The Diaper Bag Is Finished, Now On To The Quilt

diaper bag, tote bag, carry all bag

Monkies all over this bag

This diaper bag turned out really cute: it has long handles, and lots of pockets inside. It matches the nursing cover and changing pad, too.

diaper bag with lots of pockets

Lots of pockets inside

When I finished the bag, I started on a baby quilt. I began by cutting 3″ strips, and sewing them together. After they were all sewn and pressed, I cut them into 3″ pieces, and sewed those together. I now have twenty-four 7.5 inch squares. I think I need one more, so I can have a 5X5 layout instead of a 4X6.

These 9 patch squares turned out pretty good.

I laid them out on the floor, and I do think I need one more square:

nine patch baby quilt

Baby quilt squares laid out on the floor

Tomorrow I’ll make one more square, and then decide what to do about sashing.

Amelia’s Baby Quilt Pattern

Amelia's Baby Quilt

Last year before Amelia was born, I made her an adorable baby quilt. While I was making it, I took lots of pictures so that I could make a tutorial on how to do it. I have finally gotten the whole project finished and saved in a PDF file, so that I can now offer the pattern for this cute baby quilt for sale!

Amelia's Quilt Pattern

This quilt uses half of a precut triangle pack, 1 yard of medium fabric, 1 yard of dark fabric, and 2 yards of a light fabric to make a 52″ X 43.5″ finished quilt. It is very easy to make, and the pattern is explained with lots of pictures so that even someone who is a beginning quilter will find it easy to follow.

I pieced the back to make it more interesting.

I have this pattern for sale in my store, FabGrandma’s Crafty Stuff, and for the month of July, I will be giving  my readers a 20% discount on the purchase of it. It normally sells for $5.00, but with the 20% discount, you can get it for $4.00. Just use the coupon code  LoveAmelia to get your discount!  To get to the pattern in the store, click here!

Amelia with her quilt

 

 

Do You Quilt?

If you do, then SeamedUP is for you! A long while back, I joined a site for knitters and crocheters called Ravelry. While I love to crochet, my first true love is quilting, or rather, the making of quilts. There was some discussion on a long forgotten Ravelry forum about how we wished there was such a website as Ravelry for those of us who are addicted to fabric. And guess what? Now there is! And you can join it.

So probably now you are wondering exactly what SeamedUp is. Well, it is like a club, but not exactly that. It is a place where you can make an online Sewing Room, add your fabrics to your online “stash”, display your projects for other adoring quilters to admire. You can look at other people’s Sewing Rooms to be inspired by what they are doing. There is a forum where you can “chat” with other members. And coming soon, is a “trade” feature where you can list fabric, patterns, and such for trade with other quilters.

What are you waiting for? It’s free to join, and if you are a quilter, and haven’t joined, you are missing out! And if you are a fabric manufacturer, seller, pattern maker, or notions company, then they are looking for advertisers. To learn more about SeamedUp advertising opportunities,  then send them an email today at mail@seamedup.com. And tell them I sent you!

Blogger’s Quilt Festival


I missed the last Blogger’s Quilt Festival, because I didn’t find out about it until after it was over. I have had this one on my calendar for quite some time, just waiting to be able to participate.

Seth and Sarah's quilt

I have been working on a lot of projects lately, from re-doing my RV bedroom, to making an elegant handbag for my sister for my niece’s wedding, to finishing up the T-Shirt quilt for Judy. I also have been trying to finish up a quilt for my son, Seth, and his wife, Sarah. The quilt I am making for them may look familiar to you, because I made one in the same pattern for Becca, which was finished last October.

Seth's quilt before adding the outside borders

I started the one for Seth at the same time I started Becca’s but since I DO sew for other people, and sew other things for sale, I have pushed his aside too many times. So, I am not allowing myself to start or work on any other projects until I get this quilt finished. (well, while it is gone to the quilter I can do something else). I have finished the top, and am working on the back. I think the next time I get a day off from work it will be ready to go out to Jorja, the lady who does quilting for me on a long arm machine. I am really excited to get it so close to finished.

With the outer border added.

This quilt, and the one I made for Becca, have not been easy quilts for me to make. As a matter of fact, if I had not already started the one for Seth, I would never have made a second one after Becca’s was finished. I would have used a different pattern. However, I have met the challenges these two quilts have presented me, and am very proud of the results.

Now, I am piecing the back, so this quilt will be very interesting on both sides. Can’t wait to get it done and show you!

To see all the beautiful quilts in the this Blogger’s Quilt Festival, click on the banner below.

Amy's Creative Side | Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Judy’s Quilt Is Finished


Here I am sewing the binding on

 

I finished up the binding this morning at 9:37 a.m., then took the quilt outside to take some pictures:

Finished! T-shirt quilt

gorgeous!

Blowing in the breeze

closeup showing that mitered corner over there

close up showing quilting detail

Love this quilt!

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 7


Finally, this is the last in the series on the T-Shirt Tutorial. To see parts 1-6, here are the links:

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 1

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 2

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 3

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 4

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 5

Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 6

When you get your quilt back from the quilter (or when you finish quilting it if you are doing the quilting yourself), trim all the back and batting to the same size as the front of the quilt:

how to make a t-shirt quilt

Trim the quilt after it is quilted

Next, you are going to measure the quilt. When I sent this quilt top to the quilter, it measured 96″ X 96″. The process of quilting draws the fabric layers up a bit, and makes the piece smaller. So, to determine how much binding I need, I will have to measure the quilt again.

how to make a t-shirt quilt tutorial

Measure after quilting

The finished piece now measures 93.5″ X 95.5″, so I will need 378″ of binding strips. (93.5 +93.5 +95.5+95.5)  I always add at least 10″ to account for seams and turning the corners.  The next thing I did was cut strips 2.5″ X  width of fabric until I had enough to make a strip 388″ long.

t-shirt quilt tutorial

Cut binding strips 2 and a half inches wide X width of fabric.

Stitch these strips together end to end to make one long continuous length of binding.

t-shirt quilt tutorial

stitch the strips together end to end

Press under one half inch along the entire length of the binding strip.

how to make a t-shirt quilt

press under one half inch

Pin the binding strip to the front of the quilt, right sides together.  Start pinning in the middle of any edge.

how to make a t-shirt quilt

pin binding to the front of the quilt

At the corners, make miters by pinning the binding at an angle along both sides of the corner.

how to make a t-shirt quilt

pin the binding at an angle on both sides of the corner

When you get to the meet point of the binding, pin the edges together. Using a pen or marker, mark the edge where the ends meet on both sides:

how to make a t-shirt quilt

pin the ends together, then mark the meet point with a pen or marker.

Pull the ends of the binding away from the quilt, and pen together.  Stitch the ends together on the marked line.

t-shirt quilt tutorial

pin on marked line

Stitch on marked line:

Stitch on marked line

Trim seam to one fourth inch:

how to make a t-shirt quilt

trim seam

Continue to pin binding in place in quilt:

continue pinning binding to quilt

Stitch binding to quilt using a one half inch seam:

stitch using a one half inch seam

When you get to the corners, stitch to within one half inch of the edge. Stop, remove the fabric from the machine. Turn the corner, place the fabric back in the machine, begin stitching one half inch from the edge:

stitch to within one half inch of the edge. Turn, start stitching one half inch from edge

After you have stitched all the way around, remove all the pins, and turn the binding to the back of the quilt.

turn binding to the back of the quilt

Pin in place again:

I hate this part!

Thread a needle with matching thread,  hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt using small stitches.

hand stitch binding to back of quilt

To make the mitered corners, fold the corner flat:

fold the corner flat

Turn the first edge over at an angle and pin in place:

how to make a mitered corner

fold the first side over at an angle

Fold the second side over and pin in place:

Fold the second side over and pin in place

Continue to hand stitch the binding in place all the way around the quilt.

The front showing a mitered corner.

Now, I have to say here, that this makes making mitered corners look like a piece of cake. I have a hard time making mitered corners, and not all of them look this good. If anyone reading this has an easier way to make these mitered corners, please tell me.

Done!

Now that the binding is done, the quilt is finished. You may want to add a label, telling who made the quilt, and when. I put a label on this one. I’ll post pics of the finised quilt tomorrow.