Baby Quilt

A friend @ work is having a baby :) Even though I missed the shower, (bummer) I had this to offer :

Its a scrappy baby quilt inspired by the "wonky squares" stream I was browsing on flickr. I can seriously sit and look at flickr streams of quilts for hours at a time (seriously.... ask my husband what I do from 10pm to midnight....) Anyway, the quilt came out pretty good. Its probably not the best one I've ever made, but it is wonky (in the title, remember?) I made it in about 4 hours, so the detail isn't what I would prefer. But, the good part is, my friend was grateful and said she would definitely use it :)

Last week's little projects

So, last week I was inspired by some wall hangings I saw online and also decided to try paper piecing.
The first wall hanging was something that I actually started months ago and never finished. This was hanging in my sewing room waiting for borders and quilting, but I was backed up on other things, other projects and life in general. I had started it on a whim and really had no purpose in mind, so it was just a last priority project. But, last week when I dove back in to the piles of fabric and started sewing again, I picked it up and VIOLA....

This was a collection of scraps that I raw edge appliqued. Then did a crazy, random meandering design over the whole thing. I think its pretty cute and would look great in a little girl's room or bathroom :)

Then, while watching the kids new favorite movie Gnomeo and Juliet, I started thinking about garden gnomes. I love them!!! I did a little digging and found a paper pieced pattern for a gnome block. But I had never done paper piecing before and decided to wing it. Its not perfect and I think I will try again (now that I taught myself paper piecing....) But its still pretty darn cute!!

Is is supposed to be a gnome under a mushroom. However, my dad said it looks like a spike under a lamp... LOL I think if I try this pattern again (which a pillow has been requested by my son) I will round off the edges of the mushroom a little. I also didn't trim the seams very well and you can see them through the background. Even with its flaws, I still think its cute enough to hang in the kitchen!

New projects

School is out, days are long and I have started sewing again :)
Sewing makes me happy. For many reasons. First, as a creative outlet. If I go long periods of time without creating things (of any medium) I tend to feel stifled, stiff and get crabby. Also, when I make things its gratifying to see nice finished products. Sort of an instant self esteem boost. I can look at a quilt or purse or whatever and stand back and think "I just made that" and then I smile. Then, I can give it to someone (or sell on etsy if I'm lucky) People generally appreciate handmade things. And I like to think that the stuff I make is fun. Lastly, when I sew or crochet or craft in some way, it relieves a little guilt from past crafty purchases. I have waaaaaaaay too much fabric, thread, patterns, zippers..... you get the point. I have at least 20 little stacks of coordinating items that were originally an intent. Little projects that have yet to be realized. They were bought, cut, organized and stacked. I dreamed them, envisioned the end result (and happiness) but, never started (or finished). So, when I complete a project, I feel a little better about the massive amount of unrequited inspirations. It also softens some of the sting and makes the original purchase seem worthwhile.

So here we go. Sewing again, YAY!

The intent here is to show some of my past creations, current projects and hopefully (if anyone reads this) describe some of the creative process and get some inspiration from others!