Again with the Orange and Gray

 

I finished the orange and gray quilt top!  As you can see, it shrunk up a little.  If you're comparing photos, yes, I changed the rows around.  About 500 times.  Every once in a while I got to one that just didn't fit so I just picked one I liked better and...shocker:  it's not perfect.  I see several "problem areas" but I think I'll get it resolved.  I did it five rows at a time and it took me a week!  Life has been a little busy lately; trying to move and find a job, etc.  Anyway, overall, it's done and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  However, I still want it to be bigger and now I think I know what I'll do.  It will probably be a while before I get the fabric to set this together, but what I hope to do is cut the top I've made into 6"-9" squares and cut the rest of the leftover fabric into like squares and then set them all together with black, kind of a windwo pane effect.  I think it will look super cute and the black will set off the bright colors in the quilt.

For my next project, I'm hoping to make a small kitchen window size (ish) curtain.  I found a one-yard remnant piece of a really pretty dark red broadcloth on clearance for a dollar and could NOT pass that up!  I normally do NOT recommend broadcloth for anything in a quilt - it's very thin and often is 35-40% polyester.  Not good.  However, it makes a really cheap curtain that will look nice and homey (the thinness will allow the texture of the fabric to show).  I have also used broadcloth for lining in skirts.  There are some things that cheap fabric is great for - a quilt just isn't one of them.  Since this particular piece of broadcloth is 65% cotton, 35% polyester, I also won't have to worry about shrink.  With 100% cotton, especially loose weave (when you can see the weave really well and/or see through the material and/or stretch it and distort the pattern) cotton will shrink quite a bit.

Another project I have coming up is a dresser makeover.  This one I am so excited about!  I have an old white dresser that will be getting a total refurb very soon and I can't wait to do it!  I am getting an upholstery staple gun (light duty) and some staples this weekend at Hancock Fabrics where they will be 40% off!  I will also be picking up a little bit of cotton (Hancock's "Absolutely Cotton" line is going 50% off!) to put towards a baby quilt I'm making for my niece that's due this Spring (can't wait to meet her!).  I already have the front piece (a cheater quilt top that already has the look of patchwork), the back (I picked flannel, nice and warm), and the buttons to tack the quilt with.  As soon as I tackle that, it'll be on here.

To the right is my 8 month old kitten Jonah.  He really thinks he's helping.  He's not.  He loved the strips in this quilt and every time I got one off the table and took it to my ironing board he tried to attack.  He's pretty fun though.  He has an endless desire to play fetch or 'go get it', and he's very good at it!

Happy Sewing (: