End of the Year

This past week I set a goal for myself to use some of my new flannel to make 6 baby quilts.  I made 6 baby quilts this past week to end the year 2011.  They were quick projects & I was able to finish binding the last 2 quilts this morning.  Now, I am ready to begin this new year.  I hope this new year brings great joy to all of you.  I am going to challenge myself to make several "donation" quilts before the Summer begins.  I hope you will set a goal for yourself as well.

Zebra Print

Finished the zebra quilt tonight.  Had enough scraps left over to make 2 pillowcases.  The quilt was an order for Christmas for a girl named Sheena.  Hence, the name of the quilt is Sheena.  It was a challenge to come up with a simple pattern that would showcase the zebra print fabric.  Did I mention it is queen size!  Anyway, I hope they like it.  Have a great Christmas everyone!  I hope you all choose to share your sewing talents this coming year.  There is always someone out there who could use a quilt or a pillowcase.  Happy Holidays from the Bevilockway Family.

Dear Santa

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.....I had to use a Christmas panel that I had purchased a couple of years ago.  When I looked in my stash I found coordinating fabric.  This quilt uses cotton & flannel.  It was so much fun to make.  A quick quilt for anyone to do.  I pieced the backing & used the trimmed strips from the backing to make the binding.  I call the quilt "Dear Santa".  I hope everyone keeps the true message of Christmas in their hearts this year.  A joyous season from my family to yours.

Fabric Sale

We went to St. George for Thanksgiving & had a wonderful time with the kids.  Trista & I got up just after 4 AM to be at Joann's Fabric store by 5 AM to stand in line until they opened at 6 AM.  We had a great time finding flannel.  We ended up with approximately 300 yards of fabric.  I also bought some fat quarters in brown, purple, pink, yellow & green tones for future projects.  The fabric filled the back seat of my car.  It is great to have this girls day out once a year.  I just have to decide what to make first!

Christmas Quilt 2011

 Finished my Christmas quilt for 2011. I adapted the Prarie Patches pattern by Vicki Bellino that was featured in the November/December 2011 McCall's Quilting magazine. I used my Accucut birdhouse die, fussy cut the birds from some Christmas fabric, and used only fabric that I had in my stash. The machine quilting pattern is holly & berries. I drew a pantogram & followed the pattern with the laser attached to my Grace quilting frame. I can't wait to do more pantogram quilting! I pieced the backing too. Bonnie Hunt, a wonderful quilter & teacher, pieces many of her backings. As Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I have been thinking of all my many blessings. I thank my Heavenly Father for our abundance of food, clothing, shelter, gospel, and so much more. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Keep enjoying the journey.

 "NOEL"                                                                                   Pieced the backing

Split Layer Cake

Finally have my computer back & working great!  I finished my layer cake quilt last week.  I bought a bundle of 10 inch squares, but them into 3 1/2" by 6 1/2" rectangles.  Turned the smaller pile over & sewed the large pieces to the small pieces.  Then pressed and cut the block in half (5") lengthwise through the seam.  Turned one pile over & sewed the pieces from each pile together.  The end result was great.  An easy quilt that was fun to do.  Did an overall swirl & leaf free motion design.  Called the quilt "Sunshine & Lavender" because that was the color of the thread I used for the machine quilting.  Sunshine on the back & Lavender on the top.  I used leftover scraps to piece the backing together too.  I didn't want any leftovers in this project.  The holidays are coming so I am working on a scrappy Christmas quilt.

Great Day!

Busy day today.  Started off cleaning house, then headed to town to pick up some things.  We passed by a yard sale on the way to visit my son & hubby said "I think there's a sewing machine back there".  Well, drove around the block & sure enough there sat an old Singer in bad shape.  Now, I have a rule on buying used sewing machines - 1.  It must be in good enough shape that I can get it sewing in a short period of time, and 2. It must have most of the parts intact.  That keeps me from buying anything that may sit around in useless condition for any period of time.  However, in a cardboard box sitting on the lawn by one of the tables there sat a New Home model 110.  No instruction manual, only a couple of presser feet, but when I took the race & hook out to check the wear it seemed as if the machine had not been used very much or very hard.  The price was only $20.  You bet I grabbed that little puppy up!  I brought it home in it's poor little cardboard box, took it apart, made some adjustments, put it back together, cleaned it up & it sews like a dream!  This particular model of New Home was made by the Janome Co. in the mid 1970's (I believe).  Decided I needed to sew a couple of pillow cases, but didn't use the New Home, as I wanted the WD40 to be completly gone before sewing a project.  Made one of the pillowcases for a friends granddaughter (with a peace sign) and the other pillowcase is to go with the Peace Sign quilt for Bailee.  It's been a really good day.  I hope you all have a great evening.

 Before                                                                                                       After

Bailee's Choice

The order came in the form of an email - 10 year old girl wants a new quilt for Christmas.  Must be hot pink & black with peace signs, and some white would be OK too.  Well, you know me, I had to see what I could come up with.  I found a free pattern from WalMart, purchased my fabric from Connecting Threads online, rolled up my sleeves & went to work.  I had to add the floral fabric because you can't have peace signs without flower power!  Took about 3 1/2 weeks from start to finish (in between work, yard, etc.).  Finished machine quilting it yesterday & the label went on last night.  The name of the quilt is "Bailee's Choice".  I hope I came close to what she wants.  It was too dark this morning to photograph the quilt, so I asked Lee Bennet of Sevier Office Supply in Richfield if I could photograph the quilt in their store.  I loved the backdrop of books & stuff.  A BIG THANK YOU TO SEVIER OFFICE SUPPLY!

Peace

Just put the Peace quilt on the machine quilting frame.  Can't wait to get going.  Pictures will be posted when it is finished.

Frugal Quilter

A couple of years ago I bought a clearance roll of a crib quilt top.  I am not sure how many of the little guys are on the roll but it cost me under $5 for all of it.  I had seen a demonstration on a faux chenille baby quilt using 4 layers of the same crib panel & decided I would try it some day.  OK, so I bought the panels a couple of years ago, and yes, it has been in the closet just waiting for me.  I have cut 8 panels from the roll & you can see there are many more to go.  To make the blanket I placed a piece of pink flannel right side down on a foam board.  Then layered 4 crib panels all facing up on top of the flannel.  I use spray baste between each layer (you don't need much).  A line is then chalked from one corner to the diagonal corner.  That becomes my first stitch line.  Sewed lines are then made shadowing the first line (approximately 1/2" apart).  I sew in a different direction for each line.  This helps keep the fabric from shifting in one direction.  After all lines are sewn I then cut through the first 3 crib panels only.  After all rows are cut, I then square up the quilt, sew the binding on & then run it through the rinse cycle in the washer & then dry it in the dryer to "fluff" the faux chenille.  There you have a cute little blanket.  I am now sewing another one.  If anyone wants to give it a try, let me know.  Happy sewing to all.