I Love this Book

I bought this book online from fishpond without ever actually seeing it and I love love it. I want to make the cover quilt and my daughter loves it so hopefully I will make it for her.

I also love this one. Deb and I decided that we should start with a small project first so we will be making this cushion below.

However I could not wait so I made this cushion from a bag pattern. I really like how it turned out. I used some dark Kona charms with Kona Natural and Black.

I only wanted to use scraps as I am saving my black for 2 city quilts I plan/hope to make so I pieced the back with leftovers from the charms. My husband prefers the back!

When skill does not meet expectation

So what do you do when your skill does not meet your expectations. I usually try to change the pattern slightly. I decided to make the stacked coin quilt by crazy mom quilts from moda bakeshop. Once I had the coins assembled in rows I realised that my rows were different lengths. My cutting and sewing were not entirely accurate. If I had have thought of it before I started I would have used different widths of coins but it was too late for that. I knew it would drive me nuts when I sewed the columns because I would see that the coins did not line up. Sooo I cut 1 inch from the top of row 1,3 and 5 and cut 1 inch from the bottom of row 2 and 4. This is a bit weird as all the other coins are the same size but it works for me because it takes the pressure of matching seams. I had planned to make two of these exactly the same for my 3 year old twin nieces but not sure now. I think I might find a new pattern to try.

It looks alright but I don't think I will make 2. I think I will use this one to practice quilting and give it to a charity.

I just found the perfect coin quilt for me. It is the sliced coin quilt at Don't Call Me Betsy.



We are back in the Bay

 We have just got home from three great weeks in Perth. We caught up with family and friends and did some tourist things too. The only sewing thing I have to show is  the wall hanging I made mum. It is from a patchwork and stitching magazine. It is meant to be applique but I stitched it instead.

Here are a few photos of some of the things we did.

Christmas Stuff

I made two mug rugs to go with a table runner I made a couple of years ago so I could give them to my parents this year. The only problem is I lost a mug rug. I cleaned my sewing room and now it has disappeared. This is what happens when you clean up!
The mug rug is a free design using this tutorial by Megan. It was part of the mug rug madness holiday addition over at Erin's blog, Two More Seconds.

Ready to be trimmed

I got an early Christmas present of a charm packs and decided to make half square triangles. There are so many quilts I want to make using these that I will decide later what to do. I will probably make some more with fabric from my stash before making any decisions.

An early Christmas present and a summer quilt

 I decided to give Dave a canvas of a photo he took of the Golden Gate Bridge when we were in San Francisco for Christmas. I was so excited at how it turned out that I had to give it to him early. I came up with many excuses to justify it but really I just could not wait! It is not often that I think of something he will love. I had the photo put on a canvas in black and white. The only problem is that I think it would look better on a  different colour wall.

 I decided to try something different with my jelly roll race quilt and make it a summer quilt. I did not use batting and put a green flannel on the back ( it does not show up in the photo). I love how it feels. I t is so light and drapes beautifully. I now want to try using flannel instead of batting. I quilted it with straight lines along the seams.         


                                 

I could not resist taking a photo with Brittanys new dog. It is solar powered and wags it tail in the sun.

Ready For The Quilter!

 I added the borders to this quilt in anticipation of going to a quilt shop with a friend and leaving it with a quilter. The photo does not do the fabric justice and it will make a great wall hanging. I bought a kit in Paducah (oh so long ago) from Fern Hill. The fabric and quilts Stephanie designs and makes are amazing.

 It is nearly Brittany's birthday and I like to make her something. She has a great quilt cover which is white with a black desk and dog silhouette on it. I would take a picture but her room is a bit scary. I will make this into a cushion for her bed.

I wanted to make something quick and easy so I made this zippered pouch. I used the Lazy girls design perfect pouches pattern. Not sure what I will do with it but the fabric looks great.