Good things come in 3's

I made 3 quilts this week with the same pattern. The same pattern I have used.....I don't know how many times. It is a Shabby Fabric pattern. "Easy as 1,2,3 and ABC" It is my go to when I need to reduce my stash, a gift, or a quick quilt.  I have used it for all the teacher baby quilts at my school. I don't even know how many times I have made it and it has been made in every size from baby to king. A teacher who  worked with left our school a year ago and she had twins, a boy and a girl. I decided to make her some quilts and when I got cutting for the pattern I just kept going.

 The baby girl quilt is completely done and I think I squeezed the last of my favorite scraps in here. Yes , you have seen these fabrics before. I also added the last few pieces to the other pink top I made.

The boy version is ready to be quilted and will be finished soon. I only bought the border for the boy quilt, everything else was leftover in my stash. That makes me happy!!!
As you can see below. I LOVE pink and green. I started cutting pieces and just kept going. My intentions were to make a lap size but I just kept finding fabric and.... it turned into a twin. Oh well, I am hoping to get this one quilted up this weekend as well. I used up lots of stash!  So, three quilts,, same pattern.. easy...quick..great late night sewing with a movie!

Linking up to  Crazy Mom Quilts
Confessions of a fabric addict

Sisters!

My sister asked a few weeks before I went up to Ohio about a queen size quilt. She was looking for one for herself. She wanted dark colors. WooHoo. I had some dark colors in my stash from long ago. I had a chance to use them up since I am a bright color girl! Off I went. Since I had a small amount of time I took the easy pattern AGAIN! Was not sure I liked it but it turned out OK and she was pretty happy. I finished at the last minute so I only got a couple pictures before it went in the suitcase.

 It really is prettier in person. I used a lovely copper thread to quilt it and that was nice.

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts 
Confessions of a fabric addict
My quilt infatuation

Soap Time!

I will veer from my quilts for just a bit. I learned to make my own homemade soap about 4 years ago and have not turned back. It is another fun thing that feeds into my desire to live clean and healthy wherever I can. It is wonderful on the skin and I know all the ingredients. No detergents! I taught my sister to make it a couple years ago and she is hooked as well. We made 9 double batches last summer and this year we made 11. We also went to a soap conference in Cleveland and learned a lot. I am thinking I might have a business going when I retire! Hmm. What do ya think about that one! Everyone that uses my soap loves it, so why not start selling some.  we shall see. anyway, here is a sample of what we made.

 This is a lavender swirl. My middle daughter is getting married this December and I will use a nice bar of soap and some home made lotion "from our shower to yours" as a favor. here are the first of the bars. They smell divine!

The 2 dark ones on the left are the manly man soaps. My husband LOVES it, and so does my son in law.  Barber shop and Deep Amber Musk. Its hard to see but they are swirled in light and dark brown, and light and dark green, with spirulina powder which is thought to be wonderful for the skin. Of course the pink and green is the girl soap.  there were 7 other beautiful big batches. Not sure which one to use first when they are done curing.

Feel the Force!

My daughter has a very good friend from college expecting her first baby. Both she and her husband are Star Wars super fans. So, my daughter thought it would be fun to make her a Star Wars quilt. She bought the fabric and off I went. She originally wanted a design with squares in it but I thought it would hide the great pictures in the fabric. So, I kept the pieces intact and went from there. I am really feeling the force and so was her friend. It turned out pretty cute. A bit bigger than a baby size but that is good too. I used the leftovers to piece the back.  I was lucky to snap a few pictures before it ran out the door!!

I also made a couple easy and quick dresses for my sweet little girl.

 Her brother had a Sesame Street birthday party so I made this one with Abby on it from the show. I made the shorts and t shirt for brother too.

Hello Summer

It has been pretty hectic around here the last few months and I have used my time to really try and get some sewing done and the blog has fallen by the wayside. BUT, summer is coming and I have gotten some things accomplished. I will have to space out the old with the new. This was my first with minky on the back. It was the nubby kind but it turned out really, really nice!

 I made this twin size for a teacher at work. Sorry about the poor picture quality but the fabric is from the quilt show in Houston and It is really very pretty and so calming. She loves it.

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts
Confessions of a fabric addict

Happy Baby

A teacher at school asked me about making a quilt for her third sweet baby girl. I was happy to jump in. I had some beautiful fabrics I was holding on to for the right thing and....there it was!! So out they came and Mom helped pick a pattern she liked and I was a happy sewer for a few weeks. I made it a big lap size, so she can use it for awhile. I LOVE how it turned out. Mom was happy and so was Baby! I even put her name on front.

I am getting a bit braver in my quilting and that is fun!

And that's a happy baby too!

 I think I showed this top earlier but I took some chances in my quilting and really experimented.

 I also used variegated thread. Why not experiment and have some fun with all those scraps.

The quilt top is not that pretty but the quilting makes it much better. VERY scrappy.

My next quilt is already pieced and sandwiched together with Minky on the back. I'm really scared!!! I know I need to jump in, so that is next time.

Another Baby!

As I said last week, another baby arrived and I got busy lat weekend and put together a boy quilt from scraps! Nothing was purchased, and I am thrilled!  Thank you to Jasmine over at Quilt kisses!. She had a beautiful quilt with Open feathers quilted in it. I really liked it so I studied her pictures and decided to just jump in and try it myself. I am anxious now to look up the class and take it but in the meantime I have had some play time! I put a feather type design on the border and a half feather in the small white border. I am excited about how it turned out and definitely going to do more. Thanks so much Jasmine!!!

 I only have one simple picture of this one. It is queen size and all flannel, no batting. I have one on my bed and it is a just right blanket in Houston. My daughter has one as well that I made her quite awhile ago. Hers was falling apart because she washes and uses it so much. I made her another one and it went home with her before I got any good pictures but, so happy it is in use!

My Grand daughter is crazy about Princesses so I found some scraps of a castle and a princess print in a pile a friend gave me. Her new dolly now has a lovely blanket for the princess! The back is minky so it is soft and fun to play with.

Almost done with the Christmas top! Welcome weekend!
Linking to
Crazy mom quilts
Confessions of a fabric addict

Blue Baby

Another teacher at school is having a baby and I have waited until the holidays are over to make her a quilt. Her nursery is blue and grey. I made the same pattern I always make for the girls at school. Its done and was a quick project this week, I was also finishing up the top for my queen Christmas quilt, not quite done yet.  Getting ready to bust into my scraps.

 I did a simple stipple in the middle with grey thread, then switched to blue for the border and did some circles. I need much more practice!

Linking up to Crazy mom Quilts and
 Confessions of a fabric addict

Scrappy Chevron

Back to the batch of free fabric that my daughter brought me. I found some colors that were rather pale for my taste but I wanted to do some experimenting, So I made the easy peasy chevron from Kelly over at My quilt infatuation. I have made it several times and it remains one of my favorites. I love the way it turns out and its so easy to make. Anyway, I was experimenting with pale calm colors and I wanted to experiment with quilting as well. I quilted each chevron zig zag differently and even used different colors, pink, grey, blue and white. I realized I have lots of work to do but it still makes me happy to look at it. I was going to donate it to a charity but I think I'm going to hold on to it until I find the right person to give it to. I think God is nudging me to tell me there is someone who may need it in the future and I am supposed to save it for them, So I will.

My nephew in Ohio had a baby girl and she had some health issues at birth so I am sending her a blanket I made. No batting inside, flannel on the front and minky on the back. I was pretty afraid of the minky but it was not too bad! I embroidered her name on it so her older sister and brother remember who's it is!!

I used flannel from the quilt show  couple years ago and leftover minky. nothing purchased and that makes me really happy. My husband teases me that I have the happy gene, so i guess it doesnt take much. happy sewing!!
Linking up to
Crazy mom quilts
confessions of a fabric addict

Scrappy Rails

I think my goal this year is to really use up a bunch of the scraps and donated fabric pieces that people have given me. I love to make and donate quilts so I am going to make as many as I can.  I started with a bunch of green and browns. A friend gave me a bag of scraps and these were all in that bag. I made and donated one of the same colors awhile ago and I liked how it turned out, so, why not do it again. It was a wonderful few nights of no brain sewing. I love that after long days of teaching. My daughter has a friend that thinks her Dad would really like it. I hope it finds a home soon.

 Since it will be a give away, I decided to experiment. I used a beautiful copper color thread and just did a big stipple. I love it. It just really pops!

I also did find a picture of the first bag I made from the wedding dresses. This dress was from her gramma's wedding, in the late 40's I think. the dress was very stained and just plain, I embroidered a flower on the front and kept it rather plain. Gram was happy. A piece of her wedding day will be carried to her grand daughters wedding day. I made 3 other bags, all different. I hope I had some pictures. Happy Friday!
Linking up to
Crazy Mom Quilts
Confessions of a fabric addict