"It's a Girl!" baby gifts

My friends are having a girl!  I've been making embellished onesies, baby pants, and receiving blankets for expectant moms for a while now, but it seems like almost everyone is having boys.  That works well for me since I generally like boy stuff better, and my stash is full of boy fabrics, but it was fun to finally get to make some little girl things.

I made my usual set of 3 onesies. I buy plain white onesies and applique on them.  I like the Carters brand because they feel softer, thicker and generally better made than Gerbers.

 I usually get at least size 3-6 month because some babies and born already too large for newborn clothes, and this way they can wear them longer.

These are so easy to make, and turn out so cute!  [Edited to add, I decided to write a full tutorial for these. You can find it here.]  I start by sketching my design onto the paper side of Lite Iron-on adhesive.  I cut out the pieces about a quarter inch to either side of my lines, leaving the middle empty. This way there is only a strip of the iron-on along the edges of the design, making it lighter and more flexible.

I iron the adhesive onto fabric scraps, trim along the line to make it the right shape, then peel off the paper and iron it down to the onesie.  I use a machine blanket-stitch to secure everything so it will last through many washes.

I also made some more Big Butt Baby Pants. My first girly pair :)  I used a natural colored linen for the main piece of the pants and a cute, pink print with animals for the rear panel and ruffles.  The ruffles around the ankles give just the right girly touch and pink top-stitching finishes everything off perfectly.

I also made two quick receiving blankets from some white thermal knit and pink jersey sheet set.  I make these pillowcase-style and just top-stitch around the edge once they are flipped and closed.  A few stars or circles in the middle to hold the layers together and these generously sized blankets are all ready for baby.

Baby set: quilt, 2 receiving blankets, pants, 3 onesies

Of course, every baby needs a quilt. So, the Pink Lemonade scrap will also be going with this set to its new home.  Sewing for babies is SO much fun, and so are the babies themselves, except possibly for the cat of the house.  My friends' kitty is about to get a rude awakening, so I made up a quick-and-dirty cat toy to send along, too.  New babies are hard on kitties :/

This is a kitty who doesn't know a thing about babies and NOT being the center of mommy's attention

The sewing is all done, not we're ready to meet the sweet new little person!

You can find the full tutorial for the onesies here.

Linking up to Finish it Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts.

Scrap Buster Baby Quilts

It's Friday again, and I have finishes!  These two sweet little baby quilts were made entirely from my scraps.  It's such a rewarding feeling to make use of some of those scraps.  I'll tell you what else is really rewarding about baby quilts: speed! There's nothing to help you get your quilting groove back like whipping out a quilt in a day.

Photo from White Sands National Monument, NM.

The little girl quilt I am calling "Pink Lemonade."  I wrote up a brief tutorial in case you want to make a scrap quilt like it; the tutorial can be found here.  Basically, I just cut patches from my pink and yellow scraps that measured 3.5" on at least one side. Then I sewed those patches into one loooong chain, chopped up the chain and sewed it into a top.  The finished quilt measures 36" x 39".

I decided to try out spiral quilting, a new-to-me technique, on this little top since the size made it manageable.  I used a light pink thread and a fairly tight spiral and I have to say, I love the result!  In fact, I am already in the process of spiral quilting a larger quilt now.

The pieced-pieces in the lower right and middle left are remnants from my Dino quilt

Several people have asked me how I went about the quilting but, honestly, there was no real science to it.  I used my compass (like the kind you used in geometry) to mark a circle about the size of a quarter in roughly the center of the quilt. Then, using my walking foot I quilted around the circle. After I closed the circle I deviated slightly out to begin my spiral. I eyeballed a slim 1/4" gap to the side of my walking foot nearest my previous line of stitching and just quilted along.

I thought the circle in the middle of the quilting looked empty so I embroidered a little flower in it.

It was a little stop-and-go at the beginning as I was having to turn the quilt so much and quilting in a pretty tight circle, but the farther out I got the easier it became.  Starting on a small quilt is definitely the way to go as less bulk makes it a lot easier to turn. 

I was expecting problems with wrinkling or distortion but none ever emerged.  Just a couple of cautionary remarks about spiral quilting: 1) It takes a long time and a lot of thread, relative to the size of quilt you're doing. I think this tiny quilt used 5 or 6 bobbins.  And 2) make sure that you spiral clockwise, other wise you'll end up pushing more and more bulk through the throat of your machine with every round, rather than less.

I have to give a shout out to Rachael from The Floral Suitcase.  I won her drawing during the Sew Mama Sew Giveaways and she sent me a charm pack and a ton of the best scraps, all the way from Ireland!! Several of her scraps made appearances in these two quilts and I adore the fabrics she sent.  Thanks Rachael! 

For the backing I used some of my precious, large scale Tula Pink fabric from the Plume line.  I found a bolt of it on sale at a quilt shop in California. It was marked down because it had faded some, but I can't tell the difference! I stocked up on it for little girl quilts.

I am generally NOT a pink kind of a girl, but I love these swirly swans and the soft pink works so perfectly for a baby girl quilt.  I bound the Pink Lemonade quilt in a pretty pink weave fabric and it will being going off soon to a sweet couple expecting their first baby in the fall.

I also made this baby boy quilt from my scraps after seeing all the modern herringbone quilts popping up around blogland.  It measures about 36" square and is backed with a soft, dark blue flannel.  Every fabric in the quilt top, including the muslin, was cut from my scraps piles. 

Photo from White Sands National Monument, NM

I have to give credit to Amanda Jean for convincing me to sort my scraps. It was reading Sunday Morning Quilts that got me to finally get around to it. Since then I've made exponentially more scrap quilts than before. It really is true that piles of well sorted scraps are not only easier to use, they're inspiring!

I quilted this one with sort of an overlapping zig-zag in a variegated blue-green thread.  So far this quilt isn't assigned to anyone, so it will be added to my emergency baby-quilt stash.  I wrote a basic tutorial for this top, too, which you can read here if you'd like to make your own.  

Linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish it Friday.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Easy Strip Scrap Quilt Tutorial

It is Wednesday, right?  Or at least will be in a couple of hours.  I think I am still having vacation jet-lag as all week I've been thinking we were closer to the weekend than we are :) Maybe it's just wishful thinking.  I've been busy this week getting my do. Good Stitches May quilt basted and beginning quilting (no more pics until it's closer to finished). I also processed that pile of produce I showed you on Sunday into two strengths of pepper jelly and some Salsa preserves.  We have several pints of each in the cabinet now :) 

Extra Spicy and Regular Pepper Jellies and Preserved Salsa

Unfortunately, I didn't follow the instructions and wear gloves while I was cleaning the Cayennes... yeah, I paid for that mistake.  Still paying, in fact. Although my hands are no longer burning I haven't been able to get my contacts in yet.  Oh well, lesson learned (I hope).

In the spirit of a productive week, I decided to write up a tutorial on this scrappy strip quilt I made last weekend.  I have made a few quilts of this type and it's one of my favorite ways to make a quick baby quilt, use up a lot of scraps, and get a great effect.

Scrap management in action

Step 1 is to organize your scraps.  No, really!  Amanda Jean talks about it in Sunday Morning Quilts and it really is true, it's really hard to use your scraps when they're just in one big bin. Besides, I find all the pretty colored piles really inspiring.  I sort my scraps by color and shape. The jars hold strings, triangles, and crumbs, the larger pieces are kept in small piles on the shelves. I usually look at whichever color pile is tallest to decide what the color scheme of my next scrap quilt will be.

I don't have step-by-step pictures, so these will have to do

Step 2 is to decide on a common width to cut all your scraps to.  I chose 3.5" because I figured I'd be able to find plenty of scraps at least that size (I tend not to consider fabric a scrap until it gets under 5").  Whatever you decide on, that will be the unfinished height of the rows in your finished quilt.  Go through you chosen scrap pile and cut your fabrics to measure your common dimension in at least one direction.  (So for example, my fabrics were 3.5"x2", 3.5"x6", 3.5"x4"... etc.  3.5"x Whatever. You get the idea.)

Step 3 is to begin sewing the scraps together into one looooooong strip.  Start by sewing them into pairs, then sew the pairs together, and continue sewing the scraps together into longer and longer sections until you have joined all your scraps into one long strip several hundred inches long.

Step 4 is to do some math.  If you'd rather avoid math at all costs, trial and error is also a fine method.  There are a couple of ways to go about this.  What I usually do is decide on the width I'd like my final quilt to be (in this case I chose 36"). I put something like a yard stick on the floor and begin folding my long strip back and forth in sections the width I'd like my quilt to be.  However many folds you can make, that's how many rows of strips you'll have for the finished quilt. Multiply that by the height of your finished strip (3" for me) and you'll have the height of your finished quilt.  If it's enough, move on to step 5, if not, add some more scraps to the end of your strip.

Alternatively, you can determine how many linear inches of strip you need to make a quilt of certain dimensions, then compare it to how many you have so far.  Say I want to make a quilt 36" wide and 42" long and my strip will finish at 3" tall.

42" total/3" per row= 14 rows of scraps needed

14 rows x 36" wide = 504 linear inches of scraps

So once my long strip of scraps reaches at least 504" long I have enough.

My scraps even included some pieced pieces!

Step 5 is to subcut the long strip into the rows of your quilt.  Whatever you have decided on as the total width of your quilt (in my case, 36") cut the strip into sections that long.  My scrappy strip made (13) 36" long rows.  I can't tell you enough how easy and fast this technique is.  You can literally make an entire quilt in an evening.

Step 6 is to stack the rows up on your design wall and decide what order they should go in. When you are happy with the arrangement start sewing the rows together into the finished top.  Square up the edges and ta-dah, you're done!

This quilt, blogged here, is another made using the same technique with a few tweaks.  First, instead of using just one common dimension I used three, so I had strips that finished at 3" tall, 4" and 5".  I subcut the strips to a common length and arranged them just like in the steps above. Then, before sewing the rows together, I added a thin sashing between the rows.

You could also easily add a vertical sashing between each of the scraps as you sewed them into your long strip for a sort of crooked bricks look. There are endless variations you could make with this same technique!

If you enjoy this tutorial please comment and let me know. I love to hear your feedback!  I am planning another scrap quilt tutorial for tomorrow and then a Finish post about these scrappy baby quilts on Friday.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.