Working on my PhD

I have been SUPER busy in the last couple of days getting some quilt tops done.  I saw a picture on my Mom's Facebook page that really made me think, I had better get some sewing done before I start any more quilts.

With that being said, I cracked down and not only finished the Jump Rope quilt, but I have made a ton of progress on the Gryffindor quilt I've been designing.

I found this pin on Pinterest which gave me the inspiration to pick up the Gryffindor quilt again.  For those of you new to my blog, I drafted this pattern from a knitting project I did.  I turned each stitch into a 1" square of fabric.  The end result was 600+ tiny squares I need to assemble for the centre crest on the quilt.  I was doing them one at a time, block by block and I was really dreading my decision to make this quilt.  Not only was I pleased with the ease of assembling the centre crest now, but it makes the piecing more even.  Check out this section I re-did after seeing the results from the iron on interfacing.

I'm a little ashamed of my piecing, but I think you can see how much better the result is.  If you are ever considering doing a quilt with this many small pieces, I 100% recommend this method for constructing it!

On that note, I've been up far too late sewing and I need to get some sleep.  I have to be up early to hem my day dress if I want to wear it to work for Halloween tomorrow.  Some people go in store bought or scary costumes, history nerds go in period costume. :D

Busy Busy Busy

Once again, I have taken a hiatus from posting. Not only have I been working on my own projects like "Home at Last", I have been prepping for another year of Festival du Voyageur and starting on my custom quilt orders. I finished a hood for my Metis costume and a small pouch for my belt. I have been beading it as my project while I'm in the museum.

The quilt I'm making on order is for a one year old boy for his birthday. I am on a very tight one week deadline from start to finish because it has to be shipped out of province. It needs to be bound and it will be ready to ship. Im very excited about it!

Tomorrow is a busy day of regular work and then straight to Festival for another weekend of historical French fun. I'm sure I will be resembling something like the walking dead when the weekend is done, but it is worth it!

In addition to the Gryffindor quilt, Katie's Jump Rope quilt and Scraptacular (another of my own creation) I am thinking of starting The Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt. As if I don't have enough to do already! Lol.

On that note, I'm off to bed so I am well rested for my busy upcoming weekend.

Ooh! I almost forgot!!! I'm on Instagram now! Follow me @crazycraftingcatlady ....of course!

Another Day, Another Topper!

I think this is how I earn the "crazy" part in Crazy Crafting Cat Lady.  As I finish the top to "Home at Last" I started ANOTHER quilt.  If you're surprised, you must be new to following my blog!  My fabric stash has been getting out of control, so a scrap quilt was in order.  I have 13 of 30 blocks assembled from my progress tonight.  It's coming together nicely and I think the colours will complement each other.  I have scraps from my fall table topper, my brothers quilt, home at last, Tiny T's table topper and a few miscellaneous pieces.

Home at Last has been put on the back burner for the time being.  I have material for the backing but my plan to use up the remaining batting from my brothers quilt is not going to pan out.  There wasn't as much as I had thought.  For now, I think I'll focus on making the quilt tops for my scrap quilt, the Gryffindor quilt and Katie's Jump Rope quilt that I started back in early 2011.

A few of the blocks pieced and pressed for the Scraptacular quilt.

Home at Last quilt top assembled!

I have some very exciting news! My blog has been added to Quilting Gallery's blog list! This is a huge directory of some very wonderful quilting blogs and I feel quite honored to be included in this list!  Make sure you check out some of the other blogs listed there!

Sew begins the insanity!

I have two steps left on my final Christmas sewing project.  With the end in sight for my quilting projects it was time to splurge and spend my Fabricland gift certificate.  Ok, the real reason is they had an AMAZING sale on. Buy one meter of quilting cotton get TWO FREE!  That's right folks, three meters for the price of one.  If I had a credit card with no limit I would have bought the store.  (Actually, maybe it would just be easier to move in there).  I picked up the fabric I would need to make the Gryffindor lap quilt as I managed to figure out the yardage for those four easier than the giant house quilt.  I have two friends already willing to help me with testing the pattern and my measurements.  I just need one more person to help me test run Hufflepuff.  Here is what I found.

I'm very happy with the colour and the slight pattern on the material.  I think it will be a little more interesting than just plain material.  I hope it turns out well.  I can't wait to see what my friends pick out for material.  I told them as long as they stick to the appropriate colours for their house, I wasn't concerned about the pattern on the material.  Both are fairly new to sewing and/or quilting.  If they can figure out what put together for the pattern, then it should be simple for everyone.  Here's hoping there isn't too much tweaking involved.

EDIT: Thanks to my cousin for the suggestion of changing the title!