Newest Christmas Stocking

Traditionally I have been the one to make Christmas stockings for family members. All of a sudden it dawned on me that another was needed this Christmas--for my granddaughter who was born in June.
I always use the same basic template for the stocking, but try to make each one a little bit different. This time, I used some Christmas charm squares. I sorted them by color (red and green), then pieced them together until I had "fabric" large enough to cut a front and back for the stocking.
It is fun to imagine what treasures the stocking will hold in the years to come!

Dressing a doll

I found a cute Fisher Price doll* for my granddaughter, but the doll came only in a diaper and bath towel. She needed a nightgown, and a hunk of flannel leftover from making a baby quilt was just the right size. I found a bit of white flannel, too, and that became a new diaper for the doll. A piece of leftover quilted muslin was just the right size for a tote bag for all of the doll's accessories! It is so much fun to make these little things! I'm looking forward to making lots more in the coming years.
*The doll really is cute, not scary as she seems in the picture. The camera's flash made her eyes glow!

Doll Quilts

First up for Show and Tell are the doll quilts I made. The fabric in this doll quilt might look somewhat familiar to you if you've been following my blog for a while. This little quilt is for my granddaughter's new doll and was made from fabric leftover from the frog crib quilt I made...remember the one that fell apart in the wash? I thought about using some of the actual fabric from the quilt--decided to only re-use the backing fabric. I chose a different green fabric for the quilt top--we'll see how this one holds together! This quilt was very simple to make: 2 1/2" strips were used for the 4-patch blocks and for the sashing strips. The borders were cut 3 1/2". The finished quilt measures ~20" x 26".

Remember the leftover disappearing 9-patch blocks? I used some of my favorite Thimbleberries fabric to border them out. This project was a great place to use up a leftover small piece of batting. And a fat quarter of fabric that I really didn't care for became the backing. I then tied the little quilt with perle cotton.

Both of these projects were fun, simple ways to use up fabric scraps!

I've Been Sewing!

I think my Christmas sewing is done! I've made lots of "little" things that sew up quickly--doll clothes, pillowcases, doll quilts, Christmas ornaments and gifts for our group gift exchange.
I've had to buy very little fabric for these things--being small, I've been able to use fabrics from my stash! Hooray! I'll get out my camera, take some pictures, and share the projects with you in my next few blogs.
I like creating and sewing so much that I'd rather do that than anything else. My house is proof of that. I could do my designing in the dust on the end tables, I think! And I certainly haven't taken the time to keep up with my blog! But now I definitely have some things to "show and tell," so stay tuned!

Fun!

A few disappearing 9-patch blocks that I picked up on a "Free" table are making the cutest doll quilt! The 9-patch blocks began as 3 1/2" squares, and it is taking only 3 of them to make the quilt. I have some fabric in my stash that will be great for a border, so I should have this project finished in no time! It's amazing what can be done with a few leftovers!!! Fun!

End of October!

Where did the past month go? It flew by because I was on the go! And so busy that I didn't have time to think about blogging! I knew it would be that way, though, because of everything I/we scheduled. Glad to be back home and getting back to a normal schedule.
I have lots of sewing projects I want to get to...first I had to be able to get to my materials! I spent last night cleaning out and re-organizing my sewing room. I now have a stack of things waiting to be cut--aprons, doll quilts, and a new pattern I want to try out. I also have some scrappy piecing to do. Can't wait to get started!

Have You Seen It?

If you are a member of NQA, you should have recently received the fall issue of The Quilting Quarterly. Have you read it yet? Check out the pattern on page 33!
When I sent a copy of my book, Start With Scraps, to the editor for review, she asked me to design a project for this issue. I had the perfect project sketched out in my notebook and this was the perfect time to bring it to life! (Actually it wasn't really the perfect time. Most of the work on it was done while I was at my daughter's in June, helping with the new baby. It was a challenge to work with the sewing machine of someone else and in the workspace of someone else. But the project turned out the way I wanted it to and was to the editor on time!) I hope you will give the pattern a try!
Tonight I'm showing my scrappy-piecing technique to a new group of quilters. Hopefully they will have fun with it and get hooked on this way of using up scraps!
I'm taking along my patterns and the samples for my newest ones. If you haven't yet seen them, go to http://carolsscrapquilts.webs.com and check them out! It's a great time to make some "Little Pink Houses"!