Domestic Diva, quilted!

I wrote about this table runner back in May, here.

It took me 3 months to get around to quilting and binding it.

I quilted in the ditch, and it gave the quilt a "puffy" look.

I think I prefer the look of an all over stipple design.

I just love this Riley Blake "domestic diva" fabric!

Here is the finished table runner.  I wish I had used the red and white polka dots for the binding.  It would have made the divas "pop" more.  I still like it and can hardly wait to get it on my table :)

It's always a great feeling to get a project finished.

Baby Brit Quilt Along, week #3

Welcome to week #3 of the Baby Brit Quilt Along, we have made half of our blocks now.  I am so excited to see my daughters' finished blocks.  Remember to upload the photos of your finished blocks to the Baby Brit group on flickr.

I chose this color combination this time.  I sewed the five strips of fabric together.

I may be weird, but I'm excited about these large scraps of fabric!  

I love using scraps in projects.

Remember to cut out all four rectangles using the template, but reversing two of them so that you will have a perfect "x" pattern.

Here is my perfect "x" pattern.

I sewed the skinny light blue strips to each of the four rectangles.

Press the seams towards the skinny strips.

I didn't take a photo of the three strip piece of fabric this time, but I sewed it between the two rectangles.  You can look at week #1 and week #2 to see the photo tutorial for this step.

The last step is adding the long red polka dot strip between the two rectangles.

The block is complete! 

 I get a thrill of seeing the pattern come to life :)

Here is Lindsay's block, I think it is stunning with the rich yellow, contrasted by the soft blues and greens :)

I bought my sashing when I bought my fabric for the blocks.

That was a mistake, because now that I have some of my blocks made, I see that if I have too many polka dots.

Now is the time to start thinking about the fabric that you want to use for sashing.  I took my blocks to my local fabric shop and laid them on the floor.  I auditioned different fabrics next to them to see what looked best.  I have finally figured out what I am going to use and will show you when I am ready to sew the sashing.

Happy sewing, I am excited to see your photos on Flickr!!!

Paperdoll block

As promised, I am featuring one of my paperdoll blocks today.

This is one of my favorites......what am I saying?  How could I ever choose a favorite paperdoll block?  They are all so adorable!

I love the apron, it looks like one my grandmother would have worn.  I have a lot of red in my kitchen so I made the mix master and the spatula red.

Look at the design on the gray fabric, it really looks like a cookie pan.  The fabric that was used for the chocolate chips has little dots on it, so it looks like chocolate chips.  On one of the blocks, I had to  satin stitch the chocolate chips!

The electrical cord on the mix master is tiny black rick rack, embroidered with white thread.

I love how the trim on the oven mitt matches the apron, and I also love the pyrex measuring cup :)  All of the little details are incredible. Each fabric piece was appliqued using the needle turn method.  

If you are new to "paperdoll block" Friday, you can look at the other paperdoll blocks here and here. 

I will feature another paperdoll block next week :)

Water Bottle Apron Class

Sew Katie Jean, the quilt shop in my area, has been open for a year.   Katie is celebrating her one year anniversary.  Each day of the week, she is having one of her instructors teach a mini class.  My day was today, and I taught the "water bottle apron" class.  I found the pattern and tutorial at Bee in my Bonnet.

Here are the little aprons I made.

These are the darling sisters who took my class.  From left to right, they are Sarah (9 yrs.), Beth (12 yrs.) and Abby (11yrs.).  They were so excited about learning how to sew!  First I taught them how to press, because that is a lost art.  They were such sweet girls, and I had a great time.  You can tell by their smiles that they did too!  

Teaching young girls to sew is very rewarding. They are like sponges, clinging on to every word you say.  I think it's really special when young people are eager to learn how to sew!

Baby Brit Quilt Along, week #2

If you haven't joined the "Baby Brit" quilt along yet, it isn't too late.

Once you get the fabric cut, these blocks don't take very long to sew together.

Week #1's tutorial is here.

You can upload the photos of your blocks onto Flickr, on

 the "Baby Brit" group HERE.

I am so excited to see your finished blocks, that I can hardly contain myself :)

This is the color scheme I chose to sew together this week.

I never throw away these scraps, they can be used to cut squares for another quilt :)

I have all four rectangles cut out.  I am really careful to cut two rectangles and then turn the template the other direction and cut two more rectangles.  I would be so upset if the crosses didn't match, I would have to buy three more pieces of fabric, and Material Girls is in another state.  I can't just get in my car and drive there in 5 minutes like I used to be able to do!

The skinny light blue polka dot strips are ready to be sewn onto the rectangles.

The light blue polka dot strips are sew onto the rectangles and pressed towards the light blue polka dot strips.

I cut the edge of the three strip flush with the edge of the ruler so it will be straight.  Notice how the bottom long edge of the fabric is even with the horizontal line on the cutting mat.

I cut the two strips I needed and have a long strip leftover which I will put in my scrap box.

The two strips are ready to sew between each of the two rectangles.

The long red strip of fabric on the left is waiting to be sewn next.

The seams are always pressed towards the skinny light blue polka dot fabric.

Now it's time to sew the long red strip to the two rectangles.

My second block is complete, it looks similar to true Union Jack colors.

I am so excited about my daughters' blocks!  They are part of the reason I began this quilt along.  

Lindsay went to Material Girls quilt shop and chose her six fabrics.

I especially like her greens and gold, and blue houndstooth.

One of the most enjoyable parts about making a quilt is choosing the fabric.  I love to see what different people choose.

Here is Lindsay's finished block.  It is really beautiful.  

I was so excited to see the photo in my email!

This is Rebecca's block, very original.  This is what she said,

"I decided to try something a little different to get a more vintage look (hopefully) and to repurpose some fabrics by using clothes to make these blocks.  I used two pairs of pants, a dress, a nightgown, and two shirts. It took a few extra hours to cut the strips out of each article of clothing and make sure they were the right measurements, so it definitely added some time to my first block.  I think it is worth it if you have some favorite clothes you want to keep a piece of, or if you want to work in some of the details of clothing into the quilt, such as buttons, pockets, or pleats.  Or just for fun."

We will see you next Monday for week #3 :)

Paperdoll blocks, continued...

I first told you about my paperdoll quilt here.

I finished another block, I just love how it turned out!

I will be posting about my paperdoll quilt every Friday.  

Hopefully that will give me the incentive to finish it.  

I have the desire, but I keep starting new projects...

Here is another block.

I grew up in St. Lambert, on the south shore of Montreal, Quebec.

I walked to Elementary School and High School every day of my life and home for lunch and back to school again.  I was like the mailman, neither rain nor snow could keep us home!  I had red   rubber boots  and a yellow raincoat (slicker) that I wore on rainy days just like this.  I remember one gift that my mother gave me on my 13th birthday was a beautiful pink ruffled umbrella :)

 Stylish rain apparel was very important to me.

I was a big fan of Nancy Drew novels, I read every one.  

I've got a really cute photo of Rebecca in St. Lambert when she was 4, holding an umbrella in the rain.  This block has a lot of meaning for me :)

Peppermint Pizzaz, quilted!

I wrote about this "Peppermint Pizzaz" table topper here,

 a few weeks ago. 

This is what I need to machine quilt, the foot, my grippy gloves that make my arms tense :) and of course my quilt.  

I think it took about 5 hours to quilt.

There, it's all quilted!

Now I cut off the batting, flush with the edge of the quilt.

Sew the binding on.

Handstitch the binding onto the back of the quilt.

Yeah, it's finished!  Always a great feeling :)

I wanted the peppermints to stand out a little, so I machine quilted in the ditch.  I quilted jigsaw shapes on the rest of the quilt.

I stitched in the ditch with the pinwheel stars, and the squares outlining them.

I just love the fabric I chose for the back, and I love the horizontal striped binding.

Quilts always look more beautiful after they are quilted :)