Wednesday, May 15, 2013

WIP Wednesday!

It seems like I've been all or nothing with my sewing lately, but I have managed to make some progress!

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

 Finished:

Not so much.


 In progress

Guitar quilt
photo(3)
Need to get this one basted. (Made using Jeni's Side Braid Pattern.)  

Giraffe quilt
photo(2)
Need to baste this one too! (Made using this Jack's Blocks pattern.)

 Dino quilt
Moving on from giraffes to dinosaurs #earningmymothersdaycard
Cut up and ready to sew together. I have a 5-year-old asking every night if it's ready, so I need to get working on this!


Completed tops awaiting quilting:
World Map

To do:
May do. Good Stitches Block
May That Stash Bee Block
Feathers Quilt
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Baby Quilt


Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!


Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Oh, baby baby

Twofer post, coming at ya.

  Untitled
I finished up these two baby quilts and got them in the mail this weekend. First up,

  les amis baby quilt
 This simple patchwork + stars layout was very much inspired by the Reverse Hopscotch quilt by V and Co. Marla suggested the "shooting" star at the top, which gives it an extra dose of awesome.

  Untitled
 The Les Amis fabric is really adorable.

  Untitled
 I was really excited to find a great backing fabric, thanks to Elizabeth, during our Stash Bash shopping field trip. It's a print from Silent Cinema. The binding is Moda Bella Bubble Gum Pink.


  granny squares

 Some bee members helped me make these granny square blocks, and I sewed them into a little quilt for a friend.

  Untitled

 I hope these arrive at their new homes soon!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

WIP Wednesday!

I took a bit of a sewing machine break after the Stash Bash, but I did manage to get a few things done this week, thanks to our monthly Birmingham Modern Quilt Guild meeting.

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

 Finished:

Baby quilts!
Untitled
The Voice + Game of Thrones = plenty of hand-stitching time. More on these soon!

April do. Good Stitches block
purple heart for do. Good Stitches
April is my month, and I asked my circle to make blocks using the String Heart Block tutorial by Elizabeth/Don't Call Me Betsy. Really fun, and a scrap eater!


That Stash Bee rainbow star block Rainbow star for @valbetweenquilts
For Val, using the scrappy star tutorial by Clover & Violet.

 In progress

World Map Quilt
One more quilt top for the road! #stashbash was a big success. Thanks @frecklemama !!!!! #thestashbash
Hoping to get this guy quilted within the next few days.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
World Map

To do:
April do. Good Stitches Block
April That Stash Bee Block
Feathers Quilt
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Baby Quilt


Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!


Thursday, April 18, 2013

WIP Report, Stash Bash edition

Well, it is no longer Wednesday, but a WIP report is in order. I have lots to share, mostly because I spent last weekend at The Stash Bash! We came. We sewed. We bashed. (TM Marla of Sew Hungry Inc.) Chris/Frecklemama was our gracious hostess, and she planned an awesome weekend of sewing and hanging out. It was a really relaxed environment--just what I hoped for. I had never been to a sewing retreat, so I wasn't sure which projects or how much to take along. I ended up taking fabric for two baby quilts and one throw-size quilt, and I made lots of progress!


 Finished:


Central Park shams
And here's the whole set!
Before heading of to Stash Bash, I finished up a set of pillows for my friend to match these Central Park quilts. Two regular bed-size shams, one 16-inch sham, and two Sprockets pillows. The sprockets (tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew) were really fun to make, and the covered buttons make me feel fancy.


Fold-over pouch
Fold-over pouch a la @lbgstudio for #thestashbash swap! #stashbash #pastmybedtime
We had a little pouch swap at the Stash Bash, and I used the Leather-Accent Fold-Over Pouch pattern from LBG Studio to make mine. The fabric is from Field Study by Anna Maria Horner, and I upcycled an old suede jacket for the corners. I made a second (nearly identical) one to give to Elizabeth, and she ended up getting both of them. Blerg. Still feeling bad about that!

Fabric-covered clip boards
Fabric-covered clip boards!
 I wanted a little gift for a few Stash Bash pals, so I made some fabric-covered clipboards. (YouTube Tutorial Here.) I think these will make great teacher/coworker gifts! One note: I used a light fabric for the one in the back, and that didn't work out so great. The brown of the clipboard shows through, and you can see every little perfection. So dark fabrics are best!

 In progress

Les Amis quilt
Quilt #2 awaiting hand-stitched binding. Feeling mighty productive at #stashbash #thestashbash
 Here's one Stash Bash (near) finish: A baby quilt using Les Amis fabric. I was inspired by V and Co's recent Reverse Hopscotch quilt. I'm almost done stitching down the binding, so I'll be finishing this one up very soon.


Granny Squares quilt

All quilted! Ready to hand-stitch the binding. #stashbash #thestashbash
Almost finished this one at Stash Bash too!

  World Map Quilt
One more quilt top for the road! #stashbash was a big success. Thanks @frecklemama !!!!! #thestashbash
Sewed up this top last weekend too.
 
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
World Map

To do:
April do. Good Stitches Blocks
April That Stash Bee Blocks Lucky Stars blocks Feathers Quilt
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Baby Quilt


This week's link-up is closed, but you can still head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!


Monday, April 1, 2013

Sew....Purple!

My friend's 9-year-old son is having open-heart surgery tomorrow. She's going to be in the hospital with him for about a week and then home during his recovery--I figured a handmade quilt might bring her a little comfort.
Purple Paper Hearts

 It took me about a second to decide to make Tula Pink's Paper Hearts quilt from the Sew Red book. I decided to make this on Thursday, so I needed a quick pattern. And, also, it's hearts...he's having heart surgery...I'm literal like that.



Purple Paper Hearts
My mom (hi mom!) suggested that I might be breaking the rules by straying from red fabrics for this quilt, but I went rogue and dug the purple fabrics from my stash. I just love the combo of the heart shapes and the chevrons.





SAM_0066
I would have loved to replicate the excellent Angela Walters quilting in the book, but I'm not nearly awesome enough. Instead, I did a little echo quilting in the solid fabrics and stippled the hearts.



SAM_0070
(P.S. All quilts shall be bound in this Bespoken print until further notice.)



SAM_0071
 I used the Ikea Nummer fabric for the back, and I was thrilled to discover that it's a glorious 60-inches wide. No piecing!


Untitled
A note about the Sew Red book: I'm pretty choosy when it comes to buying sewing books (mostly because my library spoils me), but I picked this one up because I really wanted to make Tula Pink's quilt. I thought it was cool that a portion of the proceeds support women's heart heath. Turns out, there's some great stuff in here.


 Untitled
There are 8 other quilt patterns in here (this Valorie Wells one is really cool), along with clothing, bags, pillows, etc. The patterns are designed by the likes of Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, Aneela Hoey, Denyse Schmidt, Vanessa Christenson, etc etc etc. I honestly didn't look too closely at the heart health tips or recipes, but I'll definitely be trying some more of the patterns. Tula's pattern is very clear and easy to follow. (By the way, this isn't a solicited review--I bought the book with my hard-earned dinero.)



SAM_0074

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Okay, one last Swoon post!

My Swoon quilt is finished finished now, so I need to post one more time to show the final product! Luckily, we had beautiful spring weather, so it wasn't hard to get some good pictures.



Hideaway Swoon!

I'm sure it goes without saying, but I'm saying it: I used the Swoon pattern by Camille Roskelley to make this quilt. I started making it with the Swoon-along hosted by Katy/I'm a Ginger Monkey, but I quickly experienced some HST fatigue and took a loooong break. I added a patchwork border to make it a queen size.


 SAM_0019
The fabric is Hideaway by Lauren and Jessi Jung, and it is perfectly fussy cut-able.


hideaway swoon



Scrappy Swoon!
 I was really motivated to finish the front when I saw the Scrappy Swoon quilt-along with the Hopeful Homemaker. I thought it would make the perfect back to my Swoon quilt. (Or is it the other way around? The jury is still out.) I added a grey border to make it the same size as the front. In case you're wondering--I ran out of one color grey, so one strip is a different color. We're calling it a design element.


SAM_0030
I picked green and yellow for the star, because I had the most Hideaway scraps in those colors. I used low volume fabrics for the background. If you're looking for low-volume fabrics, keep an eye on Westwood Acres. She has listed some great bundles recently.


SAM_0028
I sent this one out for long-arm quilting. Not something I've done often, but it turned out great. It's a splurge for sure, but I knew sending it out would greatly increase the chances of it getting done! Sarah has a great deal on her long-arming service for quilts made from Camille's patterns.


SAM_0025

 I'm really proud of this quilt. It's one of my favorites!



SAM_0055

And here it is looking all respectable on our guest room bed! (I suppose new shams are in order.)



SAM_0062
And, because it fits the qualifications, I'm entering the back front Scrappy Swoon side in Ali's Emerald Quilt challenge! My quilt finishes at about 90x90.

 2013 Emerald Quilt Challenge

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Bloglovin

Giving Bloglovin a try to replace my Google reader! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Scrappy Swoon!

I finished my Scrappy Swoon! I'm just posting a quick photo of the finished quilt tonight so I can link up to the party at Hopeful Homemaker. I added a grey border so it will fit a queen bed.


Scrappy swoon!

 More soon! I'm going to take some proper photos this weekend. Might even use my actual camera instead of my phone. Spoiler alert: I love it.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Date night quilt

Okay, it's kind of strange that we made a Date Night quilt for a children's charity, but that's what happened! This one is heading to My Very Own Blanket.


date night quilt
November (I know...) was my month for do. Good Stitches, and I asked my circle members to make blocks using the Date Night Quilt tutorial from Moda Bake Shop...


Color inspiration DGS Nov
...using this color palette.

 do. Good Stitches
The tutorial makes 18-inch blocks, so it doesn't take many to make a good-size quilt.




Untitled
I had one extra block, so I framed it and used it on the back.

Untitled

I used a serpentine stitch for quilting, and bound it using this most excellent print from Bespoken. Glad to have this finished! And now...to bind my Swoon!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

WIP Wednesday

I've had a motivation problem lately, and I began to suspect it had something to do with the disastrous state of my fabric stash.


before & after
Not perfect, but better! Also, I don't need to buy more fabric, ever. On to the WIP list!


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced



Finished:

February do. Good Stitches blocks

Untitled
Scrappy Trip blocks this month.

  Central Park shams
sham2

sham1
Working on some (long-overdue) shams for a friend to match these quilts. I have a few smaller pillows to go, but so far I've made these shams using the tutorial by Marueen Cracknell Handmade on the Art Gallery blog.

In progress

Swoon quilt!


destgapazigz3
My Swoon is due back from the long-armer tomorrow (!!!!!), so I'll just need to bind it. I'm using this yellow Dear Stella Garden Party Zig-Zag.


 dGS quilt

Untitled
Just a few inches away from finishing up the binding on this one!!
 
Completed tops awaiting quilting:
None. Woo hoo!

To do:
Baby quilts
March do. Good Stitches Blocks
February That Stash Bee Blocks
March That Stash Bee Blocks
Lucky Stars blocks
Feathers Quilt
Half Moon Modern quilt borders
Tracey's French Kisses


Head to Lee's to see what everyone else is working on!