Keep Your Weinee Warm: A Baby Quilt!

Happy Friday, y'all! I'm excited to share my latest finish today! If you follow me on Instagram, you caught a sneak peek of this one.

A work friend of mine, who I lovingly call the Weiner Queen due to her love of weiner dogs, is having a baby boy soon. When she first announced she was pregnant, I knew right away that a quilt with wiener dogs was a must! It really was meant to be because the awesome pattern by Elizabeth Hartman came out not long after the gender reveal, giving me plenty of time before her baby shower.

The instructions for piecing the dogs were absolutely fantastic and I recommend this pattern 100%! There were a lot of pieces, but labeling my stacks with painter's tape and clover clips kept everything in order. Elizabeth is a fantastic pattern writer, I'm sure I'll be buying from her again!

I quilted a boxy meander all over, leaving the dogs untouched so they would be soft and have a little poof to them. I couldn't help but pet them when I was done! :)

I also made some bibs and burp cloths with the scraps. Having a matching set just sets this gift to a new level, don'tcha think?

I was so excited to gift this to my friend at her baby shower last weekend. I couldn't have been happier when she opened it and squealed before hugging it. Everybody oohed and aahed, but her happiness really made my quilty heart smile. The next day, she let me know it was already hanging on his crib, waiting for his arrival so baby and momma could snuggle in it. :)


Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and Needle and Thread Thursday!

A Quilt to Crown a Royal: A Finished Commission!

Guess which side my 5'4" mom was on and which side my 6'3" dad was on. Poor mom was stretching as tall as she could and still couldn't get it straight! LOL

Howdy y'all! I can't tell you how excited I am to finally be able to say 'Look at this finish!'. I've been working on this commission for what feels like forever, but the end has finally arrived! This quilt was a commission for a coworker's boyfriend. He gave me a bag full of Crown Royal bags and said to have fun. The only guideline was that is needed to be king sized.

My parents' poor bed was dwarfed by this king-sized monster!

I didn't reinvent the wheel with this design, but I did draw it up on paper and audition different layouts before settling on this one. It really made me feel like a designer when I was coloring in my little notebook! :)

I learned a lot with this quilt. For example: No more king size quilts! Lol. To the ladies and gents that make quilts this large on a regular basis, you are super heroes! I was exhausted after lugging this monster around. I also got my fill of log cabin blocks to last me for a long while, I'm sure.

I did loop-dee-do quilting in the yellow areas and did some minimal straight line quilting around some seams in the purple areas. In the borders, I alternated some purple and white straight lines around the seam lines.

Now that this one has been delivered, I can finally take a breath it feels like! It's so good to have this one off my shoulders, I'm proud I finished it! :)

Linking up with Finish it Up Friday and Needle and Thread Thursday!

Finish It Up Friday: A Finish is a Finish, No Matter How Small!

Yikes, y'all! It feels like I blinked and February was gone! It zoomed by in a fun-filled blur, so I can't complain.
The crew and I enjoyed some very unseasonal warmth, catching some rays on the back porch.

It's back to cold and rainy now, but these days were ah-mazing!

We even made a new friend!

This is my new cousin! :)

I've been enjoying myself more than I have in a long time, and guys, it has felt so good. :)


And of course, part of that fun has been at my sewing machine! I finally got around to making a pixie basket! This tutorial was uber popular a while back, but I just never got around to making one back then. I use two layers of batting rather than batting and muslin, so mine is a little squishy, but it is still wonderful and I love it!

PUG LIFE!

It's so cute and tiny!

I also made myself a little magnetic pin dish! I'm bad for dropping pins or keeping them in my mouth when I sew because I don't want to look at my pin cushion when I'm focused on sewing straight seams. I figured this may help since I just have to set it in the dish and the magnet will do the rest! This cost less than $5 to make (yay for coupons and sales at Hobby Lobby!) and most of the construction time was me dancing around waiting for the glue gun to heat up. Lol. I've used this and I love it so far!

Alsoooooo, I've been quilting the heck out of the Crown Royal quilt. I was terrified to start quilting this king sized monster, but besides some tension issues in the beginning, it's actually been really good. My machine has been amazing! I'm down to quilting the borders, then it will be time to bind and deliver! :D

So all in all, a very busy, very happy month! By mid-March, I may have some cool news to share, so keep your fingers crossed! Happy stitching, y'all!

The Quilt With No Name: A Finished Quilt Top

Howdy y'all, and happy Friday! I'm excited to unveil my latest finished quilt top! You saw a sneak peek of it on Wednesday, but here it is in all its glory! :)

The lovely Belle, back and ready to continue her quilt modeling. :)

As I said on Wednesday, this is a pattern of my own design, though only because I couldn't find one that suited my idea. I couldn't find an on-point square that fit the image in my head, so to the drawing board I went! It was easy enough and I'm thrilled with the result. Funnily enough, the design idea came to me back in the winter while playing video games with my husband. We were waiting for a game to load and the loading screen really struck me. I doodled the basic image in my notebook and hung onto it for inspiration to strike.

Those little intersection squares finish at 1 inch square! :)

That inspiration struck with my Alison Glass fabric! But what to pair it with? If you've followed for a while, you know I admire Kitty Wilkin over at Night Quilter. She really has a way with color, especially rainbows! And she really made me want to use Essex Linen in a quilt. For my birthday, I splurged and got, not regular Essex Linen, but a METALLIC Essex Linen. Oh. My. Goodness. I was giddy when I opened it and saw the shiny!

Depending on how the light hits the linen, it can appear metallic or flat. Makes for interesting pictures! Lol.

To my surprise, I plan on hand quilting this one. I know, weird for me, right?! But the buzz from hand quilting Technicolor Galaxy: Pocket Edition seems to have hung around because all I can see is rainbow hand quilting when I look at this quilt top. I figure I'll wait until the quilting is done to trim off the excess fabric around the edges, even if it looks funny right now! Lol.

This one really shows off the shimmer!

I had hoped for a better photoshoot for this top, but alas, not all wishes come true! So I took it with me when I went to my parents' house to do some work. I tried hanging it on the clothes line, but eventually just spread it out in the yard. The girls, Belle and Jasmine, couldn't help but get involved! Belle, of course, thinks she's a quilt model after I told her how much everybody liked her last time! ;) Now it's just time to dig through my batting pieces and hope I find one big enough for this!

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday, TGIFF, and Finish or Not Friday!

Pretty in Pink: A Baby Quilt Finish

Happy Friday, y'all! I'm glad I finished this baby quilt last weekend because I have barely sewed at all this week. It's been a tiring one, that's for sure! This is the result of some of those squares I showed you recently. I had originally planned for this to be a quilt to donate, but part way through sewing, the quilt told me that wasn't the plan anymore. Isn't it funny how a quilt knows where its heading, even before us sometimes? :) My husband's cousin is due to give birth any day now and what kind of quilter would I be if that baby didn't have a quilt when it came into this world?!

Pink and gray, all the way!

I used the paper bag method for sewing the squares together - I just picked random squares and sewed them together without abandon. I'm sad that the bottom left is very pale/low value compared to the rest, but I'm sure baby won't mind. :)

Even Elvis was covered in glitter due to this fabric! Lol.

I went with simple quilting for this one. Straight lines about 1/4 inch from the seams in every direction. It was a nice change from my usual FMQ!

A simple label and a good view of the stripey binding!

The backing was a leftover glittery rainbow print and some scraps to make it big enough. This whole project was made from the stash, including the batting! Now it's just waiting for the baby to make her appearance. :)

A washed out quilt roll, ignore my cluttered patio! ;)

Linking up with Finish it Up Friday. go check out all the quilty loveliness that's being linked up this week! :)

Finish It Up Friday: Back in the Mini Mini Game!

Howdy y'all, I hope your week has gone well! I've been getting sewing time in like crazy lately, so I actually had TWO finishes this week! I'm going to share one of them today and save the other for later next week. :)

So here is a mini mini I finished last night! It was actually done in one sitting after I got into a bit of a sewing frenzy. :) It's the logo for one of my favorite Youtube channels, Markiplier. It's a gaming channel and, despite the foul language, I usually laugh so hard that I cry when I watch his videos. Nothing like laughter to brighten any day, right?

This was a good project to get back to tiny sewing and getting back to the mini mini mindset. It was also a good little exercise in pixel-y piecing. The smallest white squares finish at one inch square! The mustache is appliqued on with Heat n' Bond and I actually did two layers - one layer was too transparent. Also, it's glittery!

You can barely make out the quilting on this one!

The quilting is...hmm...organized matchsticks? It's vertical lines that are more or less 1/4 inch apart, I wasn't too picky. Lol. Also, look how sharp that binding is! I used the Clover Wonder Clips and holy smokes! Those things are aweeeeesome!

Such a happy sewing wall. :)

This little guy gets to join the wall in front of my sewing machine. I've got mini's off all sizes now! Now off to plan more mini mini's, I've got a swap to get ready for! :)

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!

Finish It Up Friday: Happy Mail and a Happy Pouch!

Howdy y'all! All the posts I tried to create the last couple of weeks have fallen flat as a flitter. It just wasn't working. Motivation to sit behind a computer and write blog posts has been low when it is so pretty outside! But then some happy mail came this week.

It all starts with a quilter. That's always how it starts, right? ;) This particular quilter is Svetlana over at s.o.t.a.k handmade. Svetlana is a fabulous pattern designer, quilter, and lately, fabric printer. She is probably best known for her unique pouches. Svetlana is one of those creators that has a distinct style - you can see a project and just know it's one of her creations. Anywho, after commenting on one of her posts, I got the surprise of her insisting on sending me some Clover Clips! I had never used them before and she had a box she wanted to send to a new home! :D

Quilters really are the nicest, most generous people in the world.

So later in the week, I got my happy mail. But there wasn't just the Clover Clips! There was also a charm pack (Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille) and a Sotak Kit! For those of you who don't know, a Sotak Kit is something Svetlana has put together so you can make your own pouch, Sotak-style! It includes all the fabric and odds and ends you need. Mine had waxed canvas, a linen for the lining, some of her printed fabric (!!!), a metal zipper, and the signature leather zipper pull. It also had instructions on how to make the pouch in a nifty little pamphlet.

I'm in love with her printed fabric!

My pouch making is pretty limited, but I dug right in and made this little beauty in no time! I had such fun working with new materials (waxed canvas is different but I love it!) and never felt lost in the instructions. And I got to use those new Clover Clips along the way!

This was my first time doing box corners on the bottom of a pouch, so it stands up on its own!

I know May is for Makers is past, but I believe wholeheartedly in cheering on our fellow makers all year around, so I wanted to shine the spotlight on Svetlana for being an awesome quilter/sewist and also for just being a lovely person. This bit of happy mail really turned my week around and got me at my sewing machine with happiness in my heart. And for that, I thank her with all the virtual hugs I can send her way! :)

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and NTT!

*Note: I was not paid or given any compensation for this review. In fact, I wasn't even asked to give it! I just wanted to share an awesome product with fellow sewing buddies who may want to make pouches as well. :)

The Jayci Quilt: A Finish

Elvis is always up for a photobomb! And you can just see LBC's little paws on the upper right corner. :)

Hey y'all! I've been meaning to share this finished commission quilt for a while, but I have been so busy lately. I've been working like crazy, then I come home and work even more on commissions or other side jobs. Needless to say, I'm one exhausted girl! Even too tired for blogging! These pictures aren't the best either, I snapped them on my lunch break since I was delivering it to my Mom that evening, who delivered it to my client.

This quilt was commissioned after my Mom showed off the Isabella quilt at her work. A soon-to-be grandma wanted a quilt for her new grandbaby, a little baby girl! The mommy-to-be isn't a huge fan of pink, so it couldn't steal the show like it did for Isabella. Instead, her grandma and her friends picked out a cooler color palette. Their first choices weren't quite successful (not enough contrast and the colors were a bit 'meh') but after a few pointers, she went back and picked out some different fabrics and it was better!

I appliqued the name on the same way as I did before, using Heat n' Bond and stitching around the edges. I drew this font by hand also, which was fun!

I really should take the time to lay things out nicely, not just toss them on the couch and snap a pic. :P

For some reason, everybody loves this rainbow print. It's glittery and fun and makes for a neat backing, I think.

I really like this picture, but I can't figure out what my camera was focusing on. Lol.

The client also wanted to have the same quilting, so I got to make flowers again! I really like this quilting motif, it makes me so happy!

A bold binding and a simple label rounded things off nicely. I'm hoping my client and the future Momma are happy with this quilt like I am! :)

Pretty little label. :)

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and Needle and Thread Thursday.

Also, this is another project to mark off my 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long goal list!

Looks like Elvis is as tired as I am!

A Little Finish: A Charity Baby Quilt

Howdy y'all! I've got a finish to share this week! The Charity Quilt that you've seen bits and pieces of over the last month is finally finished! I had hoped to get some better pictures of it, but it has rained almost all week here so indoor pictures will have to do. :(

Fabric courtesy of Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation (I linked to her blog at the end of this post!)

This baby quilt started as a bundle of fabric I won in a giveaway. I love the cute little prints, but I never knew what to do with it. After hanging onto it for nearly a year, it finally hit me: a baby quilt! But for who?...To give away, of course!

Yes, I did do a quilt photo shoot on top of a dog kennel...it's been a long week!

This was just the mindless sewing I needed! Easy half square triangles, an easy layout, and easy quilting made for an all around soothing experience.

The backing is just the bigger cuts of leftover fabric, along with some smaller squares to make it a bit taller. It sort of makes it a reversible quilt!

The quilting is...I'm not entirely sure. It was inspired by some quilting I saw by Anja over at Anja Quilts. She says she hates actually quilting her quilts, but she's pretty darn good at it! This was a pretty quick and easy design, but I'm still not 100% sold on it. 

Even the binding was easy, which is insane for me! Lol. I love how scrappy the binding is! I almost used all of my scraps from these fabrics to make the binding, I'm so happy about that!
Now I just have to contact the local hospitals and see if any of them will take this quilt, along with some other things I've made! Have a happy Friday y'all!

My quilting helper *had* to do some quality control before this one gets lint rolled and ready for delivery! :)

Linking up with Finish it Up Friday and Needle and Thread Thursday!

This finish is my goal for OMG April, I'm linking up just under the wire with this one! :)

Also, this is another finish for the Quarter 2 Finish-A-Long list, which you can see here!

The Isabella Quilt: A Finish!

Mr. LBC's first appearance as quilt holder!

I'm so happy to be sharing this one with y'all! This quilt has had a lot of ups and downs, but here she is and I'm so proud of her!

Pretty in Pink!

The piecing went together easy-peasy with such a simple layout. My Mom actually helped pick out all these pink and grays. It was so fun having her input, she has a good eye for fabric. :)

My handwriting in real life is terrible but I managed to pull things together a bit for this! :)

 And I had fun coming up with a font that fit this top! Yay for Heat N' Bond and raw edge applique!

A rainbow striped back. I even managed to match up stripes so it looks seamless! :)

The texture on this one was so lovely, I love this FMQ motif. :)

As you may recall, quilting this thing was a nightmare. The first two-thirds or so did great; I was loving the flower motif and was zooming through things. But then the problems started. Thread kept snapping, needles kept breaking. I ended up in tears, praying my last needle didn't snap before finally finishing the last flower. I had a quilty miracle though when a new machine got passed onto me, free of charge! I plan on introducing it soon, but I will say it has served me well for putting the binding on and piecing some other blocks!

This shows off the backing, binding, and quilting quite well (though it doesn't show the glitter on the fabrics), as well as the lovely green grass that is growing like crazy now!

There were no special requests for a label, so I made a simple label with my name and LBC Quilting on it. I even managed to get it hand stitched on before the sun went down!

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF @ Anja Quilts