Oh, baby baby

Twofer post, coming at ya.

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

 
 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.

 
 The Les Amis fabric is really adorable.

 
 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.


 

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

 

 I hope these arrive at their new homes soon!

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.



 Finished:

Baby quilts!

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

April do. Good Stitches block

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
For Val, using the scrappy star tutorial by Clover & Violet.

 In progress

World Map Quilt

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!

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

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

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

 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

 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


Almost finished this one at Stash Bash too!

  World Map Quilt

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!

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.


 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.




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.






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.




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




 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!



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.


 
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.)