Oklahoma Blizzard and a finish..

There's no sun today in my creative "sunny" haven :(  I wasn't going to let that stop me from sewing though.  Thankfully, we haven't lost power.  So I got a very important project out to work on, so excited to be able to finish it today...I didn't buy enough fabric for the 2nd border (@$#%%^$%$%)...

No trips to my LQS today...or probably the rest of the week.

Poor Mojo wants to play outside so bad.  I'm such a mean mommy.  I don't want to open the door or the snow will be IN my house.  Every door is blocked by snow drifts...this is actually the shortest drift!

Well, since I'm snowed in anyway, now's a good time to share my latest finish with you...

This one is for a very sweet friend that we thought we were losing just a few years ago. When I saw this quilt, I knew I had to make it for her.

The pattern can be found here.

I quilted it myself on my Flynn...fun fun.

LOVE the backing.

I survived...

...the holidays, that is!  But just barely.  Right after Christmas, we had company.  Our sweet friends from Mexico, G and Cesia came to spend the New Year with us.  They got here on friday and by monday, I had the flu.  Boo.

BUT while I was aching and chilling, Cesia was working on her first quilt.  She wanted to learn how and I wasn't going to let a little fever keep me from helping her.  She made a baby rag quilt out of flannels and it really was the CUTEST thing and I've waited to blog about it because I didn't get a pic of it before they left on thursday morning.  She promised she would take a pic and then left it at her parent's house on her way back to San Luis.  So I'm still waiting on that pic...but I'm so proud of her, I just had to brag.  So, Cesia, now it's a lot more than just me who wants to see that pic...just saying.

Before Christmas I was working on a commissioned quilt that I hope to show pics of soon.  So, so far I guess this is the most boring blog post EVER.

Oh, wait!  Ok, so after the New Year and our company were gone, I decided to make a few handmade gifts for Christmas.  Oh, I know Christmas is over, but who's gonna say "no" to a handmade gift?  As most of you know, I'm a hair stylist in my "other" life.  I found this tute by accident one day, and just KNEW I had to make these for my girls at work.

It's a case for your flat iron! 

I have a case that I paid WAY too much for and have thought several times, "I could make that."  But I wasn't crazy about the design.  then I found this cool tutorial.   This one is different because...

...it has a flap that holds your cord, nice and secure.  Now I can pick it up anyway I want and my precious (and very expensive) CHI doesn't fall out.  Genius!
I did change it slightly, though.  I wanted the seam that is made by the pocket to land in the middle of the case, so I shortened the width of the pocket by a 1/2 in.  I also did not want to mess with trying to line up bias tape on the front AND back and just "hoping" that I'm catching both.  So I made my own bias binding and sewed it on the same way I would machine sew a binding on a quilt.  If the stitches showing on the inside of the case would bother you, you could just hand-stitch the binding down to the other side.  I also went ahead and quilted the body of each case.  It doesn't seem right to put batting inside an item (insulated or not) and then NOT quilt it.

I almost finished a Christmas gift for a very dear friend...didn't quite get it quilted, but here's the top...

I found the pattern at the Moda Bake Shop and bought a kit for it from the designer Natalia over at Piece N Quilt.  I'll post finished pics later...you know, when it's finished.

And just a little side-note...I've been wondering lately...How do you suppose God was able to create the whole world and everything in it, without making a huge mess?  My sewing room is a disaster area!

Out of the strain of the doing, into the peace of the done...

~Julia Woodruff, Gone

I borrowed this one from Stray Stitches blog.  I don't know where she finds quotes for her posts, but she's had some GREAT ones.  This quote spoke to me because I have worked on this baby quilt for 3 months now.  (Found the pattern here).  It shouldn't have taken me this long, but I had the hardest time with the quilting. I thought I wanted to use my Flynn frame and just stipple it, but the length of the quilt was too much for the 48" rods that come with the frame.  I have been to every place in my little town that might possibly have pvc pipe and/or emt rods that I could use to do larger quilts with my frame, but was unsuccessful.  The more time that went by, the more trouble I had finding the motivation I needed to finish. I finally finished it last week.  I decided done is best.  So when I read this quote, I could truly relate.  I am feeling that peace, and it feels good.  But I will not be posting any close-ups of the quilting on this one.

Since it took me so long, I figured I would throw in a little sorry-it-took-so-long gift, so baby Britton also got a teddy to go with his quilt.  And here's something that I thought was pretty cool with this quilt...

His mama thought it would be cool if I could somehow incorporate a piece of her wedding gown.  So I pieced this block right in the center of the back of his quilt.  VERY cool.  As much as I want to see the quilts I make being used and loved, I do take it as a compliment when mama says it's too pretty to use and she plans to hang it on the wall in his room.

It amazes me how a finish can motivate me to mark more things off my list...

It's time to tackle the Christmas list.  I'm praying the motivation I feel right now will last.  I NEED it to last!

I'm still quilting...

I know I've been quiet for awhile (can't say I didn't warn ya'll)

but I HAVE been busy.

We went with a group from our church on a missions trip to San Luis Potosi, Mexico...amazing, exhausting, humbling...more pics here. But before we left, I made this... Yep. It's another Circle Around quilt. But this time, I made it the size of the original pattern (twin) AND I used a full-sized flat sheet for the backing, and a pillowcase (cut on bias) for the binding. The pillowcases came as a set of 2, so the other one will be used as a cover for the quilt when not in use...and a pillowcase when it IS being used ;)

Straight line quilting (which I didn't think I would like) makes this quilt the current favorite in this house. My daughter seems to think it belongs at college with HER. But it currently sits on the couch (or in my lap).

When we got home from Mexico, I guess the stress and exhaustion (totally worth it) caught up with me and I caught a cold. So no sewing for the 10 days in Mexico and then again for the weekend after...

But this past weekend, I knew it was time to get back to work. While we were away, a friend from work had a baby boy. I can't wait to meet him, but in the meantime, I'm working on this...
Found the pattern in the Moda Bake Shop, of course.

Ok, back to work...oh, who am I kidding?!

;)

Have a blessed day!

So many projects, so little time!

I haven't posted in awhile because I have truly been trying to mark things off my "to-do" list. We've had birthdays and weddings, babies born, road trips...in between all the busy-ness, here's what I've been working on... Turned this...
...into this.
Using my new Twister tool. Fun fun. Except, I'm having trouble finding the motivation to add any borders. This may be one of the quilt tops I use to practice on when I get my long arm machine. Someday.

Finished this pillow a couple of weeks ago for a sweet friend who had her 90th birthday on July 3rd.

You guys saw this one (still on the frame) in a previous post and I never got around to showing the finished quilt. So here it is with it's teddy bear companion.

Also finished this one from the Moda Bake Shop.

My 1st bias binding. Not as difficult as I thought it would be.

This latest finish is for a 3 yr old friend. This cool quilt was featured on the cover of Quilts and More magazine. I had just bought an Olfa circle cutter and could hardly wait to use it. This quilt was so fast and fun to make. It's the 1st pattern I've made that I KNOW I'll be making more of.
The backing is pink flannel to make it extra snuggly. I went ahead and washed it to see how pretty the raw edges would turn out. Love it.

I still have a loooooong list to conquer. [Taking a deep breath...]
Have a blessed day.
Darlene :)

Told ya so!

I told you I was bad at keeping a journal! I wasn't lying...it's been over 2 wks since my last post. I hope everybody had a great Memorial weekend. God bless the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Unlike most, we didn't have family come over. It was just us. Actually, by dinner time, it was literally just us. My husband and me. The kids all went their separate ways and we were left with a giant platter of grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. Sorry I didn't think to take pics of that platter (it really was yummy) but I had no intention of blogging about it :)

I DID get a lot done this weekend though. I love my husband so much for letting me be lazy. What I mean by "lazy" is...when I don't feel like doing anything else (housework, laundry, etc...), he will leave me alone to sew. He is so patient with me when I get on a roll and can't concentrate on anything else. He just lets me be me.

Saturday, we went to a beautiful outdoor wedding and all I could think about was this baby quilt I had seen at the Moda Bake Shop a few weeks back. I had bought the materials from Natalia over at Piece n Quilt back when I saw this. I wanted it to look just like the sample at the Bake Shop and I couldn't wait to get back home and get started on it.This one's for a friend who just had a baby boy 2 wks ago. It was so easy and fun to put together. I will definitely be making more of these. I can hardly wait to get this one on the frame and get it finished.This one was already on the frame and had been there for over a month. I think my husband was just so grateful to not have to look at the frame leaning against the dining room wall. But I have more baby quilts ready to be loaded, so I had to get this one done. It's a donation quilt. It still needs binding, but it's quilted at least.
This is the frame I keep talking about. It's the Multi-frame from John Flynn. I love love LOVE this frame. Of course, my dream is to one day own my own long-arm machine, but this will do for now. I can comfortably do baby quilts or wall hangings up to about 45 inches wide with this frame. The quilt on it now is for a baby shower coming up on sunday for a friend at church who is having a boy and they are HUGE OU fans. Since I actually have a real job to go to tomorrow, not sure if this one will get finished, but I will do my best.

OH! And I made a bear for a friend who is adopting a 4 yr-old boy. It's amazing how exhausting is to be so "lazy"! Tomorrow, it's back to reality.