Finishing up!

It's been a great year. I have learned a lot doing the two BOM/QAL and working on two quilts for my niece and nephew.

 

I can say that I am proud of my achievements. Usually people ask me when u have time to make those things (with a toddler and a baby around), and I really don't know. It's a mixture of nap time, night time or weekends when daddy is on kids duty.    

 

Sometimes I do get annoyed that I don't get as much time as I would like to sew, but I can't complain. Life is good, and it's fun to spend the day with my two munchkins and be able to play with fabric on my free time. 

All this to say, may 2015 come bringing joy and happiness to everyone. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Christmas gifts almost all done!!!

I have been working on these two quilts for months now, but these last two weeks I really rushed to get then quilted and done. I'm still working on the hand binding, hopefully in time for our Christmas gifting. 

The spiral quilting was not easy, but I love the simplicity of it and it complemented the log cabin really well, so it was worth it. 

Hand binding is my kind of fun!

On this one I tried my hand at FMQ again. I can't say it's perfect, in fact there are a ton of imperfections , but I think overall it looks good. And it was a good practice. 

Keep on sewing and Happy Holidays!!!

Quilt Along and Block of the month

December is here and I have finished my last two blocks from the Classic meets Modern QAL and Sugar BOM. I like what I've done but regret using the yellow next to the white on the Christmas star block. From far, the yellow blends in with the white. Bummer. I'm not redoing it because it's a million pieces and seams, so this is how it will be. 

I did reworked two of the blocks: the log cabin and the maple leaf (I subbed the maple leaf for Weathervane). 

For the Sugar block, I liked my fussy cutting, but it would be good to have more of the orange/purple flowers in it. Again, oh well! 

Now I need to figure out a layout and have the courage to quilt it.  

Here are all 12 blocks:

Like it?

Keep on sewing!

My first quilt

Well, it's been a year since I've got the quilting bug and since then I have completed 2 quilts, 1 table runner, some quilted bags, a wall hanger that still needs to be finish, 3 quilts basted, 2 tops finished, and 2 tops almost done. I think that's quite an accomplishment, especially because my full-time job (as a SAHM) doesn't leave me much time left. 

So, I realized that I haven't posted any photos of my first quilt yet, so I would like to share it with you, because I think it's a great Fall/Winter quilt. 

 I just love that back fabric, so much so that I used it for the lining and pocket of my daughter's backpack (I'll post about that another time). 

 

🍂🎃🍁

Happy sewing!

Log Cabin forever.

Here is a sneak peak of the project that is taking up my whole -little- sewing time. A little baby blanket for my new nephew. 

Chain piecing helps speed up the process, but it still is a very time consuming project. 

Deciding on a layout:

These log cabins take a lot of time, plus I'm a little OCD with their direction. I had to re-do some blocks (after these photos were taken) to make sure everything was sewn in the same direction and placed in the same direction also. See? OCD!

Anyways, I made half of these blocks a little while ago, got a little burned out with how long it was taking, so I took a little time off to work on other things. I just went back on working on these again, with a mind set of enjoying the process. To be honest, it really didn't take as long to work on the second half and I did enjoyed it - or still am, since it still not done. I think taking the pressure off my shoulders helped a lot. I guess I'll finish it when I finish it. :) 

Splurging on some fabrics

I splurged on some goodies this past weekend and I'm so excited! Cotton and Steel fabrics and some aurifil thread -not in picture. What should they turn into? I'm thinking 60° triangles? Or HST? Don't know yet, but I can't wait to use them. 

Name tag

Working on a name tag for the MQG and I came across lots of ideas on Pinterest. In the end I worked on my own idea with some mini triangles and mini HST.

I'm not so good at the hand embroidering, but I've tried it anyways and it didn't turned out so bad. What is cool is that the thread was my mom's, which makes it extra special. She would've been happy to see me sewing. 

In the end I decided to stamp my blog's name above my name. I just used a Sharpie's fabric marker on my letter stamps and voila!, here it is, quilted and finished it:

I had fun with this mini project. I might even work on more mini projects in the future. It's a great way to do some 15 minutes of sewing on a busy day or take along somewhere and do some hand work. 

Keep on sewing :)

On the works

Here are some things I'm working on lately. 

 

Now, I'm on the process of finishing the back of these tops and then onto quilting. Any quilting ideas? FMQ, straight lines, echo?

Have a great weekend!

My dark studio, but I love it.

We have recently moved from a downtown loft to a neighborhood house in the burbs. Two kids life demands. I was afraid of this big change, but when I thought of the possibility to have a studio space again, then I couldn't move sooner. The unfinished basement is pretty clean and spacious, so I was totally fine setting up shop there. There is a perfect little room sectioned off and now I call it my own area where my kids are kinda not allowed. Kinda because I do want them around to get interested in sewing, but I also want some me time there with little interruptions. We also worked on a play area for the girls in the "room" next door. This way I'm right next to them, but doing some sewing. 

Here is a look of my space -and sneak peak of my WIPs. I still hope on doing some work on the studio, but it works for now. 

New toy for mama.

I have been sewing in my Husqvarna Viking Madison for almost 9 years and love how simple and easy is to use and care for her. It's a super reliable machine. My husband gave me that on our second Christmas and I just love to sew on it, but since I started quilting and actually since a long time ago when I used my sewing friend and mentor semi-industrial Juki, I've been wanting one for my collection. I am used to industrial sewing machines, so I would love to have a fast straight stitch, with knee lever, and bigger space to use for my projects. This year, my loving husband gave me a Juki 2010Q for our 10th anniversary. He knows me so well. And I love it! This machine sews very smooth - fast and quiet. I love the thread cutting and needle up/down features. I'm still figuring out the threader, sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't, but most importantly, it quilts very nice. Now I can leave one machine set up for piecing and my Juki for quilting. How fun?! I'm feeling so fancy. 

Okay, don't judge! I'm still learning to free-motion quilt. :)

What do you sew on?

Happy sewing!

Reappearance

Hello there!

If you read my blog you might have seen this table runner before, but here it is at it's final destination. I've made it for my in-laws and without even knowing, it was a perfect match for their hutch. I'm actually proud of my work as they said that they always get compliments for it. Plus it is so easy to make, just 4 blocks that finished at 12" with 1" sashing and borders. I wanted the Greek cross design and the colors chosen (blues, greens, white and sand) to remind them of their time in Greece. What do you think? 

Happy sewing!

❤️

And back again

I have been away for a while again, I know, but this time I have a really good reason. My life is a wild ride right now with a toddler and a newborn (can I still call her NB at almost 3 months old?). 

Isn't she so cute?

I do still try to squeeze in a little sewing time as much as I can, which is not much at all. 

I am loving working in these two Quilt Alongs (QAL)/Block of the Month (BOM). It is just enough to get me sewing with my little to no time and I am so looking forward to see them become a quilt at the end of the year. Here are the first 4 months for the Sugar BOM:

The first 4 months for Classic meets Modern QAL:

And this is a little wall hanger design by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr from Modern Quilt Studio that still needs to be quilted:

Those are 1/4" seams. Really hard to keep straight, but oh so fun! 

That's all for now. 

Keep on sewing!

Waiting for Spring

I think this is an understatement, but I cannot wait for Spring - warmer days, flowers blooming, and hopefully lots of outdoor activities with plenty of sunshine.
Until then, I will just wait while working on these Brazilian patterned fabric (called Chita -- chee-ta).

I have had these fabrics for a long time and haven't work much with them since it is a really open weave and not very soft, even thought it's 100% cotton. I made all my blocks lined or foundation pieced so it would have a better structured feeling.

I am enjoying working through the techniques while working on this sampler and think it will be a happy and fun wall hanging for my girls' room. I am afraid to tackle the free motion quilting for the first time on a finish project, so I am taking my time doing some practice sandwiches. I am not really good at it yet, so it might take a little while.

Sneak peak of the front all pinned and ready to be quilted. Now, I just need the courage to do it.

Nonetheless, I am really proud of my back block (bummer, I wish I had it on the front) that was done using a paper piecing technique.

That's all for now.
Happy crafting!
xo, S