Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Scrappy Baby Bibs

One of my favorite ways to use scraps is to make baby bibs.  I adored seeing these on my toddler and they make perfect baby gifts.  They're gorgeous, useful, and they're quick to make!  Also, the more you wash them, the more 'vintage' they look.


I use the "Best Baby Bib" pattern by Jennifer Casa.  All you need for the front is a 9"x10" (height x width) slab, so you can piece it out of fun little scraps.



I've started keeping small scraps together in ziploc bags, organized by color combinations I like.  When I want a bib, I just dump out a bag and start piecing!

Bonus: these little bibs are a *perfect* place to practice free-motion quilting because they are so small and easy to maneuver.


Here's a pair that I am making from scraps of my son's baby blanket---these will be a gift for a friend who just had a little boy:


These bibs are the perfect size for a baby under the age of 1.  As my son got older, I found I needed something a little bigger.  I just elongated the bib pattern by 2" and made a slightly longer bib, using an 11"x10" slab.  These bigger bibs were perfect for a toddler.

Happy scrapping!

Monday, October 13, 2014

2014 FAL - Q4

My original ground rules for quilting were that I do this for fun, so:

(1) I can start a new project whenever I want, without having to finish old projects first.
(2) I don't have to blog about things if I'd rather spend the time sewing.

I have limited time to sew, so I hardly blog, and my starting of new projects has gotten completely out of control.  To get control of both of these things, I'm going to participate in the last quarter of the Finish-A-Long hosted by Katy over at The Littlest Thistle.

Here's my list (and you'll see why I need the accountability!):



1.  Baby quilt for my best friend's little boy, due in December.  The baby shower is next weekend.  It's quilted and trimmed, just needs the binding attached.  This one *has* to get done.


2.  Baby quilt for a good friend in England, who just had a little girl.  I've had this top for, oh, about a year.  Backing has been picked out.  Needs to be sandwiched, quilted and bound.  We're headed to England on October 22, so there's a deadline on this one too!


3.  Baby quilt for a friend from grad school, whose little boy was born in July.  Notice the awesome science and astronomy fabric---fitting for an astronomer's little boy!  They live in Switzerland, so I'd like to mail this from England when we are there to save on postage.  Therefore, see previous Oct 22 deadline.



4.  Patchwork baby bibs for *yet another* set of friends from grad school who just had a baby boy.  These also have been nearly-done for months.  They just need the binding / neckties attached.  As of yesterday, I own both binding tape and matching thread, so another easy finish.


5.  Twin-size quilt for my nephew.  He's also in England, but there's no way this will be done in time to take in person.  I'd like to finish in time for it to be a Christmas gift.  He's moving out on his own around that time, so a bed-quilt will be an appropriate gift for his new digs.  I've got 10 blocks made by myself and my partner from the Supernova Friendship Swap.  I'm considering a different layout (alternating supernova blocks with empty or mostly-empty blocks) but haven't quite decided yet.  


6.  Plus quilt with the red and blue color ways of Tula Pink's Salt Water line.  This is a quilt for my husband, who loves anything with tentacles.  The top has been made for months (are you sensing a theme here?) and just need to be turned into a quilt.  I'd like to (finally!) give it to him for Christmas.  I may send this out to be quilted on a long arm.  I love piecing, but quilting not so much.  This puppy is big, I have a lot on this list, and if professionals like Jeni Baker can have things long-armed sometimes, so can I!  I just want it done.  


7.  Pow Wow quilt.  This one is for me.  Again, top finished ages ago, needs to be quilted.  Another that I might send out.  For some reason, I feel like quilts I gift away should be quilted by me (I can't really say "I made it" unless I actually made all of it!) but ones staying in my household I feel less strongly about.  I'd like to have this on my bed come spring-time, rather than on the closet shelf.


8.  Cat quilts for my mom and my little sister, from Oh Fransson's Catvent quilt along last December. This QAL started a few days before my parents ancient cat (our only family pet) finally died at age 20, so I naturally had to make little lap quilts for my mom and my little sister as a memento (my other sister has a real cat of her own, so she doesn't have the same level of cat-snuggle-need).  Tops finished months ago, but need to be turned into quilts.  I'd like to give these as Christmas gifts.  


9.  This was originally the baby quilt that I was going to give my grad school friend in Switzerland, but (a) it was so incredibly awesome I was having trouble with the idea of parting with it, and (b) my 2-year-old saw it and said "That's mine's."  So I'm keeping it.  That removes the October deadline, but I'm oh-so-close to having the top finished.  I'd like to at least finish the top before the end of the year.  I know quilt tops don't count for the FAL, but it's here on the list to help me remember and to keep me honest.  :-)


10.  Another quilt for me.  This will be an X-plus quilt using Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee line.  I've decided I don't really want to make anymore quilts using a single fabric line, but (a) I had already started this one, (b) I *love* Chicopee and feel like it looks less "same-y" than a lot of lines, and (c) rules are meant to be broken.  This fabric screams "fall" to me, so it's the thing I *want* to be working on this quarter.  It will also help break up the monotony of the quilting projects I have---yay piecing!  Just gunning for a quilt-top finish on this one.  I'd love to finish it and be able to use it on my bed next fall.  I have this idea of having a quilt for each season for my bed, and rotate through them.  The one we currently have is the winter quilt (in my head, at least).  The Pow Wow listed above will be spring, this one will be fall, and as for summer...


11.  I think I started this quilt before I started anything else on this list.  I've made 10 of these pinwheels.  I need 25 in total.  I cut the fabric back in the day, and all the HST are cut such that the finished squares have bias edges.  It makes them miserable to work with.  I hate it.  I would never make HSTs this way now.  But I do love this quilt, and I want it finished.  I don't expect a finish this quarter, but I want to make at least 10 more blocks.  I'd love to have this on my bed come summer 2015...


12.  And finally, a Christmas medallion I started last Christmas.  I'm making this pattern up as I go.  I love what I have so far---maybe too much, because I got stuck at this point when the next border I'd planned just wasn't good enough.  I know we're supposed to do our Christmas sewing in July, but I just don't work that way.  I like to inhabit the season that I'm in.  I'm guessing I will want to pull this project out after Thanksgiving and work on it to help set the Christmas vibe.  That means I won't have it on my couch for this Christmas season, but I will get to inhabit its holiday goodness during the holiday.  I'd love to finish the top this Christmas so that I can then put it on the shelf, and get it quilted in time to have out for Christmas 2015.  

Okay, so that's an insanely long list.  Some of these things are really, really close so I think I can get a bunch of them done.  And some of them have nearby deadlines, so I *have* to get them done.  There are also some projects that aren't on this list, but I have to save *something* for the next FAL because I can't only have roll-over projects, right?

Wish me luck!