Hey Diddle, Diddle

I found it! A few posts ago I was saying I found some cute nursery rhyme fabric I liked but could only buy it in a kit. I found it online. It's called Rock-a-Bye Rhymes by Alexander Henry and it's from 2008. I ordered some (enough for the quilt and back too... I really like it). It came today and I couldn't wait to show you! Here we have Hey Diddle, Diddle, Little Bow Peep and part of The Three Blind Mice up in the left corner.

I love Humpty Dumpty. He's probably my favorite on here, Hickory, Dickory Dock and you can see the top of Little Boy Blue's head.

Here is the Old Woman in the Shoe.

And a side wise Little Miss Muffett. Now, away I go to make a cute baby girl quilt! I forgot that I used some nursery rhyme fabric to back a quilt for Jake. Maybe I'll post a pic tomorrow of that one.

Uh-Oh!

I am currently trying to finish quilts I have already started or quilts I have fabric for. My goal is to not buy more fabric until I use what I already have. Because of this I pulled out my vintage Christmas quilt that was about half way done. I finished the blocks and put them in order. I had noticed that in the pattern there were blocks that were only half blocks on the sides. I rarely read the whole pattern when I make quilts. I figure out how to do the blocks and then just do the rest on my own. Well.... maybe I should start reading the whole thing. I threw some of the scraps away. I am trying to eliminate scraps that are not really big enough to use. Oops! This time I needed them to make the half blocks on the side. I was able to rescue some (others had just left on their way to the dump). Fortunately the trash can in my sewing room is just used for dryer sheets and fabric.... nothing gross. Hopefully this will make me read the whole pattern before I start tossing things.

You can see the half blocks on the end of the second row. What you can't see is that they are pieced with fabrics or the same color, but not exactly the same fabric. The pattern used this too.

Ok, so I did buy more fabric. I had a good excuse. I got some money a few weeks ago for my birthday and I've been wanting to make the Black Diamonds Quilt by American Jane. I've had my eye on this fabric since it was first posted on Moda's site on the Future Fabric Line section. I had waited to buy it though thinking I should use what I had before I bought more. Now it's starting to be gone in some stores so I decided to buy it while I could. I feel like that totally counts, especially since I used birthday money to buy it, right?

Grandma's Flowers

I can't believe I actually finished it. I have to admit when I first started I thought I may just be doing one flower just to frame. I finished it though. An entire hand appliqued quilt (machine pieced and quilted, of course). Here is the finished quilt. Sorry about the shadows. It's 6:15 right now and I couldn't find an unshaded place to take a picture and I was anxious! This quilt is now being washed, which I have to admit I was a bit nervous about. I hope I tucked in those points well. I tried to pay special attention to them as I was both appliqueing and as I was quilting it. I have this horrible fear it's going to fall apart, but I love the washed, wrinkled look. Keep your fingers crossed.

I really like the appliqued part. The scallops and the quilting..... not so much. I found myself making quite a few mistakes with the quilting and hope it's not as noticeable when it's washed. I haven't quilted a hand appliqued quilt before and I kept bumping up on the edges. I obviously need more practice with the scalloped border too. I do like the purple borders as well as the sashing. Thanks for the help Nanette! Also, the purple in the pictures looks a little on the gray side. It's not as grey as it looks.

Christmas Whirlygigs

I started my Christmas quilt last Thursday. I was a little worried at first because there are so many light strips in the jelly roll. I set it against the background though and I think it will be fine. I am really liking it so far.

This weekend was my church's General Conference. I always love conference weekend. We stay home (at least here in Utah) and watch conference on tv. It's alwasy so inspiring. I always work on a little project of some kind while I listen. This time I made more flowers for my Grandma's Flower Garden. I also worked on binding my Grandma's Flowers quilt. I'm not quite finished, so no picture today, but hopefully in the next few days I'll have it done to share.