Sunday, May 15, 2011

Kindle Cover

For Mother's Day this year, I subtly asked for a Kindle.  O.k., maybe I was not so subtle, but it worked and I am the proud new owner of a Kindle.  After submitting my request, I immediately started looking for covers to protect it.  It would have been easy to just order one from Amazon, but what fun is that and it wouldn't look any different from anyone else's.  After a few weeks of internet research, I had found a few that were close, but not exactly what I wanted, so I went out on a limb and decided to create exactly what I wanted.  Here it is!




This is the front cover of my kindle.  You may recognize the fabric from one of the dresses made for my youngest daughter.  I did not purchase anything for this project. 



The inside of the cover holds the Kindle securely and does not interfere with the screen or the buttons.  The front and back cover are lined with firm cardboard to give support to the Kindle and hopefully protect it from injuries.

I love how this turned out.  While I was putting it together wrote out the directions and took lots of pictures so I can put a tutorial on my blog, just in case anyone else wants to make one.  That is the plan for this week, work on the tutorial.

Heather

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Ancient Block of the Month Finished!

This Friday and Saturday night I finally finished the Amish block of the month quilt that I have had in progress for 8+ years.  I worked out the math and remembered that I found out I was pregnant with my now 7 year old when I started this quilt.  The colors and solid fabrics are the only things Amish about this quilt.  It is machine quilted and the binding was machine sewn on. 



I do believe I like this quilt more since it is finished than while I was working on it!



I used painter's tape to mark a straight line around the border.  This always helps me to get a super straight line.



After using a ruler and getting the tape just where I want it, I follow the line with my walking foot.  How easy can it be?




Look at that corner, isn't it great?  I'm really impressed with this since I have only used this binding technique one other time.

This makes three quilts totally finished since the beginning of the year.  Not bad, considering I work full time and am chasing around all of my very active children when I'm not working.

I think I know what I want to conquer next, but who knows, I may change my mind when I start digging through my unfinished projects, patterns, scraps and other goodies. 

Off to my stash, maybe I can get started tomorrow.

Heather


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Progress

Yesterday I went to the quilt show at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio.  It was a great way to spend a day! My mother-in-law, my 7 year old and I enjoyed the beautiful quilts and a fabulous lunch together.  Quilt shows are really good at helping to keep me inspired to work on the projects I have, fix problem projects or begin new projects. 

Today the sampler quilt, from what seems like a million years ago, was the project of the day.  The quilting is nearly finished and then it needs a binding.  That means that it moves to a different pile to wait for the binding to be sewn on and finished.


I quilted each of the sampler blocks 1/4 inch in from the seams.  I wanted to be able to see the blocks.


In the sashing and the cornerstone blocks I quilted 1/4 inch from each seam allowance.  It has a neat effect at the cornerstones where the lines intersect.



It looks really cool from the backside too! 

The pictures are a not quite what I wanted them to be, but my camera killed it's batteries, so I have to make do with my husband's until I get to the store. 

Overall a productive week, let's hope for a repeat.

Heather