Pine Needle Baskets Again

It's been a while since I mentioned Pine Needle Baskets ... because it's been a while since I've made any. Or mentioned any on the blog. Recently, I've made a couple.

After all, we have an abundance of pine needles right in our yard ...

... So, from time to time, I have to make something from them!

The process is a little tedious, yes, but the result is so very cool!

This oval one is just the right size for putting business cards in ... kind of like that pink one I made ... pretty handy.

Kaleidoscopes in Navy

Just before Christmas, I finished a quilt I couldn't blog about yet ...



Over a year and a half ago, I made this quilt top (pictured below), which was a lot of fun. Just recently, I got to revisit the same design, which I enjoyed!

A few months ago, my sister-in-law asked if she could pay me to make a quilt for her mother-in-law Lisa. We talked about sizes and styles and colors that she knew Lisa would like (since it would be a surprise for her).  We decided on the look of the kaleidoscope design above, (since Lisa had liked it on my blog), made in navy and gray and yellow. 

The project was especially fun, because Lisa happens to be a friend of mine, too.

After selecting fabrics (above, plus a white background fabric), and emailing some computer-generated designs back and forth to my sister-in-law, I got busy ...

It's fun to see (and photo-document) stages of progress.

The quilt blocks above were laid on top of the Panthers Jeans Quilt for the picture ...

Here's the quilt top all done:

One of the things I love about this style of kaleidoscope is how it looks like such a circular design, even though all the seams are straight!

I quilted it with a basic, allover free-motion design, in blue variegated thread ...

... and added some fun details in one of the borders: free-motion flowers and leaves.

I really like the back of the quilt, too. Especially that gray and white floral. I might have to get some more of that ...

The quilt measures 55" x 65", which makes a really versatile throw quilt.

I'm really pleased with how the quilt turned out.

Lisa likes it, too! So glad!

Monday's Report on English Paper Piecing

On my Very Tiny English Paper Piecing ...

I'm pleased to have a very tiny bit of progress to report!

Here's how it looks:

 

 

This week's picture is very similar to last week's picture (below), only the bottom row is now finished, and there are 8 more hexagons along the left side, and 7 more on the right.

 

I'm still working out the details as to how to prep this for going into a frame ... but I'm getting closer.

Linking this post to this week's Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts ...

Fleece and T-SHIRT Quilt

This was a fun finish. Solid T-shirt squares stitched into a quilt top, quilted onto fleece.

For a while, I've been wanting to make a T-shirt quilt, but haven't ever had a stack of my own T-shirts that I wanted to cut up.

But then, when I was cutting that stack of T-shirts into T-shirt yarn, I made squares out of the extra T-shirt fabric ...

... and made a quilt!

The back of the quilt is made from a new fleece blanket - super-soft, washable, just right!

Free-motion quilting on a fleece-and-T-shirt quilt wasn't as easy as "the usual", but it wasn't too tough, either.

This is a small throw quilt, measuring 46" x 58", and it's for sale on eBay this week.

Inspiration for this layout came from this quilt I saw on Pinterest. (See other quilt ideas, quilting technique ideas, and my own projects on my Pinterest profile.)



Monday Morning Star Count (Wednesday Edition!)

Even though most of my sewing happens at the sewing machine, I love the chance to sew from a comfy spot on the couch or rocking chair. So I keep a handsewing project or two in the works ...

 

 

Here's my very tiny English Paper Piecing project. It's going to be a wall-hanging ... hopefully soon. I mentioned a tiny bit of progress in a November post, but that was not much progress since the September milestone post ...

 

Since the pieces for this are so small, I keep a very tiny sewing kit so that it's a portable project. This way, I can toss in my purse or tote bag, or keep it in the car for when I need some sewing to fill a bit of "waiting" time ... Small. Simple. Portable.

 

The assembled hexagons don't fit in the tin any more, but the tin has plenty of room for fabric circles, hexagon papers, thimble, needles, thread, and tiny scissors.

 

 

Sometimes, just a little extra motivation makes the difference in keeping consistent progress happening ... so I'm excited that Jessica's Life Under Quilts blog is hosting a Monday Morning Star Counts weekly link-up.

 

Even though it's no longer Monday Morning, I'm linking this post to this week's Monday Morning Star Count, and looking forward to seeing what some other quilters are working on this week.

 

This is going to be framed in an 8½" x 11" frame, so I just have some white background pieces to finish. Haven't counted the number of hexagons still needed, so let's just say, I need about another inch of height, and another inch of width, all in white ...

Wholecloth Quilts on a Frame!

So, I mentioned my new "toy" in my last post ... a quilt frame to use with my regular sewing machine!

 

This week, I quilted TWO baby quilts in ONE day with this handy tool. That never happens!

 

 

Like I mentioned in that post, I love that this frame lets me free-motion-quilt almost like usual, while keeping everything super flat.

 

 

Very cool Christmas present my husband picked for me.

 

 

 

Recently, I bought a few yards of really cute fabric prints, and I decided to experiment with some uncomplicated wholecloth quilts, as I keep learning how to use this handy new tool.

 

 

This little pink Princess quilt is 36" x 41", and it's for sale on eBay for a little while.

 

People often ask if I sell finished quilts ... Lately, the answer is, "I would, if they were easier to finish." Maybe this quilt frame will help with that!

 

For now, my quilt frame is only set up to make baby-size quilts ... but the rods are interchangeable for longer ones, so I may look into that option soon.

 

And here's little quilt number two ...

 

 

By the way, the quilt frame is a Flynn Multi-Frame. We got it on eBay for under $120. The company's website is www.FlynnQuilt.com & has details, and a very cool video demonstration. (This blog post of mine is NOT a sponsored post; just an honest opinion about this quilt frame, from a happy quilter.)

 

This little quilt is 40" x 40", and it's also for sale on eBay this week.

 

As usual, I attached the bindings on the sewing machine, after quilting with my favorite free-motion meander. 

 

 I'm pleased to have these finished, and I'm linking this post to this week's Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

What I got for Christmas ...

My wonderful husband thinks of the nicest gifts ...

For Christmas, he got me a quilting frame that works with a regular sewing machine!

 

 

It's a Flynn Multi-Frame, and I'm loving it. It's a handy little setup that holds and tensions the quilt back separately from the quilt top, while holding everything together securely enough that no basting is required.

 

 

Welcome to wrinkle-free quilt backs! Yay!



 

This quilt frame allows for the kind of free-motion-quilting that I love, with very few limitations.

 

For now, the quilt frame rods are sized for small quilts, but the rods are interchangeable for longer ones, so that's a great option to look into soon. 

 



 

Seriously, this thing is amazing. See the FlynnQuilt website, and watch their video to see the versatility. (This is not a paid endorsement, just the honest opinion of a happy quilter!)

 

 

This is progress on one of those baby quilts I started a couple months ago.

 

 

With my new quilt frame, I've already quilted 3 little quilts, and I'm thrilled! 

 

The pictures in this post are pictures of just one of those three just-quilted quilts. (White on the front, pinks and purples on the back.)

 

I had fun trying out a lot of little favorite FMQ designs on this one, with fun results.

 

I have a bit more customizing to do on this quilt, and then binding, so I should have a "finished" post on this one soon.

 

So far, so good!

Be watching for another post soon about the other two quilts I just quilted on my new quilt frame!