Chubby Charmer Bag

I'm far from an expert bag maker...in fact, I haven't made many and those that I have are well...works in progress!  But I came across a super cute bag pattern at a local quilt shop that I just wanted to try.  Pair that up with an end of the bolt clearance sale at another local quilt shop and I decided to give bag making another go.

The Chubby Charmer bag was designed to be made out of five inch charm blocks, but the shop where I bought the pattern had it made up in just a solid piece of fabric.  Despite the headache that ensued from trying to figure out the math, I did my best to get it put together!  It involves quite a few layers of fusible fleece which made for some sore arms when trying to quilt it.

Nonetheless, I'm pretty happy how it turned out - please just don't pay too much attention to how the seams match up on the side!



If I had to do it again (which I'm not so certain I would), I would pretty much do it the same with the exception of how the interior pockets are constructed (whether I read the directions wrong or that's how it's written - some of the fusible fleece shows inside the pocket!



I added a snap (my first time ever doing that).  This thing is a monster in size - the bottom I added measures 9 x 17"!  I'm thinking it'll be great if I'm ever toting around a quilt that needs it's binding!

Snowflake Star

It's no secret that I love Kate Spain's fabrics.  I also love a good Christmas project.  So a couple of years ago when one of the major quilting magazines featured a Christmas project with Kate Spain fabric, I jumped at the chance.  Somewhere/somehow I snagged a Kate Spain jelly roll and slowly got to work on putting together the Snowflake Star quilt!

Fast forward a couple of years (yup...it really takes me that long) and I finally finished one!  (This mind you was after quite a few issues with it that at one point made me seriously consider giving up quilting).  Anyways, it got quickly quilted and bound in order to give to a quilty friend for Christmas.  She loves the color blue, and it's not everyday you find a holiday themed quilt that's got blue in it.



It's not too large - maybe about 38" square, but I think it's fun!

Should I even mention that one jelly roll makes four stars total?  Yup...that's a true statement.  But, in an effort to get some of my unfinished projects done, I soldiered on and finished the three additional tops.  They're currently sitting in the pile of projects that need to be sandwiched!  Perhaps one more will get done by next Christmas?

Knitting Project Bags

It's been a bit of whirlwind the past few months - coming off the holidays into the start of a new semester at work and then lots of other committments.  I haven't been crafting as much as I would like - other than a ton of scarves since they're fairly mindless.  But, in January I did get one project done...knitting project bags!

For Christmas my sis asked for some bags to use for her knitting projects.  So when I had a bit of time after the holidays (and we had chatted about what she had in mind), I whipped up three bags for her...


The tamest of the bunch


Because every knitting project needs some sheep


And because she builds helicopters (sorry for the somewhat blurry photo)

These were all made from Jeni Baker's (In Color Order) Lined Drawstring bag pattern.  She's got a great tutorial online, but I had purchased her pattern to get the dimensions for the bigger project bag, which these are!

They got sent along via snail mail shortly after they made and hopefully they're being put to good use!

Fall Scarecrow Quilt

For the past several Mother's Days, I've given my mom a series of wall hangings from the Wooden Bear. 

She's got a turkey, a Santa, a snowman, an Uncle Sam, and maybe one more...

For this past Mother's Day (yup, I realize it was six months ago), I added to her collection with a Straddling Scarecrow...perfect for fall!




Now, I've just got one season left...spring!  I'm notoriously late with these, so maybe I should get working on it over the holidays!



"Swoon"-ing Over Kate Spain

So, today's the last day of the Kate Spain Blog Hop hosted by Blossom Heart Quilts.  As I mentioned yesterday, I basically "lurked" my way through the blog hop - following along, but never making it known.  But, I promise, I have a good reason for my "lurking" tendencies - I was working on my entry for the "finished project" challenge...and boy did it take me the entire month!

When I read about the challenge Alyce put forward about completing a project (any type of project) using Kate Spain fabric, I took it as a sign to finally work on the project I've been dreaming of completing!

I've always been a huge fan of Kate Spain's designs.  My husband knows whenever there are Kate Spain items at Michael's - he can't go wrong bringing some notepads or those cute little clothespins.  I love all of her designs and wish it was a reality to buy fabric from each and every one of her lines! Anyways, a couple of years ago, when Kate Spain's Terrain fabric line came out, the Fat Quarter Shop offered a Designer's Bundle of about 12 fat quarters of Terrain and three matching solids.  Thanks to some very kind birthday presents from family, I was able to supplement it with four more prints, some solid white and some matching binding fabric.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it...make the ever popular "Swoon" by Camille Roskelley.

Fast forward however long it's been.  Recently I've been commenting that I've misplaced my "quilting mojo."  Anyone who reads this blog knows my finishes are spotty at best, but it was even harder to get myself into my craft room, and I'm not quite sure why - but that's a conversation for another day.  So, when I read about the Kate Spain blog hop and the challenge to post something you made in June out of her fabrics, it gave me the motivation I so deparately needed.

So, I give you my entry for the blog hop.  My Terrain "Swoon." 

ETA: Just realized this photo is from the side!

Here's one from the direction I'll probably use when on our bed...
 

I really did get this done in a month.  How?  I'm not really sure...I don't think I'd believe it myself if I didn't know it was true.  But I pulled down the fabrics out of their hoarding, errr hiding, spot in early June, got to cutting and put the last finishing stitches in this past Wednesday night.  Mr. Gnomemade helped me with photos this morning in the rush to get to work, so they're not ideal, but they work!

Here are some more shots!

 

And some individual blocks!

So thanks to Alyce for the blog hop - I got my quilting groove back!  And I got my Swoon done!  (Well at least the top of it!)  It was an effort - but in the end, I'm super proud of it! 

Kate Spain Blog Hop

Between work and home life, my blog gets sorely neglected.  Even finding time to read some of my favorite blogs can be challenging - and don't even get me started on commenting!  So, essentially, it means that I'm a blog lurker.  Yup - I'm that person who reads blogs, but essentially leaves no footprint behind.  I always have the best of intentions to comment or to link to blogs or in the most recent case make myself known that I'm participating in a blog hop.

But, alas, June has come and gone and I'm only now commenting on the fact that I'm loving the "Kate Spain Blog Hop" hosted by Blossom Heart Quilts.

I adore Kate Spain's fabric and I think I may make it a bit too well known in our household, because she's one of like two designers that my husband can identify!  So, when I came across that there was a blog hop, I followed along.  And when I realized that there was a call for us to work on a Kate Spain related project during the month of June - I knew I wanted to participate.

However, that brought me right back to my "lurking" tendencies.  I had a Kate Spain project that's been sitting on the shelf for longer than I'd like to admit.  I really wanted to do it, but could I get it done in a month?  And if so, could I also blog about it?  The answers to those questions were yes and no.  I started the project at the beginning of June and completed it last night.  Mr. Gnomemade took a photo of it this morning, and I'll have it posted tomorrow for the June 28th deadline!  [Insert sigh of relief here.] But, it was more time consuming than I ever imagined (in fact, I can barely believe I finished it in a month - and if what I post on my blog is any indication, I really don't work that fast in general).  So, it meant that I never even posted any progress shots of it!  But, thanks to the Blog Hop it gave me that incentive that I really needed!

So, thank you Blossom Heart Quilts for the motivation and incentive!

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."

Welcome to the World!

My blog has been quiet since June because...well, because it's been a whirlwind around here.  Since June, I've changed jobs, Mr. Gnomemade and I  have moved, we've taken a vacation with my parents and sister, hosted Thanksgiving for Mr. Gnomemade's family, and lots of everyday life things in between.  All of these have been great opportunities/experiences, but we're enjoying our first real weekend of "downtime".  I realized my blog has been sorely neglected, as has my sewing machine.  But, we're hoping that's going to chane now that we're a bit more settled.  We're hoping that 2013 will be a much more calm year. 

 

While it's been failry quiet in the world of blogging and crafting, I did accomplish a few things in the latter portion of 2012. 

 

First up...a baby quilt for my best friend's baby!  He's their first and we welcome him into the world in late spring.  They said they were decorating in browns, greens and blue - so I ran with that theme.  Not my best work, but hopefully they know it was made with love.

 
The little guy shares a name with Mr. Gnomemade, which made welcoming him into the world even more special.

 
Unfortunately, they live many hours away, so I have yet to meet him...but hopefully soon!

Will be back with more 2012 finishes!

Out of Season...

I'm a bit out of season with this post.  And while I'd like to think I'm just really ahead of the game, in fact these little guys have been in the works for a couple of Christmases now...and all it proves is I'm horrible about starting projects I don't finish.

Santas!

More Santas!, a photo by gnomemade quilts on Flickr.

My summer is significantly lighter at work than any other season, so I'm trying my best to get some projects done while I have the time.  With that in mind...this past week or so, I finished up these four Santas!  Aren't they adorable?

I had made a few before for Christmas presents over the past several years for families and friends, but I still had some felt left over to make four more!  I must have cut these guys out over a year ago and had the best of intentions to get them finished.  But without anyone in mind to  give them to, they took a back seat to all the other shiny items that distracted me.

But, with my Quilt Guild's craft show coming up, it motivated me to finish these guys up.  We're keeping one, and at least one will be heading to the quilt guild.  Not 100% certain where the others will find homes, but I'm thinking I might have some more family or friends who wouldn't mind a seasonal addition to their family!

More Bags!

In an effort to get through some of my stash, get ahead of the game (which never happens) and help out my quilt guild, I continued making Drawstring Bags for my guild's bi-annual quilt show boutique.  

I've got a bunch of fabric floating around my apartment that I can't seem to part with, but I'm never certain what to do with.  This is mainly in the form of fat quarters and scraps, so I figured I'd bust into them for this project.

I had already made several bags which I posted last week, but really got on the bandwagon and got nine more done!

Three more bags - I made two of the one in the middle

Not sure how I feel about the color/pattern combo.

Made two of each of these for a total of four!

So, those - along with one more item, which I'll post soon, will be heading off to the Quilt Guild boutique!

I love these bags and Jeni's In Color Order tutorial (and pattern you can buy) is so great!  There will definitely be more in the future.

London Fabric

On my shopping trip, I happened to come across this super cute fabric at another store near the LQS. 

I spent several weeks in London when I was in college as part of a summer project and absolutely loved the city, so I was immediately drawn to it - with all the landmarks and whatnot.  

Add to it my cousin is finishing up a semester in London and I just had to pick it up!  I'm going to attempt to make a pillow out of it with some jumbo ric rac and buttons and then send it a long to her.  Not quite sure how that's going to go...but we'll see!  Thankfully, I think I purchased enough to try again if I mess up!

Drawstring Bags!

My local quilt guild holds a bi-annual Quilt Show.  The next one is scheduled for the end of October - so just a couple months away.  The call has gone out to the guild to provide some items for a boutique we'll be holding as part of the show.

Now, with my work schedule, if I don't get anything done before August - it's just not going to happen.  So, I figured while I had the time and motivation, I'd work on some items for the boutique.

I wanted a fairly simple, but still fun project.  I was immediately drawn to Jeni of In Color Order's tutorial for her lined drawstring bag.  I had made two of them before for Valentine's day and knew they came together really cute!

Now, I know how hard designers work to make a pattern - so I wanted to make sure this was all on the up and up.  Since my guild will be selling these items, I purchased her pattern which provides instructions for a bunch of different sizes!

I went through my fabric scraps and put together some fun color combinations.  I stuck mainly with the original size in her tutorial - but made one larger bag as well.

Here are the first four bags I made.  The one with the trees is a bit larger in size.  The red and black ones have sheep knitting as the top fabric!  I wish I had enough scraps of that left over to make it the body of the bag, but just the top panels were a tight cut!

Here are some close-up shots.

Sheep and red bag!

I figured the fall one was appropriate for an October boutique!


All in all, I think I ended up making 13 bags.  I just need to take some photos of the others!

I Have a Crush...

When I first started quilting in 2005, I had no idea the difference between high quality quilt fabric and the stuff that came from Joann's/Hancock's on the clearance table.  I also had no idea that there was a world of quilt designers out there who not only made patterns, but also designed fabric.

Rather, my first quilts were just thrown together with fabrics I liked and were my own very basic designs put together on graph paper.  I don't think they came out too bad, but nothing compared to all the wonderful things I've seen on blogs, in books and magazines and in quilt shops!

I'm slowly learning more about designer fabric and patterns, and definitely find myself drawn over and over again to the same designers.  But, in light of a recent order on the internet and cleaning of my sewing room, I realized I have a bit of a "fabric crush" on Heather Mulder Peterson of Anka's Treaures. 

Turns out...I really like her work...

Last summer, I ordered a set of fabric to make a quilt out of the "Stop, Drop and Roll" book, which is the next quilt in my queue to make!  I also apparently picked up her "Bella Bag" pattern around the same time.

When I saw on her blog that she just came out with a book of kids quilts, I knew I wanted to pick it up!  With the number of baby quilts I've been making, some new inspiration was due.  The "Little Quilts 4 Little Kids" books is just so adorable!  And while I was ordering that book, the "Living Large 2" book just happened to jump into my cart too!  Add this to her "Favorite Quilts from Anka's Treasures" book that's not pictured above...I might have a problem!

Her designs are just so fun and her blog is inspiring - love her design style!  My goal is to start working my way through some of these projects and instead of just creepily hoarding her stuff, actually use it to make something!  What a novel concept!

A Little Eye Candy

Last week, my "local" quilt shop sent an e-mail that they had been to Market and were clearing out some of their old fabric to make way for new.  All of their currently discounted fabric had been marked down to 50% off.  

Now, did I need anymore fabric?  Well - no...but it's a great deal!  Thankfully, Mr. Gnomemade was up for a trip to the shop (it's convenient that his favorite Italian restaurant is in the same shopping center).  So, we piled into the car on Saturday and went on a little shopping trip!

Below is my stack...no real rhyme or reason to what I have or why other than I  just thought they were fun!
 

Fabric Shopping, a photo by gnomemade quilts on Flickr.

I've already used the top yellow and pink fabric for the interior lining of a bag and I imagine the bottom fabric will be a backing for a Halloween quilt!

There's also some gnome fabric hiding in that stack too!