We Three Kings

Over Thanksgiving weekend (doesn't that seem like 100 years ago?), I decided to finally open the package on the Three Kings paper piecing project. I bought this kit with the pattern at least 10 years ago. Since then I have been graced with two more daughters. This meant that my passion for sewing and quilting was put on the back burner.

Fast forward 10 years. The little people are big enough to play independently for longer periods of time, which means that I am able to dig through all of the projects I bought with the intention of completing. As I scoured the drawer of potential sewing endeavors, this one caught my attention.

After opening the bag, I dared myself to complete it by Christmas. I spent several nights sewing fabric to paper in blissful denial of all the shopping that I needed to do. Paper foundation piecing makes so many things possible that otherwise would be impossible.

When I completed the wall hanging, I decided to quilt it with metallic silver thread to match the silver stars in the background. This was a fun project that demanded attention to detail and a sense where the fabric would end up when it was folded out. Some nights this proved more than my brain could handle, so I enlisted the geometrical mind of my husband. Boy, he sure comes in handy!

We Three Kings was the most requested carol this Christmas season. Maybe by next year we can get the hardware hung up to hang this beautiful piece.

Happy Sewing

Heather

 

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A Day Late and a Dollar Short

This year I thought it would be great to make placemats for the Christmas season. I also found some super cute placemats at my local quilt store, The Quilt Patch. I worked diligently on these placemats while my 9 year old was awake, in order to hide the awesome American Girl Doll outfit I was making for her.

 

I was almost finished, but was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with my sister, brother-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, parents and niece and nephew. Both my brother and sister live far away, so I put the placemats away and enjoyed the limited time I was able to share with them.

 

After all of the great visits with family, I spent the day after Christmas finishing my placemats. All eight are completed and ready to use.

 

For this pattern, called Mix It Up by QP Quilts&Co., The striped units were sewn together first. Then the units are sewn down with the sashing to the batting and the backing. These quilt as you go placemat patterns are addictive! There are so many options and they come together so quickly!

 

One of these things is not like the others, one of these things is not like the rest. My 17 year old daughter accompanied me to the quilt store to spend my Birthday money. While I was getting fabric cut, she insisted she wanted to have "The Grinch" in her placemat. Well, I thought, why not? So she has her own placemat, complete with "Grinch" fabric.

 

Today I went and spent my Christmas gift certificate at The Quilt Patch. Amazingly, I was a little more than a dollar short on the total. Good thing I saved my allowance before I went in. Wonder if I will start any of these projects over break, or will they have to wait, like all the rest?

 

Happy Sewing

Heather

 

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American Girl Outfit

This outfit for an American Girl Doll started back in November. My husband and I escaped the children for the weekend in Chicago. Since we were there right before Thanksgiving, I thought this would be a great time to get the Christmas shopping started. We bought my 9 year old a pair of cowboy boots at the American Girl Store.

When we returned home, I thought the doll needed something to wear with her boots. I had already made some PJ pants for her doll from this same pattern, so just switched the fabric with some scrap denim I had laying around in a drawer. So the pants were born.

Well, you know the doll would need to have a shirt to wear with her pants, so I decided to make the shirt as well. I dug through my scraps, which is so much fun, to find something to make a shirt out of. My 9 year old's favorite color is purple, so I decided to make it purple. The only trouble I had with this shirt was that the casing for the elastic in the neckline was too narrow to allow the smallest safety pin to pass through. This meant that I had to rip out the stitches at the seams and then sew them back together after I pushed the elastic through.

After the shirt and the jeans, I thought what the heck, why not make the jacket too? I mean the jean was just a scrap, what did I have to lose? This jacket came out so well that my husband thought I might not let my daughter have it until she was 30. There were a few things that I was unsure about while making, but after repeatedly reading the directions figured out.

This project was easier than expected, but I don't think I will make another one for a few years.

Happy Sewing,

Heather

 

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Vintage Coin Purse

This Christmas season has been filled with programs, family get togethers and other wonderful activities. After many nights spent sewing gifts for my family, I have finally been able to finish some of my own sewing projects. The first thing I wanted to make was one of the fabulous coin purses that have been circulating blog land for the last several months.

The last weekend before school was out for break, I was racking my brain for something cool to make for my children's teachers. They are such great people, I wanted to make them something special. After much searching and a little panicking, remembered the coin purse blog hop I looked at a little while back.

My favorite pattern was found on the Sew We Quilt blog. The pattern was purchased at Craftsy. These coin puses were easy to put together and turned out super cute. Don't you think?

All teachers have to carry their keys at all times, so I thought they could use a key fob too.

Back to today. For Christmas, my awesome 9 year old bought me a cute fat quarter from one of the local quilt stores. When I opened this gift, I decided it would be perfect for my very own change purse. So today I finally put my own together.

It turned out just as cool as the rest!

All of the hardware was purchased at Joann Fabrics. The fabric (other than for mine) was left over from other quilting projects.

Hmm... What to sew next?

Heather

 

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