September 24, 2012

Weekend hustle

What did I do this weekend?
Hva gjorde jeg denne helgen?

Joined The 100 Day Hustle hosted by Kelsey of Kelsey Sews. If you want to join this work-along towards the end of the year (only 98 days left now) write up your to-do list and link up by end of the day tomorrow (Tuesday).
Meldte meg på 100 Day Hustle (100 dager med hardt arbeid) - en samling med bloggere som oppmuntrer hverandre til å få unna gjøre-listen sin innen utgangen av året.

Kelsey Sews



Finished my Windy (City) Days baby quilt top. It is finishing at 36" square. I like a borderless quilt, but do you think 36" is too small?
Fullførte Windy (City) Days babyquilttopp. Den er ca. 1 kvadratmeter. Jeg syns det er fint med teppe uten bord, men er 1m for lite?

Windy-City-Days-Quilt-Top


Sewed up September's Mystery BOM from Fat Quarter Shop. One for momma (me) and one for babygirl.
Sydde sammen september Mystery BOM. En til mamma (meg) og en til lillejenta.
Mystery BOM 4 cropped


Mystery BOM 4 big and small


What did you do this weekend?
Hva gjorde du i helgen?

Linking up today with:
Plum and June

September 22, 2012

Do the Hustle (do, do, do, do-do, do-do, do, do)

Can you believe it is only 100 days left of 2012? And that means about 92 days and counting until you have to be done with Christmas gifts (for those who celebrate Christmas). Eeeek!!!

Kelsey of Kelsey Sews is hosting The 100 Day Hustle, a supportive work-along for all us stressed out list-makers. Well, at least I get stressed out... So please give me some support!

Kelsey Sews

The initial link-up is open September 22-25 and you can find the full schedule here. Did I mention there will be prizes? Yes. And you don't have to finish your list to win - how great is that?!?


So... On to the list making. I know my list is too long, and it will probably get ammended during the journey. But that is OK. So here goes - sorted by project type and kind of in order of priority...

QUILTY STUFF
  1. WIP: finish Vintage Holiday quilt
  2. Vintage Holiday Quilt Top
  3. Table runner with AMH feather pattern - thank you gift for my grandparents (waaay overdue...)
  4. WIP: Finish California Cherry Blossom quilt top, send to professional quilter?
  5. WIP: Finish Windy City Days baby quilt
  6. Jack Attack quilt
  7. Baby quilt for brother's baby due mid-December (gender a secret - boo)
  8. Christmas tree skirt using some Joy charm packs in stash
GENERAL SEWING
  1. Tote bag and key fob for Mouthy Stitches 2 swap DUE 10/20
  2. Something (still a mystery to me) for the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop DUE 11/12
  3. Kenwood Mixer cover DUE 11/27
  4. Minky/flannel blanket for brother's baby (same baby as above)
  5. Hot pads/oven mitts (Christmas gift)
  6. Zakka style nesting boxes (Christmas gift)
  7. Cushions or tote bags for 2 nieces and 1 sister (Christmas gifts)
  8. Christmas stocking for babygirl
  9. Sewing machine cover (for ME)
CLOTHING (not high priority, but have all materials ready...)
  1. Baprons for babygirl using laminated cotton
  2. Christmas dress for babygirl
  3. Liberty scarf (with crochet lace on ends?)
KNITTING (to get myself out of my sewing room, but not high priority)
  1. Chunky cowl for myself (maybe crochet)
  2. Red Christmas dress for babygirl (maybe...)
  3. Green sweater for babygirl (have yarn)
  4. Purple dress for babygirl (have yarn)

OK, I think I will end here. There are 23 things on my list. That gives me 4-5 days for each. Ummm, yeah. That's probably a bit unrealistic. I'll be lucky if I get half of these done. And I probably want to add some more Christmas gift items as I come up with more ideas. And this is only my CRAFTY to-do list. I do have other things to do... Time to crank up that sewing machine!

Now, what do YOU have on your to-do list?

September 21, 2012

Love, Pin, Win with Moda Bake Shop

If you are a quilter, you have probably visited the Moda Bake Shop - a site full of great tutorials for all those awesome precuts that Moda makes. Well, I'm a fan at least.
Hvis du quilter har du mest sannsynlig besøkt Moda Bake Shop - en nettside full av gratismønstre for alle Moda sine "pre-cuts". Jeg digger i alle fall siden.

And now they are having a contest where you can win the ingredients for one of their "recipes" by pinning the projects you love (rules can be found here).
Nå har de en konkurranse hvor man kan vinne ingrediensene til en av deres oppskrifter ved å "pinne" dine favoritter til Pinterest.

In no specific order, here are my favorites:
Mine favoritter, i tilfeldig rekkefølge:







I think the reason I love these the most is the way the prints stand out against the clean background using classic, clean designs. I am actually making the Windy Days quilt using an Oh Deer! charm pack. Will be sharing with you soon!
Grunnen til at jeg valgte disse er måten de mønstrede stoffene fremheves av den lyse bakgrunnen ved bruk av klassiske, rene design. Jeg er faktisk i gang med Windy Days teppet. Skal dele med dere snart!

September 20, 2012

California Cherry Blossom - finally some progress!

I think it was July when I first cut out the pieces for my Cherry Blossom quilt (pattern from Joanna Figueroa's book "With Fabric & Thread"), but progress has been lacking. I pieced one block in August. But last week I decided to add two more quilts to my WIPs and then I thought to myself "Marit, you have made less than a handful of quilts in the last 10 years and now you want to have 5 going at the same time?"
Jeg tror det var juli da jeg skjærte ut delene til Cherry Blossomquilten min, men det har vært liten fremgang. Jeg sydde sammen en rute i august. Men forrige uke kom to nye quilter på gjøre-listen min og da tenkte jeg "Marit, du har sydd bare noen få tepper de siste 10 årene og nå skal du ha 5 på gang samtidig?"

No, I don't want to have 5 going on at the same time. That would annoy the heck out of me. I wouldn't be able to go to sleep at night.
Nei, det vil jeg ikke. Jeg tror det vil gjøre meg helt sprø og holde meg våken om natta.

So... I decided to get a move on it with this quilt, so the quilt top gets completed, at least. I am considering getting it quilted by a professional (all the white/negative space scares me).
Så jeg fant ut at jeg burde få opp farta med dette teppet så jeg får ferdig toppen. Jeg vurderer å få dette quiltet av en profesjonell (er så mye hvitt og det skremmer meg).

Here are my 5 blocks so far:
California-Cherry-Blossom-Block1


California-Cherry-Blossom-Block2


California-Cherry-Blossom-Block3


California-Cherry-Blossom-Block4


California-Cherry-Blossom-Block5

Now, this is where I need help!
Det er nå jeg trenger hjelp!

The quilt has 9 blocks and I have 4 colors of blocks. I don't think random placement will look good. So I have to optional layout that I'd love to get your input on (note: the sashing will be in white with pink/red corner stones).
Teppet har 9 ruter og jeg har 4 farger på rutene. Jeg har to alternative plasseringer som jeg gjerne vil ha din tilbakemelding på.

Option 1 - using the intended blocks (the beige is a little warmer in real life)
Alt 1 - med fargene jeg hadde planlagt å bruke
California Cherry Blossom Layout 3

Option 2 - skip the beige and use only 3 colors
Alt 2 - ta bort beige og bare bruk 3 farger
California Cherry Blossom Layout 2

WWYD (What would you do)?
Hva ville du gjort?


On a side note - did you know that this Saturday, the 22nd of September, there are only 100 days left of the year? Do you have a long list of things you want to get done this year (or before Christmas)? Then you should join the 100 Day Hustle hosted by Kelsey of Kelsey Sews. We're making our lists and checking them twice off.

Kelsey Sews

September 13, 2012

Jack Attack and Windy Days

After stating yesterday that sewing time was limited, you'd think I'd know better than to contemplate starting new projects. But, no, I guess I don't know better.

When Lynne of Lily's Quilts announced the Jack Attack quilt-along, I must have been sleeping as I read the post, because I didn't really think anything of it. But later some more posts about the quilt kept popping up and all of a sudden I thought - I WANT ONE! I NEED ONE! (I also thought "I don't really have time to make on" but that thought is being supressed.)

The quilt will be something like this - 3 enormous Union Jacks put together:
Sketch from Lily's Quilts

I already put the Jack Attack button on my side bar, even though I don't have the fabric for it yet! I just think the button is so cool!
Lilys Quilts


I have been wanting to get some fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics because they look so awesome, but I haven't had a good excuse until now. I am going to use the Modernology collection in the chic pink colorway. Why haven't I bought fabric yet? Because I entered a giveaway for this fabric and I'm hoping to win (yeah, right!). Fingers and toes crossed until tomorrow...

This is the fabric collection - beautiful, right?


And if that isn't enough, I am also just getting started on a baby quilt - made entirely of precut charm squares (instant gratification).

This is the pattern:

And the fabric I'm using is Oh Deer! by MoMo for Moda. It "somehow" ended up in my shopping cart a little while back and I think it will work well for this quilt.


So - there you have it. Two new quilts in the works. Don't know when I'll actually have time to sew them...


Today I am linking up to:
from blank pages... linky party

and to Lily's Quilts to let Lynne know my Jack Attack intentions - Hi, Lynne!



September 12, 2012

WIP Wednesday

Sewing time has been limited lately. I am getting behind on my personal sewing "schedule" and it is time to get caught up!
Sytid har vært litt begrenset i det siste. Jeg ligger på etterskudd på min egen syplan og det er på tide å komme seg a jour!

RECENT FINISHES/NYLIG FULLFØRT

Cuddle blanket for a tiny baby
Sunniva cuddlequilt folded

Snappy toddler top for my own baby
Snappy toddler top front


PROGRESS/FREMGANG

Finished the last 8 blocks for the Vintage Holiday QAL at Fabric Mutt
Ble ferdig med de siste 8 blokkene for Vintage Holiday Quilt-Along.
VHQAL Blocks 5-12

AND assembled the quilt top (a week ahead of time!). Caught up and then some!
OG fikk satt sammen hele forstykket (en uke før tiden!)
Vintage Holiday Quilt Top


Now I just need to get caught up on my Dear Jane blocks, which I vowed not to get behind on and then did... And make more blocks for my Cherry Blossom quilt (still only have one block done there)... And maybe start another quilt or two... And should I be thinking of Christmas gifts yet? Probably...
Så var det bare å komme i rute med Dear Jane, som jeg ikke skulle komme på etterskudd med, men har gjort det allikevel... Og så var det flere ruter til Cherry Blossomteppet (har fortsatt bare 1 rute sydd)... Og kanskje starte på ett eller to til tepper... Og burde jeg begynne å tenke på julegaver? Helt sikkert...

Linking up to:
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

September 09, 2012

Snappy toddler top

I used to think I'd sew all sorts of adorable outfits for my baby, but cute and cheap clothing from H&M has proved me wrong.
Før trodde jeg at jeg skulle sy masse fine klær til babyen min, men alle de søte og billige alternativene hos H&M har motbevist dette.

Last week, however, I decided to make a little top for my girl to wear at a family gathering. I decided to follow this pattern/tutorial from Prudent Baby. Although only 7 months old, I used the pattern for 12-18 months (she's quite high on the growth chart). The fabric I used was Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda.
Men forrige uke bestemte jeg meg for å sy en liten topp for henne å ha på seg i et familieselskap. Jeg brukte dette gratismønsteret fra Prudent Baby og lagde størrelse 12-18 mnd siden lillejenta er litt stor. Stoffet er Terrain designet av Kate Spain for Moda.
Snappy toddler top front

The top turned out really cute. My only difficulty was in attaching the collar to the body while keeping the seam allowance of the body INSIDE the collar. After a few turns with the seam ripper it finally worked out. Happy my thread matched the fabric so nicely so all my "fixing" didn't show!
Toppen ble kjempesøt - eneste vanskelige var å holde sømmonnet på kjoledelen inni kraven da den skulle sys på. Etter et par runder med sprettekniven ble det bra og takk og lov for at trådfargen matchet så bra, for det ble en del fiksing!
Snappy toddler top detail

All finished up it was time to try it on my little girl. And it was almost too small!!! Her chubby little arms fit just so in the opening - no room to grow:(
Da den var ferdig og skulle prøves på lillejenta var den nesten for liten!!! De lubne små armene hennes passet akkurat inn i armhullet - ikke noe vokserom:(

Well, here she is - more concerned about seeing which guests were arriving then posing for the camera. And I was lucky to find coordinating pink legging at H&M!
Og her er hun - mer opptatt av å se hvilke gjester som kom enn å posere for kamera. Og jeg var heldig som fant noen matchende rosa leggings på H&M!
Snappy toddler top on baby

I'd like to make this pattern/style again, but will for sure have to make some ammendments for this little chunker!
Jeg kan tenkte meg å sy noe i dette mønsteret/stilen igjen, men må absolutt gjøre noen justeringer for denne lille bolla!

Linking up to:
Plum and June

Blogs to visit this week on the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop:
Sep 11
        Anne from SpringLeaf Studios
         Kristy from Cotton Addiction
 Sep 13
         Julie from That's Sew Julie
         Chelsea from Pins and Bobbins


Thanks to Beth for hosting!