Got Solids? A Solid Improv. Quilt Finish

Another finish! I really, really like this quilt. It started with a bundle of solid fabric I was given for a guild challenge. I added tons of other solids and it turned into this. 

I wanted it to be twin sized, so I added a gray border to get it up to size. By the end, I was running out of solids (and steam!) and a border seemed like the way to go. One of my big problems was squaring it up. Because of the improvisational piecing none of the sides or corners were square. I tried my, but I still don't think it is completely even.

I decided to mimic the improvisational squares and rectangles in the quilting. It is free motion quilted (vs with a walking foot) so the corners were easier to turn (because there was no turning) but it sometimes maked for some less than square lines and corners.

I decided to use a scrappy binding. It was a great way to use up some solid strips I had hanging around and fits in with the overall feel of the quilt. The binding is stitched down by machine and I decided to add to the "industrial" feel by accentuating the stitching instead of trying to hide it. I used a wide zig-zag with contrasting orange thread. It is super sturdy and pretty darn cute, in my opinion.

This quilt was going to be donated to the International Institute of St. Louis, but as they won't need it for awhile, I am going to donate it to a local women's shelter and the institute will get my next quilt. Its a super cute, super crazy quilt with lots of Denyse Schmidt fabric and color. Stay tuned and have a great weekend!

HST Baby Quilt Finish

Well, this has been finished for awhile and is actually the first baby quilt that I have ever gifted before the baby was born. Crazy, I know.

Yellow, aqua and gray was the color theme of the nursery and I decided to use solids so it would match everything and be able to graduate easily to an older child's room. It is backed with aqua flannel with some on-point straight line quilting. I don't know how people do dense straight line quilting. I was going crazy with this much. That being said, I have a quilt ready to be quilted that I am going to straight line quilt. (Bangs head against wall.)

Before deciding on solids, I had pulled out a pile of yellow and aqua prints and just had to make something out of them.

I made a small quilt with no batting to be used as a "car seat" blanket. Or a doll blanket? I don't know. I just wanted to make something out of that stack and it ended up kind of small. Small (about 28" square) but cute.

I have more finishes waiting in the wings and hope to post again soon!

HST Baby Blanket

It is official. My neighbor now knows I am a crazy quilt lady. He was outside mowing when I was taking this picture. He was bound to figure it out sooner or later. :)

This half square triangle beauty is for my brother and sister-in-law who are having their first baby next month. She is using yellow, gray and aqua in the nursery and wanted something with a modern and/or jungle and/or woodland feel. I stuck with modern so that it would be able to go with anything and grow with their baby.

If I had it to do over, I would limit the number of different grays and their overall percentage. It turned out much darker than I was envisioning. It is going to have an aqua flannel backing and I am trying to decide whether to bind it in yellow, dark gray, or aqua. I am leaning towards the aqua right now, but I will see how it looks after I quilt it up.

I am thinking straight line quilting on either side of the seams. I hate straight line quilting. I mean, I love how it looks, but I get bored/burnt out after about one pass. Maybe every few passes I can get up, stretch and get some pie...that might keep me going. :)

Go Big or Go Home - a therapeutic fabric challenge

This spring our guild in Iowa had a fabric challenge. I picked the fabrics for the challenge online and when they arrived I was horrified to find out that they weren't the exact colors that I thought they would be. (I have been burned way to many times ordering fabric online.) But that would just make the fabrics that much more challenging for everyone! (Spin, it's all about the spin.)

But what to make? The challenge started just when we were in the throws of getting our home ready to list and I was stressed out to the max. Doing anything that required exact math and precision was out of the question. Around the same time I saw these pictures on Instagram by @chaucycomplete and fell in love. Her pieces are tiny. So very tiny. I knew that wasn't going to happen so I channeled my inner "Carol". Carol is a member of our guild who makes everything big. No small quilts for her! So I started cutting and sewing, cutting and sewing. I would start to cut smaller pieces and then think, "No! Quilt like Carol!" and "Go Big or Go Home!" I had a blast. It was just what I needed.

Des Moines Modern Quilt Group - Solids Challenge - April 2016 - Look at all those beauties!

It was nowhere near finished when the challenge was over, but I finished it up last week. All solids. All from stash! I would like to donate it to charity but for it to be twin sized it needs to be bigger. I can't keep adding to it as I am running out of solids. What?!? I know, crazy. But I have a chunk of dark gray that I think I will use as a border. Do you remember when Kona Coal was really in as a background color? It is leftover from those days and needs to be used.

Now I just have to figure out how to square it up. There is not one single straight seam in that baby. Wish me luck! I'll check back in when it is done.

First Finish of 2016: Low Volume Cars for Blake

This quilt has been in the works for awhile, but it is finally done!  I used bits of car themed Echino for the pieced centers of the blocks and then just kept sewing fabric around them improv-log cabin style until they were at least 12.5" square.  Then I trimmed the blocks to size.  I Love that kind of piecing.  It is so freeing to just sew.

I quilted it with free motion squares (here is a link that shows what I tried to quilt more clearly).  The quilting went pretty fast.  I like quilting on a long-arm machine, but when I am using my own machine I kind of just want to get it done.  Fast.

My husband says there should be a contest for who can hold up a quilt the longest.  He thinks he could win.  :)  I think he needs to train more.   We can practice by him letting me take 3x as many pictures.  I also think extra points should be awarded to the person who can hold the quilt the flattest and stillest.  What do you think?

This is my first finish for my Finish-A-Long Goals.  Yea!

Hexagonal Christmas Tree Skirt and Dala Horse Pillow Covers

The Christmas tree skirt is finished!  It has been living under the tree for a week now and I love it.

I have a real thing about decorating with red and white for Christmas and the tree skirt reflects that.

I used this Diamond Quilt tutorial I wrote a few years ago and just cut a hole in the middle and a slash up the side to turn it into a tree skirt.  I was worried it would be too big, but actually it looks a bit small under the tree.  If you have a large tree and want to make this up I would recommend adding an extra round of diamonds.

I also made a few pillow covers for my mom.  We come from Scandinavian stock and love dala horses so these fabrics were perfect.  I had been holding on to these fabrics for a few years waiting for the perfect pattern, but this year I decided to just use them.  No piecing, no quilting, just letting the fabric shine.

A little pop of piping along the edges makes them look a bit more polished.  I used this tutorial for the piping.

All of the must do Christmas sewing is done.  Well, I want to make the kido's some D-ring belts like this, but that should go fairly quickly.  It will take more time to change out the thread than to sew them.  And I think all the shopping is done.  Now all we have to do is wrap a few things and enjoy the Christmas lights.

I hope you all have a great Christmas holiday!

Dala Christmas Apron

Apron modeled by Aleah

I bought this super cute Dala horse fabric by Lecien a few years ago and have been trying to find the perfect project to use my perfect fabric in.  It was paralyzing.  So I decided to just bite the bullet last week and make something that I could use regularly.  I used the entire 1/2 yard to make this apron.  It has a 3" sash on the top and a 1-ish" border on the bottom.  The red dot was the perfect shade of red.  I Love It.  No regrets.

It has a nice big bow in the back and long ties.  They aren't as long on me cause I don't have a 20" waist.  :)   I sized the waistband so that the apron skirt ends at my sides.  I am going to enjoy using it year round.

In other news I put up the lights and ribbon today and the tree gets decorated tomorrow.  I really like Christmas lights and decorations.  We also went to Aleah's 5th grade Christmas choir concert tonight and it was one of the best kid concerts that I have been to.  They did a great job singing their holiday songs.

I hope you are having fun getting into the Christmas spirit too.

Heather Ross Bag - At Last

I bought some Heather Ross fabric years ago planning to use it to make a bag and last week I finally did!  The coral print with the little girls playing with horses was the inspiration fabric.  I thought about doing the whole bag with that fabric, but then decided that it might be a little much.

So I made a bag with lots of different HR fabrics all improvisationally pieced together.  (To tone it down?)  I picked linen fabrics that were in the warm orange/coral/pink family and then added a punch of aqua (not HR) to keep it from getting to boring.

I used the free Phoebe pattern but lengthened the strap because it was blatantly too short --- and then I had to shorten it back up because the pattern was correct.  Note to self:  Make the pattern as directed the first time round - the author might just know what they are talking about.  :)

 

I love the inside pockets.  The rose and tape measure fabric are some of my favorites.

Part of me feels kind of silly walking around with a coral patchwork bag but the other part of me knows that everyone else wishes they had one too.  ;)

The Des Moines MQG are having a holiday swap this week and I think I am going to have to make another bag to swap.  The Phoebe bag is a great size and shape and goes together quickly.  And if I am busy sewing then I can put off raking leaves.  Win-win!

Building Blocks Finish, Market and Blog Hop

Hi there.  I just wanted to show you my finished Building Blocks quilt.  I tried something new with the binding and bound the area around the blocks with colored fabric and used the background fabric as binding around the background area.  I like it.

I took the quilt to Market with me.  Marlene and I did a Schoolhouse presentation on You Can Quilt!  It went so well.  It was well attended (I was worried no one would show) and quilt shop owners seemed excited to see how they could use the book as a base for classes in their shop.  Yea!

I think it really helped that we had a wide variety of quilts to show.  The one above was made by a student in the Skill Builder Class that Marlene taught last year.  When Marlene talked about how she has used the You Can Quilt! manuscript to teach in her shop you could feel the shop owners in the audience connecting with her.

The You Can Quilt! blog hop sponsored by Island Batik is still going on.  Remember that you can leave a comment on each post to be entered to win a copy of the book and a bundle of fabric.  Details here.

In addition to the earlier post on basic skills the Half Square Triangle, Quarter Square Triangle and Flying Geese Chapters there are now post about Wonky Blocks, Improvisation, Applique, Curves, and Foundation Paper Piecing,  I just want to thank all of the Island Batik Ambassadors for taking the time to review the book and make the blocks from each chapter.  Check them out!

And have a great Halloween!

You Can Quilt! Building Skills For Beginners Blog Hop

Welcome to the blog hop for You Can Quilt! Building Skills for Beginners.  Marlene is an ambassador for Island Batik and has organized a blog hop with the other Island Batik Ambassadors.   Island Batik has provided the Ambassadors (and me!) with fabrics from their New Fall/Winter lines of fabric debuting at Fall Quilt Market.  Over the next four weeks we will each highlight one Skill Builder Set in the book and make the three quilt blocks in that set with our Island Batik fabric.  It will be a great opportunity to get a really good look at the book (and the new fabric lines).  I hope you will follow along and check out all of the posts.

I am kicking it off with Skill Builder Set 1: Learning the Basics.
This Skill Builder Set covers all of the basics: cutting, tips on sewing accurate 1/4" seams and pressing.  The three blocks in this set are all very basic, but give beginning quilters the chance to practice those basic skills before moving on to more complicated blocks.  The blocks were also chosen because they introduce chain piecing, sub-cutting and experimenting with value.

I was given a choice of fabrics from Island Batik's new lines and I choose the Jersey Shore line.  I love the bright colors!  To be honest, I have never really worked with batiks, so this was a new experience for me.  I wanted to make my blocks into a finished product (I don't need any more orphan blocks floating around!) and decided to make a table runner for my friend who just moved.  She loves batiks (perfect) and is decorating her kitchen and dining room in blues and green (perfect).

I edited the fabrics to blues and greens and got cutting.  These blocks come together quickly.  The batik fabric had a different feel than "normal" quilting cottons and I loved the way it pressed - nice and crisp.  

In no time I had the blocks finished and was ready to join them.  I like how you can see the different blocks, but the table runner is still cohesive.

I used some of the leftover fabric for the backing so the table runner would be reversible.

I quilted it with a small leaf and swirl - it seemed like the right motif with all the blues and greens.  Now it is all ready to go to it's new home.  A quick project, perfect for a beginner, that could be made with any of the blocks in the book.

We would love to give you the chance to win some fabric and a copy of You Can Quilt! Building Skills for Beginners.  For a chance to win you can enter with the Rafflecopter below.  You can also enter to win on each of the Ambassador's blogs throughout the blog hop. 

At the end of the blog hop we will randomly choose 4 winners.  Each winner will receive a copy of You Can Quilt! and a bundle of fabric.  There are two fat-eight bundles of Island Batik's Sweet Georgia Peach and two fat-eight bundles of a variety of Cotton and Steel prints that I used to make this Skill Builder quilt.  When we email the winners they will be able to indicate which bundle they would prefer on a first come, first serve basis.  Good luck!

Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to US residents.
If you would like to purchase a copy of You Can Quilt! you can get a signed copy from Marlene or myself.  It is also available through AQS (as a hard copy or e-book) and Amazon.

I hope you have fun visiting the other posts during the next few weeks!  It will be great to get to see all of the blocks made up in Island Batik fabric.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oct. 9  -  1, Learning the Basics - Leila Gardunia  sewnbyleila.blogspot.com

Oct. 12 - 2, Half Square Triangles - Tammy Silvers  .tamarinis.typepad.com/

Oct 14 -  3, Quarter Square Triangles - Connie Kresin Campbell conniekresin.com

Oct. 16 - 4. Flying Geese - Maryellen McAuliffe teachpany.blogspot.com

Oct 19 -  5. Wonky Blocks - Christine McCrann Martinez madeinscraps.blogspot.com

Oct. 21 - 6. Improvisation - Connie Kauffman  kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com

Oct. 23 - 7. Foundation Paper Piecing - Joan Kawano moosestashquilting.blogspot.com

Oct. 26 - 8. Curves - Marlene Oddie  kissedquilts.blogspot.com

Oct. 28 - 9. One-Patch Blocks - Bea Lee beaquilter.com

Oct. 30 - 10. Applique - Barbara Gaddy bejeweledquilts.blogspot.com

Nov. 2  - 11. Inset Seams - Pamela Boatright  pamelaquilts.blogspot.com/

Nov. 4 – 12. Challenge Blocks - Linda Stewart Pearl onequiltingcircle.com

Nov. 6 – 13. Finishing – Marlene   kissedquilts.blogspot.com

I finally sewed something - Building Blocks

I realized two weeks ago that it had been three weeks since I had sewn anything.  Three weeks!  Forever!  What was I doing?  Kids, garden, home repairs, cleaning, laundry, kids, cleaning, canning and repeat....forever.  I was going crazy.  I still feel a bit batty but much better since I got some sewing in.

I was meaning to set aside some sewing time and it actually happened when my husband went out of town and my six year old was home sick for a week.  :(  It was just a cold, but when she gets sick it hits her hard.  So while she rested on the couch I sewed.  When she started to feel better and played with her younger sister who is still at home, I sewed.  I made a quilt - in a week.  Crazy.

Let me tell you about it.  It is made with mostly Cotton & Steel fabrics.  I had been looking a lot at this print and wanted to make a quilt that had the same feel.  I don't think I got it, but I still like it.  I wanted it to be a quilt that someone who was just starting quilting could make.  All of the blocks are found in You Can Quilt!  It has two blocks from the Basics, Half Square Triangle, Flying Geese Skill Sets and one block from the Quarter Square Triangle Skill Set.

I wanted to make a smaller quilt as an example of something quilt shop owners could make in a beginning quilting class.  Marlene and I are going to Market next month in Houston (first time for me!) and I want to have lots of quilty inspiration to show potential buyers.  But mostly, I just couldn't get the idea for this quilt out of my head.  I might have to try it again with different sized blocks to get the feel I am going for.

Then again, I might just make a bunch of churn dash blocks.  I love them.  They are simple and classic and perfect.

Have a great weekend!

Linking to Finish It Up Friday.

QST Rainbow Quilt

 I started this quilt back in January I think.  I was inspired by this rainbow quilt, but decided to make it out of quarter square triangles (QSTs) instead of half square triangles (HSTs).  The solids are a mix of Micheal Miller Cotton Couture Solids that I got on clearance last fall.  I Love them.  They are so soft and have a much finer weave then some solids (K---).

Each QST is 8" square and the quilt measures 56" x 72" - almost bed sized.  (After some piecing issues I had to trim the blocks smaller than I had planned.)  After more pondering why the QST units didn't turn out well (not all of the seams run exactly from corner to corner) I think I have figured out why.  I had made HSTs and cut them in half (on the bias) and then laid all of those units out, moved them around and made my final layout.  Then they got all mixed up and I had to do it again.  I think that handling them so much might have distorted some of the units and contributed to their wonkiness.  That and I was in a hurry when I was sewing.

Since it was fairly large and had the thicker flannel backing, I rented time on a long arm machine (specifically made for quilting).  I thought briefly about changing out the thread color as I went across the quilt, but decided it was too much trouble.  So I decided on a light gray thread.  I wasn't sure about it at the time, but it is perfect.

I Love this quilt.  It is so happy.  I had planned on giving it to my sister, but now I am not so sure.  Maybe it will just live on our couch for now and if I am feeling less attached and more generous at Christmas time and if she Really likes it, then I will gift it.  :)  It is nice to make something that I really like.

I bought some fabric this week for a new quilt.  I usually shop from my stash when I am making quilts and buy what I don't have on hand, but I really wanted a specific look, so I splurged.  I cut out some blocks yesterday and hope to be able to sew them together this weekend.  If it turns out as well as I imagine it is going to be great!

I hope you have a great weekend and get some sewing in too!