End of April Already?

Where did April go?  I do not know, and I'm once again figuring out how to accomplish my one monthly goal before the end of Saturday.  It should not be too hard, but I have to remember to follow the schedule I have created for myself, which I also consider to be my daily list of goals.  I take the time every Monday to sit down and plan out what I want or need to accomplish for the week.  Sometimes I put too much on, but sometimes I am able to get ahead.  (It really depends how motivated I am, right when I get home from work)

The one thing on my design wall this week is finishing the top for a Dr. Seuss baby quilt.  It is a simple pattern, but it is not going to sew itself!

I have made a little progress since this picture was last taken.  I have sewn the strips in a tube to cut and then take apart to create the design on my drawing, which is a simple diagonal pattern of each fabric.

Once the quilt top is done, I hope to get it quilted on Sunday, renting time on the long arm quilting machine.  I'm thinking of putting "Oh the places you will go" in the middle.  I feel like it is very appropriate for a baby quilt, especially a Dr. Seuss quilt.

Once the quilt top is finished, I have some cute baby shoes I want to cut out, and start to put together. I hope to finish them no later than the end of next week.  (I will share a picture next week)

I can not wait to see what is on everyone else's design wall over at Patchwork Times with Judy, and linking up with Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts.

-Christina

Baby Gifts

This past week we had a baby shower at work, and of course I whipped up a few things for the new Mom.  I tried a few new patterns, and have some thoughts on them, which I will share.

First thing I made were burp rags.  The baby is a girl and the nursery that she will share with her older brother has zoo animals in it, so I thought these prints were perfect for her.

The second thing I made was new to me, and that was a tag blanket.  It turned out soooooo cute!  It was super easy to put together, the only thing that took some time was pinning everything together with the ribbons (tags) in place.  While I was putting it together I was squealing of how cute it was, and had to show my husband about half a dozen times.  I'm sure he enjoyed it about as much as I did (not!).  I plan to make more of these for my business.

The last thing I was able to complete before the baby shower were three baskets.  The original pattern was the Sturdy Fabric Basket pattern from Craftsy, for free.  The pattern only produces one size and I wanted three nesting baskets, so I altered the pattern and made two other sizes I wanted, which were the small and large baskets.  I enjoyed the pattern, very detailed and showed some great pictures.  The only thing I didn't like was ironing on the fusible after the basket was made, to help give the basket some stability.  I had several issues getting the fusible in the basket properly and then trying to iron it.  Besides that I think they turned out very cute.  (I love the X's on the handles)

I ran out of time to make Maggie's Stay on Booties from Etsy (a new pattern to me), so that is my goal this weekend, and post next Friday about finishing them.

Another friend just recently had a baby girl, and I'm making her the same gifts with different fabric.  I want to get her gifts done in the next week or so.  I am going to try a different pattern for the baskets, one that has the fusible ironed on the fabric before the basket is made for a smoother process of making them.  I will let you all know how it goes when I get them done.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday, and I always look forward to seeing what everyone else has been working on this past week.

-Christina

Table Runner Finshed

Yay!! The table runner is finished!  I was able to complete it this past weekend, just two days past the deadline of the March 2016 OMG.  I'm happy it is done, and it is already off to its new home, which is one of my best friends.  The runner was an engagement party gift, and the party was in...(do I really admit for when?) October.  Only 6 months late.  Better late then never?







I think I'm going to name it Swirly for the fact of the Dr. Who fabric in the table runner, and the quilting.  I like the binding on this one as it is skinnier, but man was it hard to coral into place to stitch!  I did remember to put a label on it while I was stitching on the binding by machine.  Now to keep this up on all quilts and quilted things!







I can't wait to see what everyone else has finished at Crazy Mom Quilts today!

This was one of my Finish-A-Longs for Quarter 2.
-Christina

Quarter 2 Finish-A-Long Goals

Quarter 1 of the year is completed.  Where did it go?  Oh well, time to think about this new quarter.  My list of goals has grown because I feel like I can get more accomplished this quarter as things are closer to being done.  Without further ado here is my list:

1. Baby quilt with Dr. Suess and minky fabric.  Everything is cut, all I need to do is put it together, quilt and bind it.  To complete the quilt top is my one monthly goal this month, and I hope to get it further along than that.  This quilt was intended for an arrival in December.

2. Baby quilt with forest friends and minky fabric.  Everything is cut, all I need to do is put it together, quilt and bind it also.  This quilt was intended for an arrival in September, and I will be seeing him in July (can not wait), but I want to get it done before then.

3. Hand sew a rag rug together.  I made progress from January, however not enough to finish.  I am also thinking about changing the pattern, as I have found a pattern that does not involve sewing.  The sewing part is what takes so long because my fingers can only take so much at a time.  The new pattern would alleviate this issue and I could get all four of the rugs done by the end of summer.  (I'm talking myself into this plan, I'm going to take the plunge!)(I did, I just bought the pattern, maybe I will even start on it tonight)

4. Finish quilting, squaring, and sewing on binding for a table runner in black, orange, and Dr. Who fabric.  This is for one of my best friend's engagement party that took place at the end of October last year.

5.  Un-baste, quilt, square up, and sew on binding for a quilt.  I need to un-baste it because I thought I could do it on my machine for free motion quilting.  But, when I started to quilt it my machine decided to have tension issues.  Fast forward almost a full year, and I have now learned how to use a long arm, and I can rent time on a long arm.  I believe it is sooo much easier to quilt on a long arm, so I'm going to un-baste it and get it quilted via a long-arm.  This was for a wedding that happened almost two years ago....do I need to say more?

6. Repair clothing.  A lot of these have small holes that I need to sew up, or the hems have fallen out and I need to replace them or a plastic support has fallen out of the dress that I need to sew back in.  These are not hard repairs, I just have to sit down and do them.  Hopefully by putting them on my list I will accomplish it this quarter.

7. Quilt, square up and sew on binding for a cute baby quilt.  It was an intended gift, however it will not go to it's original recipient.  Instead I'm going to stick it in my Etsy store when I complete it.

8. Sew on binding for a table runner.  I have no idea where I stalled on this one, as it is quilted and squared.  I just have to cut the binding, sew the strips together and then sew it onto the table runner.  I could complete this in an afternoon.

Sometimes I wonder why some of these items take so long to complete, but then I remember that I got distracted by something else, or I was working on practicing a skill to complete it, and now that I've experiment/found a new way of doing it, the item sits in the corner to get accomplished.  I hope that with this quarter's goals I can just crank things out, as I have gained the necessary skills to accomplish what I want to do on each item.  Now to make the time to get it done!  Spring and the summer time frame quiets down for us a little as not as much family is out, which increases my time at home.

Here is to a great quarter!
-Christina

Rug Sewing and Wedding

After finishing some computer work today, I will be working on hand sewing a rag rug together.  It has been a long road, but I love how it is turning out.  I just haven't taken the time to hand sew it together, though I did make some progress yesterday!

Too bad the rug isn't for my house, at least the next four that I'm working on.  It has taken so long, I just have to keep reminding myself one stitch at a time, and eventually they all will be done.

After I get a little bit of hand sewing in, it will be a friend of my husband's wedding this afternoon.  A relaxing evening will ensue with no time for hand stitching as I will be visiting with friends and family at the wedding.

I can't wait to see what others are working on at Kathy's Quilts.

Christina

April 2016 OMG

Due to not finishing last months goal in the month of March (it is finished now, and a post will be out on Friday to show it off), I decided to try to complete something even bigger.  Reverse psychology?  I'm not sure.  My goal for this month is to get a baby quilt top completed.  I'm calling it Dr. Seuss thanks to all of the fabrics in it.  Strips are cut, so all I need to do is sew everything together and then a few more slices, rip out a few seams and put everything back together.  Easy?  I think I can complete it in a weekend if I really put my mind to it.  I'm confident and looking forward to get some serious quilting time in for the month.

This is what it currently looks like.  I even have it all planned out to make it easier.  What is stopping me?  

If I can accomplish that, my over achiever goal is to get it machine quilted (as the backing is already picked out), and maybe even get all of the binding done.

Positive thoughts!  I'm linking up to the OMG for April at Red Letter Quilts.

-Christina

Oh Procrastination.....

I did not complete my March One Monthly Goal due to procrastination.  There, I admitted it.  I decided to work on other things, and then the last few weekends of March got booked up.  As a result I did not make my goal.  Oh well!  I will get it done this month, but I'm going to challenge myself and  try to do something else also.  A small goal is to get my table runner completed this weekend.  Off to complete the goal and officially decide what my April OMG is.

-Christina