Deck The Halls Christmas quilt

This is my "Deck The Halls" Christmas quilt I've been working on for the past three-four days. The center section took fourteen hoopings, then ten more for the remaining embroidered blocks. The pinwheel blocks would have been better had I used my Tucker Trimmer ruler to trim the fabric. Live and learn. The pattern is by Clauia Dinnell who's instructions were very easy to follow. Now I just have to add the batting, backing, quilt it and add the trim and it's done. Whew, makes me tired just thinking about it.

August, September and October Wall Hangings

August....September....October.....These wall hangings are also from my Calendar Quilt patterns. I quilted some apples on the September one and a swirly pattern on the pumpkin. I used buttons for the eyes on the pumpkin. More fun and easy to make small quilts.

Table Runner and Place Mats....

This table runner was made with my Bernina Serger machine, except for the binding I added later. The place mats were simple reversible mats. The first two I used the wrong fabric on the back which is real close to the blue shown, so I'm not going to redo those two for now. Sorry, but I can't figure out how to turn the vertical pictures. They were horizontal before I down loaded them. Weird.

Summer Table Runner and Placemats....

This a really bright table runner and place mat set which is perfect for dressing up a summer table. The place mats have a little pocket for a napkin or flatware. This is another one where I can't figure out how to turn the place mat picture from vertical to horizontal. It was horizontal before I down loaded it.

Laptop case

This is a laptop case made with Batik fabrics. I used the built in stitches and embroidery designs in my Bernina 830 machine. This was made during an 830 training class at the local Bernina Sewing Centre. It was actually easier than I expected. It turns out to be too small for my laptop so I'll probably make another one a little larger.

July Table Runner

Just finished this July table runner. I used some of the fabrics from the July wall hanging. It was made using the Little Quilt Company's Calendar Table Runners #140 pattern. These are fun and easy patterns. Something you can finish in a day. On this one I just wrapped the backing (a star patterned blue) around to form the binding. I kinda lost my focus for a while and put a fabric tube on the back for hanging. Forgot I was doing a table runner instead of a wall hanging. Guess I could make a wall hanging out of it if I wanted to. LOL The stars and the light pieces were actually in shades of beige, though the flash lightened them considerably.

Peacock Wall Hanging...

This wall hanging was made using the OESD Picturesque Peacock design CD with my Bernina 830 machine. I used variegated blue thread for the tail feathers and some metallic threads to add a little sparkle. I even added a little bling in the form of rhinestones. They really added a nice sparkle though the pictures just don't do them justice. After piecing using a zigzag I added the batting and backing. The quilting was simply done when adding the ribbon which was double stitched. I'm thinking of doing another one using a tone on tone navy blue. John made me a nice arched frame which I inserted into a pocket I made on the back. I put in a large button hole in the pocket so the hanger could come through to make for easier hanging.

July Wall Hanging

This wall hanging is another one of Kim Schaefer's Calendar Quilt patterns. A quick little quilt to make in a day. I used variegated thread in shades of red, white and blue to quilt the top. I also added a few quilted stars here and there, as well as star shaped buttons to the flower centers.

Blooms Wall Hanging....

This wall hanging is called "Blooms". It's a pattern we received at our Sweet Pickins Club meeting. I changed it a little by adding the fabric flowers I made for the center blocks. I also added buttons for a little more color. I played around with some free motion quilting in the squares and did meandering quilting for the remainder. This was a fun and easy mini quilt. John said he'd make me a hanger for it so hopefully it will be on a wall soon.

Dolphin and Horse Pillows

Front and back of the dolphin bed pillow.....
Front and backs of the two horse pillows......

Made these throw pillows for Kierstin and Haley using some panels and left over fabric from the bed quilts I'd previously made for them. Kierstin's is the dolphin pillow and Haley's are the smaller horse pillows. I actually used my new Bernina Serger machine to do most of the piecing. I did some quilting on Kierstin's pillow, but didn't on Haley's pillows since they were small.

Stitch Recipe Pillow

Just finished this pillow. It's called the "Stitch Recipe Pillow" and shows off some of the Bernina sewing machine decorative stitches. I let Mom fill the pillow and stitch it closed. It's now sitting on our couch.

PWC trailer....

John made some adjustments to his PWC trailer so he could use his lawn tractor to put it in and take it out of the lake. Maybe he could also mow the neighbor's beach while moving it out of the lake. Actually he spent the next two days weeding our beach. Looks good now.

Cardinal Neighbors

We discovered a family of Cardinals living in our Ligustrum tree just beside the house. It seems that at least one of the little babies is getting adventurous and hopped out of the nest. The other two babies have, stayed in the nest. They are so cute. Mommy and Daddy Cardinal have been busy gathering bugs to feed the babies. They even flew into our garage. I'm hoping they got that big roach I saw in there the other evening. I don't think the babies can fly yet. At least I haven't seen them trying, plus they don't have tails. Don't they need tail for rudders when flying? Anyway it's been fun watching this little family.

Clutter Keeper project....

Went to the Sweet Pickins Club meeting today and made this cute little Clutter Keeper. A fun little organizer which is perfect for the sewing table, desk or for storing make-up. These would make great little gifts. I made small Yo-Yo buttons for decorations on the front. I purchased a couple of different size Yo-Yo making templates which makes them quick and easy. This pattern called for one large Yo-Yo button, but I decided to add three small ones.

Calendar Quilt Wall Hangings....

This is my March, Bird House wall hanging. These are made using the Calendar Quilt patterns. Quick, easy and fun to do. The applique isn't too hard, but does require some time.This is called April Showers. I used variegated thread for this one.This is the May Flowers wall hanging, shown on my floral, wire wall hanger.

This is the June Watermelon quilted wall hanging. These little ants were a little tricky to cut out and applique. Still it was a fun project.

I've really enjoyed making these calendar quilts. They hang each month in a niche in our foyer so everyone who enters can enjoy them as well..

Tablet Case....

Today we had a class on using the Bernina Needle Punch Tool to do machine felting using decorative yarn and threads. We made this little case using the "The Reader" pattern by Susie Shore Designs. It's a cute travel case for storing most small e-Reader, i.e. Kindle, Nook, Sony and my Galaxy Tablet (pictured). It has a removable strap and a front pocket for storing stuff and a read-through vinyl pocket which doesn't interfere with the touch screen of the tablet or e-Reader. It doesn't require a lot of fabric. I used three fat quarters and had plenty of fabric left over. It was fun using the needle punch tool to create the butterfly. The gold metallic thread was a nice touch for a little extra bling. I used a glass bead and a purple hair band for the closure. The pattern can easily be adjusted to fit different sized e-readers or tablets.

Birthday quilts..

OK, I've finally finished and delivered the quilts, but managed to snap some photos before they went to their new homes. I had to hang them outside on the trellis in order to get the photosI was careful not to quilt too much over the horses so as not to distort their beauty. Haley just loved the quilt. Kierstin's dolphin quilt below was done using the lattice pattern around the center panel like Haley's quilt, then I had to make all the other squares the right size so it would all come together correctly. Gave me fits, but it finally worked out really well.

I stitched around the dolphins, turtles and some of the fish, then did a wavey pattern for a wattery look. I think it worked out really well for my first attempt at this type of quilting. Here's a little closer look. Kierstin was really pleased with the quilt and the colors. Me too. :)