I love Winnie the Pooh!

One of my very favourite kids characters has to be Winnie the Pooh and gang! So when I saw this "book panel" I had to buy it :)

                                
I don't have pictures of the construction phase, but I cut out each page and then added a narrow white border and then alternated wider yellow and pink borders.

then I added some white sashing between the blocks. .

I am not sure if there is a particular order to the story line here....but I just mixed them up and placed them where I thought they looked best !  This is a twin size.

I backed it with some cozy flannel and just quilted it with straight lines around the blocks.

Isn't is a cute way to use up those "book" panels??

Linking up to TGIFF over at Cherry Valley Designs today..
                             
                                       

Making Mountains..

As you have all heard (over and over LOL)..my daughter lost everything she owned in the Calgary flood in June.  Among those possessions were 4 of my home-made quilts :(

So I have been planning to make a quilt for her, and one of her favourites was her "Coffee Quilt" made mostly from "Java" coffee themed fabric.  Although I couldn't get a lot of that same fabric again, I did find some in the sale bins, and added some new prints.


I saw this pattern from the Moda Bake Shop..called S'more Mountains, so off I went to my cutting table!  (I am not adding the little appliquéd trucks and assorted bits)

It is going together very well..

My only disappointment is the amount of waste when trimming down the blocks.  For each block, and I think there are 42 of them, you trim off 2" of the strippy bit.

If I had known that, I would have made the "mountain blocks" a bit bigger..but I didn't realize until I had them all cut and started sewing the parts together.

I don't know about you, but I HATE wasting fabric! So this was not a happy moment. Of course I will save them in a zip-lock bag, and hopefully use them up ......someday....maybe when I use up my other 50 zip-lock bags of leftover bits!!

Anyway..it isn't finished yet, but I have started my 3 hour "random" placement exercise..hehe!!

Looking good so far. Hope she likes it!
So that is my WIP for this week.

Linking up to TN&TN..
                                       
and Lee's WIP wed at Freshly Pieced..
                                        

Don't try this at home!

Have you ever made something that you hate?

I don't mean something you just didn't like, or that it wasn't exactly what you had planned...but something they you hated?

Well I did! These colours looked OK in the store. I think it was those tricky lights... they make everything look good!! LOL

Anyway, I made the whole top...looked at it...and hated it! It was meant as a gift, and I just couldn't see giving away something that I hated!

My first thought was to just throw it in a closet and forget about it. But I really liked some of the fabric and thought it was perfect for the person that I was giving it to.
So my second thought was to go buy more of the same fabric and start over...but I couldn't find the same fabric :(

So...I started unsewing it...first I took out just the blueish pieces...(the white is the bed sheet showing through..)

then..I took out a few more...

Then I took of the border from the top and bottom and moved a few other pieces around...and added some black.  I am happy to say that it all fit back together..(can't say enough about how important accurate 1/4" seams are !!) even the borders fit back on perfectly!  So now it is finished , basted and ready to quilt....and I love it! It is perfect!

here is a sneak peek...more later, once it is quilted.

I have to say, though, this really shook my confidence. I have always struggled with choosing colour combinations, and this is exactly why! If I see something I like, I can make it easily...if I have to pick out the colours I spend a lot of time debating with myself!  So here is my next project...

I admit I am a bit nervous now to see it put together! It is a special quilt to replace one that was lost when my daughters apartment flooded.  Hope it looks OK! :)

linking up to TN&TN

left over terry towelling

I frequently make hooded baby bath towels as gifts, and always have a strip of leftover towelling.  Of course I cant through it away, so ended up with a tub full of these scraps.

So....I decided to try to use them up! I had seen others make "burp cloths" using purchased flannel diaper as one side.  I thought I would try them out with the towelling scraps!

I don't think it really matters what size they are...I cut mine 7" x 16", mostly because that is what worked best with my scraps.

I cut one of towelling, and one of left over flannelette (from backing baby quilts) and put them Right Sides Together..

then I decided to round the corners, to make them easier to turn...I just used a plate..

(ooops ..that is kind of blurry, sorry)

and cut the rounded corners..

Pin it well, leaving about 2" -3" open to turn..

I found it easier to have the smooth flannel side down on the sewing machine..

Then I turned and topstitched close around the edge..

And Ta Da...quick as a wink...a little pile of burp cloths, all ready for the next baby gift.

I guess I should mention there is also a little pile of towelling fluff...sorry...but working with terry towelling is messy ..Oh well!

Now  linking up to TGIFF this week over at Quilt Matters. And you have to go over there and check out M-R's fabulous "Bright Stripes" quilt..it is just fabulous!! 

Bird on a Wire

My son and his wife have just bought a house...their first..very exciting.

So my DIL wanted to make some throw pillows, and I thought I should do a test run to get the sizing correct before she cut into the fabric that she purchased. I have actually never made throw pillows before!

My first pillow:

and I would include some discussion about how I made it, but it involved a lot of swearing !! I used "wonder under" to fuse down the little bits, and the only thing I wonder is how it ever got finished !! I had a lot of problems peeling the backing off all these little tiny pieces :(
Maybe I will try this again, and detail the process !

After fusing them all down (FINALLY) I stitched around the raw edges with brown thread. The wire was just stitched across with a triple stitch (on the machine), then I added the little legs. Cute, eh??

And the next one was easier...

just 2 1/2 X 4 1/2 inch strips sewn together..

then place to form the zig zag pattern..

Trim down to size ...in this case 18"x18" making it square.Then add the backing.

For these, I made a simple envelope back...each piece 12"x18", so they overlap, with a hem on one edge..

Linking up to TN&TN


and Freshly Pieced WIP WED

Star Surround complete !

I have finished my Star Surround! (QAL over at Happy Quilting by Melissa )

It was such a great QAL and the first time I have joined in on one! The assignments were well explained, with lots of pictures, and very achievable steps each week. Thank you Melissa!!

For the backing I used a small polka dot fabric...I wanted something simple to show off the front!

And I used a bit of fabric from the Origins line for the binding. The whole Star Surround is from my Origins bundle...just love it!

It is all washed and lovely now. I am so proud of this one...it is not perfect..but my first real attempt at stars and lots of pointy bits!!  As Melissa would say...."Yippee Skippy" !!
...and it is my birthday...So Happy Birthday to me!! LOL

done like diamonds!

Well...I was experimenting with diamonds..as I have posted before.

It was never meant to be a special quilt, mostly just some half price fabric that I thought would be good to try something new.  Well it is finished...mostly because I got frustrated trying to match up the diamond points LOL.

Some were great..




others not so much...


But all in all it was a good learning experience. ...and my DH has claimed it for his! (He said I have never made a quilt for him...guess the ones on our bed don't count! )

Anyway..it is finished...

I love the colours but am not real happy with them all together. For those of you who have read Game of Thrones....this is what I think "motley" would look like :)

the backing is some random fabric from my stash, with a strip of colour from the front..

 But a finish , none the less!! So linking up to TGIFF.. today over at Quokka Quilts!

Another Appliqué update

It has been awhile since I posted about my progress on my long term, ongoing needle turn appliqué project. (which, by the way, is going much better than my hand stitching embroidery....just saying)

I have been working away at the blocks, and have quite a stack of them now. I think I am getting close! So I tried a couple of different layouts...
This one has half circles of the tulips around the edges (this is how it was shown in the book)

And this is laying out full circles...

I think I like the first option better...what do you think??

I still need a few more blocks, and then add some borders! I will have to really make an effort to continue and finish these, now that I have my baby Jan travel machine!

Linking up to WIP Wed over at Freshly Pieced..

and TN&TN..