WIP Wednesday #4

This week I have actually gotten some projects done!  Next week, the family and I are heading to Tennessee for a much-needed time away and I am super excited!!  Our cabin is pet-friendly, so the kitty is coming along, too....should be pretty fun in the car :o)  In preparation of the car ride ahead, I have 3 quilts that I am taking to hand-sew bindings.  Maybe I will have my kaleidoscope quilt quilted in time to take, too!

So, here we go with progress:

1.  New Wave quilt--quilted and binding attached (I got a little carried away with photos...sorry!!)

2.  1974 quilt--binding (FINALLY) attached...it's only been waiting for 2 years!

3.  Valentine's quilt--binding attached
4.  Kaleidoscope quilt--1/2 way quilted!!  yay!!! (better pic of the quilt top :o)

This week's stats:
New projects - 0
Completed projects - 1 customer quilt
Currently in progress - 13 (will have 3 off the list next week, maybe 4!!)

I'm Linking Here at Freshly Pieced:

Taking a Break

I think I blinked and the summer is almost gone!  The minis start school in only 1 month.  They are excited for it, but I'm thinking about all that needs to be done beforehand.  School supplies need to be purchased, uniforms need to be mended, hair accessories need to be made, teacher gifts need to be crafted.  Makes me tired just thinking about it!

In light of all that needs to be done and that I want to enjoy these last 4 weeks of summer, I have decided to take a short break from my etsy shop.  While I love my business, it's gotten close to being another full time job and I'm just a little bit burned out.

So, my etsy shop will remain closed until the end of summer...after Labor Day (at least :o)

Bow Ties

Little boys with bow ties are just adorable!!  I am sure you will agree :o)  I have been wanting to make some for my nephew who likes to wear them to church...but I wanted to use my scraps, which can sometimes come in odd shapes and small amounts.  None of the tutorials I found online really suited what I was looking for....so I just made my own pattern and here's what I got.

I ended up using 2 very small rectangles, another small scrap for the center, and a bit of elastic.  And now, I am addicted to making them!  I made 3 yesterday and have fabric ready for a few more.  I hope this holds him for a while, at least until Christmas (which, btw, is 5 months away!!!!)

Ruffled Pouches

I have been seeing ruffles everywhere lately...all over Pinterest, blogland, catalogs.  I love ruffles!  If you've never ruffled before, it is just too easy to pass up!  I recently made a camera strap slipcover with a ruffled front, and I have to say I love it!  There are many ways to ruffle, but the method I like the best is to simply set your sewing machine tension to the highest it will go and the stitch length to the longest and then just sew your fabric!  Because you've changed the settings, it will ruffle as you sew.  No basting stitches to pull (and break as is the case most of the time with me) or worrying about pulling the threads out of the fabric completely.  If you want your fabric more ruffled than what you get, you can still gather it and scrunch it together...but what I like is that your thread STAYS PUT!  So, give it a try and you'll be glad you did.

Thursday I spend the day with my sis-in-law just playing with fabric and I made a couple of pouches and a bookmark for my nose-in-every-book-she-can-get-her-hands-on Emma :o)  She was thrilled beyond belief and swiped it before I could get any pics of it! 

My new make-up bag...not a big fan of the raw edges...they just become so messy SO fast!!

New change purse...HAD to finish the edges here...couldn't help it!

Anyway, I plan to do some other variations of ruffled pouches in the future.  My husband saw my ruffly goodness and asked me..."so what's with the ruffles?"  He doesn't know they will be a part of my living room curtains in the very near future....insert evil laugh here :o)

Weekend Projects

It's been a busy week, but great for getting things done!  My sister-in-law and I had a sewing day on Thursday which was so much fun.  I made a make-up bag, a coin purse, a bookmark for Emma and she made a super cute apron.  Saturdays this summer have been wonderful...while the rest of the week is so busy, Saturday has been a day to relax with my family and get some things done around our house.  So, this Saturday, I was able to get my kitchen curtains finished up and a wreath decorated for my kitchen door, the minis also made some cute cookie cutter art for the walls...they were so proud!  I have more on my kitchen to-do list, including painting my table, chairs, and china cabinet...but that will have to wait for another weekend!  I got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest, just a great place to share ideas.

Can you tell I'm just a little addicted to making rosettes??

I had planned to work on my double wedding ring quilt top this weekend, too, but just ran out of time.  I seriously need to finish up some quilts first.  In a couple of weeks we are heading to TN for vacation, so I am planning to take along some quilts to finish on the road.  Binding goes by so much faster while you're on a road trip!  

WIP Wednesday #3

So I missed last week's WIP Wednesday...truly had nothing to show...not a hint of progress on any project.  That's summer for ya!  We've been busy with spending more time with the minis...going to the library, inside play areas (because we have freakishly hot summers!!), pool time, shopping trips, etc.  Emma, upcoming 3rd grader, is absolutely HORRIFIED at seeing back to school sales starting to pop up!  She loves school, but asked me, "Is summer really almost over???"  No, thank the Lord, it is not!  Although, the weather could cool down a bit, and I'd be just fine with that.....enough rambling!

I finally got a quilt top finished this week, yay!  I got my kaleidoscope top done and I love the colors but was disappointed at so many of my ends being cut off when I squared up my blocks.  Anyone else have that problem??  I think I may need to revisit my seam allowance and make sure it's 1/4"!!  I didn't want to re-do the blocks, so here it is, cut off points and all.  I am pretty fond of it, even if it is flawed :o)   Pointy points are so over-rated anyway!

Went outside to get a good picture of it and the humidity instantly fogged up my lens...ugh! I seriously miss my California summers!  My husband holds up all of my quilts and you can seriously see all that bias stretching at the top.

Another quilt top almost finished is the Single Girl Quilt for my niece.  Super excited about this one because again, I screwed up the seam allowance and had to re-do it.  This one was just not going to work unless it was fixed.  But it's progress!

This week's stats:
New projects - 0
Completed projects - 0
Currently in progress - 14 (holy cow!)

Linking up here:

No-Sew Fabric Flower

I am always trying to find ways to use up fabric scraps. This fabric flower is a great way to use up scraps and make a hairclip, brooch, or accent for anything you like!



Supplies:

2 coordinating fabrics--less than 1/8 yard of each
fabric covered button form
Hot glue gun
scissors
small square of felt

Cut 6 large circles from your scraps...they don't have to be perfect, just uniform in shape.  Fold each circle in half, then into thirds.



Cut 5 smaller circles from more scraps...again, not perfect but smaller than those you just cut.

Fold each circle in half, then into thirds, as shown.







Using your scissors, round off the top, so that you have a nice petal shape.



Open up each petal, then fold in half, making sure to not line up your petals. Fold in half again. Put a dab of glue in the fold to keep each petal folded.





Arrange the larger circles, slightly overlapping, on your piece of felt.  Once all the larger circles are down, start arranging your smaller circles in the same way.





Once you arrange the bottom layer, arrange the second layer. When you layer the 5th petal, lift up the first petal and slide the 5th petal under.



I like the Dritz brand of fabric covered buttons. You can easily pinch together that little metal loop in the back and then lock your fabric onto the back in the teeth.





Snap on the back of your fabric covered button. Attach to the center of your flower and you have a beautiful flower!



These flowers can be made smaller or larger with as many layers as you like.  They are so versatile and can accent anything.  You can attach it to an alligator clip, french clip, headband, purse, pillow...honestly, just about anything!

Lazy, Wonderful Saturday

Today has been a great day.  I have a sick child (not so great) and I hate to say it, but when that happens, I like to stay home.  It was great to not have to go anywhere today.  I got so much done that I've been wanting to do for a while, plus some.  First, I was able to get all of my sewing done for the Kaleidoscope quilt along done!  I was so excited about that.  Now I have to snip them all apart and iron the seams, but that's the easy part of this week.



I got all my paper pieces cut out for my double wedding ring quilt along project also....although I'm still unable to decide on fabrics.

A few years ago, I participated in a couple of quilt block swaps and never put them together.  To be honest, I was a bit disappointed because I had to throw out about 10+ blocks mostly because the fabrics were just awful...not that I am not thankful for the ladies who completed them, but they looked to be older than I was.  Today, I found my blocks and had an idea of putting them together to make curtain valences for my kitchen.  They went together pretty easily, and now need to be pressed and lined.  I am excited about it!



My last thought for the day is about Pinterest!  Do you Pinterest?  My friend got me turned on to it and now I'm addicted.  It's a great way to just organize my brain.  Plus there is so much inspiration and great ideas others have saved on their boards.  Well, as I was snooping on some random lady's boards, I found a picture of one of my headbands from my etsy shop!  I am pretty sure I squealed, "Look, I've been pinned!!"  My girls were excited but totally confused about "pinning" and how I ended up having it happen to me :o)  It was an awesome feeling anyway!

I have a couple of invitations left, so let me know if you want one, so you can get started pinning your heart out, too!



Pretty sure that my large mocha frappe is what gave me the energy to get all of this done before lunch, plus make 5 pairs of board shorts for my daughter for camp this week. She's gonna be gone for 5 days, 4 nights. She has bursted out into tears here and there, but she wouldn't hear of not going :o)