Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Work-In-Progress Wednesday: Handmade Christmas 2011 Wrap Up

Being very busy last week with the crush before Christmas caused me to use #BDSI (Boxing Day Sew In) on Twitter this past Monday, December 26th to finish up the Orange & Black quilt for my nephew for his Christmas present.  It was not a late gift as my side of the family did not get together until Monday afternoon to accommodate everybody's holiday schedules.
 
As I finished the quilting, prepared the binding and then machine sewed the binding on, I tweeted along with my fellow #BDSI companions keeping me company.  At one point I became super annoyed at my machine because I was getting the birds nest effect on the back and cried out for help....Jaye from Artquiltmaker came to my rescue by telling me to rewind my bobbin thread very SLOWLY.  That did the trick and at approximately 5pm Monday afternoon I took a photo of this:
Orange & Black quilt for N. 
Orange & Black 
Little Man quilt pattern by Camille Roskelley from Simplify:Quilts for the Modern Home
Fabrics: Various Kona Solids and two baseball patterns from local fabric store.
Started: November 2011
Finished: December 26, 2011
Given to nephew for Christmas 2011

Here's the front: 
Orange & Black quilt front - 40"x 50"
And the back:
Orange & Black back
I have four nieces of various ages so I decided this year for Christmas to give them a little handmade item with a favorite gift card of their choice nestled inside.  For my teenage nieces I tried a new tutorial for Lined Drawstring Bags from Jeni of  InColorOrder.  Great tute - go check it out.  Both bags came together very easily and were well received by both girls.  Success!  
Lined Drawstring Bags
For my younger nieces I made zip pouches and they loved them.  My SIL told me that the bag I made below for B. looks very similar to the new backpack that my niece had yet to open for Christmas.  The pouch would be a perfect accessory to the backpack which made me happy.  
Love this girl...such a sweet kid.  
So the Christmas rush of handmade is now over and now I can relax and wait for projects to appear.  I did receive a text yesterday from a good friend (Sarah) who asked me to make her a Kindle Fire cover and I replied a definitive YES.  Looking forward to researching tutorials and fabrics for her.  

Hope you are all well,
Susan

5 comments:

  1. They're all very cute! And your nieces/nephew seem extremely pleased. Isn't it fun? I'll check out the bag tutorial--nice project.

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  2. You have made a bunch of kids happy and one old lady quilter happy with the slow winding bobbin tip.

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  3. So glad you beat your deadlines! ;-) The quilt looks great, and I copied your idea of pouch & gift card - went over well here too!

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  4. Your nephew's quilt looks great! And the pouches and bags you made your nieces are very cute, too. I bet your niece is excited about the coordinating backpack and pouch! After seeing the kids' new toys scattered about the house I've decided that some of those drawstring pouches are needed here, too. So many little pieces to contain...

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  5. Susan - I just discovered your blog and your podcast, and I am LOVING them! I am a quilter and general crafter, and have recently become interested in learning the history behind my favorite hobbies, so I was thrilled to come upon you. And as an added bonus, we are neighbors! I live in HB and work in LB. How awesome! Anyway, thank you for the wonderful information you provide. I still have about 7 more podcasts to go before I am caught up. I hope to get that done this weekend while working on a quilt. Keep up the great work! Happy New Year!

    -Kristen

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