Quilting

I Finished My Quilt Top

Remember the quilt I started a few months back? I bought the fabric in December, cut it in January, and started sewing in May. (yeah, I’m fast like that).

I sewed on the last border piece yesterday. It turned out really nice. I am calling it my “Kaibab Quilt”, because the colors in it remind me of the Kaibab National Forest. Browns, greens, turquoise, cream–those colors are all there in the Ponderosa pines, the aspens, and the huge blue sky out there. Now I’m looking for someone with a long arm quilter so I can get this completed before fall comes, and I need it on my bed.

quilt 02 — My Kaibab Quilt--I love these colors!

I’m thinking about making some pillow covers and some curtains to match this, and recovering the cornice boards in the trailer, too. It would make a nice change in the bedroom, I think.

Check out all the pretty stuff on the I Made It Blog Party over at Everything Etsy.

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Something New In My Shop!

Karen · 6 Comments

copy-quilt-01 — Amelia's Quilt Pattern available in PDF file.

I have written up the instructions for making Amelia’s Quilt, and made it into a PDF file. There are lots and lots of pictures showing each step of the way. If you’d like to make your own baby quilt, you can get your own copy of the pattern for $5.00 by clicking here.

DSCN2181 — I love to see quilts hanging on a line.

DSCN2196 — Here's the back of the quilt.

OH! and quilts always look better with a baby!

amelia and her quilt 4 days old — There she is with the quilt I made for her. Sweet!

Sorry, I can’t provide the cute baby, you gotta do that yourself. But doesn’t the quilt look so much sweeter with Miss Amelia sleeping on it?

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Almost Finished With MY Quilt

Karen · 9 Comments

Although I have been making quilts for about eleven years now, I still don’t have one for my bed. That is soon going to be remedied, though, because I have been working on my very own quilt for a while now. I am getting close to being finished with it.

my quilt — The fabrics are from the Large Whimsy collection. Love those browns!

I am using the Mixed Tape Quilt pattern from Elizabeth Hartman, who writes a lovely quilt blog at Oh! Frannson! The pattern called for 16 different fabrics, but I only had 8, so I used each one twice as much. I still like the result. But then, I have always looked at a quilt pattern as a place to start and have rarely ever made a quilt exactly like the pattern.

Brown for my quilt back. — Brown for the back of the quilt.

I’m using this lovely brown fabric for the back–I think it will look so good quilted with turquoise thread. I hope to have this finished and on my bed before the end of summer.

I am participating in the Everything Etsy Blog Party this week. Check out the other pretty things people have made here:

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Amelia’s Baby Quilt Is Finished.

Karen · 5 Comments

I enjoyed making this little quilt. I started out with a “turnover”, which is a stack of pre-cut 6″ triangles. It went together really quickly. It really didn’t take much time to make–it could probably be made in just a weekend.

I always enjoy taking pictures when I am finished with a quilt. I try to pretty places to hang them so the pictures look more interesting. These were taken today at Payne Lake Campground. The sun was shining, with a clear sky and a gentle breeze, quite a nice day after a winter of mostly freezing temps or rainy days.

The next time I have a picture of this quilt will be with its intended recipient, Miss Amelia Summer, who will be making her debut sometime in May. She’s due on May 23, I think, but will probably be a bit early. She will be my second granddaughter. I can hardly wait!

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I’ve Been Busy Writing

Karen · 4 Comments

One of my friends sent me an email asking where the heck I’ve been, since I haven’t been writing much here at FabGrandma. Well, I’ve been busy! In addtion to still tweaking my new site here behind the scenes, I have contributed to a couple of other places. And, in case you haven’t noticed, I have that review site to worry about too. I’ve written a few reviews over at FabGrandma…Reviews and at MomGadget. If you want to look around at what I’ve been up to, just click on the links below:

FabGrandma…Reviews

Wellgate for Women Braces

Manischewitz Foods Gluten Free Products

Give Wink Children’s Furniture

Nikon Coolpix S630 Camera

About.com Grandparenting

About.com Grandparenting Technology

I have two more articles planned for About.com, and some other things in the back of my head. As if I needed another project, today I was invited to join a group called We Write For 10, which means we get a topic each day to write about for 10 minutes. Gaaaa! I know I can do it, but I am still asking myself why on earth I agreed to that. Maybe it is my ADHD, or my Gemini personality???

And that’s not all. I am almost finished with the baby quilt–I hope to be able to show the completed project by next week. All I really have left to do is the hand sewing on the binding, but that stinking arthritis in my hands has been bothering me for the last couple of days. When that happens, some days it feels like I have two useless clubs at the end of my arms–can’t do any sewing like that! I can type, but can’t hold that little needle.

I got orders for two men’s aprons, and have one cut out, and looking for a piece of fabric to match the one I have already to be able to get the other one cut. That project is next in line after the baby quilt. And then, I will start the machine sewing on my own quilt. It’s all cut, ready to go, just looking for time, hahahaha.

Here is a funny from real life: Today, FabGrandpa and I were in Wal-Mart. I was looking at pots and pans because I wanted a deep sautee pan. He said, “You need to get a new metal spatula for me to use when I cook.” And I looked for one but did not find it. And it did not really dawn on me until later, when we were almost home, and I started laughing out loud. He asked “What’s so funny?” and I said, “It just occured to me that you never cook!”

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Did I Tell You That I Love Fabric?

Karen · 6 Comments

fabric closet — Fabric in my linen closet

So, I guess you thought that since I live in a 34′ travel trailer that I would have nowhere to store a fabric stash? Dream on! I could not live without fabric. Even if I don’t have time to sew for several months, I MUST have fabric with me at all times. I would probably perish from fabric withdrawal if I could not at least pet it once in a while. You know, take it all out, arrange it in different combinations, think about what I want to do with it EVENTUALLY, feel it. You know, all the things a real fabric-aholic does.

That photo up there? Is the fabric I have stored in my “linen closet”. The “linen closet” is two shelves in an overhead cabinet in the bedroom. My fabric takes up one shelf in there. Who needs towels anyway??? I also have a wicker trunk in the living area that doubles as a coffee table. It is full of fabric. And a two drawer Sterlite storage container. And a shopping bag in the wardrobe closet. But, with all that fabric on hand, I still didn’t have the exact piece that I needed to finish a couple of projects.

I bring this up because we had to go to Tuscaloosa for yet another medical thing for FabGrandpa today, and on the way home we stopped by the Carolina Lily Quilt Shop. And when I say we, I went in and bought stuff and he sat in the truck and slept off the anesthesia. I figured if he didn’t know what was going on it didn’t matter. Right? (Oh, and by the way, his colonoscopy turned out fine.)

I can’t tell you how much I spent, because I didn’t look at the bill, just handed over my debit card. That was a rather brave thing to do, but it was very necessary.

When I went in there today, I bought two charm packs and a jelly roll. Charm packs are precut squares of a variety of fabrics that all coordinate. Same with the jelly roll, except that you get 40 precut strips. The ones I got today are the Birdie 5″ charm pack; the Animal Alphabet 5″ charm pack; and the Soiree’ 1 1/2″ strip jelly roll. Having the pieces precut saves a lot of time and makes making a quilt so much easier and faster.(plus, if I don’t actually use it for a while, I get to see so many fabrics all at one time!)

green for sarah — Background fabric for Sarah and Seth's Bethlehem Star quilt.

I got the background fabric to be able to finish Sarah and Seth’s quilt. I wanted a brown but could not find one that matched this very well. The green looks very nice with the other fabrics in the star.

Yellow Squishie — Yellow for sashing for the charm pack I won.

Back during the summer I won a charm pack of precut 6″ squares in a giveaway. I have been wanting to do something with them, but needed sashing fabric. I got a nice yellow to tie them all together. Don’t know exactly what it is going to be yet, but at least now I can start seriously thinking about the possibilities.

And this is what I actually went in there to buy. I have all the pieces cut for the blocks, sashing, and border of the quilt for my bed. The only thing I needed to be able to get it sewn and ready for quilting was the backing. I found this deep brown that looks really good with the other fabrics. I’m thinking I am going to have it quilted with turquoise thread, so it will show up nicely on the back of the quilt.

So, now I am set to be able to complete several projects. Let it snow! See if I care!

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A Sneak Peak At The New Baby Quilt

Karen · 8 Comments

These are the blocks, all laid out on my bed so I can see how they look together. I still need to sew the sashing and borders on. I am loving it! I tried to lay them out approximately as far apart as they will be with the sashing strips. I go in the bedroom and sew when I get frustrated working on the website. Yes, still working on it, tweaking things, and getting the FabGrandma Reviews side of it working. It is easier getting the review one done because of all the things I learned while doing this one, but it is still a pain in the part I sit on!

We had to go to Tuscaloosa again on Monday for yet another appointment for FabGrandpa. The VA is checking every part of him, one thing at a time. This is all good, but dang, it is soooo time consuming. He is scheduled for a colonoscopy next week, then another appointment at the end of February for the doctor to give the results all the tests.Then another appointment with an eye doctor for another test. I think Fabgrandpa gets a diploma when he has the last test, ha ha ha ha!

On Tuesday, we went to Greensboro to get new batteries for the truck. It has been taking several tries to get it to crank on cold mornings, and after thinking about it for a minute, we decided that we got the existing ones when we were working in Texas, so that would make them six years old. No wonder they are worn out. So, $207 later, she’s cranking up on the first try every time.

Also, while we were in Greensboro, I asked around to see if they had a food bank, and they do, at the local Habitat For Humanity office. I went in and talked to them about what I items I had to donate, and they referred me to a woman in town who is on a gluten free diet and would be glad to receive them. I’m going to meet her sometime next week.

I finally got a direct deposit I was waiting for this week. It was supposed to be here the first week of January, and I have called several times over the past few weeks trying to find out what the problem was. They finally figured out what the holdup was, and I saw the deposit in my account yesterday morning. So, I could finally call the airline and get a ticket for FabGranddaughter Sarah to come to visit us in March on her spring break. I can not wait! She’s flying to Atlanta, where we will pick her up and go to our hometown. Her dad, step-mother, brother (the FabGrandson Michael), and half-brother (the FabGrandson Owen), are all coming from Maryland. We’ll spend a week in a motel, doing fun things. It’s going to be great!

Oh, if you want to win a gift pack from Maniszhewitz, go to FabGrandma Reviews and make a comment. I’m giving away three prizes. The products are kosher and gluten free, but they taste really good. Anyone would love them. Sorry, United States residents only.

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Hurray! I Got Some Sewing Done Today

Karen · 15 Comments

I have so many projects to get done that sometimes I don’t know where to begin. I made a rule for myself a couple of years ago that I have to finish one thing before I can start another, because I had gotten into the habit of not finishing things. I would make the quilt top, but not follow through with putting the layers together and quilting the project. Since I made that rule for myself, I have finished lots of things.

I DO still buy fabric, and cut things out before I finish the project at hand, but this just gives me something to pick up and sew. Today, I finished sewing the star pieces together for the Star of Bethlehem quilt I am making for Seth and Sarah.

If that looks familiar, it may be because I am making one very similar to it for Becca and Ken. There is only one fabric that is different in the two quilts. These are king size, and I am sending them out to a long arm quilter to be quilted. My sewing machine won’t handle that big of a job. Here is a photo of Becca’s quilt ready to go:

Yes, I was working on it in the maintenance shop. I had to clean of the work bench and tape some plastic on it to have a space big enough to work on. Sometimes I go to a quilt shop and use the tables in their back room. I have never been turned down for doing that, as long as they don’t have lessons going on at the time.

I had bought some yellow and purple fabric for the new baby’s quilt when a month or so ago:

But then this cute cute girlie girl fabric came in the mail last week:

So now our new little missy will be getting this purty fabric called “OH, Cherry, Oh” for her first quilt from her FabGrandma. I haven’t decided on a pattern yet, but I think I am going to let the fabric tell me what to do. I got what is called a “turnover”, which is a pack of 40 pre-cut triangles, and three 1 yard pieces. I love those pre-cuts–they make it so easy to get started doing something.

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