Applique Pergatory

December's blocks for Skill Builder were all about Applique, and boy have they put me through the ringer.  I'm so glad I'm doing this quilt along, because it has given me a lot of confidence to break away from my safety net and try so many new things.  I've always wanted to know how to applique and now I do and I realized that for the most part it's just not my thing. 

Block #19- Orange Windows:

The only applique I had done before was raw edge applique, but I didn't use the Heat n' Bond with it, so this was new to me.  I don't mind this kind of applique, but it's time consuming. 

Block #20- Circles:

 This block just about did me in - each circle is done by a different technique:  Needle-turn (I confess the only turning going on was with my fingers, but I suppose practice would make that better), using freezer paper (both left in and taken out), Cheater Turn Needle Applique, and Gathered Circles.

I was having all kinds of issues - you'll notice here that I accidentally hand-stitched the corner of the block on to the back of the circle - bleh.  Luckily, it was on the edge of the fabric, so I could cut it out without much issue.  I did a bunch of other silly things (my husband says he can tell how frustrated I am by the amount of talking back to the fabric I do), and yes, I was very verbal.  

I'm grateful for this experiment, because it taught me that I DO NOT like hand applique at all.  I have to say though that it gives me a whole new level of appreciation and respect for those of you that hand stitch things - wow!  I don't have the patience for it.  Of all the methods I enjoyed the Cheater Turn Needle Applique the most, because it was the easiest and the quickest.  I don't want to know what that says about me.  :)

So, 2 applique blocks down and 1 more to go.  Sigh.  This last one looks like the hardest one, so there's a little amount of dread going on in my heart right now- I'm not going to lie.  I can do it though - right?!  I promised myself I would do every block no matter what, so wish me luck!

Winnings

This was my first time participating in the Giveaway at Sew Mama Sew in December.  I was lucky enough to win two things!!  I'm still waiting for one of them (it was mailed from Serbia - how cool is that?!), but here's the fabric that I won from Between Quilts.  Yea!  Now I just have to figure out what project I want to use it on.

During the Christmas Block Sew Along I also won some buttons for this block that I made:

I knew I had won some buttons, but I had no idea until they got here that they came from South Africa!  That makes them even cooler in my book!  I love the texture of the ridges on each of the flowered buttons.  I'm going to save these for something special.

Reading Benefits

If you knew my husband growing up you would know that he avoided reading like the plague when he was young.  It didn't interest him, because it wasn't entertaining enough for him.  He wasn't formally diagnosed with ADD until he was 21.  It took so long to diagnose him, because the doctor's thought he was fine, because he had such good grades.  He was so irritatingly smart that he could compensate for his lack of attention and still do really well in school.

Anyway, he's recently been on a reading kick - it's like he's trying to make up for all of those years that I was reading books, so that he can say he's caught up. ;)  Anyway, since he really wants to read in the evenings he's been encouraging me to quilt.  Sweet!  I don't need to be asked twice.  I'm not usually this quick to wip up a huge quilt top, but I finished up Nathan's quilt top for his bed today.

It's yucky outside, so my poor husband had to play Vanna for pictures of the quilt- we just couldn't get it to lay flat, but you get the idea.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  I've got some ideas for the back, but we'll see.  I want to get some of my Skill Builder Blocks done before I work on the back.

A little reading side note:  One of Joel's goals this year is to read more scholarly articles.  Two days ago he was reading an article about Scabies (gross, I know), and today he came home saying he was grateful that he had read that article, because he had to diagnose someone with Scabies today at clinic.  Crazy!  Good thing he likes reading now. :)

Oops

Just in case you're wondering what happens when you accidentally wash your husband's white socks with red fabric.......

Sorry, honey.

Merry Christmas

Every Christmas Eve we have a family Christmas devotional.  With all the little kids we did an abbreviated version.  We watched the new church videos of the birth of the Savior. This is the video of the Shepherds:

You can find all of them at lds.org.  I hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas and has had an opportunity to remember the true celebration of the season.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Giving

We headed over this morning to deliver gifts to a family in need this morning.  This is part of the "Christmas extravaganza" (as my dad would say).  Everyone in my family pitched in, so we were able to do quite a bit for the family.  The most important stuff was bedding and coats, but we also got a lot of fun stuff for the kids. 

Quilt front

I finished the toddler quilt with only an hour to spare, so it was perfect timing. The pattern is based on Jamie Mueller's "Auntie's Diamonds" featured at Moda.

Quilt back

 It was so fun incorporating Elle's scraps into the back of the quilt. 



I was using my mom's sewing machine, so I didn't feel comfortable doing free motion quilting.  I stuck with doing stitch in the ditch and outlining the diamonds.  I think it looks cute.

Here are a couple of pictures of Elle's sheets on a toddler bed mattress.  I think they're adorable.  I love the way she chose to do the elastic - such a cool idea to put it on the outside.

 I love how well they go with the quilt.  I met the little girl this morning, and she was SO cute, so I'm so excited for her to enjoy them.

We're getting the last of our shopping done now, so that we can enjoy Christmas Eve together.  It's been awesome having my entire family all together for the first time since my wedding (5 years ago).  We're quite the rowdy clan- we've had family pictures, a game night, a Treasure Island movie night (the Charlton Heston version was a family favorite growing up), and tons of Wegmans runs (if you haven't been to Wegmans I'll just say you're missing out on life and leave it at that).

So Cute!

When Elle heard about what we were doing for the family in need for Christmas she offered to make sheets for the toddler bed- seriously, what a sweetheart!  I got the sheets in the mail and they are SO cute! 

They are going with this toddler-bed quilt:  I just finished the quilt top yesterday.  She also sent me some of the extra material from the sheets and I'm so excited to incorporate it in with the back of the quilt.  That's today's project. 

More pictures to come:  I'm hoping to get a picture of the sheets on a toddler mattress for Elle.

Quilts Progress

I finished the baby boy quilt.  The pattern is based on Amy Smart's "Easy Bricks Quilt" featured at Moda.   I hand stitched most of the binding during the car ride up to New York, so it was a quick finish once I got here.  I'm now in the middle of piecing together the toddler girl quilt top.  In the mean time here are some pictures of the baby boy quilt:

Quilt Front

Quilt Back

It's nice and cuddly, soft.  Even the brown binding is fuzzy.  I did some free motion lines for quilting, because it was late at night and I needed something quick and simple.  I made the quilt pretty big so that the baby can grow with it.  Now I've got to get to work on the second quilt.  Only a few more days until we deliver everything to the family.