Limited Edition Christmas towels

I just finished the last of my limited edition Christmas towels and had planned to list them in my Etsy shop when a friend said she'd buy them all.

I love bright colors, so these were a lot of fun to make.  While they don't require a lot of fabric, they do require a significant amount of time.

Each piece is traced and cut out, then adhered to each towel, before I machine stitch them in coordinating colors.  The raw edge applique tends to fray slightly over time, which only adds to its character.

While I won't be making any more of the Christmas edition unless they're custom requests, I'm going to get started on some for Valentine's Day.

Be sure to check my Etsy shop for those in early January if you have a VW lover in your life, as I'll only be making a handful.

Merry Christmas!

SMS Giveaway Day!

After years of admiring others' goodies, I am finally participating in the SMS Giveaway.  Yay!

For those of you visiting my quiet little blog for the first time, thanks for stopping by!  I'm Terri,  a wife, mom, fabric hoarder, sewer, quilter, football fan, and coffee drinker.

This year I have decided to give away a few of my handmade items so there will be two winners.  I have my scrappy little mug rugs/coasters in a set of four, and I also have some raw edge applique Christmas hoop art...both items made by me.

So how do you win one of these little goodies?

1) COMMENT below telling me where you're from and which of the two items you'd prefer to win for one entry.

2) FOLLOW crooked whimsy on Instagram for a second entry, then comment below telling me you're following.

3) FOLLOW crooked whimsy on Facebook or here on my blog for a third entry, then comment below telling me where you're following.

And that's it!  Check back at the end of the week, when I'll randomly select two lucky winners!

While you're at it be sure to check out SewMamaSew for lots of other wonderful giveaways going on all week.

Thanks again for stopping by and good luck!

Follow along with crooked whimsy on Bloglovin'.

Time for a Swap Sabbatical?

I think I've become a swap addict.

Goodies received

I mean, who doesn't want a mini full of pink Heather Ross gnomes?

The Instagram community is a wonderful place for sewers, quilters, and fiber artists alike, as people talk fabric, share helpful tips and tricks, and exchange lots of goodies in the form of mini quilt swaps.

Goodies sent

I had signed up for another two exchanges months ago, much to my husband's dismay, as he knows I wait until the last minute for everything, and then become crazy for a few days trying to meet a deadline.  But I love working under pressure, provided I have plenty of coffee on hand.

And another on its way to Canada

I somehow managed to get both minis done by their respective deadlines, and I was excited to try something new for each.

The first was hosted by Sarah Fielke for her new book Little Quilts.  We were required to make a mini from the book, so I selected Drawn Together because I had never done paper piecing, aside from a pin cushion years ago.

I struggled to get all the points to match in the middle.

But it was rewarding to see it all come together.

I mixed both orange and pink stripes for the scrappy binding.

Decisions, decisions

But, due to a lack of both time and experience, I avoided hand quilting for this one and did a simple outline with my machine around all the edges.  I plan to practice my hand quilting for next time.

The second quilt was for the IG mini swap, which was international and included around 1,000 participants.

A very merry Lone Starburst in progress

I was excited to try the Lone Starburst for the first time to send to my swap partner in Canada.

I wanted it to look like the top of a Christmas tree, so I needed to add a border.  Again, I received lots of help from the IG community to successfully do this.

For now I'm on a swap sabbatical, but I have a feeling once Christmas is over, I'll be back to it.  It's hard to stay away and so fun to participate!

Point Matching: A Tale of Triangles and Tribulations

I need to be better about keeping my blog current.  Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution a month early?

I have completed a bunch of projects over the last few weeks, which is a miracle considering I rarely have a moment without a one-year old tugging on my sweats (and, no, I wouldn't change it for the world!).

Among other tasks, I finished my first triangle quilt.

My little helper

A friend had asked if I could make a baby quilt for a pregnant co-worker whose taste was simple, modern, and clean.  She was having a boy, and since I'd wanted to attempt triangles for a while, this was the perfect opportunity.

My bigger helper holds the finished quilt top

Once we settled on solid colors, which were a mix of lighter blues, grays, and white, I had to decide how I'd make it.  There are multiple online tutorials and patterns, as well as various triangle templates available, depending on preference.

The basting begins!

While I wanted to get the equilateral template for my Accuquilt, neither Amazon nor JoAnn's had it at the time.  So instead I ordered the Tri Tool acryclic triangle ruler, because it was available via Prime, and I didn't have the patience to wait longer than two days to get started.  I was excited about finally making one of these.

I was fortunate to stumble across this blog where Stacy shares beautiful photos of her finished triangle quilt for her daughter, as well as a free, step-by-step, full color tutorial.  If you're making one of these for the first time, check out her tutorial.  It's FREE and incredibly helpful!

A quilted quilt

Honestly, cutting the triangles was a bit tedious and time-consuming.  I took frequent breaks.  But hopefully I'll be able to cut through multiple layers of fabric next time.  I can't wait to make another in lots of bright solids.

Ready for its new home