Teal Squares: Quilting Design

December, 2013 (published later because the design is a surprise)

I have finally settled on a quilting design for the Teal Squares quilt! I'm doing a stipple design in the black background areas with black thread. 

For the squares, I found Aurifil in a variegated teal at one of my local quilt shops. I was so excited. I wasn't sure how to quilt the squares, but I settled on a diamond design that I learned in a Craftsy class- Dot to Dot quilting with Angela Walters. I'm really thrilled with how it looks. I did the two shams first because I wanted to try it out before wrangling the whole huge quilt in my sewing machine. I love it. Here are some pictures of the pillow shams. 

Now that they are done, I'm excited to get started on the quilt itself!

Christmas Sewing Wrap-Up

I finished the table runner for my sister-in-law in time for Christmas Day. I quilted loops in the border, stippled the white background/setting triangles, and straight lines on the patchwork. 

Here is a picture of by brother and new sister-in-law's stockings hanging in their house. 

And I also finally made a table runner for my mom. It fits perfectly on her coffee table. 

Last-minute Holiday Sewing

We drew names for our sibling Pollyanna later than usual this year, and now I have a last minute deadline. My sister-in-law has been saying for months that she hopes I get her for the Pollyanna because she wants a holiday table runner. (I made her an everyday table runner last year.) I didn't draw her name, but I switched with the person who did as a surprise for her. 

So...that meant I got to make a trip to Olde City Quilts this week for some Christmas fabric. I could get lost in there; it's huge and just so well-kept and beautiful inside. Plus, they have a whole WALL of Aurifil. So pretty. I found some variegated teal for another project, which I didn't even know they made. 

I ended up choosing In From the Cold along with some coordinating prints and a white on white for the background. 

Moda Bake Shop had a pretty easy table runner pattern on their site the other day, so I went with it. Here is the layout of the top (minus borders). 

Hopefully I will get the top finished up tomorrow, and be able to quilt and bind it before Christmas. Fingers crossed. 

Holiday Housewarming

My youngest brother got married and bought a house this year, so I made them holiday placemats and stockings as their housewarming gift. The placemats are reversible, since my new sister-in-law is Jewish and my brother is Catholic. I got the two sides to line up, though, so the quilting (x's through each square, and a rectangle around the name box) looks right on both sides.

You can see the backs and fronts in this photo, but once again I forgot to take a picture of the final product...  I bound them with white and it looked really nice. 

I had a little help picking out the stocking fabric...

...and settled on these coordinating prints, with Kona emerald for the cuffs and lining. 

My cousin Diane helped me out with the embroidery, and here they are!

Hopefully I will get a picture of them hanging up for Christmas. I'm just glad they're done in time for Santa to fill them up!

A Quilt-Worthy Event

A very good friend of mine wondered for years, while listening to stories of the quilts I made for other people's special occasions, when she would have her own quilt-worthy event. I decided that the conjunction of her 25th birthday and getting her own apartment was it, and I made her a throw quilt to match her bedding. 

I had been wanting to experiment with different layouts for half square triangle blocks, and when I came across this off-centered design, I really liked its asymmetry. I chose five different batiks and used a solid black background. I love how the black makes the varied shades of the batiks pop. I quilted it with straight lines to echo the quilt's design. 

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the finished product after I quilted and bound it...but here is a picture with the masking tape I used as a guide for my quilting lines. 

Teal Squares, basted!

October, 2013 (published later because the design is a surprise)

I had some time this morning, thanks to my mom taking my kids, and some space, thanks to my husband moving the furniture in our family room, to baste the Teal Squares. It's queen size, but with the backing and batting, I didn't have enough space in my basement to lay it out on a hard surface! 

Anyway, it's done now, and I'm going to get started on the quilting soon. I'm going to stipple in the black background, and I'm still trying to figure out what to do in the squares. I'm thinking I will leave the small squares unquilted, and do some sort of design in the big squares. What design and what thread color are still up in the air, though. 

Teal Squares: A Wedding Gift

August, 2013 (published later because the design is a surprise)

A close friend got married this summer, one who really understands what goes in to making handmade items like quilts. I decided to make a queen size quilt with two matching shams for her and her new husband. I love giving a  quilt as a gift when the recipient is someone who really appreciates what it is. 

The bride's favorite color is teal, so I used that as my starting point. I ordered a fat quarter bundle in a range of blues, and paired it with a black background and some teal dots for the backing. 

Here are some in-progress shots:

And the final layout...

The pattern is Impromptu by Rachel Griffith (http://shop.psiquilt.com/product/impromptu-quilt-pattern-108-pdf-version) and I love the geometric design and the colors I chose on the black background. 

Today I am piecing the quilt back, and then I will be ready to baste, quilt, and bind. 

Halloween 2013

Up until about a month ago, the Goose had insisted that she was going to be a penguin, and her sister would be the egg that sits on her feet. Then all of a sudden, she decided to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. It took some convincing to get her to agree that her little sister would not be Toto, and I got her to settle on Glinda instead. Then she assigned me to be the Wicked Witch of the West (if the broom fits...) and her daddy to be the Tin Man. 

Here are some process shots of the costumes in production...

...And all of us on Halloween...

We all had a blast!

Caterpillar Quilt

My big girl has a quilt made with fabric based on Eric Carle's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and it has become one of her loveys. 

So of course, when I saw this fabric based on the same author's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I knew I had found the perfect fabric for my little one's lovey quilt! I posted about starting it last year, but now I finally have it to the point that it's basted and ready for me to quilt it. 

Here are some photos in progress:

I'm looking forward to trying out some new free motion techniques when I quilt this one-- I have new books by Angela Walters and Natalia Bonner with lots of new designs!

Florida Girl Quilt-- Done!

My mother in law was finally able to take her quilt home with her this August. My little Goose helped me decide on a few of the special stitches I used when quilting her Grammy's quilt. Overall I quilted wavy lines over the long seams, but I added a few of the stitches that my machine does in individual blocks. 

I didn't manage to get a photo of the finished product before it was packed in a suitcase and brought to Florida, but here it is on Joyce's couch, where I know it gets plenty of snuggles!!

Baby quilts!

It has been so long since I've had time to post, so several posts are coming!! First up, the baby quilts I was working on in the spring and summer!

This quilt was made for Miss Ellie Jean:

I just love these fabrics...I was so glad to have a good reason to buy and use them!!

Next, I have one made for a little guy name Sebastian, who is being called Sebby. How sweet:

Baby Quilts <3

I am so excited to be able to make baby quilts for two of my friends who are expecting little bundles of joy this summer! One little boy and one little girl...and I know their mommies will love these special quilts made just for them!!

More Florida Quilt Progress

My last post was actually a draft from January that I never posted. Now that my show is over and things around the house are returning to a more normal routine, I have made a little more progress on the Florida Quilt for my mother in law. This was also aided by the fact that the Bug has a double ear infection and is cutting four teeth at once, so I ended up using one of my family sick days today. All of the blocks have been trimmed and I finalized the layout. 5 of 8 rows are sewn together, too, but I didn't take a picture of that yet! My mother in law is visiting this weekend, and I didn't get it done in time for this trip. I should definitely be able to finish it up before her next visit in June, though. The first photo is the final layout, and the second is a shot of our dog, Bo, helping. Good thing she's a dog lover!

I Won!!

For the first time ever, I won a giveaway online! I couldn't believe it when I got an email saying I won the second book bundle on The Fat Quarter Shop' blog. It's an awesome stack of five quilting books. I can't wait to break it open after the girls go to bed!

Progress on the Florida Quilt

Home sick today...my fever broke so i am doing a little chain piecing for my mother-in-law's quilt.