Our stockings

Patrick's is purple...mine is red...




Wyatt & Owen received these when they were babies. My friend, Cornelia made them.



They are very rarely hanging up. The kids drag them all around the house.

Change purse

Change purse, originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes.

I'm not so good at zippers.

But I'm trying.

This is my first completed change purse. :) I like it. Used a block I had laying around along with a few charm squares.

Will make a stocking stuffer for one of my nieces. They'll love it because i'll add some chewing gum, lip gloss and other fun stuff inside...

A baby quilt for Parthena... Unveiled at KCMQG tonight.

A baby quilt for Parthena... Unveiled at KCMQG tonight., originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes.

Here it is! My finished butterfly quilt for my good friend, Parthena. She's having a girl in the next month or so and I'm tickled to have it finished! The back is a beautiful and soft pink vintage sheet. This quilt is as girly as it gets.

I did something I don't normally do! I quilted it myself, instead of having a longarmer do it. I'm really happy with how easy and quick the quilting was. Used a nice king tut variegated pink to quilt it. The binding and the bodies of the butterflies are actually a dark chocolate color with some tiny bits of pink. The background of the butterflies is a Kaffe polka dot. I used all the pinks in my stash plus a few more for this quilt.

This pattern is from Mrs. Schmenkman's blog. Wonky butterflies. I love it. Warning- It wastes a fair amount of fabric, but to me it's worth it.

I will probably be making more of this pattern in the future. I still have one other baby quilt like this to finish for my cousin. I'm using a vintage sheet on the back of hers, too (something I'd never done before). I'm in the process of piecing the blocks together but her shower won't be until March or April, so I have some time.

Can't wait to meet your little one, Parthena!!!!

For iris

Finished!

Another Finish!

I stayed up till 12:15 tonight finishing up binding on a quilt!  Not telling which one...  But I'm SO excited about it.  Turned out even more fabulous than I'd imagined it would...  Will post pics after Thursday night...

I still have 2 more I'd like to get bound before then.  I think I can do it!  They're baby quilts...

Sewing Central

It's serious sewing time around here.  I've set some lofty goals for the next couple of days.  Tomorrow is my Blue Valley Quilters' Guild meeting.   Lots of Quilts of Valor stuff to report.  Major success with that.

I've been working really, really hard on my Christmas gifts.  I made coaster sets for the women in my family and I have them bundled up.  I finished binding a Christmas quilt for myself (Yay!) and am halfway finished binding Parthena's butterfly baby quilt.  It will be finished by Thursday when I have my Modern Quilt Guild meeting.

I also sandwiched and quilted two new baby quilts that I started a couple days ago.  I used some charm packs and they really turned out to be lovely.  One I did straight line quilting from one corner of the quilt... just like a sunburst... and the other one, I went nuts with my darning foot and free-motioned big flowers...  Did some straight lines, too.  I like it.  It's sassy, just like my cousin who will be receiving it for her baby to be.

Then I did dishes (at midnight), made muffins for guild and picked up some toys around the house.  There are always toys around the house.  *sigh*

Had a fun date night without kids doing Christmas shopping with my hubby.  Marked a lot off my list.  Even went out for Oklahoma Joe's BBQ!  Yum.

So I think I will have at least 5 quilts to show at guild tomorrow and Thursday.  Not too shabby!  Gotta get em bound...

Why I quilt

My boys and their babies, pretending to nap

For Hallie

My cousin andy sister are both having babies & are both due may 1. Crazy, eh?

So I predicted my sister would have a boy. Made a boyish quilt. Wrong! It's a girl! Iris Kate.

I got my cousin's right. A girl! Hallie hale (family name). She will have a butterfly quilt. I'm ready to put the blocks together, but I want that to be a shower gift in the spring.

I am thinking it'd be nice to have something to unwrap for the babies under the tree at Christmas.

So I'm using some stash to make a couple quick quilts. Smaller than their big quilts...

Here's the one I'm working on for my cousin. Made of Oz by Moda. I'm a sucker for Moda.






Also, I'm working on that girl, that quilt along. Am behind but I'm more than 3/4ths of the way there. Here's an action shot:





Still sick. No rest to speak of last night. Marathon videos for the kids today. I have no voice. :(

Sick and Tired

I'm sick.  My kids are sick.

Runny noses. Congestion.  Crazy bad coughs.

So tired of this.

I retreated to my sewing room tonight.  Sewed on a label for a Quilt of Valor and washed 3.  I still have 1 more label... and I need to wash 3 more...  Awarding them Saturday night to 6 Korean War Vets.   Air Force Officers.

Then, I worked really hard on my That Girl, That Quilt Along project and might have the blocks assembled in one more setting.  I used 2 charm packs and put two borders on each square.  2 different color schemes.  It will be a big quilt for Owen.  Suits his personality.  Wee Woodlands is the fabric.  Love it.

Then, I made a bunch of 4 patches out of some charm packs I've been collecting.  You know, 1 charm pack is NOT enough to make a baby quilt.  Not a proper sized one, anyways...  Must remember to buy some coordinating yardage or FQs to go with.

I do have a decent collection of Oz and also a charm pack.  Am making a quick baby quilt out of those for my cousin, Kristen.  She's having a baby girl in May!  I'm already making her that Butterfly Quilt, but I don't want to give it to her yet... And it's not ready anyways... But I want her to have something under the tree for the baby at Christmas... So I'll throw together a smaller quick baby quilt out of my Oz. She's naming the baby "Hallie"...  After our grandparents, "Harold" and "Sallie".  I think that's really sweet.

Also worked on a couple of other charm packs.  The Hoot charm pack is going with some Bella Solids.  Not sure how it will end up, but I ran out of time.  I also made 4 patches of my Lily and Will charm pack.  If it's going to be a quilt, I'll have to add some solid pieces to it...  May buy some FQ's... I'm needing one more quick baby quilt for my sister, Katie.  I'd like to give her another quilt since the one I made previously is more boyish.  She's having a girl.  Iris Kate will be her name.  Due on the same day as Hallie!  May 1.

As nice as it was to spend so much time in my sewing room, you'd think I'd be happy.  I'm not.  It's almost 3 am.  No sleep for me yet.  Wyatt keeps having coughing fits and bad dreams, all of which require Mommy's quick attention.  Owen has been coughing too, but at least he is falling back to sleep.  He's been sick longer than the rest of us, so I think he's starting to get over his sickness.  I was 2nd... I'm feeling it deep in my chest.  *sigh*

***

PS.  Did I mention that hubby is out of town?  Has been since Tues.  Is coming home tomorrow, tho.  :D

My favorite ornaments

Just a few...

Grandma Nell's Old Quilt

Can you see the hand quilting?


And where there's a hole in the front, you can see the cotton that my great grandmother likely grew, picked, carded and used for batting.


I rescued this. It helped keep my furniture from getting scratched during one of my many moves during college. I decided it needed to live with me, not my dad.


I don't use it much and it certainly isn't the nicest quilt of Grandma Nell's that I have. But it's still warm and it has character.

My Modern Quilt Guild Challenge Entry

My Modern Quilt Guild Challenge Entry, originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes.

I have finished my Modern Quilt Guild Challenge quilt!

It will be a gift for my sister, Katie. She lives in Houston and will find out Tuesday if she is having a girl or a boy. I'm betting on a boy...

This quilt was inspired by a quilt I saw on Flickr (see below). I love blue and the two tones on this quilt really made it special to me. I've always loved the log cabin block, but the idea of making a liberated one made me excited to try it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12260277@N07/4265049746/in/faves-25806308@N00/

Tonight's work

Tonight's work, originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes.

My design wall

My Puker

I have a decision to make in the morning.

For the past 4 days or so, Owen has had some sort of intestinal thing.  Very clingy, needy... You get the picture.  I think he's just about over it, though.

Tonight at 1 am- I wake up to Wyatt puking.  Now, keep in mind, if there's ever anything wrong, he pukes.  He's my puker.  However, I don't know if I should consider him actually sick...

It's Thanksgiving.  We're supposed to be at the in-law's house in about 9 hours.  I am cooking 5 things (half are ready to go)...

Do I take him anyway?  Do I "forget" to mention this puking episode?

I think I might...  If he doesn't puke again...

*sigh*

Decisions...

Happy Thanksgiving!


*** Update:  More puke 30 minutes later.  Looks like we'll be chilling at home tomorrow, watching Cars and Little Bill and Dinosaur Train and the Backyardigans...  Maybe I can sneak up to my sewing room and finish quilting myself a Christmas quilt!  Wouldn't that be nice???

Nap Time: Coasters.

I sewed today.  I made 4 or 5 sets of coasters.  Sorry I don't have a picture.  My kids have been SERIOUSLY needy today/tonight.  I'm about 2 minutes from my head hitting the pillow and drifting quickly off to sleep.

I sandwiched a dozen or so more layer cake pieces to make more sets of coasters.  This will be my standard gift for all the women in my life this holiday season.

I've used my Alexander Henry Christmas layer cake.  It's almost completely gone.  Made a couple of potholders, too...  May make more, but if I do, I'll have to break into my last Kate Spain 12 Days of Christmas layer cake... And I seem to be saving it for something.  Not sure what.  My sister, Laura took a fancy to it.  Maybe I'll make her a Christmas throw for her November birthday next year.  We shall see.

I put my St. Nick Swap stuff in the mail today.  Very excited to mark that off my to do list.  No major swaps in the works now.  I just have to send away a secret santa item to someone in my vintage sheet bee.  Will probably include coasters, a potholder, an ornament or two and maybe some vintage sheet fat quarters...  Maybe some Christmas candy?  Or a holiday fat quarter...  Don't quite know yet.  I'd like to get it together this weekend, though.  Picked up a box at the post office, so I can start filling it up now.

I am plum tuckered out.  Goodnight, everyone.

PS  Check out the kudos I got from my fantabulous quilter, Angela on her blog, Quilting is my Therapy. 

Assembly line

Tonight I have grand plans. Will be making lots of potholders & coasters assembly line style. Going to try to sandwich & pin a bunch of potholders while the kids r up. They'll be ready to
sew tonight. Might try doing grommets instead of loops. I'm so fancy!

I think I'll work on coasters too. Any interest in a tutorial? I promise they are quick & painless!

Quick Coasters

Quick Coasters, originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes.

Are you short on time? Do you like to make crafty things for your loved ones?

I have the answer, my friend.

Tonight, I chopped up some leftover batting into the size of a layer cake.

With them, I made reversible coasters with raw edges that I cut with my pinking shears.

Put a piece of batting between two cute fabrics (you can use charm squares, but I made 4 at once with 10 inch pieces of layer cakes).

I sewed around the edge, then in a cross pattern and chopped... trimmed with shears and I was finished!

So fast.

Will tie them up with some leftover strips of fabric and call it good!

Sneak Peek

Working on binding my St. Nick wall hanging. It's for a swap...

Today's Progress

Mom leaves tomorrow. :(

Has been a good visit!

Today she helped me by making lots of bias binding for me.  I hate doing that.  She loves it.  Perfect!

I did some work on a Christmas gift...  Cut up some charm pack scraps and glued them onto blank stationary.  Will randomly stitch around it and trim it around the paper.  I'll make 4 or so and tie them together with their envelopes and cute ribbon.  Instant gift.  Will try to post pictures.

I also made progress on my second butterfly quilt for a baby that's due in May.  I'd love to finish it by Christmas to give it to the mommy-to-be... but I think that's probably overly optimistic.  However, I have everything I need as far as backing/batting/binding now...  I might be able to pull it off.  Maybe.

Am hopeful I can get an hour or two of sewing in tomorrow during naps.  Maybe some more after I get the kids to bed.  Bedtime around here has become a real struggle for the kiddos.  I'm going to have to make some changes.

I think my 2 year old is ready for some normalcy.  We've had company, daddy's been gone... Brother's been grumpy and we are all sleep-deprived.  He wants as much of my attention as possible.  And he also wants me to take him to the zoo.  Every day.  *sigh*  He was kicking his bedroom door and sounding really pitiful for the better part of an hour (with a couple of interruptions of giggles when I relented by going into his room to dry his tears)...

My 3 year old insisted (at 11:45 pm tonight) that since he was still awake, it'd be a great idea to go visit his grandparents who live 20 minutes away.  Needless to say, that didn't happen.

Maybe I should get some sleep since they're sleeping now...  Sorry for the lack of pictures the last few days.  Will make up for it soon.  I promise!

My Mom is Here...

and that, my friends, means that things are getting done around here!

Got my swap item for the St. Nick Swap on Flickr pieced, basted and ready to quilt.  Bought some thread for it today, too.

Got Parthena's baby quilt pieced and basted.  Ready to quilt!  Must decide on thread and how I'll quilt it...  Maybe wavy lines with my new leather roller foot...

(As I type this, I am trying to ignore my children banging on their bedroom doors, singing and trying to do anything but sleep)

And I got my Christmas quilt that I'm making for myself basted, too!  I was going to give it away in the St. Nick Swap, but in the end, I decided that I'd spent too much $ and time on it... Didn't want my partner to feel like I'd done more than she had... and I fell in love with the fabric... so I decided to go another route for the swap.  Am hopeful I can get it finished soon!  The binding is what will be my downfall.  I don't have any particular fabric set aside for it...  Must think on that one...

I got mom hooked on making mug rugs.  She's I even got her more involved with flickr.  Hopefully, she will pick up quilting again soon.  She has had a lot going on in her life the past couple of years.  She retired and moved to another state...  Big changes and a new house...  Yardwork galore and grandmother duties... Everything gets in the way of her quilting.  But we found a GREAT fabric shop not terribly far from her in Humble, TX (It's a Stitch... go there online.  It's fabulous) and so I think I've talked her into taking a class to get back into it.  Let's hope!

I am needing to get serious about Christmas gifts!  I have done almost no shopping.  Every  year prior to this one, I've had Christmas gifts all taken care of by Thanksgiving.  Not going to happen this year.  I also make gifts for everyone, too.  Even if it's just an ornament... Nothing is made yet.  Yikes!

I would really like to finish up the other butterfly quilt I'm making for my cousin, Kristen.  We're 80% sure she's having a girl in May.  Should know before Christmas one way or the other.  The quilt is about 60% finished...  It's just like Parthena's, which is about 80% finished.  Parthena is due in January, though... and it is COLD here in January.  Her baby is the first girl in the family (2 big brothers), so I think she needs some handmade pink things to keep her warm.  I suspect she will come early, so I need to get jiggy with it.

I want to quilt a top that I made about a year ago (no... 2 years ago!) for Owen before Christmas.  It'll be very warm for his bed.  It's the softest flannel I have ever seen.  Feels almost like soft wool.  Very thick.   It's just a small throw, so I think I can do it.

I picked up a charity quilt for Safe Home, which is a battered women's/children's shelter here in town.  They have a shortage of twin sized quilts.  Thought I could get some quick practice in on straight lines with my new feet before diving into my other quilts.

I want to make sets of coasters for my two sisters, my mom, my aunt, my cousin, my grandmother, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law.  That will really add up if I make 4 coasters per person.  Yikes!  Luckily, I think I have a method that won't take too long.

If the spirit moves me, I will whip together some potholders from layer cakes.  Nothing fancy, but cute.  I have some great Christmas fabric.

And I intend to make some stationary by sewing fabric scraps onto some blank cards.  These will be gifts, too.

I am behind on making doll quilts for my nieces and nephews.

Sigh.  I need more time.  Mom leaves the day after tomorrow.  I'm thinking of bringing my sewing machine downstairs...

Enough rambling!  I have quilting to do!  Night, everyone!