Fresh-Squeezed Totebag Sew-Along

In this weeks newsletter from one of my favorite shops, Quiltin' Country in Killeen, they linked to some sew or quilt-alongs, just in case we needed something to do this week.  I decided to try the Fresh Squeezed Totebag Sew-Along.  I had everything needed, except the webbing for the handles and with camp coming up, a new bag would be pretty handy.  Plus, it was a one week sew-along, so I could do it quickly...in fact, I made it today!  Here is the result...

I have a ton of Dilly Dally by Me and My Sister that I bought for the hand applique class that I took (and did not finish) and it makes fantastic, colorful bags.  I also altered the pattern some so that I could have more pockets.  Here is a close-up of the fabric...

My bag was made entire of fat quarters (6 in all), making the inside pretty scrappy, but fun and colorful.  Inside, I made pockets all the way around the bag, six in all.

I can't wait to use my new bag!!

A Quilt for Titus

I have waited for more than two years to make this quilt.  It was made for a very special friend and her precious son who will be joining us soon.  I prayed so hard for this little boy and started looking at fabric and patterns just as soon as I found out he was coming!

The pattern is Criss Cross from the Moda Bake Shop by Karen of Lisnaweary Quilts.  I used Lily and Will II from Bunny Hill Designs.
Here are a couple of close-ups of the fabric and quilting.

I love the yellows, aquas, and browns.  This is by far some of my favorite fabric out there, especially for a little boy.  I hope Titus loves this quilt as much as I loved making it!!

Happy Independence Day!!!!

Today, I want to share a project that required no sewing at all!  You can find complete instructions in this Moda Bake Shop Tutorial, Firecracker Favors, by Angela Yosten.  Once again the Bake Shop delivers a fantastic treat.

I made these for the kids in my Sunday School class.  I don't make treats for them very often, so when I saw this recipe, I knew that these would be perfect.  This is something anyone could make.  Instead of using layer cake squares, I cut my own 10" squares from a yard of fabric I bought at my LQS.  Then, all that was left was to glue and wrap the fabric and fill them with candy!  I'm pretty sure I'll be making more of these when Christmas rolls around!!

It's been a while...

I was horrified when I realized that I have not blogged in nearly a month! I will make up for that over the next few days. Don't worry, I've been busily quilting, but I haven't completely finished much (I can complete a quilt in less than a week, but I just can't seem to get the binding tacked down on the back...). I have two baby quilts waiting for that last step and another smaller quilt waiting to be quilted (that's on the docket for Tuesday evening).

Friday night, I got to do my first quilting of the year with new Christmas fabric!! I realized Friday afternoon that I needed to put something together, as a just in case I need it kind of thing, for our family reunion on Saturday. So I ran to my LQS and got a charm pack of Deb Strain's new Christmas line, Nature's Gift. The fabric features cardinals and chickadees, my mom's favorite birds. I used the City Windows pattern from Moda Bake Shop.  I love how it turned out.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

I am so excited to participate in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side for the first time!

I've been waiting eagerly to participate since the Festival last fall.  For those of you who don't know, Amy hosts the Bloggers' Quilt Festival each year during fall and spring quilt market.  It is so much fun to see all of the quilts!

And now for my quilt...

I call this quilt "Verna's Flower Garden."  The fabric is Verna by Kate Spain.  I pieced the top last summer as a way to experiment with a jelly roll.  Then I folded it up and set it aside for months.  Then, I realized that it would be perfect for a special friend of mine going through chemo.  All of the colors and flowers really reminded me of her, so I pulled it out and finished it up for her birthday.

I love the colors in this quilt.  It is so bright and cheerful.  It reminds me of a sunny spring day!

A close-up of a block and the quilting...

And because I love pictures of quilts blowing in the wind...

Now, head over the the Bloggers' Quilt Festival and check out all of the amazing quilts!!

Canvas Pail

Today I finally made the March Sweetwater Label Crew project, a canvas pail, perfect to be used as an Easter basket or to hold things.

It has three tags on it, each with spring words and definitions, matching those on the Sunkissed fabric.

I also love the bunting around the top.  Sweetwater just loves using bunting in its designs.

I am also working on a UT quilt for someone I work with.  My table has been covered with burnt orange fabric for about a week now.

Just One Star

One of the things I love most about the quilting community is how giving it is.  I posted a couple of months ago about the Basics Charity Challenge led by Cara of Cara Quilts.  A ton of people were helped through that fantastic challenge.  A little over a month ago, Moda, my favorite fabric company, issued a challenge...

The goal is simple...100 quilts for 100 soldiers.  Each quilt requires 18 stars, meaning that Moda needed 1800 stars to make the quilts.  

The challenge...make just one star, sign it, and send it to Moda.

I know that several groups have made stars.  One of my favorite LQS's in Killeen, Quiltin' Country, collected more than 200 stars!

I made four stars this evening that I will mail in tomorrow.  

I used a background that had stars on it.  My red stars are just a small print, but the blue stars use a fabric with military-appreciation words.  I really like them and I'm glad I chose to participate!