Something new

 Do you know what this is?

Why, it's a mute bag of course.  It is for a trombone mute, they asked that it look like a Crown Royal bag.  We decided it really needed the crown and name on it...I think it turned out pretty cool.

And the friend we made it for really liked it, that's what counts!

Who knows, maybe this is the start of something.

Flannel Man

 This is for my brother.  He doesn't know it yet.  It's for his birthday at the end of January.  I made it without any batting because he's hotter natured than the rest of us, but I think he'd still like to have something to use on the sofa.

The back is a lovely blue and black flannel that I pulled to the front for binding.  I think he's gonna like it!

Blue Rag QAYG Footie

 Even though this is called "Blue", it's not as blue as it started out.  We made this for my dad for Christmas.  His circulation isn't very good in his legs and feet, so this was a perfect gift for him this year. 

Added a deeper pocket on the back so it won't get caught on his recliner as easily.  He was happy about it.

Christmas Pinwheels

 Christmas Pinwheels was started several months ago.  It was my second attempt at following a pattern.  It didn't work out like it was supposed to, and it turned me off patterns a bit.  I think it still turned out okay though, all things considered, and I might try another pattern eventually. 

 Can you see my Christmas sock in the bottom corner?  Haha I finished this the week of Christmas...just in time.  Used a pre-quilted red fabric for the back so it would move faster and be thinner.  It wasn't my favorite thing to work with, but it did make things move faster.

Quilted with free motion wandering lines...no real pattern here.

Bubble Forest

 This is called Bubble Forest.  It was the third project that went up on my wall in the beginning of 2010.  It stayed there, or somewhere in the sewing room until December.  I finished it December 23rd.  It's my take on the old adage "You can't see the forest for the trees."  It's a REALLY long twin size....so long I couldn't get the whole thing in one photo, and almost not enough room to lay it out to photograph.

The back, it's a very girly thing to me.  The main fabric has some beautiful pink print on it.  When I was quilting it I started out with pebbling...they looked more like bubbles to me.  It was taking WAY too long, so I started adding in swirls and swerved lines, and straight sun rays.  The colored panels started looking like fruit, so I quilted in cherries and oranges/orange slices, blueberries, etc.  It's not perfect, but I'm proud of it!

Red Rag QAYG Footie

This is a footie quilt we made for my husband's mom for Christmas.  I say we because my husband often plays an important role in fabric choices for me.  The squares are 9"x10", quilted individually, then pieced together and washed to achieve the 'rag' effect.  The edges will continue to fray over time becoming even softer.

 The back has a pocket for your feet.  It's made to fit the individual who receives it, so some are much longer than others.  This one is about 40"x70".  This was made as one continuous quilt, folding the bottom two rows over to the back made the pocket.

This was me trying to show the pocket effect.  There is a button in the middle to keep the pocket closed if you are not using it.  These are fun to make, and quilting as you go (QAYG) allows you to try all sorts of patterns.

Ryan's Flannel Footie

 Please forgive the blurry pictures.  I was in a hurry to photograph this before my husband came home.  I was trying to surprise him for Christmas.  He was a little surprised...but not entirely because he'd asked for one of these over two months ago when I made the first one for me.

 This is made really scrappy with old flannel shirts...they are so soft and comfy!  But, flannel shirts aren't the easiest thing to cut into, and to cut straight.  If you cut straight squares you end up losing a LOT of material, so I decided it didn't have to all line up perfectly.

Close up of the fabrics.

The back.  I used a white flannel and then more shirts for the pocket.  I used the existing button plackets from the shirts across the top of the pocket and sewed the buttons on the white flannel.  The binding is really scrappy too.

A close up of the quilting and the top of the pocket.

I think he loves it...it hasn't moved from his spot on the sofa since Christmas Eve!

Insulated Casserole Carrier

 This is a tutorial...not a good one, but it is one.  If you like it, I'm glad, if you can do it better please help me.  I decided I needed to make this but couldn't find a good tutorial online, so I thought I'd try to track my progress and share it with you.

 This is insul-bright.  It's what you need.  I got it for about $2.50 a yard, you'll need one yard for a 9"x13" casserole dish.  You may want about a yard of regular batting also.  I didn't use it, but I probably will on the next one.

 I used my dish as a template, and cut my insulation three times the width plus 2x the depth, and a little. Then I cut it about 1/2"-1" more than the length.  So, it is roughly 32"x 14".

 Cutting it this way gives you enough to fold it across your casserole twice.

 Voila!

 Cut two pieces of fabric in the same manner.  Sew right sides together leaving about 10" open in the middle on both sides. You are sewing the first and last third of the length and across each end.  The middle bits are where your cross panels will go.  I pinned mine so I'd know where to stop.

 You end up with two openings opposite each other in the middle of your fabric.

 Pull the fabric through one of the openings, and us a pencil to push out your corners.

 This is me trying to show you that my arm is going through the middle of the pocket, but I have short arms so you can't even see what I'm doing.  But look at that gorgeous fabric!  It's very important to iron it flat after this.  It will make putting everything together much easier. 

 Next you will cut four pieces of fabric the length of your casserole (13") to use as side panels.  You might also want to use two layers of batting without the insul-bright for these as well. Sew them right sides together leaving a small opening where you can turn them out.  Insert your batting, get it to lay flat, and then stitch it closed.  I did this at the 'bottom' of the panels because they will be inserted into your large panel that you made first and the stitching won't be seen.

 Now, insert your insul-bright and batting if you are using it, into the large panel, and straighten it out.  Then, without sewing it up, insert your side panels and pin together with the seam folded under. 

 See this? This is what you have to do.  Trust me, pinning is the best thing to do.  Now, carefully using a zigzag stitch, stitch the layers together, closing up your side openings.  I quilted a simple diagonal from corner to corner on each panel, and then a straight line where the panel will fold up and over the casserole dish to make it a little sturdier.

 You now have this.  I added a double button and button holes to keep everything closed, and with the double button, it's fully reversible.

Put your dish inside and be proud of what you've accomplished!  Now if only I could figure out how to make one of the really nifty ones with handles...maybe I'll try that next.

Counting Progress, Shocking Results!

I haven't really kept count of the quilts I've made during the year. A few days ago I was trying to explain to a group of ladies about how I had a goal to make 12 quilts over the course of the year, and couldn't recall just how many I'd made.  I said, "I think I've surpassed that goal, but I don't really know."  So, I decided to sit down and count.
Here is the list of fully finished quilts;
Completed Full Size; 5
Brown Garden Blocks
Dresden Nine Patch
Stained Glass
Stick Straight
Hole in One Commission

Completed Twin or Personal Size;9
Christmas Footie
All Boy
Flower Girl
Red Rag QAYG Footie
Ryan's Footie
Cross Group Project
Bubble Forest
Christmas Pinwheels
Blue QAYG

Completed Baby Quilts (from stroller to crib size);5
Sawyer
Elephant Parade
Peyton
Puppy Love
Blueberries and Creamsicles

Can you believe it?  20 quilts!  In my very first year of quilting.  I was shocked!  And now I understand why I've felt so tired and busy. But I'm okay with it.  Of course, this does not include all of the other sewing projects that weren't necessarily quilts, but might still be quilted in some way.  It's been fun, but I think I'll take next year a little slower, and boy am I proud of how far I've come.  I am especially proud of my husband who has been so supportive and loving about the whole thing even though others just rolled their eyes at my extreme goal.  With him, no goal is too great, no dream too far fetched.  Thanks for letting me dream big and for sharing the journey with me!

P.S.  I realized some of these haven't been posted.  I will correct that, and link to each of them soon.
***Update, some new bits have been posted.  There are still seven finished quilts that have not been posted.  If you are counting, yes that is 1 more than the 20 listed.  I've put together 2 or 3 new tops and have one more finished quilt since this list went up.  Don't worry, my 'resolution' for 2011 is to slow down...sort of.***

Quilt Commission

"Hole in One"

 Straight Line quilting on 6 inch squares.  This is a full size quilt...a lot of material.  The only requests were, golf fabric, full size, plain square quilting.  So, that's what I did; with all four 'golf' patterned fabrics I could find, and some other solids/patterns mixed in for variety.

 The back is pieced from a flannel argyle golf print, and the few leftover squares from the front.  The binding is made up of remnants from the golf fabrics.

 Binding

This was my signature...I'm told this is what you are supposed to do.  So I did.