Christmas Spoiler-palooza!

I am getting too backlogged with pictures of Christmas gifts and other craftiness, so I decided to post them all with no description, so at least you won't know who the gifts are for...

Here goes!

Upping my average...

The weather has driven us all inside and I have been very productive this week!

The blanket bee for Project Linus got it off to a good start when I stayed there for a few hours and cranked out 4 quilt tops.

I came home and pieced, tied and bound this baby blanket for one of Jeff's shipmates that night.



I brought a few kits home from the blanket bee and started assembling the next day.
Here is #1.


*meow- where's mine?*



Then I took a break and turned this


into this.


I had to hand sew the pages together into a book, so I went ahead and did some embroidery along the spine, too.


Here is Project Linus kit #2.



And the I made another baby quilt. I actually quilted this one, so it took longer.


All tied up and ready to go.


I remembered I had these tags and thought it would add a nice touch...


Back to the kits... There's #3...


And #4...



Man, 6 quilts and a book... I didn't realize myself that I was so productive... and yes mom, the dishes, laundry and picking up are all done, too.

Looking forward:
I have 1 more kit, this month's TIF challenge piece (which I already have an idea about), 4 Christmas gifts (one is mostly done) and then I'm getting back to my cathedral windows and chicken scratch! I miss my hand work!

September TIF and other craftiness

I finished this month's Take It Further Challenge yesterday and am very happy with it.
The theme for the month was "Lists" and I don't remember what the color scheme was.

I have to admit that I am a listmaker deep down. They make me feel secure that I have a handle on things and allow me to reason through things and double (and triple) -check that I haven't missed anything.
I have lists for everything! Projects, packing, books to read, addresses, on and on and on.
The one list I use on a daily basis is the grocery list. I have fond memories of reading and puzzling over my mom's shorthand on her list when I was a child. It took me a little while to figure out t.p. and p-nut butr.
Things like this regularly appear on my list now, as well.

The first idea for this piece was going to be a CQ square centered around a grocery list with these fabrics in a rainbow arrangement on either side, but when I laid them out, I liked the color wheel appearance much better.
I chose a Days Of The Week image off of Needlecrafter's index and hand drew it onto the white part.

So here is the bag. I stitched the whole thing to a canvas tote and found some trim that resembled the embroidery I was planning on doing and saved myself several hours of work!


I enjoyed how nicely the points came together in the center. I had a button stranding by - just in case- but I ended up not needing it! The white tucked down much nicer than it looks here when it was all stitched down.


Here you can see the drawing of the girlie going to market and the trim I chose.


Then I started having fun with the color accent feature on my camera...
Reds and oranges..


Yellows.


Greens


Blues


Brownish-es...

Remember you can click on any of the pictures for a larger image!

In other craftiness...
I whipped out this baby quilt from this cheater panel and an applique. So cute and very soft, and on clearance at Jo-ann's. I went back and grabbed another one for the next baby that comes along because they werte so cute!


It wasn't quite girlie enough so I chose a very flowerey flannel for the back.


And I had to take pictures quickly before the squatter showed up.





I also made this purse for Dodo from the pattern in the most recent "Handmade" mag.
It is my first attempt at something like this, but then it turned out pretty well, IMHO!


I also made a mini-purse for Dodo Barbie. It was a lot harder to futz that lining int such a small purse... I don't think I will be doing that again in the near future...


That is all for now. I am making good progress on Keith's quilt and will be spending the day at a blanket bee for Project Linus...

Happy Stitching!

Quilts, interrupted

The Mariner's Compass quilt is done and on our bed! Hooray!
I am finding that having a quilt on the bed is excellent motivation to make the bed every morning! I can't remember the last time I've been so willing to straighten up as soon as I get out of bed. I even make Jimmy's bed everyday as well, so I can look at his quilt also!


I finished cutting everything for Keith's quilt and have started assembly, but had to put it aside because a couple of baby quilts came up, as baby quilts tend to do...


I might have one or two other interruptions to my sewing.

I also picked up a "Handmade" magazine and it has gotten a fire lit under my butt to create a few new things... after the baby blankets, and the TIF project which still needs to be assembled!

not too much today...

The Mariner's Compass quilt has returned from quilting... finally...
I have the binding on but it needs one more touch before I will call it finished.

In the mean time, I have started cutting and bundling up the parts for Keith's Christmas present. This is going to be a new pattern for me, but since I am so new to quilting, they're all new to me, right... Anyway, a couple of new techniques will be involved...


We draw names for Christmas on the one side of my family to keep the chaos to a minimum. It is a great scheme. This year we added that part of the one gift you give has to be homemade! Guess what I already had decided to make whoever I got... I have to say I was flattered that they all wanted me for their Kringle. (according to my Mom)

Finished!

Jimmy's quilt is finished. He asked for a white binding instead of the green one I picked out...
It is quilted in this pattern I have seen called both orange peel and wine glasses.


Here you can see the stripey stripey back!


It is just the right size for Jimmy's bed.


Check!

On to the next one!

August Take It Further Challenge

The theme for this month's challenge was "balance".

I was inspired to make this pillow from a few of the quilts I saw at a recent quilt show that sported labyrinth designs.

I know that the labyrinth is sometimes designed and implemented with meditative purposes, and that meditation can be used in the pursuit of balance. I balanced the two sides of the pillow by reversing the colors and tufting it with the same button on each side.

Stitching this was very calming and I enjoy tracing my finger through the design.



Enjoy!
You can click on the pictures for a larger version.