Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!

Louis Hippolyte

My husband and I are proud to announce that Louis was born on 9 December at 10h36 weighing in at 3kg 145g and measuring 48 cm (6 pounds 15 ounces & 19 inches). 

Everyone is happy and healthy.  Louis is perfect, and we are all settling into our new lives!

 Day 1

 Day 4

Day 5 - heading home!

More photos of his little quilt to follow...

Winner - Grinch Scraps Giveaway

Congratulations Diane! The Grinch scraps are yours!

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments - I had fun making his quilt!

Grinch Wedding Quilt

As soon as I saw that Robert Kaufman was releasing a How the Grinch Stole Christmas fabric line, I immediately pre-ordered a fat quarter bundle and some yardage, knowing that it would make the perfect wedding quilt for a close friend.  I know that a Christmas-themed quilt for a wedding (especially one in May) seems rather odd, but my friend adores Christmas movies, and the Grinch is firmly at the top of her list of favorites.  The fabric wasn't released until just after her wedding, so the present was a few months late -though judging from her delight when opening it, I don't think she minded!

The design is pretty simple - I used nine of the images from the panel and framed each with red and green yardage from the collection and then joined it all together with 3.5" squares.   

I embroidered a label for the back in honor of their wedding.

Give away : I have some leftover scraps and squares... Let me know in the comments if you're interested, and I'll choose a winner at random on Thursday.

I am linking up to Fabric Tuesdayat Quilt Story - check out this week's projects.

Mom's Pampered Pooch

At last I have a new finished quilt to share!

I started this one secretly back in March as a surprise for my mom's birthday in August, working on it on and off  to finish in time.  I used a jelly roll of Pampered Pooch by Chloe's Closet for Moda for the front and yardage for the borders and backing.  The pattern is from Scrap-Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett, though I added the triple border.  I love 30's reproduction fabrics, and my mom loves Scotties, so this was an obvious fabric choice.  I especially like the splashes of red throughout the top, which I feel break up the pastels making it less sugary sweet .

My husband kindly photographed the quilt at our favorite spot in the botanical gardens near our apartment before I packed it up and sent it off to my mom.

I love this shot in front of the metro station on the way to the garden. 

Since I know the Scotties are my mom's favorite part of this fabric line, I made sure that the vertical borders included a column of Scotties.

I machine quilted lines through the center of each strip and then hand quilted Scottie silhouettes with Perle cotton in the center of each of the twenty white squares. 

I sort of made the back up as I went along...
Initially, I found a Scottie block almost identical to this one this one somewhere, but it didn't include any measurements or instructions, so I just guessed at the proportions and created a somewhat giant Scottie for the center.  Then I saw the Pampered Pooch quilt pattern using super cute bones in one of the borders.  Again, I didn't have the pattern or any guidelines, so I just improvised. 

This was the first time I added a label to one of my quilts - just a simple back stitch in embroidery floss.

I am linking up to Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story - check out all of the Halloween projects!



WIP Wednesday - Log Cabin Progress

Much progress had been made on the sewing goats log cabin blocks - I've finished 15 of the 20 blocks and have the fabric cut for the final 5.   I fear it will take me a long time to decide on a final layout, plus when I just spread the blocks on the bed to photograph them, I realised that I used the same yellow and white stripe on the outside of several blocks and didn't repeat any other fabrics as often, so I may go back and change one or two of those.  Also, I have absolutely no idea how I want to quilt this one...any ideas?  

I only noticed after finishing the block that the small orange floral print matches the jacket on the dress form almost exactly!

After tossing her off the bed several times while trying to shoot the blocks, I finally gave in and let Luna have a lounge on the fabric.  She was in another room sleeping soundly before I started.  Seriously, fabric is like kitty crack, and quilts are even worse!

I am linking up to Works in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced - go check out everyone's progress this week.

Baby Lovie Blanket

I finished up my first project for the baby last week.  I made a lovie with two fat quarters of Japanese fabric - a super soft linen and cotton stripe with cherries and strawberries and a sweet hedgehog and squirrel print on the back.  I added fabric tags on all four sides and then sewed them closed, as they would have been large enough to entangle tiny arms and legs.  Rather than quilt the blanket, I've tacked it down using the decorative heart stitch on my machine and then top stitched around the edges.  Fast, easy and cute - I'm really pleased with the result!

I am linking up to Fabric Tuesday - check out everyone's projects...

Sewing Goats

I am seriously loving these log cabin blocks - they are so much fun to put together.  I'm halfway through with the green blocks and then on to the blue and beige blocks...  As the center squares have so much character, I have been trying to use more discreet fabrics for the logs.  I am also using several different shades of Robert Kaufman Essex Linen and strips of the goat fabric in contrasting colors in an effort to keep the main focus on the center of the blocks.

WIP Wednesday - pigs, goats and sushi

With the new addition to our family arriving in December, I am obsessing about baby quilts...so many ideas and plans but never enough time! 

With my husband out of town last weekend, I was able to start two new quilt projects.  It is my turn to send out fabric for the Blockheadz bee group, and I am requesting a basic star block using Cluck Cluck Sew's excellent tutorial.  I cut the fabric for 16 different star centers with coordinating points and am using Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in natural for the background.  After piecing two blocks myself to double check that I cut enough fabric before sending it off and to make sure I was happy with the design, I have decided to add borders to each block once they are returned to me using the same fabrics as the stars.  I even managed to get a head start and cut all of the border strips, which should make the quilt top assembly pretty quick when the blocks are sent back in September.

I broke down and used some of my fiercely hoarded and precious Heather Ross Munki Munki sushi fabric.  My sister sent me a leg panel a while back, and I just love it so much that it hurts to cut into it. 

The fantastic Japanese fabric in this block is a fun stripe which I found at Super Buzzy - they have so many pig fabrics...my weakness!

My second start this week is on these little sewing goats.  I fussy cut twenty 5 inch squares of the various scenes on these fabrics in green, blue and beige.  I also have this print in a bright pink color way, but I figured that would probably result in a slightly too girly quilt for a little boy.  As you can see, the fabric is a thicker cotton/linen blend.  My plan is to use the squares as the center of log cabin blocks - I'll keep you updated on the progress!

I am linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced - pop over and have a look.

Blockheadz - Jenny's and Carrie's blocks

Hello!  Yes, I'm still here and still sewing...

It's been a slow couple of months for several reasons.  Not only has it been crazy busy at work, but I have been working on a couple of secret projects that I can't share here because they are gifts for people who also follow my blog (almost finished and ready to share!)  And lastly, but certainly not least, my husband and I are expecting our first baby (a boy!) in December, and the first trimester kind of kicked my butt.  Thankfully much of my energy is back, and I have tons of new projects all lined up...

This weekend I was able to catch up on my Blockheadz bee blocks.  Jenny asked for wonky stars, which I really enjoyed making and definitely see more of in my future!  Carrie left us free to choose our own block design, so I picked a hand-pieced hexagon bock and a stacked block, both inspired by The Sometimes Crafter.  I didn't follow her instructions exactly, though I should have because my weak math skills resulted in the top and bottom strips of the stacked block being narrower than the rest, but I still like it and hope Carrie does too!

I am linking up to Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story - go check out all the other projects...