Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A, B, C...September ALYOF

I completed my ALYOF September goal--to sew fabric letters and a drawstring bag to hold them for my nephew--and mailed them off today. His birthday was on the 23rd, so they are late, but he's 2 and won't care. Besides, I actually have a good excuse. I made the last-minute decision to head to my sister's house (4+ hours away) with my 3 little guys so that we could attend the birthday party. This meant that the days I had planned to sew the letters, I was actually visiting the birthday by instead. I'll take an in-person visit over a timely birthday present any day!


Here are the letters:
(the letters in the lower left show the backing fabric--rows of cars)

And the drawstring bag (isn't this the perfect fabric for a bag that holds letters?!):
Clearly the bag didn't get ironed...

And the whole colorful pile of letters and the bag!

I'm thinking that Santa will be bringing my nephew quilted numbers for Christmas to complete the set!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

September ALYOF Goal: Fabric Letters

Way back before Christmas, I used this tutorial to make a set of fabric letters for my 2.5 year old nephew. Because I finished them approximately 3 hours before I had to wrap them, I forgot to take a photo. My sister-in-law took these photos for me after the fact:


It was fun to dig through my scraps to find fabrics to use, and I had the letter print you see above that I used to make a drawstring bag. This was a quick and easy project to do!

Fast forward to the end of May, and that same nephew was about to turn 3. I decided a set of numbers would be a great gift and dug through my scraps again.

This time I remembered to take a photo before gifting them. 
And of course my boys wanted to be in a photo too!

So when August rolled around and a certain boy in my house was turning 3 (the redhead above), I decided he needed his own set of letters. I actually made these the day of his birthday--that's how quickly they sew up! I love the fabric I found for his drawstring bag, too.

I have another nephew who will be turning 2 in September, and I've been planning to make him a set for his birthday. With this in mind, I was smart when pulling fabrics for my son's set--I cut enough pieces for both sets at the same time, so all I have to do is assemble the little quilt sandwiches, stitch the letter shapes on each one, and cut them out. I feel like the fabric selection is the most time-consuming part of this project, so I'm thrilled that I'm done with that part already!

And so, my September ALYOF goal is to finish the set of letters and drawstring bag for my nephew's birthday. I'm hoping that he'll like them as much as the other two boys do!



Wednesday, September 3, 2014

WIP Wednesday: quilts for my big boys

This is one of those projects that's been a long time in the making...

I've had plans to make bed quilts for my two bigger boys (5.5 and 3) for a couple years, and I had a color pattern in mind, thanks to this inspiration page from a Sherwin Williams brochure:
(My older son has seen this picture--and approved the color scheme--
but wants to know when Daddy will be installing the barn door on the closet!)

My nursery decor had been teal and mocha, so the boys' room (they share) was already painted a similar shade to the teal you see here. I loved this palette and wanted to use it for their "big boy" room. My now 3-year-old was less than a year when we moved into our house, so I had time to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I ran into the Cranberry Chutney pattern by Madison Cottage Design at Quilt Festival in 2013 and fell in love. 


The plaid look each block had was perfect for two growing boys--not too childish, but not too grown up. That same day, I bought a bunch of fabrics in my color scheme. Which I then sat on for about nine months. 

This spring and summer, with the new baby on the way, it was time to start the redecorating process. My mom and I cut everything we needed and split it in half--we would each make 99 blocks!

Here are some in progress shots from my design wall as I made blocks and put them up on the wall. Did I mention that 99 blocks is A LOT? I am so happy that mom volunteered to make the other 99!


And the finished layout for one of the quilts--just needs to be sewn together! I think there might be an end in sight for finishing the boys' room!

Here's a peek at the repurposed dresser in the boys' room--the quilts will help to tie the colors together!

So that's what I'm working on this week (and have been working on for several weeks!). My next challenge is the quilt backs--I'm thinking I'd like to make the backs look like a single block (so one main fabric with several strips intersecting through it). What do you think? Any other backing ideas?

Not looking to get overly detailed in the back piecing, but I'd like something more than just a plain quilt back. And, I don't have any blocks left (nor any of the fabrics from making them--I bought just enough!), so I can't do a row of blocks--matching ones, at least--on the back.






Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Block Happy 2

A little more catch-up here...several months' worth of do.Good Stitches blocks for the Believe circle to share with you. I always love seeing how everyone's blocks look and then how the finished quilt comes together! 

April blocks: fun little Scotty dogs in black or gray with bright bowties.

May blocks: an improv pick-up stick looking block design in orange, yellow, green, turquoise, and dark purple/blue

June blocks: a transparent-looking "LOVE" block in sunset colors

July blocks: Easy patchwork with a white center square and frame, in shades of blue, turquoise, and purple

August blocks: Flying geese blocks of any design, in a yellow, coral and periwinkle palette. Everyone's blocks are different--can't wait to see how this quilt comes together!