Greyson's quilt

I finished this quilt about a week ago for our newest grandbaby due in 2 months. My daughter is using a nautical theme in the nursery and wanted something for him that suited the room. I found the pattern in my June issue of McCall's Quick magazine. I love the way it turned out!

It was one of the easier quilts I've made despite the addition of the appliques. I used my Silhouette cutter for the fish, ironed them on each square and then topstitched over them so they would be secured for washing.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll remnants

 

I've had a terrible craving for a lemon filled doughnut lately. The problem is that I can't have gluten. So instead.........
I made these this morning using a gluten free recipe from Betty Crocker...originally there were 10. (6 perished in the tasting of this recipe and there's only 2 of us in the house!!)
Holy Cow these were good. Very easy to make but a little messy which could have something to do with the fact that I'm not exactly on my toes first thing in the morning. The only thing I'll do differently next time is to make them the night before then slice and bake them the next morning.The dough had a tendency to split (or crack) when I rolled it up and I think the fridge over night would help keep them together. I also think I could reduce the calories immensely by using a sugar substitute instead. BUT this recipe is sure enough easy to make and definitely a keeper!!
Betty Crocker gluten free cinnamon rolls

Fabric basket

I finished a small version of the fabric basket in the previous post. I have to admit it wasn't nearly as hard as it looked.  I'm sure some of that had to do with the YouTube video I watched. I think I'll make a larger version and already have some purple strips left over from a previous quilt.

Fabric Baskets

I've seen these baskets all over Pinterest and other craft sites. I've always found the project to be intimidating to try. BUT when I found this video on YouTube this morning, I went out and bought some clothesline at my local WalMart ($1.99 for 50 ft!). When I tried running the cording, uncovered at first, through my sewing machine it worked like a dream! I do need to get a stiletto (instead of using my seam ripper which I'm sure breaks any number of safety rules somewhere!!) to run the beginning of the basket under my zigzag foot. I'm also wondering if my walking foot wouldn't be a better option since I don't have a cording foot.  I'll post some pics once I get the basket started with the fabric covering the cording but she makes this project not near as timidating as I originally thought.

You should really look for CraftyGemini on YouTube. She has some great projects and her instructions are very simple to follow! You can find her here The Crafty Gemini

The Chevron pattern...not gonna happen

I was going to use the chevron pattern (previous post) to make a customized yoga strap...not gonna happen. I'm going to have go back through my project want-to-do list and find something that I really NEED to make :)  
Sometimes that's easier said than done but since the craft room is somewhat cleaned up maybe it won't be too hard to do. I've got STACKS of quilting magazines as well as a few notes on the desk back there of things I'd like to try so we'll see what happens...and one of my daughters will be here in a few weeks so that may influence the thoughts rumbling around in my brain. She loves to craft as well so anything that can be done together should be put on the back burner for a few weeks...and I think my granddaughter will be coming to visit in May and I'll need some fun ideas for us that week.

Chevron patterns

http://reannalilydesigns.com/2009/06/the-batik-braid-quilt-tutorial/

I love this quilt! I started cutting out the pieces for it yesterday. Hopefully I'll finish cutting today.  Since I'm using more of my fabric scraps, I'm not sure how it's going to turn out but the pattern looks like it's a little more challenging than some of the others that I've done. And  I'd also like to find a way to add a monogram spot in the center.
The directions on the website seem to be pretty clear and she's added updates as people have left questions in her comments section. It certainly looks like she's put a lot of effort into the directions and she's more than willing to answer any questions that have been posted.
I'm not sure what I'll do with the quilt when it's finished but I like the idea of a new challenge! 

Anna's quilt

I finished the quilt for my greatniece yesterday...just in time for her birthday party on Saturday. I love the colors and used my Silhouette cutter for the monogram in the center. Hopefully my niece will like it as much as I do.
Although the pattern had LOTS of small pieces, the quilt went together in pretty much no time. (If I had been able to, I think it would be more of a weekend quilt than a 2 week job!) I found the pattern in one of my quilting magazines. I realized that I had all of the fabric on hand along with the thread so it was pretty much just using my stash in the closet.

Sprocket pillows

Yesterday I made a pillow for our guest bed. After I finished the quilt, the room looked not quite "done". I found a tutorial and pattern for a "sprocket pillow" over at Cluck Cluck Sew. (She's asked on the website not to post a link directly to the tutorial so you'll have to search for it yourself!) I didn't follow her pattern exactly...the back of the pillow is made from the same "sprocket" cutouts as the front while she used a solid piece for the backing on her site. I also made a template from heavy cardboard and taped the instructions to the back so it could be used again.  I used the same flannel for the pillow as I did for the comforter and it made a world of difference in the way the pillow looks on the bed! It's a very simple pattern that went together in no time! I think it might have taken me 1-1/2 hours from start to finish and I love the way it looks on the bed! And the room now looks like it's finished!

I think these would look nice as pillows for the family room if I have enough fabric left from the valances that I made a while back! They're incredibly comfy!

 

The Clock Tower

 

I love the Instructables website! They have some incredibly creative ideas. I made this mosaic with ceramic tiles and tissue paper with directions I found on the website. It's the clock tower at Clemson of course! It was made as another present for my hubby several years ago. Because it's done in steps, it was really easy to keep hidden from him. There was drying time involved so I used an old cookie sheet lined with wax paper and stored it under our guest room bed. He has it hung in his home office!
I also made one for our neighbors from a picture of their dog. For some reason, that one turned out to look more like a black and white photo. But I love the difference in the two...J's looks more like an architectural drawing and theirs looks more like a photo. (I'm not sure what I did differently other than maybe a different brand of tissue paper.)

The hubby's birthday quilt

I finished the hubby's quilt just in time for his birthday! I love the way it turned out & he was not only surprised it was finished but was thrilled with the way it turned out.  This is the first time I've attempted one without a pattern and the math was a little difficult to get right but it was worth the effort. He's a huge Clemson fan so the quilt was perfect for him! (The photo looks orange and blue but it's really orange and purple! I can sew but I'm not a photographer. )

Learning to quilt...

Lately, I've been bored with my normal sewing projects. So I thought I would look into quilting. Several months ago I started to research the "how to's" on YouTube, Instructables, library books and internet searches. I've made 5 so far practicing on family and am now working on my 6th for my hubby. I will say one big thing I've learned is NOT to always listen to the salespeople at the big box craft stores. When I was buying fabric for the first quilt I picked out a fat quarter bundle of flannel. The clerk asked me what I was planning on doing with it and I said "make my first quilt". She quickly told me that I really needed to start with cotton not flannel due to it being harder to quilt with. So...my brain either processes things backwards or she was wrong. So far, all of the quilts I've finished have been made from flannel. I find that it doesn't require all the pinning that cotton does and it seems to "stick together" better without pinning.
My point with all of this...try not to hesitate when approaching a new craft. I bought the first flannel on sale so there wasn't a large monetary investment. It saved me a lot of hesitation with "be careful... you don't want to throw away a lot of money on something that doesn't work".