Sampler Block #7 - Arkansas Traveler

I am a little early with this block post, but here is #7 in my sampler adventure.  I have actually decided to only do 8 of the 12, so there will only be one more post on the sampler series for the summer.  I do intend to do another set for myself with a completely different color pallet, though.

I wrote my mother a poem for mother's day back in 1999 that was about a quilt.  She has had it framed and hanging in her living room for the last 14 years.  We have often talked of making a quilt with it by screen printing the poem onto blocks, etc.

Well, my mother finally decided it was time and had the poem embroidered onto 4 white quilt blocks.  I have decided to give these sampler blocks to her to go with her poem blocks.  It is so fitting that the poem is about brightly colored quilt blocks that were pieced together with love and patience.  I am so anxious to see the samplers with the poem blocks finished.

At any rate, back to the block this week.  This one was not too difficult once I figured out exactly how to cut the angles I needed!  This whole project has been an awesome skill builder for me and I am so happy that I have done it.

The tutorial for this block was very nicely done and can be found here at Freshly Pieced.

Here is a shot of mine:

It pains me that I cannot do a shot of all 7 blocks together on this post, but I already mailed what I had done to my mother so that she could get started.

Happy sewing :)

Sampler Block #6 - Minnesota

This block was a lot of fun to do and went a lot quicker than I thought.  These sampler blocks are so tricky!  The ones I thought would be easy were most challenging and the ones I thought would be a breeze were a little more challenging.

They have all been fun, though.

This block was not really one of my favorites in the series.  It was also the first block that I did that I had doubts mid way through about my color choices, etc.  However, when it was done, I was madly in love with it.  :).  I think it goes nicely with the other blocks.  It looks like strawberry lemonade to me.

The instructions were easy to follow and you can find them here at Freshly Pieced.

Here is a shot of mine:

And a shot of all of the blocks so far:

Left to right top to bottom:

Lucky Pieces, Kansas Dust Storm, Minnesota, Mosaic, Star, Greek Cross

Gift - Storage Box

We have a new baby coming to the family this September and a baby shower July 14th.  Time really slips away when you are working on several projects at once, which I always say I am not going to do, but totally do anyway.

I made a quilt for the new addition, and some burp rags.  I had been wanting to make a gift / storage box to put everything in as well.  Something that I thought would look good with diapers or other baby supplies in.  I finally got around to it today.

This came together more quickly and more easily than I anticipated (I love it when that happens).

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I am not a fan of "baby" stuff.  This box was no exception.  I chose colors that I thought would work for a boy but no baby patterns.

For this project you will need:

1) Cardboard box
2) Sharpie
3) Spray Adhesive
4) Scissors
5) Canvas fabric in two patterns (I used a solid and a print)

First, I measured my box.  My sides were about 9" tall, so I called it 10" so I would have a little more than I needed.

Draw a line the length of the height you want (mine was 10") from each corner of your box.  Next, draw a line 1" to the outside of your first line.  

So, you have essentially drawn a square at each corner.  Now, you want to cut those squares off each corner like so:

Where your two lines intersected at each corner, but a slit into it from corner to corner like so:

At this point, I sprayed the bottom of my box and put it on my fabric.  I would caution you that with the adhesive I used, you want to set the box exactly where you want it because it didn't want to come loose when I sat it down!

I started with my narrow sides.  I sprayed the side of the box and just around the corner so I could wrap the fabric around like so:

After I had my narrow sides finished, I trimmed the extra on the top a bit and moved to the wider sides.

The extra width on each side of fabric that I glued around the sides on the narrow ends will be folded over on these ends before they are glued to the box.  I folded the flap in and finger pressed it, then opened it, sprayed the area and folded it back over like this:

Next I sprayed the side and pulled my fabric up like I did with the narrow sides.  The finished box looks like this:

Next, I made my inside cover that also overhung on each side.  I did not actually take photos of this process, but it is pretty simple.

I measured the dimensions of the bottom of my box and added 1/2 inch to each side for seam allowance then cut one. I measured each narrow side plus the number of inches I wanted my fabric to overhang (about 3 inches for me) and cut two.  Then measured each wide side plus the number of inches for overhang and cut two.

I sewed the narrow sides to the bottom, then the wide sides then joined them into a box shape.

Insert the liner with the right side facing you and then fold over your overhang.

These photos were taken before the overhang edges were finished.  I was trying it on to see that it fit correctly.

This is a lot easier than it looks to do and I think it makes a great storage box or even just a gift box!

Sampler Block #5 - Lucky Pieces

After struggling with my last block, I wanted to switch gears and do something a little less complex...haha.

This block turned out nicely and I love all the colors in it.  It consists of 16 HST and went together quickly.

The tutorial is here at FreshLemonQuilts.Com.

Here is a shot of mine:

Here is a shot of all the blocks so far....

Sampler Block #4 - Kansas Dust Storm

Well, all I can say after finishing this block is...."Whew".  This was one of my favorite blocks in the sampler and, by far, the most difficult block I have ever done.

I got mixed up and turned around on a lot of the templates on this one.  My advice is 1) Measure the one inch guide on each template after you print it & 2)  Label all of your template pieces.  I learned both of these the hard way!

After all the work and frustration, though, I was very pleased with how mine came out.  I used a very different color choice than the block in the tutorial at freshlypieced.com.  You can find the tutorial here.

Kansas Dust Storm

Mosiac, Kansas Dust Storm, Star, Greek Cross (left to right....and ignore my Carpentar's Star!)

 The instructions for this one were not written so much for the beginner as the ones for the Star block were.  So, if you are new to paper piecing like I was, I would recommend doing the Star block first before trying the Kansas Dust Storm block!

Happy Quilting :)

Sampler Block #3 - Star

Every now and then something happens that reinforces something that you already know, and this block was one of them for me.

I had been putting off my first paper pieced block just dreading it!  I had this picture of it being so hard and wondered if I had the skills to pull it off.

I bit the bullet this week with the Star block.  Now that it's finished, I feel silly for dreading it so badly.  I was much easier than I thought....looking back to how afraid I was of it, it seems so silly now.

I will say, though, for any of you who have not paper pieced before KEEP YOUR INSTRUCTIONS HANDY!  While the process was simple, I found it a little confusing which fabric faces toward you, which faces away, etc.  I did hit a couple bumps in the road and did some seam ripping on this one.

Thankfully, the instructions on freshlemonquilts.com was very well done with great photos.  I would recommend following her advice and writing your colors on your paper templates before you start stitching!  Click here for the tutorial and templates for this block.

Here is a shot of my first paper pieced block ever!  I know it won't be my last!

Star Block

Here is a shot of all the sampler blocks so far....

Mosiac, Star, Greek Cross (from left to right)

Sampler Block #2 - Greek Cross

It's been a busy week for me and I am a little behind posting block #2 of the sampler series I am doing.

This block is not my favorite shape wise, but it does work in the overall sampler.  It is called Greek Cross and can be found here at FreshLemonQuilts.com.

Here is a shot of mine.  Finished size is 12 1/2 X 12 1/2....as are all of the blocks in this series.  

Block #1 & Block #2 together (Mosiac & Greek Cross left to right)

Greek Cross Block

I had some lovely charm squares from Moda that I though would blend with my color scheme, so I deviated from my solids a little on this one.

My next block I am doing from the series is one simply called "Star".  It will be my first paper piecing attempt so I have my fingers crossed!

Vintage Sheet Quilt Finished (Finally)

I finally got my vintage sheet quilt finished and back from the quilter in Tennessee.  I started this quilt last year as an entry to the county fair for 2013.  I was in no huge rush to complete it since I had a year to get it done :).  

It is finally finished and I could not be more in love with the quilting that was done on it.  

You can find my original post here.  This pattern is called Hopscotch and can be found in Super Simple Quilts #1.  This book is available on Amazon, I believe.

Here are some shots of my quilt.  Binding is yet to be done, but I have not decided on a color yet.  Wish me luck at the fair!!

Summer Sampler Fun!

I came across a fantastic quilt along sampler on Pintrest recently.  I took a look and it was from 2011, but hey, if I haven't seen it before it's new to me!

This sampler has 12 blocks and a hand full of bloggers doing tutorials on each.

I am not a big fan of solids, but when I saw this sampler, I fell in love.  It is also very interesting to see everyone's blocks on the various blogs that have tutorials!  But, my favorite by far was the white and solids.

I decided to take up this project for the summer and do one block each week.  I will post links to the original instructions each week also.

I am really excited about this project!  I think it will be a skill builder and I am looking forward to learning a new thing or two :)

For my first block, I chose the "Mosaic".  

Here is a shot of mine before final assembly of the 16 HST in it.  (These will be laid out a little differently before assembly)

Mosaic

Here are some shots of the assembled block:

Mosaic Assembled 

Mosaic Assembled

The tutorial for this block can be found at FreshlyPieced, just click here.

I am so excited to see how mine comes along this summer!

H Quilt Complete

Well, my "H Block" Quilt is finally assembled and quilted.  I just picked up the binding today at JoAnn Fabric.

The quilt top was mailed to Tennessee to be quilted by a friend of my mother's, who did a fantastic job!  I was so happy that I opted for the circles in the quilt pattern.  A friend told me that with all the blue, it looked like water to her.  I think it does as well!  We are headed to Tennessee shortly and I will pick it up.....I can't wait!

Quilt Top

Back of Quilt

This was a free pattern from Craftsy by Sharon Holland.  You can find a link to the pattern in my original post.

Sunday Blessings

I love Sundays. Sundays for me are a day to casually clean house, sew, nap or try a new recipe.  I really feel like Sunday's are my day.  I always feel incredibly blessed on Sundays.  As I am cleaning or cooking or just sewing or relaxing, I am always reminded in these quite moments how blessed I am. :)

Today, I decided to try making home made soft pretzels.  Now, we buy these all the time, and they are an item that I have wanted for a LONG time to try to make at home.  

I finally decided to take the plunge today.  I honestly figured they would turn out somewhat since I have worked with a lot of dough in my day.  But, they turned out even better than I expected!  Love it when that happens!

I have found several recipes over the years for these and had held onto several from all kinds of sources for when the bug hit me to make these.  

Here is the recipe I went with:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil
• 3 quarts water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• Egg wash (1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water)
• Coarse salt

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. 
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
4. Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil.
5. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
7. Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.
8. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. 
9. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. 
10. Roll each piece into a long rope and shape into the lengths or shapes that you want (sticks are easy and tasty).  
11. Boil the pretzels in the water solution in batches. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. 
12. Place pretzels on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. 
13. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. 
14. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
15. Add additional toppings immediately after they come out of the oven.

H Quilt Blocks Complete

I have finished all my H blocks a little quicker than I thought I might, so here is an update.  I am still not convinced that I have my layout right.....I always fuss way too much over this stage of a quilt!

The good news is that I am pretty sure I have enough fabric left over to do another quilt with it, but a different pattern.  I am thinking of giving them both to the Momma-To-Be as a matching set.  :)

H Quilt

I am far enough into my "H" quilt to post about it!  I have 30 of 40 blocks finished!

I found this pattern quite some time ago and wished I had an excuse to make it.  And, when I found out there was going to be a new baby boy in the family, I immediately thought of this quilt.  I was able to find it again on Pinterest.  Ladies, what the heck did we do with all of our free time before Pinterest?

Here is the original image.  I think that her color choice is SO amazing!!

Click here for the pattern by Sharon Holland.

Here are my blocks.  I tried to duplicate the color pallet since I really, really loved her color choices.

I have three more fabrics to add before putting my border on!

Baby Boy Stuff!!

Well, it has certainly been a while since my last post.  Just busy with life and that pesky "job" that is always keeping me away from my sewing room!

Good news in the family.....a baby boy is on the way!  This is a great excuse for me to craft and sew like crazy!  

I have been making these really cute and easy burp rags.  I found the pattern here:  http://sewshesews.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/burp-cloth-tutorial/

Sorry my picture is sideways :/.....could not figure out how to turn it around!

Burp Rags

I am not a huge fan of "babyish" fabrics and colors, so I tried to go with something a little less baby than the obvious color choices and patterns.  I have two more matching sets of two.

I have a lovely quilt in progress that I found on Craftsy that I will share soon....when it's a little more together!

Happy Crafting :)