Snapshots Mini Quilts

 Here is my Block 4 Puppy Love Mini Quilt which is the April Snapshots block. Can I tell you how excited I was about this block? I love dogs and puppies are the best!

I made the puppy look like our youngest dog and perpetual puppy, Bella. She will turn 5 years old in September, but still behaves like a bad puppy. My hubby said good night to her on Saturday night and his cell phone slipped out of his pocket unbeknownst to him. Well, of course Bella chewed it up and left it for him to find on Sunday morning. I am sure she thought it was a remote control--she ate over a dozen of those before she was banned from being in the main house. At least she did not eat the battery and need a visit to the vet!

I am using the corner pieces to hang these mini quilts with thumbtacks in my sewing room, plus they are perfect for labeling.

 Here is the Block 3 Put the Kettle On March block that I quilted and bound this weekend

and its back, hanger, and label. I am using mostly Bonnie and Camille fabrics and trying to use what I have on hand and not buy anything.

This is the big quilt which I decided to make as mini quilts to make them easier to hang.

 This is Block 1 Let them Eat Cake

and Block 2 Sew On & Sew On. Directions for the blocks can be found here http://fatquartershop.blogspot.com/p/snapshots-quilt-along.html

 I have my book for the new Lori Holt Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along that starts on May 1. I ordered some background fabric today. I selected a white with small black polka dots as she recommended for $5 a yard over at 1000s of Bolts and One Nut. I ordered 7 yards more than I need, but I never mind having some in my stash. Hopefully, I can shop in my stash for the rest of the fabric.

You can find more details about this Sew Along here http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/2015/04/im-so-excited-to-announce-my-latest.html

Come on join everyone, the more the merrier!

I am working on some secret sewing, so I will get that posted once I can. It was nice to be back in my sewing room!

FNSI & Gifts

 Sorry, I have been MIA lately busy with some mom duties and have not got much sewing in. I pieced the little tea kettle for the Snapshots Quilt Along and hope to make the dog in the basket this week. I am making mini quilts with the blocks, so I will add a white border and quilt this one up ASAP.

 Since I seem to have lost my sewing mojo, I signed up for last night's Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) http://sugarlanequilts.blogspot.com/2015/04/fnsi-sign-ups.html and got myself back into my sewing room. I met Lindsey for a Friday afternoon happy hour where we enjoyed white peach sangria and appetizers. Then, we brought dinner home to our hubbies which meant  I made it into me sewing room by 6pm. I machine quilted the fabrics for these Coffee Koozies. Here is the link to the free pattern 

http://www.fatquartershop.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf/CoffeeKoozie-Pattern.pdf

I made a bunch of these for Christmas presents, but for this batch I did not piece them just using 4.5 x 12.5 inch fabric pieces.

 These are gifts for Secretary's Day which is on Wednesday, 4/22. I just dug into my scrap bins for cheerful spring fabrics. The coffee cups are the reusable ones that Starbucks sells for $1.

I made 7 of them between last night and this afternoon.

 I hit the after Easter sale at Target and got chocolates at 75% off and filled the cups to the brim. I spent about $2 each on these sweet little gifts. I always try to be generous with the secretaries and custodians at the schools I work at because they are really who run the schools. A little kindness with them goes a very long way!

I am nearly done with the second side of my Journey of a Quilter and have the third side all traced and ready for the hand quilting. I will spend some of Sunday with this for Slow Sunday Stitchinghttp://kathysquilts.blogspot.com

I have some other projects I need to work on, but they are secret sewing and cannot be shared, but I will share it as soon as I can!

Zany ZebraZ Quilt Finish & FNwF

 Well I am back to work tomorrow and I managed to finish both of the quilts I started this Spring Break. I finished up the Zany ZebraZ Baby Quilt. This was a free tutorial from Lorna over here http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/2015/03/zany-zebraz-quilt-block-tutorial.html

 I had planned on quilting this zebra stripe style, but when I did a practice piece I was not that in love with it. So, I just straight machine quilted it every 1/2 inch vertically on my Pfaff with my walking foot. It actually went pretty quickly. For Friday Night with Friends (FNwF), I put the binding on it. See what everyone accomplished here http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com/2015/04/fnwf.html

 This morning, I added French knot eyes and nostrils on every zebra. The nostrils show up fairly well, but the eyes kind of blend in. I used black perle cotton #8. After washing, this quilt measures 36 x 46 inches. I made an extra zebra block and turned it into my label.

 I think the zebra print backing is perfect. It was tough getting pictures because it is really windy here today, but the sunshine made it pleasant outside anyway.

I have one side of the border quilting on my Journey of a Quilter BOM done and traced the quilting design on one more side. I need to finish this up because I have a big blank wall in my sewing room waiting for this to be finished and hung. I will work on more of this for Slow Sunday Stitching this evening. Check out what everyone else is up to here http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com

Tulip Patch Quilt Finish

Good news! I finished the Tulip Patch Quilt Thursday--not bad since I started it cutting and piecing it on Sunday. I am amazed at how much sewing I can get done when I am not working. :0) It was so windy yesterday, I could not take pictures of it after I washed it. I was out in my pajamas this morning getting pictures before the wind kicks up. This quilt is for my friend, Kelly, who had a brain tumor removed Wednesday. She won't be out of the hospital until next week, but I was thinking this would be perfect for her treatments and recovery.

I quilted it horizontally every two inches using a wavy stitch. I tried quilting it closer together a few lines, but did not really like how it looked--so after some ripping I was happy.

 I bought this backing at the end of last summer for $5 a yard and it is perfect with the green binding. I did completely machine bind it since it will be washed often.

 As I made the 30 tulips for the the front, I also made a couple of extra to use on the label.

 

It says, "Kelly, Quilty hugs! Heart symbol, Tanya Spring '15.
The design for this quilt can be found in Quilty Fun by Lori Holt. I made my borders larger and after washing it is about 54 x 64 inches.

I am very excited because her new book Farm Girl Vintage is now available from Fat Quarter Shop and I have a gift certificate which will make it nearly free!

A six month long quilt along begins on May 1,

I know how I will be spending my Friday nights!

Today, I am quilting my Zany ZebraZ and plan on quilting this evening for Friday Night With Friends (FNwF). Sign ups are here http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com/2015/04/fnwf.html 

Lindsey and I are having a quilting day tomorrow, but I plan on working on a little secret sewing which means I can't share for awhile