Flaunt Your Finish: December 2015

We hope you've had a terrific year! We've had a great year of beautiful projects from our Guild members and we're wrapping up 2015 with our December Flaunt Your Finish.

Don't forget to link up a project you finished during the month of December at the end of this post!

While most of her friends were sewing Christmas dresses, Robyn decided to try her hand at a romper that celebrated another December event - the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She had wanted to try the Sweet Comfy Romper by Puperita for her 5-month-old son, and this particular Star Wars print proved just too much to resist. Unfortunately, she didn't have it ready in time for premiere day, but here he is wearing and enjoying it early the next week! I'm sure the romper is cute, but I can't stop looking at the baby!

Robert made these 9” x 11” bags for his sister’s Christmas mugs. What a great gift bag idea!

Robert also made this 17” x 55” Jul banner for his Scandinavian club’s smorgasbord.  “God Jul” is how Swedes & Norwegians say Merry Christmas. 

This is a paper pieced pattern that Angie has been wanting to try since someone suggested it back in September. She did the rough draft of the pattern right after that but never had time to actually put it together until this month. It will eventually become a pillow but "who knows how long that will take?", says Angie. Look at that face!

Ann S. managed to knock out two Fat Quarter quilts for family members for Christmas. Both quilted by Trish Maxwell. Our daughter-in-law is a big OU fan (went there for a semester or two, I think) so this was HER ‘school quilt.’ I bought these pattern FQs off our Guild Marketplace from Katie Cox. I used large cuts to keep the print from getting too chopped up, make it quicker to put together, and be more durable.

There’s no fabric line for Oklahoma City University, her husband's son’s alma mater, so Ann S. chose Starfleet Academy. Works just as well. This was actually the first of the two I planned out and knew I didn’t want the print cut up too much. It has a perfect moda Grunge Black on the back—dark and ominous like space. Glad to get these two finished — DONE is better than perfect!

Also from Ann S., more drawstring bags. And here's the FREE PATTERN from In Color Order. 

After all that OU-ing, I needed to cleanse my palate. This was for our neighbor who is a fervent OSU booster. 

And this one was designed and pieced to mimic a Mondrian theme. Turned out well, but doing it in a hurry to meet a deadline was maddening. I interfaced the 3/4” black strips in hopes of reducing tug and twist. Effective but had to shear down every seam afterwards so they’d lay flat. Great job, Ann!

Ann S. also made these wine glass coasters for her friend and book club leader. She’s also one fantastic collage artist so the fabric only seemed natural! Becky S. made Ann a set last year and she loves them!

Shirlene has been sewing for babies this month.  She made a couple of Self-Binding baby blankets from Missouri Star Quilt Company's Block Idea book from late Summer Vol 1 Issue 4, or you can watch from their tutorial http://youtube/lqwdNqMZ8Ro.  This one is for a work friend. I love flannel baby blankets!

Shirlene also completed this baby carrier canopy for a friend.  She found this version on Mommy by Day Crafter by Night on Pinterest.  

This next project was 18 months in the making for Agnes. Claire Shaeffer's Vogue 8804 "Chanel" jacket should be called "Blood, Sweat, and Tears". My friends, it has over 90 steps, and even hobbyists with serious garment sewing background agree that it requires a minimum of 80 (!) working hours. But it is all worthwhile in the end, and you learn so much along the way! I highly recommend :-) What an amazing job!

Agnes' next project is a green-on-green quilt she made with half square triangles. You know that shortcut where you place two squares of fabrics right sides together, sew around the perimeter and cut along the two diagonals to get 4 nice and quick half square triangles?  DON'T DO IT!  You basically get a quilt whose EVERY square has all bias edges. It is a pain! I had to quilt the heck out of it, and play with the binding to finally make it more-or-less straight! I do love the mix of solids and patterned fabric though! We love it too!

And finally, from Agnes...a little postcard/mug rug to herald in the holidays. This is a block from last year's #haveyourselfaquiltylittlechristmas Quilt-Along by Bee In My Bonnet. 

A Christmas gift for her sister, Ann W. made this quilt from Cotton and Steel fabric and backed in chambray. It was a hit! No doubt she loved it, it looks great!

Vicki made this cute stocking for her granddaughter's first Christmas.

Vicki has been calling this the "drama quilt". It has survived coffee being spilled on it, perle cotton thread that wasn't colorfast after all, and a wet navy blue tote bag that faded on it. Even when I finished it I found little spots that look like rust stains! I am glad to finally be able say that this drama is over. At least I hope that it is! It looks great to us!

Beth made Shannon Brinkley's Trip Around the World as a twin size quilt for a dear friend in Germany with whom she reconnected with last year after 20+ years.  She used Carolyn Friedlander's ledger fabric for the equatorial zone and tried to make the quilting like the jet stream, accented by big stitches, as well as the prime meridian. This is the first time Beth has used big stitches in a quilt and she is HOOKED! Wow!

Beth also used Shannon Brinkley's scrappy bits applique method to make another quilt "Hirsch" for her dear friend's parents in Germany. They hosted Beth for a few months when she was in college trying to become fluent in German. 

Thanks to all for sharing your terrific projects. Now it's your turn to link up below.

Check back next year (ha, ha) for a chance to win our 2016 Raffle Quilt.

Best wishes for a happy 2016!

Flaunt Your Finish: November 2015

The holiday season always brings out some fun projects for everyone and our guild members are no different.  With our own Christmas gift swap and of course celebrations with family and friends before us there is no shortage of handmade gifts to work on, and I am so thrilled that several of our guild members chose to share their makes this month.  I invite you to link up your November Finishes at the bottom of this post.  We always enjoy seeing what you're up to.

Beth not only quilted up these darling advent calendars...

 but she also made an oversized Sew Together Bag for the guild Christmas gift swap.  She says, "You really can fit ALL of your notions in there!"  What a fun idea!!!

Ann S. has also been quite busy (and is cranking out drawstring bags like nobody's business!).  She travelled back to her hometown of Philly bearing gifts for friends.

To my host and best friend from high school, her thank you and birthday gift. Garden Gate quilt. I think M’Liss Rae Hawley designed it. I made my first one at my first quilt camp in 2011. It’s seven FQs and some yardage. Quilted by Trish Maxwell.

I was also visiting friends who, within the past year, adopted five siblings from Latvia, ages four to 14. I asked the dad their interests and there was a Green Bay Packers fan; a seamstress; a budding artist; a princess; and a lover of cars and trucks. The primary gifts were lined drawstring bags (from In Color Order blog) with my own paracord tie twists. Also made a paper pad/pencil holding folio (note to self—expandable slots for pens next time) and a fleece pillow sham.

More bags for friends...

And... for Christmas swap at the guild meeting? — you guessed it! This year, as with last, I made my gift from my newest-not-yet-in-stores Carolyn Friedlander fabric line. This year, it’s Carkai.

Ann S. is a drawstring bag making machine!  

Not to be outdone, Ann W. brought some beauties for the Guild Gift Exchange this year.  They are so very Oklahoma and we LOVE that about them.  You can find out more details about her items on her blog Sweet Marie's Sewing Room.

Agnes completed this lovely autumn mini quilt with beautiful itty bitty blocks...
I have a mini quilt that continues my quest to marry batiks and modern fabrics ( this time the newsprint by Allison Glass and Essex linen). The blocks are 5x5 inches.

And for the gift exchange Agnes made a variation on the Rainbow Clutch ( from Anna Graham's "Handmade Style") that I prepared for the Guild's Christmas gift exchange. Classy in Anna Maria Horner velveteen and Alexia Abegg's sparkly fabric.

What a sophisticated take on that pattern!

And last, but not least of course, we have Dee Dee's finish...which happens to be my personal favorite.  The sentiment of this just makes brings tears to my eyes.  Dee Dee says of her quilt...

Here is my quilt I finished in November. It is a quilt I made in honor of my dad who served in WWII. My nephew is going to give me a patch from my Dad's uniform that he had so I can sew it on the back with the label.

Oh my...doesn't that just melt your heart?!  What a fabulous tribute to your father Dee Dee!!!

And now we hope you'll share with your November finishes with us!

Christmas Stockings for Anna's House

Anna's House Foundation is a community of several homes in Luther, Oklahoma that are dedicated to providing foster children, ages birth to six years old, with a stable and nurturing home environment until a more permanent/long term foster or kinship placement can be found.  This unique community serves as an alternative to the continuously over crowded shelter system and the high probability of multiple moves.  The OKCMQG is committed to providing a quilt to each child upon their arrival to the community. As most kids arrive with very little, these quilts will belong to each child and provide warmth and comfort to them wherever they may go.

OKCMQG President Shirlene Davis presents the stockings to Shelby Henrici from Anna's House.

We did it!

Thank you OKCMQG members! We achieved our goal of making 135+ Christmas stockings for Anna's House! Undertaking a task such as this is quite a process. Here's how it all went down.

When Anna's House requested Christmas Stockings for approximately 135 children in foster care we quickly said Yes! and set a date for a stocking Sew Day. With each of us taking a different part in the process we came armed with ironing boards, cutting mats and sewing machines. Much of our fabric was donated by members (Thank you all!) with the Guild providing additional supplies as need.

Every quilter and sewist knows you can't begin cutting until your fabric is pressed, so two ironing stations were immediately set up. We even had a visitor who saw our Sew Day advertised on this blog and came and pressed for several hours!

We used a FREE STOCKING PATTERN found on the site So Sew Easy and fabrics and linings (oh yes, they were lined) were cut. We had a terrific assortment of fabrics, most of which were not Christmas-themed...because, honestly, what kid wouldn't want a stocking with M&Ms or Minions on it?!

Stockings and cuffs were coordinated and cut, while linings were cut from muslin.  And don't forget the stocking hangers! Just prepping the pieces for assembly was a big undertaking. At the end of the day, only a dozen or so stocking were actually completed. The remaining stocking pieces were then grouped and placed in bags as kits for members to pick up and complete at home.

The stocking pattern was easy to sew, but our brilliant Agnes knew there was a quicker method. Thanks to her great sewing hack, we were able to be a little more efficient with our time. (See sewing hack at the end of this post.)

With most of the stockings assigned for home construction, a second Sew Day was scheduled to cut and complete the remaining stockings.

We achieved our goal and Agnes had cupcakes on hand to celebrate!

A BIG THANK YOU to the following:

• Melissa for organizing the project;
• Jemellia of Je's Bend for fabric donation;
• Newchurch for use of your wonderful facility;
• Sew Day 1 pressers, cutter and assemblers;
• Agnes and her wonderful short cut;
• Trish of Journey Quilt Company for use of your beautiful studio;
• Sew Day 2 sewists; and
• YOU! 

We couldn't have done it without everyone working together!

Stocking Sewing Hack:

Follow directions on So Sew Easy to download stocking pattern.
Cut stocking and lining as directed, but cut cuff 15.5" x 9".

To Assemble:

1.   Cut stocking cuff in half. You will then have two pieces cut 7.75" x 9".

2.   Line up two sets of stockings: outside - cuff - lining (Make sure toes point the same way!) Sew with right sides together inserting the stocking hangar between the cuff and lining on the side of the heel as shown above. 

3.   Place the two long pieces right sides together on top of each other. Mark about 6 inches on the calf area of the lining. Do not sew this area. 

4.   Sew around the perimeter of piece, leaving open the 6 inches you marked. Trim seam allowance with pinking shears or snip curves to ease turning. 

5.   Carefully pull stocking through the opening and turn right side out. As if top-stitching, sew the opening closed. Tuck lining into body of stocking, easing it with your hand. Fold over cuff.

6.   Sew a few stitches to reinforce hangar. 

Stocking is complete!