little lap quilt--blogger's quilt festival entry

I received a special request this week from my daughter for a lap quilt.  She is a physical therapist for children at a rehabilitation hospital.  At the end of her workday, she sits at her desk to fill out the daily paperwork and her office is cold.  Like most quilters, I have a pile of quilt tops waiting in line to be finished, so I looked through the pile and I found a small one that would be perfect for her office lap quilt.

This is also my entry in the small quilt category in the Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2015.  Be sure and go here for lots of  beautiful quilts and inspiration.

This small top has been waiting quite a while to be finished...here is the original post that I wrote about making this quilt top from leftover strips of Botany by Moda and Kona white.

I machine quilted in straight lines and then added some of my favorite big stitches. 

After adding the binding, I decided it was too plain, and I added more big stitches : )

This lap quilt measures 30"X40".  

It has been washed and is now waiting to be gifted to my daughter... it'll be like I am giving her a big ole hug every time she uses it!  That must be why I quilt... I am a hugger : )

It is always so satisfying to finish a quilt.

piece,

elizabeth

slow stitching

I have been away from my blog for a while...been busy, all good...but now that things are getting back to normal, I hope to get back to my blog.  I thought I'd begin with a relaxing project that is making me happy.  Why? Because I have had these vintage blocks for years and haven't known what to do with them.  Well, I decided to do some needle-turn appliqué and these vintage blocks make the perfect background!

I don't know about you, but I like to have some sort of "slow stitching" project handy.  This one is going to be fun.

I decided to cut out petals, and when I layed them out, it seemed that five were just enough.

My next step was basting the petals a little more than 1/4 inch away from the edge.

Now it was time for some slow stitching...in this case, needle-turn appliqué.

I plan to make a at least a dozen blocks, so my hope is that "practice makes perfect", and I will get more comfortable with my appliqué stitch as I go along : )

Here are two finished Petal blocks:

And of course, I had my helper at my side to occasionally play with the thread!

piece,

elizabeth

easy no-sew garden utility apron

I saw the coolest video about a no-sew garden apron on CHOW.

I immediately had to make one, so I took photos to show you how to make one too!

First you find an old pair of jeans: 

Now cut off the legs all the way across(front and back).

Turn them over and cut below the waistband and down the seam on each side.

TA DA….you have an apron, ready to wear!

 Put it around your waist and snap or button, then fill the pockets

with your garden tools and go play : )

I suppose you could embellish it with fabric or lace, but this one

will stay as it is and I am ready to put it to work on this beautiful Spring day.

How was that for a quick and easy project….

piece,

elizabeth

finished WIP

I have had this table runner/ work-in-progress for a long time.

 All it needed was to be machine quilted, so I decided to practice 

my straight line quilting on this project.

It is always good to finish a project…especially one that has
been hanging around awhile!

piece
elizabeth

little quilt monday~~~liberty of london swap mini quilt

I made a mini quilt for the Liberty of London Swap 2.

I started with hexagons and then sewed them together

into a heart.  My swap partner likes hearts, so that helped

me decide what to do with the hexagons.

I used Essex linen/cotton blend in gray for the background and

it really set off the bright colors of the hexagons.

I machine quilted on the diagonal in straight stitches and

 I chose a bright LOL fabric for the binding.

My swap partner received my package this week and is pleased with her mini quilt!

I sent a few other small quilted items that I will post about later in the week.

piece,

elizabeth

needle minder tutorial

I didn't know what a needle minder/pin keeper was until I saw one on one

of my friends IG(Instagram).  I wanted to make one and I found a 

cool IG tutorial on What the Bobbin blog.

You can use a needle minder for hand stitching, embroidery, cross stitch, appliqué,

hand binding a quilt…any time you need to keep track of your needles or pins!

So here are a few that I have made today along with a mini tutorial….they are a bit addicting : )

Supplies:

Button cover kit

Magnets

Fabric 

Super Glue
Scissors

Use the template provided in the button cover kit to draw a circle for the button.

Cover the button according to the directions given in the kit.

  

Apply super glue to attach the magnet to the button.

                         You will need two magnets when using your needle minder.

I am warning you….they are so much fun to make!  You will not be

able to stop at one : )

Enjoy!

piece,

elizabeth

bee blocks

I have joined the

Mid Century Modern Bee.

The first block was for Elizabeth at OPQuilt.  She

asked for blocks of various sizes in bright colors on text print fabric.

We could make any type block that we wanted and I opted for

some  6.5 inch pinwheel blocks.

It has been a while since I have participated in a quilt bee, and I know this

is going to be a fun experience!

piece,

elizabeth