Rainbow Brite {a finished quilt}

I’ve never been much for making ornamental quilts, more interested in utilitarian and larger projects, but lately I’ve been focusing on smaller and more decorative creations.

Before Christmas I started a scrappy rainbow quilt intended to be for a baby with foxes as the focal point.  I was using different colors to frame each fussy cut fox, but plans for that quilt got sidelined when I didn’t like the way it was turning out.   As I found out later when reading a magazine article about color, the value of the gray and light blue sections were outshined by the jewel tones of the other blocks.  I didn’t realize exactly what the problem was at the time, but something about the quilt felt “off.”

So I took out all the foxes, used them and the gray and blue sections to sew this pillow, made squares to fill in the gaps in the blocks, and chose two other intense colors to replace the lighter colors. 

Score!  The quilt turned out better than I imagined!

 

It may sound boring but stippling will ~always & forever~ be my favorite look for a quilt.  Maybe because the modern quilt movement was just picking up steam as I was learning to sew, and stippling was on every quilt I admired, but there’s just something about that texture that appeals to me.

How cool is the back of this quilt?  The fabric is an Alexander Henry print.  Colorful and bold, a perfect match for the front.

The binding is also an Alexander Henry print called heath in a light violet color.  My husband actually gave me lots of advice (some solicited, some not!) about the fabric choices in this quilt and helped me pick out the binding.  He was right about the lighter colored binding; it really reins in the bold colors of the front and back.

A big thanks to Bea for holding the quilt a million different ways for photos.

And thanks to Ronnie for helping me figure out a layout.

And a super-huge thanks to CeLynn for sending me the Sew Red glasses that helped me “see” the perfect layout.  What a difference they made for those of us who are “color-challenged!”

Now it’s hanging in my sewing room as a bright and cheerful reminder that even if things don’t work out how you planned, you can still make something beautiful out of it. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

Overwhelmed!

In a good way…by fabric!  My cousin is learning to quilt, and we’ve volunteered to test a pattern called Colorblock by Holly at Bijoux Lovely.  My cousin has already picked out her fabric, but I thought I’d make one for Veronica and I am completely overwhelmed by my fabric choices, although I have narrowed it down considerably.

Never in my short-quilting-life have I ever had so many choices!!!  And this is the first time I have enjoyed trying to put different fabric collections together.  The pattern only uses 7 fabrics for the top (not including sashing), but I have accumulated so much great fabric that it’s so tough to eliminate some of the prints.  I have definitely decided to use that leafy print on the bottom left for the backing.  It is one of my first fabric purchases ever—and from Joanns.  It feels thinner than the designer fabric, but I distinctly remember getting it on a half-off red tag clearance sale, so I didn’t pay more than $1.50 a yard for it.  It is high time I used it and it really coordinates well with the other fabrics.

I am overwhelmed in other, not so wonderful, ways.  My husband has been on business travel this entire week, so I haven’t done any sewing. at. all.  My oldest is home on spring break this week, which has mostly been really helpful,  but it also has been crazy…a lot.  Last weekend I finished quilting my Flora quilt, and I cut strips for the binding one night after the kids went to bed.  But when I held it up to the quilt, I hated it.

The quilt has a yellow lattice print border, and the binding against it looks green.  I am really disappointed at how it looks together, so I am just going to use the rest of the border fabric I had left over to make matching binding and leave it at that.  

So, I don’t think I’ve ever shared that I am into my SIXTH year of breastfeeding. Yes, you read that correctly. I am only 34, so I have been breastfeeding 17% of my life.  I know breastfeeding is a beautiful thing, etc etc, but I am ready to have my body back. 

Overwhelmed is definitely the way I have been feeling lately!  I’m hoping to get some sewing done this weekend and have a quilt top and a finish to share next week.  I hope you all have a happy Easter!!!

Recycling an old pillow

This yucky old pillow needed a facelift.  I bought it around Christmas, but with three kids running amok, it got destroyed pretty quickly.  And since the cover was not removable, this ice cream/caramel stain was permanent.  So, I decided to recycle the stuffing.

First I cut two 19 x 19 inch muslin squares.  Then I sewed them together using a 1/2" seam allowance backstitching at the beginning and end while leaving about a 3 inch hole (enough to get my hand into).  I pressed the seams and turned it  right side out.  I used a chopstick to poke out the corners gently and pressed it again.

Here is the 3 inch gap.

Now comes the fun part!  My five year old stuffed the old polyfill fiber into the new pillow.  First I refluffed all the fiberfill by "combing" it through my fingers to make it puffy again.  I also helped push the fiberfill evenly down into the corners of the pillow.

Then I handstitched the gap closed.  I hate handsewing, but luckily this step only takes two minutes.  Your pillow will measure 18 x 18.

And, voila!, I made two pillows using this method.  I love this fabric.  I found it at Joanns on Sunday when I was buying some Warm and White batting.  I turned around from the cutting table and it was thrown on the bottom shelf in the craft area.  Must have been kismet!  It's Alexander Henry "Kelo" and the selvage said 2005.  Now my living room looks great!

The pillows have contrasting back fabric and you can find the tutorial here.

The dreaded stomach bug has struck our house.  At first it was just the kids, which gave me way too much time to surf the internet while they watched movies (God bless Disney!) and took it easy.  I found myself back at Quilttaffy looking for some Kona solid aqua and I, of course, found plenty more that I really needed.  Waiting for it to come in the mail is no problem because now I am sick and can barely muster the energy to get off the couch to move let alone sew anything.

Before I got sick I started fooling around with these Alexander Henry Farmdale prints I had to have.  My mom has 4 laying hens and my sister, who lives in Maine, has around 40 chickens.  Anytime I see a cute chicken print I can't resist.  The plan was to make potholders and a coordinating tablerunner for each household.   First I started by cutting 3 inch strips, then I played with them for a while trying to figure out the best way to display the directional prints, and so I decided on log cabin blocks.  I experimented even though my Kona aqua and ash hadn't arrived yet, and I plan to make that block the front of a pillow for my sister's couch.