Table Topper

This week I put together a table topper with 2" squares for a friend who is graduating from Nursing School along with my daughter.  I used the Garden Song fabric that I had left over from the Pretty Quilt.  I thought the colors offered a nice variety for this project.

I divided up the square sections into blocks and it went together pretty quickly.  Then I added some borders and quilted it using straight lines in every other block.

I really like how it all came together.  Maybe I'll make another one (in my spare time) for myself.  :)

This type of project can also be hung on the wall or used on a coffee table, etc.  I even have a small quilt on my desk.  :)

I'm Doing It: Quilt #5!

I'm doing it!  I'm finishing my quilts!  This is my 5th quilt so far this year that I have completed.  This week I finished this Pins and Paws quilt for my daughter for her graduation from nursing school.  :)

I started this quilt last fall for her.  She loves the colors teal and coral.  I added some grays in it to give it some contrast.  I got the pattern from the Missouri Star website.  They have nice patterns with video tutorials that make piecing the quilts easy.

Here is a photo of Ginger giving her approval for the quilt.  I quilted around each of the kitties and then added some free motion to other areas of the blocks.  The kitties have hearts on them, there's a flower in the white space and some ocean wave swirls in the border. 

It's hard to tell in the photo, but I love how the quilting came out.  I don't think my daughter has seem me working on this quilt, so it will be a surprise to her.  I hope she likes it!

If she doesn't, I know someone who does.  Me!  :)

The Butterflies are Fluttering By

I love the gingham papers and butterflies that were in the Spring catalog.  Here is a card that I made using the Butterfly Gala stamp set and punch.  I got the idea from Chris Slogan on Pinterest.  I like how the lower part of the card is showing with the saying that shows on the front and on the inside.

For this card, I punched out the butterflies from the designer paper that was part of the Sale-a-bration free choices.  They fit perfectly in the punch.   I like the design of the front of the card.  This idea is from Karen Finkle.  There's not a lot of room on the inside to write a message, but sometimes you don't need a lot of space.

Here's another card featuring the gingham paper and a punched-out butterfly from the designer paper.  It's pretty easy, but packs a lot of punch.  This idea is from Kim Lee from Facebook.

This card is so pretty in person- the photo doesn't do it justice. (And why are the photos all blurry today?)  It's made using the champagne foil paper and it just shines.  I added some stamped butterflies to complete the card.  I got the idea from Carolyn Manwaring.

Last up for the butterfly cards is a sweet little note card featuring the wooden butterflies from Sale-a-bration.  It's a little hard to see in this photo, but they are on some pink paper that has been embossed with the Lace dynamic folder.  This comes from Lauren Alarid's blog.

What have you made with the Butterfly Gala set?  There are so many possibilities with it!  I'm sure more butterflies will flutter by my craft room in the future. :)

Roosters A-Plenty

This rooster was part of the Sale-a-Bration fee items a few months ago.  I have to admit, when I first saw the rooster, I wasn't that impressed with him.  But after seeing many cards and projects made using him from Pinterest and Facebook, I decided that I liked him after all.  :)

The note cards are made with the Grapefruit shiny paper that was also part of the Sale-a-Bration choices.  It looks like it has a lot of colors in it, but that's just the way the light is hitting it on these cards. 

I found that I really like the sayings in this set, too.  They worked up so nicely on the notecards.  I got the idea for the notecards from Helen Read. 

Then I decided to make a little holder for the cards and envelopes.  It's made using the Envelope punch board and perfectly fits the cards.  I tucked the lid to the box down inside when I was folding it, so you close the lid or leave it open to see the contents.

This set would make a nice gift for someone that likes roosters or chickens.  Or it's great just to keep on your desk for a quick and easy note.  And who doesn't like receiving that?

Quilt #4: The Pretty Quilt

I have finished Quilt #4 from my UFO (Unfinished Object) pile!  About 8 years ago, I bought some pretty fabrics that were a line called Garden Song from Nancy Halvorsen.  I thought the colors were so pretty.  I showed them to my quilting friend, Carol, and she said that she had made a quilt top using the same fabrics, only she didn't like how it came out.

I asked if I could see it and she said that I could have it if I wanted it.  She had browns in the center where the blue is now and the pretty fabrics just didn't show up very nicely.  Anyway, I took the quilt home and looked at it, wondering what I could do with it to make it better.

It sat in the UFO pile for many years.  Then finally one day, I took it out and came up with a plan.  I cut out the center rows of the quilt and discarded them.  When I sewed the remaining rows back together, the pretty blues were in the center and the other colors seemed to just shine.

I put a border on it and finished it up last month!  I quilted some free-style flowers on it and now I just love how it turned out.  It's pretty, bright and makes me happy.  :)

It's hard to tell in the photo, but perhaps you can see some of the flowers quilted in the blocks.  Now it's one of my favorite quilts. 

Here's a pic of my little kitty coming to snuggle while I was sewing on the border.  She did not want to miss out on getting this quilt finally finished!  :)