Pinwheel Quilt

I have been working on this small quilt off and on several months! I originally planned to just do the blue pinwheels but added in red to give it more color! It didn't cost much either! The fabric in the blue pinwheels were leftover from another quilt, the red gingham was given to me, I purchased the white fabric for the pinwheels for $3.07, my grandma gave me the red backing & white binding, the batting was given to me and the red thread was $2.83. So all together I spent $5.90!

The binding and corner seam...it's far from perfect but works!

The backing!

This is where it is now! I love the red, white & blue...perfect for July!

Here is the quilt a few days ago before the binding and links to past posts about this quilt.

Pinwheel Quilt Progress

Here is the latest shot of the quilt! I have it "quilted" and now all I lack is the binding which is lying beside the quilt waiting for me to iron it and then sew it on! (The binding is my least favorite part!) I hope to finish this sometime today! And as you can see Mac is in the picture...he loves when I sew because he likes lying on fabric or quilt batting!

Quilt Progression:
June 25
June 9
February 7
October 24

Quilt Progress

I am working on a pinwheel quilt....this has been an ongoing project for months, in fact I referenced the patches in Life: Frugal and Simple on October 24...and again in the episode Easy Baby Quilt-Part One on February 7!

All of the blocks are sewn together in strips!

Now time to sew the strips together to make a beautiful quilt top!

I Made a Dress!

In April my mom visited and we made a dress together! She taught me how to read the pattern and I paid attention to everything she did! I decided that I needed to make one by myself as a test to see what I had actually learned! I spent several hours one day and was able to cut it out and sew most of it! Then I ignored it a few weeks and finally put the zipper and some finishing touches on it. The only thing I didn't do was hem it, my mother-in-law hemmed it for me! (I tried to hem it and it was frustrating...I can hem but it is my least favorite part of sewing!)

Here is the dress:

It is not exactly perfect but I am very proud of it!

It's fun to wear because the skirt is so full...I like to spin around in it!!

The back view!

I wore it to church on Sunday (hubby's birthday!) It is a very light cream with royal blue flowers. My white sweater didn't match and my cream sweater was too dark plus it looked bland so I added this hot pink sweater to give it some color...very cute!

Cost: $1.95 for the zipper! I already had the pattern, zipper, dress fabric, and lining fabric.

I didn't want to go out and purchase $10-12 worth of fabric for an experimental dress so I looked in my fabric stash to see what I had and there was enough of this blue floral fabric & solid cream (for the lining) to make a dress. The fabric is from curtains in my old apartment! When we moved I changed color schemes and had no need for them! (Of course I made the curtains inexpensively out of simple cotton fabric so it's not like I made a dress out of drapery fabric!!) I am calling the dress my Scarlett dress!!

The curtains:

Here is the fabric in its former glory in my living room!

You just can't beat $1.95 for a cute little dress with an even funnier story!

Pillowcase Dress

I am sewing more and trying new things! The most recent creation of mine was intended to be a pillowcase dress for an infant, however I am not the best judge of size and it turned out way to small! However, it makes a lovely doll dress! It was really simple to make and these dresses are so cute! Eventually I will attempt (and hopefully succeed) in making a child a pillowcase dress!

Felicity modeling the dress. I am going to cut a little length off of the ribbons because they look way to long!

The cute little dress!

A New Dress

This past week my mom was on her Spring Break so she and my dad came to visit! The main purpose of this visit was teaching me how to read a pattern! Mom taught me how to use the machine and sewing basics but we have never made anything together. The aprons and skirt that I have made I have figured out on my own (& with the help of my amazing hubby who can do anything!!) We decided that we would make a dress, last month I went to Hobby Lobby when McCall's Patterns were on sale for $.99! The pattern I chose was the only one I found with a modest neckline!

So Monday we went to Hobby Lobby looking for the perfect fabric to make a cute dress. It was a hard decision but we were both pleased with the fabric we decided to go with!! We spent Monday evening working on the dress. She showed me marking the fabric and I followed along with the steps and tried to see what the illustrations meant. I sewed quite a bit on the dress and even helped with the gathering (somewhat challenging for me)!! It turned out beautiful!!

Me in my new favorite modest dress...how exciting that I don't have to wear an undershirt under this!!

The back view!

The full skirt makes it fun...I was even spinning around like a little girl!! :)

Soon I am going to make another dress on my own and see if I can make it look like this one...hopefully it will turn out good!

Thanks mom for your patience in showing me how to read a pattern and for answering my questions!! I love you!!

*I have had several questions about the cost of this dress. Here is the breakdown:
Fabric: (2 yards @ $3.60/yard) $7.20
Lining Fabric: (2 yards @$1.87/yard) $3.74
Zipper: $1.99
Interfacing: (not sure the price...I am going to guess $2)

Total: $14.93

The fabric was $.99 but I am not counting that because I will use it again & of course I used thread!

Ready for Sewing

My mom is planning on coming to visit me during her Spring Break and teach me how to read a pattern! She taught me how to sew as in using the machine and I have self taught myself (with help from my hubby who doesn't get frustrated like I do!!) She says she figured she had plenty of time to teach me how to read a pattern but since I married at 19 she ran out of time! But it's never too late and a couple of sewing days with her and I should be able to read simple patterns! Since summer is coming and I love cotton sundresses I figured the best thing to learn to sew was a sundress for me!

Last week Hobby Lobby had their McCall's patterns on sale for $.99 and I went and found this beautiful dress pattern:

It looks short and it is but we are going to add length to the botton. The reason I chose this pattern was due to the modest neckline (almost all of the patterns were very revealing & I didn't like that at all!)

When my sister came to visit my mom sent fabric from Mrs. Cindy and from her! I am always excited to get fabric and love deciding what I am going to create with it!

These are a few of my favorite fabrics they sent! I am not sure exactly what I am going to do with everything but I am thinking I just might turn the cherry cotton print into a dress!!

Crafting Supplies

I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up fabric for pinwheel quilt squares I will start after I finish the baby quilt I am working on. I already have red gingham & I wanted solid white to go with it! The white fabric was $1.87/yard and I purchased a yard and a half. I also picked up 2 baby bibs so I can cross-stitch them for shower gifts!

I made this sample patch to make sure it went with the quilt squares I already made! They look great together! My original intention when I started the baby blue pinwheels was a baby quilt but I have decided to do the red & blue and make a bigger quilt!

Baby Quilt

Last week I was able to take a little time to cut out patches for the baby girl quilt I am working on! I broke the cutting up so it wasn't too much of a job! I now have all the squares cut out so now it's just time to start sewing them together and watch a beautiful quilt take shape!

The 3 different patches on the fabric that will be the backing!

The stack of patches ready for me to start sewing!

Scrap Quilt

Early last week I decided to go through my scrap box and cut out uniform scraps so one day I can make a scrap quilt! It took about 2 hours to cut all of these out and now after I finish up a sewing project whatever scraps I have left will be cut into blocks and stacked with these!

These scraps all remind me of something:

The denim is from jeans that belonged to John David and me.
The red/gold plaid is from our new curtains.
The sunflower print is from the first apron I made.
The green plaid is from a blanket I made my grandma.
The blue is scraps from the couch Kara re-covered!
The farm print is from Jen.
The cream/blue flowers is from our old curtains in our apartment.
The blue/brown/cream checked is from napkins I made.
The baby blue is from my first quilt binding.
The large flower print is from my garden apron!
The blue gingham is from my first quilt & will be in my pinwheel quilt.
The red/blue/cream star print is from my kitchen curtain in my apartment.
The toile is from Kara's couch pillows!

So they are scraps but each of the scraps hold memories that remind me of the places I have lived, people that are close to me, and things I have created in the past. So really my scrap quilt will be somewhat of a memory quilt and I am sure the others patches that will join these will all hold memories for me too!

The patch stack!!

Sewing Day

Today was a lovely day! I went to Jen's home for a sewing day! We sewed with her girls & one of her girls friends! I sewed the cuff of my wool pants (every time I wear them I trip on the cuff so the cuff had to be fixed!) I also made two little doll aprons for Katie & one of her friends!

So now I am definitely in the mood to sew, I just love making things and being creative & crafty!

Ready to start sewing...

I started making patches for a pinwheel quilt a month ago and then stopped! The past few evenings I have been cutting out triangles for the quilt! I am planning on starting back on it tomorrow!

What a Weekend!

We have had a wonderful weekend thus far!! John David came home for lunch Friday, I made Chicken Enchilada Soup! Then he surprised me by telling me he took the rest of the day off!! What a great surprise!! That afternoon we went to vote and then went to Office Depot (where I found a much needed pack of 3 dry erase markers for $1.13!!!) Then we went to T.J. Maxx & to Wal-Mart. John David purchased an exercise ball to use as his desk chair...I know it may sound crazy but it is really comfy!!

Friday night, John David found a PowerBook G4 on Craigslist and around 9:45 we met with the seller and bought that! (He used his graduation/play money so it did not effect the budget!!) So yesterday was a lot like Christmas!!

Here is my sweetie on his new chair & playing with his new computer!! He has quite the Mac set-up now...what more could he want??

This morning we slept in...nothing like sleeping late snuggled in fleece sheets!! We didn't really anything productive but that is the beauty of Saturday morning. John David installed Leopard on the PowerBook so while that was installing we played 2 games of Yahtzee! (I am not bragging or anything but I won twice!!) I love playing games with my sweetie!! We decided to go to McDonald's for lunch and then we explored the county a little! We went down a really nice road with nice houses & small farms! That was fun, especially since we are getting close to buying!! (Just a few more "financial goals" to accomplish and we will be on our way to home ownership!!)

We came home and I worked on my Sunday School lesson, preparing crafts for tomorrow, and then I made supper, Chicken-n-Dumplins, and they were so good! I then made a fleece body pillow case from a fleece throw we had at home. (Our fleece sheets came with pillowcases but we sleep on a body pillow so we didn't have a fleece body pillow case!!) I cut a little off the blanket and stitched it up and it turned out great!!

My Latest Project: A Pinwheel Quilt

Last week I started on a new quilt! I decided to try something a little different than a plain patchwork quilt. I am making a pinwheel quilt! I am excited, the blocks that I have made so far look really good!

I am making this quilt from leftover fabric from my last quilt and fabric that we bought at an auction this summer.

I am planning to work on this during the next few weeks and hopefully have it done before too long!

Latest projects

Well, it has been awhile since I last wrote! Our Sunday was uneventful and we left Monday at lunch for Louisville. John David was there for training until Wednesday and I tagged along! I did a little work, read, and went shopping while in Louisville. We arrived home Wednesday just in time for church.

Yesterday, I slept in! How nice! I left here around 11:30 and went to Penney's and Ross. I found several really great deals at Penney's! I bought John David a dress shirt and tie and two shirts for me for $13.90!! I was really excited!! At 1:30 I went to Jen Burns' house to sew!! She was teaching a lady from church how to sew and I brought my mending and a few projects to finish up! I had a really great time there! I got all of my mending done! And I finished this really cute bag that I began in March or April.



It is a canvas bag that I made. I hand stitched the recycling symbol on the front.





Close up of the stitching...it's not perfect, but that gives it character!!

Last night I had the desire to sew really bad so I decided to make myself a sun dress out of one of my cotton prints! I didn't get much done last night so my project today has been making this dress! I didn't have a pattern, I just used a little logic and measured myself as I went. I think it turned out pretty good, it is not perfect by any means but I like it!!



It really looks like a little girl's dress here!



Front view



Back view! I made the button holes by hand sewing them because my machine doesn't make button holes! It took a lot of time but they look pretty good and they work!

Well, tell me what you think, should I never wear it or should I wear it??

The Rag Throw

Here is my weekend project! It really is not a rag quilt, it is more like a rag throw because it is throw size and it does not contain any batting, it is just a light, cotton, summer throw!! It is made entirely from fabric that I bought at the auction last weekend! It turned out really cute, not perfect by any means but I am still learning!





A close up view of the ragged edges



Very close shot which shows not only the beautiful fabric (I love the floral!) but also my imperfections!



The ragged front



The back

This was really easy to make and it turned out very pretty!

Sewing Day

Last night I begin working on a ragged edge quilt!! I was so excited about it last night that I tossed and turned before finally getting to sleep and then I popped out of bed at 6:15 and started sewing! I just finished it!! I am washing it so the edges will get worn!! I have decided to spend the next few days working on my sewing projects that I have been wanting to work on but haven't seemed to find the time!! I will post pictures of my projects soon!

I have had a great week especially after passing my test! It has been stress free and I have been able to get a lot done around the house!! Yesterday I meal planned and was able to come up with 7 meals when I thought we really needed to go to the grocery store!! It amazes me how taking a little time and doing a little planning saves money and time!!

Snow Day!

Well it is the end of Spring Break and it snowed! I must admit that I was a little bummed about the cold weather, not because I don't like snow but because earlier this week I took our fleece sheets and heated blanket off our bed until next winter! So I bundled up in flannel pajama pants and a thermal top for bed and stayed cozy!

We did go out in the snow for a few pictures since we hadn't taken any snow pictures this winter! Unfortunately we have no hills here so we can't go sledding!



A sweet snow kiss!!



I couldn't resist taking a picture of my boots covered in snow!

We have spent the past two days being very productive! On Friday we woke up early and I cooked breakfast, ham and cheese biscuits, which were absolutely amazing! I love these biscuits! After breakfast we went to Lowe's, Hobby Lobby, and Wal-Mart because John David was buying supplies for a project he is undertaking! We had so much fun shopping together for his project!

When we got home from shopping John David began working on his project (I will publish pictures when he finishes!) While he was busy working I altered two shirts of mine for the summer (they both turned out great and actually fit now!) I also began cutting out an apron. We were both busy all evening with our fun projects.

This morning I woke up at early and I worked a little for Co-op. After lunch I began working on my apron, it is a garden apron for when I finally get my own garden, I cannot wait to use it! I was able to finish it all today and it turned out really great!



My garden apron! The pattern is from my grandma and John David's mom gave me the fabric (as soon as I saw it I knew it was going to be an apron!)



Now I am all ready for gardening, minus the garden! I now realize how much I took for granted living on a farm and the joys that come with that lifestyle. I always wanted to live in town and now that I am in town I find myself eagerly awaiting my return to a farm (or a least a backyard where I can garden!)

Our Little Apartment

After writing my last entry I realized that we have been living in our apartment a year and a half and I have never taken any pictures of our first home! I want everybody who has never been here (especially our grandparents) to see our cute little apartment!



Here is our living/dining room! It is not really big but it is plenty of room for us!




My favorite part of the living room (minus the television!) My beautiful rocking chair, my sewing box, and my great great grandmother's Singer Sewing machine (the machine is really in there and when we move the TV will not be on top of it!)



Our table where we eat every meal!



My tiny little kitchen! It is nothing special but I can still cook yummy meals from there! (And it is easy to keep squeaky clean!)



My stainless steel pot rack! John David and I found this at a Goodwill the summer we were married and both really like it! I love it because it is a solution for the lack of cabinet space!




Since this "The Grand Tour" of our apartment I had to include the teeny, tiny bathroom!



Our bed with my beautiful quilt my Mama gave me as a wedding gift!



John David's boots at the foot of our bed! (A great cute storage solution!)



John David's favorite part of the house! His "studio" area! He can't wait for our new home and a room for all of his technology!



My work area, where I do Co-op work, homework, and where I am writing this! (I guess you could say it doubles as a vanity because my "makeup mirror" but I don't use it for makeup. It is a beautiful mirror and makes the area very girly!!)