A Lazy Sunday Sewing . . .

It has been a busy Thanksgiving weekend around here.

I got to see my niece and nephew and take them into the city . . .

I visited with lots of friends and family . . . 

And I did a little bit of sewing . . .

I wanted to do more, but I'm lazy today . . . 

I have been quilting my White's-Lights challenge quilt,

and it is coming along nicely.

Yes, I seem to need my reading glasses for everything now.

(I even had to put a larger font size on my phone.  Arrrrgh!)

I have the binding picked out and ready to go.

Hoping to finish this baby for our Metro Mod meeting next Saturday.

I also had the pleasure of visiting a baby quilt 

that I made 18 years ago!

This is a well loved quilt!

No one is allowed to touch it!  HA!

You can't believe that it is still holding together,

just by a "thread"!  Haha.

I am so thrilled that it has been so well loved.

And I'm told it is going to college next year.

I think I might need to make a little pillowcase for it to go into!

On another note . . . 

I received this beautiful wool felted hat this week!

It is a thank you gift from Carolyn for my writing of the cap tutorial!

How sweet is that!!  She made this!

It went on it's first of many chilly walks today and it was perfect.

Thanks Carolyn!

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend . . . 

Now back to reality! Whatever that is . . . 

Sweat Shop Monday

Today was a holiday for the three of us, 

Gidget, The Kid and myself,

so we decided another

sweat shop day was in order.

We keep saying we need to do this more often,

but it only happens about twice a year.

I needed to work on a charity wreath for an auction 

later this month.  I searched Pinterest for something festive.

This is a painted floral template that I attached strips of tulle too.

Then I glued on glittery stars from Target.

Very easy and a nice outcome I think.

But, there is glitter everywhere.

So if you see me in the next few days with glitter 

on my face, just smile and nod.

The other wreath I was going to try was popcorn strung 

and wrapped around a paper plate with the center cut out.

HORRIBLE!  I gave up pretty quickly.

(You can see it is already in the trash.)

The kid was laughing at me because 

I was spewing a few choice words!

The kid decided to work on an UFO that 

has been hanging around for about ten years, (at least)!

She had cut up all her old button down shirts

and kept the polo horses for little accents.

She decided on a sixteen patch layout.

Here is her finish.

She gave up on this pretty quickly.  Hehe.

"A baby quilt is fine."

Gidget brought a bag to finish.

It is a gift that she gave and then took back to finish.

I think we've all done that at one time or another!

Gidget is the Queen of bag making!

Here is her finish.

 Gidget was on a roll today,

She whipped out this quilt, 

(that she was working on at the last sweat shop day!)

and layered it and got it mostly finished

before we had say goodbye for the day.

All in all, another great day

spent with two wonderful women!

Thanks for the giggles girls!

And there was light . . . .

I meant to do this post last weekend when I finally got power back . . 

But, when you haven't had power for five days, 

you don't think about blogging, you think about doing

everything else you couldn't do for five days!

Sewing, having a hot shower, cooking a nice meal,

watching a movie, listening to music.

I hate to admit how dependent I am on electricity!

This week I did do a lot of sewing on my whites and lights

challenge quilt.

My blocks are 12.5" square and I ended up making 30 of them.

The top is finished at 60" x 72."

I love they way this top turned out!

Thanks to Victoria for throwing down the challenge.

Now to layer it and start quilting!

And here's to all our veterans and active duty soldiers

defending our country.

My brother is in Afghanistan, and his wife, 

my SIL, a veteran herself,

is home taking care of two small children by herself.

These are two of the heroes in my life,

and I salute them!

Happy Veterans Day Doug and Jess!!

Still in the dark!

I know so many people have lost everything and my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone hit by Sandy. We have been lucky in that everyone seems to be safe here in our town.

I have been working on my hexies by candle light for the past few nights. How did our pioneer women see to do this? I can barely thread the needle! I think I'll load up a bunch of needles while the sun is shining.

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2012

Welcome Everyone to Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival!

If you are new, thanks for stopping by,

and if you've been here before, 

I'm showing you a quilt you have already seen,

so thanks for being patient! 

This is my Triangles Galore Metro Mod Bee Block Quilt.

I just finished this quilt a few weeks ago, and I love it!

(70" x 50") 

My fellow Metro Mod Members helped me with the blocks.

Didn't they do a lovely job?!

I was July's Queen Bee.

I sent everyone very bright fabrics and asked them to make

Victoria's Triangles Galore Block.   The only thing that needed to remain

constant was the purple fabric in the corners.

On the back I used a Brandon Mably fish print.

It is so fun and whimsical.

I did a lot of free motion quilting on this one.

I wanted to practice that skill because it's been a while.

(I tend to do a lot of straight line quilting.)

This quilt was the perfect one to practice on because 

it is so bright and busy.

I tried pebble quilting, (for the first time!),  in the little border and I LOVED it!

So forgiving, but the result is tremendous.

I did do some straight line quilting on the outside border, 

you know "old dog, new tricks!"

 I am very pleased with the way it turned out.

This quilt now lives with the kid. (my daughter)

I know she will love it and use it and snuggle under it for a long while.

Thanks to Amy for putting this festival together.

I so look forward to each festival when it comes along. 

I know it's a lot of work and Amy, WE APPRECIATE IT!

And thanks to all of you for stopping by.

I hope you are enjoying everything you see!

Cap Tutorial

I made a bunch of these caps last March . . .

Recently I was asked to share the pattern or tutorial.

Haha!  I didn't have either.

So here goes . . . my first tutorial.

I used a LL Bean fleece hat I had as inspiration.

First up, pick out three fabrics,

outside, inside and binding.

I used a plate I had to trace the crown of the cap.

This plate is 6 1/4" in diameter.

You will need to measure your head to see what will fit you.

I used 23", including seam allowance for the circumference of the cap.

(If you need a different size for your circumference, please substitute that number 

for the 23" through out this tutorial.)

Here you see: 

The circle crown, 6 1/4" round, cut from both fabrics.

The band for the cap is 7" wide by 23" long, cut from both fabrics.

The binding 1 1/4" wide, by 23" long.

Take the first set of pieces for the inside of the cap.

You'll need to mark the top piece in quarters for pinning.

I used an iron and just folded the circle and pressed.

(Think I need to wash my ironing board cover?)

Next, take the band piece and sew it up the sides, rights sides together.

(Sorry, I didn't take a picture of that.)

Then, press the seam open.

Fold the band in half and then half again,

lining up with the seam, and press the top for markings 

to line up with the top piece.

Here you can see how the press marks will guide you.

With right sides together, pin the four pressed marks.

Then carefully pin the rest of the seam.

You will have to make little tucks here and there to make it fit.

I think I had one or two tucks per quarter.

It's not an exact science.

Then off to the sewing machine!

You'll need to repeat this process with the other fabric for the outside of the cap.

Carefully press the seam to the band side.

Now that you have both sides done,

it's time to layer them.

The lining should be right side in,

And the outside fabric right side out.

Line up the two seams at the top and bottom of the cap and pin.

This will keep it straight when you pin and sew.

Take the binding piece and close the end and press open.

Pin the binding to the hat right sides together on the outside fabric.

You will be sewing through all three layers, like a quilt.

Sew around the rim and press to the rim side.

Carefully tuck and roll the binding over and pin.

(This is like a quilt binding.)

I used hand sewing to tack down the edge.

You could use machine sewing or a decorative stitch it you liked.

And there you have it.

The cap is reversible too!

I hope that is clear. And that you enjoy making these little caps.

They are quite fun!

This and that . . .

There was a little bit of sewing this week . . .

I finished the quilt for my new niece!

I did simple straight line quilting a half inch from each seam.

I love this easy and quick quilting method.

I still need to wash this, but it is already soft and crinkly.

I also did a little exploring with a friend of mine.

We stopped at a roadside gardening place that

I have driven by a hundred times . . . 

Very inspiring! I wish I had seen this bird bath before I moved

out of my house.  How cute is that!?  My bird bath always had

a film on the bottom, this is a great solution to an unsightly

problem.  But of course, there would be no water for the birds!

And these lovely glass jars in three pieces. . . 

I can see a terrarium in my future!

The perfect thing for apartment living.

Love those colors!

on another note . . .

Halloween is only about a week away.

Don't you love this enthusiasm? 

I'm so glad others have the drive to do this.

It is fun, but . . . 

So much work!

Do you see the body on the roof wrapped in spider webbing?

Very inventive.  Hahaha.

Hope you had a great weekend and had some fun!