WIP Wednesday (2/9/11)

Wow! Wednesday again! Here is my work in progress for the day... Mermaidens (and Mermen) from the Wee wonderfuls book.

I just love these little guys! Unfortunately, the numbness in my hands makes it difficult to finish all the hand-stitching right now, so it's very slow-going, but I'm getting there. These are going to be a 1st birthday gift for my cousin's daughter whom I adore soooo much! The fabrics are vintage quilt fabric that I got from my grandmother. She probably found them at Goodwill or something, but they worked perfectly for the look I was going for.

Also, I have been working (again, slowly but surely) on my string quilt pillow covers. See my previous post for a pic of the pillow progress. More progress next week!

Pillow Progress

A little progress has been made. I finished the quilt piecing for the top of one of the couch pillows. It took longer than I expected (about 1/2 hour per block), but I'm not really in a huge hurry. I do want to baste the tops to some batting and quilt some straight lines before I assemble the actual pillow cases.

I also have 4 mermaids to finish. Those would be quick & easy were it not for my assumed carpal tunnel. OUCH!

It's weird. As much as I want to sew, I keep being lazy about actually doing it. My sewing space isn't ideal and I hate having to pull things out and then put them away after an hour of sewing. Plus, my husband tries to get a little sleep during the day thanks to his overnight job, so I have to be quiet. Someday things will be better and I'll have some space all to myself, where I can just shut the door and not worrying about "cleaning up". Someday...

Wednesday Work

On this oh so snowy Wednesday (the 6th one in a row here in Maine) I finally got my "sew-jo" back. I started making my first string quilt blocks. I plan on making 8 total, for my 2 couch pillows. The living room really needs a little brightening up and I think these pillows will do the trick. Now, back to work!

QuiltStory's Block Party Contest

I think I'm going to try something new. I need some inspiration to start creating things and I really would like to start making more quilts. I read a ton of quilting/sewing blogs and I am in awe of all the wonderfully creative, crafty and inspirational people there are out there. So I'm going to attempt to make some quilt blocks. Fun & funky ones. Creative ones. And if I can win some prizes along the way, then more power to me! I just want to make things. And maybe this is the motivation that I need.
QuiltStory's Block Party Contest
Wish me luck and creativity!

Dreaming

I'm dreaming of winning a book and some sew-alicious goodies from Camille, here on her blog, Simplify. She wrote a book (LOVE), and designs fabric (double LOVE). And she's giving away some of her scrumptious goodness. So I had to leave a comment about my dream and then blog about it. I just dream of being able to get up in the morning, send my kids off to school, grab some coffee (or tea, as I am cutting back), and head to my sewing room (don't have one). Then, after sewing all day, I'd like to sell what I make and supply my family with extra income. That's it. Nothing big, really. I can do it, right? Sure I can!

Yikes!

Wow! I can't believe it's been nearly 3 months since my last post. Sheesh! I'm a slacker. I have been quite busy with the holiday season, making lots of things, and getting a new job. As I type this (at work...) I have many ideas running through my head and lots of little people to make things for. Hopefully I will find the time to sew in the new year between my kids, my husband, my job, and my life. See you in 2011!

Finished Moda Mix Quilt (and a little frustration)

It's. Finally. Done.The Moda Mix Quilt is now on my bed and feels nice and warm and snuggly. Last weekend I was able to machine quilt it on a longarm owned by a friend. We had 2 evenings of machine failure and finally on Saturday it worked! I quilted it in a Funky Feathers design. I love it!

Yesterday I put on the binding, by machine, for the first time ever. I have done hand binding once and hated it (tendonitis - ouch!). I found a tutorial on machine binding here at Red Pepper Quilts and after a few mishaps and lack of perfection it's done. Again, it's not perfect, but it's mine and I am so happy!

On a side note, I finally won a blog contest. However, due to my intense sewing in the past week I failed to check back on the blog that was hosting the contest. Needless to say, I lost out on some great free fabric. Grrrrr......