Monday, November 28, 2011

Green Strip



I have finished this quilt as a gift for a certain person who has been a great help during my student teaching. Don't you think that a classroom make the perfect backdrop for this kind of gift.

I asked both of her children, at different times, what her favorite color was. Both told me that it was green. I have been wanting to make a strip quilt ever since I saw this post.



Maybe you can see them since they almost blend into the floor!



I rearranged and took out a few strips that would make this quilt too long and sewed them all together. (I think the previous picture is after I took out the few extra strips. I am reserving them for a quilt for my mom.) This is a lap quilt meant to be snuggled under while reading. So it is not meant to be big and long. Don't you just love the leaves? I knew that I had to get them then or they would be gone. Now my trees are bare.



Then I brought it back to the kitchen floor for basting.



I finished binding this over the Thanksgiving holiday. I thought that the dark green would be perfect.



The back is pieced. I prefer a patterned back to a quilt and this fabric was great, but I did not have enough. I had the dark green, but I was quilting in white and wanted to make sure there was enough for the binding. I had enough of this white left, so into the mix it went. I really like how it turned out. I will be making more quilts like this, but perhaps with a bigger color palette.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Wrapped in Hope

The 2012 Wrapped in Hope list is up. You can also find information about this ministry here.

I love making these quilts! I made these two quilts this year.

For the new 2012 list I am making a quilt for a young lady who will turn ten in January. She likes turtles, pink, and purple which is perfect because I love turtles, pink, and purple! Also, I have the perfect fabric! I have been collecting turtle fabric for a long time, so I knew exactly what fabric to chose.

I bought this turtle fabric about ten years ago. It was intended to make a couple of pillowcases, but I was new at sewing. I did not know the proper size to cut the fabric to make a pillowcase and just abandoned the project until the beginning of last year when I made this pillowcase.



When I read her requests I pulled it out and looked at it. It was perfect. Then I pulled out all of my pink and purple fabrics. With the large size of the turtle on the fabric I wanted it to be big. So I decided on a six inch finished square and decided that I wanted to put sashing (two by six inch finished) and corner stones (two inch finished) around it.



The required finished size of the quilt is 40"x60". So, I decided to make twenty four blocks (ten inches finished each). After I piece the blocks together, I plan on sewing on a lime green boarder and then a scrappy boarder of pinks, purples, and turtle fabric. I already have six blocks together and I have some of that pink fabric from the pillowcase used as corner stones.

What do you think? I love it!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Student Teaching Wrap-up

I am almost finished student teaching. It is bittersweet. I am going to miss teaching for now, but it will be great to graduate and have the possibility to have my own classroom and classes.

The teachers who have welcomed me into their classrooms have been marvelous. They have taught me many things from their experiences and allowed me to make my own. They have been more than helpful in every way including giving me direction when I was unsure of my next move. They have shared resources unexpectedly and openly. Most of all they welcomed and accepted me and that means so much.

The students have been a great mixture. They were very respectful and attentive. I was very proud to have been their teacher for a short time.

I have one final day as a student teacher and then we will see what kind of adventures will follow.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Quilt Comic

We all like to laugh, right? Although I am sure that as quilters and/or fabric lovers you have already seen or heard about these comics that talk about or depict fabric and quilts, but for your and my pleasure here they are again!

quilt comics
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Pickles cartoon on fabric!

Friday, November 18, 2011

T-Shirt quilt finish

T-Shirt quilt


I finally finished the last little touches of the t-shirt quilt. I know that I said that I had it finished. I did have it finished. It was quilted with the binding, but it did not have a label or a sleeve. This quilt will be hung in an office and it was requested to have a sleeve. With the business of student teaching, I put this quilt on the back burner. This week I had some time and felt productive, so I finished and put both the sleeve and label on the quilt.

I delivered this quilt yesterday and it felt so nice to be able to have it both finished and delivered. The best part is that it is for a great friend who I know will treasure it.

There is a story behind this quilt. My friend is the Director of Wesley Fellowship at my university. She has been the Director of Wesley Fellowship for over ten years. She has spent about six years at my university and another five or so divided between a college and another university. These T-shirts are from her collection over her time as director. What a great quilt to place in her office.

I have a few of these shirts and plan on making a T-shirt quilt for myself after graduation from all of my college/university T-shirts, and with the idea that I may continue, either in graduate school or for another certification, that may be awhile.

So, yesterday before I delivered this quilt I HAD to take a picture. I have loaned my camera to my sister and, although I have been promised pictures, I had to make sure that I had one. To get a good picture, I went to my university and took a picture in the room that we hold our meeting(they have a coffee shop there). I used my phone, which does not give the best pictures. I was alone and needed someone to hold the quilt. I went right up to the counter of the coffee shop and asked the girl there to help. She looked a little uncertain, but I told her that I was not taking a picture of her that she would be behind the quilt. She had already agreed and seemed to have come to this conclusion on her own but also relieved. So, here is a big thank you to the coffee girl!

previous posts here, here, and here
size 56"x70"
machine and hand quilted

*edited to say this: This is the first time that I have linked one of my blogs to any other blog. After looking at a few other links I noticed that they mentioned the link. So, here you go: This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday 4. Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts is the first blog that I started following and is the reason that I started my blog. Her blog is very informative, funny, inspirational, and down-to-Earth. Check her blog out sometime.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Baby Sheets

In the past few months I have been whipping up baby sheets. I have tried to count how many, but I cannot count an exact number. It is somewhere between 15 and 20.

This is one that I made for Jacob. It turned out to be the only sheet she had, so I had to make her a couple more! I was pleasantly surprised that the sheet matched the bedding so well, since I did not know what the colors were. *I did not make anything else in this picture and credit for this picture goes to Mindy.

You have already seen three other sheets that I made for Mack, but I am not sure how much I have mentioned about my baby sheet production.

I have so far made sheets for at least seven babies; six boys, six girls, and a currently unknown. I did not take any pictures of these. I think it is because they do not take as much time to make them as a quilt, and for some they were finished and delivered on the same day.

I have to say that I do not think I would have made the first sheet if I had not bought the serger. I love that thing.