15 FREE Gifts to Make

The countdown to Christmas has begun, and today is a curated list of 15 FREE gift ideas for last minute sewing.

Starting off are the always treasured little gifts:

A Simple Sprocket Pincushion from Diary of a Quilter,

                                           

and a Pincushion with a Pocket for a pair of scissors from Polka Dot Chair.

                                               



Then there's Fabric Storage Baskets for all the little stuff, like these from Minki Kim,
                        

       

Re-usable Appliqued Gift Bag from Melly Sews,

                                                        
                                             

and a special Gift Card Holder from All People Quilt.

How about a few fun stuffed decorations, like this adorable Stick Reindeer from Skip to My Lou,

                              
                                               

a fun Christmas Gnome from Sew Can She,

                                     


Tilda the Reindeer from Crafts-Beautiful,

                                        


and the seasonal favorite Christmas Tree from The Sewing Directory.

                                         




Or maybe something soft and seasonal to rest your head on?

A Buffalo Plaid Pillow from Skip to My Lou,

                                     


or these Snowflake Pillows from Noodle-Head.

                           



Or maybe these adorable ornaments?

Sweet Tweets from All People Quilt,

Plump Partridges from Modest Maven,

or these simple ornaments from ThermoWeb,

                                

Last, but not least, these fun Elf Stockings from Easy Peasy Creative to put some of these gifts into!

                                

Have fun sewing and enjoy the holiday season!

Happy Quilting

McKenzie Baby Quilt

What did I do this weekend? Whipped up a baby size version of the McKenzie quilt to test out modifications to the design.

Though this turned out well, I'm still not happy with the modifications. The difference here is the strip width, which is still not quite right. But it sure looks great in the yellow and green combo, with bits of pink added in.

The smocking feature of the original McKenzie is not so prominent in this one. Instead, it's the on point grid created by the fabric values that stand out for me. Just amazing what a few 10 inch squares can do - this finishes at 37" x 45".

Quilting is with Glide Lemon Ice and the panto Fizz,

and the backing a pieced mish-mash of leftover parts!

I think I'll let this idea rest for awhile, and revisit it at a later time, as it does have potential.

Happy Quilting!

McKenzie Quilt

That new project I just started? Finished.

Yes, it was that fast. Diagonally cut 10" squares can grow a quilt quickly, and bust through some stash. And with no seams to match, construction is easy.

I've given this quilt the name McKenzie, because I was thinking of a friend whom I've lost touch with. She named her daughter McKenzie, and I've always thought that was a cool name. So, McKenzie this is!

Something I like about this quilt is the design of offset squares on the diagonal. And with the bits of teal for a fun color pop, it almost has a smocking look. 

But I'm not sure I like the size of the red bands. In red, they're borderline overpowering, but the size helps bring the quilt to 55.5" x 76", which is an extra-long lap size. I don't know about you, but I like long lap quilts cause I want the quilt to tuck under my feet!

Quilting was with Glide Khaki thread and the Paperchase panto, giving it texture without overpowering.

And the back is pieced from yardage in the stash, which in this picture looks grey, but is really olive green.

Overall, I'm 50-50 on this quilt, as I think my design still needs a bit of work in regards to proportion and overall size. I may try a baby size with a few changes to see how that works. 
(Update: the baby size is a finish - McKenzie Baby- check it out!).
Any suggestions? Should I pursue this further??

For now, this one graces my living room sofa for snuggling under, and works well with the color scheme in the room. All's well that ends well!

Happy Quilting!