Emptyknitster

I've been wanting to sew another baby quilt for a few months. There was a mess in the fiber room and I've had a busy fall coming and going visiting the girls, so I put any thought of a quilt on the back burner. But this week with all the Christmas gifts wrapped and goodies baked I decided to kick back and enjoy the season by following my bliss. I thought I had enough scraps from previous quilts to make another quilt and was quite happy I had taken the advice of another quilter by pre-cutting all the extra quilt fabric into 7", 5", 3.5", 2.5" and 1.5"strips. I even had leftover binding cut and ironed, ready to be sewn on.  All I had to do was thread the sewing machine and get to sewing! I'm beginning to understand why a quilter has a stash just like knitters. While I was sewing this quilt I ran out of green, yellow and orange material making a to run to the store for several half yarn pieces necessary. Once again I have extras of these colors an...

I enjoyed making the baby quilts this last winter and told the girls I'd make more as gifts for their friends as needed. The Chick was the first to take me up on the task. This quilt is for a baby boy whose room will be decorated in a nature theme. The owls are a great touch! I was worried about the owl's background color and later I found out The Chick had been too. No worries, it's perfect and I just love how this quilt turned out.

I finished the latest baby quilt last night, the "Rainy Days" quilt. I will think several times before using anything but white for trimming the blocks on quilts. (I'm such a newbie perhaps that is the only way a person is suppose to make them).  I had thought the puppy themed material would be perfect for a baby boy but I continue to find it difficult to find the perfect combination of prints for a boy. I'm not giving up and  eventually I'll find just the right combinations of fabrics to keep a baby boy warm. I I love the pattern blocks of "Rainy Days" and the way the they play with your head - each block is square and the quilting is straight lines. This is a quilt I will make again.

I’ve been on a roll with the baby quilts! Last week the weather in Big Sky Country wasn’t the greatest but Hubby wanted to take off for a few days to photograph wildlife in Yellowstone Park. I opted out, spending most of my time sitting in a camper, surrounded by snow to my knees, with an unhappy cat as a companion, wasn't my idea of a fun time. So I  kept the home fires burning and a cat happy. Being able to eat what you want and do what you want, when you want every once in awhile is kind of fun for both of us. Hubby ate Vienna sausages and canned hash (WHAT??) and I ate veggie stirfry and rice (Mmm!). It didn't take long for me to realized what I REALLY wanted to do was work on another quilt. I hadn't bought fabric for quilt number five yet and the roads were icy. So, I went downstairs to the box of leftover material and found some lovely bright bits with lots of memories. I'd saved scrapes from several sundresses I'd sewn for the granddaughters when they...

I've enjoyed sewing two new quilts on my beloved sewing machine, Betty Singer.  When the first quilt was finished I realized there was almost enough material for second. Off to the fabric store I went making only a small purchase of fabric  - backing and binding. Soon it was back to Betty for another few days and the completion of that second quilt. I continue to make use of the book I received as a gift for Christmas, Quilt As You Go, Made Easy although both of these quilts have been modified and are slightly different from any in the book.  I have two more "queued up" and I hope to get going on them soon.

I caught the bug and thought I'd give quilting a try on my beloved sewing machine, "Betty Singer." Kinda liked it, so Sadie and I made twelve Christmas placemats and coasters for the holidays but I forgot to take pictures before packing them away... I had some leftover material and a new book, Quilt As-You-Go, which I'd received as a Christmas gift. I was going to "just try one square"...  I had a blast, and finished it this afternoon! I'm starting another this weekend!

The Grandgurls have enjoyed sewing projects the last few times they have visited.  I've had this pattern for many years, it looked simple and fun to do and thought they might enjoy making a Teddy Bear for Cousin John's baby daughter coming this spring. Our time together passed quickly and it wasn't until The NorDak Family had headed back home that I pulled out the furry material and pattern for Chloe to work on. The Pirate and I were busy re-tying his blanket (don't use 80-20% sock yarn to tie a blanket, within a few days the yarn was coming untied.)  and Chloe started on the bear. I talked to her about about keeping the nap on the material going in the same direction and then let her loose to pin and cut out the bear...it proved  easier said than done. The fur was not easy to cut out...or sew...or seam rip...the pattern wasn't clear on many counts. After a valiant effort, Chloe quietly put it down and didn't return to the project for the rest of her stay. I...