Bubblegum Quilt

I've been working the past few days. Here is the mostly finished quilt--I just have the binding left to do. I don't think it's bad for my first attempt. I did stitch-in-the-ditch for the zig zag and free motion curly q's on the border. I just have the binding still to go! Up close
Backing

Close-up of curly q's

Sandwich

I told my husband I needed to make a sandwich last night and he didn't know what I was talking about since we had just eaten. Thankfully I had JUST ENOUGH safety pins to get the quilt sandwiched together. I plan to quilt it this week even though it makes me pretty nervous.
*Note my concentration face--I was working hard to do this right!
I plan to machine quilt it. Since I didn't do flying geese, some of the corners have 8 layers of fabric, so I'm just going to do a zig zag following the middle of each one and then free motion (I think) on the black and white border. I'll put a picture of the back on when I finish.

2 Quilt Tops

I have just finished my second quilt top. The zigzag bubble gum top measures 43" x 32". I was following Sew, Mama Sew's doll quilt sew along, but doing it my way--here is a zig zag tutorial I just found that looks different than the one I used. I think it ended up being a good size and will be cute. I haven't done the backing yet since I want to do one kind of like this.

I finished D's quilt top on Sunday in class. I think it turned out cute and will fit in his crib and future toddler bed. I noticed that it covered me when I was sitting with it earlier too. The top measures 54" x 66". I will do a similar backing for it. He still loves his first quilt too!

This is how he looked this afternoon while I was working. Thankfully, he was having a GREAT nap! Notice that his finger are poking through the holes in the blanket at the top right. So cute.

Tiny Quilt

I started working on this quilt today and got pretty far, but it's really tiny. It will end up being 21" x 29" if I put a 3" border on each side. I was planning to put the black and white stripe on each side and the bubble gum as the binding. I was going to do the doll quilt but I wanted to follow a zig zag pattern, so I switched it up. Now I know I should make my squares a little bigger! I am thinking this will turn into a cuddle quilt for D or any future children instead of a bed quilt obviously, so I'm going to put something fuzzy as the backing. Any thoughts?

Update: My mom said it needs to be bigger. I'm going to add a blue row and then do each of the rows again so that it is about 40 x 29.

The Joyful Foundation

Yesterday, my church hosted The Joyful Foundation's Blankets of Kindness. Some local women (and men) came together to make blankets for terminally ill people. I took my sewing machine and was seated in the final step--top stitching the blanket together (which made me really nervous). My machine was giving me trouble, so someone suggested I change my needle. (I have had this machine for over a year and never changed the needle.) Lo and behold, it solved my problem and I was able to help sew quite a few blankets together. I was there for 4 hours and when I left, we had just completed the 45th blanket. They were pretty cute! Here are some pictures from the event (sorry my camera's flash didn't make it bright enough).

After this, I was in a sewing mood, so I came home and finished putting together the strips for D's quilt. I think it's going to end up looking great!

Wal-Mart Fabric Section

Did you hear that some Wal-Marts are getting rid of their fabric section? I went in today and found their fabric marked half price. I was in need of some basics for quilting, so I picked up 30 bolts of fabric I liked and ended up getting half a yard of each. Some of them I got a yard of--if I REALLY liked them. I think this will help grow my stash.

I also went to IKEA yesterday and got some fabric for $.99 a yard! The red with white is a little nicer, so it was $2.99 a yard, but I really liked it. Now I've just got to pick a quilt to start working on. I'm thinking of doing this one next: CRUMBS.

I also plan to make this doll quilt from Sew, Mama, Sew! I don't know how to sandwich the quilt, quilt it and put the binding on, so this tutorial should really help me to learn that (on my own). Can't wait!!

Sweets For My Sweetie

My friend Sandra hosted a "Sweets for My Sweetie" party last year for Valentine's Day. It works like a cookie exchange. Every guest brings a dessert to share and a container to take home goodies. After some great fellowship, everyone shares their sweets with each other and take home a sampling to their own sweetie.

We are doing a virtual Sweet Swap at Today's Housewife this week. We are sharing our best recipes for sweets in plenty of time for you to make one (or more) for your sweetie this Valentine's Day. Go back there on Friday to link up your own favorite recipe for your sweetie.

Thanks Alicia for letting me copy your post!

Giveaway Winner!

When we checked the mail, D's teething giraffe was in there! He loves it! I have entered some contests and won a few things online--like the giraffe (thank you Wishing Willow) and diaper carrier (thank you Sister Sue) pictured here. I also have gotten some fabric, Signing Time Colors DVD (thank you Freebies 4 Mom) and a Cart Stopper before. This doesn't include the free samples I get from Wal-Mart! I just love getting stuff in the mail and so does D!!
I haven't done much lately on the quilt, so that's why there are no new pictures of it. My class resumes on the 15th, so I have to have my homework finished before then. I'll post the finished strips later this week (I hope).