Christmas quilt

Quite a while ago I shared some quilt blocks I was making for a group exchange I was participating in. Well I finally added the binding and officially finished it!

I haven't completely loved quilting, although I do enjoy doing a bit here and there,  still it is satisfying to finally finish one and it feels so good to be DONE with it, haha!

The two guide lines for our exchange were 1. that the colors needed to be red and green and 2. the blocks needed to be 16 x 16 squares when finished. 

I was worried about how it would turn out with 16 ladies ,who don't know each other well, participating but I am happy with how everything worked together and how well the fabrics blend! Now my family has a cute cuddly Christmas quilt to curl up with and dream about sugarplums with a hot creamy cup of cocoa!

 http://www.sewcando.com, http://www.skiptomylou.org/, jembellish, apinchofjoy, http://www.littlemissdexterous.com/, 

I hope your Holiday is wonderful and we'll see you after the break!

Quilts, dresses and mom life.

This last week I was able to spend 2 days sewing with my sister in law! We are doing a quilt block exchange with some friends and need to make 16, 12x12” blocks. Boston (my sister in-law) encouraged me to try a log cabin quilt, it is a more challenging than any others I have done but I am excited about it! I didn’t get much done we were having too much fun talking, eating, laughing and rocking babies. I had a great time, the best time!

 

I’ve started a Caroline dress by Mouse House creations for my nieces. The sewing has been extremely slow. It has nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with summer and all it entails. The kids have been home and we have been busy with doing yard work (a very little, ha!) , the splash park and sport classes intermixed with whining, fighting and  tantrums from being up too late and eating too many sugary treats. It’s the finer things in life, right? ;0)

 

All this time with the kids at home has really made me think and ponder about my home, specifically the cleanliness of it and my attitude. I often wonder if I let my home be messy if I would be a happier mom. Every mom I have ever met that allows their home to be messy and not be as uptight about the messes their kids make is happy, really happy. They seem to enjoy their hobbies more often than I am able to and their kids create without fear of being in trouble or the worry of how they are going to clean it up. At the same time I am perfectly aware of my own preferences, of what I can and cannot handle. I also don’t like to compare myself to others. This thought process helps me keep balance in my life and hopefully be a better wife and mom.  It’s a tricky balance isn’t it? 

 

I found out this morning that my Grandma passed away and it has me much more thoughtful about life today. She had 10 children and her first 5 were boys, I know how she must have felt when between her 5th and 6th she had a miscarriage and a woman told her “I hope it wasn’t the only girl you’ll have” and then the joy of finally having a girl! She was a first time mom during World War 2 and had to actually buy diapers because there wasn’t enough fabric with the rations to make them. Life is hard no matter what time period you live in, apparently. And yet isn’t the hard stuff what makes life worth living? Because when it’s good you relish it even more. 

Holiday Quilt

A few weeks ago I made this quilt and after seeing it my Mom asked to purchase it. I'm really glad she did since this is the quilt my Dad used up until his death last week. It will always be a reminder of those sweet last days with him, caring for him and enjoying his presence as long as I could.

 I didn't follow a pattern or anything its purely my imagination ;0) I have gotten where I am starting to enjoy piecing quilts more than I used to and I think I'll be making a few more this year. the part that is still not as enjoyable is the binding and actual quilting of the quilt. I think as I get more practice I'll enoy it more but I'm still very much a beginner!

I absolutely love the quilt lines on the back! Its far from perfect but I love the charm of imperfection. I couldn't decide if I should do a white backing or not but I'm SO glad I did it really makes the binding Pop and is very classic looking.

I purchased a holiday charm pack quite awhile ago and this one is, sadly, no longer available. Amazon does have some that are similar in coloring or ones I think are just pretty (affiliate links) here, here and here.

The binding is my favorite part (it was also the most infuriating as nothing went right while sewing it on) I love the stitch I used its so pretty and much better than a simple straight stitch.

Now that my Dad used and loved this quilt I  kinda want it back ;0) but I'll enjoy going to my mom's and seeing there knowing it comforted him in his last days.

 Thank you everyone for your sweet comments/emails about my Dad when I posted earlier what we were dealing with! It was much appreciated.

ladybug-blessings.com, nap-timecreations, memoriesbythemile, abowlfulloflemons, amynewnostalgia,sugarbeecrafts,     

A Christmas quilt

I know ,I know its KWC why did make a quilt (well half of one)?! Its called selective procrastination ;0) i do have stuff to make and share but my sister in law had a free quilting class at the church and i thought "sewing with other ladies is waayy more important today!" It really did feel great to get away and be with other people for a couple hours!

 

I bought the charm pack from fabric.com a few years ago i believe its Moda from the Let it Snow collection. I still need to add some strips to the edges and figure out a backing but the hardest part (for me anyways) is done!