Paper Pieced Puppy

My youngest son loves his Build-A-Bear critters!  They have their own "closet" full of fancy (expensive) clothes, cute little names and now, one of them even has his own quilt.  Using scraps from the mountain of fabric in the stash, I made a couple of "wonky" log cabin blocks just for fun.  I can't remember if I shared that photo with the blogging world but it doesn't matter.  What does matter is that the morning after I finished that quilt top, my box of paper piecing supplies from Connecting Threads arrived and I just had to try a few of the patterns from the new book. Sure, I've seen paper piecing videos and tutorials but never tried it for myself.  I'm hooked!  These are my first two paper pieces blocks along with two more wonky log cabins.   Ol' Jack the Black Belt puppy has been recreated onto his own quilt block.   :)  My son loves it and I'm sure Jack will, too.  

Happy Stitching! 

Crooked Little Houses

Yesterday was exciting!  Not only did Bullseye go out in the mail to California, but so did Miss Kay's Puppy Dog baby quilt!  It's measured out to be 39" square when it was all done and the pieced binding turned out well.  As always, my photography skills need a lot of work but you get the idea. 

Hand quilting in perle cotton floss is always fun, but this time, I made the stitches a little bigger to match the bigger blocks.  I took a chance on using brown floss instead of the blue I really wanted to use and I'm pleased with the results.  Actually, I was so excited about being done with it that I forgot to wipe away the yellow and white chalk marks before I took the photos.  LOL    There are no labels for this quilt, which is how Kay wanted it.  The family hasn't picked a name for their new little one yet, so I offered to add a patch to the back later on if they decide they want one.

My paper piecing rulers and other supplies will be here tomorrow!  Christmas in August!  Not really.  Our 16th wedding anniversary is coming up and after 16 years, you run out of things to buy for each other.  So, I told Eagle1 that I would rather save the money he would normally spend on a gift for something I could use in the craft room later on and he was cool with that, which is how I didn't get yelled at for buying paper piecing stuff!  ;-) 

 

While scrolling through my FB feed for a quilting group I belong to, I saw a link to a scrappy log cabin quilt that was just stunning.  I've never made a log cabin block before even though I do think they are pretty.  They just seem too "organized" and planned out to me.  I like a bit more chaos in my piecing and if I can use up scraps without cutting or waste, I'm there!  I have a whole WM bag full of strip scraps just begging to be used, so round and round in log cabin fashion, the first of many Crooked Little Houses was born.  I think it would be fun to make a few blocks that don't sit quite square, maybe cant one way or another, or to just truly use the strips as they lay without squaring them up.  Maybe for another quilt.  One bit of chaos at a time. 

Happy Stitching!

Bullseye SOLD and an Autumn Quilt

SOLD!! to a lady in California  :)   The Etsy order came in yesterday morning.  I don't have much in my little shop and this one has been listed at least 3 times.  The fabric for this quilt is from a Connecting Threads collection called "Golden Afternoon".  I really didn't care for the color palette when the order arrived but it has grown on me over time.  I struggled a bit with block placement because I needed to get the right mix of light/dark scattered throughout the top.  All in all, it is still one of my favorite quilts and taking this to the post office will be a bittersweet moment.

Bullseye is 100% cotton with Warm and Natural cotton batting.  It was hand quilted using perle cotton floss in many coordinating colors to match the blocks.  The binding is pieced and matches the blocks, machine stitched to the front and finished by hand on the back.  I did make a label for the back, but I don't think I have a photo of it. 

I finished hand quilting Miss Kay's puppy dog quilt for the baby shower!  Hopefully, today will find me in the sewing room making the binding.  I'm motivated to get it done before my new box of paper piecing goodies arrives in a few days!  No, I don't have a clue how to paper piece, other than what I've seen on YouTube videos, but my baby sister would like a Mariner's Star, so I'm going to learn.  I'm always up for learning a new technique. 

 

On Wednesday, I woke up in a "mood".  You know, the one where you just have to create, create, create and you know you won't sleep another wink until you get it out of your system.  Yep, one of those moods.  So, I set aside the puppy dog quilt, (my back needed the break anyhow) and started pulling colors from the stash.  I had no idea what I wanted to create, but I was motivated by my subconscious yearning for Fall.  It's a little more pink than I normally work with, especially for a Fall palette, but it works (I think!).  I'm not sure yet how to quilt it, so it's going to hang in the sewing room window until I figure it out. 

There are two times of year when I get the urge to start "nesting" for Christmas;  Just after Christmas, in preparation for next year and every single summer.  Maybe I'm reminded to start prepping by all of the Christmas in July sales that keep popping up or maybe it's just my own desire not to enter the holiday season unprepared.  Either way, I'm in that mindset again and searching for new and creative ideas for my nieces and nephews for Christmas.  This year, my goal is to work with only what is already in my stash.  Ha Ha Ha  Yep, we'll see  how that goes. 

 

Happy Stitching to all!