Sick = Productive?

I have had a cold the past week and today it got worse...I was a faucet from my eyes and nose.  :(  I want to sleep more than anything but with 3 kiddos at home there is no resting...especially when one of them is a toddler.  So I have spent more time than usual today finishing projects. Here is the art girl quilt all finished up.  I call it "It was all Yellow":

I made this from a art girl kit I purchased from a fellow Modern Quilt Guild friend (Carrie).   Her kits include the girl heads, scraps of fabric, ribbons, and buttons.  I drew up the little dress, arms, and shoes from my imagination and pulled a bunch of little goodies from my stash (including the sunflower buttons) to add all the yellow I needed for this one.  If you are interested in her kits you can find them for sale here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/believemagic

Progress

My oldest daughter was a little bummed that her little sister claimed the Evening Star pillow all for herself.  When she saw the Lone Starburst block that Faith had put together on http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?paged=2 she asked if I could make her one like that.  I agreed and let her pick through my scraps.  She has a taste for very bright fabrics!

Here the two pillows are together.  Of course the girls had to try a pillow fight with them shortly after this photo.  :)  

I am still hand-stitching.  I have added to my art girl quilt some hand-stitching and will post the final product soon.  The other hand-stitching I am working on is the the infamous lap quilt I have been slowly working on.  Here is a bit of it:

This is one of those WIP/UFOs I have been trying to work on since the December before last...yeah I know. But it is getting there.  Hopefully, I will be able to post a picture of the Dresden Plate quilt too.

My Submission for the Modern Mini Challenge

Ellison Lane Quilts is having a Modern Mini Challenge.  I barely got mine finished. It is a 13 inch quilt that I started and finished today.  Phew!  There are so many amazing entries that I am not expecting to win anything, but it was a fun challenge that motivated me to try something I have had sketched up and in a drawer. This is what I sketched up year ago:

I don't have the colors I originally envisioned for these but I figured I still wanted to try it out.  So you have a two color one above.  I have been photographing the process and writing down measurements...so expect a tutorial as soon as I can perfect the measurements and directions.  Hope you are able to enter something too! Best of luck to all participants.

Last of the Solstice Stars

I finished this last star up early last week but have been extremely busy lately and haven't made it on here to post. 

After laying all of my stars out I decided to make another of the first star in more coordinating colors.  I finally have a vision for finishing the quilt and this will fit into the final layout better than the one I had originally made.

However since finishing up the blocks I haven't found a great deal of time for quilting.  I have had scouting events for two of my children and a 3rd little one who has had a nasty cold...in addition to a bathroom remodel due to necessary repairs.

I did manage to do a few things:

A small doll blanket per my youngest daughters request from scrap fabrics (I am still working on using scraps!) I didn't measure or cut anything rigidly - I just pieced and went with the flow.  I also wasn't too careful about going around the edged since I had a 2 year old on my lap helping finish up her blanket.  But she adores it and that is all that matters.

I also finished cutting my initial squares for a interlocked friendship star quilt:

I need to order another set of fabric for it to be large enough for a twin and I need to decide on the background color.  I am considering a kona bone color or something tan...I want the stars to really sing and many of the fabrics contain white backgrounds.  I am open to other suggestions.

Last but not least I tried applique.  I have only even done raw edge so I decided to give the classic 1/8 inch hidden stitch method a go.  I don't have any pictures but I know that even though I was able to do it (and a heart shape at that) I will need a little more practice to perfect it so all the stitches are perfectly hidden. Maybe I will give this pillow a try for lots of practice:

I own one of her patterns to make a nice size wall hanging of a tree with birds and multicolored leaves...but haven't been able to bring myself to do it since all I know how to do is raw edge applique.  Here is the link if you are curious:

http://dontlooknow.bigcartel.com/product/lilly-pilly

The idea is to make enough birds in the tree for each member of our family and hang it in the hallway.

This weeks goals:

Finish up the Dresden plate quilt top
Make my oldest daughters star pillow top - she already has colors picked out for it
Work on finishing up the hand-stitching on the large lattice lap quilt

We are getting closer to having a new little one in the house so we shall see just how much I can do before the arrival.

I Love to Read!

I have a book mark with a ninja on it that says "I have ninja like reading skills".  I think that just about sums up how my husband feels.  I read fast and it drives him crazy that I can go through books faster than he can.  We sometimes read the same sci fi or fantasy series and he asks to read them first because I am so fast.  I just kinda get lost in them and they play out like a movie in my head.  The other day I heard about a fiction series about quilters and thought it might be fun to give it a try.  I don't usually read books like these but hey, they might be fun. I called up my husband and asked if he wouldn't please mind dropping by and picking up a copy or two at the local library on his way home from work.  He agreed, but he had a little surprise for me. He had got me two of the books in the series:

and then he pulled out one more book.

He found it in the quilting section for me (this took effort since the fiction section and quilting section are not even on the same level of our library).  He said that he thought I just might want the book that has quilts/patterns inspired by the series.  I had no idea this even existed!   It was so sweet of him and unexpected!  I have to tell you too, I am adding this book to my wishlist!  I have already found several blocks and patterns I am dying to make and try!  Such inspiration.  I think my husband is a keeper - you can keep the "Hey Girl" poster boy.

More blocks

The Solstice Star Series over at http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/ is finishing up tomorrow and I am sad!  I really wish their were more stars. These have challenged me and at the same time provided me with a lot of fun!  If you know of any more fun stars like these please pass them along.

I finished my 3rd Solstice Star last week and  today I finally completed my 4th star!

The 4th star was a little challenging but is my favorite thus far!  I really think I might have to make a whole quilt of these in the future.  Lastly I tried another paper piecing pattern of a sailboat from Block Central and am in love!  I adore this little boats and am thinking of making my little guy (who is coming soon) a quilt of these. 

I have also been making more progress on hand-stitching the large quilt but over heated while stitching again.  It really sneaks up on me.  Glad my husband caught it!   Hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day!  

Kicking it Old School

I found some cute Pac Man and Space Invaders fabrics awhile back and thought at first about using it in a larger quilt.  However, I decided a black and white theme might not be too uplifting for the intended recipient.  My intended recipient has to spend a whole lot of time in dialysis.  :(  So I decided to make him a kindle cover for his kindle.  I really hope he likes it and that it fits his Kindle.  I used the tutorial from here: http://frizzylizzie.blogspot.com/2011/02/patchwork-kindle-cover-tutorial.html 
I added a flap and Velcro instead of the button closure.  I was a little scared about going off pattern to add my flap and Velcro but it all worked out.  Whew!

I didn't see the stray little string until I took the photo.  The string isn't even attached, just a stray.

I have also finished the second Half-Square Triangle block.  My husband says he is not so sure about how it is going to come together (and to be honest I am not sure either).

Other than that I am doing a load of hand quilting of a large lap quilt.  I am not going to post photos until it is finished but it is a beauty!  Lastly, I am working hard on selecting the right fabrics for the 2 new solstice stars I have to catch up on.  I should have them done *knock on wood* by the end of this weekend.  We shall see.   How are your projects going?