May the Quilt Be with You...

Nothing like a new baby coming along shortly to give you some inspiration!  Good friends of mine and Mr. Gnomemade are expecting their second child in June.  The first little one came along in August 2011, and she got a quilt made just for her (and Mom).  You see - mom loves everything owl and Wizard of Oz.  So, when the first little one was on her way, it was an easy decision of what type of quilt to make when I found an owl quilt pattern.  So, after months of work, Baby #1 was gifted with this quilt at the shower. 

Fast foward a year, and the Baby #1 turned one!  It seemed only fair that Dad get in the act and something that he loves.  And what does he love...nothing more than Star Wars.  I've never met a bigger fan!  So, Baby #1 got a set of Star Wars Finger Puppets. 

Well, now Baby #2 is on its way (we're not sure if it's a girl or a boy).  And since Mom got an owl quilt for Baby #1, I figured it was only fair that Baby #2's quilt is inspired by Dad.  After a lot of conversation with Mr. Gnomemade and a bunch of internet searches, I decided on an R2D2 Quilt!  I couldn't find any specific pattern, so I needed some inspiration - enter in a cute little photo on Google Images, which I used to inspire a pattern and voila...

R2D2 Baby Quilt, a photo by gnomemade quilts on Flickr.

I present to you the R2D2 quilt!  I'm pretty proud of this one!  It's made of primarily Kona Cotton solids, and is machine appliqued.  I did some interlocking square/rectangular quilting on the light blue background.  Overall, it came out pretty well, but it's a little wavy since I doubled the white fabric to keep the blue from showing through, which made that a bit thick compared to the quilted part.  But, it's a baby quilt, so hopefully Baby #2 won't mind!

And of course, a Star Wars inspired quilt needed an appropriate back.

 

 

Baby #2 is due in June, so I'm way ahead of schedule!  Woo hoo!  It's ready to be packaged up and delivered either at a baby "sprinkle" or when the baby arrives!  However, now that I think about it...dad got both a quilt and finger puppets, and mom's just gotten a quilt.  Anyone have any ideas about owl or Wizard of Oz finger puppets?  I've got over a year until Baby #2 turns one!

 

Final Stats:

R2D2 Quilt

Appliqued and Quilted by: Me!

Inspired by Pinterest /Tumblr Image

Size: ~36 x 40

Valentine's Project

With Valentine's Day coming up this week, I wanted a project that could decorate our new home for the holiday.   I had seen this tutorial on Diary of a Quilter, and had filed it away as a project I'd like to try soon. 

As I was cleaning my craft room, I came across a charm pack of Valentine's fabric, and had some quilter's linen floating around I had purchased a while ago.  Add just a little bit of Kona White and some dark gray floss, and it was a pretty quick project.

Since you could see through the white, and I didn't want any spare threads to show, I ended up quilting the front panel.  I did a meandering FMQ stitch on the white and then tried some litle loops with hearts thrown in on the tan linen.  Had never done hearts before and while they've got a long way to go - I was happy with the outcome.  It gave me some more confidence in trying some new FMQ patterns.  (I think stars will be tried for the next project!)

Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day.  Hope it's sweet!

First Finish of 2013

My small quilt goup had a challenge a while ago (noticing a trend?).  We all chose the same pattern, and made a quilt with our own choice of fabric.  Over winter break, I finally got around to fnishing up mine! 

The pattern is "Lucky 13" and I used mainly fabrics from the "Arabesque" line.

I really enjoyed making this quilt and tried some new things with the quilting - including loops and a flower!

I also made my first pieced back...

I'm so happy it's finally done.  It's the first big quilt that I'm keeping for myself.  It's in my office now - because I'm always cold.

Final Finish of 2012

This one was a race to the finish.  And I'm a bit ashamed of how long it actually was in the making!

As the clock chimed 11:53 pm on December 31, 2012, I put the final stitch in the binding.  It was a miraculous finish right before the New Year and one I wasn't sure was going to happen. 

Straddling Snowman, a photo by gnomemade quilts on Flickr.

The pattern is by the Wooden Bear and I've made a couple others like it - including two Turkeys, a Santa, and an Uncle Sam.  My mother has been the recipient of one of each, and put in a request last Christmastime for a few more so she'd have one for each season.  They've become a traditional Mother's Day gift, but not always on Mother's Day.  In fact, this one was over six months late!  But it made it up to mom just as Santa was ready to come down and the need for a winter themed one went up!

Happy Halloween?

I had made myself a Halloween Quilt a while ago.  Not quite sure when I finished it or why I never posted about it...will have to remedy that in the New Year.  Anyways, my sis commented that she liked it and I just happened to have some extra fat quarters left!  I decided to try my hand at a zig zag quilt from Crazy Mom Quilts...and here's the result!

 

 
I'm lucky that my sister's birthday is in October...so it was perfect timing!  It got sent along a little after her birthday...but before Halloween!

I did a straight-line quilting following the zig zag pattern and was happy how it turned out.  I found the backing for 50% off during a sale - so that made me happy too!

As we round the corner into a different holiday...wishing everyone's family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Got Pink?

A former colleague welcomed a baby girl into the world right around Thanksgiving.  Surprisingly, this quilt was actually finished before the little one was born. Nothing like a baby shower to provide a deadline, right?  This one was finished up right before the shower in October.  Mom's a girly-girl, so I figured I couldn't go wrong there!

 

The pattern is "Due Date" and the fabric name escapes me right now.  I was most proud that all the fabrics came from my stash!

 
I think Mom liked it and hopefully baby does too!

 
It got wrapped up along with a rubber ducky (not from my stash) and delivered at a lovely shower hosted by the mom's sister. 

Mom and baby are doing well.

May the Force Be With You...

Mr. Gnomemade and I have been very lucky to develop some great friendship with my co-workers.  We call them and their spouses very close friends.  One couple - whom we've known for over four years now - a great people with some very big passions - Star Wars for him and Wizard of Oz for her.  They welcomed their first child into the world in August 2011, so when it came time to celebrate her first birthday, I wanted something fun.  Cue a web search and the wonderful find of these Star Wars finger puppets!  It was a no-brainer that I needed to purchase the pattern and make them!

 

I think it actually took me longer to find the right color felt (especially for C3PO and Yoda's face) than it did to make them.  Granted I did burn myself with the hot glue gun a couple of times, but well worth it in the end.



 
Overall, I think they were a hit.  Dad seemed to love them...while the birthday girl was more interested in the tissue paper.

 
They may be a little old for her, but hopefully she'll grow into them and they're a good way for dad and her to share one of his greatest passions!

And if nothing else...who wouldn't want to put on a Darth Vader finger puppet and say..."Luke...I am your father."