A Little Shopping

Last weekend, I did a little cross-border shopping. I hadn't been fabric shopping in the States for a long time and everything pointed to it being the perfect time to go. I had a 50% off coupon that expired that weekend, Kona cotton solids were on sale, batting was on sale, and fabric I had been wanting for quite a while was on sale too(all at Joann's Fabric). Not to mention that my mom was able to come and make the hour and 40 minute trip to my grandma's (who lives about 10 minutes from the border) much more enjoyable. It was also one of the last free Saturday's I would have until after Christmas.

My mom stayed and visited with my grandma, while Evie and I went shopping! Unfortunately, it took about 50 minutes to cross over to Port Huron :( Thankfully, coming back went much quicker, only about 10 minutes!

Here's what I bought!


I've been wanting some of Denyse Schmidt's fabrics since they came out. They're a little more traditional looking than my usual taste, but there is just something I love about them. I tend to buy larger scale prints (for making purses) but lately I've really been drawn to quilting. I really love the small scale of some of these prints. This line is only available at Joann's, so I couldn't order online from my usual sources. Plus, they were 30% off. Score!




I bought quarter yard cuts of most of them, except the top two on the left. I bought 2 yards of the green floral for a backing (or most of a backing) and 1 yard of the blue/green dots for binding. I have no definite plans for them yet, I'm just happy to look at them :)


Kona cottons were 40% off, so I stocked up. This first pile are to match some fabric I won online (oh, I should totally post about that!).







And this group is to make some patchwork potholders for Christmas gifts. This photo doesn't do the colours justice. In real life they look so pretty together.






I also stopped at Mary Maxim's because I had a 50% off coupon. I need to recover our high chair and they sell laminated cotton and oilcloth there. I picked this fun bike print by Michael Miller. They had a couple really pretty floral fabrics (an Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett) but I decided to go with something that would go with my kitchen and be a little more gender neutral. I love the bikes!






Mary Maxim also had buy 3, get 1 free fat quarters. But by the time I got to my grandma's I was missing one :( I checked my receipt and I was actually charged for all four. Turns out that wasn't such a good deal after all :( I need to be more careful! But I still ended up with a few cute fat quarters for my stash.





I also bought 10 yards of fusible fleece and 3 yards or Warm and White batting. All in all, it was a very successful shopping trip. I also did some shopping at Target. I ♥ Target :)


Have a great weekend!
Bethany


P.S. My baby turned six months old on Wednesday. And my husband turned 38. And it was our ninth wedding anniversary. (Happy Anniversary Baby!). Here's a picture of my big girl.

Quilting Suggestions?

I just finished basting this quilt top and now I feel sort of stuck. I can't decide how to quilt it. I initially thought about straight line quilting it, but the blocks are pretty big (about 15") so I'd have to do more than just echo quilting the seams. Maybe a design? Random lines?

Or maybe free motion quilting? All I've ever done is a meander/stipple. I thought about loops, but then I'm not sure if I should do them randomly, from side to side, from the centre out? Ack, decisions! I'm usually pretty decisive, but not this time :)

Any and all suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks and have a fabulous weekend!
Bethany

First Day of School

Here are a few pictures of our first day of school yesterday.


It was chilly again this year, so jackets were a must!





First day of SK (Senior Kindergarten).





First day of Grade One *tear*.




Being silly with Daddy :)







Just a little bus this year :)




They were both a little nervous but they came home super happy and could not wait to go back today! Hard to believe that next year three will get on the bus :)

Millrace Folk Festival

So this past weekend was my second year having a booth in the craft village at the Millrace Folk Festival in Cambridge. Other than a couple (pretty lame) Christmas shows, this is the only craft booth I've done, and I love it! It's a really great festival. If you're local and you've never been, you really should check it out next year. There are 2-3 main stages and a couple acoustical tents and a few of the downtown pubs have performances too! There are folk dancers, clowns, food vendors, the craft village and more. I've never been down to the main stage at the Millrace but I've heard some really fantastic music up in Civic Square. I also had some fabulous pork tacos :)

This year I got my first choice for booth location and chose a corner spot. I loved my booth set up last year but it only left my mom and I about 24" of space behind the tables and I knew that wouldn't work this year because I'd have Evie with me all weekend. The corner booth didn't work as well for displaying but we had lots of space for a couple chairs and the stroller too. Plus, I had more exposure. I'll definitely try for the same space next year but rework the set up because next year I'll be baby free again :)

Can I just tell you how wonderful my baby is? We were there Friday from around 4:45 pm to midnight, Saturday from just after 8 am until almost midnight and Sunday from 12:30 pm to almost midnight again and I'm sure she didn't cry more than 5 minutes combined for the entire time! She really is such a happy, easy baby. I feel so blessed. Our booth neighbours kept saying how they couldn't even tell there was a baby there because she was just so quiet. It really was lots of fun and my mom was in Grandma heaven :)

Here are a few pictures from the festival!



My booth!





A closer look






Evangeline napping with my mom






Sleeping again :)






Me and my sweet girl





I'm still recouperating but already looking forward to next year!

Have a great day all!

Bethany

Houndstooth Baby Quilt

I first saw this quilt on V and Co. I thought it was fabulous. I love how it's both modern and classic at the same time. I showed it to my mom, and her being the quilter extraordinaire that she is, told me how to make it!

Here it is!





I hadn't planned on piecing the back but I made the quilt larger than I initially planned and this was the best way to make what I had work!




A closer look at the quilting. I get frustrated doing free motion quilting. It feels like I'm always fighting with the quilt and it takes so much concentration. It still feels like it's not good enough, but when I look at the first quilt I did like this I can see a huge improvement. I really love the look of free motion quilting though, so I'll just keep practicing :)




One more shot. I really need to get more creative with my picture taking :) Every quilt I make get the same shots - taped to the kitchen wall and laying on the kitchen table. Maybe next time!




This quilt measures approximately 45" square.

Tomorrow is the start of my three day craft shoe at the Millrace Folk Festival. I'm so excited about spending some quality time with my mom! Hopefully I sell something too! I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a great (long, if you're in Canada) weekend!

Bethany

Vintage Sheet Strip Quilt

This is the second quilt I've made with vintage linens now (see the first one here) and I think it's really cute. This one went together quickly! There are a few things I'd change next time though. First, I think it could use some darker fabric for a bit more contrast. The problem is I don't have many dark sheets in my stash. And second, I think I would vary the width of the strips a little more. These strips were all cut months ago while I was cutting other stuff and I thought there would be enough variation in size, but I was wrong :)

Overall, I'm happy with it!





It is quilted approximately 1/4" away on each side of the seams. The quilting isn't too dense, which keeps it nice and soft.





The great thing about using sheets for binding is there are only two seams. I do straight grain binding on all my quilts and cut it 2" wide.









I'm thinking I will keep this to sell at the Millrace Folk Festival, which is only a month away! I'll mostly be focusing on making purses until then. I can't wait!

Have a great day :)
Bethany

One Thing, One Week Challenge - Success! (Just Barely!)

Sorry for the terrible picture but I JUST finished and there isn't time to wait until daylight to take a better one! I thought I had lots of time but then yesterday spent over twelve hours out of the house and then came home last night and had to make treats for my kids to take to their class pool party today! That, combined with having four kids (one of them being a nursing baby) almost did me in. But I made it! And it feels good :)

*Edited to add* Go see some better pictures here!




This quilt is made entirely of vintage/thrifted sheets and is straight line quilted. I'll try and get better pictures up soon!

Check out Amy's Creative Side to see who else finished the challenge!

Have a great week!
Bethany

More Vintage Sheet Goodness

I've been wanting to quilt sooo badly but having a new baby doesn't leave me with much time. She's a really happy baby who sleeps well at night (usually about 7 hours straight now) but since she is sleeping so well at night, she eats a lot during the day. Plus, I have notoriously slow eating babies. She nurses for an hour or so, five or six times a day.

So like I said, not a lot of sewing going on :)

But I had a bunch of 36 inch strips cut from when I was cutting fat quarters from my vintage sheet collection. I figured if I was going to the trouble of ironing them that I might as well cut a bunch of other stuff at the same time. I also have a bunch of 5 inch charm squares and drunkards path blocks cut out too, but they will take longer to put together and I needed something quick!

I finished this quilt top in about an hour last night after the baby went to bed. I think it is simple but sweet. I can hardly wait to quilt it!



I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Bethany

Two Finished Quilts and Randomness

Here are a couple of quilts I finished earlier this spring but never got around to blogging about. They were the last 2 unfinished quilt tops I had. Now the only quilt WIP (work in progress) I have is a bunch of HST blocks that will make another value quilt someday.

The first is a simple pinwheel quilt. I used fabric I'd had hanging around for a while. I sort of fell out of love with this fabric, which I bought before I found the wonderful world of online fabric shopping. I think it's pretty cute now though - perfect for a sweet baby girl :)















This quilt was also made with fabric I'd had for some time, but that I definitely still liked! The pattern is a disappearing nine patch that went together quite quickly. Both these quilts were free motion quilted and I'm starting to feel much more comfortable with it.












I'm starting to get my sewing groove back. Things are still busy with a new baby but I'm trying to sew at least a little everyday. It's less than two months until the Millrace Folk Festival and I'm trying to sew some new items for that too!

Random picture of my sweet baby :)




And last, but not least, my oldest turned 6 yesterday! How did that happen??? :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday!

Bethany

My Newest Creation

Evangeline Grace

Born April 26 at 12:26pm
8lbs 7oz
21.5 inches
100% sweetness!

Some Baby Stuff

So I know I'm not a regular blogger, but oh my word, it's been a while! I blame it mostly on over three weeks of being sicker than I remember being in forever. I didn't even think about touching my sewing machine for about a month :) I've eased myself back into the swing of things by making a few things for the baby (due in eight days!!!).

First I made a couple receiving blankets. I'm not sure you can even consider this "making" something:) All I did was cut them to size and serge them. They aren't creative but they are big and perfect for swaddling (they measure around 33" x 40").







Next I made a nursing cover. I never used one with my first three kids, but after seeing my friend Lenae's, I decided I really needed one! I like that it's hands free and that it's not a heavy, hot blanket but mostly I like the fact that it will be big enough to hide the post baby belly :)










I've also made a purse for myself but have been to lazy to take pictures. I'm hoping to get a diaper bag made too, but am feeling a little uninspired. We'll see!

Value Quilt - Half Square Triangles

I finally finished my value quilt! I finished the quilt top a year and a half ago (using this tutorial) but never got around to finishing it. I'm not sure if I'm nesting or what, but I've been really wanting to finish up my unfinished projects these last few weeks.






It is made up of a lot of my mom's old scraps (free!) and there isn't one modern designer fabric in the entire quilt. Despite all that, I really love this quilt and our whole family had enjoyed cuddling up on the couch with it.










Details


62" x 62" (my biggest quilt so far!)
made with scraps (some probably more than 10 years old)
pieced, quilted and bound by me!



Have a great week everyone!
Bethany

Another Baby Quilt Done!

I love this little quilt!

I quilted about a quarter inch on either side of the seams and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I wanted to keep it basic but didn't want to stitch in the ditch. I think it added just the right amount of interest.

I bought a new walking foot for my machine (which it turns out has nothing wrong with it other than being an older, kinda crappy machine!) and I love it. It's the best twenty dollars I ever spent! I used it for the binding too and I'll never go back to my quarter inch foot for that. I always feel like I'm fighting with the binding, trying to feed it through and keep it straight, but with the walking foot it was sooo much better.











My little helper :)





I washed and dried it after I finished to give it that soft, crinkly look. I'm thinking about putting this one in my shop :)

Happy Weekend Everyone!
Bethany


Details

32.5" x 40"
Charm squares are BasicGrey by Moda
Solid is a kona cotton
Binding is Amy Butler Sunspots
Pieced, quilted and bound by me :)