Baby Bunting - Newborn Girl

Since I've finished all my gift wrapping and cookie making for the holidays, I was able to finish this bunting today. It also helps that work is soooooo slow and I could work on it during the day.

I began this project a month ago. I love working with flannel but wanted to make something other than a quilt. Many visits to the pattern department at Joann's later I found a very cute pattern (McCall's- M5963). It is an "easy" pattern too which made it even that more attractive. The pattern called for fleece but I thought it would work well in flannel too and it did. I changed the zipper to velcro tabs for a different look. It is a newborn size.

Final Quilt of the year

This is the final quilt I will sew this year. I know there are three weeks left but I'm busy wrapping gifts and ready to try sewing some baby clothes to change things up a bit.

I really didn't know how many baby quilts I had made this year until I counted them up and I've made eleven! My goal was to make one a month and I came pretty close to that. It was great fun and good for me to have something creative to do so I won't watch too much TV or otherwise get bored. Work has been quite slow this year and the blessing of that is I've had more time and energy to do creative things.

TINY LADYBUG BABY QUILT

Selecting the fabric is one of the highlights of sewing a quilt. When I selected the fabric for this quilt I was very excited about the combination of fabrics I chose until I cut out all the squares and lay them out together on the floor. I was disappointed at how it looked at first, thinking this wasn't going to be one of my favorites.

But I went ahead with it and once the first border was added it began to take shape and once it was finished I discovered that it is my favorite quilt so far. That's usually how I feel about each quilt when I'm finished but this one really is my favorite. I think because the colors just seem like what a new born baby would like.

This quilt is a variation of the previous quilt. I made it more square with more borders and of course the new binding.

Butterflies & Flowers Baby Quilt

I found a very cute baby quilt on line which was asymetrical. I liked the look and decided to try one of my own since all the others I have made have been symetrical. It was fun to design and more interesting to sew and quilt.

I also bound the edges with binding instead of using the sandwich style. I had been resisting this until I found a tutorial online which demonstrated making a binding by using a facing. It was very simple to do and I love the look of it. Now I enjoy all the steps required to make a small quilt. I will use this method on all future quilts. The tutorial for the facing binding is: http://barnyardchatter.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/facings-an-alternative-to-traditional-bindings/.

Sun & Moon Baby Quilt

While I was making this quilt I was so pleased with how the fabric squares looked next to each other but in looking back on it now in the photo I'm thinking, "oh, I don't really like the yellow there, and not all of the squares lay flat after the machine quilting."
I enjoyed the process of making the quilt more than the outcome, and I learned what I'd do next time to improve. I think that's what creating is all about for me. I love the process of making the quilt and while in the process I'm feeling like 'this is the prettiest one yet". Then on to the next one and that becomes the fairest one of all.

After completing this quilt I realized in order to have the top layer lay flat I would need to machine quilt the pieces together first and then bind the edges. This was something I had been avoiding because of needing to cut edge strips on the bias and miter the corners. It's the traditional way to finish a quilt but I balked at it. I found a solution to this online which I will apply to my next quilt.

Moon & Stars Bear Quilt

As I move through the process of making these small simple quilts I learn something with each one. What a surprise, isn't that how all learning processes work? I learn what works and what doesn't. With each quilt I see what I would do differently next time and therefore my motivation to dash over to Joann's Fabrics to begin again.

While I'm working on whatever the current one is, I think "wow, this is the best one yet," until I work on the next one and look back at the previous quilt photo and then think, "oh, that is just okay." This is a good thing because then I can see progress. If I'm not progressing in some small way then I know I will get bored and search for something else to learn from.

Rose Garden Baby Quilt

I can't believe my last post was in May! I guess I'm not a very dedicated blogger. In any event I did finish the Baby Rose Garden Baby Quilt I was starting back then. I've been sewing additional quilts in between all our summer excursions. I've been enjoying creating these small projects.

I finally got around to taking photos of them so that I could post here.

Beginnings of a new baby quilt-Rose Garden

I'm getting adventuresome, starting to design my first quilt. I got the idea for this new quilt from the cover of Joann's Fabric weekly flyer. This will be for Baby Quilt #5. I've chosen 5 fabrics to be sewn into 25 squares with 3 fabrics per square. My plan is that the finished quilt will measure close to 36" x 36". Here are the first two of the 25 squares.

Rag Quilt

For my 4th baby quilt, I decided that I wanted to try something different. So while I was shopping for flannel at Beverly's Fabrics, I found a Rag Quilt the store had made and put on display. It looked cozy and cute and something a little different to tackle with the sewing machine. I went online to their site and found a tutorial that was easy to follow. I just had to try it. It was fun and easy as promised and here is the result.

Floral Photo Gallery

I've been on a flower craze lately, I just love the way they photograph, and now that it's spring there are so many varieties in full bloom. This weekend we visited Santa Barbara and I discovered several beautiful roses there. These are my two favorites.

Sewing for Newborns

http://www.newbornsinneed.org/

Learning to quilt

FIRST QUILT SQUARE

Recently I've made 3 baby quilts to donate to Newborns in Need (http://www.newbornsinneed.org/). Although I have many years of sewing experience I'm discovering that quilting is a craft unto itself and even though I'm pleased with the quilts I've made so far I would like to learn the art of quilting. I can see a lot of room for improvement in my quilts.


Yesterday I took Quilting 101 at Joann's Fabrics. It was a 2-1/2 hour class with just me and one other student. I had originally signed up for the class in February but it was cancelled twice since there weren't enough students enrolled. I was surprised considering how crowded the store usually is and by how much quilting fabric they sell. Maybe most people have already taken the basic quilting class. Judy, the teacher, was experienced, patient and nice. She taught us how to make a square design by using the rotary cutter and mat, the importance of cutting straight, sewing straight and ironing seams. I learned many shortcuts I would have missed if left on my own. She also taught us how to make a binding to use when finishing a quilt.

SPRING PLANTING

This is the second annual family vegetable planting. To see the results of our first year go to http://6ptstar.blogspot.com/p/vegetable-garden-2009.html .

Because the garden isn't at my house I didn't participate much last year once the seeds and plantings were in the ground. I usually would "bop" in once a week to see how things were growing but it was my sister Sandra who did the daily watering and weeding. I missed not participating in the daily activities of the garden but since we don't have room or the sun on our condo patio I was happy to participate in the initial planting at my sister's garden.

This year I've decided to plant seeds ahead of the in-ground planting as a way to participate a little more. We have enough space and warmth for this. So this week (3/17/10) I've planted seeds to grow 6 tomato plants, 6 zuchinnis, 6 bell peppers, 4 watermelon & 4 cantalope . The weather has warmed considerably, reaching in the high 70's, so it's the perfect time to begin. We'll see how it goes.

Easy Baby Quilt Tutorial

This easy baby quilt is made with flannel, but cotton will also work, and only takes a few hours to make. You will need the following:Prewash fabric.

Cut 2 each 19" x 3-1/2" strips. Stitch to the long edges of the center piece, right sides together, to create first border. Use 1/4" seams. Iron seams open.

Cut 2 more strips and stitch to the other two sides of the center piece.

Iron all seams open.

Cut 2 strips of the fabric to be used for the second border the length of the long edge and sew rights sides together. Repeat for the other two edges.

Cut 2 strips of the fabric to be used for the third border the length of the long edge and sew rights sides together. Repeat for the two other edges.



Cut the backing fabric the same size as the finished front side. Pin the batting to the wrong side of the backing fabric using safety pins. I find that curved safety pins work best.
Trim batting to match size of backing fabric.
Pin back and front fabric rights sides together. Remove safety pins. Baste edges.

Stitch front to back using 1/2" seams. Trim seams and corners. Turn inside out and push out corners. Press edges.


Top stitch 1/4" from edge of quilt. Top stitch 1/4" from edge of each border. Baste first for best results. Top stitch center piece 4" from center piece edges. Photo shows top stitching on back of quilt.

I learned how to make this quilt by watching the video on the following site: http://www.ehow.com/video_4437824_making-sandwich-quilt.html .

If you'd like to make a baby quilt but don't have a baby to give it to, Newborns in Need, http://www.newbornsinneed.org/,would love to receive it.A variation of the same quilt.

Thanks for visiting me.

Baby Blanket

I completed this baby blanket this afternoon. It took me a couple of weeks to finish it. It wasn't really all that difficult but finding time to sew comes in spurts. I'm enjoying sewing again without deadlines, sewing at my leisure allows me to savor the creating of what it is I'm making rather than rushing to have a finished product. I'm finding that I'm a lot more patient than in my younger years, both with myself and with churning things out in general.

Getting Serious

At first I thought I'd just get my feet wet with my sewing machine before purchasing any other new tools. After all I had asked for a sewing machine for Christmas without really knowing whether I'd actually use it or not. I just felt like I needed to be creative again. So, I've made a few wristlets. Is that enough? Am I ready to put my machine in the closet? Hardly.

I've begun sewing a baby quilt although it's probably not technically a quilt but more of a baby blanket considering I don't really know the difference between sewing and quilting. I do know that I need a sharp pair of scissors though and even though I still have the ones from twenty years ago I allowed them to be used for cutting paper since I thought my sewing days were over. And anyone who sews knows that cutting paper with sewing scissors is like death to them. Somehow I managed to cut out the fabric for the small wristlets using these old scissors. Really it was more like hacking away at the cloth but with wristlets the fabric can be a little off here and there and it will turn out to be good enough. But since I'm ready for larger projects I decided to splurge and buy myself a good pair of sewing scissors.

Which ones to buy? I searched the net and found that the favorite amongst seamstresses seemed to be Gingher. I ordered a pair on line, a beautiful floral handled pair. They arrived in a cool metal box with a safety guard for the tips. I've never owned such a lovely pair of sheers.

After I ordered the new scissors, I found an on-line tutorial video on how to make a baby blanket. http://www.ehow.com/video_4437824_making-sandwich-quilt.html .The instructor didn't use scissors at all but a rotary cutter. Cutting out the strips of fabric seemed so much easier with this new tool. I don't think rotary cutters existing 18 years ago. At first I thought, "I just bought these cadillac of scissors, I'm going to use them, I've always used scissors, why would I change now?" But in the back of my mind I'm thinkig that rotary thing really does look faster and slicker. Should I change and embrace the new or be stubborn and do it the way I've always done it?

And then there were three

Now that I've made a trio of these, what's next?

In high school and college, and the first few years after I entered the workplace, I wanted new and fashionable clothes. Sewing gave me endless possibilities of affordable, one-of-a-kind styles. I was motivated to sew clothes for myself. Now that I work at home, and people dress more casually than twenty odd years ago, I'm not inspired to sew clothes for myself. In addition the fabric stores don't cater to sewing clothing anymore, instead they are stocked to meet the needs of sewing crafts and baby items. I would guess that the available fabric for apparel in the fabric stores today is 5% of what it used to be. I was shocked by this at first but then realized I must adjust to change even in the fabric store. The bolts of fabric today are primarily flannel and fleece for making baby blankets, cotton for making quilts and home decorating fabrics.

What's a seamstress to do? Make baby items, quilts or decorate my home, or continue to make wristlet purses. I can only use so many of those.

So, while surfing for sewing notions I found a website (Newborns in Need) that is focused on sewing baby blankets and clothing for newborns and donating them to those in need. I love that idea. I get to be creative and feel good about helping someone too. I mean I don't need many sewn items for myself any longer and I'm thrilled to discover that others might be happy to receive what I might come up with.
If you are interested in checking this out, go to http://www.newbornsinneed.org/

I found a second site (Project Linus) that donates hand made blankets to children who have suffered a trauma or illness. http://www.projectlinus.org/index.html

First Sewing Project

It's Sunday and raining so what better day to begin my first project with my new machine.

First of all, the machine sews like a dream. Everything is just a push of the button; push a button the needle goes up, push a button the machine sews in reverse, the machine even threads itself. Even changing to the zipper foot is magical in comparison to the olden days.

I'm used to sewing with a commercial pattern so at first I wasn't sure I'd be able to follow Jody's instructions but they were so thorough and with the great photos I was able to make it all the way through without any major mishap.

Wallah!!! Here is the finished product.

http://javajem.blogspot.com/2008/02/wristlet-tutorial.html

Where do I begin?

Now that I've read the instruction booklet and watched the DVD on how to use my Brother XR-900 sewing machine I'm ready to get started. What will be my first project? I was thinking to start small and simple such as a wristlet wallet similar to the one that was stolen from my purse the week of Christmas. Instead of driving to the fabric store to peruse the pattern books like I used to, I Googled "wristlet pattern" and whallah, a beautiful blog with a wristlet tutortial appeared. The tutortial, created by Jody from Maryland, gave step-by-step instructions along with amazing photos to illustrate the process. Wow! And in addition to the amazing lesson, her wristlet design was by far the coolest one out there. I could do this, I surmised. (Click on my photo above to go to Jody's tutorial).

I've taken out some of the few sewing supplies I saved from the olden days; a few zippers, dozens of spools of thread, a raggedy tape measure, an antique pin cushion and a few samples of fabric I couldn't depart with when I gave away the rest. Surely I could start with this. Yes, except her instructions call for some interfacing which I no longer have. So I will need to run down to the fabric store (now a craft store called Joann's) after all. Maybe this weekend.

Brand spanking new sewing machine

I'm about to embark into the world of sewing again. It's been over 15 years since I laid down my pinking shears, bias tape and shoe boxes stuffed with old patterns. Why did I give it up and why am I taking it up again? Both tough questions.

My introduction to sewing was in Home Ec in seventh grade, but it was mother who taught me and my two sisters all the important things we needed to know about sewing. How to lay out the pattern on the grain of the fabric, to press (iron) every seam before moving on to the next step, to hand baste the hem, and how to take turns on the one sewing machine the four of us shared. I learned to love to sew and for the next twenty three years I stitched everything I could including my wedding gown, my daughter's layette and many of her clothes when she was younger than ten. I took a two-year apparel design course at our community college where I learned to make a tailored wool coat. I mean I loved to sew!

And then I got busy with other things, which is entirely another story, and I stopped sewing. Cold turkey.


Two years ago I gave away my old sewing machine that I had bought in college. The inexpensive model from JCPenneys that was to get me by until I could afford the top of the line. I gave it away because it was taking up space in my closet floor and I thought maybe someone out there might by happy to sew with it. Then last year I felt like I might want to sew again. Not my wardrobe like last time, but perhaps some simple things like a tote bag or decorating journal pages with fabric. Nothing too complicated.

My husband put a brand spanking new sewing machine under the Christmas tree for me this year. I have to admit that I picked it out ahead of time and steered him right toward it. It's capable of sewing button holes in a matter of seconds and has more embroidery stitches than I might ever use. When I opened the box I was surprised at how light weight it is, I can lift it easily with one hand unlike the heavy metal one my mother shared with us. It feels like a new toy. I'm savoring the instruction booklet which is unlike me. I know that threading the machine and winding the bobbin will be like reconnecting with an old friend. And with my mother.

Finally a blog of my own

I've been talking about starting a blog of my own for some time, at least since my daughter started hers while traveling through Africa two years ago. I loved keeping up with her travels by reading her blog. I want to keep a blog too, I thought at the time, but what would I write about? I was'nt an adventurer like she was, describing unusual situations and cities each day. I was at home working at the same job, living in the same town that I had been for years. So the idea of a blog of my own has been simmering for some time.

So what will I write about now that I've started? Now that I have a blogger name and address? I'm sure I will think of something interesting enough at least to keep me satisfied. I am convinced that being a participant by writing something and putting it out there will be more fulfilling in the long run than just viewing what everyone else in the world is saying and doing.