Paintbox scrappy quilt.

 This quilt was started last March and finally finished.   It measures 49 x 52 inches.  This is a summer weight quilt lined with flannel. 

  I lined the back with primary colors from my scrap stash and used binding that I had made from the backing.  

The quilting was a spiral square within each square.

I'm switching camps.

My good friend's facebook status this morning said "Hi everybody! Do y'all have your slickers and galoshes ready? '"


Ugh... It is rainy and nasty plus I'll need them for the rain and my tears. I finally have finished my Scrappy star quilt I started back in March of this year; one I was hoping to sell. I knew that there was the possibility that the colors may bleed, since it they did on my wedding star pillow for Chanel, and the "Hanna quilt” and researched what to do before washing. I had read that you can add a cup full of vinegar to your cold wash water or there is a product you can buy to set it, but it is extremely messy and time consuming. So I said a prayer and crossed my fingers hoping for the best and added the vinegar. It didn't work. Let's do some math...time on quilt, 120 hours + bleeding dyes in a 12 minute wash cycle = oh f*%k.


The water's gonna be deep today.


I saw some bleeding and instantly felt my heart sink. Brody being the greatest, ran down to the store and got some Oxiclean, thinking I could soak it and get the dye stains out. It soaked for a few hours. All, save one barely noticeable spot, came out. I immediately went and found the culprit in my stash cursing and muttering”I never want to see you again!" as I walked it to the trash. So as the title states, I’m switching camps.

To which camps am I referring? Well the pre-wash fabric vs. no prewashing fabric camps, silly. I had read the opinions of various quilters in blog land and firmly planted myself on the no prewashing fabric side of the fence. I'd spend the time making the quilt, bind it and eagerly wait for it to wash and dry to see the finished product, all the while hoping for the best. After these two rounds of waiting and hoping for the best knowing full well that my soon to be finished "paint box quilt," will likely bleed as well, well...my stomach hurts just thinking about it. I am planting myself firmly on the other side of the fence now and making a declaration today. I will ALWAYS prewash my scraps or fabrics, especially those that are of questionable origin, before going through this again!


Anyway after starting this 8 months ago, it's finished. It measure in at 47 1/2 inches by 32 inches. It was machine pieced, with machine and hand quilting with some decorative double whipped embroidery in the center of each star. I will be listing it on etsy for sale in the next couple days.
Editted to add: This is winter weight, 100% cotton batting.

 

Take care,

Bound, labeled and tied up with string.

whew... finished.  This one was definately a learning experience from start to finish.  So many interesting and annoying things happened while making this. I've written down my problem areas  and where I ran into trouble as I went along and will do some research because there has to be an easier way that someone else discovered the same way I did. I'm happy with it, and glad  to move on to the next project. 

What are you working on?

Take care,

I've been gone a while...

This is a doll quilt I made for Kaiya.  All of the pieces are fabrics/scraps that were handed down by loved ones or family friends.  Most are vintage fabrics that I have been holding on to, bound and determined to use the smallest piece.  It's about the size of a placemat and fits in her newly revamped antique baby doll crib. ( Thanks Ronna and Grammy). 

    

Here's the view of the back.  Kaiya waited impatiently for me to finish and immediately took it and wrapped up her pony baby yelling "this one's mine and I love it."

 Cool. I have two more little girlies in my life to make these for. I still have a cake pan filled with these 1 3/4 inch half triangle squares ready to sew up.

This is the "Hanna quilt"  I made for a friend's new daughter.  ( If you're reading this, feign surprise :^)).  I started this a while back and described it here.  I put it off  as I couldn't deside on how I wanted to quilt it. 

 I finally sat down and realized I was over thinking the design and just went for it, jumping in with both feet. K(eep) I(t)S(imple)S(tupid) right?   I am very happy with the outcome.  The back is a Beatrix Potter which my friend absolutely loves.

I have been holding onto hoarding fabric, waiting for that " special project".  I have a million "special projects" rolling around in my head and various notebooks around the house and not nearly the time to do them all or hold onto this stuff when the time finally comes.  I'm certainly not enjoying it if it's boxed up in a closet.  I made the declaration last March  that I  was going to use  scraps for my projects and that I was also on a buying freeze.  I finally decided that a new 8 foot round toothbrush rug for my dining room was special enough.  I went through my scrap bags and upcycled sheets from the thrift store I had packed away in my closet and cut it all up into  2 inch width strips and started weaving. 

I generally clean off my kitchen table and hoist it up working on a couple of rows at a time between projects and well...life. It is slow going so when I get sick of it I tuck the tails up under it and toss it on the floor until the next time.  It's been interesting watching it grow.  So far it it contains 2 full flat sheets, 1 full fitted sheet, 1 queen flat sheet and about 9 yards of fabric and is almost 5'.

 

The other two quilts I've been trying to finish up are the scrappy star string quilt and the paintbox quilt. Both are in various stages of completion.  I can smile and say it's a little bit further than a month ago.  I may very well end up using the star quilt  as a wall hanging .  I really find it visually pleasing and it will go beatifully  with my new rug.  :)

I've been really trying to stay focused and do a little bit each day getting the kids more involved in crafts and less t.v especially since we are in the first full week of the new school year.  We've had the cable off for almost two months and rely on monitered Netflix or Hulu and are doing well without most of it.  Not having commercials has definitely made a difference in how the kids act.  I really can't wait to load up the table with all the crafts soon, and letting the kids just dig in with wild abandon.  We're almost there.

Take care. 

Kendra

Pluggin' along at a snail's pace.

It's been quiet on the blog lately as I've been slowly working on my long list of in Progress quilts and finishing up my pot holders for the Potholder Pass.  Round three sign ups are going on now if you're interested, just let Amy over at http://duringquiettime.blogspot.com/ know.  She's been a wonderful hostess and organizer  and there has been a great collection of works by some really talented people.    I will be bowing out of # 3 as  life at home has gotten a bit crazy. 

Wednesday we are taking a trip to C.H.O.P.S. to meet a  new Dr/surgeon who has specialized in Perthes.  I hesitate to say he will be Brian's doctor as I know nothing about him except what is stated in his Bio on the Hospital's website.  There is still so much we don't know and numerous opinions as to what stage Brian's perthes is in, that we are at least going to have another opinion to add to the ever growing medical file.  It was stated that he will be casted and have some sort of surgey on his right side sometime this year; hopefully this doctor  can give us something a bit more absolute.  The unknown is what drives me insane or to tears on any given day.  We are still unaware of what the insurance company is going to cover. They didn't think the wheelchair is medically necessary,so...

He has recently learned how to use crutches for short distance walking and for home use and some excercises to help his range of motion in his hip.   He will likely need a walker for ease of use when he's casted ( I'm hoping for a Scottish-Rite Brace) , because he just feels that the wheelchair and crutches are "too much work".  Some days are good , somedays are bad and it seems as though it's a constant battle concerning his perthes.  This photo shows him as a happy child, right after this, he purposefully ran himself into a wooden fence for dramatic effect, outside of the tiger's cage  and yelled "this is too hard!  I hate You! I hate perthes", while onlookers leered at us; the  terrible parents of that poor boy in the wheelchair, with their mouths agape. He wanted a reaction and got it in spades.  It sucks for him, and us at times.    It's extremely frustrating  to continuously explain to an active seven year old ( he's frustrated with continously hearing it) that while he is able to walk, he is unable to run or jump because it will cause further damage and pain. I hope for a lot from this doctor without really knowing what I'm hoping for, if that makes sense. Thinking some good thoughts and sending our way would be greatly appreciated. 

 We participated in my friend Kate's day for Case for Smiles this past weekend and had a lot of fun with the kids.  So a big thank you to her for all her hard work and planning.  Make sure you check her out.  

I currently have 6 quilts in the works 4 of these are scrap quilts and here are some pictures of  the two I'm working on lately. 

This is my version of Paint Box Quilt made of scraps.  I pieced and sewed long srtips of scraps together and rotary cut them in 6-1/2 x 6-1/2 blocks.  I still have to add on the purple panel and the outside sashing.

This quilt is of my own design, although I'm sure I'm not the first to ever think of it.  These are the scrap leftover cuts from the scrap string panels I used to make my stars. This will be crib sized when finished.  I've been practicing my free motion quilting and have been using  a Skillbuilder #1 panel described here by Anita over at http://bloominworkshop.wordpress.com/.  I need so much more practice. :)

Take care,

Things here are on the up swing.

Take care,

Current Scrap projects.

Anita over at http://bloominworkshop.wordpress.com/ has been using her scraps for some really spectacular quilts that she plans on gifting to some friends.  I was so inspired by her creativity and the use of scraps that I decided to follow suit.  We are planning on moving as soon as our lease is up at the end of April so I have been sorting, ironing, folding and packing all my fabric except for the scraps.  Those have all been put aside and sorted into color groups. I have one bin filled with quilting scraps and another filled with 2 inch strips to be used for some toothbrush rugs.   Have a look-see.

This is a picture of a finished quilt top measuring 88" x 52".  I'm in the process of piecing a back from the rest of the Alexander Henry scraps until the are gone.  I have a few blocks that didn't make it into the top so I am  incorporating them into the  and hopefull will be quilting it and the coin quilt soon. 

This is the start of  a Scrappy  string star quilt.  I am still unsure of the direction I plan on going in or how big it will be  , so for now I'm just piecing by color.    Off to  do some more, banking and Princess games with my qirl.   What are you doing today?  Thanks for taking alook. 

Take care,

Finally finished.

Spiderweb quilt 45"x 58 "