Hobo Bag for a Science Geek...

What you can't see is that the inside is a light grey flannel with pictures of mice, lab equipment, atomic symbol, jars, frogs etc.  It is so cute and she loved it!

Just Started a New Scrappy Quilt in Blues....

I decided it was time to use up my blue scraps.....it was also time to make my 6 yr old nephew a quilt.
There will be sixty-four 10" blocks, each block will be different.  Here are the first 3

I Can't Leave Well-Enough Alone....

If you have been reading my blog then you probably know that my quilts have lots of 'character'.  Sometimes I leave all the little 'characters' and other times I just have to fix them as best as I can.

With this one I was frustrated that it did not come close to 12 1/2 square. 
Well I realized that my new machine has a positionable needle and that is was all the way to the left!  So my seam allowances were not 1/4 inch.

 I took the whole thing apart and resewed all the seams.  It came out square, however it was only 11 inches!!  When that happens I simply border, and this time I did a scrappy border that I really like.

So block # 3 is truly finished.....I think.......

Block # 3......

Blazing Star....I really like it even though it is far from perfect!  I do have to border it though since it did not come out at 12 1/2....

 

Sales!!!..............

I sold 2 bottles this week!  Things have been slow so its nice to have a couple of sales.
Please check out my Etsy shop - not too late for stocking stuffers or grab bags.

http://www.etsy.com/people/ClassyQuiltedBottles?ref=si_pr

"Santa" Came Early........

Yep, a new sewing machine!!!  Baby Lock MOLLY.  Can't wait to get started using it!
Thank you Tim!

One More Basket......

Making a couple of these to fill with candy or tea bags, great gift idea right??

Isn't this the cutest thing???

From this tutorial: http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-fabric-basket.html

This cute little quilted basket is just what I needed for my guest room.  It holds small bars of soap, bottles of shampoo, condition, hand cream etc. 

Pretty easy to make, just a tiny bit time consuming but well worth it!

Quilting Class Block # 2.....

This quilt will be bright for sure!!! 

In Case You Have Not Had Enough Yet.....

And Yet Another HOBO Bag......

This was made with upholstery fabric, so very sturdy!  I love the colors and the print.

New HOBO Bag for Etsy........

I decided to start making them for my ETSY shop.
Anyone interested?  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ClassyQuiltedBottles?ref=pr_shop_more

New Pocketbook in Toile.....

I made myself a new pocketbook today.  This pattern is great, less than one hour from start to finish!  Black & white toile with a bright red lining.  I will post a better pic sometime later next week.

Sewing Room Organized......

Hubby hung up vintage soda crates for me so now I can keep stuff at arms reach without having it on the side of the table where it gets knocked off constantly. 
Plus it looks great!

A tip I got from one of my favorite sites, Pinterest......use a golf tee to keep bobbin and thread together.  Cool right??

Quilting Class Block # 1......

Yes, it says class # 1 because I signed up for another year.  This one should be so much fun.  All white backgrounds with bright modern colors in geometrics. 

This months block was laid out a bit different but I just had to rearrange it.  The lone purple block at the bottom is my 'run-away' block.....just for fun!

Quilting Class Quilt is Finished!!

Okay, not the best pic, will try to get another one tomorrow. However, it is finished! 

What you can't see in the pic are the paper pieced initials in the blue triangles.  This lap quilt is going to my dad for Christmas and the initials are for his 4 kids.  I had the school house embroidered with the name of the grammar school he went to and on the back is SEMPER FI and DEVIL DOGS for his Marine Corp days and the detachment he works with now helping to do floats and such. 

I hope he likes it!!

Birthday Cake!!!

Its my birthday and for the first time in 30 years hubby baked ME a cake!!  He did chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and LINDOR TRUFFLES on top - YUMMY!!!!

Quilt Top is Pieced.......

I love the shape that it ended up being...was not my original intention but sometimes you just have to follow the fabric and let it lead you!

I Lied..........

Okay, this is not the assembled quilt, but a sneak preview of how it will look.  The blocks will be set on point and the empty corners are where the initial blocks will go.

Can't believe I am in the home stretch....

I have all the blocks from the class done and I am now working on 4 blocks that will have the initials of all 4 kids.  Of course I did mine first!

The really neat thing is that the border fabric on this block is called FAMILY ALBUM!!  How perfect is that?  I will also be using it for the backing.  I think the binding will be all the scraps and pieces, that were used in the blocks, sewn together, for a scrappy look. 

This will be lap sized.  It is a Christmas gift for my dad who was a Marine and is still active in a detachment group doing parades, fund raising etc.

The next pic I post, hopefully, will be the finished product.

Thanks for reading along with me this year!

Oh yeah, I am starting another class this month!!  It will be a modern quilt, all geometrics, should be fun.

UGH - one hour or so later and I realized that this block should not be a square but a triangle!! I took it apart and am remaking it.

Tree Block Redone......

This was the only block without the golden yellow fabric in it....not anymore!
So excited to start laying out all the blocks and seeing what else I may add to it!

Last Block for Americana Quilt Class....

Wow - this one was so hard!!  You can see I lost the points on the star and I still have to border it to bring it to 15 1/2 square.

Now its time to start putting these blocks together and figure out the quilt design.  I may make some primitive 9 patches for each corner, but not sure what else yet.  I will get inspired after I lay them out....hopefully!

Quilting Class # 12.....Last one for this session

It was today......except when I got there no one was there.  So I went in anyway figuring I was the first one there.  I was so very wrong.

There were 5 of us that did not read the schedule and therefore did not realize that it was last week!!  It has always been the last Friday of the month :(

Thankfully we have a patient and kind teacher who gave us a quick tutorial on how to make this very hard block. 

This is the block that the rest of the blocks were based on.  It commemorates 9/11.

 I will post a pic when done, but to describe it:  center is a red pentagon, pentagon for obvious reasons and red for the blood that was shed.  Star points are gray to represent the ash.  Background is blue to represent the blue sky of that day.  She also spoke of Flight 93, but I can not remember how she explained the 9 and the 3.  Maybe you can figure it out once I post the pic.

My friend and I spent hours just trying to piece the center correctly and neither of us were successful!
Going to work on it now and hopefully make some progress.

Another HOBO Bag for my niece....

 

This one is for my niece's birthday.  I used hubby's old overalls and crafted around pieces from them.  A bit harder than using nice large pieces of fresh material, but worth it!

 

As you can see I still have lots of strings to cut off but other than that I am happy with it and it will be mailed out to her tomorrow.

 

Hope she likes it!



Cross Body HOBO BAG in Selveges.......

 

Bag body made from selveges

Bottom is paisley corduroy and quilted strap is green/red paisely

Inside is dark red with 2 pockets in the same fabric as the straps.

 

I just loved creating this and proud of myself for making something without a pattern or anything to copy!

I made a HOBO BAG...........

I bought a bag at Walmart back in April just to carry a bunch of stuff around while I was in Atlanta.  It turns out that I really liked the size and shape of the bag so I decided to make one for myself.

This is it, a few differences, but good ones.  I am really happy with the bag and since I made a pattern for it I can make more!

Barn Block Redo.....

 

I really struggled with this block. I did not like the original with all the white and the roof peak was crooked. 

 

So I took all the white background off and cut new pieces in the same deep yellow that is on my other blocks.  I got the roof peak perfected however the roofline above the hayloft is terrible! 

 

 I did it over a few times but just can't get it right so it is staying as is. 

 

Oh well,   my continuing motto prevails......it has lots of character!

Quilt Block # 11.........

 

Not happy with it, but it is done.....nuff said!

Quilt Class # 11.........

Had our 2nd to last class today- going to be making a ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAIN BLOCK in deep rusty red, dark blue and tan. 

Now, how is usually goes is this..... an easy block so I will make a mistake!

Our instructor warned us that next month will be hard....therefore I should do well!

Will post a pic of the finished block as soon as I make it.
I did purchase the backing for this quilt.  I had to estimate since I really don't know the actual size until I put it together, but it will basically be a lap quilt.  Its a deep rust with black and tan and the tone goes well with all the fabrics.

Oh, did I mention that I took apart the barn block?  I never really liked it, so I am going to replace all the white with the deep yellow you see on my borders.  Hopefully that will help it to go with the rest of the blocks.

I also signed up for the next class which starts in Oct.  I am so excited to continue this, I only wish it was not an hour away!

Annuals in a little red wagon......

This year we pulled out our kids little red wagon, its about 20 years old, and filled it with annuals.  Hubby drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage.  I had 6 tiny plants and they really took off.

 I love this look and will do it again next Spring.

Mini Selvage Heart.....

Before:

 

 

I like this t-shirt because it is a nice dark green color and fits me very well.  However I really don't want to advertise whiskey or any other liquor on my clothing so I came up with this selvage heart patch:

 



I think it is very cute and I am no longer giving away free advertising!

Blue Wall-Hanging...Not Quilted.....

The pencil can I made for my friends daughter Jennifer, should match this nicely!

This was actually a lap quilt that I was making a few months back, however I hated the way the quilting was coming out so I stashed it in my pile of UFO's.

A few days ago I found out that Jennifer was looking for a wall hanging to fill up a space in her new classroom and I remembered this piece.  So, I ripped out all the quilting stitches, just sewed the back on, added 3 tabs for hanging and now it it heading over to a fourth grade classroom.

I love it when the Lord provides a place for one of my pieces. Makes me feel blessed to pass it along!

Gift for a first time teacher......

This is for a friend's daughter who will be starting her first teaching job teaching 4th grade.  Her favorite color is blue so I made her this pencil jar.  It is a recycled peanut can so it has a cover and she can use it for other things too.

First time I ever lined my containters and I really like the look of it!  



He is.....



My Teacher

My Protector

My Comforter

My Guardian

My Redeemer

My Big Brother

My Mother

My Father

My GOD

When everyone else fails you...He will not.  His love goes deep and is never ending.

Baby Block for Judah David.....

This one is for a 'yet to be born' little boy named Judah David.  I hope mom & dad like it!

These are so much fun to make and although it is hard to make it truly square, they are still fun to play with even as an adult!  Nice and squishy!!

Baby Blocks......

This is the first time I ever made blocks and I think this one came out cute!  I need a bit more practice to sharpen the corners, but overall I am well pleased.

I know a few babies, some born and some yet to be born, that will be receiving these.

Quilting Class Block # 10.....

....Temperence Tree.  I really like the way it came out.  I used 4 different greens to create the leaves and I did not 'pick' them, I just grabbed and used them the way they came into my hand.  I like that better, does not look so polished and deliberate. 

Okay, to be honest, we had one green fabric from the class......however in my usual form I made a mistake and had to improvise...hence the 4 different greens!  I like it this way better though so it all worked out well!

Quilt Class Bock # 9.......

I can hardly believe that we only have 3 more classes left. Then I have less than 3 months to turn these blocks into a quilt for the 'end of class' party and raffle.  UH OH - I am not a fast quilter so I will be amazed at myself if I can do it!!

This is cute, probably my favorite structure block of the 3 we did.  We were told no more structures and that is okay with me as they are somewhat boring.  Still it is good learning new techniques and little tips.

Now, I HAVE to clean up my sewing room!  I have lost 2 pair of little scissors and just know they are buried under mounds of fabric strips ........

A few hours later.....I found both pair of scissors.  Hubby put them in our pencil jar.

I took the block apart, made the roof peak more prounced and redid the borders to bring it all to 15 1/2 square.  Originally I had neglected to add the proper seam allowance and it measured 15 square.

Won't post a new pic since neither correction will be noticable.

My Lastest 'non-quilting' Project.....

We had a few super hot days last week, then cool and lots of rain so far this week so I figured it was a good time to move a few plants around. 

The view from my living room through the sliding doors is not pretty!  I got tired of looking at weeds, dirt etc and decided to do something to improve it.

I had this pallet in the back yard and I propped it up against the house.  Then I took some of my rose bushes that were not doing well, due to shade from a neighbors tree, and moved them to the pallet rose trellis. 

It looked so nice with the bricks that I decided to make a little terraced garden.  So the second row is Red Seedum and baby Black Eyed Susans. 

The bottom row is filled with my favorite flowers - Primroses in all colors!  They have already bloomed but the leaves are still pretty.

I already had the bricks and the plants so it will only cost me 2 bags of mulch!

So that is it - kind of like quilting a crazy quilt - you never know where gardening will lead......