Mini Granny

I have been dying to make a granny quilt but haven't had the time.  Instead, I made a mini granny table topper.  I have a large Ikea box with small scraps and another large box with large scraps.  Not to mention all the other fabric I have, but right now I will concentrate on my scrap boxes....lol!  I rummaged through my box of small scraps and cut l l/2" squares of reds, pinks, blues, greens and yellows.  I wanted  an  orange block but unfortunately, I don't have many orange scraps.

It takes 26 squares of colored fabric for each block, and 25 squares of white.

I love my design boards, I really really love them!  I used the tutorial from Lori's blog.  I also made two large ones which I use a lot too.

I think I only had to duplicate one print, I have a lot of scraps!!!

There is something so satisfying about cutting pretty fabrics and sewing them up, especially in miniature!

Something else I find very satisfying while I'm cutting and sewing, is chocolate :)

.....and more chocolate, until.......

.....all the chocolate is gone!  Yes, this bag of m & m's was my friend while I constructed this mini granny.

Yeah, all of my blocks are done, little mini 6 " blocks.  They are so cute and I enjoy looking at each and every print and remembering what I used them for.  Kennedy's dress, Lindsay's bag, Comforts of Home quilt, Christmas table topper, rainbow charm pack swap, swoon quilt, Rebecca's quilt, the farmer's wife quilt, Bridger's baby wall hanging, and on and on and on......the journey of a quilter :)

It almost looks like lace, doesn't it?  Now I am going to trim the blocks, leaving a l/4" seam allowance on all four sides.

This is my larger design board.  I love it and I use it a lot!

Now the blocks are ready to be attached using l " sashing.

I see more memories in the squares :) 

The quilt is pinned and ready to quilt.  I am going to hand quilt it, so it may be a while before I finish it as I have so many projects going at the same time, and I keep adding new ones.  I will get everything finished, it makes life more interesting when there are so many things to work on :) 
I am going to hand quilt this little table topper (25" square) with colored embroidery thread to match each block, in an outline stitch.

I love it, it's really colorful and happy!
By the way, I didn't make a dent in my box of small scraps...lol

Swoon Quilt class

I wrote about the Swoon quilt that I made in my very first post on this blog.  

http://dreamquiltcreate.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-swoon-along.html

Part one of my Swoon quilt class was Saturday at Sew Katie Jean.

We had a lot of fun together, talking, laughing and getting to know each other.  Oh, and we sewed too, of course!  

This is Kristin, she is a really good friend of mine. 

These are Kristin's fat quarters that she is using in her quilt, with Kona white for the background.  Her colors are all off white prints. I think she is very creative to think of this combination.  The colors are so simple but will be very rich looking together.

Our goal was to finish one block today.  I love Kristin's block!  She is going to put the finished quilt on the wall behind her couch in the family room.

This is Lydia, she is an instructor at Sew Katie Jean.  Lydia signed up for the quilt class as soon as she saw my finished Swoon quilt.  She loved the color combinations so much that she chose the same ones for her quilt with a few exceptions.

I asked Lydia if she comes to Sew Katie Jean very often.  I was referring to the sewing room at Katie Jean's.  She said, "I used to come all the time until my husband showed me the visa bill."  lol

Here is Lydia's finished block.....beautiful!  Two of my favorites, the pink polka dot is Children at Play by Sarah Jane and the flowered fabric is Ruby by Bonnie and Camille.

We meet back together to finish up the quilt in a month.  Their assignment is to make 2 blocks a week, and finish cutting the white for the sashing.  It takes about 3 hours to complete a block, including cutting the fabric.  To be continued.......

Doll Class

Katie asked me to teach a doll dress class at her quilt shop.  We picked out the fabric and the pattern and I took it home to sew.

 

The pattern was pretty easy to sew, because the pattern pieces were all rectangles.  There weren't any little armholes to fuss with, or facings on a curve.  I would recommend this pattern, but it would still be helpful to have some sewing experience.

This dress is the one pictured on the righ,t on the pattern envelope.  The pockets were so easy to sew with the rectangle pieces, and they are self lined.  The neck lining is one big rectangle, the size of the little dot fabric in the center of the dress.  You sew a square in the middle, trim the l/4" seam allowance, turn inside out, press and you have your neck opening.  The only thing is, the doll's head won't fit through the hole.  When you are finished sewing the dress, you cut the dress down the back and  press the seams back l/4".
You then sew velcro along the back, enclosing the l/4" seam and your dress is finished!

I really like this dress also.  It was even easier to sew.  I made a mistake though. Notice that the skirt seams straight.  Well I attached the skirt front and back pieces the wrong direction.  The dress should be shorter and have more gathers.  The diagram on the pattern shows you to attach the skirt rectangle this way and  there are no dimensions to tell you otherwise.  Being an experienced sewer, I should have known better.  That is why everyone needs a seam ripper.  I haven't changed it yet but I will. The pocket was so easy to put together.  You start with a square of yellow fabric.  You sew a red gingham rectangle onto the top , creating a rectangle.  Take another rectangle the same size and lay them together.  Sew the pocket shape all the way around, without an opening.  Cut a little slit on the back of the pocket.  Turn in right side out.  Press and topstitch the pocket onto the apron!  So, so easy....

This is the advertisement for the class that Katie posted on her blog.

doll dress sewing class

via sew katie jean by katie jean on 3/7/12

This Saturday, March 10, Sew Katie Jean is having a class to teach you how to sew dresses for your 18" doll (American Girl).

Cynthia Horst is teaching that day.  And you will learn to sew 2 different dresses from the Rectangle Dress for Dolls Pattern.

This would just be the funnest class to take with you own girl who is just beginning to sew.  Make a memory together or just surprise her on her birthday or at Christmastime!  She would love it.

The doll featured in these pictures is one that I just bought at Target for display at my shop.  They also had these sewing accessories for $23.  I just had to buy it with the sewing machine, wrist pincushion, and sewing box.  Plus just look at the little hearts on her shoes!  I bet you would like it just for yourself....

Saturday, March 10

1:00 - 3:30 p.m.

$25.00

teacher: Cynthia Horst

Call {916} 209-3930 or stop in to register.

This mom and daughter were darling.  We all learned that her daughter loves to iron. Every chance she got, she would run to the ironing board!  Even her mother didn't know that little tidbit of information.  The mom said she would definately get some ironing for her daughter to do at home.  They had to leave a little early because the little girl had a daddy daughter date later that evening.

This mom and daughter had a wonderful time too.  It was really fun watching the girls walk around the shop and choosing their fabric.  The girls were so excited to create a dress for their dolls.

This is a grandmother/grandaughter team, they were a lot of fun.  The grandmother kept cracking jokes, and she was a wonderful mentor, teaching her grandaughter how to sew.

She was so proud of her creation.  She especially liked the candy fabric she chose for the trim on the pockets.  I used the pink fabric in one of the squares on my Swoon quilt.

This little girl thought to bring her doll to model the new dress.  She is so happy!!

We really had a great time in this class. The girls were so excited to create an outfit for their dolls, and learn how to sew and press at the same time.

My Swoon Along

I love reading blogs because I get all sorts of ideas and inspiration from them. I was reading "I'm a Ginger Monkey" and saw that she was doing a "Swoon Along". I thought that would be a great quilt to use my
favorite"Sew Cherry" fabric by Lori Holt. I remembered that Lori had made a "Swoon" quilt with her "Sew Cherry" fabric and it really showed off the prints.  I carefully paired up my fat quarters until I was pleased with the look.

I took my paired fat quarters to show Katie at "Sew Katie Jean", a local quilt shop that I absolutely ♥.
Katie was really excited that I wanted to sew the "Swoon" quilt.  She asked me if I would like to teach the quilt class at her shop.  Wow, that would be so much fun!!!  I said yes and she told me to choose the fabric.

It was so much fun going through the shop, pairing up bolts of fabric!  The "Swoon" pattern uses 2 fat quarters per block and there are 9 blocks.  It also takes 4 l/4 yards of white fabric.
I went home with my fabric and sewed and sewed and sewed.  I completed the quilt in a week.

Here are the finished, quilted blocks....I absolutely love them!

This quilt was a lot of fun to sew.  The whole block consists of half square triangles and flying geese.  The blocks are about 24" each, and the quilt measures 81" X 81".  I am going to put it on the bed in my guest bedroom.  I'm sure it will bring "sweet dreams" to everyone who sleeps under it :)
I love the quilting, my friend Cindy quilted it.  She always does  spectacular work!  Don't you love the Heather Bailey fabric on the back?  Tell me about your experiences making the Swoon quilt, or if it is on your "to do" list, or what you think of my quilt.

I have a board on pinterest called Swoon which you are welcome to look at.  I pinned all the Swoon blocks and quilts that I found on the blogs that I follow.

My "Sew Cherry" is back on the shelf.  Sometimes it is really difficult to choose a project for your most favorite fabric.  I find it hard to cut up, I love it so much.  I'll let you know what I decide.