m.i.a.

No worries, I'm still around.  I just haven't been able to find the time to blog lately. 

I have been busy though.

I finished cutting up this bunch for a toddler quilt for Little D.  She was sleeping in her toddler bed for a while, but has decided to move back to her crib.  We're not pushing the bed at this point because Baby K is still in the bassinet, but soon D will have to move to her bed permanently.  What better way to make her think the big girl bed is best than to give it a new quilt!

D was complaining that her blanket now, her crib quilt, is too small for her bed.  And it's true.  It's not nearly long enough or wide enough, so if she turns, she gets uncovered.  Good thing mommy is handy with a sewing machine.

These hexies are for the Get Your Hex On swap.  The first block is Valentines themed, so all the fabrics chosen are reds and pinks.  Then we have to make a heart and sew it on to a white square.

Somehow, though, D got a hold of my paper templates, and now instead of 25, I only have 10.  Ooops.

I also did a bunch of swapping for destash on Flickr and got some great blue and purple scraps in return.

Of course I just had to use them right away and I whipped up a bunch more feather halves.  I think I have about 16 whole feathers so far. I'm going to have to get some more fabric bits soon as I'm slowly running out of options.  

Love how they're turning out so far though.  I'm thinking black centres and some kind of textured cream background.

This weekend is also exciting for me as I'm going to my first ever quilt retreat!  It's a one day event from 9-9 of pure uninterrupted sewing.  I'm really hoping to get the toddler bed quilt done.  Hope to show you next week what I've accomplished.

And some more exciting news...

I bought a serger!!!  Eeep!

It's a Huskylock 901 I found second hand.  The lady who owned it only used it for the class but never on her own.  

Anyone have any experience with a Huskylock 901?  I've looked for reviews online, but they are far and few between.  Any serger tips for a first time user? 

a bit of this

Did you know that today is Giveaway Day over at Sew Mama Sew?  There are 5 categories of giveaways - so many blogs and so much stuff being given away!  I participated last year, but opted out this year.  Instead of having a 'mass' giveaway, I am planning to have a follower giveaway within the next 2 months.  

Lucky you who follow me.

I actually had a very productive weekend.  Well, weekend is a bit of a stretch, it was more of a day.  Saturday.  I finished piecing together all the hexy flowers for the Hexy MF last week and on Saturday I crawled around on the floor with my 9 month pregnant belly basting the hexies to the quilt top fabric.  My husband kept looking over at me as I grunted and huffed and puffed my way up and down and around.  

But it's basted and I've already secured one side to the fabric!  At least the stitching part I can do while sitting.  

I might even get this quilt done this year!  

One question for you then - 

How would you quilt this?  

Hand quilt?  

Bring it to a quilter?  

Organic straight lines?  

Swirls of some sort?  

Really, I have no idea and could really use some suggestions.

On Flickr, I had posted a picture that I was ISO blue and purple scraps.  Some wonderful Flickr people helped me out and swapped with me for some of their scrap stash.  

This is what is becoming of those scraps. 

I'm making a feather quilt from Anna Maria Horner's pattern.

Originally, I had intended it to be for little D, but now I think she will be gifted the Hexy MF (hubby thinks it's too pink for our bed - I might agree from his point of view) and this might be a long-in-the-making quilt for us.  That means I will have to find a lot more scraps. 

Making feathers from scraps is a lot more time consuming than making them with strips.  I have to make each piece separately because most of the scraps are not long enough to piece together and then cut in bulk.
So far, I'm okay with that though.  I like the idea that no feather will be the same as another, and yet, they will all be blue and purple.
I was thinking of doing a gray stem and putting it all together with something like Kona Champagne. 

Or I'll just have to buy some fat eighths off Etsy along with some scrap packs... 

Or find some more people to swap with... 

Wanna swap with me?