A few small projects finished

I'm linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday, Busy Hands Quilts is taking a week of so no Linky Party there today.

These two little organizers were started at a retreat in May and finished this week. On the left is called a Button Boat and was taught at a project by a member. No pattern here but you can buy one or see another picture at Lazy Girl Designs. I am a fan of Lazy Girl patterns.

The little scrappy string zippered pouch was made from a pattern I received from a friend for my birthday a few years ago. I made the large one and now the smaller one. Here is a pic of the larger one, I use it in my gym bag for toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and lipstick and cologne.

Needless to say , I didn't use up as many string as I had hoped. It was fun and pretty darn easy. You can't read it here, but the pattern is from V and Co. "String Block Zipper Pouch"


Also this week I worked on a Challenge Project for May for The Sewing Center's UFO Challenge.. I got it in just under the wire.

The prompt for May was to make some thing for a guy. Well this is for my oldest Great Grandson. I bought the panel when our only LQS was closing. I added the star fabric to make it reversible to give it some substance and to avoid all those 1/4 inch hems!  All the other pieces were printed on the panel and finished with double fabric, stitched and turned or a raw edge finish, stitched and pinked around the edges.

 All seven year olds need a super hero according to the book I am currently reading.

At least he can have his own cape and mask and wristbands.  He can be a superhero himself. He is going to be a new big brother in August, so he will be a superhero to her I am sure. 

Have a great weekend and a good start to summer if your in the US and northern hemisphere. and a mild fall if you in the southern hemisphere. 

Today is our anniversary, so probably not much sewing will be done. Although maybe we will both just spend time in our respective hobby rooms and celebrate for dinner. It's 53 years for us and I look forward to hopefully at least a few more! 

March Finishes : Church Lady Apron and Bib Apron

2017 is turning out to be a pretty good year for finishes for me.  I have 3 different challenge lists and that is keeping me focused.

The Sewing Center/Fabric City UFO Challenge has a list of themes for each month. Then I have to chose which item on my L-O-N-G list of UFO's fits the theme and get it finished in the month. Then I post a picture to the proper album on their Facebook page and they draw winners of coupons or fabric every month. That is good motivation for some, I just need the "peer pressure" to get busy!. The link above with direct you to their page on Facebook, the UFO Challenge is a closed group, so you are unable to see all the projects.

The theme for March is "Spring". I am not a flowery, spring color kind of girl. I lean toward fall colors, so that was a hard one for me. One of my UFOs was to make a Church Lady apron. The pattern is by Mary Mulari, a fequent contributor on Sewing with Nancy on PBS,  Then I found an apron pre printed panel that I had cut out, ready to sew. IDEA!  Back the bib apron panel with springy fabric and give to granddaughter #1 for Easter. Make the Church Lady Apron for me, to wear while cooking Easter dinner!  I had some cute bottle cap fabric and a coordinating cross hatch print. Done!

They are reversible to should be sturdy enough and useful. 

The All People Quilt ( American Patchwork and Quilting) 2017 UFO Challenge goes like this. I filled out a chart, posted on their web site. Then at the beginning of each month, a number is posted on the challenge groups Facebook page. At the end of the month, I record the progress made on the ufo. It doesn't have to be finished. But can be, of course. #12 was drawn for March. Number 12 on my list was to finish a play/activity quilt for our first Great Granddaughter, Bella. The quilt stays at our house, so she has a safe place on the floor. I finished that too. 

   There is a strip added near the top, with taggies and loops to attach toys. The long looking piece is a striped ribbon I couldn't throw away. I added an empty plastic thread spool.  She loved it. Near the bottom is a printed panel section left over from her brother's Winnie the Pooh quilt. I made small square fabric pillows and attached them to several pictures on the panel for a Peek-a-boo effect.

Last but not least I made a teething ring with bunny ears attached. It is fabric and toweling. Gives a great Handle to hold on to and catch the drool!

 I am pleased to have these 3 UFO's off my list. 

My other challenge is a local group I belong to. We do a project every 60 days. I posted about the first project, dice roll #5 .HERE.  

I am posting these finishes to Crazy Mom Quilts'  Finish It Up Friday!   This post was written and published on the 12th, too late for Friday the 10th. So I am linking it today, the 17th. 

PS:  I finished a book too!  Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb. 

Another travel pillow finished + not quite finished but only step away!

Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts. 

Last Friday I showed the little pink pillow I made for our great granddaughter. I couldn't give it to her and leave her big brother out, so I quickly sewed up this travel pillow from some scraps. Jojo loves airplanes and this was leftover fabric from a quilt I made for his "Pa", my DH.  This one has a bigger, deeper pocket and a velcro tab closure. It will hold his iPad and keep it from harm, I hope!. My plan was to finally cut up the rest of the scraps into 2.5 " strips, but cutting up those airplanes was hard. Maybe I can find another project for them. 

I also finished this quilt top. It was a kit I purchased some years ago. It was languishing in the UFO bin.  It still needs to go to the longarm quilter, but the binding is ready for when it returns.  As soon as the label is attached, all these scraps will be cut and put in the proper colored basket.

This month I hope to finish a couple of aprons for my granddaughter and an activity quilt for the little one. So many projects and now I learn there is to be another great granddaughter before the summer is over, so there is yet another quilt to be made.  Looking forward to that one too. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

February Finishes - Book and Sewing Projects.

I only finished reading The Guilty by David Baldacci.

You can check out my review  here.

 I am still wading through the Karen Kingsbury collection on my Kindle.

That may be why it is taking me so long. That and the fact that I have been  nursing a sick Mr. Busy and I have been in my sewing room a great deal.

I have completed these, this month.

This was still in kit stage on Feb 1st. It still has to be quilted. I send mine to a longarmer. That requires a bit of saving, so it will wait for a complete finish for a bit. This was my February challenge for American Patchwork and Quilting's 2017 UFO Challenge.

And I did these little pillows for my 2 great grandchildren.

 This little pillow matches the quilt I made for Bella before she was born. I finally got around to making a label with her birth statistics and a little pillow I hope her mama will use when she is nursing. It has a handle for ease of caring to a rocking chair and a shallow pocket for breast shields or maybe mama's cell phone.

I couldn't let her big brother be forgotten, so I gathered some scraps from Mr Busy's airplane quilt and made Jojo a pillow too. His has a deeper pocket to hold a book, or more likely his iPad. A velcro strap will secure the tablet in the pocket when he carries it to and from "Gwamma and Pa's" house. He is a big fan of the movie "Planes" and know that Pa has a model of the Corsair F4U that is  on this bag...:Skipper" in the movie. 

I sent this one to our oldest great grandson for Valentine's Day. He lives in Arizona, he will be 7 in July. His grandpa, our son, is a Bronco fan. I got a "thumbs up" thank you from his mom. 

And one last finish: 

It's a Mondo Bag. Over 200,  2 1/2 inch squares sewed to an interfacing. It has batting too and is large and quite heavy. I hope I remember not to load it too heavy or I won't be able to lift it.  I love the colors though. 

That is it for February. Now on to March and it's challenges. I will be reading two books written in verse. 

 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.  I am looking forward to this "new to me" format. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Finish It Up Friday! And February

Yesterday was my birthday. I spent it mostly stitching with a wonderful group of friends. But I did get some time in my sewing room.

One of my challenges this year is with a group from a LQS in Rapid City SD. It's my hometown and though we have been gone from there for 40 years, it still feels like home. Some family is still there and it's where my kids were born. I digress!

The February challenge was to finish "something for someone you love". That's easy, right?  Lots of things are done for people I love, but I chose to finally make the label for my youngest great granddaughter's quilt. I presented the quilt to my granddaughter at the baby shower before Isabella was born. I did not have the "facts" then and had every intention of doing a label right away. Well, Bella will be 8 months old on the 7th of March, so I am really late. In penance, I decided a pillow was a great accompaniment. I purchased the quilt kit from Shabby Fabrics and there was lots of fabric left over. And because it had fussy cut roses and stripes there was extra. So I made a pillow with a shallow pocket and a handle. I hope her momma will use it when she nurses her, a place to tuck a breast shield or maybe her cell phone. The handle will make it easy to carry from rocker to rocker, room to room.

Here is the quilt:

and here is the pillow and label.

I'll attach the label this weekend. 

On to a few more finishes.  I am linking this up to "finish it up Friday" at Crazy Mom Quilts and the Sewing Center UFO Challenge Face Book page. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy