Bento Box Halloween Quilt

I finally finished my Bento Box Halloween Quilt.  It some ways it felt like I was working on it forever, but then I thought back and it really only took me 3 weeks which considering I have other quilts that take a year or so to finally finished, this was pretty fast.

  (Note to self - don't try and take pictures if there is wind outside)

To make this quilt, I googled some Bento Box quilts to get a general idea of how they were made.  I didn't really want to pay for a pattern and it seemed like something I could figure out myself.

The basic pattern started out as a 4 inch square, surrounded by a 1.5 inch border and a 2.5 inch border.  I had a total of 12 different fabrics and sorted them into 4 color groups - blacks, purples, yellows/oranges and greens.  I cut out enough to make two blocks of each color.

Next, I made 2 charts to plan out the quilt.  For the first part, I labeled each fabric 1, 2, or 3 for each fabric group (G1, G2, G3, O1, O2, etc) and grouped the fabric together to allow a variety but also so that no colors would be in the pattern twice or left out.

I arranged the fabrics so that the blacks and purples would never touch and the the oranges and greens wouldn't touch.  This was able to give a light and dark effect. I sewed the initial blocks together following their grouping (G1, P1, O1).  The first color listed was the square, followed the the 2 borders.  After I sewed all the initial blocks together I had 10 inch blocks and renamed them using letters.

A- G1, P1, O1

B- G2, P2, O2

C- G3, P3, O3

D- O1, B1, G1

E- O2, B2, G2

F- O3, B3, G3

G- P1, G1, B1

H- P2, G2, B2

I- P3, G3, B3

J- B1, O1, P1

K- B2, O2, P2

L- B3, O3, P3

I then drew a chart to arrange the letters.  The letters are in groups based on color (A/B/C, D/E/F, G/H/I, J/K/L).  The same colors would be caddy corner to each other in the same square.  The squares that were more green and orange (A-F) were always the bottom left and upper right pieces while the black and purple squares (G-L) were the upper left and bottom right pieces. 

After I made my chart, I cut my squares into fourths and arranged them according the color alphabet chart.  I laid them out, sewing the squares together, the squares to each other and then the rows together until the top was finished.

I found some cute black fabric with green, purple and yellow stars, pumpkins, and grayish bats that I thought coordinated well with the front.  I got some silver thread and quilted the quilt in the spider web design.  I first did the long straight lines across the quilt and then quilted the web part around the quilt.  I binded the quilted using a simple black binding to frame everything nicely.

Can you see the spider web quiltling?  It stands out more in person but was hard to photograph the quilting.

Overall, I am pretty happy with how the quilt came out but I wish I did a better job with the quilting.  I had a lot of tension issues and if I had time, this is something I would have probably hand quilted but I wanted to get it done by Halloween, oh well.

Quilts in My Home - Welcome Quilt

I decided to feature another wall hanging quilt this week and his quilt hang right by our front door (and bathroom). 

This simple Welcome hanging was made by my mom in September 2007 just after my husband and I got married.  I like the colors and its a nice splash of color in the entry way of our house.  We have a two story house with 20 foot ceilings so I like to use quilts to splash up the walls and add some color.

 B is very into letters right now so he loves spelling out Welcome.

My sister picked out the quilt hanger and we have the Texas star several places in our home.

As you can see, it is right by the front door (and bathroom).

I love how homey this quilt feels and also how my almost 2 year old has not somehow pulled it down yet.  I think he has learned to treat quilts with respect or he will feel the wrath of mommy.

Project List

So this past week I finished my Halloween quilt top and made a few small things for a craft show.  I have the back, batting and thread to finish the quilt and still need to finish the custom curtain order.  B's 2nd birthday is in a week and a half and I feel like I haven't done anything for that either.

Here is the top of the Halloween quilt:

So this next week and half I want to finish Halloween quilt, finish curtains, make train and/or music storage bins and a few decorations for B's birthday.  B is getting an art easel for his birthday so I want to make him a smock for painting.  I have some oil cloth that I got from the remment section that I plan to use and need to buy some binding and then sew.  It should be quick and easy and hopfeully I can get it done as a little gift for his birthday but if not, I can always give it to him later.

 Here is some pictures from our craft show:

My mom made all the quilts, I made all the rest.

And now here is the updated project list:

Rank	Project	Status	How Many
1	Bento Box Halloween Quilt	75% Complete	1
2	Crayon Roll for Boys	COMPLETED	2
3	Brown Angel Hair Crochet Scarf	75% Complete	1
4	Crayon Roll for Girls	COMPLETED	2
5	Car Roll	COMPLETED	2
6	Custom Curtain Order	Started	1
7	Christmas Quilt	65% Complete	1
8	Trains Fabric Bin		1
9	Music Fabric Bin		1
10	White Crochet Baby Blanket	25% Complete	1
11	Pink Eyelash Knit Scarf	Started	1
12	Kitchen Oven Mitts - Wedding Gift		1
13	Car Mat Quilt		1
14	White Newborn Hat and Booties		2
15	Animal Cloth Blocks		2
16	Floor Cushions		1
17	Swiffer Wet Jet Reusable Pads		3
18	Hooty Hoot Owl Quilt		1
19	Medium Rice Therapy Hot/Cold Bags		3
20	Numbers Bean Bags		1
21	Pink Knit Baby Blanket		1
22	Girl Animal Print Rag Quilt		1
23	Baseball Knit Hat and Booties		2
24	Football Knit Hat and Booties		2
25	T-Shirt Bag		1
26	Kitchen Aid Cover		1
27	Sewing Machine Cover		1
28	Lovey Tag Blankets		2
29	Mini Apron and Oven Mitts Set		1
30	Small Rice Therapy Hot/Cold Bags		3
31	T-shirt Yoga Pants		2
32	Alphabet Bean Bags		1
33	Red Knit Prayer Shawl		1
34	1600 Quilt		1

Project List Update

This past week I have been busy working on my Halloween Quilt.  I am guessing I am about 60% done with it, I have 2 of the 6 rows done and will probably need 3 more hours to finish putting the top together.

Here is a sneak peak of the blocks before they were laid out. 

I am hoping to finish the top this week, get the backing fabric and then baste and start quilting it by this weekend.  I am thinking about quilting with with silver thread...

I also made my first crochet earflap hat!  I made this for a friend and followed a pattern online and the hat turned out a little tall but should work.  My friend is a Penn State fan and so I made it white and navy for her daughter.  

I have a craft fair this weekend so this week will be busy making up some crayon rolls and car rolls to go with the quilts and scarfs that I already have for sale.  Whatever I don't sale at the fair (which will probably be everything) is going up on Etsy next week and my Etsy shop will officially be opened!

Rank	Project	Status	How Many
	White and Navy Earflap Hat	COMPLETE	1
1	Bento Box Halloween Quilt	60% Complete	1
2	Crayon Roll for Boys		2
3	Brown Angel Hair Crochet Scarf	66% Complete	1
4	Crayon Roll for Girls		2
5	Car Roll		2
6	Custom Curtain Order		1
7	Christmas Quilt	65% Complete	1
8	Trains Fabric Bin		1
9	Music Fabric Bin		1
10	White Crochet Baby Blanket	25% Complete	1
11	Pink Eyelash Knit Scarf	Started	1
12	Kitchen Oven Mitts - Wedding Gift		1
13	Car Mat Quilt		1
14	White Newborn Hat and Booties		2
15	Animal Cloth Blocks		2
16	Floor Cushions		1
17	Swiffer Wet Jet Reusable Pads		3
18	Hooty Hoot Owl Quilt		1
19	Medium Rice Therapy Hot/Cold Bags		3
20	Numbers Bean Bags		1
21	Pink Knit Baby Blanket		1
22	Girl Animal Print Rag Quilt		1
23	Baseball Knit Hat and Booties		2
24	Football Knit Hat and Booties		2
25	T-Shirt Bag		1
26	Kitchen Aid Cover		1
27	Sewing Machine Cover		1
28	Lovey Tag Blankets		2
29	Mini Apron and Oven Mitts Set		1
30	Small Rice Therapy Hot/Cold Bags		3
31	T-shirt Yoga Pants		2
32	Alphabet Bean Bags		1
33	Red Knit Prayer Shawl		1
34	1600 Quilt		1

Quilts in My Home - Chili Pepper Quilt

Not far from my Texas Quilt hangs the Chili Pepper Quilt.  My grandma made the Chili Pepper Quilt as a wedding shower gift over 4 years ago for me.  My grandma loved chili peppers and always had chili pepper things decorating her home, including chili pepper lights for a Texas themed christmas tree.

I think my favorite thing about this little hanging is how it fits perfectly in my kitchen.  My grandma had never been to my house and didn't know of this little patch of wall space between cabinets, countertop and the edge of the wall.  Somehow, she made a wall hanging that first perfectly there and adds a pop of color and decoration to my kitchen.

 

She quilted around her applique and in the ditch and also added some quilted leaves and peppers in the white spaces.  I LOVE her applique, she was a master at it and I wish I would have learn from her how to applique.

Hayley Baby Quilt

My friend asked me to make her a quilt for her sister-in-law and wanted it to go with the nursery bedding her sister-in-law picked out.  The bedding was the Hayley Collection from Pottery Barn Kids.  It took me a while to figure out a pattern but I decided to purchase the crib sheet from the bedding collection and use that as fabric in the quilt to help it blend in with the rest of the set. I was also able to match the colors correctly because a picture off the internet does work that well.

Here is the bedding set -

and this is the quilt I made to coordinate

 And the back pieced with some of the fabrics:

The crib sheet has cute owls, birds and trees on it so I cut out squares from the sheet and then found coordinating fabrics to make a shadow box block.  Since the bedding has a lot of white in it I added white sashing between blocks and used pieces of the crib sheet as my cornerstones.  I also didn't want a heavy binding and used the crib sheet for the binding to give it a soft feel with pops of color.

The final quilt was 45"x45" and can be hung up in the nursery or used as a play quilt but is larger than a typical baby quilt so the little girl can grow with it. 

Here are a few more close up shots:

I really hope my friend likes it and that her sister-in-law likes it!  It is always hard to make something and not knowing if the receiver will love it as much as you do. 

Project List Update

I have been crafting and finishing some projects this past week or so but nothing on my "official" project list has made much progress so I won't post the whole list.

I covered a bulletin board in fabric for our kitchen, made B some alphabet and numbers wooden flash cards, tried out several knit booties patterns (and found one I like finally) and got several more blocks of my Christmas quilt sewn together.

I have been working on this Christmas quilt for 5 years off and on and have 9 more blocks to sew and then I can start sewing the rows together!  Each year I work on the quilt for a little bit, saying that I will get it done this year for Christmas but then other projects come up and it gets pushed back again. This year I might actually get it done.  I have 54 of the 60 blocks sewn together and the other 9 are cut out and organized and ready to be sewn.  Then I need to lay out the design and decide if I want to do 6x10 block design or maybe 9x6 or 7x8 or should I use leftover fabric and try to make 3 more blocks and go with a 9x7 block design.  The original pattern called for 42 blocks but I wanted to make the quilt larger so I aimed for 60.  The original intent was to take it from a full size quilt to a queen size quilt but since then we have switched from a queen size bed to a king size bed.  I know I don't have enough fabric to make it king sized and since I bought the fabric as part of a kit from the 2005 Houston Quilt show, I doubt I can really find the fabric anymore.  Now I will put everything together and have a nice large lap quilt for our couch during Christmas time.

The timeline for this quilt is below:
July - Finish all blocks
Aug/Sept - Piece top together
Oct/Nov - Baste, Quilt and Bind

The quilt will be machine quilted by me on my Mom's professional Long Arm Quilting machine.

Finding Time

Isn't finding time the problem for everyone?  Time to sleep, time to exercise, time to sew or knit?  I somehow managed on this busy Easter weekend to find time to sew for about 30 minutes.  In between all the cooking, cleaning and Easter basket prepping I went upstairs and sat in front of my sewing machine.

First I had to clean or and organize my sewing table again.  The problem with a nice giant sewing table is that it can get filled with clutter very easily and fabric, yarn and interfacing get pushed to the outer edges and it slowly creeps back towards the middle. I decided to put away some of the fabric and yarn I had recently bought because I wasn't going to get to it this weekend so it would be better stored than lost in a giant pile. 

Instead of working on a project with all the new materials I had bought, I decided to work on a quilt top that I started 5 years ago.  This is a Christmas quilt kit that I bought at the 2005 International Quilt Show in Houston and the over the past few  years I had worked on it on and off all while finishing several other quilts and other craft projects as well as getting married and having a son.  Since it is a Christmas quilt I would push it aside and say to myself that I would finished it this coming Christmas.  Several Christmas's later, still no finished quilt.  The fabric is all cut out and half of the blocks are sewn.  The other half are organized and ready to be sewn.  I doubt I will finish it all right away but my goal is to finishing sewing the remaining blocks before I work on other sewing projects.  I guess we will see what happens and it I will have the quilt for done for Christmas 2011.