Getting Ready!

This is a Winter wall hanging that is almost ready for the etsy shop. A little quilting left and then to sew down the hanging sleeve. I tried something new with this one. I picked up a piece of remnant polyester (very fluffy) at JoAnn's and just sewed the 2 pieces together, turned then right side out (with hanging sleeve attached attached at the same time as well) and am now quilting it. I made 2 like this. It makes the quilts lighter and thinner so they should be cheaper to ship. I figure since it isn't going on anyone's lap nobody will care about the poly. It's really soft though. The quilting doesn't stand out as much as if there was batting and a backing but that's okay. They should be in the store by the end of the week. They are a little slippery to free motion so I have left my feed dogs up to help with control.

Here is what else I have been working on. My giveaway. Working on 2 Laundry day quilts; 1 for giveaway day on Wednesday and the other will go in the shop. Not sure which will be for which though. I guess which ever one is ready. They will be quilted today (hopefully).

Giveaway Day!

Next Wednesday is the day! I will be giving away a little something too. Can't wait!

Organizing, again.

Where have I been the last week? I have been ironing and organizing. I went through my overflowing scrap drawer and knew I either had to throw some out or go through and flatten pieces and stack them in groups. Some pieces got thrown out, some were set aside to be used in projects (in the near future) and some were set aside to give to others. The rest were stacked nicely and placed back in the drawer.

Look how nice the scrap drawer looks now. A little less chaotic - not all thrown in there. Bigger pieces were stacked together or placed in a different drawer, strips are together and small pieces are together. It looks so nice now I actually want to use my scraps. I took out about a shoebox's worth of scraps and ironed them to use for a project which is to be gift for Christmas.

I also got some more blue and white strips sewn together in sets and are ironed, ready to be cut and made into...

... 130 nine patches. I have 49 of them done and ironed.

And here are some pictures

Here are some pictures to accompany my rant from earlier today to prove I have been doing some quilting.

Finished set of 4 tulip coasters. Now listed in my etsy shop.

1 set of 4 holiday coasters now listed in my etsy shop. I have 4 more sets to finish.

I have ordered a couple things from etsy. 2 of them were gifts which I can't share here and one was for me. This is what it looked like when I took it out of the envelope. Beautiful and a great idea - I wonder if my mom will let me have her old patterns to wrap stuff in?

This is what was inside - beautiful green fabric. I need more plains and green is probably my favourite colour. There is just over 2 yards of it. I'll try to remember to post a link to the shop tomorrow but it's late here now and I don't want to.

It's done! The custom order Laundry Day was completed tonight and has been posted on etsy. There was a lot more pressure than I thought to complete it. If I don't like something I will throw it out or rip it apart. I gave myself 1 week to do the quilt, which was good, but I was stressed about it not turning out well and wanting to throw it out. I am considering making another one of the Laundry Day quilts to give away on Sew, Mama, Sew's giveaway day on December 2nd. I have the background ready to go, just need to cut out some quilts and piece it all together.

As for my earlier rant, I was able to get 30 minutes to myself today while my daughter was in piano lessons and my son was at preschool. I may not finish the holiday lap quilts I had planned on. I am not really happy making the big traditional quilts for my etsy shop. Going to try to return to more artsy quilts that are smaller, try making some quilted notecards but continue to make some baby quilts and small wall hangings, like Laundry Day, as they are just fun to make.

A no pic post

I have been a little busy but don't really have any pictures to prove it - right now.
What I have done - the custom order laundry day has been pieced and quilted. Binding and hanging sleeves are the plan for tonight so it can go up on etsy tomorrow.
I quilted 4 flower coasters and 1 set of holiday coasters. Took pictures but haven't posted them on etsy yet.
I also started quilting the mystery quilt. Did the stitch-in-the-ditch and am now working on adding some free motion to the white parts so the pink and yellow fabrics will stand out. Definitely deciding as I go as to how much quilting gets done on this quilt.
I pieced together backing for 2 holiday lap quilts and started making one of the quilts into a sandwich when I lost all desire to complete this project. They are just so big, a lot of work and I am very pulled to all the projects I want to do for others. I have been asked by a couple people to do another quilt for my son's preschool auction and there are other projects for next year that keep getting pushed back.

So, what didn't I got done? I haven't touched all the blue and white fabrics that are suppose to become 9 patches in over a week. I haven't even looked at another present I am working on that is due in the beginning of next year. The good thing about making quilts for family is that they understand how busy you are but that's no excuse for late gifts. I haven't touched the quilt for my sons teacher even though it is sitting on my table staring at me everyday.

Definitely feeling a lack of confidence at the moment and a lack of direction. It feels like my etsy shop is all over the place and I should really focus on a couple projects/ styles and become really good at them. There are a ton of other quilters out there - what can I make to stand out? Guess I need to answer that question sooner rather than later.

Update on my projects

So, have I been keeping up with all my projects?

This quilt was finished and posted in my etsy store on Tuesday.

I also finished cutting the holiday fabric for the lap quilts I want to put in my store by the end of this month. The plan was to have one in there by the end of the week but I have been distracted by someone asking for a custom order.


She really liked the Laundry Day quilt I did and sold last month and we are in the process of her picking quilts for her clothes line. Very exciting. Think I will make a few more to put up in the shop too. They are pretty quick once everything gets ironed.

Plans for the rest of the week. Quilt a holiday lap quilt and have it in my etsy shop by Monday morning. There are also a couple secret projects I need to get to work on too. We'll see what happens.

Table Runners!

So, I got something done today and I received something too!

Here are 3 of the table runners that were waiting to be pieced beside my sewing machine just this morning.

Here are the other 2. Quilting them wasn't on the list for this week, but it may happen anyway.

Here is the something I got in the mail. I should say we got in the mail. This is a table runner made by my sister for my husband's and my anniversary (which is next week). I had to open it today since the package came damaged and I wanted to make sure it had survived. I absolutely love it but afraid to put it on the table in case the kids spill. Think I may use it in the living room. To pretty to keep to myself on my dresser.

Close-up. Love the mitten she quilted in the middle of the mittens.

The back is just as beautiful as the front and may have a turn or two being the focus. Thanks Sarah. I love it. Glad I got to have some of your cute mitten blocks.

A Busy Weekend means a Busy Week Ahead

Well, I have had a busy weekend of organizing fabrics, planning new projects, ironing and cutting fabric. My section of the living room is covered in projects at all stages. However, I did have 2 finishes and was able to post my flower coasters on etsy this morning.

Finish number 1 is a gift so you are only seeing the back. It was started last year but didn't get done in time. It is on top of some reindeer fabric I picked up in the remnant bin at JoAnn's this weekend (I HAD to go pick up batting for all my projects) I think I need to iron this before I wrap it up.

Close-up.

Finish number 2 (almost - just need to finish attaching the hanging sleeve). This started out as a much bigger project but I didn't like how the quilting looked so I cut off the big borders, quilted the middle of the quilt - a lot- and am now very happy with it. If the weather cooperates I hope to take this outside this afternoon to take some pictures of it and get it posted on etsy later today.

Close-up of the moon. I quilted all around it to help the moon stand out a bit more.

Origami crane fabric on the back is beautiful and is one of my favourite fabrics. I bought a lot of it though so I'm okay with letting this much go.

Two projects sandwiched, basted and ready for the machine. On the left is the mystery quilt from the local guild. This is going to be a gift. On the right is a present for one of my nephews - not saying which one. Hope to get started on these 2 this week as they take up a lot of room.

It seems everywhere I look I see holiday fabric. Here is one big pile in front of a little pile.

Some ironed fabric hanging over my old sewing machine.

More ironed fabric hanging over my quilting chair. There is even some more hanging on the back of the desk chair but I didn't bother to take a picture of them.

Projects ready to go on my desk. In the corner, in and on top of the little box, are the fabrics for the quilt I am making for my son's preschool teacher. I ironed and cut all the fabrics this weekend and have directions for the first 3 blocks printed off, fabrics out and ready to go. On top of that in the bag, are 2 holiday projects with flannel fat quarters I have collected the last couple years. Need to be ironed but I finalized the design this weekend. Beside them are the fabrics I ironed and cut for a project I am doing for my sister (testing an idea). Hope to get to that in my "spare" time this week.

Here is what is right beside my sewing machine. The charm pack has been organized and is going to be made into 5 different table runners. Some will be gifts and the rest will go in the etsy shop. And my stack of coasters waiting to be quilted. Flower coasters on top and holiday ones on the bottom. These WILL be done this week and posted on etsy.

A sneak peak of a winter lap quilt that was cut this weekend and pieced last night. I think I will be making mainly lap quilts with all the holiday fabric I have ironed. They make cheaper gifts then big quilts and are less work for me so I can make more. I will also be making some holiday wall hangings for the etsy shop as well. Guess I better get off the computer and get to work. I'll try to post more this week so I am forced to make some progress on my VERY ambitious projects.

Everybody needs to laugh

Thought you might enjoy this! See what happens when you waste time on the internet instead of quilting - you find silly things like this.