Sneak peeks

I have couple finishes to share this week. First up is this cute Advent Calendar. The fabric is by Makower UK and the entire front of the calendar is a single printed panel. The little pockets with the trees are cut in strips from the panel, ironed up into box pleats, and sewn on the main piece. Add batting, backing, binding and hanging loops and voila! It only took about two hours from start to finish and the fabric is now out of my sewing studio. I'm sending it to some step cousins who have little girls just the right age for peeking into the little pockets for candy or toys.

This is the back. I like the modern colors on this and the mid-century modern vibe. I hope my cousins like it, too. I really recommend these Makower projects. The fabric is very high quality.

Next up are my contributions to this month's block drive over at Covered in Love.  Kat asked for these uneven scrappy blocks that have warm and cool colors on opposite corners so that when the blocks are sewn together they form wonky warm or cool stars. I had just finished another project with a number of the neutral background squares left over, so it worked out well for the drive blocks.

And here is that other project, ta da! See those same neutral squares? No? Gosh, I guess it was windy that day.

How about in this shot? Oh, wait, that's the back. Hmm. Well, this is actually a gift that is still winging its way to the recipient, so I'm not going to share more yet. 

Here's another secret project where I can only share the back. You'll see more of both of these quilts in the next week or so, I promise.

And lastly, I started my first improvisational piece. These fabrics, which are all science- and math-themed, are scraps that I bought on eBay. The seller makes neckties, so most of the pieces were odd, long, skinny triangles cut on the bias. I stitched them together in chunks, adding a bit of the solid burgundy at random. The size of the piece in the photo is about 30"x40" and it will be cut up again for the next step. Stay tuned!