Memory Quilt - Finished!

Here is the finished top! That's my husband and 14-year-old behind the quilt holding it up. It was a beautiful day, but a bit windy so it was difficult to get a still picture. This will do, however.

Download PDF here.

So many fabrics in this baby, each using just about 1/4 yard of fabric (plus 1/4 yard Kona white, of course). There's Joel Dewberry, some Cotton + Steel, Tula Pink, Amy Butler, Art Gallery, Pearl Bracelets. Each a little something to add.

I was able to put together PDF instructions for piecing the block, as well as yardage requirement for the entire quilt. I'm kinda proud of myself, because it's been so long so I've had the time or inclination to do something like this. In any case, here it is -- click on the link under the block!

Memory blocks - no, I haven't forgotten

Yes, I know. I've been out of it for a long time. I haven't done much piecing of quilt blocks, but I have done some garment sewing (jeans!) that I haven't shared here. I did manage to finish this quilt top, however. As pictured here, I still had one more row to add to the right side so that it ended up being a 4 x 4 setting.

The block is called "memory," and I super-sized it up to 18 inches. I can't remember where I found the piecing instructions for this block, but I will post this information next time along with a picture of the entire quilt.

Strawberry Fields (it took) Forever

Seriously, this took forever; it was a BOM from Fat Quarter Shop from 2011! No joke. And I just finished quilting it on the longarm in November (sadly the longarm has since found a new home), and put the binding on last week.

When I joined the BOM, I didn't have the foresight to also order the finishing kit before it sold out. That's okay, as I enjoyed coming up with my own setting. The quilt finished at about 84" x 84" which is a decent size. The all-over quilting is from a pantograph pattern called "Lida," a very quick but pleasingly textured design.

As 2016 is winding down, I find it interesting to take note of how my aesthetics have changed. Had this quilt not been lingering for five years, I probably would not have chosen to make it today. But still, I like it.

Goose in the Pond - Finished!

Actually, I finished quilting and binding this one last September and gifted it to my oldest sister for Christmas. Although I had mostly finished piecing it in April, it took me some time to decide on whether I wanted a border. I ended up repeating the checkerboard theme from the blocks themselves, and I was pretty pleased with how everything came together.

I quilted it with an all-over loop-de-loop pattern -- I'm pretty convinced this pattern looks good on just about anything.

Here is the PDF instructions for the block, which you can download for personal use.

Block 3 of the 4/8-Grid Sampler - Hour Glass II

I know it might appear that this project was abandoned. Fear not, I actually have put some work into it, just not anything that was publishable until now.

This block finishes at 16 inches and is called Hour Glass II. It is based on block instructions found in Judy Hopkins' 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks. The fabric is from Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls collection.

I have put together a PDF of the cutting and piecing instructions for this block, as well as the first two blocks that you can download through these links:

Block 1 - X-Quartet (blog post)

Block 2 - Dutchman's Puzzle (blog post)

Block 3 - Hour Glass II

Eiko kaleidoscope

I'm trying to get to some of my WIPs that have been lingering way too long. This one started as a test block for Melissa Lunden's Break Dance quilt pattern. I had enough bits and pieces to make up the smallest of the three sizes, a crib sized quilt. Mine finished a bit larger at about 45" x 56" than was indicated on the pattern -- not sure what happened -- maybe I was too skimpy with the seams?

Most of the fabric is from Birch's Eiko collection. Sadly, Eiko prints are getting scarce and won't be re-printed as far as I know. I'm glad I had enough to get this one done!

As I'm looking at the picture below, I'm thinking I should add one more row to the bottom, so that the overall kaleidoscope design will be symmetrical. That would make the quilt 56" x 56", which would be a nice throw size. (No more babies in this household!)

I was so excited to get this one on the longarm.  But now that it looks like I'll be adding another row (hopefully I will have enough scraps for another 5 blocks!!), I'm not quite so irked that the longarm quit on me in the middle of a customer quilt yesterday. I'm waiting for a service call, and hopefully I will get it back up and running soon!

I'm linking up with Lee's weekly WIP Wednesday series. See you there!

Geese in the Pond Quilt

Once I had all the blocks cut, the piecing went pretty quickly. It's currently 60" x 60", which feels a little small for me, so I'm undecided as to whether to add an additional row or border(s). Directions for the Goose in the Pond block can be downloaded here.

This is my favorite block. The background is a map print from the Priory Square collection, in a metallic bronze, which I was so excited to work with when I first saw it.

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced! There are so many cool projects in the making over there...