Finished Objects - 2010

This year has been a busy sewing year.  In addition to everything you see in my list and mosaic, I have completed countless blocks for The Incredible Shrinking Quilters' Bee and the Modify Tradition project.




1. Luke's Quilt, 2. Cushion Covers, 3. Stuffed Toys, 4. Modify Tradition Top, 5. DQS9 Swap Quilt, 6. Geometric Pillow Cover, 7. Sea Glass Quilt, 8. Quilted Hexagon Needlebook, 9. Yellow Bricks Mini Quilt, 10. MT Swap Quilt, 11. Black Eyed Susans Quilt, 12. HEN ATC Swap, 13. Bow Tie Quilt, 14. Embroidered Valentine, 15. Embroidered Valentine, 16. Embroidered Valetine


I have plenty of goals for 2011, but if I don't post them here, I don't have to be accountable to them.  Wink, wink.  There are, however, many exciting things happening in the coming new year.  Mainly, I am getting married-- what fun-- and shall continue to approach graduate school with diligence (did I mention I've gone back and am now a UVA student?)-- I want to keep up with my 4.0.

What will the new year bring to you?

Luke's Quilt

I've been long promising pictures of this finished quilt to Lesly.  So here they are!

The quilt was made especially for my brother, Luke.  Luke is quite particular in his taste, and I was very nervous that he wouldn't like this quilt!  He has been noisily complaining about not having a quilt from me for a while now, and he was very surprised when he opened the package.  He even cried.

The patchwork design is inspired by the City Green pattern in Cherri House's book, City Quilts.  I used my own measurements and a similar layout to come up with an equally beautiful quilt!

Fabrics used include Carolina Chambrays by Robert Kaufman and a Timeless Treasures black dot print.  The chambrays are difficult to work with-- they consistently stretch and fray, leading to much need of squaring up.

I pieced the back with fabric leftover from the front.  The quilt is quilted by my favorite local long arm quilter, Rebekah Richardson.  She chose an awesome geometric edge to edge design and quilted in a variegated thread that exactly matches the colors on the front.  View it large to better see the quilting motif.  It's wonderful!

Baby Crafts

I finished a few projects today, just in time for Christmas!  First was a set of cushion covers for my aunt.  They turned out beautiful, but I'm waiting until they arrive to show pictures.  This is mostly due to the fact that I didn't take any myself; instead I'm going to let my uncle do it.  He is an illustrious photographer with many talents, one of which is capturing action shots of furniture.  For now, feast your eyes on these cute packages!

The bows are fabric strips cut from the same material I used for the covers.  Look at that perfect bow.

Also completed today are some baby toys I for Nickolas-- the baby of my fiance's cousin.  No relation to me, right?  Oh well!  I have claimed this baby to love and spoil, nonetheless.  It will be handmade toys until he's old enough to read, and then I'll load him up on books.

I made this adorable puzzle ball [mostly] from the instructions in Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.  I say mostly because that book is heavy on text and light on pictures.  I had to rely heavily on intuition, and even got help from the local quilt shop.

The ball itself is only about as big as a tape dispenser.  Excellent for little hands to grasp (and then shove directly into mouth).  This project only took about 5 hours to complete, though I didn't work on it all in one session.  It was very easy to piece-- I used the machine for most of it and finished by hand.  Oh, and for the record: you don't need a fancy stuffing fork.  A chopstick works just fine.

I also made Nickolas a cute little fabric ball with a rattle inside.  I stuffed the ball mostly with filling, and then inserted a cat toy similar to this one.  Then I finished stuffing and closed up the opening with a [very ugly] ladder stitch.

Now I have finished all my wrapping, including my fiance's stocking stuffers and the gifts he got for his secret santa.  I'm feeling pretty good about Christmas!  In fact, compared to many, I think I'm ahead of the game!