Novelty Print Quilt Pattern

I have had a hard time finding good quilt patterns for novelty prints the past couple times I purchased them.  I made up this pattern so that I could show off the novelty, but still keep the quilt simple to finish.

Here is my pattern sheet I made myself just in case anyone wants it.

I designed these "U" squares and sewed them together first.  They were relatively easy compared to many quilt squares out there.  Aaaaanndd...that is the only photo I took during the construction phase apparently.  So, on to the finished product!

I used a 90x90" black microfiber blanket for the back as a replacement for minky since I didn't buy enough from the fabric store months ago.  Being in this quarantine has made purchasing fabric inconvenient, expensive, and in some cases, impossible.  I purchased the blanket on Amazon for about $26 and cut off the hemmed edges before putting it up on the quilter.  When using these blankets, plus batting, the blanket is THICK.  It ended up about 6 lbs, so good for those loving a little weight to their blanket.  I still prefer actual minky for the blankets, but they work in a pinch.

 Choosing the thread was rough.  The minky was black, but the front of the quilt was about 50%/50% black and white.  Actually, I just realized I could have used Red, lol.  I don't profess to have a fully functioning brain....ever.  In the end, I chose to quilt with black on top and bottom.   I kept the pattern loose to keep the quilt soft.  Tighter quilting designs make for a stiff quilt.  Also, my quilting set-up is pretty touch and go, so really I always quilt with this free-motion pattern, lol.  One day we will upgrade the machine and table, but not today.

And here we go, all done!  I didn't want the work of adding the black strips between blocks in the beginning, but it really sets everything apart and shows off those novelty prints.  I couldn't have been more pleased with the finished product.

So, Happy Birthday Dad.  I hope you loved your quilt!

Now on to the next project!

Between Etsy orders I have been designing shelves for our little sets of nerdy toys, lol.  More on that later!  Have a great night ;0}

Quilten' For My Man

Here it is!  The quilt I whipped up for my hubby for Father's Day ;0}

The pattern was Antelope Canyon by Laurie Shifrin.

I happened across a going-out-of-business sale at one of my favorite quilt stores last summer and scored the quilt kit for a fabulous deal.  I have been pulling this kit out of my UFO pile for small snips of time ever since then, cutting, looking for the pattern in our moving boxes since it was accidentally packed from September 2019-February 2020.  Finally found it, did a happy dance, then waited patiently until it's turn finally came.

It is a pretty simple pattern, only 4 log cabin style blocks.  The biggest recommendation I have for this type of quilt is be sure to square up your blocks all along the way.  When I went to quilt this gorgeous thing the inner part of the "cabin" was a little baggy.  That could have been avoided with a little more consistent squaring up.

Ignore my messy desk.  It always looks that way but you are not supposed to see that.  

I managed to finish sewing the top, but was not able to quilt it by Father's Day.  I did, however, quilt it the Monday after Father's Day and hubs came home to his very own quilt...

and then had to be my quilt model so I could show you pictures.

He is so sweet.  How does he put up with me!!!

Isn't he cute!  I sure love that guy.

It is a good thing he is very tall, because the quilt was VERY TALL.  

Actually it was the other way around...

I had to add an additional boarder because I wanted it to go just under his chin and travel all the way to wrap under his manly feet at night.

There it is!  What a rewarding project!

It did take more time than I thought, but could totally be stitched together at a nice weekend quilting retreat with a little pre-cutting.

Be sure to label all the pieces!!!  

I use post-it notes and label each strip and it was still just a little confusing to follow.  

The shop I bought the quilt kit from was Elaine's Quilt shop.  I believe this particular quilt, using these colors and this arrangement of the 4 blocks, was their addition to the pattern.  They are now part of My Sister's Quilts in Sandy, UT.

Typically these days I use minky on the back of any quilt I can possibly afford to, but my hubby wanted a summer quilt just light enough to keep the air conditioning off his skin.  Instead I used a king-sized top sheet that is heavenly soft to keep him comfy at night.

Now hubby is properly dressed in a sharp looking manly quilt

 every night for his travels to dreamland.  He is worth every stitch!

Finished For a Friend

With America under quarantine people be goen' CRAZY!

One of my BEST friends in all the world, Wendi from Amarillo, Texas suddenly had all of her 6 kids hovering around her again.  One daughter recently returned from an LDS mission in Louisiana.  Between the mission, church camps and activities from younger years, and high school theater and various other t-shirts Alysa had enough shirts for a whole quilt.  

I was super impressed when Wendi sent the first photos of Alysa's work.  She just decided to make a quilt and sat down and did it!  I need more of that in my life, lol.

Alysa chopped up every shirt, ironed each one to interfacing, then stitched them all together.

I told Wendi to pop that sucker in the mail and I would quilt it for her.

I probably should have thought twice about that.  The quilter was SO NAUGHTY!

The thread broke probably 20 times on one shirt.  So embarrassing.

With a whole lot of determination and taking the frustration in small, 

2 hour bites of time over a couple days, and a thread change halfway through the nightmare of that first row....  It is done!

I just used scraps of the sheet Alysa sent for the backing to make the binding and bound the whole thing for the girl.  

Wendi wanted to see pictures before I sent it so it was time to beg my husband for a little help again.

It is so nice having a 6' 3 husband to use as a human tripod...

Sometimes.

And there you have it Alysa!  It is packed up and on it's way to you ;0}

Now on to the NEXT project!  I will show you the quilt I whipped up the week before Father's Day for my sweet husband next time.  It was so fun to make. 

My Popsicle Quilt

Check out my Popsicle Quilt!  

It is my first quilt finished here in Pennsylvania.  Wohoo!

I started my Sweetie Pie quilts after Christmas, but with all the monotony brought about by the Quarantine for Covid-19 I needed a spunky, summery project 

so I pulled out my little Popsicle table runner from my UFO pile and started sewing.

I have been obsessed with this cute little pattern for over 2 years now.  I think I have tried to get 3 different friends to make it with me, failing every time.

These little fabric popsicles were so cute, so easy to make, I couldn't stop myself from turning the pattern into a full quilt.  My goal for a few years has been to have a different cuddly quilt for every holiday or season, so this popsicle quilt was the perfect project for working towards that goal.

You can get the original pattern here from FigTree.

Even the cat was in love with my project.  

I ended up with 30 luscious popsicles, just enough to get a twin sized quilt out of the batch.

I was determined to only use fabric from my stash to make this, so that is what happened.  All the fabric stores were closed and the shelves at Walmart were empty, so there really wasn't any other choice anyway.

The topper was finished late one Craft Day Thursday.  It was probably another 2 weeks lost agonizing over fighting my quilting machine before I actually put needle to thread.  

This whole machine quilter set-up was found on craig's list by my cousin, who bought it, loaned it out to friends, but in the end she was so frustrated by the sewing machine never working that she gave it to me for a steal.  I have worked and fiddled and cried, prayed, said some bad words, said some more prayers, taped on straws, taken off whole parts, spent a few hours just sitting staring at the machine wishing for a genie to come and make it want to work.

By some miracle I have been able to keep the darn thing running, but I really think it is just because of  the prayers alone.  This quilter is much like my car.  I thank the Good Lord it is still working and acknowledge completely it is ONLY because of His Grace that they keep going day after day.

Because of it's fussiness I cannot do any fancy quilting patterns, just a breezy swirly path.  I told myself that if I can prove frequent use, then I can start looking for a new machine...maybe a computerized model, dare I say :0)

Anyway, Here she is!  Isn't she beautiful???

As usual, Emmalee has claimed it as her own personal couch quilt. 

 I have to use the Valentines quilt.  I am fine with it.  

I am just so excited to have finished this project and that everything worked out as well as it did.  

I think the fabrics I had worked out great.  I had to work a little bit to have enough scrap fabric for the background.  Most came from Farm Girl Vintage quilt scraps.  I just pieced and sewed until the whole thing came together.  

And the Minky for the back...I had that in my stash too.

I can't remember what I bought it for, way back before we moved, 

but it worked great for this quilt!

And again, my sweet husband helping me out by being the perfect quilt rack, lol.

I love him so much.  He puts up with a LOT around here.

Now that this popsicle quilt is finished, I have a special quilting project for a friend.  I will be back with photos of that soon enough!

Quick Little Project

I don't know what possessed this sweet little lady from church to bring us food, but randomly one day she called and said she was making empanadas and wanted to bring us some.

YES!

Bring them right over!

They were totally delicious and I was THRILLED to not have to make dinner.

Empanadas were devoured, dishes washed, and then her pan sat on my counter for probably 2 weeks.  I decided enough time had passed, this pan needed to go home.  A naughty thought had been playing in the back of my mind the whole time, so I decided to act on it quick before I could stop myself.

I set about to etch the family name into the back of the pan.

The pan was just a plain pyrex glass pan.  I was Fairly certain the family wouldn't mind having their name added to the back of the pan.  Then, if it ever got lost at someone else's house, everyone would know who it actually belonged to.

I designed a little label on the computer and cut it out of vinyl. I forgot to reverse the image the first time, so I reversed the image and cut it out again.  I used repositionable vinyl so the vinyl stencil would come off the pan easily at the end of the project.

Once the vinyl label was ready I used a light pad under the pan to help illuminate the edges of the pan and to help me position the vinyl label in the right place.

Done.  I rubbed the stencil down all over, then peeled the transfer tape off.

Time for glass etching.  I knew I was taking a risk that this little surprise would not be a welcomed surprise.  By using glass etching to make a permanent stencil on this pan I was hoping it would exist, but not be too intrusive.  Worst case I would just buy them a new pan, but this lady was such a sweetheart with a love of all things pretty, I felt secure in this little addition to her pan.

Just beware...Bringing plain pans to the SewCakeMaker family may result in glass etching of your pan!

I bought this glass Etching cream probably 17 years ago.  Guess what?  It still works.  

To use glass etch just use a regular brush and paint it on.  Be sure to not get it on your skin or in your eyes or mouth.  Brush this on all exposed areas in the design that you want to show frosty.

Just let that sit for about 5 minutes, then rinse off in the sink with regular old tap water.

You can see in the top right area of this photo where I have peeled off the temporary vinyl.  The normal glass design is exposed, surrounded by frosty loveliness.

After removing the rest of the vinyl....

This is the pan while upside down.  

I etched the bottom of the pan so that when it is turned right side up it will look like this...

You can see the name and design right side up and looking great.

The pattern will not wash off.  Once etched the glass is permanently changed.

I filled this pan with oreo cake pops and sent it with Hubbs and Emmalee to deliver it back to its original home.  My friend was delighted, thank goodness, at the pretty addition.  Maybe she loved the pan so much more more empanadas are in our future, lol!  Now I am ready to start etching all my own glass, lol.  It is slightly addictive!

Finally on the Wall

Well, enough with the waiting.  My shelves are finally on the wall.  

It only took a month.  This area of our family room has turned into Emmalee's painting corner, so I am thinking the hexi shelves will be home to some of the painting supplies and hopefully make the mess a little cuter.  There is no eliminating the mess, just creatively organizing it.

We bought this house in November.  This great-room has a crazy bar in it that entertaining families would love.  We use it to store craft supplies, lol.  There is a working sink down there in the selves and everything.  No drinking going on here.  We have too much crafting to get done.

My two big guys {shelves} got hung on the wall, my little guy you can see below.  I added shelves to him so I could have a little more paint storage....

I didn't put a back on this one, but will be adding a backboard.  When you go to get a paint bottle out of the stack all the other bottles in that triangle fall out the back *Oh My!* so my next Craft Day Thursday I will have to fix that.

Anyway, Mads and I have loved these little shelves, so much so I am afraid to say....

We will be making more!  Thanks for celebrating with me the minor accomplishment of getting these shelves hung up.  Sometimes it is the little things that feel huge when you had to climb mountains to get them done ;0}