It's like putting a puzzle together....scrappy goodness!

I wanted to make some pillows for Christmas gifts, so I started looking through my fabrics to see if I could find some I could use.  I didn't really have a pattern in mind, but I did have several colors in mind that would match another project. As I was searching,  I found some flying geese that I made last year when I did a demo at our LQS, Cut Up and Quilt so I pulled them out and started playing with layouts. 

It's fun trying to make something out of scraps or scrap blocks, and I knew there would be lots of ways I could use these blocks. 

I decided on this star type block and was even able to use a pair of two color flying geese in the middle that I didn't think I would ever use. I found a teal floral print for the envelope back. Do you make envelope backs for your pillows? I always do as it makes them easier to wash.

For the second one, I just lined up those geese and started sewing. I debated using the pink floral ones as they were made with a slightly pink fabric instead of the white, but I decided that since it was scrappy, it would work. I found this blue and green for the back.

TaDa! Two down, one more to go. It won't be pieced, but a fabric that complements these pieced pillows. 

I am almost finished with my Christmas sewing. I want to make one more Whatcha Got? Bag. They are fun to make and go pretty quickly now that I've made several! Are you still working on projects for Christmas gifts? 

I am linking up with SewCalGal's last Handmade Christmas Challenge for this year. Follow the link and see what other bloggers are making for Christmas decor and gifts.

Sewing Tuesday!

I had a great Easter with family. The kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt and we got lots of visiting in!

I finished writing the patterns for the new sampler yesterday, so I was doing the happy dance! I enjoy writing patterns but there are so many with the samplers that it takes awhile. I need to double check them for mistakes, but it's best to wait a few days so I can look at them with a fresh eye.

I got a much needed haircut, then came back home and sewed the backing fabric together for the flying geese quilt. As you can see, it's on the machine and ready to quilt. That's the plan for tomorrow.....

Today I'm going to go sew with the Tuesday ladies...they meet every week and sew. We started this a couple of summers ago when I was off work in the summer and they have kept meeting every Tues. so I like to go when I am off and join them. I plan on starting on the mystery quilt today, so I will be spending the first part of the day cutting. I love starting a new project! I'm looking forward to catching up with all of their news and see what they are working on!

Snow day sewing...

We had a snow day from school yesterday. When you work for the school district, you get as excited as the kids when they announce no school. Even though you know you will have to make it up later on....

I spent the day doing quilt related things. I started out the morning working on a new design for a sampler class. It's just in the beginning stages, so not sure where it is going right now. But it's a start! Then I worked on getting the flying geese into some sort of order for the quilt I'm working on. This is taking way longer than it should because I'm not sure what I want to do, so I have to keep stopping to decide what to do next. It's way faster to just sew!

When I got tired of sewing, I got out some half hexies I cut when I was working on the Tasty Tablerunner braided quilt and put them up on the design wall as hexagons. Even though they will have a seam down the middle, they will still make a pretty pillow!

A gaggle of geese

I spent some time last night sewing up some flying geese. These are 1 3/4" x 3 1/2". Aren't they cute?

Pillow finishes and more geese

Gretchen sent me a picture of her finished Modern Cathedral Windows pillow! Isn't it awesome?

Karen's turned out pretty too, such a fresh, modern look with the teal and white. I have a feeling I will see some more finishes soon. This pillow goes together really quickly!

I think I finally know what I want to do with the borders on the flying geese quilt I have been working on off and on for awhile, so I cut some more geese parts last night and marked all the lines. I will be ready to sew them together tonight.

Flyaway, flyaway again

I spent some time the past few days working on these flying geese blocks. I made a small quilt back in Sept. to take to a demo I was doing and decided I wanted to make it bigger. I have almost enough blocks finished, but think some of them are too busy (large polka dots, for one) to go with the others, so today I am going to make some more. Hopefully there will be enough eventually to have a nice mix of colors and I can start sewing it together!

I don't often take pictures of quilts in my sewing room, but I have my extra table set up right now so it is the perfect place this morning.  It's not a large room, and I have my computer, TV and sewing machine in it, but with 6 windows with south and west exposure, it is usually bright and cheerful. 

Winter break is over and it's back to school for me tomorrow. That means I'm back to the job of putting together the new library. Even though I got the main job of putting the books on the shelves finished before break, there is still a lot to do. I bought the pillows yesterday to go inside the new pillow covers I made last week, so it will be fun to see how they look next to the big window. I will be open for student checkouts tomorrow, so I will just have to gradually get things finished in between. 

Fly away, fly away

I made some smaller flying geese yesterday. I made 3 sizes of this version. I think the smaller ones come out more perfect size-wise every time than the larger ones. Maybe I am getting better at it, that could be it. 

I want to mix and match a few sizes together. I think that will be cute.

Another Monday...missing those summer sewing days.

Conrad and some flying geese

 I have been making flying geese using the Flying Geese X 4 ruler by Lazy Girl Designs. I wanted to make lots of them to see if they turn out consistently the same size. Most people seem to shy away from them because they sometimes turn out a little wonky using the stitch and flip method. I have developed a method of squaring them up that works well, but since making them this way is faster, I wanted to test it. Using this method, you make 4 at a time. The ruler makes 4 Flying Geese  from sizes  ¾" x 1 ½" through 
3 ½ " x 7" with each repeat of this very easy technique. I have been making 3" x 6" right now....though I want to try some other sizes too. 

I am using some of the leftover fabrics from the newest version of Peas in a Pod. Now I am just playing with them to come up with a way to use them now that they are made!

When they come up with a Project Runway type show about quilting, I am definitely going to send Conrad to the auditions...he looks great posing with any type of quilt!