It's time to....

Celebrate!

 I did it! I persevered and put the binding on my quilt. With everything said and done, the binding was actually quite simple. The timing for my bobbin to begin acting up, however was impeccable. There is nothing like finally getting the guts to start a project that you are anxious enough about to only have your bobbin refuse to catch. After some aggravation (and foot stomping), I got the bobbin sorted out, but by then I was distracted so when sewing together my 2 1/2" strips, I made a few silly mistakes. First I started sewing from the wrong corner which put my diagonal going in the wrong direction. Then, after I ripped that seam out, my second attempt resulted in me not having the right sides together! After I ripped that seam out I walked away for a few moments. Upon my second fresh attempt, the project ran smoothly! Here is the result:

I had a difficult time getting a good picture! Here is hanging.

Here it is on the bed.

 A closer look at the awesome quilting by the Athletic Quilter, Katherine Pineau. Thanks, Kathy!

Last, but not least. Jon wanted to help model the quilt. Yes, there is a grown man snuggled under there!

Respectfully,

Harmony

The New One Yard Wonder Book!

Greetings!

It certainly has been a long while since I have been able to post! Pieceful was making me look like a slacker. And while she gets all the credit for more posts, this is going to be a full blog for me. Just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I haven't been crafting!

One Yard

For Valentine's Day Mum bought me the latest One Yard Wonder Book.

I loved the first one (see the book review in an earlier post). And I have already completed two projects out of this second book. This one is a great tool because as it's title, Fabric-by-Fabric, suggests it addresses different techniques and tricks for using different types of fabric.

Dusty TV

One of the first projects I made from the book used regular cotton weight fabric. It is a flat screen TV cover. Who likes having a dusty TV screen? And now that the sun is shining through the windows longer, that dust is becoming more and more evident. This simple little slip cover was a quick fix! I added a curtain to help protect our game systems from dust as well. Disclaimer: The photo below doesn't do the fabric justice. The material isn't nearly as busy as it appears!

 

Swaddling Blanket

One of my best buds has a baby shower coming up! I whipped up this Swaddling Blanket very quickly this afternoon. I see myself using this pattern as a staple for baby shower gifts! Simple, quick and practical!

Key Lanyard

It is official. I have too many sets of keys! I decided it was time to use up some scraps and make some lanyards to help organize which sets belong to what school I am in! Just a quick, no fuss project that needed to happen.

Mum's Backpack

Last, but not least! I have finished Mum's quilted backpack! In order to use up scraps she also got a simple zippered bag and a lanyard to go with it. I definitely learned from my first experience and made the straps longer. Also, since she didn't want the zipper up the back I was able to bind all the raw edges on the inside which looks better in my opinion!

'Fess Up

What should I have been doing before finishing all of these little projects? I should have been putting the binding on my quilt! I got it back from being quilted by the Athletic Quilter, Katherine Pineau, and it is absolutely gorgeous! She used a variegated thread that couldn't have been more perfect. What's the hold up then? I scared. Honest and truly. I don't want to screw up. There! I've said it. Now I can move on. Binding my quilt is now the goal of the day!.....right after I go grocery shopping of course....

Stay Tuned!

I WILL be posting a picture of my completed quilt! I also have two more baby projects to finish. A neat little stroller caddy (from Fabric-by-Fabric One Yard Wonder), and a Diaper Bag from Moda Bake Shop.

Respectfully,

Harmony

Can you hear the humming?

Harmony is the musical half of this blog but if you listen carefully I am sure you can hear humming coming from my portion of the blog , too. The humming of the sewing machine, that is. I have been on a roll this week. Since finishing the Big Boy quilt,I have been working on small projects for the Sale Room at the upcoming quilt show being hosted by the guild back home. I have made bibs. burp clothes. bread basket liners, and a Hooter Hider(nursing apron). I am also working on using up the scraps from these projects, I have made a few pin cushions and pieced a small baby quilt with burp cloth/bib leftovers. This afternoon I set the ironing board and cutting mat up in the screen room and cut for an hour and a half. I find that having project bags ready really helps me accomplish a lot of sewing. I hope to finish these projects over the next few days and get them in the mail! Listen for the sweet melody of a humming Janome!

Hmmm...

Trying to post pictures again. Don't know why it didn't work on the previous post! This is the Big Boy Blanket for Andrew .

Praise for my portable machine

When I packed in December for our trip south I loaded the car with my Janome 720. It is lightweight, has a small extension table and is a real piecing work horse. I fully intended to just use it for piecing flimsies to bring home to quilt or have quilted. The machine settled nicely into my sewing nook and I merrily stitched away. In January I made 3 quilt tops , a name badge, and a small purse. I thought I had everything I could possibly need right at my finger tips.

Enter the month of February and add in an email from my daughter-in-law. It seems that my step grandson needed a big boy blanket. To make the transition easier we hoped to find giraffe material and make the quilt with a tan backing and binding. I found some jungle material, added brown and green pinwheels and made a small quilt top. Since this was a priority job I didn't want to send it to Maine to be quilted and then have it sent to Texas. My little machine came to the rescue. I stitched in the ditch and did some grid stitching along with following the design of the material on the panel in the middle. All if this was done without my walking foot. I left that home on my bigger machine.I didn't have everything at my finger tips. Oh well... Love my little 720. She plugged along with out skipping a stitch!