Christmas sewing

 I made these fabric buckets following this tutorial springform fabric buckets by Amy at badskirt. I found some halloween buckets on sale for $0.50 at one of the dollar store chains.  After lunch my sister and brother kindly stopped and let me jump out at all the dollar stores on the way home. We found some halloween candy baskets for $0.50 on clearance.

For the potholders I followed this tutorial quilted potholders by Elizabeth at Oh Frasson. I really liked the cutout to make it go over your hand without it being a mitt. That way they can be used as trivets as well.

Pillowcase Dress

Here is a pillowcase dress I made for some friends expecting a little girl any day.  I got my inspiration here freshlypicked pillow case tutorial.  It is a size one so maybe for next summer.  It would also be great for fall with a tshirt. 

I used some of the piece I cut off the pillowcase to create a few wonky quilt blocks.  I did not quilt them but made them into a fabric basket.  I go my idea here sewn stash basket from the purl bee blog.  I just love all the great info.

I could not resist a picture of my lovely assistant holding the dress since it is for his friend.

Quilt Label

I wanted to thank crazy mom quilts for her label tutorial one way to label a quilt.  I followed it for my first quilt.

Vogue 8379 Wrap Dress

Here is a work in progress.  Just needs the hem and tack the facing.  I absolutely love this fabric.  It was a joy to sew and looks great on.  I purchased it at Fabrications they have an online store here.  They carry great fabric and yarn.
I added 3 inches to the length but I will not need it.  I will end up shortening it even though I am almost 5'10".  I plan to finish it for a party coming up in September.  I will post a picture then.

Quilt Binding

I forgot to mention in my previous post how I did my binding (double clicking on the picture will exand it). I followed the very detailed information provided by Sharon Pederson in her book Reversible Quilts Two at a Time. I purchased it several years ago when I was in my quilt thinking stage. I see it is still available on amazon (Reversible-Quilts-Two-at-Time). It has 20 five star ratings.

Her technique starts and ends at a corner. It hides the ends of the binding on a corner of the quilt and was super easy to follow. She also has a technique for making a reversible binding if you want the binding on the two sides to differ.

While I have not used other techniques I liked this one and will continue to use it.

One of the frustrations I had with my first quilt was trying to manage the amount of material I had to put through my sewing machine. In my next post I will share some of the tips that Harriet Hargrave has in her book Heirloom Machine Quilting. Unfortunately I did not review it before I machine quilted this one. For my next quilt I will incorporate the Divide and Conquer method (Nancy Smith & Lynda Milligan). My current plan is for a queen size quilt. May be a while before I finish. So many projects so little time.

First Quilt

I always said that I would never make a quilt. Even though my grandmother was an awesome quilter and did all her work by hand well into her 80's. I have several that she made and sometime I will post them on this blog. I just could not see the point in cutting apart a bunch of fabrics and sewing them back together.

Well, never say never. I have been bitten by the quilting bug. I just love all the great fabrics and modern quilt designs that are on the web. My husband was asked to be the godfather to his best friend's son. I felt that a special gift was in order. Thus, a quilt was born. Based on a tutorial from teaginny designs off center squares baby quilt tutorial. She has lots of pictures and various finishing options and the quilt on her blog teaginnydesigns.

Of course, I could not just follow her tutorial I had to give it my own twist. I pieced the binding, embroidered the event and date, added an additional block to the width, and quilted it in a diagonal pattern.

I learned a lot and made several mistakes. If I would have reviewed my Harriet Hargrave Heirloom Machine Quiliting book I would have made many less. I guess I have to admit that quiliting has always been on my mind as I purchased several books over the years.

Ah, experience. I know just what not to do next time. There will be a next time as I have a few in the cutting and planning stages. I just love the art and the freedom to do my own thing.