February 13, 2013

some a-maze-ing Valentines

My son is in kindergarten, and this past weekend we started making his Valentine's Day cards. There are so many cute ideas out there for kids' Valentine's Day cards (I pinned a lot!) but I really liked these maze cards. (I'm sure there are other versions out there, but those are the first ones I saw.) Here's our version with some for the boys:

Some for the girls:

And one for his teacher:

The teacher thought it would be good writing practice if the kids wrote the names on their cards so I stamped "To" and "From" on the envelopes and let him address them.  So cute!

I found the mazes at Michaels and all the cardstock and scrapbook papers are from my stash.

I also whipped up a quick card for my husband.
My husband only listens to talk radio so he'll have no idea who the Lumineers are, but I love this song and thought the lyrics were appropriate for a heartfelt card.

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WIP Wednesday {2/13/13}

Lent starts today and I have decided to greatly limit my time spent on the internet. I'm aiming for just 15 minutes a day to check e-mail, facebook, flickr, pinterest and keep up on the blogs I like to follow. (Thank goodness I don't get the internet on my phone.) I waste so much time on the internet when I should be sewing or cleaning or paying more attention to my family.  (Like right now, my husband is trying to have a conversation with me and I'm typing away on a blog post.) So it's time to step back and refocus. I hope to make lots of progress on my WIPs!

This week I finished my February quilt block for WISH at do. Good Stitches. We made Road to Tennessee blocks in blue, green and gray. I think they're going to make a beautiful quilt.
And I'm so excited! There was an opening for a quilter in my circle so I'm going to get to plan and put quilts together for the group starting in April!

I started a few bibs for Craft Hope's Project 20:  Hope for China.
The bib on the left is this Purl Bee pattern and it's my new favorite bib pattern. I love the shape.

And I did pull a WIP out of the pile and have almost finished quilting it. I think this quilt top is at least two or three years old and it may have been one of the first tops I made that wasn't simple patchwork squares and that came from a "pattern." I used Elizabeth Hartman's Charm Squares Baby Quilt tutorial. I cut my own charm squares from some clearance Deb Strain fat quarters (my first purchase from a "real" quilt shop). I'm not sure what fabric line they're from. My Bernina has a wavy stitch that I've been wanting to try and I really like it--it reminds me of ric rac.

After this one is finished, just two more quilt tops in the WIP pile!

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

February 3, 2013

{there's always Dreams.}: my Madrona Road quilt

It took me until the final day, but I completed my Madrona Road quilt in time to upload it to the finished projects group on flickr. I think it's the first time I've started and finished a quilt in the same month, and I'm glad the weather was nice enough to get some outdoor shots of my quilt.

I cut my 7 fat eighths into 70 4-inch squares and paired them with 70 Kona White squares to make 140 half-square triangles. I didn't do much planning and was pleasantly surprised when it worked out perfectly into this diamond layout. I added Kona Candy Blue borders and I purchased extra text fabric for the binding.
Madrona Road quilt front

I used some of the scraps to make a pieced strip for the backing. (I am not a great photographer but this has to be one of my favorite quilt shots.)

Madrona Road quilt back

This is really the first time I've thought about and included little details in my quilt. I had to piece the side borders so I added little strips of the text fabric.
Madrona Road quilt border

I quilted 5 rows of stitching along each of the border pieces and I love the little boxes it made in the corners.
Madrona Road quilt corner

I added a corner quilt label on the back.
Madrona road quilt label

The text fabric ended up being my favorite. It's a little blurry but I appliqued a little piece of fabric to the front of the quilt--"there's always Dreams."
Madrona Road dreams applique

I don't know that I'll ever have a need for a baby girl quilt but I'm holding onto this one just in case. I think this line of fabric would make a beautiful nursery for a baby girl.