37 Weeks

Yep, still here. The boys seem pretty content for now, but an eviction notice was posted by my OB today - next Tuesday is induction day if they don't get going on their own. I am getting pretty eager to meet them (and to be able to roll over in bed without the help of a crane), but every day in the womb is another benefit to their development, so I'm trying not to complain too much.

But when they DO get here...

...there will be a little quilt for each of them!

I finished the second baby quilt/play mat today. Did the weather cooperate for photos? Why would it? Overcast and windy, as usual.

As with all quick projects, there are things I question. Maybe white satin binding would have looked better? Or a more thought-out plan for the quilting? Perhaps skipping the basting was a mistake? All things a newborn child will notice, I'm sure.

I pretty much machine- and hand-quilted vertical and horizontal lines until it looked done. I placed them randomly and didn't mark them (hence the "straightness"), though I did attempt to get 4-5 lines horizontally and 3-4 lines vertically for each patch.

The back is a big piece of Kona Medium Gray. My hand-quilting is picking up speed. I'm kind of impressing myself, especially since everything else in my life is so slow!

I hope the two quilts are different without one being "better." I like them both a lot. Got to pop the new one in the wash to make it nice and softy.

Since my considerate little guys have outlasted my WIP list, I have a couple more ideas to keep my hands busy until they are full of babies. One is another fabric book, this time with different textures.

Corduroy, satin, velveteen

Another is a little pink and white dolly quilt. I have these bits already pieced from a baby quilt I made a few years ago for a friend, and I want to use them up and get them out of my sewing stash. Luckily I have a couple of friends with little girls, so it will have no trouble finding a home.

Or maybe I'll just sit back and enjoy the quiet before the storm. Hmm.

What about all those WIPs that I haven't been mentioning...the ones I ambitiously set out to complete in May? Weeellll...in the interest of transparency...

1. Quilt Bee  FINISHED
2. Brother Quilt FINISHED AND GIFTED
3. Mumu FINISHED
4. Scrappy Matching Pillows FINISHED
5. Spring Sampler - Sitting in a basket, neglected. Might become a dozen little items, or a full quilt if I regain steam. This was the last iteration I considered before becoming overwhelmed and shoving it back in the basket.

6. Emma's Trip Around the World - It's waited almost 70 years; it can wait longer.
7. Paisley Sunrise - I guess I will be tugging this out to soothe myself until the babies are 5 or so. Meh, what's the rush? I wanted it as a task more than a finished quilt anyway - something for my hands to do when they need it. So maybe the kids will actually be 10 20 before I experience that need again!

Proudly, I can say "the spool is half full" and I have finished more than half of the projects I set out to complete. Not too shabby.

I'll keep you updated on my progress, quilt friends, but it probably won't be for a couple of weeks. To tide you over, what does a 37-week twin-pregnant belly look like? Well, here it is, in all its glory:

And how do I feel about pregnancy coming to an end and getting to meet my sweet babies?

More stitches and fewer stretch marks over at Lee's:

Sunshine and Moonbeam

My BEST FRIEND in the WHOLE WORLD had a birthday in July, so naturally I put a little something together for her two weeks late. Now that she's received her giftie, I can share it with you, too.

When we were kids, my friend's dad nick-named our inseparable duo "Sunshine and Moonbeam." She was super outgoing, with a shiny mane of blonde hair; I was bookish, in dark braids. This wonderful woman has certainly brought a lot of light, fun, and love into my life. I picked out one of my improv blocks to make into a wall-hanging for her. I hope she likes it!

Ever since trying it out on the receiving blankets, I'm all over these rounded corners. I just use a dinner plate to cut around. The puzzle here was number of spokes quilted out of the little O. I was going for texture, but didn't want to over-do. I like the final result. This quilt finished at about 26x30". I added a hanging sleeve in the back in case she wants to put it up on a wall.

And another finish this week! All this progress is so unlike me!

I made this improv block a while ago, but recently quilted it to hang in the nursery.

In trying to step out of my comfort zone, I did some non-linear free-motion quilting. I drew the clouds on first with a water-soluble fabric pen (love those) and did my best to stay on track with the needle. I committed to not ripping out any stitches - "que sew-ra, sera," and all that. I also branched out by using colored thread.

Whenever improv quilting, the hardest part is knowing when it's done. For example, I love the texture of The Silly Boodilly's quilts. Nearly every inch of the fabric is covered in stitches. They appear layered; there is a depth and weight to them (they beg to be touched), yet I never feel that the piecing is "covered." What makes her quilting and piecing are so harmonious?

I didn't use a paper piecing method for either of these wall-hangings. Instead, I practiced my favorite method of sewing first and cutting later. I find cutting out paper, having to rip it off later, and even working with an outcome in mind are unnecessary for me and make the process less enjoyable. Of course, the downside is doing more math as I go.

Progress on Projects for the Babies:
1. Wall-hanging Finished! I'm so glad to hang this up in my little guys' room.
2. Ball - I finally started sewing some of the pieces together! Yay!

Not Started:
3. Books

New Schemes:
4. Gobbi Mobile
5. Montessori fabric balls (2)


The babies will be here in 3-7 weeks. Approximately. Yikes!! Baby B (the one on top) is perfecting his gymnastics skills by flipping every which way. While Baby A remains head down, B has turned breech - which means he has now been caught in every possible configuration. Transverse, oblique, vertex, breech...this guy can't make up his mind.

My latest panic (besides the stretch marks...oh, the many stretch marks...) is that I only made one play mat for the babies to share, and now it's not working in the space we had planned for it. I know we don't need two of EVERYTHING, but...only one quilt? I might need to whip up another tout suite - but how different should they be? Do I have time for all this??

Thanks for visiting, quilt friends! See more progress at Lee's:

Mumu

Get your parade caps ready, everyone! I finished a queen-sized quilt!!

Thanks to Mr Awesome (left) and our wonderful neighbor for holding up the quilt on a very windy day.

I started Mumu in October of last year. This quilt has been a joy from start to finish, really.

It was so windy, as usual. Check out the chair blown over in the background.

Back - thanks again, guys!

It was all smooth sailing until I got to the binding and realized 3 things. I didn't make the backing large enough to fold over on one side; I cut a sizable gash in the exact place the binding edge folds while trimming the batting; I pulled on the voile from the backing to make it fit and ended up shredding the fabric slightly.

What can I tell you. I'm 32 weeks pregnant, 50 pounds heavier (read: hungry), and the WIP list is a mile long. Without the luxury of time, corners are - sometimes literally - being cut. I hate to admit it, but that is the truth. Maybe I am overcoming my perfectionism at last - thanks, babies!

I managed to mend the gash by making a patch. The too-small backing was solved with an add-on piece that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking (and I'm not going to show you, ha!). I think I salvaged the voile with some clever folding and zigzag stitching. In summation: who cares. It's warm, it's quilty, and I love love love it. Oh yeah, and it's DONE!

Now, let's oohh and aaww over the quilting, shall we?

There was no way this monster was fitting into my little Bernina (her knees were quaking at the very idea). Luckily, a friend and quilty angel, Kristin, offered her services on a long-arm. She asked what pattern I wanted, and quilt friends, I was at such a loss. I usually keep it very simple. All-over meander? Echo around each criss-cross?

Sensing the boring-ness of my ideas, Kristin kindly asked if she could have free reign. I gave her the green light, and I am so glad I did. Her work enhances the blocks, compliment the fabrics, and helps fill in the space without overwhelming the pattern. And the texture is divine!

Border on top and bottom

This is one area in which I want to become more adventuresome. I wonder if any quilters plan a top with the quilting already in mind? I usually just choose a pattern after piecing that won't obscure the look of the blocks. Kristin's example is inspiring me to step out of that comfort zone.

Look how the quilting shows off my "perfect" piecing (smug pat on own back).

From the back

You can see here how using the same fabric from different dye lots can look quite different (on the binding vs the quilt top). Both are Kona Snow, but one piece is much brighter.

Mumu finds a home at last!

 

Baby Sewing Progress:
Finished:
1. Receiving blankets! Finally! Our kids only have about 10,000 blankets now.

In Progress:
2. Ball
3. Wall-hanging

Not Started:
4. Books

New Schemes:
5. Gobbi Mobile
6. Montessori fabric balls (2)

I also washed the little play mat. It came out so nice and soft! (My belly somehow found its way into the photo...it has a way of turning up in unexpected places at 32 weeks along.)

But aw, look:

It's hard to see, because my camera has suddenly lost it's ability to focus on details close up (grr...maybe it needs glasses?), but there is damage to one corner. It got stuck on some velcro in the wash and came out all mangled. It may just be the hormones, but I'm heart-broken. My sweet babies are going to come out all perfect and I have to give them something already a little wrecked. :o(

Since we're already a week into August, here's my updated list of quilting goals to meet before September:
1. Quilt Bee
2. Brother Quilt Finished! Post coming soon!
3. Mumu Finished!
4. Scrappy Mumu Pillows Finished!
5. Scrappy Sampler - Not much progress. Some blocks have been siphoned off into other projects. Not sure what to do with this one.
6. Emma's Trip Around the World - No progress.
7. Paisley Sunrise - Progress is sloooow and steady.
8. New Projects - Most definitely. Details here, here, and here.

Thanks for visiting, quilt friends! See more progress at Lee's:

Play Mat

I finished my first sewing project for my boys, and I couldn't be happier with it:

No shopping required for this little play mat: I fell in love with the Storyboek prints and added them to my stash a while ago, and the Kona Medium Gray and Butter went with it perfectly. I even had the binding on hand! Nothing quite like a nice soft satin corner to nuzzle against (especially one made by mom...eekk, I'm the mom!!).

The back

 I've long admired Ashley's strip quilts, and it was so easy and fun to make one of my own. This one finished at about 44"x50". I used a combination of quilt-as-you-go, machine top-stitching, and hand-quilting with perle cotton thread.

I like the variety of texture ALMOST as much as the minimal basting!! I didn't even spray-baste, as Nova suggests. I just pinned the strips for the backing down, and went from there. I lined everything up by eye, and it worked out fine.

23 weeks!

Since I usually use a self-binding method, I had some difficulties with the binding. First, I started sewing it on from left to right (bad), then I tried to make a mitered corner without setting the edge of the binding flush with the edge of the quilt (impossible). Ah, lessons learned.

I can't wait to see my sons enjoying this cozy play place! Though currently they seem pretty content to battle it out in the womb...I get such a kick out of watching my belly lurch around as they stretch and play in there.

Mumu and my brother's quilt are on their way back from the long-arm quilter's magic hands! They should arrive by Friday. I can't wait to bind those puppies and send my brother's on its way to him. But first...I may find a crafty way to incorporate his beloved freshman beanie.

A search through my stash revealed a few hidden gems that I'd forgotten about. Twice the kids means twice the quilts! What could make a cozier quilt backing than this luscious velveteen? I've just got to figure out what the front should look like.

And you can never have too many receiving blankets, right? (Much, much more AMH flannel and voile are on their way to my doorstep as we speak.)

This will become a few new couch pillows. Our current pillows are much loved, much used, and much mismatched from our whole living room. Time for a change!

As for my other projects...I've gotten in quite a bit of hand-quilting on Paisley Sunrise, but any sort of cutting, piecing, and laying out quilt tops takes a lot out of me and I've been pacing myself carefully. I've got at least 14 weeks before the babies arrive (ack!! is that all?!), so I hold out hope for my other WIPs...if I can manage not to add more to the list!

Check out more progress at Lee's: