I Spy Quilt- Finished!

Remember when I posted about my I spy squares? I finally finished the quilt! I love it when you envision how something will turn out and the finished product is just what you were hoping. This is one of those projects. I absolutely LOVE how this quilt turned out.

I did 10 rows with 8 squares. I ended up using 80 squares and had a few left over.

For the side and back I used Moda's Hunky Dorie. I really like how the two contrast each other. ( While taking the picture my daughter was on the other side yelling out what she saw. :)

 I also tried making my own bias tape. It was a lot easier than I thought and really fun. I love the yellow and polka dots around the edge.

I also used some light weight warm and natural in the middle. It was a little tricky stitching through all those layers on my sewing machine but I really love how it turned out.

The best part? My 2 1/2 year old loves it! It's a fun blanket that the entire family can enjoy. 

Rag Quilt Tutorial

I've been making rag quilts to give as baby gifts. I usually do the little squares but I've found that just doing strips of fabric is a lot easier and takes less sewing. Do you want to make one too?Today I'm going to show you how to make a strip rag quilt like this one:

Rag Quilt Tutorial

Supplies needed:

*Flannel fabric- For this quilt I used 3 coordinating fabrics so I got about 3/4 yards in each fabric. If you just wanted to use two colors you will need 3/4 yards of each fabric.

* Good pair of scissors

*Sewing machine

*Rotary cutter and mat

Step One: Wash your fabric. After you've washed and dried your fabric now you are ready to cut it in strips. Cut your strips 4 1/2 inches wide in each fabric. You'll end up with 12 strips all together.

Now you need to decide on your pattern. If your doing just 2 colors you don't really need to do this step. Here's a picture of the pattern I decided on.

Step Two: Sew the strips together. Take your first two strips and place them right sides facing out.

Like this

Now sew the two pieces together. I used the end of my presser foot as a guide. You don't want to sew right along the edge though. Give yourself about 5/8 seam allowance.

This is what your blanket should look like after sewing the two pieces together.

Now take your third fabric piece and place right sides facing out and sew. Do this with all 6 pieces for the front.

When your done you'll have something that looks like this. Now, do the same for the back of the quilt. Sewing each strip together.

You should have two blankets now. One for the front and one for the back.

Step Three: Now you need to even out the edges. Get your rotary cutter and even out the front and back pieces.

Step Four: Place your front and back pieces together with right sides facing out. Line up the edges and pin.

Step Five: Sew all the way around the quilt. Using the same seam allowance as before. 5/8

When your all done sewing around the entire quilt it's now time to cut. This is where your good scissors come in handy.

Start cutting. Just make sure that you don't cut the stitching.

Do this for each strip on the front and back and all along the sides. Throw in the dryer for about 15 minutes and let the edges fray.

Your done! A simple and easy rag quilt. Here are some others I've made in the past.

There are so many different ways you could personalize them. For this blanket I used my Mom's sewing machine and we embroidered "A boy is a joy."

The possibilities are endless for these blankets. They are fun and easy to make and are just as fun to give away as gifts. If any of you make some blankets using this tutorial I'd love to see them. Happy Sewing! If you have any questions please let me know.

Flannel and Chenille Blanket

If you can't tell I've been thinking about the baby lately. Since I finished sewing all of my daughters Christmas presents I'm now starting to think baby things. With this being our first boy we don't have that many blankets and clothes for him. Having a husband in nursing school money is tight. So I've decided to just make him things. Which I think is much more fun. Plus it's saving us money.

For this blanket I used some chenille that I found at a yard sale for $2 and some remnant fabric for about $3.

I was just going to do a straight stitch around the edge but remembered that my new sewing machine has decorative stitches. I love the squiggly stitch don't you? I also decided to use light green thread as a contrast.

It's so warm and cozy, perfect for a winter baby to be snuggled up in. If your wondering how to make a blanket like this there are plenty of great tutorials online. Just do a google search.

The Dinosaur Blanket

I found this awesome green quilted fabric at D.I. a few months ago. I think there was over 2 yards of it, I got it all for less than $3. Sweet huh? I'm not really sure what the fabric is but it's really soft and kind of stretchy. I just had to get it! That's how the Dinosaur blanket came to be.

I used my daughters favorite blanket and used that to decide how big I should make it.

Then I sewed lines every 6 inches to give it a quilted look and so it would last longer.

I really wanted to try a satin edge. This is the first time I have ever done this so I was a bit nervous. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Making mitered corners was a little tricky for me. It's not perfect but I really like how it turned out. For my first time ever making a blanket like this I am pretty darn excited with the end result.

All together for this blanket I think I payed at most $8. That just makes it ever sweeter. Right?Now, I just need to wait for this little one to get here so I can snuggle him up in this Dino blanket.