Lito's Quilt.

My middle son has finished his first quilt! We used fabric from the collection Little Kukla by Suzy Ultman, backed it with an Alison Glass print and used a gray Kona solid (steel, maybe?) for the binding.

I bought these fabrics early in my quilting tenure, when I used very little self-control when it came to fun novelty prints. I'm proud to say I have a bit more self-control now and occasionally even buy blenders and solids! But I had a half yard of each print hanging around in stash, and Lito liked them, so we cut 6" strips and sewed them together, easy peasy.

We had a ball working on this! It was so much fun, and to see my kidlet so excited about quilting made my heart super happy. I don't think quilting will surpass his love of Legos, at least for now, but I'm thrilled I got to share one of my favorite things with one of my favorite people!

We debated gifting this to his younger sister, but since she's not exactly lacking in the quilt department, we ultimately decided that this lovely will be headed for Project Linus.

And hopefully Banzo and I will finish up his quilt soon, and you'll get to see that one as well! Spoiler alert: it has monkeys! 

Quilting with My Kids

I have four children. This is certainly not new information to y'all, though sometimes I admit that I'm still a little surprised by it. (I have FOUR children? When did that happen?) And as y'all can probably imagine, keeping four littles entertained/occupied is a challenge, especially if this mama wants to sneak in a bit of sewing.

Enter: The Design Wall. I grab my carefully color-coded, super fancy ziploc bags of scraps, dump out a bag or two, and let them go wild designing. We've made a handful of placemats in this fashion, and let me tell you, scrap placemats are a great FMQ practice canvas. :)

And while I have been doing the sewing while the kids have been the design team, my second son told me a few months ago that he would like to make a quilt. My oldest heard this request and decided that he too would like to make one. I searched through my stash and secured our supplies, and we went to work. (For the record, I did not let my five- and seven-year-olds cut the fabric. I can imagine them brandishing my rotary cutter as a pirate sword with disastrous results.)

Since this is really their first major foray into sewing, I kept it simple, and we just did row quilts. The nesting dolls is my five-year-old's offering. (He sat on my lap and guided the fabric as I controlled the foot pedal.

And after he helped me sew a row or two, my seven-year-old did all of the fabric guiding, though I did control the pedal still, but only because his legs aren't long enough.

So far, they've helped with every aspect except the cutting, and I intend for them to help with the remaining tasks. However, we've had a hold up in the basting stage that is all my fault as almost every single basting pin I own is currently keeping my Patina quilt in a yummy quilt sandwich. Speaking of that Patina quilt, I should really give y'all an update on it! Soon, lovely readers, soon.

Do you sew with your kids? Any tips for me? I never realized how difficult a beginner could have sewing a consistent 1/4" seam!

July. (So far.)

This month has flown by, and oy, I've been busy! There hasn't been a lot of sewing time, and I've neglected to blog, a state that probably won't be changing any time soon. With my fourth year of homeschooling on the horizon, I've been knee deep in curriculum choices, co-op decisions, and training to be a substitute tutor at our co-op. We start in less than a month! I've also been hard at work editing my second book, which is coming along slowly but surely. You might think I'd be exhausted, and I am a little, but I'm also oh-so excited, especially now that the most stressful bits are hopefully past.

I did sneak in a bit of sewing, including this super cute sunbonnet for my daughter. Of course, Vanilla wants nothing to do with it, probably because it's a bit too big, but hopefully she'll love it soon. The fabric is leftover from a dress that was made for my niece. Using scraps always makes me remember good things.

I also finished up a pinafore and have fabric cut for a second one. This was my first time sewing with rayon, and while it wasn't the easiest to work with, I made it through! It is definitely not the best fabric to use for a pinafore, but it is super soft and comfy. It just doesn't do much to retain the shape. This pinafore is lined in a yummy shot cotton. Next up, we'll see how a voile and quilting cotton combo work out!

And I've finished up two Star Wars pillowcases for my big boys. Of course, Fava is now asking for his own Star Wars pillowcase. I should've anticipated this, but honestly, I didn't think a two-year-old would be that concerned about a pillowcase. Alas, he is, and back to the store for more fabric, but this time, enough for two as my nephew needs one as well!

But I think more exciting than those finishes are the fabric pulls I've had the delightful pleasure of assembling recently. This is for a Patina quilt from Tula Pink and Angela Walters' book. I'll be making it for my niece, and it's a big one! I better get cutting.

And the start of the fabric pull for my Magnolia Mystery quilt. I need a bit more lime, but I think it's a fun blend. Thankfully I had a big piece of that black batik chilling in my stash.

Finally, some yummy Alison Glass for the Coast to Coast Traveling Bee, which is on its last rotation. A couple of people have actually gotten their quilt tops back already, and if you've been following me on instagram, you'll know I've put together a few blocks. You also might know that my quilt top is done, and it's a beauty!

I feel like I have so much more to share with you, but that'll have to do for now as it's bedtime and two little boys are waiting for tuck-in service. Goodnight, y'all.

FF: Lito's Big Boy Quilt

My son's Epic 1001 Peeps big boy bed quilt is done. Hallelujah, amen! I managed to crank out the binding yesterday, and after a wash and dry, my son slept under it for the first time last night. And he was so pleased and satisfied, and his little four-year-old voice telling me he loved it made every single cut and stitch worth it.

The blocks are based off the Fussy Framed Block tutorial from Kate Conklin designs and feature Lizzy House's 1001 Peeps collection, which I started hoarding over four years ago when my son was just a baby, all with the idea that one day I would use it for his big boy bed quilt.

The blocks were a cinch to piece, and I tried to do them in sets of four. My son actually helped me to pick out which fabrics would go with what and what area to fussy cut and what solid to choose for the window frame. I needed thirty-five blocks, and I managed to get them done in about a week and a half. The sashing is Kona indigo. I had planned to do a scrappy border, but when I threw the sashed top on his bed, I realized a border would make the quilt much bigger than I'd intended, and I scrapped the idea and left it simple.

The back is a hodge-podge of randomness. I like to think of it as an exercise in throwing a bunch of random blue fabrics together so that I didn't have to buy more fabric. 

For the quilting, I knew that I wanted a square meander, and I considered quilting this one myself, but the thought of basting it made me want to cry--I was very, very pregnant--so I opted to take this one to my LQS and have them do it for me. It was sooooo the right call. The meander is maybe larger than I'd intended, but I like the effect. I'm super happy with how it turned out.

I bound it in a lime Kona solid--can't remember which one, oops!--and used a zigzag stitch to machine bind it to the front. I don't do a lot of machine binding, but since I know this quilt will be seeing a lot of use, it seemed like a good call.

And here it is on his bed! This is finish #4 from my FAL list, and if I'm honest, it was definitely one of the more important finishes to accomplish this quarter, so I'm super pleased. I'm not sure if I'll finish anything else up before the end of the year, but with this and Vanilla's quilt done, I feel like it's okay if I don't!

FIP (Friday in Progress?)

I'm calling this Friday in Progress, and sadly, Friends, I have little to report. Vanilla is apparently quite snug in my stomach and wants to stay put, a fact with which I am finally coming to terms--but I have been busy with lots of baby prep and even some resting. My freezer is full of ready-to-cook crockpot meals, everything for baby is laundered and put away, our homeschool is planned through the end of the year, and I've knocked a few other annoying tasks off my to-do list. I haven't felt a huge rush to nest this pregnancy--with Fava, I decided one weekend that our dining room table had to be completely sanded and repainted because there was no way I could bring a child into a home that featured a table that chipped--so I've been taking it slow. Which is good. Because walking slowly seems to absolutely wind me at this point.

And for some reason, my motivation to sew has been zapped. I picked up my middle son's big boy bed quilt from the long-armer, and I love the way it turned out. The boxy design is maybe larger than I expected, but I actually like that about it. I've yet to trim this bad boy or even start work on piecing the binding, but I do know I'm planning to bind it in the lime solid we used. My son is sooooooo excited for it to be done, and he's asked if he can sleep under it every night once I've finished. That does a mama's heart good.

I attached the binding to Vanilla's baby quilt, but I've gotten little done on the handsewing front. (I'm one side down as of this morning!) I really need to step on this, especially since I'm still planning to handquilt those friendship stars, but even as I type this, I'm yawning. Maybe something about that quilt just makes me sleepy?

I have been making some knitting progress on my mama's shawl. I went up a size in needles after my other shawl turned out too small, but even still, I think this is going to run on the small size if I just stick with the pattern. Thankfully, this one looks like it will be a breeze to just add rows until I'm content with the length. I'm enjoying the pattern and the look, and I'm thinking I might knit up a second one after I finish this one, but with much larger needles.

That's what's going on around these parts. How are you? 

Hard at Work.

My in-laws are descending in approximately 1-1.5 hours--that makes it sound horrible, but I'm actually really looking forward to seeing them as my in-laws are lovely people--and I realized there has been a bit of sewing since I last chimed in around these parts, and maybe you'd like to see it?

I finished piecing all of the blocks for Lito's big boy quilt, decided on a layout, sashed them, and then started considering border options. I considered a single fabric border, but I didn't have enough of any one print to manage that. Then I thought scrappy. And THEN I decided to cut out half blocks of a sort, and do a border of half blocks (without the fussy framed bit) with sashing, which I thought would look awfully smart.

And then I laid out the quilt on my son's bed, realized it was big enough in its current state and a 5" border on all sides would make it HUGE, so I'm axing the border ideas and leaving it as is. I'll bind it in the lime solid, and I'll back it with leftover fabric from the top as I still have quite a bit left! I waffle between sending this out to be long-armed and quilting it myself.

This is where Bun's baby quilt sits at present. I think this measures 24"? But I could be wrong.

I'm making friendship stars for the next border. I've got eight done, and I need twelve more. I think I have fabric cut for at least five of those? For some reason, these 6.5" blocks are taking an awfully long time to finish, probably because I was trying to be really good about making sure my directional fabric is all proper. Then I went and sewed one up spinning the opposite direction. The Instagram folks say I should keep it as is, and I'm inclined to agree because 1) I kinda like the idea, and 2) they're taking so long that I'm loathe to seam rip anything that doesn't absolutely require it.

HSTs and 2.5" squares and trimmings. I'll finish these blocks eventually, but I'm starting to think I won't have Bun's quilt or Lito's quilt done before Bun arrives. And if not, who knows when they'll be finished? But I don't want to worry about that, so I'm not going to.

We've started a new project at my house, one that doesn't involve fabric at all! We--and by we, I mean my husband as I don't allow myself to use power tools or any tools really because I always destroy things--are building bunk beds for our boys.

My husband is my complete opposite and is requiring that each board finished is absolutely perfect and uniform, which is totally a good thing, but means our progress is slow.

And due to a kajillion (maybe a kajillion and one?) kerfuffles with our tool situation--I'm not kidding, it's laughable all of the things that have gone wrong--he has resorted to using old school tools, some of which date from the 1920s. Hopefully the situation will improve soon, but as we're still waiting on a delivery that should have been here THREE WEEKS AGO, it's hard to say when.

My good friend and her kiddos are coming for a visit just as my in-laws depart, so I'm not sure when I'll be popping up in this space again. I hope y'all are doing super well!

Pencil Bags.

Do you ever have a project that you need to do, you want to do, but you can't seem to work up the motivation, and there's a deadline looming up ahead? I felt this way with these pencil bags.

Our homeschool co-op starts meeting next week, and I really really really wanted to make some pencil bags for my boys. It's my middle's first year of co-op, and he is so excited about his new backpack and new crayons and new sneakers. I figured I would make him a new pencil bag too. And if I made him one, better make one for my oldest too.

But for some reason, it was soooooooo hard to make these. Not because the pattern was hard. Just...I didn't want to. At first, I told myself I had plenty of time, and then, I was just procrastinating. I've had the fabric cut and ready for at least a couple of weeks, and today I finally just sat down and made myself do it.

And was it painful? Of course not.

I used this awesome tutorial from The Cottage Mama to make a couple of Three Ring Binder Pencil Bags. I first considered making the Triple Zip Pouch from A Quilter's Table, but I only wanted two zippers per bag, so I was stoked when I found this tutorial.

I did make a couple of changes to my bags. I used batting instead of fusible fleece because I'm a quilter and have batting scraps en masse. (Also, fusible anything and I are on a serious break because we have a tumultuous relationship.) I didn't include the rings because my kids don't have a three ring binder, and by the time they do, I'm guessing they may not want truck pencil bags. I feel like I made some other changes...but maybe not? I can't remember any more.

I didn't snap a picture, but I also made a truck-themed lined drawstring bag to house my middle's snacks--my oldest already has a helicopter one that he used last year. They are both very excited about their new bags, but also to be starting co-op!

This is our fourth week of school, and I'm happy to report that it's going well. And now that I have BTS sewing done, I can get back to working on Lito's big boy quilt and Vanilla's baby quilt guilt-free!

Wordless Wednesday WIPs

Just a few shots of WIPs from the last week or so.

The Epic 1001 Peeps Quilt.

This quilt is going to be epic, not because the design is crazy wild (like Tula Pink's Fandango quilt pattern--coming soon and OMG, I can't wait) or because it's a massive undertaking like a California King or involves complicated FMQ or handquilting or anything super wild. It will be none of those things.

This quilt is for my middle son, using fabric (1001 Peeps!) I bought four years ago just for him when he was a baby for this very moment in time. He's helping me pick fabrics and encouraging me (sometimes rather impatiently) to get work done. Mr. Lito has been bunking with his big brother for a couple of years, and he's about to move into his own big boy bed, meaning he needs his own big boy quilt. (My husband is in the process of building bunk beds--can we talk about how intense that is???) So, it will be sentimentally epic? Yeah, We'll go with that.

Rachel from Stitched in Color posted last week about 30 Day of Quilt Design, an idea where you instagram post quilt designs you've sketched out. And my first thought was, oh, I don't do that. Like, at all. It's not my thing. I see these QDAD posts, and they are super cool, but they are what other people do, not me. Moving on.

And then I started thinking, why isn't it my thing? Why don't I sketch out quilts, even if I will never ever (and might not even have the intention of) making them? What would happen if I tried? Thirty not-necessarily-consecutive days of sketching quilt ideas. Could I even do that?

The answer, friends, is I just don't know. It feels weird for me to confront graph paper without a specific need. I base my quilt ideas on what I'm feeling, what is currently interesting me, and what I think the recipient might like. If I throw out the recipient...well...I don't know. It feels weird. So, I may not get very far, but I'm hoping to stretch myself, if only a little.

The above picture is what I've sketched out for my son's quilt. It's not complicated, but I spent quite a bit of time thinking about sashing widths, total number of blocks, what would best fit his mattress, fabric requirements, what fabric I already have, etc., because that is how I design a quilt. The sketch was actually the last bit, and I'm still mulling over whether I'd like to add a narrower inner border--I'm leaning toward yes--but I think that will wait until I've pieced all of the blocks and sashed them, then laid them on the mattress to see what I think the quilt still needs. 

This is the start of my foray into 30 Days of Quilt Design. I'm going to be brave and do something that makes me feel uncomfortable. Eep!

Starting Lito's Big Boy Quilt

As y'all know, I have three little boys. The oldest two share a bed and sleep under a lovely quilt that my quilting sensei made for my oldest. In the last few months, it's become abundantly clear that my growing boys are outgrowing a shared sleeping space, and bunk beds are in our very near future.

But this isn't exactly new information. I knew that their time sharing a bunk would be short-lived, and while it's been sweet, they're getting older and need a bit more space. Lucky for me, I was thinking of this eventuality when boy #2 was still a wee baby. And that's especially lucky, since it meant I was able to pick up this lovely stash of Lizzy House's 1001 Peeps while it was still more readily available.

I got nervous for a bit. Number two had a love affair with the color green, and I had a feeling he wouldn't dig a blue quilt. But in recent months, his heart has moved to blue, and I'm taking advantage of that shift before he decides that another color has won his heart.

I ordered some complimentary Kona solids--Peapod, Pacific, and Sky, though I also liked Ocean, Oasis, Caribbean, and Windsor--and after auditioning several quilt designs with Lito, he selected the quilt plan I've been leaning toward, Kate Conklin's Fussy Fairytales quilt pattern.

And once those Kona solids arrive, well, I'm excited to start cutting!

FF: The Littles Edition.

This week, I turned my sewing to my littles. All three of them.

Play aprons are on my Q3 FAL list. Using the Merry Christmas one as a template, I cut into some red and white chevron canvas and fashioned two aprons for the older boys.

Of course, Banzo is thrilled because we have three aprons now, so Baby Fava will have one too. I didn't have the heart to tell him that 1) Baby Fava won't be wearing a play apron for some time, and 2) I only made two new ones so that the older boys wouldn't fight over who got to play with the new one. These are item 2 of 7 from my Q3 list, woo!

Not on my list, but an exciting finish nonetheless, is a table runner I fashioned from this orphaned block. I originally made it as a bee block, but I didn't realize until much too late that I had printed my paper piecing templates a wee bit too small, and the block turned out 12" unfinished instead of 12.5". I then taped it to the wall of my quilting nook, where it sat untouched for over a year.

But not anymore. BAM. Done. I know full well I could have used this as an opportunity to bust out some awesome quilting. It would have been great FMQ practice at a very low cost. I used leftover batting scraps, an orphaned block, the backing is entirely scraps, and the charcoal part of the binding is even leftover from another quilt. But when I put on my gloves and started to think about exactly what I wanted to do...well, I realized I just wanted it done. And since it's going on top of a bookshelf in my boys' room, I caved and chose the lazy path.

Finally, some burp cloths for the new one, who should be making his appearance soon. (Every baby needs luchadores and ninjas, right?) They measure about 6 x 10", so on the smaller side, but they are backed in soft white minky, so they feel oh-so soft. I'm nearly full term, and as I am supremely uncomfortable, Fava is more than welcome to come any time after that.


I'm linking up with TGIFF, hosted by Izzy at Dizzy Quilts.

FF: Another Pillow Post.

I don't really think of myself as a girl who sews with themes, but man, I really do tend to group things together. This week has been the pillow week. It's also been birthday sewing week. (And also the fabric cutting week because OMG, do I have some quilts to get done.)

I actually finished this one last week, but it was certainly down to the wire. Our neighbor turned four, and I decided to make her a pillow for her birthday. (Bet you can't guess what her favorite color is.) I finished this literally a couple of hours before we gifted it, and sadly, it almost bit the dust when I made the foolish error of allowing my oldest to carry it to their house. He nearly dropped it in the muddy melty snowy gunk that is currently lining my street. Thankfully, my husband was a peach and caught it. I used heat n' bond for the first time, which was good practice for some applique t-shirts I'll be making this weekend.

My BFF will be here for a visit in just a few weeks, and I've made her a pillowcase for her stay. Just to clarify, I do not do this for all of my houseguests. In fact, I don't do this for any of them. I suppose you have to reach BFF status to get this sort of treatment.

And the first of my kidlets' birthday pillowcases. My youngest's birthday is next week--hence the weekend job of applique t-shirts--and I'm pretty sure this is the most last minute I've ever been. I realized yesterday that we've yet to buy his birthday gift. We've yet to even decide what we're getting him. Yikes. In my defense, I have been planning him a rocking birthday party, complete with two sets of out of town houseguests, but the actual birthday. Wow. Do better, Audrey. Do better.

Also, note to self. Don't pull out the pillowcase IN FRONT OF the recipient before he gets it. What is wrong with me? What was I thinking? I'm not a novice to this kind of thing! I know better! But in my muddled Friday state of mind, I thought it would be a good idea to snap a few photos in front of him. Of course, he promptly started freaking out and screaming "CONCRETE TRUCK!!!!" which I'm guessing means he likes the pillow, but still. No need to do that again.

One more pillow to go for my oldest's birthday, and I'm done. WOO. 

I'm linking up today with TGIFF hosted by M-R at Quilt Matters. I'm pretty sure you should too.