Finally finished!

I actually finished my quilt on Wednesday night, but I wasn't able to get it washed or take pictures until last night. But finally I am able to show you the completed quilt. I'm so excited with how it turned out, I really love it. It is super warm and snuggly, especially after washing (and it smells so good, I got the Gain Joyful Expressions detergent last time I bought detergent, and I am LOVING the new scent).

So here goes:

Front after washing

Back before washing (see some wrinkles)

Back after washing...look at all that wrinkly goodness!


Here is one of the front corner...I was pretty proud of the way my corners turned out since this is my first time to do binding like this. I like it!

And here is one corner from the back. Again, pretty pleased with how it turned out.

So there it is. What do you think?

Ragged Squares Quilt

I started working on this project last week and got sidetracked, so unfortunately it's still not complete. But I have been meaning to show these pictures for a while now. So here goes...

My version of the Ragged Squares Quilt as seen over at Crazy Mom Quilts:

All of the fabric is from Moda the Bistro line by Deb Strain. My sister-in-law Deborah started my stash of this fabric, and then I found the whole line at a little quilt shop that I happened to go into. I was very excited to get more pieces.

Layer 1

Layer 2

Top all put together.

I'm excited about this quilt. I think it'll be a good size for me to cuddle up under. I am also excited about the back (sorry no picture yet) because it is mostly a green color with a blue strip down the center.

It looks a little crazy with all of the patterns, but I really like how it all comes together and goes together.

Hope to finish the quilting this week and then I'll post those pictures.

So...

So it's been a while since I've updated. Last week was the beginning of a new semester, which brings with it a new schedule for day to day operations. So far it's been pretty good. I'm still not adjusted to being back at work after our wonderful Christmas holidays. Joel is teaching four classes so that is keeping him busy, and I am working and taking 2 classes this semester. Once we get used to the new schedule it should be fine (thankfully I don't have any night classes this semester!) We are trying to be careful with our time and not add too many things to our plates.

Hope this new season is going well for you. I have not been able to do much sewing since the start of the semester. I did get a pair of pants hemmed (I like them a lot, very comfortable), and I have been doing a good bit of quilting. I'll have to take a picture so you can see my progress. It's still a long way from being finished, but I am making a dent in the work!

Christmas fun...

I decided I needed to take a few more pictures of the Christmas decorations we have up at our house, so here goes:

As a graduation present Joel added to my nativity collection. The camel, shepherd, and two darker sheep are new to the crew. I love them!

He's my favorite!The other new guys.

Up close of our stockings...

Our tree has not had a topper...at all...so this year I decided maybe a bow would work nicely. Deborah made me one, and I think it looks great!

We also got this beautiful "gift" from Nathan and Deborah this weekend. It's not in its permanent home yet, but I just had to take a picture so I could show it!

Playing Catch Up...

So it's been several days since I last posted...and a lot has been going on during that time! We celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of our families, and enjoyed every minute we got to visit with them. I have been reading all of the different ideas and ways that people celebrated Thanksgiving and how they remembered what they were thankful for...this year my family made a chain (the sort that you take off a chain each day it gets closer to Christmas) and on each chain link we wrote something that we were thankful for. It was really neat and fun to hear the different things people said.

So here's a picture roll of all the things we've been doing this last week...

First off some family pictures:

Wynn is looking so much like Sanders!

Sanders is looking so grown up!

Rebekah posing!
(Isn't her outfit adorable?)


The whole family.

A potential Christmas card photo...
(Check out my mom's new cabinets in the background)

The competing Christmas card picture :)McPhail family Thanksgiving '08

There has been much project work going on over the holiday...

This year we are donating to the Project Linus organization.

From the Project Linus site:

Be a Blanketeer

Our volunteers, known as “blanketeers,” provide new, handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18. It is Project Linus’ policy to accept blankets of all sizes, depending on local chapter needs. All styles of blankets are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors.

So in order to help with Project Linus we are making and donating a few blankets this year. The picture above is of the one blanket I've made so far and the other one was made by my nine year old niece Madison. This was her first sewing project, and I think she did quite well :)

Madison posing with her almost finished blanket.

This is my first time to quilt on a machine...so let's just say I
need a little practice, but I think it's a good first effort.

I got in the sewing mood on Saturday...

A fabric basket...it's already full!

A Christmas present...

An organization tool...now that I am cutting Joel's hair there are several things that have to be kept up with in order to have everything when it's time for a haircut. So a bag was in order...

PJ Pants made with Amy Butler's pattern from In Stitches. These were a collaborative effort and I think they turned out pretty well. They are super soft flannel!

And finally (if you're even still reading) a few Christmas decorations...

Our tree all decorated

Finally, the presents have a home!

Well, if you even made it through this post I'm impressed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. As you can see we were busy....

Finally

Well, this week at work has been absolutely crazy. Our department has been stretched to all corners of the state and we have been trying to keep up. Everything went well and relatively smoothly this week though! But, I am definitely glad it's Friday...time for a little break.

This weekend I plan to relax and also do a little more Christmas shopping. As of today I am about halfway finished with the Christmas list (several packages are already wrapped and just waiting for a tree to rest under!) On Saturday I'm going to run some errands (mostly Christmas related) and do a little shopping in town. Then on Saturday afternoon I plan to meet up with a friend to try and make a holiday craft...hopefully I'll be posting it here once it's finished!

I also have a few more projects that I have completed that I need to take pictures of to post, and I have done some more quilting on the quilt. I promise to take a couple of pictures and post those as well.

Hope you have a great weekend! (Remember only 41 days till Christmas!)

On my project list...

The only project making I got done this weekend was to make this little guy. He's pretty cute...I think I'd make him a little bigger next time!


Also...I think I've found a great way to give back this Christmas with a project to help with a good cause....more on that later!

WOO HOO!

Ok, so I am officially finished with my comprehensive exams! I am now playing the waiting game to see if I passed....will hopefully know in 2 to 3 weeks. But I am just glad to be past the studying phase...I have my Saturday's back once again :) So nice!

Now that I do not have to study for those exams now....I'm back to work on projects! Last night I taught my fried Lara how to make some of those adorable little baby shoes. They are SO cute...they are made from corduroy so they'll be perfect to keep her little nephews toes warm during the winter! We got on such a roll last night we even made a cute little taggie blanket. I'm jealous that Lara can now mark off one name from her Christmas list...I better get started!

Here's a peek at Lara's projects: She's a natural already :)

A few projects...

Well, I finally remembered to bring the pictures with me so that I could post about some of the projects I've worked on over the last year.

#1 Christmas Stockings - Last year Joel and I were looking for stockings and we couldn't find anything we liked. So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, that is what started my whole adventure in sewing.

#2 First Purse - For my nieces birthday, I made her a purse...it was my first attempt at a purse, and I think it turned out pretty well. Hope you like it Maddi!



#3 Baby Shoes - I found this project idea here on Stardust Shoes. It was a fun project, my sister and I figured out together. These shoes Kelli and I made for Avi Grace. Since then I have made several more pair for baby gifts!



#4 Baby gift sets - At our church there was a spell where everyone was having babies! Here is one set I made as a gift (Bib, burp cloth, and shoes). The tutorial for the shoes is here, the bib and burp cloth here. (That site is Homemade by Jill...one of my favorite blog's to read)



#5 "Beach" bag - As seen in an earlier post, the girls in my family went to the beach last May. I made my mom a "beach" bag. The reason I put it in quotes is because it really wasn't heavy duty to where it would stand up on it's own like most beach bags, but she liked it! It is a fully reversible bag.



#6 First little girl outfit - I made this little outfit for Avi Grace because I wanted to see if I could! I used bias binding for the first time, and made little bloomers to go with it. I was pretty proud of this outfit.



#7 Pillowcase dress of sorts - I made this little dress for Avi Grace as a birthday gift. I think it's pretty cute, the only thing I'd do differently is to make the bow slightly smaller so it would be more proportional to her small frame. I found the tutorial for this dress here.

So there is a list of my "so far" projects. It has been fun making each of these items...I've learned a LOT and I have gotten really really good at using the seam ripper! :)

Here is one picture from AG's birthday last weekend.

So...

Ok, so this week has been a little crazy already and it's only Tuesday! An update on the weekend...my quilting class was a lot of fun. I was the youngest in the class...that's pretty normal in the quilting realm. It's going to sound stupid I know, but I learned how to tie a knot on the end of my thread...it's a really easy technique for me now! It's important to have a good knot. I also learned how to easily hide my knot in the quilt and end it without any trouble. I'm super excited about learning those techniques. We also worked with stencils on a practice block. It was my first time to work with stencils...and I love them! So, my quilting class was great. Joel had a good weekend too, and we both enjoyed watching the Olympics the rest of the weekend.

Speaking of the Olympics, it is very entertaining to watch all of these athletes compete. I love to watch gymnastics and swimming...go Phelps...and last night I caught synchronized diving. That is amazing. I don't know how they do it!

Did you know that we have a Little Caesar's now? We are going to get a Hot'n'Ready pizza tonight and some crazy bread! Yummo. Actually I've never had Little Caesar's...but it's pizza, and I love pizza. So hopefully Little Caesar's will live up to my expectations!

So classes start next week...which means tons of students are back on campus. I can already tell a difference in the traffic...ugh. Hopefully it won't take an entire month this semester for the student's to learn their way around campus!