Recently in Pins and Needles Category

And I do mean crafty in both senses of the word!

Some people in my house are beginning to suspect the kitchen layout design was really just a ruse to acquire an extra-large space for basting quilts. I choose to exercise my right to remain silent when such accusations are made.

Regardless, I am making excellent progress on the quilt for baby Kerner. I've got the quilt top and back basted together by hand and I may even start quilting tonight. (That depends on how long I procrastinate taking the dog to get her nails trimmed. We shall see.)

Momma reports that one-month-old Olyvia likes her quilt.

I hope this photo is not a sign of things to come (as far as sticking out her tongue for pictures)!

I'm finally getting around to starting a quilt for a certain baby boy who should be making his appearance this March. I'm using a Moda jelly roll (long strips of precut fabrics - 2 1/2 inches wide) in the Happy Campers line to make these squares, and for the pattern I'm following along with Oh Fransson!'s new Paintbox Quilt-Along. Each square measures about 7 1/2 inches square.

This is a bit more detailed piecing than I'm used to (I'm all about the BIG blocks and random piecing) but I think it's turning out pretty well. Although I realized after the fact that Baby Boy might not appreciate the flowery block, and I don't really like the fabric in the red one. So... I've got several more to make! (About 24 squares total, I'm guessing.)

The good news is that I can make 2 squares in 30-45 minutes now that I've got all the measurements down. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the quilt top and either quilt it myself or get it sent out to a quilter before the baby comes.

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Originally uploaded by kerner

The baby shower was yesterday, so it's time for the big blog-reveal!

My latest quilt is for a baby girl due in January (her momma is doing a good job of hiding her adorable basketball-belly in this pic). The parents-to-be love horses, so I decided to go with a cowgirl theme.

The two primary cowgirl fabrics are a pink Tumbleweed Tots print from Alexander Henry and I believe the white print is from Robert Kaufmann. To accent the cowgirl fabrics, I used red, blue, and pink fabric that looks like bandannas. All the fabrics except the pink Tumbleweed Tots were purchased at Hobby Lobby (which has a surprisingly good selection of designer fabrics, which are often on sale).

I'm still not 100% satisfied with my quilting skills, and I'd really love to learn to do free-motion quilting, but I love making these keepsakes for my friends and their kids.  It's so great to go over to visit and see my quilts in action - apparently they make excellent tummy-time mats/spit catchers. 

Next up (we're have a bit of a baby epidemic around here) is a paper doll-themed quilt.  Will I be able to finish it before my belly gets too big to fit in front of the sewing machine?  It's a race against time...!

Traditions can start out so innocently sometimes, can't they? Almost 2 years ago, the first couple in my group of friends at church announced they were expecting a baby. It was a very long-awaited baby, without getting into the medical details, so I wanted to do something really special. I decided I would make a baby quilt. Not that I'd ever done such a thing before, but who am I to let a little thing like that stand in my way?

As these things have a tendency to do, one baby in the group has quickly multiplied to several, and we are in the middle of a full-fledged baby boom among the "young marrieds" set at church these days. This cute little pink quilt is the first of several I will be making for babies that will be arriving in January, February, and two in May. (Not to mention whether I will be making one for my own little bug, due in March.)

I'll do a full reveal of Baby O's quilt next month after the baby shower. Until then, you can check out some of the other baby quilts I've made!

Zoe's Quilt

Hunter's Quilt

Ainsley's Quilt

Avery's Quilt

Benjamin's quilt (why yes, my nephew IS the cutest baby ever!)

My sister says I need to update my blog, so here you go!

I made this tote bag as a birthday present for a friend of mine that lives way too far away from me. I used some IKEA canvas-y fabric for the bag and heavy white canvas for the handles. (Special thanks to Miss Africankelli for the fabric! Can you believe I've never even been to an IKEA?)

My original design came out super small, so I kinda erred on the large side for my second attempt. I just made this up as I went along, which I'm sure is not the easiest way to do things, but I have a bit of a mental block when it comes to following sewing patterns. (Strangely, I can follow knitting patterns with no problem - does anyone else have that issue?)

*Quick topic switcheroo*

I need to take new pictures of the remodel, but it's been really overcast here and we don't have any lights in a good portion of the remodeled area. Construction started about a week ago and things are moving forward quickly. The yucky subfloor damage has been replaced and electricians are installing lights, smoke detectors, and new outlets.

So far the guest bathroom-turned-kitchen has not been too bad. Our friends have very generously accepted our offer to be their personal chef, and we steal all the leftovers to heat up in our microwave the next couple of nights. It actually works out pretty well.

All of the Russian doll tanks are completed and winging their way to their new owners via the USPS. Since there might be a few people who read this blog that don't already participate in Finny & Donk's Sewing Adventure, also known as CRAFT:Along, this was inspired by one of May's projects, the Farm Chicks' Embellished Tank. If you'd like to join us for June, check out the projects here. (And be sure to join the Flickr group!)

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Originally uploaded by kerner

Stitch-Witchery wasn't working for me, so I ended up using a heat fusible backing for the fabric called Heat 'n' Bond Lite. It is sort of like interfacing, so I found that it worked best on knits where the fabric is laying smooth against the body, not waving free in the breeze. (It looked too obvious that it was an applique, and that whole appliqued sweatshirt look was not what I was going for.)

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Originally uploaded by kerner

The Heat n Bond requires you to stitch down the fabric patch after its been ironed on. It seemed to stick pretty well with just the ironing, but I wasn't sure what would happen once I washed it, so I followed the directions for once. There wasn't really a problem sewing on the stretchy shirts because the HnB stabilized everything. Easy peasy.

I have one last Russian doll that my friend Brianne asked me to add to once of her daughter's 2T shirts. I think that one is going to be the cutest of all! This is definitely an easy way to jazz up a storebought T-shirt or onesie in no time. I foresee many decorated T-shirts in my niece's and nephew's future!

I ironed the Heat n Bond to the back of the fabric, then trimmed it down to size.