My new toy and a stroller blanket

I know I know I should be packing, but then I got my new toy - an iPhone 4. And you know what, I can't find a case that I like. They all make the phone too bulky. Plus when I throw my phone into the backpack I don't want my key to scratch the screen. That will be bad. So, I spent the precious 2 hours, when Sarah was in school and Ben was napping, plus a late night, to make this.

It's snug, I have to squeeze the bottom to get the phone out. But I am still happy with it. And I got it out of my system - otherwise I will be thinking about it the whole time I am away from my sewing machine.

And we went to baby Elijah's three-month birthday dinner tonight. Wow what a cute and big boy! Here's what I made for him.

A handmade Christmas

I am done!!!! I am sooo happy! I have been busy busy trying to get them all done before my friend Agnes, one of the recipient, arrived from out of town. I used Lizzy House's Castle Peeps, which I have been saving for the perfect project. I love the way they turned out!

This is my first attempt in free motion quilting. After quilting 5 cushion tops, I think I am finally getting the hang of it. Although it is still far from perfect!

And here's one just for Sarah:

We are less than 2 weeks away from moving to Vancouver. It's time to pack up my sewing machine! It will be hard. Who knows how long it will take us to find a house and be able to take our stuff out from storage. One thing for sure - I am going to whip up a few of these cushion covers for myself.

A real treat

No cooking today.
Shopping, without kids...

Made big plan of sewing goodies for friends and family before packing my sewing machine for the big move in December.

Nice dinner with hubby tonight, no kids again. Life is good.

A needle book

I have been wanting to make one, but it was postponed so I can work on Escher's quilt. Now that it's done, I get to this little project for myself pronto.  I love the bright colors of the front...

There's a little pouch on the left for my thread clipper, and the right side is a flap for the needles...

It is so handy, especially now I am getting my hands on paper piecing. The best thing is it's made entirely of scraps!

A quilt for Escher

The quilt is done and in the wash. This quilt started out as Mixtape II from Oh Fransson. After the initial blocks are pieced, I wanted the blocks to jiggle a bit, as shown here. This last minute change caused the quilt to be bigger than a normal baby quilt, which means it's probably not as easy to carry around and be used with the stroller. I also used the extra blocks to make the piece back, and I still have a few blocks left over. I really want to make a smaller stroller quilt, or a pillow with the leftover blocks. Let's see if I get around to doing it before we move.

I wasn't sure about the quilt front when it was first done. I think the binding really make it pops. I quilted the whole thing with random crossing lines  using painter's masking tape as guide, which allows me keep the line straight and also helps me visualizing the lines before quilting.
 

I am super happy with the way the label turned out...

I can't wait to meet little Escher and give him this quilt. I hope he likes it. 

Last but not least, here's a quick one I made for Ben last month. He loves cars so this road quilt is fun for him to drive all his little cars with. The back is a cute flannel.

New quilting book

Yesterday I got this from Amazon delivered  by UPS

I have been a big fan of Elizabeth Hartman. Her website literally got me into making quilt, which I knew nothing about 6 months ago. From her website Oh Fransson!, I learned everything from choosing fabric to making a quilt sandwich to making binding. Imagine my excitment when I found out that she coming out with a book!

The quilts are modern and beautiful, and I love she also offers two alternatives for each quilt. Love it!

This one is for baby Sophia

Here it is... my first baby quilt! This quilt is based on the Charm Squares pattern from Oh, Fransson. It started more boyish than for girl, and sure enough, Alice had a girl. So I tried my best to add girly elements to it. I am liking the hot pink binding. It's in the wash right now, I am so happy! I hope Alice and baby Sophia will like it.

Work in progress...

Between selling our house and dreaming about moving to Vancouver, I still try to keep up with my sewing projects. I am done the quilt for Alice's baby girl - will post pictures of it as soon as I put a little personalized label on.

Here's a picture of another baby quilt that I am working on... can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done.

Online shopping

Last week, I received these fat quarters from Hawthorne Threads:

I am very happy with the service and fast shipping from Hawthorne. It's always exciting to receive goodies in the mail. These are going to be a baby quilt for Shirley. Incidentally, I have quilted Alice's baby quilt. I am only waiting for the baby to come in October - if it's a girl, I will use a seriously girly color (think hot pink) for the binding as the quilt is looking a bit boyish right now.

And I got the Kona color card in the mail today! I ordered it from North Country Quilt since it's out of stock from Pink Chalk Fabrics. It took quite some time for it to be shipped and I was waiting very anxiously for a while. Now that it's here I am sooo happy I got it. It will make matching color a lot easier. And the biggest benefit - I can order Kona solid online since the selections of solid cotton from local fabric stores are very limited, not to mention expensive. It's a good day!

A baby quilt in the making

After the table runner project, I was determined to make quilts. It's completely coincidental that there are a bunch of new babies coming for friends and family. I know the perfect gifts for the little ones! The first one out the gate will be Alice and David's in October. Since they don't know whether it will be a boy or a girl, the quilt needs to be gender neutral. I decided to make the Charm Squares Baby Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman from Oh, Fransson!. It a super fast and easy pattern which is great as a first quilt project.

Here's what I come up with...

Do you think it's too boyish? Hmm... I hope they are getting a boy. I am going to the fabric store this afternoon for border and binding. I kinda like the way it looks with the light gray in the picture so I may pick something similar.

I am very excited. I plan on quilting it with straight lines similar to my runner. I still need to find the courage to try free motion quilting.

Saying goodbye to my previous life

I have been a stay at home mom for 3 years. It felt much much longer than that. I was a software developer in my previous life. Today I gathered the courage to pack the books that have been collecting dust the last 3 years.

Some of them were dated 1994, the year I graduated. Some were utilities books that I referred to almost daily at work. There were purely academic ones, most of them I got when I was working toward a Master degree, which I never complete. There were Java and software design and software process books. It's hard to part with them. Looking at them is like traveling back in time. I remember the projects that I worked on. They also reminded me the personal events and emotional stages during those years. Some of these books traveled with me from Calgary to Toronto and back. Today I am saying goodbye to them. Allen and I are planning to move to another city, and it's time for me to move on. Goodbye books.

Potatoes

I love fingerling potatoes!

A quilted table runner

I have been very inspired by the modern quilts I saw lately that I want to give it a try. Doing a full side quilt is a bit overwhelming so I choose to start with a table runner. Plus I needed a runner for my sideboard anyway.

I started by cutting rectangles from my scrapes. The plan was to have them running down the middle surrounded by a white/gray prints and then a thick deep blue border.

 

It was ok but I wanted it to be really fresh. The blue border seemed to add too much formality to it. So I decided to have some fun and added a strip of squares on one side...

I quilted it with straight lines across the width. For the border, I picked a darker gray with bold prints. And here's the finished product.

I had so much fun making this that it won't be the last!

Necklace from Carol

She made this necklace for me. Isn't this beautiful? Carol is so talented. You should see the cakes she made.

Here's a new top I bought from Banana Republic yesterday. I think they go pretty well together. I got a silk/cotton blend fabric with big yellow flower pattern last week. I picked a pattern from one of the Japanese sewing book. However, I think the fabric will also work as this top.

More coin pouches

I have been busy the last couple days. Here's me all organized for the coin pouch assembly line...

One for Carol from Toronto...

...one for Faye from a couple blocks away...

...one for mama me, to match my favorite pillow...

... and the last one for Ben?!

I also made two aprons for Carol's little boys, although I wish I had done a better job sewing the bias tapes... oh well.

Don't you think the little gift pouch is a nice touch?