Goals for the new year

I have some UFO's from 2012 I need to finish and I have some goals for the new year also.
1)  I need to finish my rail fence quilt.  I put it up and plum forgot about it!  I've started cutting the strips but need to sew them together and make my blocks!
This is the one I want to make!  Mine will be brown, green and blue.
2)  I have two dresses I want to make.  I have the material and the pattern.  One will be purple and the other  grey and yellow.
3) A jumper.  This one will be a blue flowered material.
4)  I need to finish quilting and binding my postage stamp quilt.  This is my goal to have finished by the end of January.
I started learning how to applique in 2012 and need more practice.
5)  I would like to have the top for my Granny Square quilt finished by the end of January.  This is a Christmas gift for my niece.  She will be 7 in February.

6) I have 3 denim rag quilts I want done by Christmas.  For my two uncles and my nephew who will be 17 in April.
7)  After those quilts are done, I want to make either a pinwheel quilt or a wedding ring quilt.  I have the turquoise and black material for it.  We'll see what kind of mood I'm in!
8) Continue working on my hand pieced hexagon quilt.

My granny square quilt be pieced entirely on my hand crank sewing machine.  I want to learn how to treadle, I've moved it to where it is more accessible.  I want to quilt my granny square and my hexagon quilts on my treadle!

I also want to learn how to FMQ, I'm stippling my postage stamp quilt, so that is a start!

I want to practice more on my xylophone!  My stepmom gave my husband an auto harp that was my dad's. I had no idea he had one!  I want to learn how to play it (I'll have to share with my husband, LOL).

I am a bit of a control freak also.  For ex., when I throw a party I plan it down to the nanosecond and really stress myself out if it does not go off perfectly.  I will still plan things, but I'm trying to be more flexible.  I can get totally consumed by my projects also, I'm terrible about being too focused on something and forgetting everything else.  This is with blogging, quilting, baking, etc.  I need to loosen the reigns and let God have control instead of trying to do it all by myself.  God wants to help us, we just have to let Him do it.  Kind of like the child trying to move the heavy box all by himself, when Daddy is standing right there wanting to help and all the child has to do is ask for help and the Daddy will take that burden away.  It's the same way with us.
God says:  "11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29

Have a great 2013 everyone, and be sure to let God bless you this year!
Missy

A year in Review

Wow, I have only been quilting for about a year (I took a class in October of 2011) but I feel like it is such a part of my life now!  I wrote out my UFO list at the beginning of the year, here.  
1)  The first item on the list was a Birdhouse quilt for my friend Marie, that several ladies in my church helped me make.  It was our first quilt for the prayer quilt ministry, we just didn't know it!

2)  The second item on the list is a rail fence quilt for my husband, I just have some strips cut, that's it.  I'll have to finish that!
3)  The third item on the list is my cat panel.  I am putting that on my hexagon quilt.  See the link for the flowers.
It's not finished, but I have been working steadily on it, and since it is being hand quilted, I am not fretting about it.
4)  I did not finish number four, a rag quilt for my uncle, I didn't even start it!  I'm hoping to start on my rag quilts by the end of January.  I want to make 3 denim rag quilts.  One for my Uncle Glenn, one for my Uncle johnny and Aunt Debbie, and one for my nephew who will be 17 in April.  These will be Christmas gifts for 2013.
5)  I finished this one, it was a skirt!  I'm not happy with the fit though.

6)  I did not make me the dress, but I did make it for two other people.
Mother and daughter!
7)  This was a another dress that I did not finish!
Here is a dress I did finish though!
I made one for me, Chrystal made one for herself and her daughter.
I made one for Ebbye, I also made a pink one for her daughter, but don't have the picture.  Both her daughters made their own dresses using the same pattern also.  Kristi and her daughter Kayla also used my pattern to make their dresses!
Since I have started sewing last year I have completed four quilts.  The birdhouse quilt above, my first quilt was this wall hanging for my stepmom.

This rag quilt for my sister, 
And my favorite quilt, my mom's Dresden Plate quilt, I couldn't tell ya'll who i was for because it was present!

There's a lot more sewing I did, but that is just too many pictures!  It's nice to see what all I have accomplished this past year!

New Skirt (UFO)

I finished one of my UFO's!  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/12/ufo-2012-list.html I was supposed to have it done a long time ago, I actually finished it in April.  I have been going out of town like every two weeks and have not had a chance to blog about it!

I got the pattern from the book Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt.

http://www.sewserendipity.com/product_info.php?products_id=145
I made the tunic dress out of it last year.  You can see it here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/06/sew-serendipity-tunic-dress.html
It is very easy to understand her directions.  My favorite is the pockets!

 I did a fussy cut on the pockets.  A fussy cut is where you cut the material for a certain pattern to be "showcased".

I did mess up on the sizing, I made it too tight, so I added a blue strip to make it bigger.

Always pin your skirt on before you sew it in case you made a mistake like I did.  It still was not big enough, so I added more.  Then I added too much and had to take some off.  My problem is that my waist is smaller than my hips and backside.

It's still too big, so I am going to try adding some pleats, I think that will be cute and look better than me messing with it more.
I did a pretty good job on the zipper though!

Kay was on "Sewing With Nancy" and shared some great tips!
Here is part one:  http://video.wpt2.org/video/1700991445/
Here is part two:  http://video.wpt2.org/video/1701022470/
I did make the skirt longer, and she gives you directions on how to modify her patterns.
I love this book, I would recommend that you buy one!  I have another pattern, the Betty June dress, that is waiting to be made.
Have fun sewing!
Missy

Design Wall Monday

I finally finished all of my "flowers"!  I only had 20 to make, but it makes a 16 1/2 block and it is my first hand pieced project. I have been working on it since April.  I have noticed that my stitches are smaller and faster now than when I started.  I put a blue hexie between the flowers to get an idea of size and placement.

This is my UFO #3.  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/12/ufo-2012-list.html

I am only going to put one strip of the blue between each flower, so for now I am going to add the border around every other flower and then re-evaluate after I have laid it out and looked at it.  I think this is the order I will keep the flowers.  If you see a flower I should move around please let me know.  I just spent an hour trying to decide where to put the flowers. 

I put a note on each flower where it goes in order and whether or not it gets a border.

I then stacked the ones that get borders in one pile, and a pile for the ones that do not get borders.  I have cut enough blue hexies so far for five flowers, so I need to cut five more, although I will need more than that since I will be finishing the quilt with blue hexies all around.  I got a new "basket" to carry my quilt in as I work on it.  I still have my small pouch to carry in my purse when the basket is inconvenient though.

I wanted to share some pictures of Midnight, the kitten I was taking care of.  She has gone back to her owner now, I really miss her!  Please excuse my messy carpet, my vacuum was not working, but I found a great one at a yard sale for $10!

 Pippi not letting her get away, she needed a bath!

 What is that smell?  Is it a mouse or a new toy?  At least that is what I think he was thinking since he kept "bopping" her!

 Finally they let her take a nap!  She got lots of cat baths wile she was here!

I never did hear from the winner of the book The River Rose I sent her 2 emails and she never answered, so I drew a new winner!  Actually, Pippi did.  I put the pieces of paper on the floor and the one she tried to eat won.  

eyeballlucy said...

I love to win.....this book sounds so awrsome.......

I'll send you an email!

I hope ya'll have a great day!
Missy

Sewing the Hexagons

 I was sewing on my hexagons in the car on the way home from Missouri and wanted to share how I decided to sew my hexagons together.   I am using a 3 1/2 inch hexagon template I got from Joann's Fabric store.  I marked a 1/4 inch seam allowance and am just doing a running stitch to sew them together.
Next I take the middle section of the flower, and sew the hexies together.  I leave one side open, this allows easier sewing of the center of the flower.

 I take the middle and start sewing it on at one of the open ends of the middle part.

 This is what it looks like after I have sewn two sides on.

 Here is a picture after sewing all six sides to the middle flower.  I then sew up the open side.

 I do the outer flower next.  I sew it it opposite of how I sewed the middle flower.  I leave the sides open and sew them onto the middle flower.  Can you tell what I am saying from the pictures?

 Just be careful if you are sewing these together in the car after a very long vacation that you don't make a stupid mistake like me.  Every other petal is sewn onto two hexies and then one hexies.  The two hexies form a v and the "corner" of a hexie fits in there perfect.  Well, I was tired and actually sewed a new petal onto every side!  It took me a few minutes to figure out why I ran out of hexies!  I had already sewn about ten of these hexies without making that mistake!

When you are done you will have 1 hexie in the center, six in the middle and twelve on the outside.  They have come out to be 16 1/2 inches.  This is what the finished flower looks like.  I'll show you an update later on how many I have finished.

I hope this tutorial makes sense!  I have just been figuring this out as I go, so I am not an expert in any way.
For an update on this quilt, go here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/05/design-wall-monday.html
I am open to suggestions and questions!
Happy quilting!
Missy

Design "Wall" Monday

This is my first post with a design "wall"!  Well, it's not actually a wall, but a floor covered with a sheet since I have baking soda on my carpets and want to leave it on ALL day before I vacuum, but I really wanted to write this post and did not want to wait. (I know it is a run-on sentence, but that is how I usually talk, and really fast when I'm excited) Remember my hexagons that I started cutting here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/04/cutting-hexagons.html ?  I have been hand piecing them together.  I decided to go with the traditional method of just sewing them together instead of using paper piecing.  I think next time I will try the paper piecing for a crisper look though.
This is what I have done so far

I still need to add the second layer of hexies to my top flowers, and I have several more cut out.  I didn't plan it this way, but I love how the orange brings out the orange in the tabbies, the purple brings out the purple in the flowers, the green brings out the green in the leaves, and the blue brings out the hints of blue in the sky.  I was not sure if these colors would work at first (it is what I had in my stash), but I'm loving it.  I was going to do all purple flowers, but I'm glad I didn't now.  This way the panel is still stand alone.  I'm also surprised how FAST the flowers are coming together since I have not had much time to work on it.
 It looks like my throw is going to be twin sized!
I'm thinking of having just one layer of blue between each flower, since my flowers are so big.  They are 16 inches!  My hexies are 3 1/2 inches. How many flowers should I make?  Should I make 12 and have six on top and six on the bottom? I have "extras" that were left over after doing a set of colors, like 3 purples which is not enough for more flowers, a lot of neutrals, and some of every color.  I was thinking of using them to make a single line border (around the quilt) of all the hexies with the colors all mixed together, and then a border of blue hexies, before finishing it off.  I have another purple that came with theses batiks that i can cut if needed.  What do you think?  I have no idea what I'm doing and am just making it up as I go.  Any suggestions are welcomed.   I'm also not sure how to add the border, do I just cut the sides to make them even after stitching or do I cut the blues in half before stitching them on?
As you can tell, Pippi had to pose for the camera as soon as I put my material down - silly girl.
Happy Quilting,
Missy

Muslin Dress

I have finished another one of my UFO'S (unfinished objects).  I have a list here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/12/ufo-2012-list.html .I have joined the challenge from Patchwork Times, here is the link http://www.patchworktimes.com/2011/12/20/2012-ufo-challenge-participants-list-of-projects/  .  I finished number 6. (I'm totally off from the numbers she picks) I might have cheated a little, because I did not make it for me, instead I made it for a girl at church.  I had printed the tutorial off and put it in a notebook and she saw the dress and wanted it.  I made it for her last week and here is the outcome

I forgot my camera and had to take the picture with my phone, sorry about the quality.  She wanted to wear for her special at camp meeting, her dad (my pastor) wrote the song "Righteous Rebels".
Here is a better video of their song.  Their mom is singing an original song written by herself.  Then their dad is preaching on "Raising Righteous Rebels"  Be sure to check it out, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. 
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/22141815  My Pastor also wrote the song the girls sang.
The top two ruffles are the material cut out from the scoop on the sleeves.  I just hemmed the curvy part, loosely gathered it and then sewed it on with the top tier.  I had the lace and really liked the feminine look it adds to the plain tan muslin  I used.  I made the two middle ruffles using my ruffle foot.  I used three yards of material and have just enough material left to make the fabric flowers.  I did not have time to finish them since she wanted it for Camp Meeting.  You can find the tutorial here:  http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/2011/04/jcrew-inspired-dress-tutorial.html  I kept the measurements pretty much the same, the bottom two tiers I kept as one piece of fabric instead of cutting into two pieces, saved time that way.
I used the pattern for the top of my Lila Tueller dress
 ( http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/04/wanna-see-my-new-dress.html )
I used the size two.  I love the way the dress turned out!  Her mom wants one too now!  LOL
Be sure to check out the tute and let me know if you make one!
Missy
BTW Tabitha was nice enough to share her flu with me at camp meeting so I've been sick since I've been home, but at least I didn't get it until Thursday and did not miss any of the meetings.  I had a great time!
Check out some great music and messages from the camp meeting here http://www.ustream.tv/channel/heritage-baptist-church-live

It's finished!

We finished the quilt!  I was not able to get the whole quilt in the picture, it was too tall for the clothesline!
Here is the scrappy back:

We all pitched in to buy some birdhouse material, but since it was expensive we just used scraps to finish it out.  I really liked how the back turned out.  I have to admit I didn't like the idea of the muslin binding, but several of the ladies picked that, and after putting it on I really liked it.  I was up until midnight on Wednesday working on the quilt so we could have it on Thursday for the party.  On Thursday I had to wash and dry the quilt and bake and decorate the birthday cake!
We threw a surprise party on Thursday night during bible study for Marie to give her the quilt.

Julia made her a special pin to wear and one of the little girls loaned her a tiara for the night and several of the children gave her cards and flowers.

S 

She cried all night long during the party.  She was very surprised when she opened the present and found a quilt.

Then of course we had to eat!  Here are some miscellaneous pictures.

My husband is glad the quilt is done, now I can get some housework done!  LOL

I can also scratch one more UFO off my list, I did finish it Feb. 29 but did not get this post written for two days!  I have a lot of sewing projects I want to get done this month, sadly I won't be able to start another quilt until next month, too much to do!

Thank you for joining me from the beginning to the end of my quilting journey!

More posts of the quilt are here:

http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-sew-on-button-fast.html

http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/02/hand-quilting-bird-house-quilt.html

http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/01/birdhouse-quilt-progress.html
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/01/birdhouse-quilt-update-2.html
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-have-had-terrible-day-want-to-hear.html
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/02/birdhouse-quilt-update-4the-back.html
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/02/birdhouse-quilt-update-5basting.htm