Camping Lap Quilt - Part 1

Now that all of my baby projects are done, I had two projects to chose from: 1) the camping lap quilt or 2) the covers for the trailer cushions.

I decided to get started on the lap quilt. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it, so I started combing my pinterest quilting board to see which I wanted to do. I have enough quilt projects on there to last a long time! I finally chose this one:
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-way-to-randomize-patchwork.html to do.

I have NO idea why I thought small squares were a good idea. Oh wait, yes I do! I had two packages of fabric that was already cut in 2.5" strips. I went ahead and cut both sets up and decided to mix them for the random patterns. They're definitely not as random as the ones in the inspiration quilt.

I cut them into 3" squares (yes, I know they're technically not squares because of the 2.5" width). Each fabric has 42 squares, so I have 672 to work with. I have no idea how big this quilt will end up being, so hopefully that's enough. If not, I do have other fabric that is the same, it's just not in the strips, so it'll require a bit more cutting.

Fabric options

I decided to get started on it as soon as I had all of the squares cut. I didn't bother to trim excess thread as I was going, so that'll be a tedious project later.

The first 4 rows/columns

I'm not quite sure yet if these will stay rows or become columns. Especially since I'm still deciding how big the quilt will be. Can't wait to make more progress on this one and figure out what I want my backing fabric/pattern to be. I may do a "reversible" quilt. Because you know, it's for me... so if I screw it up, it's fine!

Maxi Skirt

For some reason, I got this crazy idea to make a maxi skirt. You see, I'm short. I can't just go out and buy one of these. The pictures aren't so great & I really didn't take any during the process. I've started playing with my serger on these.

Here's the tutorial I used:
http://crazylittleprojects.com/2012/09/sew-your-own-maxi-skirt-its-easy.html

For this one, I haven't actually finished it off. It was a quick "can I even do this?" mock-up.

Sorry about how dark this one is! 

The one below, I finished off so that I could wear it on the plane on a very long trip to Singapore. It's really comfortable, especially with Jockey Skimmies under (love those things!). I've learned that:
1) I need to take these in another inch or so,
2) I need to pay attention to the band & which way it's going on, and
3) I need to add another 1-2 inches at the bottom.

Otherwise, I really like it and can't wait to make more of them!

Kitty Wendy decided she needed to be in the picture too!

Bibs

As the last part of my sister's baby shower presents, I decided to make a couple of bibs for her. I found this tutorial for cute bibs:
http://sewshesews.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/quilted-patchwork-bib-pattern-and-tutorial/ and decided to give it a try.

I got all of the fabric cut and then decided which way I wanted the fabrics to be pieced together. The middle 4 pieces got moved around a couple of times, but I like the way they ended up.

These are the combinations the bibs ended up in.

I didn't take a lot of pictures during this project because I needed to get them done quickly. My sister's shower was only a couple of days away & these were the last project (of the stuff she didn't know about). 

First one done!

All four of the bibs. My personal favorite is the bottom right, though the bottom left is a very close second.

With the velcro fastened. 

I used an iron-on velcro, made for fabric, for these. It was super simple. The only thing was that the soft side of the velcro did NOT need the 90 seconds of ironing for adhesion that the instructions said to do. They melt with that long! It needed about 30 seconds and then to cool down and then about 10-15 more seconds if the corners were popping up at all.

My sister seemed to really like them, so I hope she gets some good use out of them!

Burp Cloths

As another part of my sister's baby shower gifts, I decided to take on these burp clothes:
http://cloud9fabrics.com/tutorial-contoured-burp-cloths/. I don't have kids, but I have burped several babies & know it's a pain in the butt to get the clothes to stay.

The hardest part of these (for me) was sewing around the curves, both to hold the fabrics together & the topstitching.

Got the first two stitched together & turned right-side out

The other 6

All of them ironed & read to be topstitched. 

All done!

I hope she likes these!

Receiving Blankets

My first project with the serger was going to be receiving blankets for my sister. (Turns out after talking with her that she has a ton of them, but ah well, they're made. She doesn't know I made these yet.) I picked some fun fabrics for these. I did limit myself to 4, because I felt like I could make a ton of the blankets.

I used this tutorial for the blankets:
http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/how-to-make-perfect-receiving-blanket

Super simple! Yes, there are still some mistakes & need to work on straight lines, but it's all good. Of course, the Head Mouse needed to be included in my gifts somewhere!

I did cut them down after washing them & rounded the corners ahead of time. I'm not sure if it really helped at all, but it was done.

I need to figure out how to end stitches without cutting off the starting stitches. Not bad for a first attempt.

Serger

After we bought the sewing machine in November, I discovered a few projects that really would be easier with a serger. I've never used one, didn't really know a whole lot about them, and am kind of scared by them.

I chatted a good bit with the ladies in Joann's and decided to go with the Huskylock S25. It's probably WAY more than I really needed, but it'll do pretty much everything I can ever think of doing.

Husqvarna S25
http://new.husqvarnaviking.com/en-US/Machines/HUSKYLOCK-s25

It took me about 45 minutes (or more?) to thread it. I should've read the instruction book first that said to tie your threads to the ones that were already threaded (and cut off since they don't include thread with the machine). Oops. Once it was finally threaded properly, I started in on my first project.

Kitty Blankets

While I was making the quilt, the cat (Wendy) would NOT stay off of it. So, I did what anyone would do and made her one of her own. I took a remnant, put some batting and a couple of plastic grocery bags in it. Now she has a crinkly blanket. She LOVES it. She's spent most of her days on it since I made it. I also made two smaller ones for our neighbors kitties.

I used this post as inspiration:
http://cathiefilian.blogspot.com/2010/03/make-it-cat-toys-cat-nip-bubbles.html

Wendy's is the blue one. The neighbor kitties got the other two.

Things to note:

Don't layer it like this.

If you do, when you go to turn it inside out, the insides will all be on the outside. No bueno.

Do layer like this, with right sides of the fabric together.

See... right sides of the fabric. Not the wrong sides (which I may have done).

Nephew's Quilt

My sister's having her 2nd baby soon. Naturally, armed with a new sewing machine, I figured I'd jump right in with making a quilt. Cause you know, it's been about 20 years since I really sewed and I've never done a quilt before.

Quilt Inspiration:
http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.com/2014/06/oh-sew-baby-strip-tango-baby-quilt.html

Fabrics:

After I okayed the fabrics with my sister, I got home & started in on the design of the quilt. Using the Strip Tango Quilt as inspiration, I started piecing the quilt together. The 2nd and 3rd sections were a bit different than the inspiration quilt after sending text messages with pictures back & forth with my sister.

Kitty Wendy decided to oversee the process

All assembled

After getting the quilt assembled, I figured out the boarder, backing, & got the quilt fully laid out and basted.

Kitty Wendy seems to think this is going to be her quilt

I'm not going to lie. Quilting and binding scared me a lot! I did the "stitch in the ditch" method of quilting. I figured I'd wait to do "fancy" stuff until I learn a bit more. That turned out to work pretty well. It's not perfect, but it was a good first attempt.

Ready for binding

Once I got the quilt quilted, I trimmed the edges and got it ready for binding. I looked through a ton of tutorials, but this one:
http://www.stitchedbycrystal.com/2012/08/technique-quilt-binding-two-techniques.html was the one that ended up making the most sense to me and being the easiest for me to follow. (Seriously, what did we do before the internet?!)

I did a small test run and learned a couple of valuable lessons (like right side down of the binding, cut the binding to 2" to do a 1" finish, and remove the pins before you hit them with your sewing needle).

Smaller than a pot holder. May be good for mugs. Good test run!

I used the Simplicity Deluxe Bias & Piping Machine to create my bias/binding. It definitely made it easy. Once I made the binding, I took the quilt downstairs and pinned the bias to the back of the quilt, right side down, with the edge of the binding against the edge of the quilt. The corners were definitely the hardest part.

Once I got the binding sewed on the back, it was time to flip it over & attach the binding to the front with a lot of pins. Then back up to the sewing machine to get it attached.

Finished! Kind of. Had to fix up a couple of spots and add my "signature".

Doggy David wanted to get in on the action too. 

My sister insisted I sign the quilt. This turned out to be good because I hid a "mistake". 

I learned that I can't sew in straight lines and I need more practice with that. I also learned that quilting isn't super scary, but it is very time intensive. I mean, I already knew that, but it was confirmed with this.

Infinity Scarves

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law asked for infinity scarves for Christmas. I've had a couple of patterns/tutorials pinned for a while now, just waiting until I had a sewing machine to give them a try. I figured they couldn't be *that* difficult.

Here's the tutorial that I used:
http://www.sweetestbugbows.com/infinity-scarf-tutorial-kids-and-adults/

I took a trip to Joann's and found some black, multi-colored, and what I'll call "Sully" fabrics. The black and multi-colored we for my in-laws for Christmas. The "Sully" was just because I couldn't resist the fabric.

I started out doing a mock up with a fabric remnant, which I've learned is a good idea. The biggest thing I needed to figure out was closing up the ends. Once I found the tutorial above, that was a huge help.

After figuring all of that out, I cut the black fabric and made 3 of those scarves. I cut those a bit thicker, as I figured those would likely get used under jackets since the fabric was a little heavier.

Black knit infinity scarf

Once I was done with the black scarves, I started with the multi-colored scarves. I made 4 of those, cut a little thinner. I am in love with these. The fabric feels awesome & they're light enough you can wear them all day.

Multi-color knit infinity scarf 

I moved on to the "Sully" fabric. I also did 4 of these. I'm calling it the Sully because it's blue with purple dots & reminds me of Sully from Monsters, Inc. (I love that movie!) I didn't give these to my in-laws, but I did send one home with my mom for my sister. She loves it!

"Sully" infinity scarf

I think my favorite is the multi-color. It's the perfect weight & goes with pretty much everything. My in-laws say they liked the scarves. I hope they're getting some good use out of them!

Sewing Machine

It's been about 10 years since I owned a sewing machine. The last one I had was a cheap Singer (I think I paid $79 or so for it) from Walmart. After being beyond frustrated with it, I got rid of it several years ago and haven't had a machine since. I've also not had any pressing projects that I've wanted to do, so I haven't bothered even really researching sewing machines. Until now.

We own a Lance travel trailer. I (We) love it... but, it's got ugly fabric. We were recently thinking about selling it and upgrading to something a little bigger (with better fabric too). After doing some thinking, we've decided to keep the one we have and I'm on a mission to change the fabric. If, for a couple of hundred dollars, I can make it more "us", then I'll do it.

With now wanting/needing to make cushion covers, I obviously needed a new sewing machine. I knew the "cheap" models were out of the question. Dealing with outdoor upholstery fabrics requires more than those machines can really handle (at least in my opinion).

So, we headed to Joann's and started talking with the Husqvarna people there. After a couple of trips and research on our own, we decided to get the Husqvarna Opal 670.

I'm in absolute love with this machine. It's so easy to use and can do so many things.

I've got a TON of projects lined up - some bigger than others. Can't wait to get started!