A Coat for Penny...

Last week we saw a bit of cold weather hit us here in Texas. Nothing like what we have seen this winter, but it was cold enough to have Penny shivering. I got her groomed the weekend before and with the short hair and strong winds she was shaking every time she had to go out. I felt so bad.

Penny got this cute, cute, cute coat over the holidays but it was a bit short on the tail end.

And at times... she was not pleased having to wear it.

Last week I finally broke down and made her a new coat.

The fabric is Woodland by Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches

The design of the coat is definitely more simple and much easier to put on.

Plus, I don't think she is so embarrassed wearing it. LOL!!!

Leap Year

At this rate I will post the least amount of times this year than any year I have had my blog.
I have been a bit uninspired lately and even after returning from Quilt Market last month, I still have not felt very inclined to get going on a project or finishing anything.

I did get SOMETHING finished in May. It was a Schnibble my sister from the Pumpkin Patch asked me to make for her as a sample for a few kits she was cutting.

After a few false starts and re-evaluating the sashing print, I finally got the project off the ground. Schnibbles (designs by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co) are patterns that lead to some nice immediate gratification.

I had the blocks done in no time at all.

A bit of sashing...

And a thin border, you can call this complete.

I pulled out a stencil I ordered last year from Urban Elementz (LOVE their quilting stencils/pantos), and started marking the top for quilting.

These stencils are so nice, and easy to follow.

I was done in no time and ready to attach the binding.

I love how it turned out but after the finish, I was still feeling a bit uninspired. I think I need to finish something more substantial and the last few things I have done have all been small wallhangings or table toppers. I have sooo many projects to chose from but can't decide what to bite into. Maybe next weekend will be better.

I'll post this week about my trip to Market. Talk about inspiration!

Lil' Baskets

At the Dallas quilt show, earlier this month I picked up a couple of kits. One of them was a small quilt designed by Lori Smith. The quilt is called Grandmother's Baskets and it's about 16" x 20".

I thought it was the cutest thing and had to give it a go.

I made the 12 mini baskets from fabric to finish in about 4 hours.

This past weekend I decided to finish it. 

I wasn't crazy about the tan that came in the kit but decided to go with it and not lose sleep over it.

In no time at all, the top was finished! 

Since I had some "extra" time, I thought I'd just quilt it too. 

I'm not brave enough to do it on my own,
so I marked it with that FriXion pen everyone raves about. 

Sooo easy! 

After the main quilting was done, I thought I'd add a few "big stitches" to this small quilt.
 I loved the whole big stitch process, I just struggled with the hoop... it was definitely the right size, but for some reason I struggled with getting the stitches on the needle. I guess I need to practice more.

After all my experimenting, I finally attached the binding. It's only waiting for me to stitch the binding down but I thought I'd leave that for when I traveled in a few weeks. Gives me something to do on the plane.
BTW: The fabric in the kit is from Minick and Simpson's new line for Moda - Indigo Crossing

Fly Away Home finished.

I finished this one a couple of weeks ago but had not posted the final pics. Last time we talked about this quilt I had just finished the top and my machine had died. You can read about it here.

 I really needed to finish this quilt because it was going into the special exhibit on the Dallas Modern Guild at the Dallas Guild show earlier this month.

After piecing my backing (which I had to order twice because my first attempt at grey backing turned out to have a cream undertone), I proceeded to one of the most hated parts of quilting... Basting.

I knew I was doing a very straight forward design so I didn't have to MARK the quilt (which I always do because I'm not talented enough to wing it). I did practice a bit on the swirl design I was going to use on the geese units.

Then I started the lines on this one...

and more lines...

and every once in a while I needed to check my progress and measure how much I had left to do!

Until it was done!

Pretty darn happy with how it turned out.

Sweat equity that pays off

And after a failed attempt with the backing, I was actually loving the back too

I incorporated the label in the back.

This one should be coming home at the end of the month. I didn't get a chance to pick it up after the show so one of the organizers is holding it for me until the guild meeting. I'll be happy to see this one fly it's way home.. sorry, couldn't resist the pun.

A Speck that is not much of a speck?

Learning point # 573: Read all instructions before doing anything... I think I have a male gene somewhere in my composition.

Have you seen the new Bites that Miss Rosie's Quilt Company has put out? They are sooo cute and perfect for a day of sewing. I have never been too fond of small quilts but they have proven to be outstanding for my need of immediate gratification! Annnnddddd they are WONDERFUL to get rid of scraps!

September's Schnibble for Sinta and Sherri's Another Year of Schnibbles was Speck.
I was excited to participate and super excited that I had so many scraps from when I made Beth that this little quilt was going to be "free", since I didn't have to buy a "speck" of fabric for it!! LOL!

I created my 2.5" squares and started piecing immediately.

When I had my little pile of blocks ready to put together, I noticed things were a bit off..
I was so into the piecing that I didn't realize that I failed to read all instructions before proceeding. I was suppose to trim my initial squares by 1/4" so my units were a bit bigger than the pattern called for... I shrugged and moved forward. What the heck!

Mary over at Quilt Hollow mentioned that she would have liked to interchange her blocks and use both the X design and the O design. She eventually made one Speck of each. I decided to borrow her idea and make mine a mix of both versions.

I just made sure I changed the measurements of the sashing to match my larger blocks.

Easy peasy.

What I loved about this small quilt was that I got the chance to practice my quilting.

I typically make large quilts and because I have no sense of balance to eyeball it,
I must mark my quilts if I were to actually quilt them.

Since marking a large quilt is such a pain and getting the quilt under the sewing machine arm is always a struggle, I focus on the part of quiltmaking I really enjoy, which is the piecing.

But, it's always nice to have the knowledge so that when a small quilt like this comes along you can do the quilting yourself and practice the skills.
This one wrapped up a bit bigger than expected but just as lovely. Thelma said it was more of a DOT, than a Speck, so that is what I called her!

BTW: Hate the new Blogger.
 

Bound and ready to go...

It's been so hot here in Texas it was a chore to get a picture of my latest quilts.
Decoy still has not been photographed because it's so bright it has washed out the little color it has.

But this Bibelot (or T for Thelma) quilt has been bound and photographed!

Ready for a Schnibbles parade!

I've named it Puppy Dog Tails...

I think it appropriate. LOL!

Etchings of a Decoy...

Ever have a precut bundle sitting on your shelf that caused your heart to pitter patter when you bought it but you cannot find a pattern that might do it justice? Or that after a while it has loss it's glow?

That is what happened with this little bundle.
It just lost it's glow after a pattern failed to "fit" it.

I sort of forgot about it...

Until this quilt.

Molly, a member of my guild, completed this quilt during the annual quilt retreat in January. I posted a picture of her with her top here. The pattern is Lincoln from Another Bite of Schnibble by Carrie Nelson.
I was so impressed with how the fabrics played together that I recalled my little bundle. I knew I had to find the right pattern for it. I decided on using another pattern from the same book Molly pulled hers.

The big version of Decoy by Carrie Nelson

I started my version after completing the Bibelot top at the retreat. 

By the time I left I had all of the blocks completed.

When I got home I started adding the sashing...

then the first border...

Before I knew it, it was done!! 

Soooo easy to make. 

Sooo typical of Carrie's patterns. 

Great directions make a difficult looking piece, easy to put together.

I also got this one back from the quilter's this week. Just a binding away from finished. I'll post a picture of the back when I get the binding in place.