our cotterell family: Quilting and other projects

The two years that we have lived in Indiana have been big crafting years for me. I have always loved making things and have always worked to fit that in to my time. Also, to the benefit of the whole family, I have gotten much better at managing my time for projects and step away much more easily than in the past. I have more pictures on the computer that I will put on later. Here is a smattering from the last several months (these start September 2014).

Since I got into free-motion quilting I wanted to try feathers. I think they can be beautiful (if sometimes overdone)! I have tried some different versions with lots of practice. This was a practice feather.

The start of quilting Lilia's quilt. I came up with a design that I started working on. I realized after not too far into the quilting that it was not going to work. I think it was not too bad for a beginner, but I am not sorry I picked it out.

Here are the feathers and swirls I ended up doing.Were I to do this quilt again, I would pick a cream thread to complement the quilt better. I chalk that up to a beginner's choice. Not bad, necessarily, but not what it could have been. Still, so happy with how it turned out. I look forward to improving my feathers.

The pattern is a bento box. It was a very fun find.

With the border (more feathers and swirls, but organized).

The back.

With the binding.

Here are the fabrics I picked up to make the decorative pumpkins I have wanted for years! It was awfully ambitious to pick up this much, but I have a lot of years to work on them. These were actually on my list to get done before Chris was born. I did get one finished and the second got done after.

Here is the first one I made. I did a two-sided leaf using some fabric I had stashed away. I used brown felt just for a visual. This ended up with a real stick stem similar to the one below.

I don't remember when, exactly, but at some point after learning about free-motion quilting I realized I could embroider with it! That would make things much easier to put names on stockings in the future. This is practice for Chris' name. Spencer was, as he is so often, right when he suggested a toned-down lettering since the other stockings are not as fancy. I went with a middle-ground in order to portray my progression.

Here is the detail of the quilting. snowflakes and snowballs. Also on my list to do before Chris was born, this was ready and waiting for a name by the time baby came!

The whole collection (for now!).

Already posted. More embroidery experimenting for Benny's elf hat.

Then came Christmas time. We decided that for our sibling gift for Clark and Susy I would make an advent calendar. My plan was to make it just like the one we had growing up (and that Caitlin made for us a few years ago!). Then, the wheels started turning. I got to JoAnn's and called an audible. I changed the color scheme. Then, at home, when I really did not love the felt letters/numbers I had found, I decided on more embroidery and free-motion quilting.

This was all done free-hand. I am really happy with how it turned out.

The "lights" strung on the tree.

Trunk detail.

Tree skirt (one of my favorite parts) and December detail.

Anne helping with the ornaments.

Ornaments closer.

My favorite ornament. These were all so simple in nature and obviously free-handed, but I love that it gives it a more simple feel.

The whole shebang! I backed it with a Christmas fabric I had stowed away so I didn't have the burlap shedding into my machine. I love the finished look it gives with the border.

Jane posing with some of the fabrics for Anne's quilt.

The wreath I had mulling around in my brain for some time.

Another project that had been mulling around was a Family Home Evening rotation chart. There are so many of the wood boards with pegs or hooks and I thought about doing something like those. I wanted something more unique, though, that reflected me. This is what I came up with. 'N' is for Anne – or Nan as we sometimes call her now.

T-shirt dresses! I have loved these since Jen made them for Iris years ago. She give is such a cute one for Lilia that all the girls have worn and I have been meaning to make more for a long time. I found the shirts at Target first and then found the perfect fabric! I still have a couple more to make.

Even Lilia got one for school!

Most of the layout for Anne's quilt. I found this design online and figured out my own way to implement it without buying the pattern. I am curious to know if there was an easier way to do it.

Only the smaller projects get done start to finish. This is from a Super Saturday Relief Society activity. I got there way late due to my long training run for the Mini Marathon (more on that later, maybe), but I got the supplies and looked up how to do it on youtube. I had some ribbon from way too long ago (think wedding gift) that I got to work pretty well. I think it turned out nicely, but it never seemed my style to me.

I made it over for a dear friend. I love the new color combination.

I am not sure when I started, but on Monday I got the last border added to Anne's quilt. I love how it turned out! Spencer is the mastermind behind the black fabric. He really does offer such useful feedback to me for my projects. I was originally going for a white, but this works much better. It has a stained-glass feel to it. Yesterday I picked up fabric for the back. It took me a while, but I finally decided on what I want for the back.

And because the wheels are always turning, here are some other fabrics I picked up yesterday for some "big bibs" I am making for baby gifts. A super quick and (in my mind) very useful gift.