diamond pin cushion

The other day I needed a little bit of sanity sewing.
(Or perhaps this could be considered insanity sewing?)
Either way, it was just what I needed!
It was inspired by my diamond pillow pattern.
Finished size is 4 1/2'' square.
It is scrap project #123!

Also, thank you so much for your sweet comments about the quilt for my dad! They are all appreciated! xo

a quilt for my dad

Welcome to the last finish it up linky party of the year! It's a little odd to be hosting finish it up Friday on Monday, but I didn't want to skip it altogether. :)

Making my dad a quilt has been on my to-do list for the past several years. I started the top last Tuesday night (!!!) and I actually finished it in time for Christmas! Crazy. Pants. Making a quilt in three days isn't that big of a deal on a normal week, (hahaha!) but on the week of Christmas, with so many other things going on, it's kind of ridiculous. (My poor husband.)

I enlisted the help of all 3 kids and my husband to make it happen. The kids helped iron, counted out the quilt blocks and did some of the layout. Everyone helped tie at least a few blocks. Most of the fabric came from shirts that my husband wore in the past. He also suggested the addition of the cow fabric. I love that it was a group effort!

When it came time to photograph the quilt, I had a lot of fun finding various spots around my dad's farm. It was so nice to have my sister and my niece volunteer as quilt holders!

The back of the quilt was already pieced. I made the back for an entirely different quilt, but I ended up changing direction on that quilt. I thought about chopping it up and just using the fabric, but then I came to my senses. (Ha!) So, I built the front of the quilt to fit this backing. It worked out pretty well!

Because of the time constraints, machine binding was a must! It's far from perfect....but it will be durable!

I used polyester batting inside the quilt, which is not my usual choice, but I wanted the quilt to be nice and lofty. I used red heart yarn (!!!) to tie it. I wanted the quilt to have an old school/throwback feel. This is the kind of quilt that I slept under growing up. I knew I couldn't make his quilt too fancy or chances of him using it would be slim. That's just the way it is! :)

The quilt measures approximately 60'' x 78''. I'm pretty sure my dad liked it. It is my hope that he actually uses it!

This quilt is scrap project #122!

As I have done for the past 3 weeks, I will be choosing one winner from the commenters and one winner from the links to win their choice of 3 PDF patterns from my pattern store, as a thank you for being a part of the party!

Now it's your turn. Please link up your finishes! This is a great time to show off all your Christmas sewing. :) Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday on Monday! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Happy Monday to you!

winners

The winners of this week's giveaway of 3 PDF patterns are Claudia and Lucy. Thanks for all your comments and kind words! Happy Monday to you!

rose city roller socks

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I have a new pair of hand knit socks! I finished these this morning...just minutes ago! I love how they fit! This is the second pair of socks I knit with this particular sock yarn. (You can see the first ones here.) I still can't believe that I was able to squeeze out four socks from 2 balls of yarn! love that I was able to use almost ALL of the remaining yarn I had on hand. It almost feels like I got a free pair. :)

I especially love the contrast toe, which was even more leftover sock yarn. One day I will figure out how to do a contrasting heel as well. But for now, this is great!

I used this pattern as a guide. What a fun knit! This is my 15th pair of hand knit socks to date! I already have pair #16 on the needles. :)

One more little finish for today...I finished my rainy day birdie coaster (#2!) that I started back in September. I love how it turned out! The pattern is in Erin's book Sweet Tweets. The crocheted edge was the challenge, as my crochet skills aren't super strong, but I think it ended up pretty cute! I used the instructions as a guide (noticing a theme?)..and then I kind of made something up that looked good on my coaster. For the edging, I used up more leftover sock yarn (yay!), which worked pretty well! The pattern called for embroidery floss, but I wanted to use what I had on hand. It is scrap project #121!

Next week we will not have a link up party on Friday, since it is Christmas day. I think I will move it to Monday, the 28th instead, so you can share what you made for Christmas or any other finishes you may have between now and then. Does that work? I hope so!

Also, I will be picking 2 winners (one from the comments and one from the links) this week to win a 3 pack of PDF patterns of their choice from my pattern store as a thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week! I hope all your last minute Christmas prep is going well. Remember to breathe! Have a great weekend! xo

it's not too late!

There is still over a week until Christmas...so if you are a last minute person like me, here are a few gift ideas to make. It's not too late! Hahaha! I met up with a good friend of mine for lunch yesterday, so I made up this little gift package for her.

I used some good neighbors fabric (and a few other prints) to make a pair of Christmas dishtowels and a pot holder. I love how the rounded edges of the pot holder make the simple patchwork more interesting. Simple is good! I used bias binding to finish off the edges, which I hand stitched down while waiting for my son's choir concert on Monday night. (Every minute counts! Ha!)

There is a tutorial for making a simple patchwork dishtowel here, if you care to make some of your own. I love how the set turned out! These are scrap project # 120!

I also made a few decadent sauces. I used this recipe for the salted caramel sauce. (It's soooo good!) It's very salty, so you may want to reduce the amount of salt to start with and adjust to your personal taste. I did add the full amount and only 1 out of 5 in my family thought it was too salty.

 

The hot fudge sauce is a recipe I've had for years. It's easy, and it only takes about 10-15 minutes to make.

 

Hot Fudge Sauce

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups (12 oz) evaporated milk

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool slightly and pour into a jar. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks. (It probably won't last that long!) Warm for several seconds in the microwave before using.

 

There you go! If you have any great last minute gift ideas, I'd love to hear them! I can always use a few more.

more PDF pattern winners

The winners of 3 PDF patterns from my shop this week are Julie and Carol. Emails have been sent. Thank you to all of you who joined in! We will do it again next week! :)

Happy Monday to you!

a thread catcher, fabric ribbon and mighty lucky, oh my!

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

This week I did a little gift sewing! I made this combination thread catcher/pincushion for a good friend of mine. I always have a hard time picking fabric for others, so I did what I could to mix her likes with a little bit of mine. I think it turned out alright! :)

The pincushion is made from quilting cotton which was fused with Pellon SF 101, (my all time favorite interfacing) and then I filled it with crushed walnut shells. The magnetic strip is handy for holding metal bobbins and hand sewing needles. It's handy to have one of these next to the sewing machine, or on the arm of the couch when hand sewing binding.

I modeled it after the one I finished about 3 years ago! (There is no pattern, I'm sorry to say, but there is a similar one-see this post for photos-in Krista's book Make it, Take it.) I use mine all the time...it's one of my favorite sewing gadgets. I'm happy to report that my friend liked hers, too! This is scrap project # 119!

As I was wrapping up my friend's gifts, I realized that I didn't have any nice wide ribbon, so....fabric to the rescue! I made my own "ribbon" from the red and white ovals good neighbors print. I love how it kind of looks like peppermints! (This fabric really needs to be a Christmas quilt backing!)

It makes pretty good ribbon, wouldn't you say? I LOVE how it turned out!

 

One more thing to share today...have you heard about the Mighty Lucky Quilting Club? It's like a gym membership, but for quilters! It the first of its kind subscription based program where you will receive a different design challenge/instruction each month from 12 different quilters. (The line up is impressive and I'm a little nervous/excited/thrilled to be a part of it!) You can read all about the details of the club here. I'm looking forward to learning and being challenged in a guided format each month! It sounds like a lot more fun than going to the gym, doesn't it? :)

 

As I mentioned last week, I will be picking 2 winners from each Friday post (one from the comments and one from the links) during the month of December. Each winner will have their choice of any 3 PDF patterns from my pattern store. Just a little thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

 

Ok, folks! Now it's time to link up your finishes for the week...if you have anything that isn't secret sewing, that is! :) Thanks, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday! 

PDF pattern winners

The winner from Friday's link up party is Cheryl and the winner from the comments is Sherry. Emails have been sent! :) Thank you for all you who joined in....we will do this again next week!

Happy Monday to you!

tiny things are my favorite

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Once again, I am thankful for accountability of this linky party and the push to finish something each week! It gets a little harder during this time of the year...but I don't need to tell you that!

These little guys....1 1/2" finished half-square triangles...are my new favorite. (Quarter in the photo for scale.) They were an off shoot from another project, of course. Quilting is one big rabbit trail, isn't it? But....it's a fun trail to be on and I wouldn't have it any other way!

I had the bright idea to use these tiny HSTs to make a cherry pit warmer. My feet will be perpetually cold until May or June of next year...but this little cherry pit warmer will help! The inside is filled with cleaned (and sanitized) cherry pits. To warm it up, I place it in the microwave for a few minutes, along with a cup of water, to prevent burning or scorching. It retains the heat for several minutes. I've also filled these types of warmers with rice, which seems to retain the heat even longer than the cherry pits. Either way, these warmers are a must in my house! I think they would make great gifts, too.

The back side is patchwork, as well. I layered the patchwork onto 100% cotton batting (since it will be microwaved, be sure to avoid any polyester in the batting) and then I quilted it with straight lines. I sewed the two panels together, turned it right side out, filled it and stitched it closed by hand. It didn't take long at all...once the patchwork was made, that is! :) My son already requested one in his favorite color scheme of blue and green. He knew better than try to claim this one as his own! This is scrap project # 117.

These blocks were leftover from my just four fun quilt (free pattern here) and since there were 6 of them, I thought they would make a perfect set of coasters. I love to make coasters because they are quick, they are cute, and they use up those long, skinny strips of leftover batting.

These finish at about 4 1/2" square and they are reversible. (Love that!) Binding coasters feels highly ridiculous, but it finishes them off so nicely...I knew it would be worth it! I used my how to bind tiny things tutorial, which worked like a charm. My husband asked if he could take them to work to put in his office, so they have already found a home. Hurray! These are scrap project #118.

To thank you for reading, commenting and joining in my linky party, I thought it would be fun to offer up some prizes each Friday in December. Each week I will pick a random winner from the links, and also a random winner from the comments. If I pick your name, you can pick any 3 of my PDF patterns...just as a thank you! This party wouldn't be a party without you! :)

Now it's your turn! Do you have a finish to share this week? If so, please link up! Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!