Ironing Board Cover, Check!

I couldn't take it any longer. Staring at my ironing board was getting painful. The ironing board itself is fantastic. It has multiple height settings and is light weight. But....see for yourself.....

 (Notice the big brown burn spots?)

 (Notice the sorry excuse for elastic? The cover continually just flopped off because the elastic was crap-ola.)

 (There was a foam layer that was pretty worthless)

Then I got to pick out new fabric for the ironing board. My rule was no white in the fabric. Well, this fabric was too pretty and I completely forgot. Woops. Maybe I will try not to burn it then!:

 (Tracing the ironing board. I left a 3 inch allowance around the outside.)

 (Cutting out cotton batting)

 (Double-fold bias tape. Rope. Cord Stoppers.)

 (I did a few quilt lines across the top to make sure the layers stuck together)

 (Left a hole for the cording to come out)

 (You can see the quilt lines here. The bias tape is all pinned on, and the cording is already in place.)

And... voila!

I really love it. I iron so much that it sits up against a wall in our living room, so I am REALLY glad that the fabric is nice because the other one was just sad to look at. Also, I am sure hubby is happy that it isn't too froofy! 

OH! Guess what? That is another item off the bucket list!! See my completed items in the Craft My Life Away flickr account.

xoxox

Figgy Rail Fence Endings Part I

Remember the Figgy Rail Fence quilt I opened the blog with?

Well, quilting progress came to a halt when I realized that I cut the backing and batting too short. I got mad then stopped working on it. Typical.

I pulled it back out this weekend and analyzed the situation and it's not SO bad. I know I did a lot of things wrong with this quilt, so I am slowly getting over every little thing because the colors are so pretty. 

(I already know what is wrong with this picture. I made a conscious decision to NOT fix the batting and backing because I was too lazy. We will see what happens. Might be bad news.)

 (Gob enjoying my quilt sandwich!)

 (Excuse the floors! Doing a little basting..)

 (More basting)

 (Quilted the center, rail fence, portion of the quilt using a cross hatch that is about 3in x 3in)

I am not in an outrageous need to finish the rest of the quilting because I cannot find a binding fabric that I like. I searched through my stash and then stared at the fabric stacks at Joann's for about an hour on Sunday.


Does anyone have any suggestions? I want to find a light light yellow almost beige pin dot fabric. Not big dots, just little dots. Help?

xoxo

Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is . . . Carlos P! who said "This is my favorite post because there is a giveaway".

Actually, Carlos just so happens to be the Best Man from our wedding and he will be staying with us next weekend. I'll let him pick one out then!!


Thanks for all of you who entered, I appreciate it! Stay tuned for many more giveaways.

xoxoxox

Organization!

I spent a little while yesterday organizing all my scraps. 

Before:

 (Pile #1)

(Pile #2)

After:

 (YAYAYAYAYAAA!!)

 ("Big Scraps")

 (Medium Square/Rectangle Scraps)

 ("Batting Scraps")

 ("Selvage Scraps" *** note my spelling error, woops***)

 ("Small Square/Rectangle Scraps")

 ("Triangle Scraps")

 ("Binding Strips" wrapped around old thread spools)

("Strip Scraps")

And there it is, all sorted! I don't plan on doing anymore scrappy projects for a while, so these will be put away for a bit. 

How do you keep your scraps? Suggestions? 

xoxoxoxox

AMH Mug Rugs finished & Giveawayyyyy!!

I have finally finished those mugs rugs that I actually started making about a month ago. Woops.

Binding pinning/misery:

 (First step in machine stitching binding)

 (Pin much?)

(Close up)

Stack of finished mug rugs!:

Each rug, front and back:

 

 

(My absolute favorite from the group!)

Project Stats:

• 12 mug rugs just finished
• Used all scraps from previous projects using Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks projects
• With the exception of the Pea Green solid used for 4 or 5 mug rugs
• Each measure either 8x8 (for the double hourglass blocks) or 8x9 (rectangular blocks)
• I am banking most of these mug rugs for future sales. Maybe when I get my Etsy site running or sell at a craft fair. We shall see what happens in 2011.

Project Likes:

• Using up scraps. I feel especially bad because I am a terrible fabric cutter and always mess up and waste fabric, so I like using them up.
• Double hourglass pattern. I really like it a lot. 
• Finishing 1 is super gratifying

Project Dislikes:

• Using scraps. If you look at most of the mug rugs, there are lots of colors that don't necessarily match but coordinate instead. A lot of the triangles were scrapped from my last project, so it was a struggle lining up seams and getting things to work out. 
• Scrappy binding. I don't like that at all. It stunk. It made part of the binding way bulkier. Also, if you look at some of the backs, I couldn't get thread that matched up well with all binding fabrics.
• All that pinning!! I feel like doing 1 big quilt has got to be easier than 12 mug rugs.

  

Now let's get to that giveaway! I want to thank all my readers for listening and commenting. Stay tuned to see what I come up with for 2011!

What: I am giving away your choice of one of the mug rugs pictured in this post (or I can randomly select one for you) to one lucky reader! 
Who: To enter, you must leave a comment on this post. In your comment, tell me what your favorite blog post of mine is. One comment per entrant please. Also, be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.
Bonus: If you mention my giveaway on your blog, you are allowed to make 1 additional comment, giving you a total of 2 entries to win. In your second comment, just add a link to the blog post where you mention my giveaway.
When: Ability to comment ends on Friday, January 21st @ 5:00 PM. 
Winner: I will use some type of random number generator to select the winner. 


YAY! This is my first giveaway and I hope you enjoy.

xoxoxo