Baby Hourglass Quilt

 

I finally finished up the hourglass baby quilt for my newest little nephew and mailed it out this week.  You can read more about the fabrics and tutorial I used here.

 

For the back I used this Glimma print.  I was a little nervous about quilting it since I've never quilted on my own machine before but it went pretty well.  Of course there are a few mistakes handmade touches in there:)  I did diagonal lines for the quilting.  On the back, it kinda reminds me of a kite-the diagonal quilting lines for the kite and then the blue print looks like the kite strings. 

 

For binding I used this fun print from Lucy's Crab Shack.  I also did a machine binding this time around since it might be washed a little more often than a regular quilt.  I used this tutorial by Diary of a Quilter.  I'm linking up with My Quilt Infatuation and Crazy Mom Quilts.  I also finished my monthly goal before the last day of the month, yippee!!  So I'm linking up my monthly finish for:

We're jammin'....and a recipe

Here's what we've been up to:

making some freezer jam, yummy!!  It's been pretty hot here the last few days, around the 100 degree mark.  So, I wanted to share a yummy, light strawberry dessert that is perfect for those super hot days.  My mother-in-law shared it with me and she learned it from her mother-in-law so here goes....

Strawberry Squares
1 cup sifted flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream

Mix first 4 ingredients.  Bake in a cookie sheet at 350 for 20 min, stir occasionally so it all cooks evenly.  Sprinkle 2/3 crumbs in a 9x13 pan.  Combine egg whites, sugar, berries and lemon juice.  Beat at high speed about 10 minutes (I make it in my kitchenaid and it will be nice and creamy).  In another bowl, whip cream and then fold into the whipped mixture.  Place your mixture on top of the crumbs in the 9x13.  Then sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top.  Freeze for 6 hours.  Then enjoy:)

Note: If you don't have fresh strawberries, you can use 10 oz. frozen berries, thawed, but reduce the sugar to 2/3 cup.

Just a reminder that the blog hop is still going strong.  Here are this week's blogs to visit:
Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio
Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures
Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma 
Alison @ Making Happyness
Amanda and Kelsey @ Everyday Fray
Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room
Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Nicole @ Modern Handcraft
Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Baby Hourglass Quilt Top

I finished up my baby hourglass quilt top.  It's for my newest nephew so I'm eager to finish it up to send it on its way.  I used this great tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew on how to make it.  My sister-in-law sent me a few pictures of the crib bumper so I did my best to find fabrics that would match.

Blue fabrics are Glimma by Lotta Jansdotter

Red fabrics are Tiny Gingham by Micahel Miller and the red dot is from Blank Quilting

Yellow stripe fabric is Fashion Beach also from Blank Quilting and I'm not sure of the yellow small dot one

Green loop fabric is Noteworthy by sweetwater and Green circle is Heirloom by Joel Dewberry

 

I'm linking up this week with Crazy Mom Quilts and My Quilt Infatuation. Have a great weekend!  We'll be having fun at our community Summerfest:)



July goal

Well I got halfway through my goal last month.  I finished up Emily's quilt top but I didn't finish up my hourglass baby quilt top.  Summer with the kiddos has been a lot busier than I thought and my sewing time has been pretty slim.  It doesn't get dark here until close to 10 so my kids seem to think that it means it isn't bedtime until the sun goes down:( So for this month, I want to finish up my hourglass baby quilt (especially since my little nephew was born last week).  I'm about done with the top-just need to press and sew the rows together.  I'm going to quilt it on my own machine so that may or may not be challenge, since I haven't done that before.  We'll see how it goes:)  It's always good to learn something new, right? Here's where I'm at so far:

 

I'm linking up to A Lovely Year of Finishes

Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop

I'm excited to be a part of Beth's Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop.  I have already found so many new quilting blogs to follow and looking forward to more this month:)  I thought I'd share some of my projects and let you know a little more about me and my quilting.

Finished quilts: Chevron quilt, My first quilt, Half Moon Modern baby quilt, Christmas tree skirt

 I am a 33-year old mom to 4 kids.  My oldest will be 11 tomorrow and my youngest is 2 1/2.  I grew up in southern California, met my hubby at BYU.  We have moved around quite a bit since we've been married.  We lived in Utah where we both finished up school, moved to Charlotte, NC and stayed for a few years.  After having a few kids, we realized that we wanted to be closer to family.  My hubby was able to transfer to the western side of Washington-you know the green, rainy part of WA.  We made one more stop in Wenatchee for a few years and are now in Royal City, which is where my husband grew up.  It is a small farming community and in the middle of nowhere.  We have been here about 4 1/2 years but I feel like I am still getting used to living out in the "country".  My husband is doing what he loves, farming, and I have finally found something that I love too, quilting:)

Sewing projects: Easter patchwork skirts, Trick or Treat bags, Scripture tote

When did you start quilting? A few of my friends here are into quilting and I loved looking at their quilts.  They both convinced me to join a friendship quilt group.  I joined at the beginning of 2010 and 6 months later I had 12 beautiful star blocks.  But, I had no idea what to do with them.  My daughter, Katie, was born soon after so the blocks just sat in a box.  About the time she turned 1, I figured I should really do something with those blocks.  I finally consulted with a quilty friend and she helped me come up with a pattern.  After reading books and asking my friends LOTS of questions (they are probably sorry they ever mentioned quilting to me), I finally finished my first quilt last summer.  That was about the time I discovered quilting blogs and I was hooked:)

What do you love about quilting?  My favorite part is choosing the fabric for a new project.  I also love the fact that there is so much to learn.  I am still at the beginning of quilting but I feel like I learn something new with each project or quilt that I make.  Also, there are so many great resources out there to teach you about quilting and the quilting community is so giving and friendly.

Why did you start a blog?  I started my blog to share my crafty things, hence the name, Caroline's Craftiness.  I started scrapbooking about 15 years ago and have been sharing my layouts and cards that I made.  Last year when I got hooked on quilting, I started sharing my sewing/quilting projects.  I still love to take pictures (my hubby says way too many) and document them but my love of fabric has kinda taken over.

What I'm working on: Emily's shortcake quilt, Paper piecing buggy barn quilt, Hourglass baby quilt



 A few tidbits about me:

*My name is spelled Caroline but pronounced Carolyn

*I'm pretty tall-about 5'12"-I can't bring myself to say 6 feet

*I love chocolate-it's critical that I have some everyday

*I am terrified of wasps-just ask my hubby or my kids

*I am trying to learn how to run

*I love to read but I'm a really slow reader

If you'd like to follow my blog, just click this button:

Also, be sure to check out the other blogs this week:

Christa @ Christa Quilts!

Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce

Anna @ The Crooked Banana

Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After 

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher

Kristy & Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works