Missing: My Willpower

If you've visited me here before, you might know I made a resolution to not buy any new fabric in 2012, unless it was specifically requested by someone who needed something very specific.  I intended that to apply to charity quilts and special requests only, and even then only if absolutely necessary. 

But then I ran out of batting.  

Already you can see where this is headed, right?

A few days ago I posted about a little hexagon baby quilt I wanted to make.  The pattern I came up with would have a green background and pink flowers -- dark pink centers with light pink petals.  I mentioned in that post the challenge of finding enough coordinating greens in my stash, especially since greens are so hard to match.

So yesterday I was at Joann's to buy batting.  And only batting.  With a 50% off coupon.

On my way to the register, I noticed this sweet little bundle, which had 2 lovely greens (and 3 lovely blues).  It was 30% off.  Did I mention I also had a "20% off your entire purchase" coupon?  

My 9 year old daughter - who knows I'm trying hard not to buy fabric - was with me.  As I was caressing looking at this little bundle, she leaned over and said, "Don't worry Mom, I won't tell anyone.  You deserve it."  I *so* love that kid! 

I knew those 2 little fat quarters wouldn't be enough for my entire background, but I did have some green at home already.  Then I saw one other single FQ in a pretty paisley.  OK, it's just one more, right?

Oh my gosh, they had purple bundles too!  I had toyed with the idea of doing green and purple for the background of the quilt and how sweet are those??  And hey, I don't want to break the fast more than once, so I might as well enjoy it now, right?

Wait, a Fat Eights of pinks?  That would be enough to do *all* the hexie flowers for the quilt.  Lights and darks.  They look so nice with the green and purple, too.  And come on... how often do I find a 30% off sale *and* have a 20% off everything coupon?  

I can probably stop adding commentary now, since you probably realize by now this is not going to end anytime soon....

A few more light pinks for the petals, just in case.

Just to be on the safe side with the darker pink....

What does a beige FQ bundle have to do with the hexagon baby quilt you ask?  Not a thing.  But at this point, I was already so far over the line it didn't seem to matter, really.

One last fun little bundle because, well, it had a ladybug on it.  No other reason is required.

In case you're wondering what a a "Fabric Fast" looks like, well.... here you go.

*sigh*

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

Ladybug Skinnies

I have a goal this year to make one Seasonal Skinny per month.  I started in March (shamrocks) and made one for April (Easter egg).  I am a little late in finishing up May, but this is my favorite one so far!

These skinnies would probably make great table runners, but I hang mine on the wall.

Start with a few scraps of fabric, sew them together and cut out the shape.

A little Heat 'n Bond, some zig-zag stitching around the edges and voila!

Ladybugs make me smile!  :-)

In addition to the one I made for myself (on the right, red binding), I'm making a 2nd skinny every month, too.  I'm planning to give those (once I have a whole year's worth complete) to a good friend of mine as a gift.

This is (clearly) not a ladybug.  This was my 2nd Easter Egg skinny from April.  The top was done but it needed a backing and a binding.  Finally finished it!

I have 3 months done so far for each set of skinnies.  Ice cream cones are on tap for June!

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Happy to cross two more things (#9 and #10) off my project list for the May Small Project Sew Along:

Completed items:

1. Complete H2H quilt - link here

2. Complete Laura's quilt - link here

3. Make pillow to match Laura's quilt - link here
5. Make 3 small memory (t-shirt) wall hangings (1 done, 2 not started) - link here
6. Make 3 small memory (t-shirt) Mickey pillows - link here

7. Make a green mug rug in time for Mother's Day  - link here

9. Finish April Seasonal Skinny (flimsy is complete) - DONE!
10. Complete 2 ladybug Seasonal Skinnies for May - DONE!

12. Make a portable sewing kit / bag / holder / something-or-other - link here

Not started or in progress:

4. Finish quilt for Sujay (flimsy is complete)

8. Make a pink mug rug just because I want to
11. Cut fabric for summer hexie project
13. Start (and finish) embroidery for "The Forever Project"
14. Complete "Om" block for "The Forever Project"
15. Make or find a simple pattern for a tote / beach bag
16. Make a year-end gift for my kindergartener's teacher
17. Make a year-end gift for my 3rd grader's teacher
18. Make a birthday gift for kindergartener's BFF
19. Make a "surprise" for my 11 running partners + myself
20. Make an Unruly letters pillow for Kim
21. Update my running scrapbook (no sewing involved!)
22. Figure out a plan of attack for the "Unless" quilt

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Linking up with: 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for "Whoop Whoop Friday"

Sew Many Ways for "Find a Friend Friday"

AmyLouWho for "Sew and Tell" (no link up this week)

Pieceful Life for "Show Off Friday" 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you've worked on this week!

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Made with Love for Bella

Last week I posted about a memory quilt I had made for the family of a little boy named Ryan, who passed away last year when he was only 8 years old.  That was actually the second memory quilt I had made.  Today I wanted to share the first one I made, back in June 2011.

Jon was one of my sister's best friends.  He was only 24 when he was killed in an automobile accident in August 2009.  His funeral was on my sister's birthday.

His younger sister had a baby girl (Bella) the following year, who would never have the chance to know her Uncle Jon.  Bella's mom asked if I could make a small quilt for Bella, using some of Jon's clothes.  

I started with 2 t-shirts and a pair of blue jeans.

Bella's mom also asked me to include this terrycloth sleeper, which belonged to a cousin of Bella's who passed away when he was still a young baby.

Here's what I put together.  I don't recall the exact measurement,

but I'd guess it to be about 35 x 50 or so.

I didn't have a clear plan in mind when I started making this quilt.  I found some fabric in my stash that matched the colors in the clothes but might help "girl them up" a bit.  I basically just made blocks from the clothes, then fit them together like a puzzle, filling in with strips of fabric.

One of Jon's t-shirts.

The hearts are made from the sleeves of a t-shirt.  The green letters are made from another shirt and are appliqued on to a piece of blue jeans.

I've mentioned before how important ladybugs are in my family and as a result, to many of our close friends.  This quilt wasn't going to be complete without one!  The red and green are from Jon's t-shirts, and they are appliqued to a piece of his denim.

Another t-shirt.

I made this appliqued teddy bear out of the terrycloth sleeper.  I started with one big shape and used satin stitching to define the features, arms, feet, etc.  Those blue hearts are appliqued to a piece of Jon's gray t-shirt.

This might be my favorite block.  Those flowers are 3-dimensional.  I made them from the arm bands of the t-shirts.  The green stems are from the waist band of the other t-shirt.

The flowers are in a "pot" made from the pocket of Jon's jeans.

Of course, ladybugs for the back.

I think the Beautiful Ms. Bella likes it!

Have you ever made a memory quilt, or a quilt using t-shirts or other clothing?  If so, please leave me a comment or a link, I'd love to see what you've done!  I've got one other one in progress... a GIANT t-shirt quilt for a friend of mine.  I've dubbed it "The Forever Project" because "forever" is about how long it might take me to finish it.  I am a little bit stuck on how to proceed with it, so any and all ideas are helpful!




~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Huggy Star Quilt

One of my dearest friends, Brenda, gave me a piece of fabric last July and asked me to "make her something nice" with it.  She has a thing for stars like I have a thing for ladybugs.  She had purchased the fabric a while ago then didn't know what to do with it.  My goal was to make her a Christmas (2011) gift with it but alas, I ran out of time.

This "huggy quilt" measures 27" wide x 58" long.  It's made to be a wrap (vs. a full quilt) so that she can wrap herself in a hug whenever she needs one.

The pattern was very simple, as you can see.  I used 5 different ivory / oatmeal tone-on-tone prints from my stash for the squares, and added in some light blue rectangles.  I used Brenda's dark blue star print fabric for the appliqued stars, backing and binding.

I didn't realize how not-so-great these pictures were until just now and alas, the quilt is already in the mail so retakes aren't possible.  I'm sure you'll get the idea!

Couldn't resist taking this photo in our awesome South Florida sunshine with a palm tree and puffy white clouds!

This is the embroidered quilt tag I made a few weeks back (post / tutorial here) but alas, I didn't take a photo of it on the quilt.  *sigh*  I have to get better at this picture taking stuff!

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Baby Megan's Whirlygiggles

Note to all the babies-to-be I know (or will soon meet): If you are born in the month of December, or even in early January, your baby quilt will be late.  Please plan accordingly.


I have just (finally!) finished a baby quilt for my first little niece, Megan.  She was born in mid-December but I was so buried in Christmas gift making, other projects and a broken hand (in a brace for a few weeks in January) that I'm just now finishing up her quilt.  I had the fabric well in advance and knew what colors I'd use, I just didn't make the time to put it all together.

I *so* badly wanted to take fabulous pictures of this outside in the beautiful South Florida sun but alas, 

it has been overcast and dreary here for 3 days.

As usual, I started with a pattern I liked (I used AmandaJean's Whirlygiggles - she has a great tutorial here) and then added a few things of my own.  Of course, I changed the measurements some (started with smaller blocks), cut some of the fabric upside down (Doh!) and ended up with fewer, smaller whirlies than I had planned.  Oh well... I still think it came out great and I will most definitely use my "backwards" whirlies for another project.

The white background fabric (with the flowers and ladybugs) is from a crib sheet.  Megan's mom (my sister-in-law) had this on her baby registry so I was pretty sure she'd like it!  I put Megan's name on the quilt with big appliqued letters and added an embroidered quilt tag with her birth stats.  

This was my very first time trying free motion quilting.  I am SOOO excited about it!  I clearly have a lot to learn in terms of FMQ patterns.... I went with a pattern I'm calling "seaweed" because I think it looks like those underwater plant tentacle thingies (yes, pretty sure that's the scientific name) you see on Finding Nemo.  (I'm actually hoping someone will tell me this is a real FMQ pattern and it has a real name.... that way I'll feel like I did FMQ the right way, even if it was only by accident!)

The FMQ made the quilt a little "stiffer" than I'm used to (I've only used stitch-in-the-ditch or other straight line quilting in the past), but I am in *love* with the "pucker" that the FMQ gave it after it was washed and dried.

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Linking up (for the very first time!) with: 

Crazy Mom Quilts for  "Finish it Up Friday" 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for "Whoop Whoop Friday"

AmyLouWho for "Sew and Tell"

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~