Finally I can post about this!

My husband turned 30 earlier this month. He's been haranging me for a quilt practically since I've known him. His birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity and after a few fits and starts, I settled on trying something geometric in the hopes that the trick to your eye would work. It kinda did. I pieced the top in a day and hand quilted like mad when he would go out of town for work. Had I gotten things together a little sooner and not gone out of town myself, I might have
finished. But, alas, I had to present it undone. And undone it remains. But, it did help teach me that I really can get stuff done if I focus. So, I'm feeling confident that it will be finished before summer is over.

inspiration on the computer screen

prepping and planning

strips

more strips

the finished top. it has the desired effect as a thumbnail photo. and if i did it again, i'd do much thinner strips and a more gradual progression. live and learn, i still like it

Hooded Baby Towel

A coworker of mine had her baby shower today. I made her a hooded baby towel and a couple of wash clothes. I conveniently found a tutorial on one of my favorite blogs, The Purl Bee, a few weeks ago. This is the same blog where I found the tutorial for the ties I made for all the boys in the wedding.

It was super easy to do - I used organic terry cloth and regular flannel (cause they didn't have any cute organic cotton). The only challenge was the stretch of the terry cloth but if you tell me you're having a baby any time soon, expect to get this as your gift.

trying to find a little hope

I'm participating in CraftHope's Project 8 - sending wash clothes and hand towels to those that are trying to save the animals in the gulf. I'm excited about this for a number of reasons - I've wanted to take part in one of their projects for a long time and had not been able to get it together, it's such a simple project that literally anyone can do it (I guess the one requirement might be that you know how to work scissors), and last but certainly not least, it's a little way to have a positive impact in what is going on with this oil spill. I've been thinking about all of the joyful times I have had both in and around our oceans, most recently snorkeling and scuba diving in Tahiti. We happened upon a sea turtle while snorkeling at one point and it was so beautiful and graceful - really just mesmerizing.

I encourage you to join up. If you don't have the time to do this, you can just send Dawn soap. The due date is July 3 but I'm pretty sure they are flexible - they are going to need supplies for a long long time. I bought diaper flannel - it was 100% cotton and cheap, and they don't need anything fancy so it seemed perfect. I'll post a picture of my donation once I've actually completed it.

Ode to a Thimble

I couldn't find my thimble for about three minutes today. It was a long three minutes. My husband gifted me with it for Christmas several years ago and it has made such a difference. I went to a hand quilting class at the Columbia River Gorge Quilt Show in 2006. It was my first class although I'd been quilting for several years and I learned so much! It's kind of unbelievable how in the dark I had been. I wish I knew who the teacher was so I could thank her. She introduced me to a book called That Perfect Stitch by Roxanne McElroy. And to a thimble developed by Roxanne (scroll down the page to find it and then click on the more info link for a pdf that explains). It's quite different that most thimbles I had ever seen and it made so much more sense to my finger. It's designed to go on the pad of your finger and you actually have to get your finger sized with a ring sizer so you know what to buy. (That was an entertaining trip to the jewelry store).

I am rather prone to losing things but today was the first time I have ever misplaced my thimble. It won't happen again.

2010 Blogger Quilt Festival

As I get more into this blogging thing, I decided to be brave and go public. I am entering the 2010 Blogger Quilt Festival, sponsored by Amy's Creative Side.

I decided to share my favorite quilt to date - CJ's Hungry Caterpillar. I have two older sisters, one who convinced me to try quilting in the first place and it was so that we could make something for the other sister's wedding. Naturally, this lead on to quilting for subsequent special occasions. So when BOTH my sisters got pregnant at the same time, I knew I had to something special.

I have long been drawn to the idea of making quilts inspired by books. For my niece, who's mother is a true outdoor girl and environmentalist, I went with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted. The fruit is my favorite part.

Slowly but surely

I started this quilt in 2006 as a joint gift for my parents from my sisters and me. They helped with the piecing. It's by far the most ambitious one that I have undertaken. It is a gift to celebrate their 60th birthdays (which happened in 2007) and the 100th anniversary of our camp (also 2007). Obviously, it's not 2007 anymore. We did manage to get the top completed by summer 07 and I have been quilting off and on since then. My goal is now to finish by August of this year so that it can hang in the local quilt show and then they can have it. There - I said it out loud! Now I have to make it true.

I laid it out this morning to check on the progress and draw on more of the quilting. I took this picture to document that Oscar actually stayed put. He usually comes to check things out whenever I am on the floor and I have to run around and scold him to try to keep him off of it. Perhaps he has now seen this quilt so many times that he's over it.

I actually feel like I am finally getting somewhere with the quilting. The middle sections are quilted as are the the sections extended to the sides, top and bottom. Now it's time to focus on the corners sections. I am using both my hoops in the hopes that it's more efficient but I'm not convinced. I feel like if I can stick to hand quilting through this project, I'll be able to tackle anything.

Happy Birthday Caty (a little over a month late)

I've been waiting to post this quilt for a long time. I started it thinking I had plenty of time before my niece's third birthday which was on April 12 (and I would have if I were more on top of things). But, alas, she just got it last week! And, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product so hopefully my sister will send me one eventually.

The quilt was a kit from Fons and Porter using paper doll fabrics designed by someone I should probably remember. The process was pretty simple. Each square was one doll and the clothes were made by ironing the fabric onto fleece interfacing and the cutting around each piece. The clothes stick on the doll pretty well, and then there is a pocket on the back to keep the clothes in. I think I posted a picture of that a while back because it was my first buttonhole! And as it turns out, it's the first button my niece has been able to do by herself!

One of the outfits

Quilt sandwich - ready to be quilted

one of the squares - I love each of the little girls