Quilts, Superheros and a Tip

Well, we do occasionally stay home.  And when I get in the mood I do manage to indulge in a little quilting time. It seems like it takes me longer than it should to get a little project done.  This little lap quilt was to be part of my DIL"s birthday present.  Her birthday was in May!  Since she lives in a house with three boys, I thought she deserved a little something "girlie"!  This little quilt kit had been languishing in my stash closet for several months.  It's made from Kate Spain's Verna line that came out quite some time ago.  The little ruffles and raw edge flowers were a fun variation.

There was enough fabric in the kit to make a little baby quilt for the "new kid" in the neighborhood!  Sorry, this photo is a kind of dull.  I used this one to practice some free motion quilting, something that still frustrates me. I guess it turned out okay but I still need a lot of practice! 

Mama got the ruffles, but little J wanted to be a Superhero!  So with a little blog browsing I came up with a tutorial for this reversible Batman/Superman cape.  It was a BIG hit!  But I think the true Superman in this family is the Daddy who does dishes!  

So being frustrated with the whole machine quilting thing,  I signed up for a machine quilting class over at the Smocking Shop.  It was a great class, but I came home realizing the only thing that I really need is to practice, practice, practice!  And maybe take another class or two!  I'm doing much better with the straight line quilting and picked up some new tips to help with that.  Probably the best tip was this, the Frixion highlighter by Pilot.

You must try this for marking lines! Use it instead of chalk or the disappearing marking pens that are sold for quilt marking.  It doesn't gradually disappear like those purple pens do. It disappears with heat and you simply iron it away when you are done!  It works great for embroidery too.  (Of course you want to test it on your fabric first, just in case.) I found mine at Staples.

Aren't you all lucky!  This makes two posts in one week and now that I've provided my one sewing/quilting tip for the blogging world, I'll call it a night!  Thanks for stopping by!