and then make a wall hanging for our bedroom

· Take a knitting class and then make a chevron afghan 

· Learn Embroidery

· Start and Finish my Rectangle block quilt

· Finish the stocking for the Stockings for Kids

· Make a wall hanging for after winter to go where the Christmas quilt will be hanging in the dining room

· Make some more potholders for myself and to have on hand as hostess and add on gifts for the holidays.  Join us over at the Sew Sweetness Thanksgiving Dinner Challenge!

And probably about 100 other little projects I’ll think of and add to the list! I’ll be linking up at FairyFace Designs- be sure to go check out everyone’s lists and make one of your own!

WIP Wednesday

I finished my first quilt!!  I’m so excited J

Finished

·        Stack n' Whack- My first quilt is finally completed!  I’ll post some finished pictures (it was raining last night) and a whole run down soon but I’m so happy to have it done.  I took it straight out of the dryer, wrapped myself in it and walked straight to bed.  

Quilting Completed!

In- Progress

·        Coming Home- No progress, but I’m going to sew down the binding tomorrow night.

·        Jellybean- No progress here either but I’d like to finish cutting everything this weekend.

·        Subversive Cross-stitch- Still plugging away on this but I need to speed it up, the book is due back to the library!

New Projects

·        Stockings for Kids- I signed up for Purple Panda’s Stockings for Kids  this past week and am so excited to make a stocking for them to enjoy this Christmas.  Have you signed up?  You should definitely check it out!  I’ve got some ideas floating around, just need to get it down on paper.

Finished ~ 1

In Progress ~ 3

New ~ 1

I'm linking up to the WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced today.  Hopefully this week coming up can be a productive one!

Kelsey

Up Next

I'm so ready to be done with the Stack n' Whack!  I got a bit of quilting done, but I was gone all weekend and was way too tired to focus last night.  Hopefully I can it done tonight and then work on the binding tomorrow.

Once I finish the quilting on that and all the cutting on the Jellybean I'm going to get started on a throw sized quilt from this pattern.  It's going to be my first quilt made with nice designer quilt fabrics and I'm so nervous to cut them!!  I'm using the Jenean Morrison fabrics below as well as some more from the line (Wild World). 



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All the fabrics look great put together (they had a display quilt made up of the entire line) and I'm so excited to get started!

Kelsey 

WIP Wednesday!

I've been trying to make an effort to actually finish projects but it's just so hard!  Hopefully posting this each week will help keep me motivated to actually finish a quilt.

In-Progress

· Stack n' Whack- My first quilt top!  Well unless you count the one I made in grade school for a pioneer project...  I used this tutorial, and an assortment of fabrics from Joann's (I know I know, I was just too nervous to buy the nice stuff).  I've had the top done for ages and had it basted but I decided a few weeks ago that I hated the back I was using and finally pieced the new back last night.  Hopefully I can at least baste and quilt it this weekend.  

· Coming Home- From Camille's book, Simplify, except that I changed the layout a bit and used all Christmas fabrics.  We have the perfect spot in our dining room to hang it this holiday season.  I've pieced, quilted and machine sewed the binding; all that's left is the hand sewing.  I finally bought the right color thread and found a tutorial to stitch it nicely, I just have to sit down and do it.

· Jellybean- Another Camille Roskelley pattern, Jellybean is being made for my mother-in-law for Christmas.  I got about half of the strips cut and sewn together.  Hopefully this week I can cut the rest as well as the white squares.

· Subversive Cross-stitch- Still plugging away on this from yesterday.  I got another snowflake done tonight while babysitting and am going to pick it back up momentarily.

Hopefully this week coming up can be a productive one!

Kelsey

Hi!

Wow! My very first post!  I've been sewing on and off for years and have recently developed a love for quilting, rekindled my love for cross stitching, bought a house to fix-up and want to create a place to share all my projects (the good, bad and ugly!).  I've had crafting on the brain so much lately, that if you were looking for me on my lunch break today you would've found me cross stitching in my car...in the parking lot!

I'm working on a subversive cross stitch (Happy F* Holidays) for my aunt in-law for Christmas.  I promise not to throw around the F word like that- it's just the perfect gift for her!  And I'll take better pictures- this was with my phone since my camera has dead batteries.

I'll be back tomorrow with a work-in-progress Wednesday rundown of all my current projects.

Kelsey