bitty bird quilts

Quilts I took to Florida

2011-05-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

So I took the five boys with me to Florida- yes I drove there all by myself- yes I am crazy and yes I am still alive. Here are afew of the quilts i finished for some of my family in FLorida. Owls and pears baby quilt is for my sister and her soon to be new baby boy. It is a simple improv square within square- really fun fabric I just had to use and I thought a new baby boy it would be perfect I also threw in some wonderful KONAS in. I wish I had kept it for myself.

This quilt I made for my sister in Law last year and I finally finished it and gave it to her- it was a simple square within a square block but it was made with this really cute array of musical intrument fabric I had gathered. She is a musician.

This last little baby quilt I made for a new little niece Joylee. She is as cute as a button and I had this very pretty aviary charm pack that I was waiting to make a sweet baby girl qilt with and so Joylee is the lucky recipient. I felt very accomplished. Some of these quilts had been hanging around way too long. Florida was a lot of fun and my sewing machine enjoyed the trip there too!

Green with envy- Modern Quilt Guild Challenge

2011-05-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

I really want to be a better blogger but it never seems to work out for me- of course I have an excuse- my computer was dying and it was horrible to work with it until it finally gave up the ghost and we had to buy another one.

Here is a fun quilt I made for the monochromatic Modern Quilt Guild Challenge. I didn't win but it is the first quilt I have ever truly finished for myself. So in the end I am a winner!

Happy New Year and I start again

2011-01-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

Hello again- yes I know I am a terrible blogger and I hope to remedy that, maybe I should have a schedule but if anyone knew me you would be peeing in your pants laughing because I never live by a schedule and i actually don't like them but I find with five kids I never have time for anything and I am always exhausted. In fact because of the days prior to Christmas I was running around like a wild woman, I pretty much slept through Christmas- I mean literally my husband had to make the Latkes on Christmas eve and read the Christmas story all by himself to the boys. Even on Christmas I had to take a nap and he had to finish up dinner. To him a big Thank you!
On to the more important stuff like the sewing and crafting- I have of course made way too many plans for my crafting Christmas and of course I did not get all of my hopes and dreams made but there is always this year I think I will start this month and have a Christmas Craft Day.
First off- I made these adorable lunch totes for the kid's teachers- of course filled with goodies. I couldn't find a pattern I like so I kinda of created my own and I love them!

So on Christmas Eve I spent the day sewing potholders for some friends and neighbors- it was a ton of fun and I used up a lot of scraps- of course there are more and more scraps. We also had this wood bowl made for our neighbor who cut down some trees in their yard this year and gave us the wood- we finally finally sanded and sealed it. the bowl was made from the trees they gave us- i didn't explain that very well. We also gave them tons of homemade goodies including Grandpa Larsen's famous peanut brittle.
Later that day David asked me for a potholder and I told him we had given them all away. I never seem to have much that I make for myself.

Been Gone too Long

2010-09-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

I realize this summer when the boys were all home- that having 5 kids at home all day really is not condusive to sewing or quilting or crafting or sleeping or reading or anything I would like to be doing and it especially isn't condusive to blogging. I like blogging but I almost never have time to do it. I am a little behind

I am doing a quick post about some of my teacher gifts I made at the end of last year and as I am scrolling thru the photos I am still missing one, but I must press forward. Here are two cute runners I made a really adorable churn dash block (and I almost kept this for myself) and a cute black, white and red quatrefoil block one. the Teachers loved them.

/div>

Modify Tradition Sampler Quilt

2010-04-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

I finally have a picture of it- this is my Modify Tradition Quilt Along Quilt top. I haven't quite decided what I am doing with the back yet plus I have too many projects right now that take precedent. I love the way it turned out and I am so excited about the finished top. It was so much fun to take modern blocks and make them something fun and modern. I also used fabric only from my stash. I dream of the day it is actually completed. But alas, I must move on and keep dreaming.

Remember Connecticut

2010-04-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

So it has been long enough- the month of March was fruitful but also full of trial- I don't mean big tragic and life changing trial- I mean where has the time gone- between my husband being on call- school stuff- spring flooding into my basement I am glad to see March go. I did do some quilting though. Lets get on with the good stuff and stop the murmuring.

A wonderful family in our church ward moved in March and I wanted to make them a quilt that they could remember Connecticut. So I created a sampler quilt aptly named "Remember Connecticut". I chose blocks that I thought would have some meaning. It was fun to peruse through quilt block after quilt block pattern. I thought I would have until June to complete this project but they bought a new house and sold theirs, it happened so quickly it became a mad dash to the finish and here is what the end results were.

Frienship Circle

Scrappy Heart (LOVE)

Log Cabin (hearth and home)

State of Connecticut Block

Yankee Charm

Spools (she was a quilting friend)

Hill and Valley

Flying Geese

This is the Back

As you can see one of the blocks I don't have a picture of it is called ocean waves. This quilt is scrappy and it was a joy to make and my friend loved it - I hope she always remembers the love that grew in Connecticut.

Craft TuesDays

2010-03-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks my Good friend Alicia comes over and we craft together. We both have a crafting obsession. We try to pick projects that can be done quickly but with little ones under our feet sometimes that is impossible. I'm going to try to post on Tuesdays my Craft Tuesday projects, they may be finished or they could be a work in progress- who knows - so hope you enjoy the latest creations from craft Tuesday.

This is my love and hearts garland that my friend and I created for Valentine's Day we were inspired by someone else and then made our own take on it. It looked fabulous on my fireplace.

This is a way cute heart mailbox from the moda bakeshop. So cute vintage valentine fabric from alexander henry. It came out so cute and not too girly for my boy household.

Modify Tradition Quilt Along

2010-02-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

Okay like usual I am always behind but I so wanted to take part in the Modify Tradition Quilt Along- I was skeptical if I even had enough fabric to coordinate and that was modern but some of you who know me - I have piles and piles of fabric- so you scoff at me for even pondering the idea. I digress. So I scoured my fabric bins and put together a collection of fabrics that I have now totally fell in love with and here to present to you is a collection of my twelve block sampler. I have actually already put the quilt top together but have yet to take a photo so I must get on it.. Still contemplating the back. I haven't even started part two yet because I have started the pinwheel quilt along (post about that later). I like samplers- your always doing a new block- it helps with the tediousness of the same block over and over again.

Fresh Comfort Quilting Bee- February

2010-02-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

These blocks are for Hilary - light, pretty and fun log cabins.

Whirligig Block Tutorial

2010-02-12T06:33:00.000-08:00

The whirligig block is lots of fun a goes togeher rather quickly. You don't need a lot of fabric just enough to make 2 5 inch light colored block and 2 5 inch dark colored blocks. It's a fun way to use up scraps.
Step 1:

Cut a piece of template plastic or thin cardboard into a five inch square.
Draw a line down the middle of the template.
mark a 1/4 of an inch on opposite sides of the the line and the template (look at the photo)
Draw a line from the 1/4 inch mark diagonal across the square.

Step 2:

Cut the template on the line- there now you have your template for your whirligig.
Mark the right side so you always cut your fabric the right way!

Step 3:

Now pick your two fabrics - a light and a dark one to make your whirligig.
cut 2 light and 2 dark into 5 inch squares.

step 4:

Stack fabric blocks (right side up)
place template on block and draw diagonal line.
Tip: always place your template the same way- to ensure your blocks spin the same direction.

Step 5:

Cut the blocks on the line- keep them organized because now we have to put them together.

Step 6

Line up the white with the opposite blue- see picture

Step 7:

line up diagonal edge of fabric like in the picture and get ready to sew.

Step 8:

Sew your blocks together with a scant 1/4 inch on the diagonal sides.

Step 9:

Press to the dark fabric

Step 10:

Now it's time to square up your blocks because right now they should be rectangular.
the short end should measure 4 1/2 inches so square the block to 4 1/2 inches (refer to the photo)

See your nice squared up squares.

Step 11:

Now you need to place your squares out to make a whirligig- the easiest way to do this is to refer to the photo

Step 12:

Place 2 of your blocks right sides together in row one and do the same for row two.
sew them together with a scant 1/4 inch seam.

Step 13:

press each row the opposite way so you can nest the seams and reduce bulk when you sew your rows to gether

nesting the seams- refer to the photo

Step 14:

sew your rows together with your scant 1/4 inch seam

press your rows open.

There you go a beautiful and whimsical whirligig- now make a whole bunch and put them together to make a whirly fun quilt!

Modern Traditon Bee Month 2

2010-02-04T09:50:00.001-08:00

Okay- i'm just a turbo blogger- i can't keep up with it every day but now and then I can get lots of posts all at once. This is for Leanne of the modern Tradition Bee- she wanted the simple and ever popular log cabin with fun and funky fabrics- this quilt will be so awesome. I feel so accomplished hopefully I can keep up this pace for the rest of the year.

Fresh Comfort Bee Month1

2010-02-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

So this is the second bee I have joined- it's called Fresh Comfort. We don't have a specific theme it's just whatever suits your fancy. Katie wanted trees and she sent us tons of great fabric and she let us have creative freedom. I love trees so I could have made lots of these blocks because it was so much fun to create and let the juices flow. Like my bitty bird.

Modern Traditon Bee Month 1

2010-02-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

So this was the first virtual quilting bee I joined this year! So far it has been a lot of fun because I only have to make 1 to 2 blocks and someone else picked out the fabric and the block they want so no fuss. It will be a lot of fun to see how all the quilts turn out. I have been having such a fabulous time but I have no idea what i am going to send out when my month comes up. This block is for Melissa- for the modern Tradition bee- the idea is to take a traditional quilt block and use modern fabrics. I'm actually loving this idea and if you want a little inspiration go over to the blog modify tradition because they do a quilt -a- long and have tutorials for making traditonal blocks with modern fabric .

My sisters Quilt for Christmas

2010-01-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

Just one more and I am done for the night- just trying to play catch up and I am still losing. This quilt I made for my sister for Christmas. I was inspired by a quilt on crazy mom quilts- i loved it and decided to make it for my sister with these fabulous fabrics- fun and floral and colorful- I actually finished it for christmas- what a miracle- it a season for miracles don't you know! I quilted with just straight organic lines. I am really liking that quilting method it is just so low stress and with five boys in this house I need low stress. I trudged out in the cold snowy day to take these pics before my sister went back to the sunshine state.

the space Quilt

2010-01-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Not the most attractive quilt I have ever made but it's finished. I made it for this boy that I have babysat for since he was 8 months old last Christmas (2008) and of course didn't get finished until this Christmas (2009)- I have a serious problem- this quilt is part of my joy to the new year challenge- I was so happy to hand it over to the little boy and he loves it and curls himself up in it- he loves space can you tell!

my new Tree Pillows

2010-01-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

I Love my new pillows I saw them on the blog sewmamasew- the person who created them won the scrapbusters contest. They were so cute and so me- I had to make some- my kids of course like to throw them all around and more then likely they will end up with chocolate stains all over them but for now I'm just going to enjoy my creations. Of course I made them several months ago and I am just getting them up on the blog- i will always be behind!

my Quilt CLub Gift

2010-01-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

THis is my finished quilt club gift exchange-we did it after christmas becasue some things happened and we couldn't meet before Christmas. Iam so happy with the way it turned out I need to make one for myself. I wished I lived in the little red house!

This was the start of it all- i was going off my own creativity so I tried a little of this and a little of that- then I put it away for a little while lost half the pieces to it and the top picture is the way it ended- but it came out so fabulous- sometimes mishaps and lost pieces work in your favor!

2009-12-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

There is a reason I don't blog I just don't have the time or knowledge to do this in a timely manner but I will keep on keeping on. Here are two of my joy to the new year challenges finished there is another one I need to upload photos for-- a beautiful sunflower runner and a pink and brown quilt that I helped my mother make probably over a year ago and finally finished the binding- I have a lot of projects like that - many things distract me from finishing things I am really trying hard to quelch that side of my personality. Just finish it should be my new life mantra.

2009-11-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

I love flea market fancy but I am a little late like always- i had some that I didn't even know was a treasure to be had. I hope we can get them to remanufactur this oh so fabulous line. FLea Market Fancy Freaks are having a great giveaway - check it out

2009-11-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

This is my huge stack of projects for the joy to the new year challenge- I hope to finish each one by January. A lot of them just need bindings which I am too lazy to finish up - but no more- I wil get something done- in fact I finished one just the other day. It was just a simple panel that I quilted as a wall hanging for my mother for christmas last year and never put the binding on- well it's done and now my mother can take it home and enjoy it herself. Onto the next....

2009-11-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

Okay- another quilt that actually is staying in my house because I made it for my fourth son Elijah. My oldest son wonders why he doesn't have a quilt but I am going backwards it seems. Of course quilting for boys is a challenge because there really isn't much out there for fabric choices. I did fall in love with this fun fabric by amy schimler. It was so bright and colorful but why is it that I figure out what I want when the fabric is never to be found- i collected it from all sorts of places and it is being used in 3 out my five sons quilts. you just can't mess with a good thing. this quilt was a little time consuming and i might never want to make a snowball block again. I just joined a virtual quilting bee and I was thinking that this quilt fits into the theme of the bee traditonal blocks with modern fabrics. I also tried my hand at organic line quilting- I really liked doing it and I think the quilt came out fabulous.

the back

2009-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Another bit of news there is a fun quilt along that is staring that eventually will be turned into a book- It started as a virtual quilting bee -block party and now it is transforming into a fun quilt along where there will be a quarterly challenge and a flickr group to post everyone's creations and inspiration. go to the blog to finds out more and enter in the give away - i'm excited!http://www.blockpartyquilting.com/

2009-11-08T14:31:00.001-08:00

Okay- so my inspiration to start a quilt blog all started from finding the blog tallgrass prairie studio- she inspired me and introduced me to improv quilting well she is starting a fun Joy in the New year challenge- it's a challenge to help us be motivated to finish up unfinished projects- or ufo's I have several- so I'm excited about being part of a challenge to get some stuff done- some seriously just need a binding, some were christmas presents from last year that never got finished-hopefully I'll have joy while getting some stuff done.

my fifth boy and his baby quilt

2009-10-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

So I just had my fifth boy and I am a crafter. I can tell you boys and crafts don't really mix- making clothes for boys is lame and finding fabric is increasingly more difficult that you don't want to gag over. So none of my boys have any quilts because I never see anything that i like enought to spend money on. I decide I actually needed to make quilts for my family members and so I started with the newest addition (much to my oldest dismay). I was up near Boston with my husband and of course i dragged him to quilt shops in the area and I found this fun and mod fabric to make my baby quilt from- I had seen the fabric line before but in greens pinks and reds- absolutely loved it and decided it was for a baby so I could get away with it for my newest boy. I added some fabric to my stash becasue I new I wanted to make a wonky log cabin block. I just entered the world of quilt blogs and am new to improv and modern quilting- so this is my first attempt and i found it a lot of fun. Some ladies in my quilt club helped make some of blocks- so not all are my creation- I actually had it finished before the baby came- which is a miracle in itself.

here are some of the finished blocks when I was assembling them

Here is the finished quilt- I was inspired by the wonky blocks on tallgrass prairie studio's blog and all of her fun and modern quilts. I quilted it with a serpentine pattern- never done it before but i tried not to be overly perfectionistic.

I think it came out fabulous- just so fun and funky.

quilts in the past....

2009-09-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

I thought to just make it easier I would just post all previous quilts and then start with the new. Many of these quilts have been wedding quilts for my nieces and nephews and others have been teacher's gifts and baby gifts.

Like I need one more thing to do

2009-09-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

Okay i'm a little slow to start but I'm creating a blog for all my quilting and crafting projects. I'm just about to have my fifth boy so what I really need to do is add one more thing to my ever growing to do list (like I even have one of those). But I love the quilt blogger community and I love how many talented people are out in the world sharing their creations. So I decided to join in the fun.