teal quilt

This is a good quilt. So good in fact, that I didn't even wait to take a decent photo of it before it became my go-to couch sitting quilt.

I think this picture is upside down, but it doesn't really matter. It looks the same both ways. The fabric is Prince Charming in teal colorway, and the pattern is from Fat Quarterly - the precuts issue. I had it quilted in a pattern made by Ann Bright called Calm Waters, and if you look closely you can see the pattern is a rippley watery design, and I LOVE IT! I will probably use it again because it is like a meander, but more purposeful and I love it.

Christmas Mini-quilt

I made this quilt as a donation to my spouses' club "ways and means" monthly raffle. It will be raffled off at the December event so if you are a member and you would like to own this quilt, come to the event on December 15th and buy lots of raffle tickets!

 
The pattern for this quilt is from Camille Roskelley's book  Simplify, which is a very lovely little book with a good beginner's reference for basic quilting skills. Also this pattern is very similar to a MBS pattern I made - on a larger scale it can be made with a layer cake instead of a charm pack.
The fabric is Kate Spain's Christmas collection from last year - 12 days of christmas, which I was able to find on Etsy - my favorite place to find fabric that will be out of stock on other sites (just chose "supplies" from the drop down menu before you search for the collection).

The pattern calls this a table cover/centerpeice, and it could be used that way, except it would cover almost the whole table in my kitchen. I put ribbon tabs on it so it could be used as a wall hanging, but I would also just drape it over a couch or chair for a little christmas color. It's a couch hanging. :) I think I will just go with mini-quilt/wall hanging.

I quilted it myself - I am thinking about pulling out my old baby singer, because despite the fact that I love my new Brother machine, the walking foot kind of sucks! It doesn't feed well, and the stitches come out uneven, particularly on large quilts. I do love to use the decorative stitches though, and on a small quilt like this they look so nice. This is a little leafy stitch I used, and I quite like it.

Hideaway vacation

I don't usually post until I have something truly accomplished, but I am just so happy to be moving on and working with a favorite new fabric that has been calling to me since the day I saw it and it was love at first sight. Hideaway! I heart this fabric so much. I don't think there is a single fabric in the whole stack that I don't love.
Here is block one of the first quilt I plan to make with it, Summer Dreamin' from the MBS blog.

Look it up on MBS, but this quilt shows you an easy way to make 8 half square triangles, or whatever those are called, with two 10in blocks and 4 seams! It's  amazing. My only complaint is it is kind of slow going here, I have only completed 2 blocks.  But I have thought of a way to speed it up on some of the blocks where direction of fabric doesn't matter, as above. However, I will be demonstrating this with a block were it does matter, which is confusing, but don't worry about it. 
From your 16 small identical blocks sew together four of these:

Oh gosh, I am too lazy to go back and turn these around... 

Two of these:

 And two of these

Volia! Chainstitch them and then go back and put together into 4x4 blocks, then 8x8! and done!

As you can see, in this block, the direction of the fabric makes a difference, so I have to be careful lining them up. But you should have enough to make it work. If you don't I'm not sure what you did and can't help you.

But I love this new pattern! 2 down 18 to go!!

P.S. This weird thing happened while I was making the blocks. I would line it all up and one triangle would be missing, so I would search all over my sewing room and then find it in the pile of scraps next to my table. What is weird about that? It happened twice and I was equally befuddled by where it could have gone both times.... I guess I should clean my sewing room

Pile of scraps I keep losing things in... bah!

M's Quilt

 Okay, so it's done! You can see the progression of this quilt in this post and this one. The fabric was picked by my sister M, and she wanted something that fit her "European Farmhouse" style. I started out not really liking this quilt and worrying that it would be too farm-y with the stars and everything. But I think it turned out alright. And I like the red border because I think it looks elegant.

The pattern is "Charming Stars" from Moda Bake Shop, and I like the pattern, but there is a few things that should be noted. If you use three charm packs you will be a few squares short, assuming you use every single square. and if you are using one of the patterns from the collection as your solid, you won't be able to use those squares, except as the centers. So if you want to be able to throw a few out, buy four packs, or get a little extra yardage of your border and backing fabrics. 

So it's actually not totally done, I haven't quilted it yet, I am still deciding whether to do it myself or send it out. I have until November to decide. The lazy side of me wants to send it out and move on.

Skipping Squares

This quilt is Skipping Squares by Cluck Cluck Sew. The fabric is Botany by my favorite designers, Lauren and Jesse Jung. I bought a fat quarter bundle and also made this quilt. This quilt is a large throw size, and is going to live on my guest bed under the matching wall hanging quilt.

This is the back of the quilt, a scrappy backing, also know as - I ran out of fabric for the backing and had to improvise.

Looking at it now, I don't like how the print doesn't line up. Hm... oh well.

I still have about 5 unfinished quilts to work on. I'm thinking about forcing myself to finish them before breaking into my new favorites that are waiting to be done. Or I could do - finish one, make one new one as a reward, then finish an old one and so on....

Pink Pinwheels

So this little baby quilt is made of the scrap corners from another quilt I made which is yet to be finished. Yay for recycling!

It is a gift for a friend's new baby. Making it has reminded me how fun it is to just make a fun little quilt and quilt it all on my own. 

I used some new stitches on my machine I had never used before and it looks awesome! (sorry the picture is not that great)

When I made the pinwheels I was a little nervous that it wasn't going to have enough color, but the white sashing and pink border make it awfully nice. Sigh... 

Just one more picture...

Swingset skirt

What ever happened to me sewing every project in that children's clothes book?!
I will tell you what happened:
Oliver + S happened.

 

I now find it difficult to make anything but Oliver + S patterns because I have yet to find any other patterns with quite the same amazing details and great cuts. This skirt is the Swingset skirt, made out of some Fig Tree buttercup fabric. Quilting cotton worked fine for this skirt, but if I were to make it again, which I probably will, I would use something a little more drape-y and lightweight. 

I love that this little skirt is fully lined, and the seams face each other.

I also love the super simple elastic casings and adorable ties.

More to come when the tunic is done.

P.S. I am taking applications for models..... these just don't look as good lying on a table.

At long last, the photoshoot...

I made this quilt top at least two years ago and it has been sitting waiting patiently until I got up the nerve to quilt something so large on my tiny machine. Well that day never came, but instead I caved and decided a completed quilt was more important to me than my previous feelings about having to quilt everything myself. I took this quilt to a longarmer. I am still working with my feelings on this topic, but honestly, it was so nice to send it out and have it come back completed all but the binding.

I worked about 2 hours in the quilt shop trying to pick out fabrics that all went together and that I liked, as this is not made from all one collection as most of my newer quilts are. Now I just save myself the 2 hours and pick a favorite collection and go with it! I like things that match perfectly, I can't help it. But now that the whole thing is together, I think I like it, though I had some doubts during the process.

I picked the windiest day ever to photograph it on my neighbor's clothesline, so here is an action shot! Gotta get me one of those clotheslines.

I could never have done anything like this with my machine!

One of Four

Part One of Four: the quilts made from the fat quarter bundles I bought compulsively and then had to find patterns to use the fabric

This quilt pattern is called Coming Soon... by Camille Roskelley. I love her fabric and her patterns, she has a lovely sense of style. I also am so excited for her new line called Ruby which has a soft grey colorway that is making me drool. 

The fabric is Botany. I have lots more fat quarters. So I made the backing scrappy like this:

I also added little tabs when sewing on the binding strips so I could hang it on a curtain rod above the bed in my guest room which I painted BRIGHT yellow in a moment of insanity when I first moved into this all-white house in a neighborhood of beige. Surrounded by a desert of essentially more beige. It's hard to sleep in there because the yellow has burned your retinas. 

I also must say that this project completes an item on my to-make list, my first wall hanging quilt!

I love the idea of decorating with modern quilts on my walls!

I am thinking with the rest of this fabric I will make one of those end of the bed runners, like they put on your bed at a hotel. I still have about 10 quilts in line to be made though!! Sheesh!

Hopscotch Shirt

Pattern: Hopscotch Skirt and Shirt by Oliver + S

Fabric: City Weekend by Oliver +S in Turquoise Park Ramble in Interlock Knits

This shirt goes with this skirt from my previous post, it just took me quite a while to get the second half completed! Part of this was because I was intimidated by working with knits, the other part was because I needed non-woven interfacing for knits and I had to order that from somewhere else and let's face it, I just lost momentum after that adorable skirt was done! But here they are together at last!

I have to say the pattern for the top is so easy, but working with knits is not for beginners, I found it to be a little bit difficult. But I am proud of myself for making the attempt and I would certainly do it again, especially working with interlock knits as high quality as these are. This shirt is super cute and it looks like something your kid would actually want to wear... which is always good. :)
The best part is how great this came out:

Love it.

K's Quilt

This quilt is for the new baby in our squadron, Miss KMR5. The pattern is Hugs and Kisses from the Park which was featured on Moda Bake Shop. The fabric is Central Park by Kate Spain. I bought the kit from Burgundy Buttons which comes with enough fabric for two. The chance that I will ever make two of the same quilt or even one remotely similar is slim to none. I will make something else with the rest of the jelly roll.

The pattern suggested writting "hugs and kisses" in appliqued letters across the back, but I opted for the baby's name and date of birth to make it a little more personal. 

Some of the more technical stuff:
I accidentally bought hi-loft batting when I went to get pure white. I usually get cotton or bamboo, but I didn't want it to dull the look of the white fabric. But the hi-loft was crazy to quilt with, it's so puffy! The end result feels a little more like a comforter than a quilt. But I think it will be good for tummy time.
I didn't know how to quilt it, since it needed to match and look good on the back and the front, so I just did some diagonal lines 6 inches apart.
I'm liking it to far. Just hoping little miss K will feel the same!

new fabric, no progress

Yikes, it's been a long time since I've posted. Mostly because it's been a while since I've made an real progress on any project. I should be making March shirts from the book I have been working through, but the fabric has been sitting in my project drawer and I have been sitting on the couch.
Some new fabric arrived, yay!

Yup, that's some Central Park (the kit for two Hugs and Kisses from the Park quilts actually) and a botany fat quarter bundle and some yardage that was on super sale through Burgundy Buttons.com. Botany is by my new favorite designers, Lauren and Jesse Jung, whose new line Hideaway, I also bought on sale at burgundy buttons! I have a fabric buying problem... I don't even have patterns picked out for these! but I don't think that will be a problem. Sorry I have nothing truly good to show you.
In other news... My blog had 161 hits last month! Crazy! Zero to 161 like that (snaps fingers)! Thanks!

Half-way done

This quilt is close to being half done. I should say that half the blocks are done and they are all attached to one another, so to me that counts as about half done. I'm liking it a bit better. My taste certainly still runs more towards greens, blues and brights, but this is starting to work for me.

I do need to note, and this may be adjusted when I finish the quilt, but the fabric requirements are not correct on the MBS pattern. If you want to cut 9 strips of binding and one strip of the center blocks you will need 2/3 of a yard, not 1/2 however, maybe 9 was a typo and you might only need the 7 that I was able to cut from a 1/2 yard, we will see when it is done. But if you are ordering for this quilt I would play it safe and get 2/3 yard if you don't want to wait for me to finish to find out if you will need it.

Also - this quilt calls for 3 charm packs. By definition a charm pack contains 42 squares (so three makes a total of 126), and this has 16 blocks made up of 8 squares each which means you need 128, which leaves you 2 squares short, assuming that you use every single square in the pack, which I do not intend to do because two in each pack are the same fabric that I am using for the center stars.  So at the end I should be short a few squares. I am still unsure what I will do about this.

I have been using and loving for this quilt these new pins which I bought on amazon:

They are called fork pins and they allow you to do this:

With just one pin and they are so easy to pull out as you sew. I think they were worth the couple dollars I spend to get nice matched up seams so easily!

Also, in big news this week, the new Oliver + S book is out, and wouldn't you know I came home from a long exhausting shift Friday night and there were two packages sitting on my coffee table. One was the copy I bought myself the second I found out it was ready to ship, and the other was the copy my husband had bought me way back at Christmas before it was released! So now I have two copies. Yay me!

Since I was already gushing about Liesl Gibson's patterns after making the hopscotch skirt I won't say all that stuff again, but I think this book would also make a very good "learn to sew" book for someone looking to branch out from quilting, or just to practice some pattern following and apparel sewing. Like me :)

Hopscotch Skirt

Pattern: Hopscotch Skirt by Oliver + S

Fabric: City Weekend by Oliver + S for Moda in Bistro Red Roundabout Dots

Sometime last year or so in my blog reading I came across Oliver + S, a company that makes beautiful patterns for children's clothes in classic but modern styles. If you really want to learn how to sew you must buy some Oliver + S patterns because the instructions are so easy to understand and the techniques are often more advanced, but they are explained so simply that you can learn new ways of making clothes. The designs seem very professional and the end project feels like a very well-made high quality garment.

I love love love this skirt. I am so proud of myself. 

I love the pockets.

I love the buttons and the buttonholes that I sewed on my new machine. 

 

I love that it is a size 2T and it actually looks like it would fit a 2 year old. That is actually the best part. 

New Ideas

This month I have been following the Moda pillow talk blog hop and have discovered some new designers (new to me) and some awesome new fabric lines! I also check Moda Bake shop blog daily and find tons of patterns I love. Today's pattern is a modifided hexagon, that is machine sewn (something I had been looking for) made with Sherbert Pips by Aneela Hoey, who blogs at Comfortstiching.  The pattern is by Lynn of Lilly's Quilts. She is giving away a layer cake of Sherbert Pips, you can go over and look at it but don't leave three comments like I did, because you will lessen my chances of winning!!! Just kidding..... maybe.....

Smock Top

My first adventure in smocking. I didn't pull it out five times so I guess I will call it success. This pattern is again from Making Children's Clothes. Now that I have made two tops I am wondering.... are the proportions a little off in some of these patterns? Does she just like them to be very roomy for kids? Or (and this is the most likely scenario) am I not really remembering right the chubby shortness of children?   In the first top it may have been because I made the smallest size, but here it was really just one size option. It would be good if I had an actual child to try it on. Especially when it came to the straps. The pattern said to try it on the child and place them accordingly. Hm.... Normally I just eyeball-it but it occurred to me today that I can just safety-pin them on and attach them later. Ta-Da!

So smocking... I like this method involving stretching out the elastic and zig-zag stitching it down, but I think maybe she used better quality elastic, because mine did not scrunch up as much as hers did. I was a little disappointed, it still kind of looked straight instead of very gathered at the top. So if I made this again, I would use only 20 in of elastic instead of the 24 or something like that.

I do however, love my fabric choices. I have learned from quilting a lot about how the individual fabrics have to carry their own weight as well as complimenting each other. I thought the fabrics in the book's example were a little weak (Sorry, Ms. Hardy) but these Joann finds look great I think.

So February's projects are done.... and it is the 8th. Hm.... I'm not sure whether I should continue to drag this out, in order to get other things done at the same time, or do them all at once and move on. As you can see, each project takes about one afternoon. But I have some Oliver & S projects calling to me from my pattern stash so maybe that will be my weekend project, along with the shortbread cookies I promised everyone at work for Valentine's Day. On which I am working.... boo.

It is finally February!

If you read this post you will remember that I am in the middle of a project that involves sewing every pattern in one book in a year. I whipped through January, and I am happy to say it is now 2 days into February and I have completed one of my two patterns for this month.
The Petal Top is complete:

The colors in this top are brighter in real life.
I made the size 2-3 because I am instinctively attracted to small cute things... but I think the proportions might be a little better in a larger size. This feels like it might be a little too puffy on a busy little two-year-old.
I modified the details slightly by just adding a small pink bow instead of a large fabric flower-thing. At this point in time, it is just tacked on with a tiny safety pin, but I think I might leave it that way so it can come off to go in the wash. Or in case she hates bows. Some girls are like that.
I did learn a new technique which happens to be featured on my wonderful new sewing machine - the overlocking stitch. It is used to keep edges from fraying much like a serger does, or similar to what you might do with a zig-zag stitch, but it's fancier.
So that is the Petal Top. On to the smocked top, which intimidates me with it's elastic smocking....

Cathedral Window

Does it ever happen to you when you try something for the first time that you weren't sure you could do, and it turns out perfectly.... you have this sudden feeling that you are a genius. Yes, there were directions. Yes, I followed the directions and none of the actions required any real skill at all. But yet I feel somehow that I am amazing because I made this:

For those of you who are not familiar with this type of quilting, it is a Cathedral Window block, which I have been drooling over since this post.

Look at that beautiful stitching.....

(Not so?) Charming Stars Quilt

This next quilt is a combination of two good ideas that might end up as one blah idea.
The pattern I loved, from Moda Bake Shop Blog called Charming Stars.
The fabric my sister liked because it had the "European Farmhouse" look to it that she wanted. I never guessed she would have gone with something so what I would call "French Country" but none the less Maison de Garance was her choice of fabrics. And I could see how it could work with a nice modern pattern, but I think I chose the wrong one. The Charming Stars quilt done in fandango looks very modern, but I'm afraid my version is starting to look a little too country and not enough modern.
Well anyway, here is the first row:

The block looks like this:

It's very cute and I am realizing how nice it is to use sashing!
The only thing that annoys me is that I can't seem to get the star perfectly laid out so that seems are perfectly even.
Sometimes the points are too wide for the center:

And sometimes they are too small:

Overall, it doesn't ruin the look, it just bothers my desire for perfection.
We will see what the end result is. If Meghan doesn't like it someone else will, and I have plenty of time to make her a different one. I think what I really need is to wait for Moda to make the perfect fabric line for her. I think this one is maybe just a tiny bit too formal, and not modern enough, but the colors are good.

More when it's done....