Vacation Shopping

We managed to find two fabric stores yesterday, a little more than a week into our vacation. I picked up these bundles, which I'm hoping to turn into a Kauai Polaroids quilt when we get home in a couple of days.

7 Down - 5 To Go - WiP Wednesday

This post is somewhat rushed, as we are getting ready to go on vacation tomorrow. This is the first Christmas ever that we have not spent with extended family, but we decided to try something new. The weeks approaching the winter solstice are pretty dreary wet ones in Portland. Although I grew up here and have spent very little time anywhere but the Pacific Northwest, it seems each winter is a little longer and a little less bearable. So, we are going somewhere sunny and warm!

I finished these blocks this past week as part of the jellyroll sampler.

Block 5 - Rolling Pinwheel

Block 6- Union Square (I really like this one)

Block 7 - Spiral

I'm linking up to WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Happy Holidays and see you in 2013!

Salt Water by Tula Pink - On Sale!

Salt Water by Tula Pink is in the store, and it is 25% off MRSP for a limited time!  Salt Water comes in three color groupings: aqua, coral, and seaweed.   Just lovely.

TGIFF - Streak O' Lightning Baby Blanket

I had so much fun making this blanket, that I wish I knew more people having babies so I could make more!  This is an easy, beginner-friendly top,which is a perfect distraction if you're coming off something challenging.


The block is pretty ubiquitous, but I found that it has an actual name.  In The Quilter's Bible by Linda Clements, the block is called "streak o' lightning" or "endless stair."   The variation in colors to this block are endless, and depending upon how ambitious you are, each stair step can be a different color.  I was not very ambitious and wanted to keep it simple.  As you can see from the picture below, the block is composed of two rectangles of different colors, which are arranged in a staggered pattern.


I was a little iffy about the quilting pattern at first, as I was not sure whether it would compliment the quilt blocks, but it has since grown on me. The pattern is an all-over motif called Modern Squares and is composed of interconnecting round-cornered rectangles and ovals, with little stars scattered about.


Much as I love the front of the quilt, I'm completely enamored of the pieced back.  Denyse Schmidt designed these fabric bundles for JoAnn's called Quilt Quarters.  Basically, it is four fat quarters printed onto one yard of fabric, which you then cut apart.  I had two of these Quilt Quarters (for a total of 1/2 yard each of four different prints), which was enough for the entire quilt, including the backing.  I added one yard of the solid (Kona bone).

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Last but not least, I bound the quilt with an additional 1/3 yard of solid for the binding (Kona ash).  I used the go-to method for attaching the binding entirely by machine.  I was thinking about writing up a tutorial for this quilt, as it would be a great quick quilt as a baby gift, or part of 100 Quilts for Kids.  The quilt ends up measuring 36" x 44", using 2 1/2" strips.



I'm linking up to TGIFF at Quilt Matters, Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, and Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Let's see who else had a finish this week!

Stash Bee - December 2012

These blocks are for Jackie, a fellow Oregonian, and December's Queen Bee.  When I saw Jackie's post about her tutorial for these blocks, my reaction was "Phew, back in familiar territory."  The last two months the Stash Bee blocks called for paper piecing and applique, respectively, which were completely unfamiliar territory for me.

The block is called Arkansas Crossroads and were delightful to make. The funnest part was picking out the fabrics.  Jackie wanted the blocks to be completely scrappy, so there are no fabric repeats.

Now I'm off to cruise WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Burp [Cloths]

I made these burp cloths for #2's teacher, who is just a couple of weeks away from her due date.  I had seen some (over priced ones) at the store, with the same owl print, and thought, "I can make that."  Yup, it took  me about 10 minutes to make all four of these.



The fabric are remnants that have been in my stash for a looong time.  I simply cut a 5-inch strip across the width of fabric, then sub-cut the strip into 5" x 21"rectangles -- each WOF strip was just enough to make two burp cloths.  I then folded all the raw edges in 1/2 inch, ironed, and then top-stitched onto the pre-made diaper.  The owl print is by Alexander Henry and the red print is by Darlene Zimmerman/Robert Kaufman.  The diapers are Gerber brand from JoAnn's. 

The kids had the baby shower this afternoon, just right before school got out for the weekend.  There is one week of school left before Winter Break, but I'm not so sure the expectant mom is going to be able to hold out for that long!

Sashed, Quilted...WIP Wednesday

Needs trimming and binding, which I'm hoping to tackle this week. But we've got birthdays and holiday stuff going on, so who knows. I'm off to see the other WIPS at Freshly Pieced!

Stash Bee Block for Laura

These were just about the silliest (in a good way) blocks I've ever done.  Enough said, take a look for yourselves.

This is Pumpkin, our almost 10-year-old pug. When she was a pup, her coat was a nice, glossy black. Now in her mature years, her muzzle and chest have gone gray, so we call her Gray Beard.  She refuses to respond to that name.

Laura, the Queen Bee for the November Stash Bee, wanted everyone to do portraits (one self-portrait, and one of a pet), so this is my self-portrait:



This is the real Pumpkin -- the picture was taken at an odd angle, so her head is not really that huge (in case you were wondering).


These blocks are in the mail and on their way to Laura! Thanks again for letting me play along!

Sashing Swoon and More Sampler Blocks for WIP Wednesday

Remember these blocks?  Swoon using Heirloom -- yup, I'm finally getting around to sashing them.  It took me a while to get to this point, because I originally wanted to make a king-sized quilt using a 4 x 4 setting.  After the 10th block, when I accidentally singed a corner with the iron, I put the project away for a while.  I have now decided that the original 3 x 3 setting (finishing at 80" x 80") is just fine.  I can't wait to get this done and quilted -- I've got some ideas brewing.

I also finished another block for my Classic Sampler. This is one of my favorites, although I would do it a little differently if I had thought about it in the first place.

Block 4 - Rolling Stone

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and am heading over there right now to see what everyone else is up to!

Lightning Rod Baby Blanket

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  The spread this year at my big sissy's house was great, but I think I ate too much.  I guess that's part of the modern Thanksgiving theme.

Here is my current project. This block never fails to please -- more details later.



Also, don't forget to stop by the shop for our Black Friday sale -- 20% off with promo code thanks2012.

Classic Sampler -- The Saga Continues for WIP Wednesday

Here is the third block of the Classic Sampler -- yay!  These are going much faster now.  I'm almost finished with the fourth block, but silly me, I sewed one row upside down.  I couldn't face unpicking this row, as it was pretty late in the evening, so it will have to wait for a separate post!

Block 3 - Star Choice

I'm loving how the colors and prints are working together so far!  And here is the three-block mosaic: I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. Head over and see what's going on in the quilting world!

Oh, and don't forget to stop by here tomorrow through Friday for 20% off everything using the promo code thanks2012.  That includes all the new stuff, Notting Hill, Havana, Chicopee, as well as sale items!  Finally, you can still enter the drawing for the Chicopee FQ bundle at Purple Panda Quilts up through the 22nd!

Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry & Thanksgiving Sale!

I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE Joel Dewberry. I thought I loved Aviary 1 and 2, and I thought I loved Heirloom. But now I know Notting Hill is true love.

You can this in three different colorways Poppy, Magenta, and Aquamarine.  If you wait until Thanksgiving, you can get an additional 20% off with promotion code thanks2012 -- that is an awesome deal on this brand new collection.

Poppy Colorway

Aquamarine Colorway

Magenta Colorway

Havana Eye Candy

Havana is the new collection by Monaluna. I think this is a pretty special collection -- it has a nice blend of blues, reds, greens, and pinks. I especially love that it is 100% GOTS certified, which is the absolute gold standard for organic textiles.  There are a total of 16 prints in two colorways (blue and red) and you can find them here.

Psst...Chicopee Giveaway!

Lyanna of Purple Panda Quilts is holding a giveaway of this Chicopee fat quarter bundle.  Lyanna also has a great tutorial for a fall table runner, using the Push Pop colorway. So go, enter, win!

 

Classic Sampler Revisited

I'm touching base with some forgotten WIPs.  This is the second block of a sampler quilt I started in June 2011.  Yeah, that's over a year ago!  I'm not going to abandon this project, 'cause I still love the pattern.  Plus, I've already purchased all the fabric, including the backing.  That's incentive.

Block 2 - Rocky Road

Here's my original post, but if you don't feel like going back in time, the deets are as follows:
Pattern - Classic Sampler by Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott
Fabric - Hullaballoo by Urban Chicks

Stash Bee - Belated October Blocks

Rachelle, the Queen Bee for October, requested these neat paper-pieced bookshelf blocks.  I completed and mailed these first three blocks to Rachelle on time:

This one is my favorite -- I like the look of the stacked books and the one leaning to one side.

Paper piecing is not one of my strengths, so these were kinda challenging for me.  There was some ripping out of seams and cursing, especially with this one:

This is a picture frame on top of a stack of books.  Pretty clever, huh?

In addition to Kona black (each Queen Bee can specify up to two solids for her block), I used some more of my Just Wing It layer cake.  I think the colors from this collection contrasted nicely with the black.



As I was saying, I cruised along happily with the first three.  Then Halloween came, and I got slammed -- between costumes and work, I didn't get any sewing done until today.  So, today while the boys were out of school for a teacher in-service day, I finished off this last one and dropped it in the mail:

 

Phew.  I really did have a lot of fun making these blocks.  That's what is nice about belonging to Stash Bee -- there's a variety of ideas and techniques that I would have never come up on my own or thought to try.

Here they are in a row, to give you an idea of how it all goes together.  Unfortunately, because I was late with the fourth block, I don't have a picture of all ot them together.  Boo.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Yay, it's Blogger's Quilt Festival time again!  My submission for this round is the Chevron baby quilt, which I previously posted about here .  I love this quilt because it wasn't from a pattern (though there are many HST chevron quilts out there), and I had a fun time with the FMQ.  I used six fat quarters from Lizzy House's Hello Pilgrim, and used up every scrap for the scrappy border.  If you want the tutorial for this quilt, I posted one here.



So here are the deets:

• Quilt Measurements - 40" x 48"
• Special Techniques used, if any - HSTs
• Quilted by…me on a Gammill long arm
• Best categories - baby quilts!

I hope you like it, and be sure to see the other quilts in the festival!

Picnic in City Weekend - Finished!

I'm so delighted with how this quilt turned out.  I was a little blah about it while it was coming together (I think I was just in a funk that had nothing to do with the quilt itself), but now I love it.

The pattern is called "Picnic," and it is from Kim Brackett's Scrap-Basket Sensations: More Great Quilts from 2 1/2" Strips.  I pieced it using a jellyroll of City Weekend by Oliver + S, along with some Kona white yardage.  The finished size is relatively small, 48" x 60", which is perfect for a picnic quilt.  I didn't take any pictures of the back, but it is the same aqua with polka dots that you see in some of the blocks.

I wanted to keep the quilting simple, as I'm sure this quilt will get much use, so I used an all-over pattern called "rose stipple." I'm totally loving the long-arm quilting now, and this pattern was the perfect break from some of the complex free-motion work I had been doing both personally and at MQX.

 As a last note, I picked up Superior Threads So Fine to try out, based on reviews from a number of professional long-arm quilters. It's a polyester thread that is extremely thin so the idea is to add texture with the quilting while allowing the thread to disappear into the background. Even being as fine as it is, it is an amazingly strong thread, and I give it a definite thumbs-up. It is, indeed, so fine.

Designer Mystery Block of the Month #9 and MQX West

This is the 9th block in this series -- just 3 more to go! I do enjoy putting these blocks together, but they are time consuming. I think I have the setting all planned out once I have the blocks completed, but that will probably be a few months down the road at my current pace!




I have also been working on the October Stash Bee blocks -- they are really cute, but I think I'll wait until I have all four blocks complete before I post about them.

Finally, last week I was able to attend MQX West, the Machine Quilter's Expo.  It was SO cool!  I was somewhat intimated at first, thinking I might be out of my league.  But it all turned out great -- I met some nice people, and everyone was very enthusiastic and supportive. 

I was able to take a handful of classes, including classes from Angela Walters and Gina Perkes.  These are examples of Angela's and Gina's quilting awesome-ness.

This is a sample that Angela brought to class on quilting modern quilts.  The straight lines were done with a ruler, but everything else was free-hand FMQ.

Another section of the same quilt by Angela Walters -- she demonstrated both quilting motifs during class.

This is Gina Perkes' blue ribbon quilt that was on display -- it is called "Ambrosia."  The quilting was completely hand-guided.  I always wonder how long a project like this took?

Detail of quilting motif from Gina Perkes' Ambrosia quilt.  This picture is just an example of how intricately quilted and pieced this quilt was -- absolutely amazing.