an Easter bunny

I was lucky enough to get one of the (sold out in one day) Maggie Rabbit kits from Alicia Paulson (rosie little things).  I ordered extra felt (from here) and some Liberty of London fabric (from here).   the pattern calls for a little bit of knitting to make the cape.  my mom tried to teach me to knit sometime in the ‘80s.  I remember trying to make a navy blue and magenta sweater, which seemed to take forever and never did get finished.  this little bunny cape is actually a really good starting project for someone wanting to learn to knit.  I found a copy of Stitch ‘N Bitch (the knitter’s handbook) by Debbie Stoller at a used bookstore.  That, combined with YouTube tutorials, and I think I did a pretty good job for my first completed knit item.
  I finished Miss Maggie too late last night to take any decent photos, so I tried to get a photo shoot in this morning before going to work.  don’t see much of my neighbors – but of course this is the morning they decide to ride the same bus as me.  ummm… not quite sure what they thought of this: Maggie wanted to take a walk in the park and then she got tired.  :-)
(I had to shorten the sleeves a little due to a cutting snafu.  was so intent on fussy-cutting for the front of the dress, that I forgot to think about the rest of it!)
also, in following the crowd to Bloglovin’, I ended up making a facebook page for sea horse quilts.  (the crazy lady who takes pictures of dolls in the park also gets kind of goofy happy when the SHQ facebook page gets “liked”… )

WIP Wednesday LOTS of FABRIC

Basted my niece's bowtie quilt.  the back is mostly Anna Maria Horner's Spotted in the Crowd (Elizabeth) from the Field Study collection, with a strip of Kaffe Fassett Bekah Cobalt (2008) at the top.  I'm hoping after the quilting is done that the Kaffe will show when the quilt is folded down for nighttime.  I happened to have it on hand and I like how it pairs with the faux leopard print.  I think my niece will especially like the AMH.  She's been waiting a long time for this quilt - it seems to be the one that gets pushed aside for baby due dates and such.  and truthfully the quilting is not going well.  there seems to be a lot of shifting going on - lots of seam ripping.  not sure if there's slippery fabric or too many bias edges...  but I'm a little frustrated with this one.  so it's once again been pushed aside.  I'll give it more time this weekend, but it's too much for weeknights.

I've only added one row to this this week.  I love this and wish I would've thought to make two so I could keep one after it gets sent to it's secret recipient, but the squares are TINY and the piecing requires concentration and patience to get just right.  I'm hoping to get the main part - all the pluses - done SOON so I can move on to the orange peels, which you can kind of see in the drawing.  I think those are going to be fun to do.  This is for a flickr swap and needs to be completed and shipped in April.

Also started working on some Maggies from Posie Gets Cozy pattern.  Friend of mine at work has a daughter named Maggie, so...  she likes pink and I think her bunny will have a dress made of the Liberty of London print in the photo, which I got from Pink Chalk fabrics.  I managed to find the fabric used for the ears in the kit (that sold out SO FAST) on etsy, but now I'm waiting for it to ship from England to the States...  I have one full bunny kit and enough felt to make a second bunners.  If the pattern isn't too difficult, I think I might make quite a few of these in the future.  I'm still not entirely sure I remember how to knit - she has a little knit cape - but it's a simple stitch and a small piece of clothing, so fingers crossed.  My friend would like her Maggie's Maggie before Easter.  (yikes!)  Sort of had a fabric ordering frenzy the last couple of weeks - possible attempt to bring Spring judging by my choices.  hit the usual spots - Hawthorne Threads, Etsy, Pink Chalk Fabrics, fabricworm and eQuilter.  hope I can get these right - top to bottom: My Minds Eye, Willow, Leaves in Pink - Moda Tiny Flowers (Cherry) from Eat Your Veggies mistakenly sent by Pink Chalk (and let me tell you, their customer service is AWESOME!!!) - Denyse Schmidt Shelburne Falls Vine & Leaf Lilac - Liberty of London Tana Lawn Ros.

Alexander Henry Somerville Mulberry Moss  - Kensington Studio Something Old Something New Wings of a Dove - Kona Bay It's All Good So Many Mini Bunnies - Robert Kaufman Little Kukla Garden Birds - Thomas Knauer Frippery Orphic Geometry - Heather Ross Nursery Versery Country Mice - ??? selvedge is no help...
two Westminster Fabrics Martha Negley prints (Dahlia (Plum) and Fruit & Floral) - Lydia from Alexander Henry - Moda Keiki Cherry on Top Confetti Flower Icing

One Finish - the Packers/Bears baby quilt

basted, bound, quilted and washed.  It's crinkly goodness was very much appreciated by mom and dad.  phew!
  check out what other quilters are up to this week...

Tiles, Trees, Turtle, Terrariums, Tamale Truck

the scrap basket of the weather gods is Chicago. these pictures are a day apart. I got a flat tire and had to walk to the shop after work the next day to pick up my car. guess which weather I got to walk through...



is there any fabric in there?

I've been working on a baby quilt.  and also sketching, cutting, piecing for a flickr swap - Fab Little Quilt Swap (FLiQS), which has been a lot of fun, despite deciding to use 1 inch (finished) squares in most of the design. 

and I have a new hobby - terrariums.  a new pastime picked up after the latest snow storm.  :-)



this guy's got nothing to do with me, but how can I not share? tamales out of a truck with a skull face on it???

and I'm completely thrown by daylight savings time changes.  I was about to link up to freshly pieced's WIP Wednesday!  I think I better call it quits, go to bed and dream my quilty dreams.  zzzzzzzz...... 

sea horse terrariums?

Built a SHQ terrarium tonight. :-), a photo by seahorsequilts on Flickr.

ever find yourself randomly googling and somehow ending up in a plant terrarium building class? my mother, aside from being pretty good at making quilts, also had a green thumb. which i wish she would've passed on to me! couple weekends ago i was missing her and remembered this awesome terrarium she had, which led to some googling (check out "terrarium" on etsy!) and I signed up for an hour long evening class to build my own little terrarium. which, of course, had to include a little seahorse. :-) let's hope it survives my (not-so-bright) chicago apartment, tendency to forget watering, and menagerie of pets...

Everything's a quilt

Everything's a quilt, a photo by seahorsequilts on Flickr.

Though I'm not certain of meeting my first quarter FinishALong goals, I've started a new project. I was invited to join a swap group and I was too excited to say no. It's my first swap. I think - bees are different than swaps, right? Anyhow, it's run like Secret Santa and my partner doesn't know who I am and I don't know who is making me something, which adds some pressure and some fun. We're to make each other a finished quilt that is somewhere between 12x12 or 24x24 inches. I've started sketching and pulling fabrics. And, let's be honest, buying fabrics 'cause who doesn't love another excuse to fabric shop. I noticed my dishes in the dish strainer this morning and realized that they have elements that could work well in a mini quilt...

Don't you just love the ideas part of making a quilt?! I love pulling out my notebook and finding a clean page to start a new project. I've already filled three pages... :-).