Finished projects!!

I've been quite busy the last week or two.  I'm finally getting caught up enough to post a few pictures.  It always seems that we either have the time or the money, but rarely both.  This year, I have lots of time, but not as much money, so I've been trying to make presents out of my stash, and have been really good about only buying batting, or fabric that I absolutely need to finish a specific project.
Our youngest niece turned 3 last week, and I made this chalkboard quilt for her.  I love how it turned out!  A friend had given me the pattern and chalkboard fabric (who knew they made that?), after she had bought them, then had her kids grow way too fast to make it for them.  I still have patterns for baby clothes that I never made, so I can totally relate!  I was happy to put this to use!
I also have been busy making this quilt for her older sister.  Her favorite colors are blue and yellow.  She's a big swimmer, and I had this beautiful blue and yellow fabric in my stash, so I made a school of fish for her bed!  It's my first "2 color" quilt.  I love making quilts for other people, because I never would have made this for me, but I LOVE the way it turned out!

I know of a few lucky family members who are getting kindle ebooks for Christmas, so I made these covers for them.  One is for a kindle, one for the larger DX.  These went together so fast, that I want to try to put a few on etsy to see how they sell.  Wish me luck!
 
That's it for the projects (for now).  I still have binding to do, but hope to finish them soon.
As we put up our tree and decorations, I pulled out my favorite kitchen towels.  Several years ago, I had my 2 boys draw pictures of Christmas trees on pieces of paper.  I then traced these designs onto "wonder under" double fusible interfacing, then ironed them onto green fabric, ironed that onto some cute towels, then stitched them into place.  If you're looking for a quick last minute gift for grandparents, this would be a fantastic one.  In fact I think I made extras and sent these out to family that year too.  Here's my favorite Christmas ornament... a leather puffin we bought in Alaska on a trip we took before kids (lots of money then, but very little time).



 
I also found a surprise in the mail last week!  It's not from a blogger swap, not something I bought, but a sweet gift from a good friend of mine.  She decided to cut out 2 of the same quilts at the same time, and sent me the 2nd set (along with the pattern)!  Isn't that sweet?  Last time we were together we did a similar thing.  She also just started a blog, "Cooking with Jenny / Jennifer".  Go check it out!
Finally, we've been hit hard again with some winter weather.  It makes for great sewing weather, but also has been giving us a bit of cabin fever!  The kids had a snow day yesterday, but here's the beautiful sunrise I saw this morning right before school!  Today's their last day before break.
I hope all of you have a great holiday season!  With 2 tweens at home and not enough computers to go around, I suspect I may not have much time or access to blog until 2011!  Cheers!

Oh, and it's "Fabric Tuesday".  I'm linking up with Quilt Story's blog.  head over there and check out all of the wonderful fabric projects

Progress

It's funny how things work...

Now that I got these tiny little fabric pieces all cut out and ready to go, I'm ready to put them aside. Now that they're laying around, my sewing world's equilibrium has been restored!

Last night I got this puppy all pin-basted together!

Today, I made a trip over to Walla Walla, WA, to my nearest Jo-Anns' store to take advantage of the 50% off coupon that I can only use this week-end (ugh). I only bought batting and more safety pins (also 50% off today).

The best part about my trip to JoAnns in W2 is that there is a teeny tiny butcher shop literally right across the parking lot, that I finally went into, because I had heard they had natural grass fed meat. It's called "Thundering Hooves", and I immediately fell head over heals for this place! They not only have natural beef, but pork, lamb and other meats as well! Plus you can watch as they cut it all up. I was pleased as punch to buy some ground lamb that'll be part of our Christmas dinner. We make dolmades, or stuffed grape leaves every year.

I also got lunch and went to my favorite grocery store there, Andy's Market. Our family loves sushi, and believe it or not, I have to drive an hour to find a store (Andy's) that carries sushi rice. Strangely enough, the local Safeway carries nori and wasabi, but no sushi rice. I've tried every type of rice and it totally is what makes sushi sushi... I'm not brave enough to make it at home with raw fish, so we use smoked salmon. There's thankfully no shortage of that anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.

On the drive over, I was reminded of why I haven't been there in a while. I passed a horrible accident involving a log truck and a small car that was pretty shocking. The weather we get in the winter is icy, icy, icy! I don't stray far from home much, which is great for quilting, not so great for cabin fever!

That top image is just a picture of what's on my bed-side table. I LOVE the way those colors look together! Totally random, but so pretty! Inspiration for my next quilt? Amazing where you get ideas from!

Anyway, short story long, I hope everyone has a fun week-end! I'm already carving out a space on the kitchen counter to get this quilt finished, hopefully tomorrow...

Not another project!

I'm linking up with "Freshly Pieced" blog today for her "Work in Progress Wednesday". As usual, I have far too many to list. What I SHOULD be doing is getting my quilt along quilts ready to quilt together and finish up!
But what I'm actually doing is CUTTING OUT A NEW QUILT! I know, it's crazy! I really SHOULD be finishing up quilts, but my sewing world just doesn't feel complete without a whole lot of tiny fabric pieces sitting around somewhere! My favorite part of quilting is the planning and cutting and piecing! The big stack of quilt tops on top of my dresser is a testament to that! So here's my sewing table today!!

I also have to add that you don't have to have a lot of money to quilt! The blue fabric used to be a curtain. I ripped out the top casing and bottom hem. The yellow I got on sale. The solid pink in the QAL quilt I got for $1 a yard at a garage sale, and the backing of this quilt will have more fabric I found at the same garage sale. I've used sheets, clothes, and always head to the clearance table of a fabric store first when I visit. I've also been lucky enough to have been given fabric by people who never quite got into the hobby. Thrift stores frequently have fabric as well. eBay, and on-line clearance sales are another source. And there's always those Jo-anns coupons and sales, although the nearest Jo-anns is an hour away from me.

Please let me know if I left any great thrifty fabric sources out, and tell me I'm not crazy for starting yet another project!!!

Pendleton Quilt Show

OK! I'm now officially "hooked" on quilt shows! I not only attended my 2nd quilt show this week-end, but since it was here in town, and since I've become a fixture at the local quilt shop, I volunteered to help out. I'm kicking myself for forgetting my camera during set-up though. I wish I could show you just how much work goes into these events!! I spent a good chunk of Friday helping set up all the frames that the quilts hang from, and carrying many, many quilts from car to auditorium, to quilt frame. It was quite a treat to pull each quilt out of its protective bag and see them. Kind of like unwrapping Christmas presents! And the care and attention that goes into handling these treasures is something I enjoyed begin part of. I also got to meet and became acquainted with some wonderful quilters here in Pendleton.

There were about 200 quilts in the show, including 2 sets of "challenge quilts". One set all had to use the same fabric in part of the quilt, the other set was the "Round-Up Quilts", making a quilt that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Rodeo, coming up in September. This time I wasn't quite as overwhelmed, got to go without kids, and really took the time to read the story that was attached to each quilt. Some were the result of classes taken, "block swaps" or "block of the month" clubs. Some were art quilts, the inspiration coming from countless places. Some were fun patterns, some were done during rehabilitation from illnesses. Many of the quilts were made as gifts, for birthdays, graduations, weddings, birth of babies, or for other special events. It reminded me of just how special these quilts are. I really can't think of any other item that is as useful and as beautiful as a quilt. It fulfills such a basic need: warmth. And to be wrapped up in a work of art that was made by a loved one is such a wonderful thing! Of course the recipient often doesn't know that it's just as much fun to make these quilts as it is to use them. When I make a quilt as a gift, it's such an incredible opportunity to reflect and meditate on that person as each stitch falls into place.

Because of this I was so incredibly moved by this quilt's story:

It was started as a 16th birthday present for this mother's son. The "boy" in a boy/girl twin pair. I have a twin brother, so immediately I felt a connection. Unfortunately her son died in a freak skate boarding accident before he reached his 16th birthday. He was wearing a helmet, but the impact injured his brain stem, and he died shortly after. It took this woman many years to be able to pick up this quilt again and finish it this year, what would have been his 21st. I was so incredibly touched by this story. I walked around with tears in my eyes for a good bit of the show, and still am in awe at how this mother was able to find the strength to finish such a quilt and how she was able to put it in a public show. I can only begin to imagine the tears that went into finishing this quilt, and hope that she was able to find some comfort, healing and peace as she completed it. I am so grateful for her sharing it at the show. It's a beautiful quilt, but its story made it my favorite.