Now, many of you know that Karen is my sister, but most of you probably aren’t aware that she has created this new blog, Kreated By Karen and her most recent post is all about adding borders to a pieced quilt top. Be sure to check out her new blog, I think you’ll enjoy what you see!

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Isn’t this bag fantastic! My sister Grace created this using this super fun peace sign fabric. I absolutely love it!
The bag has a magnetic snap closure and lots of interior pockets to help stay organized.

I know she’s not going to have any trouble selling this cute, colorful bag, but if you are interested in purchasing it (she will ship anywhere), leave me a comment and I will put you in touch with her.

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There are a few things I did for the very first time in making this quilt. After piecing the top together, I had to figure out how to quilt it. I’ve quilted smaller projects, but nothing of this size.

I began by machine stitching in the ditch around all the small squares and then outlined the larger center squares. I did some free motion machine quilting around the characters and words. When it came to the borders though, I felt they needed something more than straight lines. So, while at the fabric store, I found a heart template and decided to go for it. I marked the borders with a water soluble marker and then began stitching.

I completed the bottom border first, but not without doing some major damage to my hand. I do not have a quilting machine, and trying to get all that fabric and batting through the machine everytime I had to turn the quilt to go another direction left my hands bleeding from catching on all the pins that were holding the quilt layers together.

After discussing it with my sister Grace, and then my mom, I pulled out my sewing machine manual and finally figured out a way to drop the feed dogs on the machine and, using my embroidery foot (I don’t have a quilting foot), I was able to glide the layers through, changing direction without having to turn the fabric. It was amazing! I can’t believe I did it!

Finally, after quilting the remaining borders, I seamed my binding together and machine stitched it to the front of the quilt. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I despise hand stitching. So, needless to say, I procrastinated for several days before working up the courage to sit down with needle and thread and hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt.

It took me 2 days just to complete the binding, but I finally did it. The binding is on and the quilt is complete! I am so very happy with the results and am truly considering purchasing more of the same fabric to make a second one. I need to for gifts and I really do like the way it turned out. What do you think?

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As we all got married and went our own way, we have always remained close and we discovered several years ago that we all have a love for fabric and for creating things with it. We have even been know to head of to parts unknown, just to track down a new quilt shop or attend a quilt show!

Here is a shot of my mom, the leader of this quilting group, my sisters Karen and Grace. This was one get together I didn’t make it too, but they are showing off the tabletoppers/wallhangings they made.

So you see, I really do think the sewing gene ran in the family!

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DSC03064, originally uploaded by the_sewingmom1.

This is what I’m currently working on. This baby quilt top centers around 10 inch squares, surrounded by 2 inch squares. I have the piecing completed and have pinned the top, batting and backing all together. It’s ready to be quilted.  The fabric is “Sleepytime” by Moda Fabrics.

Next step? Move my sewing machine to a larger table that can support the length of the quilt so it’s not trying to pull out of the machine while I’m trying to quilt it. I’ll be rearranging my sewing room this afternoon!

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That’s right, I made this cute quilt to donate to Quilts for Kids, a charity that brings quilter together by allowing us to make quilts that will be given to children in need.

This is the quilt I pieced together and then quilted from the fabric that was sent to me by Quilts for Kids:

My mom also got into the act by creating this fun pinwheel quilt from fabric she found on clearance. What a great way to use it!

If you don’t sew or quilt, you can still help. Check out their website at quiltsforkids.org

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Today I cut fabric and turned it into this. I machine pieced this top for a baby quilt for a gift for a friend of mine. To begin with, I cut 73 5×5 inch squares and the borders which are all 5 inches in width and vary in length depending on their placement in the quilt. I then pieced together 9 of the squares to form the center of the quilt top.

Next, I added the first set of borders.

I pieced it all together and this is the end result.

Now I just need to get it quilted!

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She didn’t ask me to do this, but she is my sister and has worked very hard to create some beautiful purses and tote bags. She has also been kind enough to place a couple of my own bags in her shop, including this one which is a craft tote bag, long enough to carry a full set of knitting needles, or anything else you could think of!

Be sure to visit her shop for great bags!

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